Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie

  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • red pepper flakes, to taste 
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/4 tsp oregano leaves, chopped
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 8 oz (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 8 oz can crescent dinner rolls (refrigerated)
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • In a skillet, cook zucchini and onion in butter until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley and seasonings. Remove from heat.
  • In a large bowl, blend eggs and cheese. Add zucchini mixture to the eggs and cheese and stir.
  • Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles, roll them thinner and place in an ungreased quiche pan or 12×8″ baking dish. Press over the bottoms and up the sides.
  • Spread crust with mustard. Pour zucchini mixture evenly into the crust. 
  • Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6-8 servings!

Ann Marotto’s Fresh Tomato Pie

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  • FOR THE PASTRY
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • FOR THE FILLING
  • About 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
  • 2 to 3 large beefsteak tomatoes, sliced thick and evenly
  • 1 cup grated low-fat Swiss cheese
  • About 8 basil leaves, stacked, rolled and cut crosswise into very thin slices (julienne; about 2 tablespoons)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Kosher or coarse sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Have ready an ungreased 9-inch pie plate or fluted quiche

For the pastry: Combine the ingredients in a large bowl and, using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut the mixture until it comes together as a smooth dough, with the butter well incorporated. Form the dough into a ball, flatten it slightly, wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. note: play around with this maybe use food processor for butter and flour and then add cottage cheese and pulse, don’t think mine dough was incorporated enough.

On a lightly floured surface or between two pieces of wax paper, roll out the dough slightly larger than the pie plate or quiche pan and press the dough into the plate or pan. Prick the bottom with the tines of a fork, cover loosely and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Line the pie shell with aluminum foil and pour ceramic pie weights or dried beans evenly on the foil. Bake for 8 minutes, then carefully remove the weights or beans and the foil, and bake for 2 minutes. (At this point, the crust will not be fully baked.) Cool.

For the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brush the bottom of the cooled pie shell with a thin, see-through coating of the mustard. Layer the tomato slices, Swiss cheese, basil and parsley, seasoning each layer lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Scatter the mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top; bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve warm.

 

Roasted Broccoli Stuffed Shells from thevintagemixer.com

  • 2 broccRoasted-Broccoli-Stuffed-Shells-Recipe-7oli crowns
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 24 jumbo pasta shells
  • 16 ounces (one container) ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup Mozzarella, shredded
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 26 ounces (3 cups) Marinara sauce
To roast the broccoli
    1. preheat the oven to 375 and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Chops the broccoli into bite sized pieces and toss with olive oil and minced garlic. Season with salt and lay flat on the baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly brown and crispy.
For the pasta
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the pasta shells (a few more than 24 incase a few break while cooking). Boil for 8-10 minutes or until slightly soft but with a slight bite. (They will cook more when they are baking).
  2. While the pasta is cooking, mix together the three cheeses and the salt and cayenne. Once broccoli is done, roughly chop and add this to the cheese.
  3. Pour 1 cup of the marinara into a rectangular baking dish.
  4. Once pasta is done, drain the water, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Fill each shell with cheese and place in the baking dish. Mix together 1 more cup of the marinara with the 1/2 cup of pasta water and pour this over the top of the filled shells.
  5. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 350 covered, then, uncover and bake for 5-10 more minutes or until bubbly.
  6. Serve with remaining 1 cup of marinara sauce.

 

 

Neely Veggie Pesto Lasagna

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2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 yellow squash, diced
1 zucchini, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
Pinch of sugar, optional
1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
7 ounces store-bought pesto
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Fresh basil, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the yellow squash and zucchini and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes more. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar, if necessary.

In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, spinach, pesto and season with pepper.

Grease the bottom and sides of your lasagna dish with butter. Spread a little of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Lay 4 noodles across the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping by 1/2-inch. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta and pesto mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle with about a 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Ladle about 1 cup of sauce on top. Repeat layering in the same order. Layer the top layer of noodles and drizzle with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake in the center of the oven until the sauce is bubbling around the edges, about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes — Ina

  • 1/2 pound fusilli (spirals) pasta
  • Kosher salt
  • Olive oil
  • 1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
  • 3/4 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
  • 1 pound fresh mozzarella, medium-diced
  • 6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

For the dressing:

  • 5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 6 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, diced
  • 1 teaspoon capers, drained
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1 cup packed basil leaves, julienned

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and toss well.

Eggplant Parm Stacks — LSQ

Ready in half the time it takes to make traditional eggplant Parmesan, this inventive version is stacked with fresh herbs and melted-cheese goodness. Yields 4 servings

1 eggplant (1 1/4 pounds total), sliced crosswise 1/3-inch thick (12 slices total) Coarse salt
4 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan — I use Romano cheese
Fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 cups Basic Italian Tomato Sauce
1 pound fresh mozzarella, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/4-inch thick (12 slices total)
Extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle Parmesan for garnish

Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with oven rack in center position.

Brush eggplant slices with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt. Grill 8-10 minutes, flipping once, until charred and soft.

hint–put on gas grill, so much easier and less messy!!

In a medium bowl combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, pepper, herbs, and remaining tablespoon olive oil.

Place 4 slices grilled eggplant on parchment-lined baking sheet. Top with 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs, and slices of mozzarella. Repeat with two more layers. Drizzle with olive oil.  I found that stacks of four layers fell over in the over despite skewers.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Serve with a garnish of olive oil and Parmesan cheese.