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.

Like the Irish Cream Poundcake from a few weeks ago, Katrin Baker shared this recipe with me for me to add to Jessica’s cookbook.  She thinks it may have originally come from Cooking Light.  It was another one of Matt’s and my favorites of the ones we made.  I always love risotto, and the roasted tomatoes that go with this would also be delicious on their own, or in bruschetta, for instance.  Enjoy!

Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella, Roasted Tomatoes, and Basil

Adapted from Katrin Baker, possibly originally from Cooking Light

⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
4½ cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1½ cups Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice
⅓ cup dry white wine
¼ cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
roasted tomatoes (recipe follows
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
5 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, finely diced

Place vinegar in a small, heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until slightly syrupy (about 4 minutes). Set aside.

Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, and cook 1 minute or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 5 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). Stir in half-and-half, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in basil and cheese.

Place about 1 cup risotto evenly into 6 shallow serving bowls, and drizzle each with ½ teaspoon balsamic syrup and roasted tomatoes.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground peppe
4 sprigs fresh oregano, rosemary, or thyme

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Put tomatoes, herbs, oil, salt, and pepper into a large bowl; toss to combine. Spread mixture on a rimmed baking sheet.

Roast until tomatoes begin to collapse, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely; serve at room temperature.

I know we’re late to join the bandwagon, but we enjoyed this salad all through last summer, and now that watermelon and tomatoes are starting back in season, it seemed like it was about time to share this with you.  My parents lived in Atlanta very briefly at the beginning of last summer.  It didn’t work out so well, but they say at least one good thing came out of it — they went to a restaurant that served this salad.  I’m not even a big tomato fan, but when it’s combined with watermelon and feta cheese, as has become popular lately, it becomes something wonderful.  And the way my parents serve this salad is all about the presentation.  It’s simple and quick, but elegant and a bit “dressed up” looking at the same time.  It’s especially nice with both yellow and red tomatoes, as shown here.

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Sorry for the long hiatus, but the quarter is finally over and I should have a chance to blog a bit at least for the next couple weeks when things get geared up again. Everything has been so busy I’ve hardly even been cooking, much less taking pictures and writing something up. Matt’s been taking care of me very generously though, so I have been fed some pretty good meals in between working problem sets, exams, and grading. But I’m looking forward to getting back in the kitchen!

Here’s an easy side dish that always seems to impress despite its simplicity. We learned this from a friend when we were studying abroad in France a few years ago. I don’t have a real recipe and I always change it around a bit, but here’s the gist of it.

Stuffed Tomatoes

• small, round tomatoes, one for every two servings
• coarse breadcrumbs, preferably homemade, ~1/2 c per tomato
• fresh Parmigiano-Regianno, grated, a few tablespoons per tomato
• fresh chopped herbs, a tablespoon or so per tomato (rosemary, parsley, thyme, etc. … I use whatever I have on hand)
• minced garlic, about a clove per tomato
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut tomatoes in half. Place cut side up on a baking sheet. (You may need to cut a little bit off the rounded side so they will sit flat.) In a bowl, mix together breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add enough olive oil so the filling can be barely held together when squished. Drizzle a little olive oil over the tomatoes. Mound the filling on top of each tomato half. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes or so, until the top is a little browned and the tomatoes are cooked through.