July 27, 2016

Sausage Lasagna Roll-Ups

laura.smoak@gmail.com Freezer Friendly, Pasta, Prep Ahead 1 Comment

Sausage Lasagna Roll-Ups, guys. Sausage. Lasagna. Roll-Ups.

Lasagna is the perfect homemade comfort food, but make it in a roll-up version and it’s just cute as a dang button.

I know what you’re probably thinking….

Wait. Wait. Waaaait. I thought I was reading Miss Foodie Two Shoes. Where is my quick, summer-friendly, spend your evenings at the pool meal?

These sausage lasagna roll-ups are actually two of those three things. Yes, you need a few minutes to put these roll-ups together, but 1) they can be made over the course of a day or two to split up the time, and 2) these are perfect for dinner on nights spent at the pool (though not necessarily for nights that you actually pack up and eat your dinner at the pool, if you know what I mean) because leftovers for days.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you will know I have a few requirements that generally need to be met when I commit to making a dish that takes longer than 2 seconds:

Can I freeze it?
Does it make a lot?
Does it work well for leftovers?
Can I prep it ahead of time and cook later?
Is it easy to double?
Would it be good to feed a crowd (think potluck or casual night with friends over)?
Would it be good to take to friends with new babies?

I don’t necessarily require that alllll of these conditions be met, but the first three and sort-of the fourth are of utmost importance (working mom probs). Lucky for us this dish passes with flying colors.

I have two friends with new babies (see last week’s post re: super mom that hosted Christmas in July with a three week old), and thought this would be perfect for them. A dish like this gives a new mom options. She can either cook it for dinner right away, or she can put it in the freezer and save for a few weeks down the road when the new baby meals have stopped coming.

These sausage lasagna roll-ups are loaded with (duh) sausage, peppers, onions, ricotta and basil, and are so good that you’ll want to assemble and stock your freezer for the {eventual} fall and winter that will be here soon enough. Hey! Look at it as a mental break from the scorching heat dome that is our current situation. (And – happy side note – we’re probably less than two months away from the return of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, so just let that sink in for a minute.) Make it for your family, or make it for a friend. Either way you have a win/win situation on your hands. Enjoy!

P.S. Next week is beach week for the Peascoe/Smoak/Avent family, so there’s a good chance I will be totally unplugged and will probably have no recipe ready for you. That’s not definite, but just a heads up in case you get through next Wednesday and are stalking my FB page to see if I’ve posted anything because I just might not. Our meals at the beach are always totally on point, tho, so I’m sure I’ll come back with plenty of yumminess to share!

Ingredients:

15 lasagna noodles (the kind you have to boil first)
1 lb Italian sausage (I use mild for this)
1 small yellow onion – diced
1 green bell pepper – diced
¼ tsp oregano
1 ¼ cups ricotta cheese
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella (divided)
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 egg – beaten
10 basil leaves – chopped
2 cups marinara sauce

Directions:

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water then lay flat on wax or parchment paper to keep from sticking together.
Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat until done. Remove to a paper towel lined bowl and set aside. Drain all but one tablespoon of the sausage grease.
To the same skillet add the onion, bell pepper and oregano and sauté until soft – about 5-7 minutes.
In a bowl, combine ricotta, ½ cup mozzarella, ½ cup parmesan, the beaten egg and basil, and stir to combine.
Assembly:
1. Spray a 9×13 baking dish and add ½ cup marinara to the bottom. Spread so there is a thin layer of sauce covering the bottom.
2. Spread 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto each noodle, then top with one spoonful of sausage and one spoonful of the onion/pepper mixture.
3. Gently roll the lasagna, making sure to hold in the ingredients as much as possible.
4. Place each roll seam side down into the baking dish (you’ll have to kind of squish the last row in).
5. Once all rolls are made, cover with the remaining 1 ½ cups marinara sauce and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
If baking immediately: heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover loosely with foil, and bake for 45 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes.
If freezing: cover tightly with foil then wrap in plastic wrap and place into a plastic freezer bag large enough to fit your dish. When ready to cook, heat oven to 400 degrees, remove plastic wrap and place directly in the oven for 1 hour and 40 minutes, or until heated through. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cook time.

