Four Cheese Ravioli

When I was growing up, ravioli was one of the things that we got as a treat on special occasions. My mom would get one of the giant cans from Chef Boyardee, add some cheese, and bake it in the oven. When I got older, I realized how unhealthy that stuff was, and what was more, how slimy the pasta was, and stopped eating it altogether. Then while reading a book called Cook This, Not That I found a recipe for ravioli and realized how easy it would be to make my own. This recipe is loosely based on that recipe.

1 package round wonton wrappers
16 oz ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated mozzarella
3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg white
1 Tlbs milk

In a bowl mix the ricotta, mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan, and garlic powder together. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white and milk together. Take one of the wonton wrappers and put a small amount of the cheese mixture on one half of the wrapper. Make sure to leave 1/2" or so of free space around the edge of the wrapper. It takes some practice to get the amount right. I would say 2 tsp or so of the mixture, or an amount no larger than the size of a small super ball. Form it to make a half circle shape within your wonton wrapper. Then, using a small paintbrush, paint the edge of the wonton wrapper with the egg white mixture and fold over the wrapper so that you now have a closed half circle. Press the two edges together, using the egg white mixture as the "glue" that holds the two halves together. Make sure to press firmly and seal it completely from end to end. Then repeat until either your cheese mixture or your wonton wrappers are gone.

This is the perfect recipe to make and freeze. There is a bit of work that goes into assembling the ravioli, but to make it from frozen takes me exactly 5 minutes from freezer to plate. To freeze the ravioli, spray a cookie sheet with olive oil and lay the finished ravioli on the pan as you make them. Freeze them for half an hour, then lift them off the sheet, throw them into a ziploc bag, and put them in the freezer. To cook them, slide the desired amount into boiling water for about 2 minutes, then top with your desired sauce. Including the time to boil the water, it takes no more than 5 minutes. Perfect. It is important not to overcook the ravioli or the edges will come unsealed and then you have a mess, so keep a close eye on them. I would say between 1.5 and 2 minutes at the outside, if you put them into boiling water.

Although I haven't yet done it, I think this would be a great recipe to easily modify. It would be really easy to disguise steamed cauliflower (which I hate) or mushrooms (ew) or even good stuff like broccoli in these babies and no one would be the wiser. I do wish I could find whole wheat wonton wrappers, but this is still so much healthier and delicious than the canned version that I really don't mind.

Rating: 4/5
Why? This is a time-consuming recipe to put together. It takes about an hour or so, depending on how fast you are, to make an entire batch. However, when you are done, you have a large amount of ravioli that will last for months in the freezer, and if you keep the pasta sauce on hand, you have a dinner that takes less time than ordering a pizza and is far healthier. I think 4-5 of these would make one serving, topped with 1 cup or so of the tomato pasta sauce.

Cheese and Corn Lasagna

I think lasagna is one of the most comforting of comfort foods. And living in Washington, it can get pretty cold and dreary, one of the main causes of needing comfort foods in the first place. Being a teacher provides the rest of the motivation. =) This recipe is my own, very loosely based on what my mom used to make when I was little.

This is the recipe for an 8x8 or 9x9 pan

6 whole wheat lasagna noodles
8 oz low fat ricotta cheese
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese
1.5 cups fresh or frozen corn
1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp basil
2 tsp parsley
1/8 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

Prepare the noodles according to the directions on the package. Make the sauce by combining the tomato sauce, basil, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. If desired, you can do this over medium heat for 15 minutes or so. Spray the pan with olive oil. Spread 2 of the noodles with the ricotta cheese and lay them in the pan. There should be some extra of each of the noodles, cut it off and use it for the third row in your pan. Spread a thin layer of the sauce on top of the noodles, then 1/3 of the cheddar cheese. On top of that, put 1/2 cup of corn, then 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat the process twice more, for three total layers. On top of the last layer, sprinkle the parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

I love this recipe but have to be careful not to eat the entire pan in one sitting. =) I have tried to clean it up with the whole wheat noodles, corn and low-fat cheeses, but it is not entirely healthy even so. I do not use the pre-cooked noodles for this reason, even though they are easier, they are not nearly as healthy as the whole wheat ones. I also make my own sauce to cut down on the not-so-great stuff, but you could use jarred pasta sauce if you wanted to. It would also be easy to add ground turkey, steamed broccoli, or other additions if you wanted to do so.

Rating: 5/5
Why? It's the perfect comfort food. 'Nuff said.

Chicken Alfredo

I love cream sauces, but try to stay away from them as they are generally full of fat. But in the September/October 2010 Clean Eating issue there was a recipe for Alfredo Cream Sauce, so I decided to give it a shot.

2 handfuls of whole wheat pasta (I used spirals)
1 chicken breast
1.5 cups non-fat milk
3 tsp arrowroot
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the directions and grill the chicken (I did mine on the stovetop on medium heat). When the chicken is about halfway done, start the sauce. Whisk together the milk and the arrowroot and warm it over medium heat until it starts to thicken. It took me about 5 minutes or so. Then turn the heat to medium low, add in the nutmeg and the pepper and stir to combine. Add the parmesan cheese and continue stirring until it is mostly melted. Add the yogurt and continue stirring for 1-2 minutes more until everything is smooth. By this time the chicken should be done. You can either add the chicken into the sauce, or put the chicken on top of the pasta. Also, you can stir the sauce and the pasta together or you can pour the sauce over the pasta.

