quick [sausage and] mushroom lasagna

rita found this recipe and made the trek up to trader joe's a few weeks ago (i know! we're super behind on blogging! to be honest, we've been super lazy with cooking lately. its also finals, so chocolate has become a major food group for me) so that we could have a nice home-cooked meal.
we used this recipe from bon appetit,
but left out the sausage. we also halved it, which should have been 4-5 servings, but ended up finishing it between 3 of us (although, in our defense, it was the only component of our meal).

yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

active time: 35 minutes

total time: 1 hour

If possible, use flat no-cook lasagna noodles: They look and taste more like homemade than the curly kind.

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 8-ounce packages sliced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning blend
• 1 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 4 2/3 cups marinara sauce (from two 26-ounce jars)
• 1 9-ounce package no-cook lasagna noodles
• 1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
• 2 8-ounce bags Italian blend grated cheese (4 cups)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and seasoning blend; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Add sausage and sautéuntil brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Add wine; cook until almost all liquid evaporates, scraping up browned bits, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Spread 2/3 cup marinara sauce over bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Place noodles (about 4) over sauce, forming 1 layer (noodles may overlap slightly). Spread 1 cup sauce over noodles. Top with 1/3 of ricotta, then 1 cup grated cheese. Spoon 1/3 of sausage mixture over. Repeat 2 more times with noodles, sauce, ricotta, grated cheese, and sausage mixture. Cover with 4 more noodles. Spoon remaining 1 cup sauce over; sprinkle remaining 1 cup grated cheese over. Cover with foil, tenting in center to prevent cheese from touching foil. Bake lasagna 45 minutes; remove foil. Bake until bubbling at edges and cheese is browned, about 10 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes.

-Lola

kimchee grilled cheese

the other day, rita came home with a tub of kimchee. "i read about some shop where they make kimchee grilled cheese. we should have it tonight", she told me. so i stopped at gristede's on the way home because, in a rare moment in chez twin history, we had no cheese in the fridge. after staring at the variety of cheeses for way too long, i decided swiss was the way to go.

it was a good decision.

this is pretty self explanatory...the recipe is basically in the title. just make grilled cheese as you usually would (i like wheat bread and 2 slices of cheese. grilled in butter or earth balance), but spread a spoonful of kimchee on one of your bread slices. like i said, swiss was good, but you could experiment with other cheeses too. and taste the kimchee before you put it on the bread to see how spicy it is, because you don't want to end up with a too spicy sandwich.

-Lola

in which we eat a lot of brie

we have some exciting news here at chez twin: rita will be studying abroad in paris next semester! we've already planned her new tres chic wardrobe (quirky librarian meets audrey hepburn. it will involve lots of striped shirts, of course), and this weekend, we decided to have a french-inspired dinner.

arugula with pomegranate seeds, pecans, and vinaigrette

roast tomatoes (sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast at 350 for about half an hour, then broil for 5 minutes. let cool slightly before eating) and baguette with brie.

we should have had wine too, but neither of us like wine, so we had a mix of lime sparkly water and cranberry apple juice.

and of course, we had music to set the mood.


we're already planning an irish themed dinner for me (i'm hopefully studying abroad in dublin this summer) next week. it probably won't be nearly as classy as the french meal, but that's ok with me.

question time! you get to leave tomorrow for a vacation in any country in the world. where are you going?

-lola

butternut-pecan pasta and salad

perhaps you were inspired by our culinary feats and decided to make the casserole from our last post. like us, you probably had a lot of ingredients left over. are you wondering what to do with them? well, wonder no more, my friends!

how about pasta?we made a sauce by melting feta in heavy cream, then added whole wheat pasta, roasted butternut squash, and some greens (which totally cancels out any negative health effects of the cheese+cream sauce. trust me, i'm a nutrition minor). we stirred it all together and topped with pecans.

or maybe you'd prefer a salad?
greens+roasted butternut squash+feta+pecans+vinaigrette=delicious.
enjoy!
-Lola

butternut squash, pecan and goat cheese gratin

Autumn is my favorite season in New York. The weather's perfect, it has halloween and thanksgiving (two of my favorite holidays), Starbucks breaks out their winter cups, and most importantly all of my favorite foods are in season. This recipe uses one of those food, butternut squash, and is also the perfect warm, comforting dish for autumn weather.
Butternut squash, hazelnut and goat cheese gratin from Bon Appetit
makes 8-10 servings as a side dish, 4-6 as a main dish

