real life test kitchen: tyler florence’s one-pan lasagna
In my quest to find perfect one-pan dinners, I stumbled across this recipe at Daily Candy. I haven’t tried many of Tyler’s recipes, but this one seemed simple enough to tackle. Essentially, you brown some ground beef in an oven-proof pan. Then add in some veggies that have been chopped in a food processor (canned tomatoes, carrots, onion, garlic). Stir in some chicken stock, fresh spinach and ricotta cheese. Cover in a layer of broken lasagna noodles. Top that with some mozzeralla, and pop it in a 400 degree heated oven for about 15 minutes. It’s important to let the pan sit about ten minutes before you dig in. Mine, as you can see, was not the prettiest thing. It had a bit too much liquid in it, and I think if I make again I might drain the tomatoes slightly or reduce the amount of chicken broth added. Despite its unattractive looks, the lasagna was quite tasty. And with only one layer of noodles and cheese, it’s lighter than you’d expect. I will definitely make it again — and work on its appearance.
More one-pan dishes:
One-pan pasta with garlic
One-Pan Rice with Broccoli Rabe & Sausage
Melissa Clark’s Roast Chicken with Chickpeas
Click through for my take on Tyler Florence’s One-Pan Lasagna, or click here for his original recipe.
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totally genius: game of thrones cake pops
We must take our collective hats off to Jennifer, the amazing self-taught baker behind Not Your Momma’s Cookie blog. She posted these seriously awesome Game of Thrones cake pops the other day, and we are in totally in awe of them. Their sweet irony may not numb the sting we are still feeling from poor Ned Stark’s grizzly death at the end of season one, but we are impressed. She provides a detailed how-to that includes his manly goatee and the blood dripping down the stake. Seems like an ambitious undertaking but, perhaps the finale will be worth it?
Are you a Game of Thrones fan too? Got any viewing party ideas?
real life test kitchen: calzone with broccoli rabe and olives
Pizza is one of those things I never make at home. When you live in New York or New Jersey, the best pizza in the country is just a walk, ride or phone call away. But this article by Melissa Clark in the Times the other week had me looking at pizza dough in a new light. Instead of baking a traditional pie, she piled on cheese, veggies and such, folded it over and produced something I haven’t eaten since my college days: a calzone! Though Melissa had a few suggestions of what you could stuff the mega-sized dough pocket with, the one that spoke to me instantly was made with broccoli rabe (possibly my favorite vegetable) and olives.
I followed Melissa’s recipe, which is pretty straight forward. First, cook the broccoli rabe like always — sauteed in a pan with garlic and touch of oil. After that is finished, roll out the pizza dough — I used frozen, that defrosted during the day when I was at work — with a bit a flour until it forms a 12 inch round. Next, cover half of the dough with the following yummy ingredients: Ricotta cheese, some fresh garlic, cooked broccoli rabe, fresh mozzerella, red chili pepper flakes, and sliced Calamata olives. Fold over the dough and pinch the edges to close. Brush a little olive oil on it and bake at 500 degrees for about 15 minutes. The crust will be firm and golden brown. Let it cool a few minutes before you cut. When I sliced mine, a bit of excess water from the broccoli rabe ran out. Next time I’ll be sure to pat it dry with a little paper towel before putting on the dough. The taste? Crazy delicious. That was easy! Click here to see full recipe.
Do you make homemade pizzas at home? Now that I’ve tackled the calzone, I think I’m ready for a pie. This could be life changing!
More recipes featuring broccoli rabe:
One pan sausage with broccoli rabe rice
real life test kitchen: healthy peanut butter banana chunk cookies
In recent weeks I’ve made brownies with black beans and peanut butter pie with squash inside. This past weekend I added another guilt-free goodie to my repertoire: peanut butter banana chocolate chip cookies. What makes them so healthy? No sugar! Not one little pinch. There’s also no flour and no eggs. In fact, I’m not even sure you can technically call these buttons of yumminess cookies — they are more like congealed clumps of well-matched ingredients. I found the recipe on Babble’s Family Kitchen blog. Here’s my version:
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Clumps
3 large, ripe bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter (or some other kind of nut butter that floats your boat)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups traditional oatmeal (use gluten-free if you want)
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350. Get your cookie trays ready. I used a non stick spray on mine, but lining them with parchment paper would be even better.
2. Mix wet ingredients in a bowl: bananas, peanut butter, oil, and vanilla.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl: oats, coconut, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
4. Mix wet and dry ingredients together and stir in chocolate chips.
5. The mixture should be well combined and have a goopy, sticky texture. Using a tablespoon, scoop out large clumps of the batter and place on the cookie tray. They won’t spread while baking, so don’t worry about how much space is between them.
6. Bake 12 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before removing from tray.
7. Eat as many as you like, knowing that they are full of good things!
help! how would you cook purple artichokes?
I keep seeing these gorgeous purple baby artichokes at my local fruit and veggie market. I am enamored by them, but I have no idea how to cook or serve. I’ve done some searching, and most of what I have found is how to use them as decoration. They make lovely tabletop pieces, as seen here in this Food Network story about Thanksgiving ideas or this suggestion from CasaSugar on alternative wedding bouquets.
Surely they must be more than a pretty face? Any suggestions on how to cook? Do you just steam them like regular ‘chokes and take tiny bites? Sounds unsatisfying… Help!
