Showing posts with label CEIMB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CEIMB. Show all posts

Thursday, August 25, 2011

CEIMB: Saffron Chicken, Lemon, and Green Bean Salad


This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe is Saffron Chicken, Lemon, and Green Bean Salad, chosen by Sarah of Sarah's Kitchen Adventures. I'm so glad I was tasked with making this salad; I've read over the recipe in Ellie's book so many times, but never mustered up enough courage to go for it.

You may ask me why I would need courage for this particular salad; it sounds perfectly normal and innocent by the title, right? But don't be fooled; the lemon in the salad is actual chunks of boiled, cooled, diced lemon rind! As you can see in the photo below, the lemon becomes an essential ingredient in the salad itself, rather than simply being a part of the salad dressing (which it is, too, of course).



Now, I felt slightly silly taking a whole lemon, scrubbing its waxy outer coating, stabbing it with a fork several times, and sticking it in a pot of boiling water for close to an hour. But that's exactly what I did. I mean, if I can't trust Ellie by now, something's wrong. She's barely ever steered me wrong; I wasn't (too) worried.

Well, she was right. Again. This salad is nothing short of spectacular! Along with the crisp, snappy fresh green beans, fresh thyme, saffron-laced chicken, and the tart/sweet dressing, the lemon rind was totally tender, intoxicatingly fragrant, and actually, amazingly, tasty! So even though this may sound like quite an unconventional ingredient preparation, I promise you that it is worth a try. Don't be afraid; the results are fresh, exciting, and very delicious!



Thanks to Sarah for the awesome selection! If you would like to see this crazy-good recipe for yourself, click here. For the CEIMB blogroll, click here.
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Thursday, August 11, 2011

CEIMB Greek Salad Pitas with Feta Spread and Turkey


This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was a good one! We made Greek Salad Pitas with Feta Spread and Turkey, selected by Jennifer of The Rookie Baker.



Because I am the first one to admit that yogurt really repulses me, obviously I did not put any of the feta spread on my own pita sandwich. However, I did make it for my husband, and he really loved it! It's a simple spread; you mash up some feta cheese with plain yogurt, then add in some fresh lemon zest and juice, dried oregano, and freshly ground black pepper. I made myself a roasted red pepper and feta spread, which turned out really yummy. I'll be blogging about that one soon.



This was such an easy little recipe to put together. It's just some deli-style turkey breast (I chose a lower-sodium variety), romaine lettuce leaves, sliced cucumber, and the spread wrapped up in a pita half. As you can see from our pictures, hubby added sliced kalamata olives to his, and he left his pita bread whole. Instead of stuffing the pita pocket, he just combined all his sandwich fixings and placed them on top of the pita, then folded it up like a tortilla.



I was grateful to have such a simple weeknight meal to make this week! Thanks to Jennifer for the great pick. If you'd like to see if the other CEIMBistas enjoyed this one, be sure to head over to the blogroll. For the full recipe, click here.

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Thursday, July 28, 2011

CEIMB: Chicken Sate with Asian Noodle-Vegetable Salad


It's been two weeks, so it's time for another great Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe! As it turns out, this week's selections mark three great new recipes for the price of one. Danica of Danica's Daily chose for us to make Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce and a Soba Noodle-Vegetable Salad. I was actually quick shocked to discover that I hadn't made any of these dishes yet. Well, I was going to fix that for sure!



First off, we have the Chicken Sate. It's a simple enough recipe. Take your chicken pieces, coat them in a yummy marinade, then thread the pieces onto bamboo skewers and grill until cooked through. A sprinkle of basil (and chopped peanuts, which I didn't use) goes on top, and then you can dip your chicken sticks in the Spicy Peanut Sauce.



The chicken turned out juicy, succulent, and flavorful. It almost didn't need any dipping sauce....almost. The sauce is addictive stuff! I love anything that contains peanut butter, so I knew I would be a fan. However, Ellie adds a couple unique touches to her version of peanut sauce, such as a small amount of curry paste, which make this particular dip unforgettable. It's just spicy enough, just sweet enough, and just tangy enough to be, in my book, perfect. Yum.