Note: you can cook the sausage and pepper/onion mixture the day before, then just make the ricotta mixture while the noodles cook and assemble once they’re done.

Note 2: if you don’t like peppers and/or onions you can leave them out! This would also be delicious with some chopped mushrooms thrown into the veggie mix IMO.

Note 3: Andy and I both agree that mild sausage is best here. As a general rule of thumb we prefer spicy to not, so for us to say that you might want to trust us 😉

July 20, 2016

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cups

laura.smoak@gmail.com Sweets 3 Comments

Here we go again, guys. This self-proclaimed “non-baker” is coming to you with yet another sweets recipe. Guys – that’s TWO in less than a month. This whole bloger/blogee relationship is based on trust, and I admit I’m not bringing it lately when I say “trust me, I don’t bake.” However, if you have to lose trust in me then I guess this is a pretty good way to go because these two-ingredient sugar bombs from heaven are worth losing a little trust.

You heard me: two. ingredients.

Let me regain your trust here. While you can make your own chocolate chip cookie dough (and BTW you would be my hero and I would expect an invite to your house to eat chocolate chip peanut butter cups with ->homemade<- chocolate chip cookie dough), I just use the blue brand log from the store. So while – yes – I’m baking, I’m not reaaaaally getting into the nitty-gritty measuring that generally comes with baking.

Okay, can we resume our trust fall now? K, thanks.

If we were friends in college, there’s a pretty good chance you had these, and are now reminiscing about the good ol’ days in Chapel Hill, and maybe even swaying to the tune of “Carolina in My Mind” playing in your head…ehhh, just me?

While I used to make these all the time in college, I now generally just make them around Christmastime. (Forewarning, I will do a post in the November/December timeframe with my “always ready for drop-in company” Christmas treats display.)

Well, this past weekend we had a little Christmas in July party with friends, so of course I had to make my chocolate chip peanut butter cups. Y’all, my friend Sarah has an 18-month-old and a THREE WEEK OLD, and she was still able to host Christmas in July. And if you’re wondering – yes – there was a tree and gifts for the littles. #momgoals It was basically just sweets, homemade popcorn and Christmas movies, but we had a blast hanging out and celebrating Jesus’ half birthday. I would have taken more pictures than just the dessert table, but there were more important things to do. Like drink that glass of wine and watch Anna Ruth see Christmas Eve on Sesame Street for the first time.

Now, back to the chocolate chip peanut butter cups. I feel a little phony sharing these because they’re so easy. My mom even said “doesn’t everyone already know how to make them?” Thanks, mom. Maybe, but I’ve never known anyone other than my sister and me to make them, so…

There is one must-have kitchen item for these – a mini muffin pan. I used to have two pans of 24, but then I found this one at BB&B, and I had to have it.

It’s so big it’s hysterical.
You have the opportunity to make up to 48 chocolate chip peanut butter cups at once.

The cookie dough log I use generally yields about 20, so this pan is perfect if you want to double the recipe. It’s fine not to fill the whole pan, but just add about 1-2 tbsp of water to any empty compartments before baking.

Try to roll the cookie dough balls as evenly as you can for uniformity, and have the peanut butter cups ready to go when the cookies come out of the oven. These are incredibly good while still hot, but are equally enjoyable once they’ve cooled completely. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Chocolate chip cookie dough (store bought or homemade)
Peanut butter cups (enough to have one per cookie)

Directions:

Preheat oven according to your cookie dough directions (mine is for 350 degrees).
Roll the cookie dough into one-inch balls and place into the individual mini muffin tin compartments. Bake according to package directions, but start checking about a minute before the lowest cooking time (mine are generally ready around the 10.5 minute mark). Remove from the oven once golden, but not too brown as they will continue cooking slightly once out of the oven.
Immediately place one peanut butter cup into the middle of each cookie and press down so the top is even with the top of the cookie.
Remove from the pan and enjoy!

July 13, 2016

Chicken Pita with Avocado Tzatziki

laura.smoak@gmail.com Chicken, Dips, Quick and Easy Mains, Sauce 1 Comment

Warning: this post is picture heavy with yummy chicken pita and family time – I just couldn’t help myself! You can scroll through for the recipe, but then you’ll miss all of the mouthwatering goodness.

Happy hump day, friends! Did you miss me? I’m back after a week off because #vacation. I know I only took one week off from posting, but man it feels like it’s been ages. Last week my little family went with Andy’s parents, aunt, uncle and cousin and took a trip far into the NC mountains where we kayaked, tubed, rode a train and just generally relaxed for several days, and it was incredible. Since starting MFTS it was the first time I let myself go completely offline and not worry about anything blog related. I wish I had tons of pics to share with you, but they’re basically all of AR playing in the creek behind our house. Okay okay, here’s some of that, and our family train ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad (sorry it’s blurry – thanks a lot, train).

After a few days, though, it was back to reality. And back to our current obsession, which made up our 4 meals pre-mountain trip and now 4 meals post-mountain trip. Ask me if I’m mad about it and the answer is a resounding as if, you guys. As. If. I present to you Chicken Pita with Avocado Tzatziki.

*Let me first state that I make no claims to this being an authentic tzatziki recipe. I’ve tried making traditional tzatziki and haven’t gotten it quite right yet, but this is my blog and I get to call it what I want amiright? Call it magic sauce for all I care. That may actually be a better name for it given how easy, healthy and absolutely delicious it is. Srsly, you’ll want it on errrythang once you’ve made it.

What we have here is the easiest, freshest, green on green on green meal you can have ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes. Let’s break down my chicken pita with avocado tzatziki…

First you have the pita. Flatbreads or pockets work, but we generally prefer the flatbread. Andy likes to spiff ‘em up a little by warming them in a pan with a teensy drizzle of olive oil and salt <– this step is 100% optional, but you should definitely warm your pita a little before loading it up!

Then you have the magic sauce avocado tzatziki. This sauce was the inspiration for the entire dish. See, every week we buy a bag of avocados from Costco. We share one for breakfast most mornings, but we generally still have 1-2 leftover later in the week. I thought it would be good to mix with Greek yogurt, and then I decided to see how it would be with some grated cucumber.

Y’all.

I can’t.

It was SO good I had to stop myself from eating it with a spoon. The key here is the grated cucumber. I use my microplane, but a box grater would work too – just make sure to grate it directly over the bowl. I’m showing you a picture of the before mix so you can see what you’re going for with the cucumber. You’ll think there’s a lot of juice, but you want it. Embrace the magic, green, glow-giving juice.

Next you have the Greek chicken. Simply cube up chicken breast, season and cook in a skillet. Dunzo bunzo. If you have an awesome meat counter like I do then you can ask your meat guy if he’ll cube the chicken for you. I’ll have them do this if I’m at the store when it’s not really busy. If you do this you’ll save a good 5-10 minutes on the total prep time. I use this Greek seasoning that I bought at my local grocery store, but it’s also available on Amazon and (hey look!!) it’s Prime eligible. You can make your own mix, but if you’re busy like me then the seasoning mix is the way to go.

Finally, top it all off with a little extra diced cucumber and dill. Annnd we’re done! Dinner is on the table in less than 30 minutes.

I could end there, but it would be cruel of me to not talk about the leftover situation here. Of course, you can use the leftovers to make the same dish with pita included. Orrrrr, you can pack up the chicken, leftover sauce, veggies and lettuce and have a super delicious/healthy dinner at the pool/beach/park/dock/whatever. No greasy pool bar food for this family (though, we may have ordered cheese sticks, but whatevs).

One last close up of this little greeny to show off her good looks. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs)
1 tbsp Greek seasoning
1 ripe avocado
½ cup Greek yogurt
1 English cucumber (1/3 for grating, then small dice as much as you want for topping)
Splash lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
6 pita (flatbread or pockets)
Optional: chopped dill

Directions:

Dice the chicken breast, then stir in the Greek seasoning making sure all pieces are evenly coated.
Let the chicken sit in the seasoning while you prepare the avocado tzatziki.
Make the avocado tzatziki: mash the avocado in a bowl, and combine with the yogurt. Grate about 1/3 of the cucumber into the mixture, add lemon juice and salt and stir until well combined.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Season the chicken with the Greek seasoning and sauté until done.
Assemble: smear the avocado tzatziki over the pita, top with chicken, extra cucumber and dill.