Vegetable Chicken Bake

394.  This recipe is a Keto friendly version of lasagna, though, without the noodles.

 It is layered with vegetables and meat of your choice.
 I have used chicken, ground beef and Italian sausage crumbled and adapted them to the recipe.

And if pasta is welcome, it pairs perfectly with any type of pasta noodle.

"Italian food is all about ingredients and it's not fussy and it's not fancy."

~  Wolfgang Puck

Manicotti

368.  A homespun Italian dish that always brings satisfaction and delight is Manicotti.  Traditional Italian cooks will make homemade crepes from egg and flour but with our modern means, you can pick up a box of pre-made manicotti shells in your grocery store.  I find that using a better brand of pasta you will have less breakage and the shells will stay round.
I made this recipe for my family  and it is always a great meal.  My mother-in-law would make Manicotti and called it "Man-ĭ-got".  It was always a favorite meal!

I used the Barilla brand of pasta and they were beautiful!  My filling was mixed together and I placed it in a large zip-lock bag.  I snipped the end and it worked well filling the pasta tubes.

I over-filled them so the cheese would not pour out during baking, lined them up and then poured sauce over.

Now, the beauty of the lined up shells bursting with cheese is a beautiful sight.  Once the sauce is poured over you loose that beautiful display.  Often, this is where some cooks will cover the shells only with a white sauce to bake.  It helps to maintain the moisture but maintains the beauty of the dish.  Then they serve red sauce on the side.  Stanley Tucci in his great cookbook The Tucci Cookbook makes this recipe but uses the homemade crêpes and white sauce.  Now this is a cookbook worth having in your collection.

Here is my recipe:

To save recipe select and drag to desktop or select and copy from your smart devise.

I don't use too much cheese on top due to the over abundance of cheese in the dish itself.

Now...this is a scrumptious dish...or as stated in the movie "Big Night"...PARADISE! 

"You have to be serious about what you do but you mustn't take yourself seriously.  That way you'll be happier and ultimately you'll be more successful.  You'll be better at what you do."  ~ Stanley Tucci

"If you find that thing you love, it doesn't necessarily matter whether you do it well or not - you just need to do it."  ~ Stanley Tucci

Stromboli

365. Most Italian food lovers are familiar with Stromboli.  Some people call them "pockets" or "pizza pockets",  "turnover" or "calzone" -which has a different filling.  But truly, the classic Stromboli is what you are familiar with or based on the region of the world you are from.

In Pennsylvania, where I grew up, there was a small Italian pizza shop in town where "Little Tony" served the best pizza, Stromboli and Calzone.  Their Stromboli was stuffed with ham, pepperoni, Mozzarella cheese and the dough was perfect.  The filling would pour out when you cut into it.  Their Calzone was similar but the filling was green peppers, onion, sweet Italian sausage and Mozzarella cheese.  Same dough just different filling and the shape was the same.  This is the image in my mind of these favorites.  Now, if you google either name you will see all types of variations.  Some say that sauce is one of the main ingredients in Stromboli but you serve sauce on the side with the Calzone.  There is no right or wrong to the process.  The little Pizza shop in my hometown had their version of pizza and Italian specialties based on the region "Little Tony" came from in Italy and it did not have sauce inside but was served on the side.

 My version of Stromboli changes with what ingredients are at hand or what my family is hungry for.

I made a whole wheat pizza dough and cut up ham, pepperoni, salami, onion, fresh basil, sprinkle of pepper seeds and garlic salt and spinach.

 Wet the edges of the dough just to make sure they stay sealed and then roll the edge.  You could use a fork to press the edges or crimp the edge...your choice.

 Next, brush the top of each pie with olive oil.  My favorite is this Tuscan Herb Olive Oil from Luceros.

 They are large in size but most Stromboli's are.  They are meant to be a full meal to grab and go.

My process was to bake them in a 425° oven for approximately 50 minutes.

Here is my recipe:

To save the recipe select and drag to desk top or select and print from smart phone.

The Stromboli was perfectly brown and the filling was melty, cheesy and so satisfying.

We also had a side of marinara sauce for dipping or pouring over.  It is like a deconstructed pizza.
The next time you make pizza dough or see pizza dough, pick it up, bring it home and try making your own version of Stromboli.  I assure you, your family will thank you and request Stromboli or Calzone often.

"La cucina piccola fal la casa grande. "  ~Italian proverb

Translation: "A small kitchen makes the house big."

"Paese che vai, usanza che trovi."  ~ Anonymous 

Translation:  "Different places you visit, different customs you'll find."

Rolattini

333.  Here is a simply easy and great meal for any night, Rollatini.

My process is simple and easy to follow, and you can make a meatless variation with spinach, kale, broccoli rabe or any other veggie you choose.  I made a similar meal a while back with spinach and prosciutto.  You can find that post here

Rollatini

1 16 oz container of Ricotta Cheese

2 cups hand shredded Mozzarella Cheese or 1 16 oz bag shredded

3 cups Marinara tomato sauce homemade or 1 16 oz bottle of prepared Marinara tomato sauce

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

Salt and Pepper

1 box Lasagna Noodles

1 lb ground pork or beef sautéd and drained, set aside to cool

options:   Spinach leaves, onion sautéed, Shredded cooked chicken, Kale leaves, Broccoli steamed

Boil a large pot of water and partially boil the Lasagna Noodles till flexible.  Drain and place in a cold water bath.

In a bowl place ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, egg and salt and pepper.  Mix till incorporated.  Set aside

Assemble:  

In a large greased baking dish spoon about 1/2 cup sauce onto the bottom and spread around.  

Take one lasagna noodle, spread 2 Tablespoons of ricotta cheese mixture across the noodle, then place 2 Tablespoons of meat.  Take one end and roll the noodle up to form a rollatini.  Place flat side down in baking dish.  Repeat till all the noodles and filling has been used.

Spoon remaining sauce over the rollatini then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella cheese.  Cover with tin foil.

Bake in a 350∘ oven for approximately 1 hour or till bubbly and cheese is melted.  You may remove the tin foil in the last 10 minutes of baking to brown the top of the cheese.

 

Now...how hard was that?

"When your Italian mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is mere formality.

It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no.

You're going to get advice anyway."

- Anonymous

Stuffed Zucchini

305.  Zucchini is such a bountiful diverse vegetable.  With such a mild flavor and texture, it can camouflage as sweet or savory.

 When a zucchini makes its way into my kitchen, my favorite way of preparing it is with a savory meat stuffing.

 I cut it length wise and scrape out the center seed section creating a trough.

 Next, ground meat is mixed with either 1 cup of rice or 1 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs, 1 large egg, 1 large onion chopped, 2 cloves garlic minced, salt and pepper, parsley, ¼ cup parmesan cheese.  Mix together till blended.

 You can place the extra pieces of zucchini around the bottom of the baking dish.
 Fill the trough with the meat mixture and spread evenly mounding the meat.

 If there is extra meat I make meatballs and place them in the baking dish as well.

 I use marinara sauce, this sauce I canned this summer from my wonderful tomato harvest.

 I pour the sauce around the zucchini and lightly cover the meat.

 I cover the baking dish with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.  Then remove the tinfoil and place mozzarella cheese across the meat and place it back in the oven till melted.

I serve it with pasta and the sauce from the baking dish.  The zucchini and meat render beautiful flavors into the sauce. It is delicious, hardy and a delightful spin on Italian meatloaf.  A one casserole meal.

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."

~J. Davis