First, Happy 35th Anniversary to my parents!! Love you guys!!
Summer Nights
This weekend was particularly sunny and warm in Aberdeen- we wore shortsleeves and weren’t cold! That’s always a good thing! On Friday night, as I was enjoying the warm air, I was trying to figure out what feeling was coming over me…then it hit me: summer nights! We’ve been in the UK the last 2 summers, so I had forgotten the exciting feeling of a beautiful weekend, full of promise. We meant to go to a favorite castle on Saturday, but ended up heading out to Storybook Glen and had a family BBQ later. Love those days.
Menu Plan Monday
As for last week, we loved the beef and broccoli stir-fry! The gingered carrots were delicious enough to go ahead and share the recipe:
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Beef & Broccoli with Gingered Carrots
2 minced garlic cloves
- 4 sliced carrots
- 1T butter
- 1t minced, peeled fresh ginger
- 1T chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
- 1/2 t grated lime rind
- 1T fresh lime juice
- 1/4 t salt
Prepare garlic, let stand 10 min while you steam the carrots, covered, for 10 min. Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from hear; stir in carrots, cilantro/coriander, and remaining ingredients.
Evidently, this week, I am in the mood for Italian food! I am excited about these recipes because they are so good! Plus the stuffed shells recipe makes 2 big pans, so you can share with friends or freeze one! I am also sharing 2 great vegetarian recipes…BUT, I added a meat option for the shells for you meat-lovers!
- Monday: Italian Meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, Caesar salad
- Tuesday: Butternut Squash Rissotto, roasted aubergine/eggplant and red peppers
- Wednesday: Left-Overs
- Thursday: Stuffed Shells, crusty bread, salad (makes 2 dishes!)
- Friday: *Lemon Chicken, brown fried rice
- Saturday: Left-Overs
- Sunday: Cheddar Chicken Chowder, green beans, bread
Butternut Squash Risotto
- 6-8 c chicken or vegetable broth
- 5T unsalted butter, divided into 4 T and 1T
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 c butternut squash, peeled and finely diced
- 2 c arborio rice
- 1 c dry white wine
- 1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 T chopped chives or garlic chives
- salt
Heat broth in medium-sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 T butter in a large saucepan. Add onions and squash. Cook over med heat until onions are transluscent, about 5 min.
Add rice to onion and squash. Cook 1-2 min. Add wine. Cook, stirring constantly until wine has been absorbed by the rice or evaporated. Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover the rice. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding bits of broth and stirring until it is absorbed and repeating until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite- about 15-20 minutes.
During the last minutes of cooking, add remaining T of butter, 1/3 c parm cheese, and chives. At this point, the rice should have a creamy consistency. Add salt to taste. Serve with remaining parm cheese.
*I like to use real white wine, rather than cooking wine. It just tastes better, even if you go with a super-cheap wine.
**It’s a lot of stirring (you can’t multi-task, sadly), but it’s well worth the effort!
Stuffed Shells
This recipe makes 2 smaller dishes so you can give one away or freeze one for later!
- 1# jumbo shell pasta (40 shells)
- cooking spray
- 1 12-ounce carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
- 1 c (4 ounces) shredded Asiago cheese
- 3/4 c (3 ounces) parmesan cheese
- 2T chopped fresh chives
- 2T chopped fresh parsley (I omit)
- 1/4 t black pepper
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 10-ounce pkg (thawed) chopped spinach
- 6 c smoky marinara (see below, or use your favorite jarred sauce if you’re pressed for time)
- 1 c (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 F/190-ish C. Coat 2 (13×9 in) baking dishes with cooking spray. Set aside.
Place cottage cheese and ricotta cheese in a food processor, blender, or use a hand blender to process until smooth. Combine cottage cheese mixture, Asiago, and next 6 ingredients (thru spinach). Spoon or pipe 1T cheese mixture into each shell. Arrange half of stuffed shells, seam side up, in one prepared dish. Pour 3 c smoky marinara (see below) over stuffed shells. Sprinkle with 1/2 c mozzarella. Repeat process with remaining shells and the other baking dish.
Cover with foil. Bake at 375 F for 30 min or until thoroughly heated.
*To freeze unbaked casserole: Prepare the same, just don’t bake it. Cover it with plastic wrap and then foil, labelling the foil. You cna freeze up to 2 months. To bake from frozen, take off foil and plastic wrap. Throw away the plastic wrap and cover with the same foil. Bake at 375F for 1 hour 10 minutes.
Smoky Marinara
- 1T olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 c chopped fresh basil
- 2T chopped fresh parsley
- 2T chopped fresh or 2t dried oregano
- 2t balsamic vinegar
- 1/8t salt
- 1 28-ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, undrained
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, basil, parsley, and oregano. Saute 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in vinegar and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer 10 min.
*I have not found fire-roasted tomatoes here in the UK and certainly no 28-oz tins! So, I would advise using 4 cans of tomatoes and blending them.
**Josh loves meat sauce, so we often saute ground/minced beef or turkey and add Italian seasoning, and then we add it to the sauce if you want a bit of meat.
For more menu ideas, check out Org Junkie!
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Sounds like a tasty week at your house! I can’t wait to try the stuffed shells. Thanks for posting the recipe