Lasagna Roll-ups

I think it's impossible to take a really good picture of pasta...at least for me.

Life is just full of unwelcome curve balls when you least expect or want them. When I set up to make lasagna rolls instead of a traditional lasagna, I made one choice which set off a chain of hassles which doubled my time in a kitchen that was over 90 degrees (abour 32 degrees C.) and increased my dish washing load (all washed by hand) by a third. The mistake I made was buying a different type of lasagna noodles than usual.

I'll start over and say that lasagna noodles are not easy to find in just any Tokyo supermarket, and they're very expensive to boot. I usually buy them at one particular place, but this time I didn't feel like tromping around in the heat to a second store so I was happy to find some noodles on offer at the same shop as I purchased all of the other necessary ingredients. This particular place is a cheap green grocer-style place. A package of 12 noodles cost 598 yen ($7.08), and I needed 6 of them so I thought this would be a good size.

I went home and started preparing all of the things I need to do for this particular task  - making cottage cheese by boiling milk and adding vinegar, frying up onions and pepper and ground chicken, and boiling the noodles. When all of the work was done, I made my basic filling for the roll-ups and got out a noodle to spread it on. When I picked up the noodle, I knew something was seriously different. It had ballooned up to about 1.5 times the size of the noodles I usually buy and all of that extra space meant I only had enough filling to spread 2 of the 6 noodles. Since they're so expensive, and I don't think you can save cooked noodles (can you?), I had to scramble to boil another liter of milk with vinegar and prepare more cottage cheese and other ingredients to make a conventional lasagna (which I could use 4 full noodles with) instead of more roll-ups.

On the bright side, if I attempt this recipe again, I'll only need two noodles for 4 servings. On the less bright side, I thought I would die in the heat and the kitchen is still a gigantic mess from all of the dishes. I'm just too damn hot to go out and clean it up right now. So, dear readers, if you make this recipe, I caution you that this may not be the right amount of filling for your noodles depending on whether or not you buy the "giant expanding noodle" brand or something more akin to what I usually use. Two noodles will probably do you, but you may need three.

Here is what the roll-ups ended up being composed of:

filling:

2 cups cottage cheese (dry curd)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. oregano
pepper (to taste)
3 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 tbsp. parmesan cheese

2 (or possibly 3) lasagna noodles

sauce:
8 oz. ground chicken or turkey
1/4 large yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 cups pasta sauce (marinara)

Grease or spray a loaf pan or small baking dish. 

To prepare the sauce:
Fry the onion and bell pepper in a scant amount of oil in a non-stick skillet until wilted and lightly browned. Add the ground meat and fry until browned. Drain any remaining oil or juices (I didn't have any because the meat was lean). Pour in the pasta sauce and stir. There is no need to heat the pasta sauce through since it'll be baked in the oven.

Pasta:
 Boil the lasagna noodles to desired tenderness level (according to the package instructions). Drain, rinse with cold water if necessary to cool the noodles to a temperature at which they can be handled (or simply allow to cool naturally).

To prepare the filling:
Break the egg into a medium size bowl and lightly beat with a fork. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and parsley and beat until mixed in. Stir in the cottage cheese until completely mixed. Gently stir in the mozzarella. This should make a paste which is easy to handle.

Assembly:
Lay a cooked noodle on a flat surface. With your hands, spread the filling evenly over the surface of the noodle. Roll up like a cinnamon roll. Cut the noodle in half. Place the halves in the prepared baking dish or loaf pan cut-side up. Spoon the meat and sauce over the ends of roll-ups.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 400 degrees F./200 degrees C. for 35-40 minutes.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Burrito Pie

I can't claim that this is some major culinary achievement. It's actually just a different way of presenting all of the main ingredients of a burrito as I tend to prepare one. The main appeal of this is that it makes 4 servings at once without all of the spooning and folding and that it is much higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates. It's also good for making a meal when you're nearly out of tortillas. ;-)

Ingredients:

• 1 large flour tortilla (as big as a pie plate)
• 1 can refried beans (I used Rosarita)
• 4-8 oz. leftover taco meat (seasoned ground meat)
• Pace Picante sauce or salsa (to taste, I used about 8 tbsp.)
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped green onions (I used more)
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced into 8 slices
• 4 oz. Colby Jack or cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Spray a 9" pie plate with oil or cooking spray. Center the flour tortilla in the pie pan and press it into the corners. Evenly spread the can of refried beans over the tortilla. Evenly sprinkle the cooked ground meat over the beans. Gently press the meat down into the beans. Spoon the Picante sauce or salsa over the meat and sprinkle with the green onions. Top with cheese, then arrange the tomato slices on the cheese. Salt and pepper the tomato slices as desired.

