Tag: Make Ahead

Corn, Tomato & Basil Risotto

After a weekend of brownie and brie baking, I’m back on track making normal meals. Keeping with my tomato-corn themes, I was happy to find a recipe from Fine Cooking that included both of these ingredients. Even better, it is also a risotto!
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups of frozen corn kernels
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
1 cup arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. torn fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

So I chickened out this time on the corn. Out of my last batch of a half dozen corn cobs, 5 (FIVE!) of them had worms. Goo. I understand it is very difficult to grown corn organically, but I needed to just take a step back from the whole surprise-in-my-corn.If you are using fresh corn, click on the link above to see the original recipe, I used frozen kernels for mine so I had to adapt the recipe accordingly. You will need three corn cobs.

Add the chicken broth to a pot and heat over medium-low heat. In another saute pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the rice and stir to coat.
Add the wine and cook until absorbed, about 1 minute.
Ladle in 1 1/2 cups of the warm broth into the saute pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth is absorbed (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add a 1/2 cup of broth at a time, waiting until the broth is absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup.
Combine the tomatoes,olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of the basil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
I’d be happy just eating this!
About 16 minutes into the cooking of the rice (you’ll still have broth left), stir in the corn. Continue to add the broth in 1/2 cup increments until the rice is creamy, about 20 to 25 minutes in total.
Remove from heat and add the Parmigiano cheese and tomato-basil mixture. Top with the remaining basil and serve.
Somehow, this risotto was light and refreshing. I loved the sweetness from both the tomatoes and corn, it tasted like summer! I ate the leftovers from this the next day for lunch and it held up really well, which is always a plus.

 

Corn Chowder

I have so much corn, it’s getting ridiculous. For the past three weeks my CSA share has come with 6 ears of corn and well, I’m corn-ed out. So I decided to make a corn chowder that I plan on freezing to enjoy when I’m craving corn in non-summer months. I’m hoping the texture of the chowder doesn’t change after freezing. I found this recipe on Simply Recipes, and chose to make it without the bacon. I also had green bell peppers from my CSA share, so I used that instead of buying a red pepper.

 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 large carrot, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 celery stalk, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs (about 2 cups), cobs reserved
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups milk, whole or low fat
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, or Russet, peeled and diced
1/4 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Prepare all your vegetables.

 

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft.

 

Add the carrot and celery and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes.

 

Cut the corn cobs in half and add them to the saute pan.

 

Add the milk and bay leaf.

 

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a light simmer (low heat, maybe even the “warm” setting).
Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Do not boil; make sure it is just at a light simmer. This is to prevent the milk from burning.
Remove the cobs and the bay leaf. Turn the heat up to medium. Add the potatoes, green pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste.

 

Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
Increase the heat again and add the corn kernels and thyme. Bring to a boil. (Last time) reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
I had a bit of this just to make sure it turned out alright, and it was really good! I wish I had cut the vegetables much much smaller, I found it to be a bit too chunky. This is a hearty colder weather dish, so I can’t wait to break this out when the leaves begin to change.

 

Crab Corn and Tomato Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing

With a fridge full of beautiful ears of bi-sweet corn, I am on a bit of a corn kick. I am always in search of meals that I think can be made the night ahead and eaten for lunch the next day, and this one fit the bill. I modified the original recipe for this Crab Corn and Tomato Salad (from Cooking Light of course) to work as a lunch meal.

 

Ingredients:
Grated lemon rind from 2 lemons
Lemon juice from 2 lemons
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (about 1 ears)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil leaves
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1/2 pound lump crab meat, shell pieces removed
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

To make the dressing, combine the zest, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well with a whisk until the olive oil is incorporated. To make the Crab Corn and Tomato Salad, add the corn, basil, bell pepper, red onion, crab meat, and tomatoes to the dressing. Toss gently to coat.

 

I love citrus with any kind of seafood. Lemon brightens the dish overall and works so well with the crab and tomatoes. Because I let it sit overnight, the citrus flavor really had time to soak in. This is really a great make-ahead meal!

Avocado-Corn Chowder with Rotisserie Chicken

I swear, every single recipe I’ve come across in the past week has included avocado. I am somewhat blaming one of my coworkers, who manages to consume at least 1/2 an avocado a day, every day. So this recipe choice is very much influenced by her avocado obsession. My CSA share’s inclusion of corn this week made this a must try. I adapted this from Cooking Light‘s August Issue.

 

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados, divided
1 1/2 cups water
The juice of 1 lemon
The juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
A pinch of ground red pepper
1/4 rotisserie chicken, shredded
Corn kernels from 3 ears of corn (or 1.5 cups of defrosted corn kernels)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Peel and chop 1 avocado and put into a blender.

 

Add the water, lemon and lime juice, honey, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and pinch of red pepper. (Add more red pepper if desired) Blend until smooth.