The Noodle-Vegetable Salad is great, too, although I did like the chicken and peanut sauce better. For my salad, I chose to use a combination of some skinny brown rice vermicelli that I had left over from a soup I made long ago, and some wide Asian noodles. The latter noodles were similar to a fettuccine noodle, so I thought the two contrasting cuts of pasta would be fun. And it was fun, but a bit confusing. In the future I will definitely stick to just one type of noodle! The salad was very delicious. It was fresh from the chopped herbs, crunchy from the red bell pepper and carrot, and zingy from the Asian dressing. The dressing was the best part of this recipe, no doubt. I will be using this dressing in other salads! I did not follow the directions to the letter here. Ellie says to present the salad in lettuce cups, made from Bibb lettuce leaves. I didn't have any nice lettuce to use for this, so I just served up the salad as is. In my opinion, it worked out just fine.



Thanks to Danica for the excellent picks! Together, it all made for a fantastic Asian meal that my family truly enjoyed. To see if the other CEIMBistas loved it too, check out the blogroll, here. For the Chicken and Peanut Sauce recipes, click over to Food Network's site, here. The Noodle Salad recipe is over there also; click here.
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Thursday, July 14, 2011

CEIMB: Stir-Fried Chinese Cabbage with Tofu


This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly was chosen by my friend Liz of This Chihuahua Wears Pearls (how awesome is the name of her blog?). And for her, I would gladly make pretty much any dish, even one that initially sounded...well, too healthy to be good!



Luckily for us, I was very wrong about that. This dish, Stir-Fried Chinese Cabbage with Tofu, was downright shockingly delicious! I think it had something to do with the preparation of the tofu. Instead of pressing all the liquid out and then simply stir-frying it, as I have done before, this recipe instructs you to marinate the tofu, then bake it in the oven.



While the tofu is baking in the oven, you can assemble the rest of the dish. I pulled out and dusted off my wok, and did a quick fry of the aromatics: ginger and garlic, and I threw in a small red jalapeno I had on hand. Then in went the bok choy (I could only find one large head, as opposed to the 3 small heads the recipe directs you to use) and scallions. Next, you throw in the cooked tofu and some soy sauce diluted in a small amount of water. I reduced the amount of soy sauce ever so slightly; I watch our sodium intake at home and I just thought I could make do with 3 total Tbsp. instead of 4.



The stir-fry is garnished with sesame seeds (I toasted mine for just a couple of minutes in the wok while it was still dry), and I chose to serve mine over brown rice. I am happy to report that this dish is packed with great Asian flavor! The ginger, garlic, and jalapeno gave it a great kick, and the toasted sesame seeds gave it a nice nutty flair. I particularly loved the marinated tofu; I believe I will only be baking my tofu from now on! It was the perfect texture, not crumbly or mushy at all.



I think if I am remembering correctly, Liz is not the biggest fan of tofu. But knowing her, she wanted to try this dish to see if she could learn to love it. I hope you enjoyed this one as much as we did, Liz! Thanks for choosing it; I don't have Ellie's first book and I never would have known about this recipe if you hadn't introduced it to us! For the full recipe and the CEIMB blogroll, click here.
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Thursday, June 30, 2011

CEIMB: Chicken Pepian


This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly was another one of my picks! That's one cool thing about being in a blogging group that is a bit on the smaller side; you get to pick the recipe a whole lot more often! I chose to make Chicken Pepian, which I have seen Ellie make at least twice or three times now on her cooking show. I have drooled over this one for far too long; it was time to finally prepare it myself!



These beautiful green gems above are fresh tomatillos, which I absolutely love working with. They are a descendant of the gooseberry (or so I am told by Rachael Ray!), and they kinda sorta taste like a cross between a tomato and a citrus fruit. It's hard to explain, so if you've never tried them and are intrigued, I definitely suggest that you give them a try. We really love them! The tomatillos are used as the base for a yummy green sauce that is first prepared and then used to top boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this dish.



I do have to apologize to my fellow CEIMB-istas for this one, because I didn't realize just how many steps were involved with this recipe until I read through it just before prepping my grocery list. Though the steps are all pretty simple, there are a lot of them and they do take a bit of time. I am happy to say that I think it was worth it, though!

For the actual preparation, I decided to deviate from Ellie's method a bit. Call it laziness, or call it creativity; it was really a little bit of both! I broiled my onions and garlic along with my tomatillos and poblano pepper; it saved me a step in which you sauteed the onion and garlic in a pan. Then, instead of pounding out chicken breasts, I used chicken tenderloins, which of course are much smaller cuts. I put my tenderloins in a Dutch oven, poured all the pepian sauce over top of them, and then baked the whole dish in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees. I thought the low and slow method would keep the meat moist, and would also ensure that the sauce was bubbly and simmered enough (especially since I had prepared the sauce one day ahead and it was cold from the fridge).