Bake at 350 degrees F. or 180 degrees C. for about 40 minutes or until the cheese has bubbled up and the tomatoes are wrinkled and slightly wilted looking. Allow to rest in the pan for about 15 minutes before cutting.

Depending on how much meat you use, this is between 325 (4 oz.) and 375 calories (8 oz.) per serving.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Spicy Chicken (possibly with cheese)

I discovered this recipe on Lisa Tries to Cook and Get Healthy. Of course, I changed it somewhat because that's what I do. This recipe appealed to me for a variety of reasons. First of all, it uses chicken breasts, and lately I've been finding that my local green grocer sells that particular cut for 19 yen per 100 grams (21 cents for 3.5 oz. or 96 cents per pound) on occasion. That's as cheap as chicken gets in Japan. When I find these sales, I load up on breast meat and freeze it.

The second reason is that this is a fairly simple recipe, though I made it fussier and more complex because, again, that's what I do. Third, it's fast. With an original cooking time of 20 minutes, it takes a lot less time in the oven than I'm used to and this is something I appreciate as we gear up for four and a half months of misery in Tokyo (humid and hot, then hotter until around mid October). And finally, it uses spices I tend to only use for Indian-style dishes. Using cumin for something which isn't Indian gave this dish a different flavor and I'm all for dressing up my breasts (chicken breasts, you dirty-minded people) in an unusual way.

Chili Chicken

For this recipe, you need:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

I decided I wanted to marinate the chicken and add an acidic component in order to enhance the flavor and increase the chances of tender, juicy white meat. First, set up the marinade:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• the juice of half a small lemon (only use fresh juice)
• 2 tsp. ground cumin (I think it could use more, I misread the original recipe and thought it was "teaspoons", but it was "tablespoons")
• 1 tsp.  salt
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 1/3 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Whisk all of the above together in a medium bowl that you have a lid for. Dredge the chicken in it (rub them together if necessary to coat evenly as it's a small amount of liquid). Put all of the breasts in the bowl, seal with the lid and leave in your refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Longer is fine. I think mine marinated for about 5.5 hours, but I'm thinking overnight would be just as good.

• 2 small green peppers (piman, in Japan), cut into rings
• 1 small diced yellow onion
• 1 large tomato (coarsely chopped)
• Colby Jack cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 205 degrees C. or 400 degrees F. Place the marinated chicken into a lightly greased baking pan (or sheet). Layer the vegetables on top of the chicken and cook in the preheated oven until the juices in the chicken run clear. Top with cheese if desired and serve with a green salad.

Mine took about 38 minutes, but the breasts I used were large and crowded in my pan. I also layered more vegetables than Lisa did in her original recipe. The one thing I learned this time and will do differently next time is not to slice the thin-skinned Japanese peppers so thinly. Next time, I'm making thicker rings so they don't burn in spots.

My husband liked this a lot, and the chicken came out nice and moist (as you can see by the picture, the interior is juicy). The vegetables compliment the spices well and take on a roasted flavor. I had mine "as is" and my husband had his with cheese. I think it is certainly good either way, but I took a picture of mine because he cut his up pretty fast.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Pasta with Japanese Pumpkin, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan

I don't know how something that starts out orange (note the color of the pumpkin on top) can turn so green. Both the garnish and sauce are cooked so it's not the cooking or exposure to air.

I'm not a big fan of pasta, or any kind of noodle for that matter. I could never have been one of those college students who subsisted on things like "Top Ramen." Of course, I'm convinced that ramen is evil. Shawn's one and only MacBook was destroyed when a bowl of ramen lept from his hand and splattered itself on the keyboard. Well, either that or he carelessly held the bowl over the keyboard and dropped it. Either way, you just can't trust noodles!

