Slow Cooker Meatball Soup

Nothing like a bowl of warm soup on a cold and snowy evening!

With close to 15 inches of snow in the last week, I was looking for a nice, warm soup to warm us up while we sat in front of the fire and watched one of the new Disney Movies Santa delivered.  My favorite soup is Italian Wedding . . . but I wasn't *feeling* it, so we ended up with this mixture instead.

I will warn you - I don't know the exact ingredients for the meatballs - that's the Hubster's department.  I do know Ground Turkey was used.

Slow Cooker Meatball Soup

Meatballs

~ 1 pound ground turkey

~ breadcrumbs

~ 1 egg

~ Italian Seasoning

~ Parmesan Cheese

The ingredients above are just suggestions.  Make meatballs according to your favorite recipe.  Make them tiny - no more than 3/4".  Bake in the oven at 350 for 10 - 20 minutes.  Time will depend on the size - the Hubster made the meatballs on the larger size.  

Soup

7 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

2 - 3 cups potatoes, cut into small cubes

3/4 cup spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup carrots, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp basil

2 tsp Italian Seasoning

sprinkle salt

1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper (we like it a little spicy, so we add the 1 tsp)

1/2 - 1 cup Alphabet Pasta (the girls love their "noodles")

Dump all of the soup ingredients *except pasta* into slow cooker.  Add the meatballs.  Cover and cook between 3 and 5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.  Again, cooking times will vary depending on slow cooker.  We used the 6 qt bowl, but could get away with the 4 or 5 qt ones as well.  Add the uncooked pasta 30 minutes prior to serving.  Serve with Parmesan Cheese to sprinkle over individual bowls of soup.

Freezer to Slow Cooker Honey Rosemary Chicken

Freezer to Slow Cooker Honey Rosemary Chicken

Since I had such a rough summer with my MS sapping my energy levels, I wanted to start focusing on easy recipes that the Hubster could do.  After doing a lot of searching, I discovered that freezer meals would be the perfect way to go.  It would be almost like having pre-made foods for him.  AND - bonus to me - I could toss them together on days when I actually had some time and energy.

I got out some of my gallon sized Ziploc bags and a Sharpie and went to work . . . I focused on slow cooker meals because, really, how much easier could it be . . . just dump a bad in the slow cooker, maybe toss in an ingredient or two and . . . DONE!

I'm not certain where this recipe originated, it might have been in one of the Fix It Cookbooks, but couldn't tell ya for certain . . .

We like this recipe and decided that it's really good over rice.  Yes, GASP! he had to cook rice.

Freezer to Slow Cooker Honey Rosemary Chicken
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c honey
1/3 c olive oil
3 T fresh rosemary
1 t salt (optional)
1/2 c water

Toss all ingredients in gallon sized Ziploc bag.  Freeze flat in freezer.

When ready to cook, pull from freezer the night before and let thaw in fridge.  (We usually sit it in a Tupperware bowl to avoid any thawing-related messes).  The next morning, place in slow cooker - we used a 2 qt slow cooker bowl from the set and it was the perfect size.  Cook for 6-8 hours on low.  Our slow cooker had it done in 6 hours.  Remove chicken from sauce and shred.  Some people use the paddle in their Kitchen Aide Mixer - the Hubster simply uses two forks.  Place chicken back in slow cooker.  Spoon chicken and sauce mix over rice, pasta, couscous or quinoa.

   

Cookie Making Day!

Mom came up to help make cookies for Christmas.  We had some Christmas parties at work and school that required cookie trays as well as needing gifts for some friends and family . . . .

Above are the results of our day.

Coffee and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Miss Mia requested we make Crinkle Cookies for her Christmas Party at school.  I was happy to oblige.  The cookies are yummy and easy to make.  I love that she is able to help by rolling the cookies into balls and then rolling them in the powdered sugar.  We still have a ways to go on "spacing" issues, but when Gramma and I explained how she doesn't always appreciate her sister being near her, she started calling the cookie balls "Aisey and Mia" .  .  . kind of odd to name your food, but . . . .

We made a few different versions of this recipe to determine which one we liked best.  Our recipe boxes are stuffed full of cookie recipes and we need to get rid of some.  Thing is, we couldn't come to a consensuses.  People here liked the different recipes for various reasons . . . sigh . . . guess we'll have to rid ourselves of other recipes!

I will say that the Coffee and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies were NOT a favorite of the kiddos.  But - their Daddy liked them a whole bunch.

The three types of Crinkle Cookies.  The Coffee and Chocolate are in the right hand upper corner.

