Potato-Salmon Croquettes

{Meatless Monday}

OK...I am a little surprised that I actually tore this recipe out of my Parents magazine...and then kept it for a year!  ; )  But I thought they seemed interesting and I also knew the kids would have a blast making them with me...which they did! (pictures below)

I have never tried to buy Salmon before...but this is pretty much all that I could find that was not outrageously expensive.  I should have taken some pictures of what came out of this can.  But I could barely make myself prepare it! ; )  My 8 year old daughter was eager to help, so she grabbed a can opener and opened this baby up.  I told her to drain it and dump it onto the cutting board.  I was at the stove making the mashed potatoes out of potato pearls when I hear her say, "Um, MOM...why does this have skin and bones in it?"

I really wish now that I had taken a picture.  The skin was the grossest part.  But it had ALL of the bones too...even all the little vertebrae.  We kind of had a cool little science lesson right there in the kitchen as I went to work trying to remove all the bones from this salmon meat.  Because the last thing that I needed was to pay the money for this dumb salmon, go to all the work to make these dumb things, have the kids make a total mess of the kitchen and their hands and most likely their clothes...and then have them NOT EAT IT because they crunched on a fish bone!!!

So after that disaster was all cleaned up and dumped in the outside garbage can ( hate those yucky fish smells!!) I went ahead with the recipe...and it actually turned out great!  My kids really did have a great time making them.  It wasn't as big of a mess as it could have been.  And ALL of my kids loved them.  I will be making them again...but next time I am going to try a nice little can of White Albacore in place of the Salmon.  I think it should still work and I won't have to deal with slimy, scaly fish skin!

Here's what  you need to make your very own FISH STICKS!!  You never knew that you wanted to make your very own, did you??  This is a food that kids always like and I bet your kids would love to get up to their elbows in flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs....so give it a try!!

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes, chilled
10 oz. canned salmon, drained
2 large eggs
1 T. lemon zest
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and Pepper
2 to 2 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup vegetable oil (or less, if you are like me and have a really hard time frying anything!!)


In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, salmon, 1 egg, zest and parsley.

Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.  In another shallow bowl, whisk the remaining egg with 1 T water.  Place the bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl, like this...

Using wet hands, form the potato mixture into 3 inch fingers. Dip the fingers in the flour, and shake off any excess; dip them in the egg wash, and then roll them in the bread crumbs...pressing the crumbs on to form a crust and do a final shaping of the fish sticks.

Now...the magazine has this beautiful photo of nearly perfectly shaped "croquettes", as they call them, but I am sure you can appreciate that with helpers like these, mine were not going to be quite as cute. ; )
But they actually did a pretty good job for being 5 and 8!!

Coat the bottom of skillet with oil and working in batches, fry the croquettes until golden brown all around, 4-6 minutes total.  Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

My kids ate these with some mayonnaise mixed with ketchup.  I prefer a mix of a little light mayonnaise with some Cajun Seasoning.

Next time I make them, I am going to try to bake them after a very quick, light frying and see how they turn out!!  I will let you know.

Cheese & Green Chile Enchiladas

{Meatless Monday}

This is another recipe that I tore out of a magazine long ago.  So long ago that I don't even remember which magazine.  It might have been a Rachel Ray.  My husband brought a couple of those home for me from his school last year.  ; )  But anyhoo....  My family is not often fans of corn tortillas, but in some recipes they just work...and this one worked!  Everyone loved them.  I made Cilantro Lime Rice to go with it.   This recipe is just like the one I use out of my cookbook from church.

Here's what you'll need to make these DELICIOUS enchiladas...

3/4 lb. monterey jack, shredded (about 3 cups)
2 cans (4 oz. each) diced green chiles, drained
1 cup sour cream  (I used light sour cream)
1 small yellow onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
A handful of cilantro leaves, chopped and a few whole leaves for garnish
1 tsp. ground cumin
12 corn tortillas
thinly sliced red onions, for topping...if desired

Preheat oven to 425*.   In a medium bowl, combine the cheese, canned chiles, sour cream, onion, garlic, chopped cilantro and cumin.