Then, in one final burst of ingenuity, I decided to serve them up two different ways. The first night we ate this, I placed a pile of stone ground tortilla chips beside the chicken and let everyone choose whether they wanted to just eat the chicken straight up, or use the chips to scoop it all up. Either way, you couldn't lose, because this was very, very scrumptious! The second night, I used the chicken and the sauce as a filling for some wraps, and that was super delicious as well.

This sauce was reminiscent of a pesto, since it utilized leafy green herbs, roasted veggies, and pumpkin seeds. However, the flavor was decidedly Southwestern, and there was the barest hint of heat from the poblano and jalapeno. It was nice and zesty, but not overpowering. I'd love to see how this would taste tossed with some pasta, though!

I've provided the full recipe, the way Ellie intended it. You can try it her way or mine; I can only vouch for my method. I'm glad I chose this; it got some very enthusiastic thumbs-up at my house! If you'd like to check out the CEIMB blogroll, click here. Thanks to everybody who cooked with me this week!




Chicken Pepian
adapted from Food Network
makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 lb. fresh tomatillos
1 large poblano pepper (2.5-3 oz.), seeded and chopped into four pieces
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds
5 whole peppercorns
2 whole allspice
1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped, fresh cilantro leaves (plus 1/4 cup more for garnish)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium (2-inch) jalapeno pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
Lime wedges

Directions
1. Preheat the broiler. Remove papery outer skins from tomatillos, then rinse with warm water to remove some of their natural stickiness. Pat dry, then cut into quarters. Toss tomatillos and the poblano with 2 tsp. of the oil, place on a baking sheet, and broil until charred, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

2. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add pumpkin seeds, peppercorns, allspice, and cumin, and toast until pumpkin seeds are fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

3. In the same saute pan, heat 2 tsp. of the oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

4. Place the tomatillos, the poblano, the onions, garlic, 1 cup cilantro, chicken broth, jalapeno pepper, pumpkin seeds, spices, and the salt in a food processor (or blender) and process on high until totally smooth, about 30 seconds.

5. Heat the remaining 2 tsp. oil in a skillet and cook the chicken until browned on both sides and nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Add pepian sauce to the skillet, covering the chicken pieces. Bring to a simmer and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve chicken topped with the sauce and garnished with cilantro and lime wedges.
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Thursday, June 23, 2011

CEIMB: Tuscan Roasted Chicken with Vegetables


Okay, I am really sorry about these bad pictures. I don't know why, but for some reason it was darn near impossible to get good shots of this meal. And that is quite a shame; the pictures do not do the food justice!

For this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly dish, Margaret of Tea and Scones selected Tuscan Roasted Chicken with Vegetables. I was looking forward to this; I just recently have come to love roasted tomatoes and roasted zucchini, and this recipe includes both. Plus, there's roasted fennel (love fennel!) and lots of fresh lemon flavor and sprigs of rosemary. All the makings of a fabulous meal were there.



For some reason, this one kinda disappointed me. I can't exactly put my finger on why. For starters, I did use a whole 4.5 pound chicken rather than the bone-in chicken breasts that Ellie used. I added onions to the veggies; we just love roasted onions. Because the chicken took about 2 hours to roast, I set it in the roasting dish and cooked it for an entire hour before adding the veggies. The veggies still ended up a little overdone, I thought. The zucchini virtually fell apart when I used tongs to lift it out, so much that I couldn't get many full pieces of zucchini to serve. Same with the tomatoes; they were just a mushy mess.

The onions and fennel held together well, though! And the flavor of the chicken was very good. Lots of fresh rosemary, garlic, and lemon was stuffed into the cavity of the bird, so Ellie's flavors were definitely reflected there. I don't know; I just think in the future I will try roasting different veggies with the chicken, ones that are sturdier. Or, I could roast them for an even shorter time.



It was still great to try this, because I have wanted to for a while now. Thank you for that, Margaret! Be sure to check out the full, unedited version of Ellie's recipe over on Food Network's website, here. And to see the CEIMB blogroll, click here.
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Thursday, June 9, 2011

CEIMB: Apple Pecan Muffins


Wow, I almost completely spaced on this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly this week! I must really still be on vacation or something! But I managed to pull it together long enough to snap some photos of this week's recipe, Apple Pecan Muffins, chosen by Joanne of Apple Crumbles.