Coffee and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
~ adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T instant coffee crystals
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 1/2 c all purpose flour

~ topping ~
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

Beat butter.  Add brown sugar, cocoa powder, coffee crystals, soda and cinnamon.  Beat in egg.  Slowly add in flour.

Chill dough at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Shape dough into  1/2 inch balls (the recipe calls for 1" balls, but we liked them a little smaller as they were for a party).  Place on cookie tray (for our cookie trays, we were able to do 5 rows of three cookies).

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until edges are firm.  Let cool a few minutes.  Mix the granulated sugar and cocoa powder.  Dip cookies into the topping mix of sugar and cocoa powder.  Transfer to wire racks and let cool.

These can be stored at room temp for 3 days or frozen for up to three months.

Clay Dough Ornaments

Clay Dough Ornaments

I'd promised the girls a holiday craft . . . and realized we still have quite a few cinnamon ornaments from previous holidays.  Due to this, I went on a quest for a new ornament recipe.  I found one with gorgeous looking ornaments at the woodside kitchen.  I knew my ornaments would look nothing like this with my two Helpers, but thought they would still make great gifts.  I was right.

This is a really easy recipe and holds up well to re-rolling of the dough over and over when some little munchkins stick a cookie cutter right in the middle of the dough.  I do recommend only rolling half of the ball of dough out at a time, leaving the other in the fridge, when working with kiddos.

I also suggest Cookie Cutters that do not have lots of small shapes as the dough can be quite ornery.  We were only able to make one angel as her head kept ripping off.  The simple hearts, trees and crosses were the easiest with which to work.

Clay Dough Ornaments

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 cup baking soda

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp orange extract

In a small saucepan, mix the cornstarch, baking soda and water.  Let heat over medium-low heat, stirring often with wooden spoon.  The ingredients will start to thicken.  When most of the water is gone and the ingredients have started to turn into a dough that sticks together, remove from heat.  Stir in the 1/2 tsp orange extract.  Stir a few more times until the dough holds together and the water is gone.  Turn dough into bowl, cover with dampened towel and place in fridge (or freezer if your helpers are impatient) to cool.

While dough is cooling, prepare your ornament making area.  We used my awesome Tupperware rolling mat (sorry Mom, we're still not done borrowing it yet!) covered in cornstarch.  Note - you may want to wear old clothes, the same as your Helpers, especially if they love giving hugs during projects!  We pulled the dough from the freezer, covered our hands in cornstarch and kneaded the dough a few times.  We rolled the dough to 1/4" thickness the first round.  Then, I decided to make them a smidge thicker since I had little Helpers. 

Cut the dough with cookie cutters.  Place them on parchment lined cookie sheets.  After all dough is done, these can either air dry, turning every few hours, or in an oven at 175F for 2-3 hours, turning every 1/2 hour.  We air dry ours. 

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Trying to find new recipes that aren't "Salsa" can be difficult - especially when I'm not overloaded with tomatoes.  That's why I was excited when I happened upon this recipe.  I don't know if it's from the Ball Book or not as it has gone missing . . . but I will say it is a very good recipe, smells delish when cooking it as well.  And, I cannot wait to open a jar this winter for on my spaghetti . . . yes, it says "spread" but I'm going to treat it more as a red sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper Spread
14 medium (6 lbs) red bell peppers
5 medium (1 lb) Italian plum tomatoes
5 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1/2 c red wine vinegar
2 T finely chopped fresh basil
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt

Slice and seed peppers.  Roast red peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onion under broiler at 425F.  Turn to ensure all sides are roaster, and tomatoes and peppers are blistered, blackened and softened.  Garlic and onion will be blackened in spots.  Remove from heat.

Place roasted veggies in blender and process until smooth.

Prepare water canner.  Sterilize 5 8oz (1/2 pint) jars, lids and bands.

Combine puree, vinegar, basil, sugar and salt in large saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens, about 20 minutes.  Ladle mixture into hot jars.  Leave 1/2 inch head space.  Process for 10 minutes.  Let stand for 24 hours before moving.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Cinnamon Honey Butter

*** WARNING ***

THIS IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!!!

My friends and I made this goodie while all of the burners on the stove were in use during our latest "Jam Session".  This was also a great way for my four year old to be "one of the Canning GIRLZZZZ".  It is a very yummy recipe, and very addictive.  

Today, my Mom made us pancakes for breakfast and we enjoyed this on the pancakes in place of our usual maple syrup!