*2 tablespoons olive oil
*coarse kosher salt (we used regular salt stolen from the dining hall)
*4 tablespoons butter, divided
*3 Cups sliced leeks
*1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
*1 1.5 oz log soft goat cheese
*1 cup heavy whipping cream
*1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped (we used pecans because we couldn't find any hazelnuts at the store)
*3 1/2 lb butternut squash (about 2 medium), peeled, seeded, cut into cubes
Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Combine squash and oil in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss. Spread on baking sheet, roast for 35 minutes.
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a pan, add sliced leeks and sage, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until tender but not brown, about 15 minutes.
Coat dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Put half of the leek mixture in it, then half of the squash mixture, then half of the cheese. Continue layering in this manner until you run out.
Preheat oven to 375. Pour cream over the casserole, sprinkle with nuts, and bake for about 30 minutes uncovered.
-Rita

couscous and carrot salad

first of all...
YAY GIANTS!!! WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!


almost as exciting?
my lunch the other day(not really actually. giants winning their first world series in san fran was much more exciting. but i really was quite excited about this lunch).
observe:


couscous and carrot salad
for the carrots:
mix shredded carrots with cinnamon, olive oil, and lightly chopped parsley. stir (or shake in a tupperware) until combined. taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

for the couscous:
cook couscous according to package directions (i use whole wheat couscous, 1/4 cup per serving). i added a sprinkle of Penzey's rogan josh seasoning, which is paprika, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and saffron. i love spice mixes because its not practical to buy a whole bunch of different spices when you live in a dorm.

saute some onion slices in olive oil and rinse and drain a can of chickpeas. stir onions and chickpeas into cooked couscous (i use about 1/3 to 1/2 of an onion and 1/3 a can of chickpeas for one serving). add some crumbled feta too.

top with sriracha or other hot sauce, a handful of carrot salad, and a spoonful of plain yogurt.

et voila! a delicious, nutritious meal!
-Lola

Cheddar Squash Muffins/Bread

Me and Lola are both huge fans of muffins. And rightly so; they are amazing. The only bad thing about muffins is that you can't eat them for dinner. Well, no more!
we don't have a muffin tin so we made these as bread. They were delicious, although I suspect they would be even better if made as muffins (true fact: everything is better if it's muffin-shaped). we ate them with some tomato soup and they were great crumbled on top of the soup.

Chedder Squash Muffins
recipe from Glamour, makes 12 muffins (or one 8x8 pan of bread)
*2 eggs
*1/2 cup water
*1 cup roasted squash, mashed (we used acorn squash)
*1 one-lb box oatmeal muffin mix
*1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
*1/4 cup chopped scallions
in a bowl, add eggs, water, and roasted squash. whisk in muffin mix. cheese, and scallions. spoon batter inot baking cups of two 6-cup muffin tins or an 8x8 baking dish and bake in oven at 400 degrees farenheit for 15 to 20 minutes

-Rita

migas

i have no idea if how i made my migas is authentically mexican [edit: just wikipedia-ed it. migas are tex mex, not mexican]. in fact, i don't really know much about migas at all. i learned to make them at the jewish community center when i was in 3rd grade, and this is the first time i've made them since. somewhere, i have a notebook from then, with the recipe written out in pink gel pen and titled "hella good chip things". whatever you want to call these, they're delicious.for one serving, i used:
*2 corn tortillas
*2 stalks (is that what they're called?) green onions, sliced
*2 eggs
*1 handful shredded cheddar and jack cheese
*1/2 an avocado, chopped
and some canola oil.
first, heat your oil in a pan. use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. cut your tortillas into sixths, and place the pieces in the pan. fry until tortillas are just starting to get crispy.
next, add your eggs and green onions. stir occasionally until eggs are scrambled. at the end, stir in cheese and cook for about 30 seconds more. top with avocado and serve with hot sauce or salsa (i used sriracha, of course).
-Lola

cheese enchiladas with mango salsa

this post is dedicated to our mom, who taught us (among many other important things) how to make enchiladas. happy birthday mom!
for the enchiladas, you'll need small tortillas (flour or corn), enchilada sauce, grated cheese (we buy the pre-grated mexican blend. you could also use cheddar and jack), and onions. you could also add black olives and jalapenos if you want. we forgot to buy jalapenos, so we added some hot sauce to the enchiladas.

