Day 41: Not-So Lazy Rigatoni (Meatless Monday Meals)

So far, Meatless Mondays have been a huge hit around here. And I think I've discovered the secret (especially if your SO is a carnivore): Pasta. And cheese. And veggies. 

But mostly pasta & cheese.

Baked Spinach Rigatoni

This one was more labor intensive than initially supposed, but I knew it would be. And it is so, SO worth it.

Ingredient Roundup:
*Spinach
*Rigatoni pasta
*Ricotta cheese
*Mushrooms
*Italian blend cheese (Mozz and Parm)

You're gonna need a food processor for this. Just a heads up. Thankfully, I've had one for a while that is apparently going to get more use after this.

First, you're going to want to get a pot of water on to boil the pasta. Whole grain pasta, if you're lucky enough to find it will make you feel less guilty overall about the dish.

Meanwhile, you're going to want to thaw and squeeze your spinach (if you're using frozen, as I did). Trust me. It's easier than using fresh.

Those little squeezed balls of spinachy goodness go into as-yet-unnamed the food processor. Perhaps I shall call it Patrick.

And you will add TO that spinach, the ricotta cheese and about half of the Italian blend cheese. Also? Salt & Pepper, although I tend to season after something like this has been whirred around.

Pulse it (with the lid on!) until it's all mixed and creamy looking.

Seriously. This stuff would be amazing as a simple ravioli filling.

Dump it out into a bowl.

I decided there was a distinct need for moar veggies in the dish, so I went with the standby staple 'round these parts: Mushrooms. Our fave gourmet blend.

As I didn't want to spend forever chopping these down into tiny bits, I just put them into Patrick and let him do all the work.

Voila! Insta-chopped 'shrooms, no effort required. Seriously a time saver. -->

It was about then that I fell in love with my FP all over again.

It all goes together in a bowl, to which you add the fresh cooked hot pasta when it is done.

Mix the whole shebang up and pour into a casserole dish.

Top it with the remaining IB cheese you've got sitting there and let it cook for about 15 minutes or so, at 450 degrees in the oven.

Really, that's all there is to it. It's a deceptively easy looking recipe. The hard work is in all the prep.

When it's done, the cheese should be all golden brown and crispy; the pasta, bubbly.

Scoop it into a bowl and devour. Because really, it's divine!

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 39: Crispy, Crunchy Chickpeas!

Whether you call them Chickpeas or Garbonzo beans, these little morsels of legumy goodness are just chock full of protein and other good stuff. And as a person who has less of a sweet tooth and more of a salty, crunchy kinda toothage, when I came across this recipe, I knew I had to give them a try. 

Crispy Oven Chickpeas

This is quite possibly one of the easiest recipes I've ever done. And yet...

Ingredient Roundup: 

*Can o' Garbanzo Beans 

*Salt & Pepper

*Garlic & Onion Powders

*Olive oil

Drain/rinse beans. Put it all in a bowl and toss to coat.

Really. That's it.

Well, I mean as prep work anyway. 

Then you pull out your baking pan and parchment paper (this is why I keep P-Paper on hand, btw, because you never know when you're going to need it). 

And then you spread 'em. The beans. Out on the pan. Atop the paper.

Into the pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes or so. Keep an eye on them and stir occasionally so they get muy crispy on all sides. 

And when they're done, pull 'em out and let them cool before devouring. 

These things were so tasty, I didn't get any "after" shots because we were too busy gnoshing on them. 

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 32: A Healthier Hootnanny!

I have to admit...while I'd heard of a Dutch Baby pancake, I was completely thrown off by the term "Hootnanny". See, I'd grown up thinking a hootnanny was a hell of a rowdy party happening somewhere out in the Ozarks. 

Silly me!

A Healthier Hootnanny

So, possibly, this isn't "healthier" per se, but it is more gluten friendly! After using it as a replacement for regular white AP flour in the stroganoff, I thought to myself, Self...what else might this be good in? And a'scrolling through my FB, I came across a recipe for Hootnanny that perfectly fit the bill.

Ingredient roundup: 

*Butter

*Eggs

*Milk

*Salt

*Flour

*Cinnamon, Vanilla, & Nutmeg

First things first, you preheat that oven to a lovely, toasty 425. And, to save time, while that oven is preheating, you put the butter in your casserole dish and pop it in to melt.

Side note: This same technique is the one I use when I'm making my candied pecans at Christmas time. You're killing two birds with one stone, here. 

Also? Seriously. This green casserole dish is one of my favorite pieces of cookware. You'll be seeing it a lot. 

Now, as the butter melts, you get started up top with beating the crap out of the eggs and milk, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 'nilla.

Well, perhaps not beating the crap out of them. No need to be violent. Just until they're all frothy.

<--

Then you add in the flour and whisk it some more until you have a nice, mostly lump free batter. And that oat flour? It makes the whole kitchen smell delish.

And then you pour all of that right into the already preheated, pre-melted butter and let it bake.

No more mixing. Don't mess with it.

Just pour it over the butter, slide it back into the oven and let that magic happen.

And it *is* magic, because let me tell you, I watched this bake from across the room and was amazed. I completely understand why they're called Volcano pancakes.

When it's done (about 25 minutes or so later), you're going to have something that looks like this: 

<--

Don't let the weirdness of it fool you. This stuff is insanely delicious. And your house will smell amazeballs.

Tempted though we were, we didn't go hog wild and eat the whole pan. Only half of it. 

There are many ways to serve it, but the two most common are with maple syrup or with powdered sugar.

As we didn't have any powdered sugar, but have plenty of maple on hand, that's what we went with.

What does it taste like? Well, it's a delightfully strange mashup of pancakes and french toast. And by "strange", I mean "delicious". The oat flour really gives it that extra depth, that oomph of something that makes it exceedingly more tasty. 

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress