spianch, ham and butternut lasagna

this was heavenly and a perfect comfort food. somehow we are always in abundance of goat cheese and i am always and forever adding to everything we eat these days. the ham was leftover from sunday...a great little quarter ham i picked up at trader joes before thanksgiving and froze. the ham really went well with the sweetness of the squash and the tang of the goat cheese. i also always use the no boil noodles...the last thing i have time for these days is pre boiling noodles and dirtying another pan...just another step to step!

(stay tuned for homemade cranberry vodka! best homemade x-mas present for the lush in your life!)

enjoy!




3 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup unbleached ap flour
pinch of nutmeg
3 tbl unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, minced
salt and pepper
6-8 cups peeled and small diced butternut squash
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
1 tbl chopped fresh rosemary
4 garlci cloves, minced
2 cups diced ham
pinch of red pepper
1 bag organic frozen chopped spinach
1 pkg organic whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 cup or 1 log of goat cheese
1 cup parm/regg cheese, grated

toss butternut squash with salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and rosemary. roast at 425 for 30 min. remove and set aside. turn oven to 350F.

heat milk until almost boiling. remove and keep warm.

saute onion in butter until soft over med heat. whisk in flour and cook 5 min until a little cooked and lightly golden. add a few tbls of milk to flour mixture and whisk constantly. slowly add milk until gone and add in nutmeg, red pepper and salt and pepper. whisk until thickened and combined. set aside.

saute garlic and ham in olive oil. add spinach and salt and pepper. cook until spinach is warmed and soft.

ladle a little of milk mixture in bottom of baking dish. layer noodles, them butternut squash, spiinach/ham mixture. crumble some goat cheese and parm on top and finally ladle more milk mixture on top. repeat with noodles, squash, etc. when done sprinkle with a final layer of parm and bake 30-40 until done.

stuffed pork tenderloin with spinach, mushrooms and feta

this was easy, full of flavor, healthy and did i mention quick and easy? littlefoodie gave t two chubby thumbs up.



i served it up with a brown rice medley from trader joes...brown rice and daikon radish seeds and black barley. a simple serving of roasted carrots, cauliflower and zucchini paired well along side. since pork loins are lean and small you don't need a whole lot of filling. i ended up with a ton and stuffed it anyway without using twine. i just butterflied it stuffed it then tucked the stragly ends under it and placed it in the glass baking dish cut side down. the filling stayed inside and was moist and perfect.

enjoy!

1 pork tenderloin
1 yellow onion, minced
3 garlic clvs, minced
couple handfuls cleaned organic spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms
few sprigs of orgeano, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

preheat oven to 425F.

butterfly pork loin. if you want to, pound it out until it is thin and flat...cooking time will be shorter though so watch it carefully so that you don't turn it into pork jerky.

saute onion and garlic until soft in olive oil. add mushrooms and more oil if needed. throw in spinach and cook until wilted. let cool a bit. drain the excess liquid in a fine mesh colander. in a bowl mix feta with spinach mixture. stuff pork loin. wrap up and tie with butchers twine or do what i did and make way too much filling, tuck the small ends under and tuck as much of the sides under as possible. place sutffing side down in lightly oiled baking dish. season with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

bake for 25-30 minutes.

korean beef stew ala city mama

click on the title to be taken to the original recipe over at family food!

this dish was definitley a keeper although way too hot for littlefoodie and myself. next time the jalapenos will be massively scaled down to 2 or 3. this mama formerly suffers from huge ulcers so hothot food does not sit so well. my jalapenos were like small bananas so i am thinking that could've been the issue here.

i've adapted the recipe to my liking a bit. i added a few carrots chopped in big hunks and some garlic and ginger for a fresh taste. i paired it with brown basamati rice and sesame stir fry spinach to cut the heat. i also cooked it in the crock pot which was so easy since we don't stay home long enough to cook it on the stove...it was flaky and tender. i couldn't come up with korean soy sauce so i used a super rich double brewed soy sauce instead...delicious!

enjoy!

2 lbs fresh cut stew meat
8 jalapenos (mine were HUGE)
5 whole garlic cloves
1 small piece fresh ginger, peeled and left whole
4 large organic carrots, cut into big chunks
1 cup of soy sauce
1 cup organic natural brown sugar

put it all into a crock pot and let is sit for 8-9 hours. serve with brown rice to soak up juices.

SESAME GARLIC STIR FRY SPINACH

a big ol bunch of cleaned organic spinach leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds

saute garlic in sesame oil over med low heat until browned. throw in spinach and wilt. add seasoning and sprinkle with sesame seeds. enjoy!