If you're wondering how I could have produced muffins to photograph when I could barely even manage to remember to post about them, the answer is very simple. I always, always have these muffins on hand in my house. Out of all of Ellie Krieger's recipes that I have tried (and I've probably tried over a hundred by now), this one is the hands-down household fave. In fact, my husband eats two every single work day! I freeze single and double batches of these muffins, so that he can easily thaw and tote some to work each and every day. I've even tried varying the basic formula, but he just likes the muffins the way Ellie intended them; no bells and whistles are needed here! It's probably the first recipe I've ever committed to memory; I could crank these puppies out in my sleep by now. One quick note: I can usually get at least 15 muffins per batch, rather than the yield of 12 listed in the book.

It's been about 3 years now since the first time I have made the Apple Pecan Muffins, and I still have not been able to bake my husband a muffin that he prefers over these. So I probably would have eventually chosen these as my weekly pick, but Joanne beat me to it! I'm so glad the group is finally making these, because in my opinion the whole world should know about these! Thanks to these muffins, I am no longer afraid to eat apple in baked goods. Not only that, but they've taught me how to transform any old muffin recipe into a lower-fat version, and for that I will always be grateful to Ellie.



If you made these muffins this week, I'm dying to hear how you liked them! Everybody's results can be found by heading over to the blogroll, here. And for the full, glorious recipe, you can go to Food Network's website and find it here.
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Thursday, May 19, 2011

CEIMB: Lemon-Ginger Iced Tea with Berry Cubes


This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was supposed to be the Peach Pie Smoothies. However, once again, I found myself not really wanting to make this one since it contains my nemesis, yogurt. I feel bad that I haven't been participating with the correct recipes for two weeks now, especially because next week and the week after I will be on vacation, and therefore unable to participate!



So, I decided to go ahead and make next week's recipe a bit early and post about it today. Next week's recipe is the Lemon-Ginger Iced Tea with Berry Cubes, chosen by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet. This one was such a great, refreshing beverage to make for springtime! And we enjoy both iced tea and lemonade around these parts, so I figured this one would go over pretty well.

As usual with Ellie's recipes, this one is easy to make. You allow a saucepan of water, honey, and chopped ginger to boil, and them simmer briefly. Once that is finished, you add in 6 tea bags and steep it for a while. Strain out the solids, and then add a bunch more water, along with 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice. Then you chill it out in the fridge for a few hours. To accompany the iced tea, Ellie instructs you to plop some fresh raspberries in an ice cube tray, fill the tray with water, and freeze it until you have these adorable little berry cubes. Since my kids and my husband just did some strawberry picking over the weekend, I decided to slice those and use them in my cubes.



The tea turned out delicious! Not too sweet, just the right amount of lemon, and the berry cubes were definitely the highlight. I didn't have time to run out and get fresh mint and extra lemon for garnish, but I feel like the cubes do the job of a garnish nicely, so we didn't really miss the other stuff too much. Thanks to Mary for the pick, and my apologies to Chaya of Comfy Cook's Kosher Kitchen for skipping out on the Peach Pie Smoothie! Do head over to her blog to see how it turned out.
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

CEIMB Rewind: Breakfast Cookies


There won't be any post about Ellie's Muesli Parfaits today, unfortunately. Those parfaits were the assigned recipe for today, chosen by Sarah of Sarah's Kitchen Adventures for Craving Ellie in My Belly. However, I opted to do an Ellie rewind instead.

Why? Well, the main reason is because I really, really dislike yogurt, and that is one of the main ingredients in the Muesli Parfaits. And while I have been known to forge ahead and make recipe of Ellie's that I don't think I'll like, I had to take exception with this one. I wish I could like yogurt, but there just seems to be no getting around it. I could have made this recipe for my husband, but I had actually just made Ellie's Breakfast Cookies late last week, and it just felt like doing a rewind here would be a good way for me to blog about them.



These Breakfast Cookies were made all the way back in the first week of July of 2009, nearly two years ago! I was not yet part of the group, and may never have known about this cookies, since they are not found in either of Ellie's cookbooks. But I've seen them on Food Network's website and they are reviewed very well, so I wanted to give them a shot. Plus, I'm building up a small arsenal of portable baked goods that I can take on my upcoming trip to Disney World (whoo-hoo!), and these fit the bill nicely.