 

Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. During this time, chop your red bell pepper, scallions, and cilantro, and peel and dice your remaining avocado. Shred the chicken as finely as you choose.

 

Combine the diced avocado, bell pepper, corn and scallions and pour the avocado puree over the mixture. Mix to combine. Spoon into four bowls and top with chicken and cilantro.

 

This meal is too easy to not try. Using frozen corn kernels and rotisserie chicken makes this a 20 minute meal. I made this the night before in the hopes of having it for lunch the next day. I was a bit worried that it might oxidize overnight and turn an unappealing color, but the citrus from the lemon and lime kept that from happening. The original recipe uses orange juice instead, but that didn’t sound all that appealing to me. I also substituted rotisserie chicken for grilling my own chicken because I had bought 1/2 a rotisserie chicken to make another dish from Cooking Light also.

 

I loved that the citrus came through in the dish, but could have used a bit more red pepper flakes. This is a very chunky chowder, which makes it feel like a real meal versus a too smooth soup. My coworker even tried a bite, and she approved. I will be making this for lunch again in the near future!

Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Sauce

I really try to make an effort to bring my lunch to work each day. My office is absolutely freezing, so I tend to gravitate towards warm lunches. Because of this, I am always looking for new pasta and rice recipes that sound like they would reheat well and still taste good. As usual, Cooking Light came to the rescue with the August issue’s Fried Rice with Sweet Soy Saucerecipe. I made all four servings so that I could have a batch for dinner, and get a few lunches out of it.

 

Ingredients for Fried Rice:
3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 finely chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped
4 cups cooked  rice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 thinly sliced daikon radish
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 lime wedges
Ingredients for sweet soy sauce:
1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (The original recipe used dark brown sugar. I didn’t have any. Oh well)

Begin by cooking your rice. You can just cook the rice in water because the soy sauce will add plenty of taste, no need to waste your chicken broth.

 

While your rice is cooking. prepare your shallots, garlic and chile. I am a wimp about heat and serraro chile can really be hot, so I removed all seeds before chopping. If you like spicy food, keep the seeds in.

 

Slice your daikon radish. I used a mandoline slicer.

 

Prepare your herbs.

 

To make the sweet soy sauce, combine the soy sauce and brown sugar in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Simmer for 2 minutes or until the brown sugar is incorporated into the soy sauce. Set aside.
Add 4 eggs to a bowl and lightly beat.

 

Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Pour eggs into the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until they set. Remove and set aside.

 

Increase the heat to high and add 2 tablespoons peanut oil to the pan. Add your shallots, garlic and chile and saute for 1 minute.

 

Add the cooked rice and cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

Add cooked eggs and soy sauce mixture.

Season with salt and pepper and mix to coat. Add to bowls and top with radish and herbs. Serve with a lime wedge.

 

This meal was really tasty, not only the first time around but also when reheated. The serrano pepper gave a subtle heat to the whole dish which counteracted the sweetness of the soy sauce, great combination! When I packed it for lunch, I kept the rice mixture in one container and a few radish slices,herbs , and a lime wedge in another container. I heated the rice in the microwave and topped them with the radish slices and herbs, then squeezed the lime juice over the whole dish. Perfect!

Greek Yogurt with Warm Berry Sauce

I have a serious sweet tooth. To such an extreme, that I cannot have ice cream in my house or I will eat it in one sitting. It doesn’t matter if I buy a pint or a gallon. Sigh. It’s quite an issue I have. So I tend to try to avoid making dessert all together if I’m cooking, but this recipe seemed too good to pass up. Once again, this came from Cooking Light’s Quick & Healthy Menu Maker App to go with the Mango Shrimp Kebabs and the Grilled Corn with Chipotle Lime Butter. I adapted the recipe to work with a bag of mixed frozen berries I had in my freezer.
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberry, blackberry and raspberry mix
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
The juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
Fresh blackberries, blueberries, and/or raspberries, optional

Combine the frozen berry mixture, water, sugar, zest and lemon in a small pan.
Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium low. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in butter.
Meanwhile, divide the Greek yogurt among 4 bowls.
Spoon the berry sauce over the yogurt and serve. Top with fresh berries if you have any on hand.
What a perfect way to indulge in a dessert without completely ruining your healthy dinner. The berry sauce is just sweet enough to cut through the Greek yogurt, but not overly so.
As good as it was for dessert, I still had some left over, so I had it the next morning for breakfast. It was just as tasty cold, which is great news because you can make the berry sauce ahead of time. I do suggest adding some fresh berries on top, just so there is some texture to the dessert.

Italian Pasta Salad

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It’s almost July 4th weekend, so I am preparing a bunch of dishes for me to trek down to the beach.
I tend to make food that can marinate for a day or two so that I have time to make it without rushing around right before we leave. This time around, I decided to make a pasta salad based off my mom’s version.