I had some trouble finding arrowroot, so the first time I made this I used cornstarch instead. I like it a little better with the arrowroot, but the difference is minimal. It works just fine with cornstarch. although you may need to adjust the amount a little bit. This recipe starts out a bit oddly, since the milk and the arrowroot frothed up as I stirred it. But as soon as I added the nutmeg it calmed right down. Which brings me to my next comment...I never knew that nutmeg was the flavor in Alfredo sauce!

Rating - 4.5/5
Why? This tastes pretty close to the real thing, in my opinion, although the texture is just a little different. Good with chicken, and would also be really good with broccoli.

Baked Cornbread

Remember that chili from the last post? This is the perfect accompaniment! This recipe is adapted from my mom's Jungle Camp Cookbook.

1 cup whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups cornmeal
1.5 cups milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup applesauce

Fold the ingredients together just until blended. Pour into a oiled 9x9 pan, and bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or until slightly brown.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? This is pretty good cornbread, and has been cleaned up quite a bit from the original recipe, which called for oil in place of applesauce, white flour in place of whole wheat, and triple the amount of salt. The original recipe also was designed to be baked in a cast-iron frying pan, but I have never managed to cook it that way without burning it.

November Chili

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we either have absolutely glorious Novembers, full of crisp mornings and flaming yellow leaves, or we have dreary, sodden, dripping days of rain. Apparently, this year it's our turn to have a dreary November, and there is nothing better to ward off those days than slow-cooked chili. This recipe is adapted from one off of allrecipes.com.

1/2 bag of mixed dried beans from the back of the cupboard
2 cans of low-sodium black beans
2 cans of organic tomato soup
6 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 medium sweet onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb low-fat ground turkey, cooked
2 Tlbs ish of chili powder
1 Tlbs basil
1 Tlbs oregano
2 Tlbs red wine vinegar

Soak the dried beans overnight, covering them in at least an inch of water.

In a large pot, combine all the ingredients. Add more chili powder if you want it to be more intense. Bring it to a boil over medium or medium-low heat, then turn down to low and simmer for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

This recipe is infinitely malleable. I also call it "end-of-the-month-chili" since you can throw leftovers in there too - like rice, peas, broccoli, whatever. The original recipe called for 1 can of crushed tomatoes, but I just got regular tomatoes instead, and added the tomato soup since I happened to have it on hand and wanted to adjust the consistency of the soup.

Rating: 5/5
Why? There is nothing better than opening the door to the smell of chili after a long, cold day. This recipe is amazing, and the red wine vinegar totally makes it. I also recommend replacing the red wine vinegar with cider vinegar, as that tastes pretty good too!

Poppyseed Chicken

This is the family recipe for a close friend of mine but the original recipe was something that could only be eaten by people with excessively low cholesterol levels, as it was somewhat unhealthy, to put it mildly. I have been thinking about the recipe a lot lately, so decided to play with it and see what happened. The original recipe is from the Danley Family.

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/8 cup olive oil
1 Tlbs butter, melted
1/8 tsp ground mustard
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp tarragon
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
2 Tlbs poppy seeds (approximately)

Mix the shredded chicken, yogurt, chicken broth, and mozzarella cheese, then put them in a 9x9 pan. In a small bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients, except for the poppy seeds. Spread the bread crumb mixture evenly over the chicken mixture. Then sprinkle the poppy seeds over the top of the bread crumbs - as thick as you want. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

This looks a little odd, but it is goooooood, and really comforting. Just to show you how much I have changed the recipe, the original recipe called for a cup of sour cream, a sleeve of Ritz crackers, and a stick of butter. Yeurgh. But deeeelicious. My upgrades don't taste exactly the same, but it is close enough to make this occasionally and still not die of a stroke immediately afterwards.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? I put too much oil in my version, although I reduced the amount when I wrote it above. And nothing quite replaces the taste of the Ritz, but it is still pretty good.

Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins

Growing up, I was not a huge fan of pumpkin, and I still look askance at the gelatinous goop that comes out of cans, but I stumbled across a recipe for pumpkin puree and it looked so good that I bought a sugar pumpkin and gave it a shot. It was super easy and the puree is this bright, beautiful orange color that calls to me. Everything I put it into turns out tasting like autumn, including these muffins. The original recipe was from allrecipes.com.

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup oatmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup raw sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

Mix the canola oil and the oatmeal together and let it sit for 5-10 minutes while you do the next steps. In another bowl, thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the eggs, pumpkin puree, and oil/oatmeal mixture. FOLD the ingredients together JUST until mixed. Spray oil into the muffin cups and then flour the cups as well....or use cupcake liners. Fill the muffin cups with batter to 1/4 inch below the top, then bake in a 350 oven for 18 minutes.

The original recipe called for raisins and walnuts, but I don't like those, so I left them out. It also called for 1/2 cup of honey instead of sugar, but I was out of that, so I used sugar instead. It seemed like a lot of sugar, so I cut the sugar in half and the muffins were still plenty sweet, in my opinion. I would also have preferred to use applesauce in place of the oil, but I was out of that too. (Thank goodness payday is tomorrow!)

Rating - 5/5
Why? Pumpkin and spice and everything nice, that's what these muffins are made of.