Spinach and Mushroom Manicotti

Lately we've been on a mushroom kick around my house. I used to almost never cook with mushrooms, and in the last couple of months, I've bought fresh mushrooms several times for use in different dishes. Here's the latest dish. I found the original recipe on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen (posted by doubledippedlife), but I changed the cooking method as well as some of the ingredients. So what you see here, is what I did. You could substitute frozen chopped spinach for the fresh spinach, just remember to thaw and drain the excess liquid before adding it in. I actually prefer fresh spinach to frozen because I find it has a less earthy flavor, but either will work.

Spinach and Mushroom Manicotti

1, 28 oz. jar of marinara sauce (or for a homemade version, try this recipe)

2 Tbl olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced (I used a garlic press)

10 oz. weight Fresh Spinach, chopped

8 oz. fresh button mushrooms, chopped

2 whole eggs, beaten

16 oz. weight ricotta or cottage cheese (I used cottage cheese)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

8 oz. weight manicotti shells

2-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese (I used the stuff from a can)

Cook the manicotti shells according to the directions on the box, but subtract one minute on the cooking time (this will under cook the pasta by just a little, but they will be easier to fill and they will finish cooking in the oven). Drain the pasta, and set out (separately) on a wax paper for them to cool.

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add chopped spinach and mushrooms, stirring until mushrooms are cooked and spinach is wilted (the spinach should still be green, not brown). Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 340* F while you assemble the filling and fill the shells. For the filling, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add ricotta/cottage cheese, salt, pepper, and 1 cup mozerella cheese. Stir to combine. Add in the spinach and mushroom mixture and stir.

Spread some marinara sauce (probably 1/4 to 1/2 cup) on the bottom of a 9 x 13" baking pan. Fill the manicotti shells with the filling (I just used a small spoon and made sure that the shells were stuffed, but becareful to not break the shells). Arrange the shells in the baking pan. Top with remaining marinara sauce and top with the remaining mozerella cheese and the parmesan cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

I was going to direct you to this recipe in a dish I will be posting later this week, but I was shocked that I hadn't posted it yet! This is a great marinara sauce that has a lot of flavor and can be used as a dipping sauce, pizza sauce, or of course, a pasta sauce. The sauce also freezes well for future uses. Thanks goes to my mom for this recipe!

Marinara Sauce

1/2 cup oil

2 medium garlic cloves, diced or crushed (I used a garlic press)

3-1/2 cups, or a 28 oz. can, crushed tomatoes

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried chopped parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients and cook rapidly, uncovered, for 15 minutes. (The oil will separate from the tomatoes if allowed to stand for a long period of time, so just stir it to redistribute it again.)

Zucchini and Mushroom Chicken

I love Chinese food, so when I come across a recipe, I always make a mental note of it. This recipe has been stewing in my head for awhile, but when we needed to get rid of a giant zucchini a neighbor gave us, I knew what I'd be making! It was really good and I've had requests to make it again. Sesame oil can be pretty expensive, so use it if you have it, but I didn't have any so I just doubled the vegetable oil. Thanks to Blog Chef for the recipe!

Zucchini and Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients:

1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

cornstarch (for dusting)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I doubled)

1 tablespoon sesame oil (I didn't use)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 package fresh button mushrooms (or 8 oz.)

4 small zucchini (or 1 giant)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Cut chicken and zucchini into 1” chunks. Lightly dust chicken with a little bit of corn starch until lightly coated.

Step 2: Add vegetable and sesame oil to the wok and fry chicken pieces until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Step 3: Add zucchini and mushrooms to the wok and stir fry for a few minutes. Add soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, minced fresh garlic, and ground ginger to the wok stirring to coat and stir fry until mushrooms and zucchini are fully cooked.

Step 4: Return chicken pieces to the wok and coat with sauce, heat thoroughly and serve.

Acorn Squash

I love squash. In fact, I think it's my favorite vegetable. And this is the time of year to enjoy it! This is a really easy, tasty way to cook it up. And healthy too! I use very little butter, and no milk or cream. (In fact, you could probably get by without the butter even, but that's for you to try, not me.)


Ingredients:
1 acorn squash

2 T. butter (approx.)
all spice and/or nutmeg to taste

Directions:
1. Cut off the end opposite the stem. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half into halves again.