Heat tortillas briefly in warm skillet.  Drop a few tablespoons of the cheese mixture onto each tortilla and roll up.  (You should use about 2/3 of the filling).  Arrange the enchiladas in a single layer in a casserole dish.  Cover with the remaining cheese mixture and bake until golden, about 15 minutes.  Top with red onion, cilantro, and even jalapeños, if you wish!!

Tomato & Red Potato Gratin

{Meatless Monday}

I LOVE this recipe.  And I wouldn't even say that I LOVE slices of tomatoes normally.  I could not believe how delicious the flavor was!!  I made it twice in one week.  That's how good it was.  

With an abundance of tomatoes and red potatoes from our own garden, one day I just googled "Red potato Tomato Recipe" and this is what came up.  The recipe called for leeks and Gruyere cheese and  I only had yellow onions and mozzarella....but it was amazing anyway.

1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil 
3 cups sliced leeks, OR ONE LARGE WHITE ONION, chopped

1  1/4 lb. red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices 
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil 
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 1/4 lb. ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 3/4 cups grated Gruyère cheese OR MOZZARELLA 
1/2 tsp. salt 
Freshly ground black pepper to taste 
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil 

2/3 cup breadcrumbs mixed with 2 tsp.olive oil  

3 T Parmesan cheese, grated  For Topping, if desired

Heat the olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks/onions and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. Spread the onions evenly in the bottom of an oiled 2-qt. shallow gratin dish. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cover the potato slices with well-salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the potatoes are just barely tender. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Pat dry. Toss the potatoes with the salt, olive oil, and rosemary.

Heat the oven to 375°F. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. (1/4 tsp. dried) of the chopped rosemary over the leeks/onions. Starting at one end of the baking dish, lay a row of slightly overlapping tomato slices across the width of the dish. Cover the row of tomatoes with a generous sprinkling of Gruyère or Mozzarella. Next, arrange a row of potato slices over the tomatoes. Sprinkle again with cheese. Repeat with alternating rows of tomatoes and potatoes, sprinkling each with cheese, until the gratin is full.

Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. salt and the remaining 1/2 tsp. rosemary over all and season with pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil. Mix any remaining cheese with the breadcrumb mixture and spread this over the whole gratin. Top with Parmesan, if desired. Cook until the gratin is well-browned all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 60 to 65 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Then ENJOY a scrumptious dish full of yummy flavors and creamy cheese and rosemary.  Just typing this up makes me want to make it again!!

You all know how much I love roasted vegetables...and this is made even better by the cheese and the breadcrumb topping.  So, next time you are looking for a new side dish...try this! You'll love it.

Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas

{Meatless Monday}

When I saw this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens, I just knew I had to try it out.  I am sure by now you know my undying love for roasted vegetables! ; )

I was curious how the chickpeas would be...and also curious how my husband would like them because he is not normally a fan.  But we both loved them in this recipe.

I planned on serving this with some rice, but since my husband still hates brown rice (someday I hope that will change) and since I am trying to avoid white rice as much as possible, I cooked up some Pearl Barley.  It has a very different texture than either brown or white rice, but for some reason he prefers the barley over brown rice.

It is a very simple dinner to make because most of the time, the veggies are just in the oven!

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1-2" pieces
1 lb. sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large red onion, peeled, halved and cut into wedges
1 lb. red potatoes, cut into cubes
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 16 oz can chickpeas (garbanzos), drained
2-3 T vegetable or olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 425*. Place all vegetables, garlic, and chickpeas in roasting pan (or cookie sheet). Combine the oil, rosemary, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Drizzle over vegetables; toss well to coat.

Roast uncovered about 45 minutes or until lightly brown and tender, stirring twice.


You could eat this alone as a side dish, or serve or rice or barley as a main dish.  I think next time I would makeup a little more sauce and save some to drizzle over the whole dish just before serving...just to give it a little more liquid.  I always love rice or barley covered in a yummy sauce.

If desired, top each serving with parmesan cheese and additional rosemary.

Spinach Salad Wraps

{Meatless Monday}

Hello!  I hope you have all had a great start to your week!
This is a recipe that I found in one of my magazines...probably Parents...but it has been so long since I tore it out that I don't remember! ; )

It is very simple and perfect for a quick but healthy meal...

