Spinach + Mushroom Ravioli

The other night I wanted to make a ravioli, but didn't want the mess of making pasta dough from scratch and wanted it somewhat light and healthy.  I found this recipe of Giada's and it turned out really yummy!  I made my own red sauce and made chicken with it, but totally didn't need the chicken.  The raviolis were delish by themselves!

Chop up mushrooms.  I, of course, used shiitakes and creminis :)

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil.

Thaw chopped frozen spinach in the microwave.  And YES, this is a weird picture.

The mushrooms look done!

Add the thawed spinach and season.  Saute for a few minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for a bit, or however long you need.  Then place the mixture in a food processor.

Pulse until you get a course mixture.

Mix 2 eggs and 1 TBSP of water in a small bowl.  This will be used to paint the wonton wrappers with.

Add mascarpone and parmesan cheese to the mushroom and spinach.

With a fork, mix until you get this.  Season if needed.  Don't forget that parm is salty!

Buy these handy lil guys from the grocery store.

Paint each square with the egg and place about 1 TBSP of the mixture in the middle of each one.

Cover with another painted square and then place on a floured surface (so they won't stick).  I used a pastry cutter to trim the edges.  If you don't have one, you can pinch the edges so they don't come apart while cooking.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt and a little bit of olive oil.  Make sure the boil isn't roaring when you drop the raviolis.  I made that mistake and the pasta shot to the side of the pot and stuck :(

These babies are done!

If you don't have one of these kitchen tools, get one!  They are amazing.

Top with my homemade red sauce, your own sauce, or canned then sprinkle on some parmesan cheese.  Delish!

Ina's Meatloaf!

Believe it or not, I don't think I've ever made a full, real meatloaf!  I've made "mini" ones before, so I decided to go with Ina's recipe because I watched the episode the other day.  I think my favorite part was her tip for always getting a juicy, never dried out loaf!  FILL A BAKING PAN WITH WATER AND PLACE ON THE SHELF UNDERNEATH THE MEATLOAF IN THE OVEN WHILE BAKING...and it worked!! We served the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans mixed with watercress.  Enjoy!

I love the crispiness of fresh green beans.

Bring to a boil.

To start the meatloaf, saute onion and fresh thyme leaves.

When the beans are cooked, place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep the pretty green color.

Use ground CHUCK.

Sitting in the bowl waiting to get dressed :)

breadcrumbs

Adding worcestershire sauce

Add chicken stock

Add tomato paste

Crack open two eggs.

Chop up some green onions for the beans.

Fresh water cress

Saute the green onions in melted butter.

Add the beans and water cress leaves and season to taste.

My camera died while I was mixing the meatloaf together :( Here is the free-formed result!

beans!

We managed to safely transfer the loaf to a serving platter without it falling apart! 

Yum!!!

BLT's and Chicken Noodle Soup

I know it has been awhile since I blogged, but believe it or not, Marty was actually sick awhile back!  So in honor of him being ill, I made a warm, throat healthy dinner--chicken noodle soup and BLT's.  Yes, the bacon was crispy, but who turns down bacon? :)  Marty loves avocado, so the Barefoot Contessa gave me the genius idea to add some to his sandwich.

These dishes are pretty basic, so I'm not adding any recipes...just follow the pics and enjoy!

Chop up 3 carrots and 2 celery stocks into whatever bite size pieces you like, oh and some onion too.  Saute the veggies in some unsalted butter.

When the veggies have cooked for a little bit and the onions are translucent, add about 2 TBSP of flour and whisk until there aren't any flour chunks.

When the flour is whisked in, cook for a minute or so to get the flour taste out.

Next add a lot of chicken stock and a bay leaf for flavoring.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for awhile.

While the soup is cooking, place the bacon on a wire rack and set on top of a baking sheet.  Do this so the bacon grease doesn't drip into the bottom of your oven and set it on fire :)

Bake until crispy and beautiful!

While the bacon is cooking, chop up some fresh dill.

Next, dice up some chicken and add to the pot.

Then add some pasta.  You can use whatever kind you like!  I think soups are harder to eat with noodle pastas.

Then add the fresh dill and frozen peas.  I love peas.  All of the ingredients are now in the soup, so just simmer away until the chicken is good and season to taste!

For the BLT's get a pretty tomato...

...and slice.

If you want to add avocado to your BLT, de-seed and spoon out the flesh and slice.

Before you eat the soup, don't forget to remove the bay leaf!  By now, the soup should be thick and delicious!

Marty's BLT.

My BLT (minus the avocado :).  Oh and toast the bread if you like!