first, make the filling by mixing cheese, diced onion, and olives and jalapenos if you have them.

next, dip your tortillas in enchilada sauce and fry them for about 3 minutes each, until they're just getting crispy. place tortillas in a baking dish, plop a spoonful of filling in each one, and roll up. keep going until your baking dish is full-you can pack your enchiladas pretty tightly. if you have extra filling, sprinkle it on top of the enchiladas and top with a little more sauce.

bake at 375 for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tortillas are crispy and cheese is melted.
for the salsa, i started with this recipe, but just copied the ingredient list and used the quantities i felt like using.
*1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
*1 red bell pepper, chopped
*juice of 2 limes, or to taste
*4 stalks green onion, chopped
*2 teaspoons olive oil
combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir.
recommended cooking music:

(actually i was listening to taylor swift while cooking, but rita hates taylor swift. we're listening to this song as a type this post.)
and for my mom:

its her song.
i promise i will get over the novelty and stop embedding videos soon. but not yet =)
-Lola

penne with mushrooms, cheese, and carmelized onions

you guys, we need to talk about caramelized onions. the idea that with the right technique and a little bit of time, two totally ordinary ingredients-an onion and some oil-can become something completely different and amazingly delicious is one of those magical things that made me fall in love with cooking, but i had never actually made caramelized onions until now. i'd tried, but always ended up with onions that were too burnt and crispy. luckily for me, i'm taking a cooking class this semester and i finally know the secret to perfect caramelized onions.
first, you have to slice your onions into half moon shapes. cut the onion in half, then place the flat side on your cutting board and make thin slices downward. separate your slices so you have a bunch of pieces that look like parentheses.

next, sweat the onion. heat just enough canola oil to cover the bottom of a saucepan, then add your onions and stir over low heat for a few minutes, being careful not to brown the onions. cover your pot, and continue to stir every few minutes. if the onions are looking like they're starting to brown, add a little water. it should take about 10 minutes for the onions to get soft and translucent. at this point, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying/saute pan and transfer your onions into that pan. continue stirring every 5 minutes or so until onions are brown and soft, like the above photo. if there's brown stuff stuck to your pan, you want that in your onions, so deglaze the pan with a bit of water or broth, then stir until the liquid is incorporated into the onions.

now you're done with your onions! i know this is getting long, but bear with me. i just read a 50 page chapter in my textbook about vegetables. you can read this.

so, caramelized onions are delicious on their own, but maybe you want to incorporate them into a balanced meal. perhaps pasta?
or more specifically, penne pasta with mushrooms, romano cheese, and caramelized onions.

here's the recipe (well, not really. as usual, no exact quantities. but its close to a recipe):
*penne pasta (we used whole wheat)
*onions (i used half an onion for 2 servings)
*canola oil
*olive oil (i used extra virgin)
*mushrooms (i used a medium handful for 2 servings)
*romano cheese, thinly sliced or shaved (used about 1/2 cup of shaved pieces for 2 servings)

slice and caramelize your onions, according to directions above. this should take about half an hour to 45 minutes total. meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. slice mushrooms, and cook in canola oil (just enough to cover the bottom of your pan), stirring frequently, until they turn a nice rich brown. toss mushrooms, onions, pasta, and cheese together. top with a drizzle of olive oil.
-Lola

pasta with chickpeas and parmesan cheese

I made this back when we were at home, but it was so easy and cheap it would make great dorm food. I wanted to try Trader Joe's lemon papardelle pasta and since the pasta itself is already lemon flavored, I went without sauce and just tossed it in a little olive oil and cooked garlic. Then I added chickpeas, shaved paremesan, and a little salt and pepper. It was delicious, and the perfect light lunch for a hot day.

