Make-Fast Mondays: Focaccia Veggie Pizzas

Not sure about you, but little Loryll was a biiiiig fan of french-bread pizzas. This is my grown-up attempt take on this special, easy treat. I’ve balanced out the food groups just a little bit more -- less pepperoni and bread, with more veggies and still plenty of delicious cheese. 

Focaccia Veggie Pizzas 
1 16-ounce focaccia loaf
1 cup prepared pesto
1 ½ cups marinara sauce
2 large sliced Roma tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced (I ended up with 10-12)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice the focaccia horizontally so you’ve got two thin, flat pieces to work with. Place each focaccia slice on a baking sheet. Spread pesto sauce on one piece of the focaccia and top with half the mozzarella slices and all of the tomatoes. Evenly cover the other slice of focaccia with marinara sauce, remaining mozzarella and red bell peppers. Bake the pizzas for 10 minutes before removing them from the oven, slicing and serving.

Make-Fast Mondays: Meatball mania!

Who doesn’t love a good meatball? While handmade always beats the competition, I’m also a big fan of buying a bag of frozen meatballs when there’s not enough time or motivation to start from scratch. Simmer pre-made meatballs with a jar of your favorite marinara, serve with creamy polenta (so easy when using the technique described in this recipe) and top with fresh basil and you’ve got a delicious dinner takes about 30 minutes to make, doesn’t require much prep work and won’t leave you washing dishes all night.

Meatballs with Marinara and Creamy Polenta 
1 pound bag frozen meatballs
25-ounce jar of marinara sauce
1 cup polenta
1 quart chicken broth
2 bay leaves
Fresh basil, sliced, for garnish

Bring chicken broth to a boil in large saucepan.

While waiting for broth to boil, place meatballs and marinara in large sauté pan and cover, cooking over low-medium heat and stirring occasionally, until meatballs are thoroughly heated, roughly 30 minutes. 

Once broth is boiling, gradually add polenta and bay leaves, stirring for a minute or two, before reducing heat to low and covering the saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring the polenta for a minute every 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and discard the bay leaves. Divide polenta between four dishes. Top each dish with meatballs, marinara and basil.

You just can’t say no to baked ravioli

Baked ravioli is simply irresistible. How do I know?

The first time I made baked ravioli, I was fresh out of college and was just starting to experiment in the kitchen. One night, I got the bright idea to take a package of fresh ravioli, mix it in a baking dish with some marinara sauce, top it with plenty of grated cheese, and bake until melted and bubbly. Not too shabby for a first attempt, I thought, and put a mostly full casserole dish in the fridge after enjoying my dinner.

Imagine my shock when I opened the fridge a couple days later, ready to enjoy my leftovers, and instead discovered an empty, dirty baking dish. My roommate at the time apparently spotted the ravioli, decided to help himself to what would have been three or four meals for me. Instead of cleaning up after himself and apologizing, he thought it would be funny to put the dirty dish back in the fridge and wait for me to find it. Ridiculous.

Let this serve as a warning -- if you make the following recipe, be prepared to fight for your fair share!

Baked Ravioli 
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces brown mushrooms, sliced
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
25-ounce bag frozen ravioli (I used Safeway Select Portobello Ravioli)
2 cups grated mozzarella or other shredded cheese (I used cheddar because it was already in the fridge) 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and stir for about a minute before adding mushrooms. Cook mushrooms for a couple minutes, until slightly soft. Add diced tomatoes, oregano, Worcestershire sauce and red pepper flakes to pan. Let sauce simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon one cup of the sauce mix into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Layer half the ravioli in the dish, cover with a half the sauce, top with one cup of cheese, then repeat. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes to brown the cheese. Remove from heat and serve.

Kitchen shortcuts result in wonderful lasagna

I've recently discovered no-boil lasagna noodles.

True, there's nothing finer than a well-constructed, made-from-scratch meal. But shortcuts are OK by me.

And being a fan of cutting corners in the kitchen, especially on work nights, I am very happy with how my Quick & Dirty Lasagna turned out. I used some items already housed in the kitchen (noodles, a jar of marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan and mushrooms) and a couple I picked up at the store (Italian sausage and frozen spinach).

From prep to plate this lasagna took less than an hour, only resulted in a handful of dirty dishes, and tasted just as good as lunch the next day. Using an 8-by-8 glass baking dish, this recipe resulted in four hefty servings.

Quick & Dirty Lasagna
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
six no-boil lasagna noodles
24 ounces marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, defrosted
6 ounces white or brown mushrooms, washed and sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown sausage in frying pan over medium heat, using large spoon or spatula to break into crumbles. Remove from heat and drain fat from pan.
Place defrosted spinach in colander, squeezing spinach to remove excess liquid.
Pour 1/4 cup sauce into baking dish. Begin layering remaining ingredients, starting with two lasagna noodles and continuing with spinach, Parmesan, mushrooms, sausage, mozzarella and marinara. Ingredients should be enough for two layers, topped with two final noodles, sauce and mozzarella.
Cover dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil from dish and bake for additional 15-20 minutes, allowing cheese to brown.
Remove lasagna from oven and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.