Garden Lasagna

Well, my garden may not have produced much this summer, but thankfully we have a lot of good gardeners in my neighborhood who love to share! I think everyone has a lasagna recipe that they use, but this is just one I threw together and I really liked how it turned out.

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

5-6 tomatoes diced

1 zucchini, grated

8 oz mushrooms, chopped

2 carrots, grated

1 lb ground beef (optional)

1 tbs oregano

2 tsp basil

Pinch of thyme

Pinch of rosemary

Salt, Pepper & Sugar to taste

12 Lasagna Noodles

2 cups spinach

16 oz ricotta or cottage cheese 

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 egg

If using, cook ground beef in frying pan until done. Drain grease and set aside.

Place onion, carrots, and garlic in a large frying pan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Let cook until water boils out and onions are transparent. Add tomatoes, zucchini, and spices. Let cook until tomatoes are broken down. Add a little water if necessary. Add mushrooms and beef. Cook until mushrooms have softened. Set aside until assembling lasagna.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and let cool. 
In a medium bowl, combine egg, ricotta, and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella. 
To assemble lasagna, spread a layer of sauce (use 1/3 of the sauce) in the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Place a layer of lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread half of ricotta mixture over the top of noodles. Spread a layer of spinach on top. Repeat process once more, beginning with sauce. Spread remaining sauce over ricotta and spinach and place remaining noodles on top. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top. 
Bake at 350 F for 35-45 minutes, until browned and sauce is bubbling. Serve and enjoy!

Pizza Dough & Sauce

This is my 'go to' recipe for thin crust pizza.... I had not made it for almost a year, but a friend invited me up Sat night -- her and her sister were making gluten free pizza, I asked if I could bring my own dough. As it turned out there were about six of us ... and it was amazing ;) Suzanne & I put peaches, tomatoes, fresh basil, prosciutto & parm on our pizza...)

Dough
1 C, 2 T Water
1 pkg (scant 1 T) Yeast
1/2 t salt (maybe a little more)
2 T Sugar
2 T Oil
3 C Flour

Start with warm water & yeast dissolving in bowl for about 5 minutes. Then mix till all ingredients are well incorporated.

If I am planning in advance, I'll actually make this the night before, and let it rise slowly in the bowl covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Otherwise, allow a couple hours to rise on the counter. the dough should be soft, and thin...

Preheat oven with pizza stone inside to 400. Once preheated, take stone out of oven,  pull off whatever size you want for your pizza and roll out thin on lightly floured countertop. Place on (flour or cornmeal) on stone. Decorate pizza as desired & bake 7-12 min. (The dough starts to cook as soon as it is placed on the the stone.)

 Sauce:
1 can tomato paste
2 cans tomato sauce
Small drop of balsamic vinegar
1 T oregano
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 dash of basil
bit of sugar
some onion salt

I know this is kind of generic, but it's all about finding the flavor balance... taste it, it is not popping with flavor, add a little salt, if it tastes to salty, add a dash of sugar..

Coconut Leek and Asparagus Quiche

Emily and I hosted a brunch about a month ago and this was the perfect way to round out the meal. I was so busy running around that I didn't really get a good picture, but this is by far the best quiche I have ever made. Yes, it is work. And yes, it is worth it. The coconut milk (sorry Dad!) really deepens the flavor and balances out the flavors of the leeks. This is definitely on the list to make again. Adapted from simplysogood.

Ingredients

1 single pastry pie crust (I use the one on the King Arthur Flour website)
1 can coconut milk + enough regular milk to make 2 cups (you could also just use 1 c whole milk +1 c cream)
7-8 egg yolks (we used 7 and it was fine)
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
pepper to taste
olive oil
1 1/2 TBS fresh parsley (can use dried, just reduce)
1/3 C freshly grated Parmesan (we used fontina)
1 leek, white and light green parts only (can use more)
5-6 asparagus spears, sliced, leaving the tops whole for decoration

Bake crust in quiche pan (pie dish) at 375 for 15 minutes, until a light golden brown. You may want to poke holes in it before baking so it doesn't bubble.

Wash leeks. Heat oil in a frying pan. Saute leeks until softened. Spread onto cooled crust. Sprinkle asparagus slices over the top as well 2 TBS of cheese.

In a medium bowl, combine coconut milk, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and parsley. Pour into crust. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and place asparagus tips in a decorative design.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until custard sets and doesn't jiggle when shaken. Cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Melissa’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

1½ C.          Sugar
2 C.           Brown Sugar 
3               Eggs
1 lb.            Cheap butter (2 C.)
1½  Tsp.        Vanilla  
1½  Tsp.        Salt 
1½  Tsp.        Baking Soda
6 C.             Flour 
2 bags         Chocolate/white chips

Beat butter, eggs, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla.

Add salt, baking soda.

Slowly add flour.

Add chocolate chips.

Bake at 300° for 10-15 min (I have found 14 min at 350° works best with our oven).