some good eats + quality time

The best part about the weekend, aside from getting to sleep in till 7am and getting caught up with life, is being able to whip up some tasty meals and really enjoy the company of family.  Usually during the week I rush home to get something on the table, talk briefly about the day’s happenings and then spend the rest of the night trying to catch up on school work, research, blogs, blogging, etc, never being seen again till bed time.  I don’t like that, although for the next 3 semesters it’s going to have to suffice somehow :)

I just wanted to share a couple tasty recipes that I hope you can enjoy with your family and friends or simply in the solace of your own company . . .

Roasted Spaghetti Squash topped with Roasted Veggies & Tofu in a Curry Peanut Sauce 

Serves:  2-3 (Chris and I enjoyed it so much, we ate it all!)

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash
• Cooking spray
• 2  cups cubed tofu (I used TJ’s teriyaki flavor)
• 1/2  cup matchstick-cut carrots
• 1 zucchini, chopped + 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
• 1/3  cup chopped green onions (I didn’t have any on hand this time)
• 2/3  cup light coconut milk
• 1-2  tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2  tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 3  tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
• 1  tsp curry powder + a bit more turmeric
• pinch cayenne or more if you like it HOT

For the spaghetti squash:

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Cut squash in half lengthwise, place cut sides down on a foil lined baking sheet.  Pour about 1/2 cup water in pan.  Bake for about 30 minutes, turn squash over and bake for another 15-20 minutes until tender.  I also put a little butter in mine.  When it’s done scoop one 1/2 into a bowl and save the other half for another meal.  To the bowl with the squash add a splash of rice wine vinegar and toasted sesame seed oil to taste.

Sauté the tofu, carrots, zucchini, bell pepper and green onions until tender and browned.  Mix the coconut milk and last 6 ingredients in a bowl and microwave to soften, then add to the sauté pan over low to mix. 

Scoop some spaghetti squash on the plate and top with the curry peanut mixture and enjoy! 

  I really wish we would have had some leftovers!

Next on the list of weekend eats is . . .

Lasagna Rolls

These are a favorite in our house and they are fun to make with kids!  This would be great for a party too because it serves a lot of people.  I first got this idea from Giada and then tweaked it since she likes to use whole fat everything :)

Serves:  7-10

Ingredients

For the Béchamel Sauce:

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tsp all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups NF or 1% milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch cinnamon and cayenne

Lasagna:

• 1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 light garlic+herb laughing cow wedges 
• big handful of basil, chopped
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan + 1/2 cup Italian shredded cheese mix
• 1.5 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped  
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• herbs de provence, thyme, garlic powder, Mrs. Dash  
• 12-15 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2-3 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is slightly thick and smooth (may take a bit longer with the lower fat milk).  Whisk the salt, pepper, cinnamon and cayenne into the béchamel sauce.  Keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Get out the goods.

Whisk the ricotta, basil, Parmesan/Italian cheese mix, laughing cow, prosciutto, pepper and spices to taste in a medium bowl to blend.

Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the bottom of a 13 x 9 dish.  Spread about 2 spoonfuls of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the béchamel sauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture.

Spoon 2-3 cups of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls (more if you like it saucy).  I got this sauce from TJ’s and it was really nice and fresh tasting unlike most jarred sauces.  Cover tightly with foil. 

Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20-25 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 10-15 minutes longer.  Let stand for 10 minutes (if you can stand it) and serve!

We had a salad on the side with romaine, cranberry goat cheese and walnuts, along with a glass of J. Lohr Merlot.

 

It is a nice red, slightly toasty with notes of dark cherry and plum.  It is pretty reasonably priced too.  We played the tasting game with a cute notepad I picked up at Anthro called ‘Rate that Wine’.  This would be great fun for parties too.   

I had 1 1/2 rolls with the salad and a small glass of wine.  After dinner I grabbed a coconut water and we curled up on the couch to watch a movie, but fell asleep not even half way through!  Ah well, this usually always happens with us! 

It was sure a nice night because Chris and I got to sit down and had a great time chatting over dinner again for longer than usual.  That’s another great thing about eating at home, you can sit at the table for as long as you want! :)

 

With the terrible tragedy that has hit Haiti and continues to trouble their existence, Diana from The Chic Life has developed another great idea to help.  She will be hosting a bake sale coming up around January 27th, and all the online bidding proceeds will go to the Red Cross Relief Fund.  I have volunteered to bake up a big batch of Gina’s awesome granola and it looks like there are some other tasty goods being made as well.  I may just have to bid on some myself!  Check out the details here if you’d like to become a baker or a bidder.  I just can’t imagine what they are going through right now.  While they have had many donations made, it’s been tough actually getting the supplies to them.  I feel so blessed to be safe and have access to all of life’s necessities.  Thanks for all your help! 

Hope you all have a nice week!  It looks like we are going to actually have some nasty, rainy weather coming up this week here.  I’ll have to be getting on that bike trainer and treadmill :)