-Rita

easy tuna melt

tuna mixed with artichoke hearts (in oil) and dijon mustard. on wheat bread with tomato slices, then topped with irish cheddar cheese and microwaved until cheese is melted.
thats all i have time to write right now! bye!
-Lola

grilled cheese sandwich and spinach salad

yo!
what you see here is our first dorm dinner. that grilled cheese sandwich is the only cooking i've done all week, besides the carrots i've got roasting in the oven right now. the salad is spinach, cashews, and trader joe's cranberry pomegranate dried fruit mix. which is good, btw. you should get some. and that's hummus on the carrots, even though it kind of looks like cream cheese.
so our first week here has been crazy, but hopefully we'll cook some real food for y'all (and ourselves) soon. we have big plans for enchiladas and eggplant lasagna. since real cooking will be more sporadic, please let me know if anyone would be interested in non-recipe posts...perhaps daily food journal type posts, what i'm learning in my nutrition classes, random new york adventures, cheap food tips, etc, and we can try to post 2-3 times a week. because we love having you guys around and we know you like reading posts more than once a month =)
thanks!
-Lola

spinach salad with mango and candied macadamias

with this hot weather, all i've been craving is salad. more specifically, salad with fruit, nuts, and cheese. its just so refreshing. this is the last part of our "last time cooking at home meal" (which also included the corn soup and the bread pudding). we used a recipe from cooking light, but eliminated the scallops and served it with french bread, goat cheese, and smoked salmon on the side. smoked salmon+goat cheese (or butter, or cream cheese)+baguette=amazing-ness, btw.
spinach salad with mango and candied macadamia nuts
from cooking light. serves 4
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons water, divided
• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts or pecans
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups diced peeled mango (about 1 large), divided
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1 pound sea scallops
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 8 cups packaged spinach
• 1 cup vertically sliced red onion
  

[if, like us, you skip the scallops, you don't need the scallops, obviously, or the salt, pepper, or oil. and for any vegans, without the scallops the salad is vegan.]

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in nuts. Spread nut mixture onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Immediately scrape onto a sheet of foil coated with cooking spray. Spread evenly; cool completely. Lightly chop; set aside.

Combine 2 tablespoons water, 1/2 cup mango, juice, ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds; set dressing aside.

Sprinkle scallops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat oil in a grill pan or medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallops; sauté 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.

Arrange 2 cups spinach on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 3 ounces scallops, 1/4 cup mango, and 1/4 cup onion. Drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons dressing; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon nut mixture.

-lola

vegetarian chili

happy august everybody! we celebrated the end of july with some homemade chili (not that july was a bad month or anything. but i am excited to be only a month away from heading back to new york.)who doesn't love chili? its warm, comforting, and hearty. its also simple to make, the kind of thing that you could make a big pot of on sunday and save portions in the fridge for easy lunches the rest of the week (i wish i was the kind of organized, put together person who actually did things like that. instead of the kind of person who regularly makes a peanut butter sandwich in 4 seconds and eats it on the way to class while dripping jelly all over myself. but i did heat up the leftover chili for lunch today.)

recipe from bon appetit, via epicurious, with some changes by the twins
vegetarian chili

makes 4-5 main course servings

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 cups chopped onions
* 2 medium coarsely chopped bell peppers (we used yellow)
* 6 garlic cloves, chopped
* 2 tablespoons chili powder + more to taste
* 2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin + more to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 2 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans plus 1 15-16 oz can kidney beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved
* 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juices
* small pinch chipotle chili powder (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + more to taste

possible toppings (we used green onions and shredded mexican cheese):
* Chopped fresh cilantro
* Sour cream
* Grated Monterey Jack cheese
* Chopped green onions

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in chili powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne; stir 2 minutes. Mix in beans, 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid, and tomato sauce. Bring chili to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors blend and chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and extra chili powder, cumin, anc cinnamon if desired.

