Spinach Lasagna

Another of my mom's great recipes - with an added twist. This is the lasagna I grew up eating and loved... after making a batch of stuffed shells one day I decided it would be much easier to adapt this recipe by adding the spinach and fennel seeds. The fennel is what puts this recipe over the top - it adds a wonderful fresh flavor to the dish. You could easily make this vegetarian by leaving the ground beef out of the sauce or replacing it with mushrooms. This recipe makes two lasagnas, so plan accordingly!

Sauté together:

1 lb. ground beef

½ cup chopped onion

Drain fat and add:

2 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste

2 tomato paste cans of water

1 Tbsp. oregano

1 ½ tsp. garlic powder

1 ½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. dried parsley

In separate bowl, combine:

2 eggs

24 oz. Cottage cheese

1 Tbsp fennel seeds

2 packed cups fresh spinach, chopped in food processor

In another bowl, combine:

1 lb. Shredded mozzarella cheese

½ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook 1 lb. Lasagna noodles according to directions on package.

In each of two 9x13 casserole dishes, layer the following:

1 ½ cups meat sauce

Noodles to cover meat sauce (usually four or five)

½ cottage cheese mixture

¼ mozzarella mixture

Noodles to cover cheese layer

1 ½ cups meat sauce

¼ mozzarella mixture

Lasagnas can be frozen until needed. Defrost in refrigerator before cooking.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes.

Turkey Meatloaf

As a kid, I seem to remember groaning at the thought of having to eat meatloaf for dinner - so how is it that it has become one of my kids favorite things to eat??? Not that I'm complaining! I love having a standby that I can hide veggies in when necessary - as you will see from the recipe below...

1 lb ground turkey

3/4 cup quick oats

1 egg

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup green pepper, finely chopped

1 1/2 cup packed spinach, chopped in food processor

1 cup shredded carrots

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well - you may need to use your hands to combine all ingredients evenly. Coat your cooking pan with nonstick cooking spray - we like to use a muffin pan for faster cooking time and portion control. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (for muffins, a regular loaf pan takes about 1 hour, sometimes longer depending on how many veggies you add as more liquid will have to cook off). Halfway through the cooking time, combine 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp Italian seasoning and spoon over the top of each meatloaf.

Potato Crusted Spinach Quiche

This is a healthy twist on quiche... instead of using those very fattening pie crusts (although they are sooo tasty), we use slices of potato - the secret is to give the potatoes a head start in the microwave so they won't be crunchy when you're eating the quiche. Also, can I please ask you to repent of buying frozen spinach and make you promise never to buy it again! Any recipe that calls for frozen spinach can be made with fresh spinach just as easily and with a much better tasting result. I just pack the spinach leaves in my food processor and chop them until I can't see any leaves left and use that where a recipe calls for frozen spinach. Below is the recipe I use....

2 medium baking potatoes

4 eggs

1 cup plain yogurt

2 cups packed spinach leaves, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Microwave the potatoes 3-4 minutes, until mostly cooked but still firm enough to slice. Slice the potatoes in 1/4" slices (we like to leave the skins on, but you could certainly peel them if that suits your fancy). Spray a 9" pie dish with non-stick cooking spray and layer the potato slices on the sides and bottom of the dish to form a crust. (There will be spaces, but don't worry about them as the egg will fill in the gaps.)

Beat the eggs and yogurt together until well blended. Add salt and pepper. Fold in the spinach, onions, and cheese and mix well. Pour the egg mixture in the potato crust. Spray the uncovered potato with butter or cooking spray to keep it from getting dried out. Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Spinach and Orzo Salad

This yummy salad was another big hit. It has a very mediterranean taste which I love! Next time I'll use half as many onions and add a can of garbanzo beans to make it more kid friendly.