skillet lasagna

this recipe-slash-technique sounded super intriguing to me, because i love all the qualities of lasagna, except all the work putting it together perfectly. (and it never comes out perfectly anyway, so why bother, amiright?)

unfortunately, i don’t have a large enough oven proof skillet, so i had to improvise.

you start by breaking up your (whole wheat shh!) noodles, which i already like more than regular lasagna

and cooking them until al dente.

meanwhile, in your oven-safe skillet (if you’re doing it one-pot style, or in a regular skillet if you’re not), cook up your mushrooms and onions. i also added artichoke hearts because… um yum.

already you can see that my wee skillet is no match for this recipe.

so i dumped the mushrooms/onions/artichokes into a large baking dish, and tossed some blanched asparagus in there, too.

then i sauteed two garlic cloves and some frozen spinach. fresh would probably be better, but i happened to have a lot of frozen in the fridge.

that goes in the dish, too.

oh! while all this is going on, i’m also making a bechamel sauce with one tablespoon butter, one tablespoon flour, 1 1/2 cups milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a splash of wine.

i also added a handful of shredded mozzarella.

yum! who doesn’t love wine-y, cheese-y bechamel sauce, right? gets me to eat my veggies any day!

so once the veggies are all done, toss them and the bechamel in your baking dish (or skillet). then the recipe says to “add in the cooked lasagna noodles and gently toss to distribute.”

much easier said than done.

at this point, mine is looking like a hot mess.

but with a topping of more mozz and scoops of ricotta, it can’t be too bad, right?

bake for 15 to 20 minutes (until bubbly and browning) at 450 degrees.

i thought it was delicious. he referred to it as “that thing,” but then ate tons of it. it was just as great – maybe better? – leftover and reheated.

pasta primavera con vongole

this is a yummy spring pasta with a high ratio of veggies to pasta. the broth is scented with white wine and lemon, so you’ll probably want some bread to sop it up with. it’s also only a two-pot meal, which gets big points in my book.

start by rinsing your clams very well in several rounds of cold water.

next, blanche pieces of asparagus and peas.

in order to not waste the water, i used a strainer-spoon to remove them, and then cooked the pasta in the same water.

i went with bucatini, but you could use spaghetti instead. also, before you drain the pasta, reserve a cup of pasta water.

slice one large shallot and three or so garlic cloves, and sautee in a little oil in a heavy-bottomed pot.

when they’re done, add the clams and about a cup of wine. cover and let bubble on medium heat until the clams are open and falling out of their shells – about 10 minutes.

then i used the strainer-spoon again to remove the clams from the broth. don’t worry about scooping up some onions/garlic at the same time.. we’ll get it all back in there eventually.

add the reserved cup of pasta water, 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter, a teaspoon or two of lemon zest (to your taste), and some salt to the broth. add the pasta and veggies. you might also want to add some red pepper flakes here.

pull the clams out of their shells and add back into the pot (with any onions/garlic that came out, as well).

sometimes i like presenting pasta with clams in shells, but sometimes it makes for an easier dining experience when they are already removed.

get everything mixed well together. you’re looking for a consistency between usual pasta and noodle soup.

serve with lots of parmesan cheese!

[my phone died right before i served it, so you'll need to trust it was very pretty and delicious!]

chippers-style morning glory muffins

when my family used to visit my grandparents in ipswich, massachusetts, breakfast always meant morning glory muffins from chippers river cafe.

you might think of “morning glory muffins” as having carrots, maybe zucchini, pineapple… all sorts of things in them.

but chippers morning glory muffins were super-duper dark bran, and had peaches in them, along with raisins and walnuts.

they were also huge – texas-sized. this was a time before people cared about this sort of thing, but a single one was probably in the high hundreds of calories. sometimes i ate two. i was also 8 and had the metabolism of a young racehorse.

unfortunately, chippers closed several years (a decade?) ago, and then my grandparents moved away. i have searched the entire internet to see if i could track down this recipe, but to no avail. so i’m trying to do my best to recreate them, and maybe even make them a little healthier along the way. (unless you have the recipe! in which case, please send immediately!)

my first try started with a fannie farmer recipe and some adjustments. it was a good start, but it turns out oat bran and wheat bran might not be the same thing… my bad!

here’s my second try, heavily adapted from the all-bran cereal box:

chippers-style morning glory muffins

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 cup canned peaches in fruit juice, drained and chopped
1 cup all-bran cereal
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce or 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 – 1 cup raisins (depending on your taste for raisins)
1/2 – 1 cup walnuts (if your household isn’t allergic to them)

preheat oven to 400 degrees. chop peaches and lightly toast walnuts, if using.

in large mixing bowl, beat egg slightly. stir in peaches, cereal, molasses, milk, vanilla, and applesauce/oil. let stand about 5 minutes while you do the next step and get your muffin pan ready. you want the cereal to soften.

(could that look any less appetizing?! hang in there.)

stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a smaller bowl.

add flour mixture and rasins to egg-cereal mixture, stirring only until well combined.

(god my pictures are so crappy…)

pour into a muffin tin lined with papers.

since there’s not a lot of sweetening in the muffins, i felt ok adding a pinch of large-grained sugar to the top of each to make a crunchy topping. not traditional chippers, but something i like.

bake for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

still not perfect. not dense, moist, or dark enough. but definitely tasty! the search goes on…