Here's what you will need....

For the dressing:
5 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. snipped fresh parsley
1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. olive oil

Spinach leaves (about 5 cups)
6+ tortillas (8-10 inch)
6 slices of mozzarella ( or crumbled feta cheese)
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
4 hard cooked eggs, sliced

Whisk dressing all together and set aside.

Set out your tortillas.

Layer tortillas with spinach, cheese, mushrooms, onion, and eggs.  Drizzle with dressing.  (I decided to drizzle a little dressing among the spinach layer and on top so it didn't get too dry.)

 this was taken before the final drizzle of dressing.... ; )

Roll up tortillas and secure with toothpicks.  Serve immediately, cut in half.  Or wrap in saran wrap if serving later.  Makes 6-8 wraps.

those mushrooms look like chunks of chicken... ; )  I promise, no chicken was harmed in the making of these wraps.  ; )

These were very fresh and light.  I love that the only cooking required is the boiling of eggs.  SO easy!  My kind of dinner, for sure.   I love the flavor of the eggs and the way they make the wrap so much more filling!  This dressing had a very different taste.  I didn't mind it, but I didn't love it.  It was very fruity with the red wine vinegar.  I think the wrap would also be delicious with just some plain ranch on it.  And it would be just that much easier and faster to throw the wraps together.

Happy cooking this week and we'll see ya next Monday!  I am getting excited about trying some new soup recipes this Fall.  Soup has to be one of my FAVORITE things to make and EAT!!  I promise to share them all with you!!  One thing I am going to try (I have the torn out recipe on the side of my fridge) is a Vegetarian Dinner in a Pumpkin.  Should be interesting, huh?  ; )

Tomato and Zucchini Frittata

{Meatless Monday}

Hello! Here's a REALLY quick recipe that was made with the leftovers from our Tomato and Zucchini Linguine.

One of my favorite things to do with leftover PLAIN pasta is to make a frittata.  So when I had leftover spaghetti noodles AND leftover from the Linguine with all the delicious veggies, I knew it would be perfect and it was.

First, I just tossed all the pasta stuff in the skillet and warmed it up.

Then, I mixed together about 6-7 eggs, and about 1 1/2 cups of milk, some grated cheddar, and salt and pepper. Simply pour that mixture over the pasta noodles.

I stir around a little bit...just to make sure the egg is evenly mixed with the noodles and that the cheese gets spread around. Then I let it cook for 8-10 minutes with the lid on.  After that, simply remove the lid and put the whole pan under the broiler for another 8-10 minutes until the whole thing looks bubbly and browned.
And then be SUPER careful when you take the very hot skillet, with a VERY hot handle, out of the oven!! ; )

I forgot to get a picture before we dug in...but it had this delicious crispy top and soft fluffy middle.

This was probably the best frittata I have ever made.  The onion, zucchini, and small little tomato chunks were divine.  We love our frittatas best smothered with our homemade canned salsa.

 If you haven't ever made a frittata...you really should try it sometime.  It is the perfect thing to do with leftover pasta and any veggies you might have that need to be used in your fridge!

And since we have chickens, we are always thinking up ways to use our eggs!

Tomato and Zucchini Linguine

{Meatless Monday}

This is another recipe from Everyday Food back in 2006.  It is a very simple dish.

Here's what you need:

course salt and pepper
3/4 pound whole wheat linguine
2 T olive oil
1 small red onion, halved and cut into 1/2" slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 zucchini, halved crosswise and cut into 1/4" sticks
2 plum tomatoes, quartered and cut into strips
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions.  Meanwhile, heat 1 T oil in a pan.  Add onion and garlic; cook 5-7 minutes until softened.  Add zucchini and 1/2 cup water.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover and cook until zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The original recipe had you add the tomatoes once your stirred it all in with the pasta, but I prefer my tomatoes at least a little bit cooked, so I tossed them in for a few minutes with the onion and zucchini.

Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta water.  Return pasta to pot and add zucchini mixture, remaining 1 T oil, 1/2 cup parmesan and the reserved  pasta water to your desired taste.  Season with more salt and pepper and toss.