Despite the fact that I would never leave a noodle alone with my wallet, I did decide to try a pasta dish. My motivation was less a love of noodles than a desire to use some of the kaboucha, or Japanese pumpkin, that I'd cooked up for something other than stuffing it into my greedy maw as delicious chunks of squash heaven. I've eaten plenty of kaboucha, but never used it for much of anything else as I tend to use American pumpkin puree when I cook with pumpkin. It's not as sweet and is more flexible (not to mention cheaper). If you don't have access to kaboucha and want to try this, you can use butternut or acorn squash.

I chose to make a sauce for pasta because I thought that Parmesan cheese and pine nuts would pair well with the pumpkin flavor and I frankly can't think of anything other than pasta that goes well with both of those ingredients. Here is what I came up with:

Japanese Pumpkin Sauce:

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2 small cloves of garlic (or 1 big one)
• 1/2 large onion (or 1 whole small one) diced
• 320 grams of Japanese pumpkin (kaboucha) cooked and cubed
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 1/2 tsp. sage
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and when it has completely melted, saute the onions and garlic cloves. Cook until the onions are softened and slightly browned. Remove 6 (smallish) cubes of the pumpkin for garnish and add the rest of the pumpkin to the onions, garlic, and butter. Stir and mash the pumpkin roughly to mix with the onion mixture. Add the sage, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Add milk, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes. If it seems too thick, add more milk as needed. When the mixture is cooked, puree it in a small bowl food processor or an immersion blender.

Serve over warm pasta, top with toasted pine nuts, Parmesan, and garnish with reserved pumpkin pieces.

My feeling about this was that it was good and I really liked the flavor, but I wasn't really pleased with the mix of textures. I think the sauce was too thick and could have used some more milk. I also wasn't wild about the mixture of pasta with pumpkin in terms of texture. I was quite pleased, however, with the mixture of Parmesan, pine nuts, sage, and the pumpkin sauce.

I wasn't over the moon about this, but I'm likely to try it again some day with some variations. I think more milk would be a good idea, and it might possibly go well over rice for that matter. If you care about calories, this recipe makes 3 servings and the sauce is about 415 calories for the whole batch.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Chickpea Shepherd's Pie

About 8 months ago, I bought a case of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) because it was about 50% cheaper to get them by the boatload. This was a case with 24 cans and I knew I'd have to eat them all myself because my husband won't eat any sort of bean. I've used them in a lot of recipes (though the majority have gone into hummus), and this is one of my favorites.

I didn't base this on any existing recipe, but was inspired to give it a try after reading a review for vegetarian shepherd's pie on the "Heat and Eat Review" site. I figured that I'd just do what I normally did for the same dish with meat with possibly a few alterations to make up for the lack of savory flavors, so this was essentially made up on the fly, but worked very well.

Chickpea Shepherd's Pie

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and thoroughly rinsed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1/3 large carrot, sliced and diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 beef or vegetable bouillon cube, dissolved in 1 cup very hot water
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1-2 tbsp. cold water
• salt (to taste - about 1/2 tsp., but it depends on your bouillon)
• 3-5 cups mashed potatoes (I used instant mashed potatoes)
• 1/2-1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp. Canola oil

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is warmed and coats the bottom of the pan evenly, add the garlic and onions. Saute them until the onions are softened then add the pepper and carrot. Cook the vegetables for about 5-10 more minutes until the pepper is a little wilted looking. Stir in the chickpeas and allow it to cook for about 5 minutes to get the temperature of all of the ingredients to about the same level.

Add the water with the dissolved beef bouillon cube and the Worcestershire sauce. If you want to add tomato paste (I didn't, but mainly because I forgot to do so), add it now. Stir, cover with a lid, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer until the carrots are cooked. Depending on how much liquid remains, you'll have to either remove the lid and allow some of it to boil off or just use it as is. The liquid amount factors into how much "gravy" you get. If you want less, let more boil off. If you want more, add in more water.

Reduce the heat to low and slowly add about half of the dissolved cornstarch. As it heats, it will thicken. Stir in as much of the cornstarch as seems necessary to get the desired thickness. If it becomes too thick, add more water. If it is too thin, pour in more cornstarch. Taste and salt as necessary.

When the chickpea mixture is done, spoon it into a lightly greased baking dish. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the chickpea mixture and sprinkle with cheese. The quantity of potatoes you'll need varies based on the size of your dish and how thinly you want them layered. If you use glass, you can heat the pie in the microwave until the cheese is melted. If you use metal, you'll have to bake it at 350 degrees until the potatoes are hot and the cheese is melted.

by Shari (Orchid64)