Kitchen Adventures 9.1

Oh goodness, it's been almost a month since my last post! Gracious. February has been a busy month to say the least. We had lots of snow at the beginning of the month, busy weekends all month, beautiful weather in the middle of the month, and a big hurdle finally jumped. The combination of everything has kept me away from my computer and my blogging. Fortunately, it has not kept me away from my kitchen. When recently asked about my hobbies, cooking and baking are always at the top of my list now. It's a great stress reliever, and it's also a way I give of myself to others. For example, someone asked me to make him brownies since he had a bad day yesterday. Even though I was exhausted, I quickly whipped up a batch (I luckily had a box mix on hand) and they made his day. It's just part of my personality; I have to care for people. One way I do that is through food.

And though I care about people and love making food for them, I also have to eat. And boy, do I love eating! Good thing my metabolism can still keep up with this love. :) I love making a large dish at the beginning of the week and having it for dinner the rest of the week. Mainly, this is because my week gets busier as it goes and it's much faster to heat something up instead of making another meal later in the week. I do mix it up every now and then, though.

This recipe is one I made almost a month ago at the onset of the big blizzard to start February. My sister had made it and gave it good marks, so I figured it would be delicious. However, after making the dish and then speaking with her again, I realized I had made a small but significant error. The recipe calls for egg noodles. It means the kind you find in the pasta aisle. However, I think I must have combined ingredients from another recipe and thought I needed frozen egg noodles, like you find in chicken noodle soup. Like I said, small mistake with significant consequences. This dish was still delicious, but I'll have to try it again sometime the way it is supposed to be made! Also, perhaps I'll try it when I get married someday (whenever that is in the distant future) as it's called "Husband's Delight" and since I have no husband to delight I can't know if it's really good. Just kidding, of course. Perhaps I should call it "Myself Delight" since it filled my belly wonderfully. :)

This is a recipe that came from the binder my aunt made for me several years ago. I'm glad I have this recipe source; it has provided me many a delicious meal.

Husband's Delight

Ingredients:

1 pkg. egg noodles (NOT the frozen ones!)
26 oz. spaghetti sauce
8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 lbs. ground beef
8 oz. sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Cook the noodles and place them in the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish. Beat the cream cheese and sour cream together, then spread this mixture over the noodles. Brown the meat and drain the grease, then add the spaghetti sauce and stir together. Pour this over the ingredients already in the baking dish. Sprinkle (liberally) with shredded cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

It should turn out like lasagna without all the layers. Mine, obviously, was different since I used frozen egg noodles, but it was still delicious.

Kitchen Adventures 4.2

Every now and then I expand my horizons and try a new recipe that includes ingredients I would not normally use. I tried that this week, and the results were not too bad.
I never thought I liked spinach until I tried a salad of baby spinach leaves and discovered just how delicious it can be. However, cooked spinach is a different story. I think spinach is going to be like carrots for me; I much prefer them raw rather than cooked. But, I am glad I tried something new, and if nothing else maybe someone else will see the recipe and give it a try.
As a note, I modified the recipe a bit. Rather than using small shells I used jumbo ones because that is what I had. Also, I omitted the onion because the last time I used onion it was way too overpowering. I'll include them in the recipe, though. I also only used 3/4 lb. of spinach rather than an entire pound.
This recipe came from one of my Rachael Ray magazines.

Spinach and Ricotta with Shells

Ingredients:
1 pound small pasta shells
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 pound baby spinach
1 pound ricotta cheese
3/4 c. grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

Directions:
1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente; drain and return to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium head; add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach by the handful and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the spinach mixture, ricotta and 1/4 c. parmesan cheese to the pasta and toss. Serve immediately with more paremesan cheese.