Serve immediately, topped with more Parmesan.

We liked this one alright this first night we made it.  I think if I make it again, I will add just a splash of half and half or something creamy with the veggies right before I mix them with the pasta.  In my opinion, it needed just a little more sauce...just a little more creaminess to set off the yummy sautéed vegetables.

But what we LOVED about this recipe is what I did with the leftovers on the next night!
Stay tuned...for next Meatless Monday! ; )

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

{Meatless Monday}

This is a recipe that I have had marked for a very long time.  It comes from Everyday Food back in 2006!  I can't believe it took me so long to try it.  I LOVED it.  The flavor is amazing.  

Here's what you need:

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 medium onion, cut into small wedges
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage (I left this out...I didn't have any)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 5 cloves garlic, peel on
• 1 cup half-and-half
• Pasta (such as cheese ravioli or any short pasta), for serving
• Toppings, such as grated Parmesan cheese, chopped toasted walnuts, finely chopped fresh sage

I actually added the onion to the recipe...because in my opinion, EVERYTHING is better with roasted onion in it!! ; )

This picture was taken before I decided to add the onion....

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the top and bottom off of  your squash.  Peel entire squash with vegetable peeler, then cut in half and scoop out seeds. 

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks; transfer to a cookie sheet. Toss with onion, oil, and sage; season with salt and pepper. Place garlic on cookie sheet. 

(So you might notice that my pieces are NOT 1" chunks.  I had the hubby cut mine and forgot to give those directions...but the good thing was, I think they cooked a little faster because they were so small. ; )

   

  I recommend you put all the cloves in one place.  I had a heck of a time getting all the little cloves out from among my veggies.  And you HAVE to find them to remove the skins.  

Roast until squash is very tender, about 30-35 minutes, tossing once halfway through. 

Remove and discard skin from garlic.

Blend squash, onion, and garlic into a puree, using blender or food processor. With motor running, add half-and-half; process until smooth. Add 1 to 2 cups  water; continue to process until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. (I was using my blender and HAD to add the water at the beginning to even get the thing to blend at all.)  Season again with salt.  I ended up adding quite a bit of water.  For sure the full 2 cups and maybe more.  I transferred it all to a pot and heated it back up.  

At this point, I started tasting it...and I couldn't stop!!  Yum...it is so creamy and so flavorful.  I think I just want to live on a diet of roasted vegetables and dark chocolate!  ; )

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain pasta and return to pot.  Now, at this point you have two choices of how to serve it.  The recipe says that you can reserve a little pasta water and then stir all the sauce together with the pasta, using the pasta water, if necessary to thin. I chose to serve mine individually, so that they would look prettier.  

I topped ours with chopped walnuts and grated parmesan cheese.

I finished my serving and then just helped myself to another scoop of the sauce.  Who needs pasta when the sauce is this amazing??  

Easy Vegetarian Lasagna

{Meatless Monday}..... on Tuesday  ; )  oops....

I call this lasagna "easy" because you can simply throw in whatever vegetables you want or whatever you happen to have in your fridge.

Today I used:

zucchini squash
summer squash
mushrooms
red pepper
red onion
carrots
spinach

I have a complete and utter LOVE of roasted red onion.  I don't know why...but I seriously can't stop eating it.  I bought the HUGEST red onion I have ever seen...and ended up wishing I had bought two.
YUM!

I started by slicing the ginormous onion, drizzled olive oil over it and lightly salt and peppered. I put it under the broiler in the oven--probably for about 10 minutes, stirring half way.  I like to broil them until some of them are blackened on the edges and they taste caramelized.

Then I sautéed the red pepper in a good amount of olive oil for a bit while I let the carrots boil in their own little pot.  I knew they would need so much more cooking than my other veggies to be soft, so I cooked them alone until they were tender.

Then I added the mushrooms and squashes to the red pepper with a little water and a good amount of salt and pepper.  Then when they were all tender and the onion was done roasting, I mixed them all together (including the drained carrots) and stirred in a couple handfuls of roughly chopped spinach.