Ingredients:

  • 1 box of tri-colored pasta
  • 1 can of pitted black olives, sliced
  • 1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup corn kernels
  • 1/2 can of black beans, rinsed
  • 6 mozzarella balls, halved
  • small jar of artichoke hearts, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 jar roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
  • Italian dressing (recipe below)

Ingredients for Italian dressing:

  • 1 tablespoon garlic salt
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup white wine or rice vinegar
  • 1 1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil

Continue reading Italian Pasta Salad

Gazpacho

The warm days in Philadelphia keep on coming, so I think it’s time to attempt making the summer favorite: gazpacho. I wanted to do an heirloom gazpacho, but I am presently cooking out of Wilmington and the local store does not carry any. Sigh. I used this recipe from Cooking Light and just changed some of the ingredients to fit what I could find in the store.
Ingredients:
2 seeded peeled cucumbers, plus 1 for garnish
1 chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 coarsely chopped red bell pepper
6 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 large tomatoes, chopped seeded & peeled
1 garlic clove, minced
1 finely chopped yellow pepper, for garnish
1 finely chopped orange pepper, for garnish
1 finely chopped tomatillo, for garnish
8 pieces of garlic bread (optional)
To begin, prepare all of your ingredients. Peel and seed 2 cucumbers. To learn how to seed a cucumber, check out my post here. Roughly chop the onion and red bell pepper. To peel a tomato, prepare a bowl with ice water and bring another pot of water to a boil.
On the bottom side of the tomatoes, cut an X into the skin.
When the water is boiling, place 2 tomatoes at a time into the water.
Keep in the water for 15 to 20 seconds, remove, and place in the ice water.
Once cooled, use a knife to peel away the skin from the X.
Repeat with remaining tomatoes.
To seed the tomato, cut the tomato in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds and roughly chop the tomatoes.
Prepped Veggies
To make the gazpacho, combine first 9 ingredients (up to the garlic).
Add 1/3 of the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and repeat with the remaining 2/3 vegetable mixture. Cover and chill.
When ready to serve, spoon gazpacho into bowls. Finely chop your yellow and orange peppers and tomatillo. Combine the peppers and tomatillo.
Add 2 tablespoons of the mixture to each bowl. If you’d like, you can also add a piece of garlic bread (or just a crusty piece of day old bread), 1 tablespoon goat cheese, or a teaspoon of sour cream.
This would also be a nice appetizer. Pour the gazpacho into shooter glasses and top with a teaspoon of the pepper tomatillo mixture.
You can also use the gazpacho as a pureed salsa. Prepare garlic bread. Put on a plate with a bowl of gazpacho in the center with a spoon. Guests can spoon gazpacho on top of the bread, or use the bread to dip into the gazpacho.

Garlic Scape Pesto

I’m sure you read this post title and was wondering why I’m making Garlic Scape Pesto.
This week, I received garlic scapes with my CSA half share. What the heck is a garlic scape you may ask?
When garlic is growing, the scape is the green shoot that pops out of the earth. Farmers need to trim these so that the garlic can continue to grow. But the actual green shoot also packs in a bunch of garlicky goodness, although more mild and with a touch of grass smell.
The scapes are kind of scary looking but I was willing to try using them, who knows when I’ll come across these again! Because they are a more delicate version of garlic, scapes are best used raw.
I came across a recipe for Garlic Scape Pesto on the blog In the Kitchen and on the Road with Dorie which seemed like a good way to use a bunch of the scapes. I substituted walnuts for the almonds, mainly because my poor boyfriend is allergic and I didn’t want to mistakenly serve him something with almonds in it, and I added in some basil to help cut some of the scape flavor. I also cut the recipe in half to test it out, I can always make more later!
Ingredients:
  • 5 garlic scapes, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • Salt, to taste

Continue reading Garlic Scape Pesto

Creamy Baked Penne and Chicken with Artichokes, Tarragon and Lemon

I have no idea why the concept of a food swap stresses me out so much. But trying to find a recipe for this month was so difficult! I finally found this recipe from a blog called The Bad Girl’s Kitchen; she has a whole section of freezer-friendly meals.
Ingredients (I was making 10 servings):
Salt
2 pounds penne
8 tablespoons olive oil
6 cans of artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped
1 medium onion, minced
8 medium garlic cloves, minced  (about 8 teaspoons)
Zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups heavy cream
2 pounds chicken thighs
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
16 ounces shredded Italian cheese blend (about 2 cups)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Ground black pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
that’s quite a few ingredients

