Recipe Review: Butternut Squash Lasagna

I love butternut squash, but you can only have so much of it roasted or made into soup.  So my search led me to a recipe for butternut squash lasagna.  I don’t tend to make lasagna very often for two reasons.  Firstly it’s somewhat time-consuming, and secondly, it doesn’t tend to be exactly ‘lite.’ 

So this vegetarian version from Cooking Light Magazine appealed to me as it was definitely lighter than the traditional, but possibly just as time-consuming!  On the plus side, this recipe makes two 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pans – one for now and one to freeze for later.    

There are basically five components to the recipe:

• Butternut squash - the recipe says to dice and microwave, but I roasted it in the oven as the browning or caramelization provides more flavor.  Just toss with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread on a cookie sheet.  Roast for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until tender and starting to brown.  The time will vary according to the size of your squash.  The recipe doesn’t say what size to dice them, so it’s up to you.  I cut mine fairly small – probably about ½”.

• Spinach – fresh spinach is sautéed with onions until it wilts.  The recipe calls for 10 cups so I bought one of those big boxes of baby spinach from Costco.  I decided this is actually easier than using the frozen spinach, and so much tastier.  The frozen has to be thawed, squeezed out, etc.  The baby spinach can just be thrown in the pan and that’s it.

• Cheese mixture.  This consists of two types of ricotta – part-skim and fat free – eggs, fresh parsley, provolone cheese, salt and pepper.  I added some freshly grated nutmeg also – a classic Italian addition for spinach and ricotta. 

• Lasagna noodles – buy the kind that don’t require pre-cooking. 

• Marinara sauce – this is made from scratch – well not actually from scratch.  Fresh herbs are added to cans of crushed tomatoes.  This can be done a day or two ahead.  Use store-bought marinara if you prefer and to save time.  Look for the kind that says ‘fire-roasted’ to get that nice smoky flavor.

The assembly is pretty straight forward – just make sure you have all the components ready to go.  The recipe called for two 8 x 8 pans, but I used two 9 x 9.  I also used more lasagna noodles than the recipe stated – not sure whether this was because of the size of pan or the size of the noodles.  Mine were from Trader Joe’s and I used about 20 instead of 12.  One of the pans went in the oven for dinner, and the other is in the freezer uncooked. 

Make sure you include the cooking instructions with the one in the freezer.  That way you won’t be scrambling around trying to remember where to find the recipe.  Write the thawing and cooking instructions on a piece of paper and insert between layers of plastic wrap.  Include where to find the recipe in case you really like it and want to make it again!

I have to say the lasagna was delicious and very figure-friendly.  One serving is a sixth of the recipe (a hearty portion) and only has 254 calories, 8.5 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber.  Only 7 points for those of you doing WeightWatchers.  Very good heated up as leftovers the next day also.

I give this 4 thumbs up (out of 5), and would definitely make it again.

Here’s the link to the recipe:
Butternut Squash Lasagna

Recipe Review: Hearty Cabbage Skillet Supper

A friend of mine mentioned that she’d made a recipe from the Sacramento Bee the other week.  She said it had sausages, cabbage, and apple in it.  I realized I had all those ingredients at home, so I pulled out the recipe and we had it for dinner Sunday evening. 


The recipe calls for 6 cups of coleslaw mix or finely shredded cabbage.  I happened to have red and green cabbage, so I used both.  I think the recipe was supposed to be kind of German, but my sausages happened to be Spicy Jalapeno from Trader Joe’s, so my version turned out a little different, especially as I didn’t have any caraway seeds that the recipe called for. 

You could actually use any kind of sausage, cooked or uncooked.  The recipe says to use cooked and nestle them into the cabbage mixture towards the end.  My sausages were already cooked, but I didn’t want them to look pale and anemic, so I browned them in a fry pan with a very small amount of olive oil. 

As I mentioned, I didn’t have any caraway seeds, so I seasoned the cabbage mixture with salt and pepper, a little apple cider along with the broth, and a pinch of red pepper flakes, just to kick the flavor up a little.  I served this with some oven roasted fingerling potatoes – yum!  Also very quick and easy.

Gillian’s rating: 3 thumbs up (out of 5)

This recipe was back in February, so here is the link in case you’d like to try it.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/09/v-print/3386919/recipe-hearty-cabbage-skillet.html

Recipe Review: Curried Cauliflower Salad

Curried Cauliflower Salad
The crunch, the color and the curry powder
appeal to the eye and to the taste buds.

This recipe was in The Sacramento Bee February 20, 2011 and sounded intriguing to me.  I can't say I've ever eaten roasted cauliflower in a salad, and the combination of sweet, salty and spicy ingredients sounded delicious.  Not to mention, it sounded like it would be good for me!

First, raw cashews are tossed with curry powder, salt and maple syrup and toasted in the oven.  Then cauliflower florets are also mixed with curry powder, cumin, coriander, ginger, and olive oil and roasted.  The cooled cauliflower and cashews are then tossed together with other tasty ingredients - red bell pepper, dried apricots, frozen peas, and cilantro.  Finally a splash of alight, sweet dressing of agave syrup, lemon juice and olive oil is added. 

I pretty much kept to the recipe.  I did substitute the peas for edamame, as my peas were frozen in a solid ice block and when thawed, tasted like they had been that way for far too long.  Fortunately I had some frozen edamame which were in much better shape.  This also added a little more protein to the dish.

I served the salad at room temperature with some leftover chicken breast and naan bread.  It was very good, and as I mentioned earlier, I loved the combination of sweet, salty, and spicy.  I'm sure leftovers will be good also!

I give this four thumbs up (out of five), and would definitely make it again.

Here's the link to the recipe:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/02/3369168/try-cauliflower-for-a-spicy-winter.html