This picture was actually taken before the spinach was added...so just don't look too closely! ; )

 I had a hard time not just eating this whole pan.  And it was a big pan...enough for two lasagnas!  ; )
In fact, this is pretty much what I ate for lunch since I was cooking them all up just before noon.

Then I simply had my cooked lasagna noodles and layered them with store-bought Ragu spaghetti sauce, and cheddar and mozzarella.

If you want a creamier lasagna, you can also stir one egg into 1-2 cups of cottage cheese and spread that evenly throughout the layers.  I completely meant to do that...but I was too busy tasting and nibbling and I lost my focus! : )

I never got a picture of it cooked...because dinner time gets so crazy.  But this would be a wonderful and easy thing to make a day ahead, or make multiples and pop one in the freezer!

I Am Still Here...

So...this summer has been a little crazy!  Super fun...but very busy.

Here's what my summer looked like:

• Trip to CA in early June.
• Arts Festival classes in June.
• Youth Conference in June.
• July 6-20  Two week choir tour all over the Southern US with my three oldest.  Meaning the two youngest were home with Mr. Mom for 2 whole weeks.  They had a blast and he did a great job! I spent my birthday on a bus...yes, all 24 hours of it!  Yes, you should feel very sorry for me.  ; )
• July 31-Aug 2 Trip to St. George with just the two youngest while oldest three were at camp.
• Straight to San Diego (alone!) for my cousin's wedding.
• Aug. 14-18 Enjoyed my favorite week of the year...BYU Education Week with my sisters and mom!

Whew!! What a summer.  It totally flew by, but I had tons of fun and never, ever felt that summer was dragging or had to deal with bored kids because we always had something to look forward to!

Here we are at Graceland.

Ahhh...the tour bus.  I'm glad I don't have to see one of those again until NEXT summer!  ; )

But since I stopped blogging in April, I can't really JUST blame it on the summer.  ; )  Oh, well.  Life happened...and cooking new recipes did not happen...so I stopped having anything to blog about.

But now I am back on track.  I have two new recipes on my menu list and if I can just find the time to make them, I will take pictures and post them!


We have a large crop of bell peppers from the garden so we are trying Vegetarian stuffed peppers and I am also trying Ravioli with Butternut Squash sauce.  So, I will be back this monday with a new Meatless Monday!

Thanks for not giving up on me!

Baked Spinach and Pea Risotto

{Meatless Monday}

This recipe was SO much easier than the other risotto I made a while back.  This one is baked...which means you put things in the pot/skillet, bring it to a boil, and then put it in your oven!  Instead of standing there stirring for 30 minutes straight!  This is definitely a keeper.  It has such a great flavor and is so easy to throw together.





Here's what you'll need:

2 T butter
1 shallot, chopped (I used a green onion)
6-8 mushrooms, sliced (I added this ingredient and I used Shiitake)
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used cooking wine)
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup Arborio rice (I buy mine in the bulk section of WinCo)
1 cup frozen peas ( I warmed mine in a pot before mixing in)
2 cups roughly chopped spinach
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 425.  Heat the butter in a dutch oven or large ovenproof pot.  ( I just used my large skillet that can go straight into the oven.  I would LOVE a LaCreuset Dutch Oven...but that isn't happening anytime soon! ; )

Add shallot/onion, and mushrooms.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté for 4-5 minutes until mushrooms shrink and brown.

Add the wine to the pot and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the broth and rice and bring to a full boil.

Cover the pot and transfer to HOT oven.  Cook until the rice is tender and creamy, 20-25 minutes.  (Mine was done in about 20-22 minutes)

 This is what it looked like when I took it out of the oven:

 Add the peas, spinach, and Parmesan.  Stir.  If it is too thick, add up to 1/4 cup hot water.  I ended up using at least 1/2 cup of water that the peas had been cooked in.   Top with more Parmesan, if desired.

This was so creamy and all my kids ate it really well.  I admit I did remove the mushrooms for the younger two.  They just don't love them and my husband and I don't want a single one wasted! ; )  We love them too much.
Enjoy!  And I hope you have a wonderful week!

Life...and other things that keep me busy!

I cannot believe it has been a full month since I last posted!  Sorry!

