Sorry for the long hiatus — hopefully I’ll be back around here a bit more!

This is another recipe that comes from the cookbook I made for Jessica.  It was sent to me by her friend Carrie Geddie, who found the original recipe at All Recipes. It’s a delicious vegetarian lasagna, and was one of Matt’s favorites of the recipes we sampled. I’m sure it would also be a great make-ahead and freeze to cook as needed type of meal. Thanks for sharing, Carrie!

Artichoke Spinach Lasagne

9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 (14 ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 (28 ounce) jar tomato marinara sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (4 ounce) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish with cooking spray or butter.

Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook noodles according to package directions or until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes, until onion is translucent. Add in broth and fresh rosemary. Bring to a boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in jar of marinara sauce.

Spread 1/4 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with 3 cooked noodles. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with tomato sauce mixture. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.

Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, until hot and bubbly and the cheese is beginning to brown. Let it rest 10 minutes before serving.

An update of one of our very firsts posts!

Growing up I often asked for a Red Velvet cake for my birthday. One year I remember Mom making a version with peppermint icing, with a recipe I think came from Southern Living. I decided to try something like that, but in miniature form, adapting the recipe Mom always used for red velvet cake, which I think came from my grandmother. I entered these cupcakes in the “Biochemistry Bake-Off” at work a couple years ago, when we first started this blog.  It’s become one of the most popular posts on the site, especially this time of year, but the photos were long past due for a remake — we’ve come a long way since then — and my birthday yesterday was the perfect excuse to make myself cupcakes.

My favorite part of Red Velvet cake is the cream cheese frosting, so I stuck with that for this festive version, but flavored it with peppermint.  I garnished some with a bit of peppermint bark (yes, I know I need to update that post as well…), and some of them I frosted with a candy cane swirl. To get the swirl effect, dye some of the frosting red with food coloring (it will take a lot!) and carefully fill one side of a pastry bag with the red frosting and the other side with white. Then, when you pipe it out of a star tip, you get a striped swirl.

You might also like:

• Red Velvet Cake Truffles
• Mocha Peppermint Bark Cookies
• Peppermint Bark
• Nutty Fingers

Peppermint Red Velvet Cupcakes
Makes 2 dozen cupcakes, or use the same recipe for a 3 layer cake.
Note that I never seem to get a nice domed top out of these cupcakes, but once you frost them it’s not a big deal, and the cake still tastes delicious.

For the cake:

1 c butter (softened)
2 c sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 T cocoa
1 T vinegar
2 1/2 c cake flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla
1 oz red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until fluffy.

Add cocoa to vinegar, and add to creamed mixture.

Sift remaining dry ingredients and gradually add to batter. Add buttermilk, vanilla, and food coloring.

Bake in cupcake wrappers (makes 2 dozen) or bake in three greased and floured 9″ round cake pans, at 350 F for 25 minutes.

Let cool completely before icing.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting:

3/4 package of cream cheese (6 oz) (softened)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 1-lb. box of powdered sugar
1 t peppermint extract

Beat cream cheese and butter. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Add extract and beat until blended.