Ladle chili into bowls. Pass chopped cilantro, sour cream, grated cheese, and green onions separately.

stay tuned for the exciting conclusion (aka the cornbread recipe) in our next post!
-Lola

lunch time!

rita and i both had delicious lunches yesterday during half time of the spain vs. germany game (viva espana!). unfortunately, we did not photograph either of them. because the camera was all the way upstairs. you understand.
i do have this photo from a few weeks ago, of rita's super simple lunch of black and blue steak. i didn't taste it, but according to rita, it was quite yummy (i was eating apple cinnamon oatmeal. true story: i would eat breakfast foods for every meal if i could). all she did for the steak was take some leftover slices of cooked steak, heat them up, then added onion, sliced and cooked in a little olive oil for about 10 minutes, and topped with crumbled blue cheese.
our lunches yesterday were...
me: 2 egg omelette with sun-dried tomatoes and gorgonzola plus 1 slice toasted multigrain bread spread with 1/4 of an avocado and topped with sriracha (see what i mean about the breakfast foods?)
she: grilled cheese on multigrain bread with manchego cheese, prosciutto and avocado (we love being at home with a fridge filled with gourmet ingredients!) plus trader joe's tomato and roasted red pepper soup (so good! you should buy it).
-Lola

goat cheese wrap

Hey, hope you all had a good weekend. Our weekend was awesome, because we got to see THE BACKSTREET BOYS!! for free. They were performing at Pride, and although they only played 3 songs, it was epic. We also got to see Andy Bell (lead singer of Erasure) perform this awesome song, although unfortunately he didn't reenact the amazing video.
Another thing that made our weekend awesome was this excellent wrap, invented by our dad and made by Lola. It's made of mache, sundried tomatoes (the kind packed in olive oil), goat cheese, and basil leaves all wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla.

-Rita

smoky chickpeas with spinach, eggplant, tomato, and manchego cheese

another recipe clipped from the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinal and sent to us by our Zayde. we served it over couscous and enjoyed it immensely. Thanks Zayde!
adapted from Steve Petusevsky at the Sun Sentinal.
Smoky chickpeas with spinach, eggplant, tomato, and manchego cheese, with my notes.

Eggplant:

• 1 small eggplant, unpeeled, diced in 1-inch cubes

• 2 tablespoons oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

To complete:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 Spanish onion, diced [according to our research (google) a Spanish onion is a yellow onion]

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika

• 2 cups roasted, cubed eggplant

• 1 (15-ounce) can chick peas, drained, rinsed

• 1 (14-ounce) can chopped Imported Italian tomatoes in juice [our tomatoes were not Italian. they were from costco.]

• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach (or) 1 cup frozen chopped spinach

• 1 cup crumbled Manchego cheese

To make roasted eggplant: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss together eggplant, olive oil, salt and pepper in large bowl. Spread on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and bake 30 minutes until golden brown and tender. This can be done up to 2 days prior to assembling recipe. Makes about 2 cups.

To complete: Heat oil in large non stick saute pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and smoked paprika and saute for 1 minute to soften onions. Add roasted eggplant chunks, chick peas, tomatoes and bring to a simmer, cook for 5 minutes, add the spinach and cheese.

Serves 4 [but we had enough for 4 for dinner and leftovers for my lunch the next day]

pizza!

pizza made with trader joe's whole wheat pizza crust, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and homemade tomato sauce. (i have absolutely no memory of how i cooked this pizza. i'm guessing 10 minutes at 375? anything from 350-400 should work, and just bake until cheese is brown and bubbly.) my (improvised) homemade tomato sauce: saute 2 cloves of minced garlic in a little olive oil. when garlic is light brown, add 1/2 can of chopped tomatoes in their juices, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, and a generous sprinkle of italian seasoning (i also added some fresh rosemary). simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in sliced fresh basil (or just put the basil on top of your pizza), salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of sugar.
-Lola

Naan Pizza

We have just a few days til we go back home now, and we're desperately trying to get rid of the the food in the fridge before we leave. This has resulted in some pretty random meals (one night recently my dinner was some plain couscous, several slices of cheese, and spinach with salad dressing), but this particular meal turned out great.

we spread some tomato sauce on a frozen piece of naan, topped it with some peas and grated cheddar, and baked it until the cheese melted, about 10 minutes at 400 degrees fahrenheit.
-rita