The ingredients list for these cookies is long, but the recipe itself is very simple to put together. The cookies are made from, among other things, whole wheat and all-purpose flour, rolled oats, bran cereal, raisins, and walnuts. I substituted pistachios for the walnuts, and Fiber One Bran Cereal for the bran flakes. Also, I had no carrot baby food, so I just used some unsweetened applesauce. The cookies turned out hearty, tender, and just sweet enough. I think maybe two of these could suffice for a nice breakfast; one may not be quite enough. Still, I am very excited to take these on my trip for quick morning fixes!



Thanks to Sarah for hosting this week, and I do apologize for not making these along with everybody. If you're curious about whether the other members of the group liked their parfaits, be sure to check out the blogroll, here!
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Thursday, May 5, 2011

CEIMB: Roasted Tomato and Almond Pesto Pasta


I am thrilled to be able to present you with this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe, because Ellie Krieger herself has chosen it for us! That's right. Somehow Ellie managed to find out about our little blogging group, and she kindly offered to share with us a new dish that she has come up with. Needless to say, we jumped on it and it was placed on the rotation for this week.



The dish, Whole Grain Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato and Almond Pesto (or whole grain rotini, which is what I used), is definitely one of Ellie's best, at least in our opinion! Not only is it packed with flavor and nutrition, but it's absolutely, uniquely delicious and so very easy to make! As you are boiling some water for pasta, you can easily assemble the pesto sauce. It starts out with some toasted almonds and a clove of garlic, which are chopped finely in a food processor.



Meanwhile, you slow-roast about 6 tomatoes in the oven (Ellie also presents the option of using a can of diced, fire-roasted tomatoes), which makes the tomatoes' flavor concentrate and become tangy-sweet. Sooo, sooo good. After they have roasted, into the food processor they go, along with some fresh basil, red wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper flakes.



You blend in some olive oil, then add salt to taste. What I could not get over at this point was how creamy the sauce became. I suppose if I had not processed the ingredients too much, I could have had a chunkier pesto, but I happen to like it the way it turned out. It wasn't completely smooth; there were still little nut pieces and basil flecks, which gave the sauce a great texture. Finally, you throw in some Parmesan cheese and gently pulse to combine. That's it for the sauce.

I was about 97% faithful to the original recipe. I did use rotini instead of spaghetti, and I also reduced the olive oil by 1 Tbsp. (I used 2 instead of the recommended 3) and bumped up the red wine vinegar from 1 tsp. to 4 tsp. I do like things tart, and this made it slightly more so. Finally, I served the pasta on a bed of fresh spinach, just to plump up the bowls a bit. Overall, we absolutely loved, loved, loved this dish! Even my son, who routinely gives me trouble at dinnertime, inhaled this and declared it "really good!" That's a huge compliment from him!



So, Ellie, if you're reading this, thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! I can hardly wait to make it again (and again). And if you have any other new recipes lying around that you want us to try, please don't hesitate to share! I hope the other ladies in the group had as much fun making, and eating, this as I did! You can find this recipe on our main CEIMB site, here. That's also where you will find the blogroll, so do stop by if you get a chance!
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Thursday, April 28, 2011

CEIMB: Asian Noodle Bowl


This week we had the pleasure of making Ellie's Asian Noodle Bowl for Craving Ellie in My Belly. This was chosen by Margaret of Tea and Scones, and it was the absolute perfect weeknight meal for my family. I'm not sure how this recipe escaped my notice for so long, but I'm sure glad Margaret put it on my radar!



I love the ease and freshness of a stir fry. This is one of the first things I ever learned how to make, and we never seem to tire of them. This one, while similar to others I've made in the past, was different and delicious. I realized, this may be the first stir fry I've ever prepared without garlic! I have to say, we didn't really miss it all that much, but it would have been good in there, too.



The ingredients list included fresh broccoli florets, shiitake mushrooms (my first time using them), red bell pepper, canned baby corn, scallions, chicken, and soba noodles. Once everything is stir-frying away, you pour in some low-sodium soy sauce and chicken broth and let it all absorb. The dish is finished with a bit of sesame oil and a few reserved scallions on top.

I was faithful to this recipe, for the most part. I did add one jalapeno pepper to the ginger and scallions that are added to the skillet at the beginning of the recipe, and I was glad I did. It gave the dish just the right amount of heat. Also, I had just 5 oz. of mushrooms, instead of the 8 oz. that were called for, but I just added in extra broccoli and it all worked out okay. My husband called this dish "extra delightful," which I can only take to mean that this one was a big winner!



