FIRST KITCHEN BLOGS

Well, it’s December and only a few weeks left to get Christmas shopping and preparations finished… Seriously, I tell myself every year that I am going to start early and then relax and ‘enjoy’ the holiday season. Well, that has not happened! I haven’t even been able to blog let alone cook much…too many holiday party invites or events going on or just plain tired from all this cold weather!

The other night I wanted a home-cooked meal and decided on lasagna, as it is a favorite comfort food of mine and the leftovers are amazing! I call it lazy because I don’t spend much time on the assembly but it will take at least ½ hour to cook the meat and get all the ingredients ready to assemble…it’s worth it!

I love the versatility of lasagna. You can be traditional or creative and it usually always turns out so tasty!  

Jarred sauce works great but it is also super easy to make your own. I usually do half/half depending on what I have around my kitchen. You can simmer the sauce while the meat is cooking then assemble.\

Here’s the recipe:

Lazy Lasagna Casserole

Serves 8

Prep time: ½ hour

Cook time: 1 hour

For the tomato sauce:

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

½ onion, chopped

2 Tbs olive oil

1 can (28oz or 2 14oz cans) diced tomatoes

¼ cup cooking wine (I used red wine)

1 Tsp salt

½ Tsp crushed red pepper

 

For the meat:

½ onion, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

2 Tsp oregano(dried)

2 Tsp basil (dried)

Dash salt

2 cups cottage cheese

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

 

1 jar tomato sauce (I like using either chunky garden or 3 cheese but you can use any kind that sounds good!)

1 8oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups)

2-3 Roma tomatoes cut in rounds for the top of lasagna

 

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350

For the sauce: sauté onion and garlic in olive oil and then add tomatoes, wine, salt. Let simmer for at least 20 minutes.

 

 

For the meat: cook onion, meat and herbs together until browned. Transfer meat to separate bowl and mix in parmesean and cottage cheese.

 

 

To assemble: In a large 9x13 pan break apart 1/3 of the noodles and lay evenly in the pan.

 

 

Cover with ½ of the jar sauce. Add ½ of the meat and spread evenly. Repeat this step one more time and use the rest of the jar sauce and meat. For the last layer, break apart the remaining noodles and spread evenly on top. Pour the tomato sauce that you made over the top (all of it). 

Place the sliced tomatoes on top of the sauce and put in the oven.  Cook for 45 minutes. Remove and add cheese to the top. Bake another 15-25 minutes, until cheese is golden.

Serve with parmesan cheese and a side salad or steamed vegetable! This makes great leftovers too!

**This can be easily made into veggie lasagna. Substitute mushrooms and spinach for the meat. OR for another variation, you could use Italian sausage and red peppers. Get creative!

 

I’m baaaack! It has been a BUSY few weeks here in Minnesota. “Wedding Season” is in full swing as well as vacation season, road construction season and now back to school season!  I was hit by wedding bells (no, not literally) two weekends in a row and one of the weddings I had the honor of being a bridesmaid! Very fun but very busy. We did a lot of quick meals and even resorted to take-out despite my meal planning expertise (ugh, the pressure got to me, I had to give in!). Hey, we’re only human.

Now that this first wave of weddings are past us I can catch my breath and do some cooking before the next wave (3 weddings in September…) hits! After such a busy few weeks and a cold spurt here in Minnesota, I was craving a not-so-healthy-but-sorta-healthy comfort food: Fresh Artichoke and Spinach Dip. Yum.  I had a ton of spinach leftover from one of the many wedding gatherings and instantly thought of my favorite dip. Usually, people use frozen spinach but fresh spinach is excellent to use in this recipe if it’s available. The spinach cooks down quite a bit, so you’ll need a good amount. The not-so-healthy part of this recipe will definitely be the sour cream and mayonnaise. There are no great substitutions that taste the same. Low fat versions of either work fine but please don’t use ‘fat free.’  Fat free tends to use more sugar and non-food ingredients to make it ‘taste’ like fat. Instead, control the amount you consume instead of trying to trick your body (trust me, your body will find out and it won’t be happy..). Ok, here’s the recipe:

Fresh Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Serves 8 (as an appetizer)

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

You will need:

1 (16oz) large container of fresh spinach, chopped

2 cans artichoke hearts, chopped

2 cans water chestnuts, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

½ lemon, squeezed

8 oz shredded parmesan or Italian cheese blend

Dash of cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Chop spinach, water chestnuts, artichoke and onion and place in large bowl. Add sour cream, mayo and lemon juice and mix well (I used tongs). Make sure all of the spinach is coated. Add seasonings and mix again. Place in a small (9x9) baking pan or glass casserole dish. Cover the top with the shredded cheese.

Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes. Turn oven up to 425 and bake uncovered for  an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and slightly brown.

 

 

Over the weekend I hosted my sister’s “Vintage Circus” themed baby shower. She is having a little boy (Leonardo or “Leo”) at the end of September!  A vintage circus was the perfect theme for a baby named Leo (the Lion!).  Again, the theme guided the party planning but I did not go overboard. I found some vintage clowns at a thrift store; a toy carousal that I spray painted and I used popcorn holders as a vase for flowers. I also set up a tent outside and decorated with draping fabric and ribbons. I spent about $50 on all of the decorations…not bad!  Instead of getting to carnival-y on the food I went for fresh and summery. I also didn’t do anything too heavy because my Aunt Lin made beautiful and decadent circus cupcakes for desert!

Here was the menu:

Caprese Salad and baguette

Fresh Spinach Dip and veggies

Torta di Riso (My grandmother’s Italian recipe)

Fresh Fruit

Pesto Green Beans**

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

 

The menu was the hit of the party. The combination went well together and left people satisfied but not overly full. I will share the pesto green beans recipe. This was a hit and I used the pesto that I made last week and picked up green beans at the farmer’s market the day before.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures while I was making this dish, but it is very simple so I think just following the recipe you will do just fine!

Pest Green Beans:

Serves 4-6

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 2 minutes

You will need:

2 lb green beans, stemmed

1/2 recipe Presto Pesto

1 cup fresh parmesean cheese, grated

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

Directions:

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Remove stem tops from green beans. "Blanch" green beans in the boiling water (leave beans in water no more than 2 minutes or until they turn a bright green- you want them crispy and NOT cooked or mushy).  Drain beans. Return beans back to pot.  Add pesto and parmesean cheese and mix well (I used tongs to do this). Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle walnuts over the top as garnish. Refridgerate until ready to serve (could be eaten warm too but works very well as a cold salad).

Enjoy!

(I'll leave you with a picture of the cupcakes, so cute!!)

 

 

 

 

This past weekend I threw my friends a 'couple's shower' for their upcoming wedding in August.

A couple's shower is a fun alternative to a bridal shower, as it involves both the bride and groom. We still played shower games and had delicious food but it was fun to get the 'men' involved!

 

Whenever I throw a party, I like to have a theme in mind. I try not to get too crazy or obsessed with the theme but it is a nice way to stay focused throughout the party planning. I decided on a "retro barbque" theme for the party. My friend is having some vintage elements to her wedding,  so I thought it would be a nice tie-in to the big day. Also, since it was a couple's shower and both men and women were attending, it was fun to play with the male/female roles, especially of that time period (let's just say I wore an apron!).

 

When I went shopping for the party, I hit up a few consignment/thrift stores in the area and that is where the theme exploded! I was able to get all of the prizes for the games (vintage cook books, old schwin bike tire, aprons etc) as well as fun serving dishes and trinkets for decorating from that era. All together, I spent just over $75 for all of the prizes and decorations! There were almost 30 people at the shower, so that was a bargain.

 

The food was a classic spread from a 1960's back yard barbque. I found a recipe box  (which I later painted and refurbished as my gift to the bride) with classic recipe cards from the 1960's. Jack pot! I was able to use the recipe cards as decoration for the table as well as used some of the recipes to make.

 

For appetizers:

Bacon wraped waterchestnuts

Deviled eggs

Hawiian meatballs

 

The spread:

Beer brats and burgers on the grill

Grandma Dot's Potato salad

Colslaw with kiwi

Calico beans

Tuna with noodles

Jello salad suprise

 

Dessert:

Pineapple upsidedown cake

Classic coconut creme cake

Ice cream

 

Drinks:

Classic coke and diet coke (in retro bottles with straws)

Fruit punch (served in a punch bowl!)