To cook the pasta, boil water in a pasta pot over high heat. Add a tablespoon of salt and the pasta and cook for 5 minutes (it will be very al dente– they will cook fully in the oven later). Drain pasta in a colander and toss with two tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
Prep your artichokes, onion, and garlic.
In a large pot, heat 6 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the artichokes, onion, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until the artichokes are lightly browned (about 10 minutes).
Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth, wine, and cream.
Add the chicken and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken registers 160 degrees.
Remove from heat and discard the bay leaves. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. When cooled, shred into bite-sized pieces. Stir the chicken back into the sauce, adding the pasta, peas, 2 cups cheese and lemon juice. Stir until combined and season with salt and pepper.
I transferred these into tupperware dishes. I included a freezer bag of cheese and put them in the freezer.
To cook, thaw the meal in the refrigerator (about 24 hours). Add to a casserole dish and top with the cheese.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover with aluminum foil sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with tarragon and serve.
Whew. I heated up a tiny portion of this, just to make sure it was edible. Well, it was more than edible, it was really quite good! I was impressed with how much flavor was in the dish. Thanks for such a great recipe Bad Girl’s Kitchen!

Shish Kabobs with Rice

This weekend I was given quite the culinary challenge: make a meal for ten people without breaking the bank. I would be feeding everyone at the beach, so my mind immediately went to Shish Kabobs with Rice (I want summer and barbecues to be here so badly!). This is a great option for vegetarians as well, always a plus.

Living in the city does not mean you can’t enjoy this recipe. If you have a little indoor grill, that will work just fine. Due to the poor weather we had this weekend, we actually ended up broiling the shish kabobs in the oven, which worked just fine.

Ingredients (serves 10):

  • 3 pints cherry tomatoes
  • 1 bag of pearl onions, peeled (quick tip below)
  • 2 green bell peppers
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 orange pepper
  • 2 8 oz packages of whole mushrooms (I used cremini)
  • 1 large zucchini
  • 2 large summer squash
  • 5 lbs top sirloin steak, cut into cubes
  • 10 cups chicken stock (ideally, use vegetable stock to keep veggies truly vegetarian)
  • 5 cups rice

Ingredients for marinade:

  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of the following dried spices: thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram
  • 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 2/3 cup red wine (an inexpensive table wine is fine)
  • 5 bay leaves
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 6-8 drops tabasco sauce

Continue reading Shish Kabobs with Rice

Lasagna

Lasagna. It seems like such a simple dish that will result in many freezable meals (9 to be exact). Always looking for a way to have already-prepared lunch or dinner options, I decided this weekend was the time to conquer the classic Italian food. I mean, how much work can layering different ingredients be?
Three hours later, I ended up with this:
Not too shabby. Just a long process!
Ingredients for Lasagna: 
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna 
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk at room temperature 
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (recipe below) 
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground chuck beef
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese 
3 large eggs
1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente 
1 package (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 cups shredded mozzarella 
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Ingredients for Tomato Sauce:
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can pureed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon each of dried: thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary and parsley

The tomato sauce takes a good hour itself, so start this before anything else. While making the sauce, leave the milk on the counter so it can reach room temperature. Also leave out the frozen spinach to thaw.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add cans of tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and the rest of the spices (bay leaves through parsley). Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and remove pot from heat.
Feel free to use just some store-bought sauce. I personally can’t do it. Who told all the sauce companies that sugar should be a main ingredient?  Gross. So yeah, the 25% of me that is Italian absolutely cannot handle sauce out of a jar. I digress…

Next, to make the béchamel sauce, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in another pot. When the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes.

um. “smooth”? yeah, I don’t know what happened
Gradually add in milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat. Make sure the heat isn’t up too high; you don’t want the milk to burn! Stir until thick and creamy, about 10 minutes.
it should coat the back of a wooden spoon, like this
Remove from heat and add to tomato sauce. Stir until well combined. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
While the sauce is cooling, cook the lasagna according to the package directions.  Lay lasagna pieces out individually on a tin foil so that they don’t stick together.
In a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Break up large clumps to make sure all parts of the meat are browned, until there is no more pink meat. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
In a medium sized bowl, mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
To assemble (in a lasagna pan):
line bottom with lasagna sheets
add 1/3 of bechamel sauce
add all of the ricotta mixture
add all of the spinach
another layer of pasta sheets
add all of the meat
add half of the mozzarella cheese (1 bag)
add another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce
one last layer of pasta sheets
add the last of the bechamel sauce
top with remaining mozzarella cheese
add Parmesan cheese and thin slices of 2 tbsp of butter
To cook, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the lasagna pan on top, cover with tin foil and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes.
woo! finally done!
Allow to cool if you plan on putting into individual containers (as I did). I find it hard to believe that something with this much cheese, pasta, and sauce could honestly taste bad. But seeing how much not-so-good-for-you things went into this, I think I’d sub in some “less” bad ingredients next time (skim milk, partially skim cheese, low fat ricotta, ground turkey).

Although this was quite the task, I think it was totally worth it. I’ve already had this for lunch one day this week and have plenty more stored away in my freezer for future meals. Yum.

so. many. meals.
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