Thank you to Margaret for choosing this one; it's simple but so delicious! To view the recipe, you can click here. And to see the CEIMB blogroll, you can click here.
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Thursday, April 21, 2011

CEIMB: Wheat Berry Salad


This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was her Wheat Berry Salad, chosen by Leslie of Lethally Delicious. I have to admit, although I was excited to make this recipe and use wheat berries for the first time, I ended up taking a lot of liberties with it. I think in the end, it was probably not even Ellie's salad anymore; it was more my derivative take on it. But I loved it!

I made this as a last-second side dish with a meal I made last week, so I hadn't fully checked the ingredients list before I dove in. Turns out, I didn't really have everything I needed to make it, but I did have close approximations! So, instead of dried cherries, I used dried cranberries. Instead of walnuts, I used some hazelnuts (yum!). I had no lemon juice, so in went a bit of fresh key lime juice and a splash of pomegranate red wine vinegar instead. I didn't even have celery, but I had cucumbers, so I just used some of those. Like I said, it's not really even the original recipe anymore, but it's the same general idea.

Since I have never cooked wheat berries before, I was really unsure about when they were supposed to be done. I followed Ellie's instructions and submerged them in water, and let it come to a boil. However, by the time all the liquid evaporated, the wheat berries were still a little too hard for our tastes. So, I kept dumping more water into the pot and letting it cook off. I probably had the heat turned up way too high; at times I would raise or lower it, but the directions were really unspecific as to whether you should just simmer the mixture, or let it continue to boil. After about two (!) hours, I finally just decided they tasted good, and I took them off the heat. They still had a fair amount of crunchy pop to them, so I was happy with how it all turned out.



Well, obviously I can't speak for Ellie's full, unaltered recipe here, but my version was wonderful! I'm really starting to dig the whole grain/dried fruit/nut combo in a cold salad, and this one was a real winner. The wheat berries were delicious, I thought. I was happy with their texture, and they really felt hearty, bulkier than rice or barley and possibly more filling. I am definitely going to be making this again really soon, but this time I'll have the correct components and I'll do it right!



Thanks very much to Leslie for choosing this! It was one of the best cold side salad-type dishes I've had in a long while. If you'd like the recipe, click on over to Food Network's website, here. And to see the CEIMB blogroll, click here.
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Thursday, April 14, 2011

CEIMB Rewind: Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Easy Tomato Sauce


This week's Craving Ellie in my Belly recipe is going to be a rewind. Peggy from Pantry Revisited chose Tuna Noodle Casserole, which I am still not quite brave enough to attempt just yet. I don't know; there's just something about tuna that just repels me. Any time I try to eat it (usually after years of not eating it) I still feel the same way, so I just don't see that changing anytime soon. I'm sorry, Peggy! I'll make sure to cook along with you next time!



So, I wound up making Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Easy Tomato Sauce, which the group originally made all the way back in mid-November of 2008. I was not yet a member back then (in fact, that same week in November was the week before I gave birth to my second son), and honestly if I had the choice of making this two years ago I probably would have declined. Mushrooms are fine for me now, but they definitely have not always been my friend. I've come around on the mushroom thing in recent months, so I've been wanting to find ways to incorporate them into more dinners since my husband is such a fan of them.



Although you do have to set aside some time to prepare these lasagna rolls, they are very simple to prepare. The easy tomato sauce is just that; easy! It comes together in no time, with very little effort. After cooking lasagna noodles until just al dente, you lay them out flat and fill them with a mixture of vegetables (mushrooms, spinach) and cheese (ricotta, mozzarella) and some of the tomato sauce. You repeat this with all of the noodles, then you roll them up so that the filling remains inside. You place them in a baking dish, standing up, and top with even more cheese and sauce. They bake until bubbly and golden, and that's it!

Reviews were kinda mixed on this one. They tasted just fine, and the concept is a great one. It's lasagna without the labor intensive prep work! However, they did seem a bit lackluster; a bit more flavor, or perhaps some spice, would have helped greatly. My hubby threw a bunch of salt on his; I try to steer away from doing that, so I just settled for some crushed red pepper on top. Still, I would make this again. I think it would be great with some lean ground turkey or turkey sausage in the filling!



For this full recipe, click on over to Food Network's website, here. And to see how the CEIMBers liked the Tuna Noodle Casserole, check out the blogroll, here.
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