Iced tea

Coffee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The shower was a success and people really enjoyed the food and their retro gifts! In my next post I will share some of the fun recipes...any in particular you'd like me to share?

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

Tomatoes- tis the season.  Its hard to believe that the lush red tasty tomatoes we are seeing at the market now have any resemblance to the ones we see in the winter.  So take time to enjoy them any way you can.   Regular, hierloom, cherry or grape- they're all tasty.  For example try a Caprese salad -we can show you how.   Or how about bruschetta with fresh tomato topping as an appetizer for your next outdoor barbecue.  (You can use that basil you have growing in your herb pot too.) 
                                           

Bruschetta with Tomato-Basil Topping

(About 4 servings)

Grilled toast rounds

16 slices French bread (or about 8 slices Italian bread)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove

Brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil and place on medium hot grill; grill until lightly brown; turn and grill other side.  Remove from grill and rub one side of toasts with garlic.  Serve with Tomato- Basil Relish (below).

Tomato-Basil Topping

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped basil

Salt

Pepper

Mix tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar in a small bowl. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste Cover and let stand about 30 minutes. Garnish with basil springs and serve.

 

We discovered a really simple and refreshing, but impressive dessert to serve to our friends.  On a recent trip, we were served this elegant dessert in a restaurant and we thought – hey we can do that.  So here it is if you want to give it try.   It’s just lemon sorbet and some real lemons.   

Cut a lemon in two- making one part larger than the other.  The one side is just the “hat” for the dessert. 

Scoop out and discard the lemon to make a lemon cup.  Fill the cup with lemon sorbet, top with the hat and place them in the freezer.  Allow them to freeze until firm.  They’re ready to serve.  If you want to get creative, add a few berries and sprig of mint on the side or maybe a cookie or maybe a chocolate. Yumm!

 

So if you’re a first time cook or just looking for a simple recipe, try this idea of your next dinner party.

Stay cool!

 

 

 

 

Spring has sprung here in Minneapolis but in a blink we’ll find ourselves in the middle of a hot steamy summer.  Since the nice days are few and far between we decided to host an impromptu soiree to celebrate the weather with our good friends and food!  

 

Parties don’t always have to take weeks to plan, sometimes these unplanned get-to-gathers are the most fun and can be much less expensive.   So, we took a couple of hours on Saturday to clean the house, sweep the patio and run to the store.  All in all the food was under $40! 

 

We included the essentials that you need for any party: food, atmosphere, entertainment, and beverages.  Since the party started later in the evening we decided to have a fruit and cheese theme and kept the decorations simple with fresh flowers and candles.  

Cheese is perfect for entertaining because you can choose a variety for your guests to try and almost everyone will like at least one kind.  We suggest you get at least 4 kinds and try to get a mixture of soft and hard cheeses.  Remember: I’m not talking about the sliced cheese you get from the deli, this is “specialty” cheeses.   For instance we decided on Brie, Sharp Cheddar, Gouda, and Bleu Cheese.  Grab a few French baguettes to slice up as well as a box of crackers, your choice, to serve along side the cheese. Next, head to the produce isle to pick up some fresh fruit such as grapes, apples or strawberries. Try to buy seasonal if you can to save money.   You could also pick up some dried fruit like apricots and some nuts like almonds or cashews. 

Usually your grocer will have a variety of fresh flowers for sale so grab a few that you like on your way to the check-out, these make for a beautiful spring decoration.  Beverages are up to your discretion.  It is nice to have non-alcoholic on hand such as sparkling water with fresh lemon slices or iced tea.  Good old water can be fancied up with lemon or cucumber slices to make for an inexpensive and refreshing beverage option. 

When you get home, create a killer ipod mix (and listen to it while you get ready for the party).  Make sure you include some songs to dance to!  Pull aside furniture to have space for mingling and need we say, dancing!  Arrange your food/beverage table to your desire…get creative!

 

We’d like to hear your ideas for hosting an impromptu par-lay! 

 

 

Keep it simple…don’t forget to enjoy the weather AND the company of good friends.  CHEERS!