Cozy Comfort Casserole and Lazy Lasagna

Wow—what a week! It seems as if each month I keep getting busier and busier! I have definitely been improving my time management skills. I usually just leave my daily planner stuffed somewhere and keep track of everything mentally, but I recently dusted it off and started writing stuff down which has been really helpful. How do you stay organized when life gets hectic?

I taught my first cooking class through the Community Education programs this past Thursday. It was beyond fun to share some tropical recipes with the class! I also had a few fun little food quizzes with tropical gifts like hint of lime chips, tropical salsa, pina colada drink mix, and some tropical mixed jelly beans. The menu, some pictures, recipes, etc. will all be up by next week on a new tab I am making called “Cooking with CaSaundra”, so you’ll be able to access that right underneath my cookbook on the right hand side—so stay tuned for that!

Anyway, like I said weeks like the past one make me really appreciate a 48 hour weekend of r&r, and although I don’t mind being in the kitchen “relaxing”, I do tend to lazy it up a bit if I’m not in the mood to whip up something extravagant, so in this case I will probably be making one of my go-to lazy/comfort one pan meals. Less fuss & less mess!

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Lazy Lasagna

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 1/4  cups  marinara sauce

1  20-oz. package refrigerated cheese ravioli OR 20 oz frozen ravioli which is cheaper, just be sure to thaw it out prior to using it.

1  10-oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry OR 5 oz fresh spinach (I am not fond of frozen spinach so I used fresh)

8  ounces  shredded part-skim mozzarella

1/4  cup  grated Parmesan

Feel free to add in mushrooms, onions, or anything else you’d like!

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch-square baking dish. Spoon 1/4 cup marinara sauce over bottom of dish. Cover with half of ravioli. Spread half of remaining sauce over ravioli. Sprinkle on spinach and then half of mozzarella. Repeat with remaining ravioli, marinara and mozzarella. Sprinkle top with Parmesan.
• Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until bubbling, about 10 minutes longer. Let cool for about 5 minutes before slicing.

Italian Bisquick Bake

Recipe by me

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1-8oz can tomato sauce
• 1 small zucchini,sliced
• 1/4 diced red onion
• 1/2 c sliced button mushrooms
• 1 c fresh spinach
• 1 chicken sausage (I used these)
• 1/3 c Heart Smart Bisquick 
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 c parmesan reggiano cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice potatoes horizontally into thin pieces. Meanwhile, take a skillet with cooking spray and sauté potatoes until tender—remove, but keep heat on. Add onion and sausage and cook until tender (5-8 minutes).
• Mix Bisquick, milk and eggs thoroughly in separate bowl.
• Layer potatoes evenly in the bottom of the pan. Top
  with sausage and veggies. Then evenly spread can of tomato sauce followed by the cheese and topped with the Bisquick mixture.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

 

Enjoy the Super Bowl if your watching!!! :-)

 

Shout For Sprouts

  When it comes to trying new foods, sometimes I am all for it, other times I go back and forth while deciding if I really want to try it. Ever since I started blogging, I have realized how many foods I really haven’t tried! I still need to try an avocado, feta cheese, and different cuisines such as Thai and Indian. What are foods you have on your “to try” list? One of the foods I recently checked off of my list was bean sprouts. I had never had any type of sprout and was impressed by their nutritional value--

Sprouts are a great and inexpensive way of obtaining a concentration of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. They contain all of the nutrients found in various fruits and veggies. Eating sprouts is a safe way to get the nutritional advantage of produce without that contamination of harmful insecticides. Studies have shown that in comparison to dried seeds, sprouted foods contain an amazing increase in nutrients. During the sprouting process, the vitamins, minerals and protein increase substantially and the calories and carbs decrease.

 Are you interested in how to eat your bean sprouts? Why not--

• Make some sprout hummus?
• What about a bowl of sprout cereal?
• Maybe a side dish? Try out this sprout coleslaw.
• Something summery? This tropical gazpacho sounds great!
• An entree you say? Black beans and rice sounds nice.

  And I am sure you want to know how I now eat my bean sprouts? I use them in an unlikely way—for a lighter summer pasta swap. I buy em’ in the can so they are a little bit mushier than fresh ones, and I squeeze the excess juice out of them, warm them in the microwave and top with pasta sauce, meats, and veggies, just as you would normally make your favorite pasta dish. Much lighter to accompany summer appetites!

For this meal, I topped a can of sprouts with some chicken sausage, sautéed bell peppers and mushrooms, and some pasta sauce with a little shake of parmesan! It truly is delish!

Make sure to check your grocer’s Oriental aisle which is where the canned bean sprouts can usually be found.

Speaking of pasta, I recently was asked to review a product for My Blog Spark. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but I have made these meals before, and I would highly recommend them! They are cheap, fast, and restaurant quality. I did happen to snap a few pictures!

  These newer Macaroni Grill meals come in five flavors, so there is surely one that will suite you. All you need to complete the meal kit is some chicken breasts and your ready to whip up a restaurant meal at home. Included in the package from the generous folks at My Blog Spark was also a really great metal colander, a pasta spoon, and a grater to grate fresh cheese—can you say Italian night? What’s your favorite Italian food? Mine would have to be anything smothered in a good pasta sauce—it’s in my blood =)

And since I am on a roll with all things pasta , I recently tried the new Healthy Choice All Natural entree in Pumpkin Squash Ravioli.

  I am not a huge fan of frozen meals at all, but when I get a good coupon, I figure I might as well try it. Well I picked this one because I thought it would be a savory ravioli dish, but instead the noodles were too rubbery, the filling was way to sweet, which I was not expecting, and the sauce just did not pair well at all. Maybe some people like it, but I ended up tossing half of it. But there are other flavors in the All Natural line—here’s some info:

All-natural ingredients such as pumpkin, asparagus, nine-grain pastas, and 100% extra virgin olive oil are highlighted in our line of new All Natural Entrées, which includes four vegetarian options. Each contemporary recipe was crafted to deliver delectable food packed full of nutrition.

• High in fiber for digestive health
• Antioxidants such as lycopene and vitamins A and C
• Low in fat and saturated fat
• Vegetarian options include Mediterranean Pasta, Pumpkin Squash Ravioli, Sweet Asian Potstickers, and Tomato Basil Penne

Enjoy your finally Friday!