2. Place squash in a pot with enough water to just cover them (lay them on their curved backs). Bring the water to a boil and boil for about 15 minutes, checking occasionally with a fork.

3. When the squash is tender enough to mash or whip, take it out of the water and let it cool enough for you to handle it. (I'd say maybe 8 to 10 minutes.) With a spoon, scoop out the insides into a mixing bowl.

4. Add butter; beat with a hand beater (or mash with a potato masher, whatever you want to do). Add spices; beat again. Taste and adjust as desired.

Recipe Cards

This isn't a recipe post, but rather a recipe card post. YEAH! Bring on the pretty paper!

When I got married, I was given a pretty set of two small binders with beautiful recipe cards in them, all matching of course. I'm still filling them up, but I have a nice little collection. Then, a year later when we were too poor for a birthday gift for my best friend (who had gotten married earlier that year), I decided I would help her start a collection of recipe cards. So I looked all over the internet for recipe cards I could print for free. It took a long time, but I found a good site with lots of different styles and options. I printed them out on card stock--which was the most expensive part of the gift at a whopping $5 total. I cut out maybe 10 or 15 cards, wrote three or four of my favorite recipes on a few of them, and wrapped all of them up with a pretty ribbon and gave them to my friend. (I would have liked to get a nice tin from a thrift store, but I couldn't find one!)

Most of the cards will print as a 4*6, so they could also be slipped into a nice small photo album. Just do whatever!

Cheesy Skillet Chicken and Rice with Green Beans

What a dish! This yummy concotion came from Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe, and when I saw it I knew it would be an instant hit! Rice, chicken, and cheese- who can resist? Even my veggie hating husband and brother-in-law gobbled this up with no complaint and even went back for more! Plus, it's a one pot/pan meal, so that means less clean up! The only changes I made was that (1) I cooked the chicken completely in the first step, then diced it and added the diced chicken where Melanie added the whole chicken breasts to finish cooking, and (2) when I drained the "oil" out of the pan, I actually saved it since it contained juices from cooking the chicken and used it as part of the chicken stock you add in later. If you would rather use canned mushrooms, you could just add them at the end with the green beans, but the fresh were great and cooked up beautifully. This was so good and will definitetly be hitting our table again!

Cheesy Skillet Chicken and Rice with Green Beans

*Serves 4-6

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

1 medium onion, chopped

8 ounces white button mushrooms, brushed clean and quartered or sliced

4 medium garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press

1 ½ cups long grain white rice

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

½ pound frozen or fresh green beans

1 cup shredded sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until the oil is rippling and hot. Carefully lay each chicken breast in the skillet and cook until the chicken is well browned on the first side, about 3-4 minutes. Flip the chicken with a pair of tongs and let it brown on the second side, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Drain all but about 1-2 tablespoons oil from the pan.

Return the pan to medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, scraping the browned bits off the bottom and edges of the pan, until the mushrooms begin to soften and start to brown, about 6-8 minutes. Add the rice and continue to cook until the edges of the rice turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken to the pan and cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the rice is mostly cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the skillet again, brushing off any rice that sticks to the chicken back into the skillet. Cover the chicken with foil to keep warm. Stir the green beans into the skillet, stir the mixture well, cover and continue to cook on low until the beans and rice are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Nacho Cheese Sauce

Nachos are an easy and quick meal. Plus they are versatile because you can put whatever toppings you want on them. I grew up just microwaving shredded cheese on top of the tortilla chips for nachos. But my mother-in-law serves them with this sauce, and it was a nice change. The sauce is very mild with no spice at all, which makes it great for kids. However, it would also be easy to spice up with some Tobasco sauce or red pepper flakes in the sauce, or with spicy salsa and/or jalepenos on top. Whether cooking for a crowd or for your family, this is sure to be a hit!

Nacho Cheese Sauce

2 cans Cambell's Cheddar condensed soup

1/2 cup sour cream**

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese**

Heat soup and sour cream together over medium until hot. Add cheese and stir until well combined. Serve over tortilla chips and top with desired taco toppings (i.e. taco meat, beans, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, olives, etc.)

**Amounts are approximate. Use what tastes good to you!