I have been quite preoccupied with some commitments I made a long time ago...namely, PTA Teacher Appreciation Week and sewing 55 articles of clothing for my son's dance teacher (in trade for the entire year of dance for free! ; )

Thank goodness for my MOM!!  She and my dad were visiting and she helped me get everything started and she even took home about 22 of those pieces...including the leotards which scared me a little.  Bless her!!!

The good news for this blog is that I was just at my library last night and found this cookbook that looked like it would have lots of new, easy, fresh recipes to try.

And after I went through and tabbed every recipe that looked interesting and vegetarian, it looked like THIS:

So I promise there are good things to come!  I have also bookmarked quite a few recipes off the internet. I am especially excited to try my first Vegan Lasagna that all the reviewers swear tastes delicious and some even say they can't believe it doesn't have ricotta in it because it tastes so good.  So, we will see!
Stick around...and I will be back on Monday with a new Meatless Dish for you to try!

Have a great weekend!

Pea and Carrot Soup with Rice

{Meatless Monday}   ...finally! ; )

The other night, my husband brought me home a new Rachel Ray magazine (for some reason he is getting them at his school) and I opened it up and there was a recipe that looked quick and easy and I had everything to make it...hooray!

I think most everybody really liked it.  It had such a good flavor with the pesto rice.  And most of my kids had seconds!! It just felt healthy and yummy.

Here's what you need:

2 T. butter
1/4 cup orzo
1 cup white rice
6 cups vegetable broth, DIVIDED
2 T olive oil
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 leeks, halved and sliced ( I just used a large regular onion)
2 cups fresh or frozen peas

1/2 cup pesto (the original recipe had you make a parsley/mint pesto, but I just used one of my frozen pucks of pesto Scroll down about half way for pesto recipe!)


Melt butter in saucepan.  Add the orzo and toast until golden brown.  Stir in the rice and add about 2 cups of the broth.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally and adding a bit more broth if necessary.  Cook about 18 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile...in a soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the carrots and leeks/onions.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until softened, 6-7 minutes.  (I did a little longer because I wanted them really soft for my kids. Nothing creates mutiny like crunchy onions!! ; )  Add the remaining broth and peas.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.

Combine pesto with rice/orzo mixture.  Scoop 1/2 cup of rice/pesto mix into each soup bowl.  Top with the vegetables in broth.  Stir to combine.

It was so easy, so yummy, and so well liked that I can't wait to make it again.  I especially loved the rice with the orzo...they both gave the soup a great texture.

Sweet Potato Ravioli

{Meatless Monday}


This is another recipe from my new vegetarian cookbook.  I have never made my own ravioli before...so it was quite an adventure...to say the least.  The photos don't really show it, but things got REALLY messy when some of the ravioli decided to burst during their few minutes in the boiling water.  It was all kinds of fun...let me tell you.

But my girls really enjoyed making them with me and they really did have a yummy flavor.  But I would prefer them along with something else...because I think I would enjoy them in a smaller portion.

Here's what you need:

For the mixture:
1 lb. orange sweet potato, cut into large pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
5 oz. ricotta cheese
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 T grated Parmesan
2- 8 oz. package won ton wrappers

For the sauce:
2 T butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup cream (I used fat-free half and half)

Roast your sweet potato drizzled with olive oil for 30 minutes in a 375*-400* oven.  ( I pretty much burned mine...which is why there are little black specks in my mashed picture below! ; )

Transfer to a bowl and mash with the ricotta, garlic, basil, and Parmesan until smooth.

Place 2 teaspoons of the mixture in the center of the wonton and brush edges with water.  Top with another wrapper.  

So this is how the book said to do it:

But this is how we ended up doing them and I preferred them this way.  Less wrapper to the mixture.

Just keep on repeating until you run out of wrappers or mixture! ; )

To make the sauce:  Melt the butter in a frying pan.  Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium one minute.  Add the cream and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 4-5 minutes until thickened.  Since I used Fat Free Half and Half...it didn't really thicken, so I sprinkled on a little flour and called it good.  I had a horrible time getting a picture...but the onion/garlic sauce was a nice balance to the sweeter potato/cheese mixture inside.