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I made this for Mike last night, and all he could do was make yummy sounds the whole time he was eating, so I’m guessing it was a success. He told me it was the best meal I’ve ever made, and that I better put it down on paper so I can make it again sometime. For the record, he’s told me that other meals were “the best” but somehow this seemed more convincing. Then he said something that totally threw me, “Go spend some money! With a meal that good, you deserve to treat yourself” !!!?! So I went to the Goodwill and brought home a few fabulous items. And let me tell you, the newly renovated Goodwill on Jefferson Road is AMAZING… but I digress.

So anyway, this meal was totally created on the fly. I’m only guessing here about the measurements, but they should be pretty close. Enjoy!

You will need:
Instant no-boil lasagna – 6 to 8 noodles
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I used Wegmans’ Diavolo sauce because we like it spicy in our house!)
about 1lb of ricotta cheese (I had leftovers from a 2lb container)
1 egg
1 Tbsp dried basil
1/4 cup of fresh grated romano or parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I had leftovers, so I think it was a little less)
1 medium eggplant
1 large zucchini
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400º. Slice zucchini and eggplant into 1/4″ slices. Toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper; just enough to coat all the veggies. Roast in a 9×13″ baking dish for about 30 minutes or until the zucchinis are al dente (the eggplant will be softer).

While the veggies are cooking, prepare the ricotta mixture. Combine ricotta, basil, egg, and romano cheese until well blended and set aside.

Keep the oven running at 400º. Transfer the roasted veggies to a bowl and begin preparing the lasagna in the still-warm baking dish. Spread 1/3 of the pasta sauce on the bottom of the dish. Follow up with 3 to 4 lasagna noodles. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over noodles. Lay out the zucchini and follow up with another 1/3 of sauce. Repeat layer: noodles, ricotta, eggplant, sauce. Finally, sprinkle with mozzarella and breadcrumbs. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until bubbly and cheese is melted. I’m not entirely sure how long it baked, but I used a stoneware pan and those tend to take longer in my oven, so your cooking time may vary.

Bon Appetit!

This Saturday needs to go down in the history books! I spent a good part of the day in the kitchen (get this) COOKING!!! First, I looked in my fruit basket and noticed a bag of neglected oranges, some of which were starting to rot. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to eat them all in time before they all turned to goo. So I made orange juice out of the remaining fruit that was still good. I figured we could drink it on Sunday since we were expecting company for brunch. Then, I decided to make some brownies for S & G. I had a box of No Pudge mix, and wanted to try them out… hence the brownies. They were super-fudgie and delish! Then I realized that I had purchased some fresh veggies for a dinner recipe last week, but never got around to making it. I HAD to make the meal, lest the vegetables go bad. Oh, but the culinary extravaganza doesn’t stop there… I later made a quiche for that brunch: spinach, cheese, and ham. It was divine. I should have taken a picture of it, but I forgot, and now it’s gone. I suppose I could make another one, since I still have another pie shell, but I may have used up my cooking quota for the week.

After his 30th birthday bash was kind of a bust, he begged that we not make a big deal over his birthday this year. Who can blame him really? By request, I made him Pasta E’ Fagiole in our kitchen last night—the first REAL meal we’ve eaten in MONTHS. He mentioned how befitting the whole thing was since it’s my Grandma’s recipe and she’s the one responsible for us getting the kitchen in the first place. Thanks Grandma, we miss you!

So anyway, Mike is 31 today. If you see him, give him a hearty smack on the ass for me. :) Happy Birthday, honey! You’re the BEST!

I’ve been getting much better at actually cooking real dinners lately, and it’s all thanks to my trusty, magical crock pot. I adore it! Yesterday I wanted to be nice and prepare a yummy home-cooked meal, so I picked out a recipe involving chicken breasts on the bone.

The recipe instructions were simple: sprinkle chicken with thyme and minced garlic, pour orange juice and balsamic vinegar over the breasts and cook. EASY! After about 30 minutes, I decided to check on the pot — the pungent odor of garlic permeated the entire house, so I had to take a peek. I was shocked to find that the minced garlic that adorned the tops of the breasts turned the most unnatural shade of TURQUOISE and I mean the kind of turquoise you only find in candy! Um, that’s more than just a little unnerving.

Thank God for the internet, because I hopped right on the computer and looked up the cause for this strange phenomenon. In case this ever happens to you, here’s what I found out. The garlic had a chemical reaction to the acid in the balsamic vinegar and orange juice. For you science buffs out there, here’s why it happened.

The problem of garlic changing colour is associated with the addition of acid which changes the normal pH of the product. This is precisely what is required to ensure that the garlic remains safe but the change in acidity brings about chemical changes in pigments in the garlic.

All plant materials contain various pigments some of which change colour as the pH of the plant tissue is changed by the addition of vinegar or other acids. The most common of these pigments are the anthocyanins which may be blue, colourless or red depending on the pH…

…Certain amino acids, natural components of foods, are responsible for many of the pigment characteristics of the onion family which includes garlic. The American scientists have shown that the outstanding difference in composition between garlic which turns green and garlic which does not is the presence of much higher levels of one particular amino acid in the green garlic. — Get the source of this quote here.

There you have it! I’m so stupid tho, I didn’t get a picture of it. GAH. Maybe it’ll happen the next time I make it. From what I gathered, the age of the garlic seems to be a factor in whether it will change color or not. There’s your science lesson for the day, kids. FREAKY!

Oh, black bean soup!

You were so yummy and delicious, not to mention easy to make.
Just an onion and two cans of musical fruit.
Throw in some garlic and pace picante… simmer. Viola!
Such a fabulous meal for a chilly October night.

But woe, this is a recipe for disaster the day after!
The rumblings, the pain, the trips to the ladies’ room.
I pay homage to you, oh porcelain god.