Cinnamon Honey Butter

2 sticks butter, at room temperature (we used 1 salted and 1 unsalted stick)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup honey (we used cinnamon honey)

2 tsp ground cinnamon (or more to taste)

Using the whisk attachment on your mixer, start whipping the butter.  Add in the powdered sugar and continue to whip.  Continue whipping after adding in the honey and the cinnamon.  Stop mixer and scrape bowl one or two times during the process and then continue to whip.  Spoon the flavored butter into 4 oz jars - Yields 6 jars.

Store in refrigerator.  No hot water bath!  Enjoy on breads, pancakes, waffles or straight out of the jar on a spoon!

Zucchini Salsa

Zucchini Salsa

My friend Jen has been wonderful in sharing produce from her garden.  One week, we ended up with a ton of Zucchini.  At our house, we had a few peppers from the four plants we had planted.  I spotted this recipe and knew we had everything we needed for a yummy salsa!

Zucchini Salsa
10 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded
4 onions, chopped (ran these through the food processor)
2 green peppers, chopped (ran these through the food processor)
2 red peppers, chopped (ran these through the food processor)
1/4 c pickling salt
2 T dry mustard
1 T garlic powder
1 T cumin
2 cups white vinegar
1 c brown sugar
2 T red pepper flakes
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp pepper
5 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
12 oz tomato paste

Day One:
In a large bowl, combine zucchini, onions, Green and red peppers and the 1/4 cup salt.  Mix together, cover and let stand over night.

Day Two:
Rinse, drain and put the zucchini combo in a large pot.  Add mustard, garlic, cumin, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper flakes, an additional 1 T salt, nutmeg, pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour into sterilized jars, wipe rims, add lids and rings.  Water bath for 15 minutes once water has come to a rolling boil.  Let stand 24 hours, remove rings and test to ensure jars have sealed.

The results of our Jam Session.  

This "Jam Session" was a great mental health day for all of us.  We started around 9 and didn't finish until close to 730 that evening.

Attendees were Tortie, Jen H and Christine.  Miss Mia was also present and "helped" the entire day, skipping her nap.  

Recipes:  Caponata, Sloppy Joe Mix, BBQ Sauce, Hot Pepper Honey Mustard (two batches), chocolate raspberry sauce, Fuzzy Navel Jam, Sweet Potato Butter, and Cinnamon Honey Butter.  We also made "emergency candles" from Crisco!

Jen brought the rest of her produce from her garden and placed it in freezer bags, what we didn't use in our recipes, as we've had a hard frost and freeze this past week and our growing season is officially over.

Spiced Red (PURPLE!) Cabbage

Spiced Red (PURPLE!) Cabbage

My friend Jen has been the most awesome person in the world lately . . . according to Miss Mia, Jen put in a HUGE garden just for us.  AND she grows PURPLE veggies.  Yes!  PURPLE.  One night, Jen gave us PURPLE peppers, PURPLE Cabbage and PURPLE eggplant.  Needless to say, Miss Mia has decided that, next year, that's what we're growing . . . all PURPLE!

We've enjoyed many meals from Jen's garden, but still had quite the overflow of cabbage.  So, the husband actually decided we should can some . . . and NOT have it be "sauerkraut".

This is what we found.

Be warned, it makes your house smell like Christmas!

Spiced Red(PURPLE!) Cabbage

1 large head red (PURPLE) cabbage
1/8 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup mustard seeds
4 cups white vinegar
1 T whole cloves
1 T whole allspice (this didn't make it in our recipe)
1 T peppercorns
1 T celery seed
1 stick cinnamon - broken in half

Shred cabbage using food processor.  Layer cabbage in a bowl, covering each new layer with some of the kosher salt.  Cover cabbage and let stand for 24 hours.  Using a large colander, rinse and drain cabbage.  Try to get as much water off of cabbage as possible.

Sterilize jars (I ended up needing 4 pint size jars and one 1/2 pint jar).  Raw pack each jar with the cabbage, leaving 1 inch head space.

Place the cloves, allspice, peppercorns, celery seed and cinnamon in a tied cheesecloth.  In a non-reactive pot (or dutch oven), combine vinegar and sugar over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.  Add the mustard seed and the cheesecloth ball to vinegar and sugar mix.  Cook mixture on low boil for three minutes.  Remove the cheesecloth ball before ladling.

Ladle the vinegar mix into jars - leave 1/2 inch head space.  Remove any air bubbles.  Tighten lids and place in water bath for 20 minutes.  Remove from water bath, place on kitchen towels and let sit for 24 hours before moving.  Remove rings for storage.  Leave sit at least three weeks in storage for best results regarding flavor.

It will turn a beautiful color!

Canning Results

I guess I need to share some of our new recipes!  A new Jam Session this weekend!

Meatball Sub Casserole

I love me my comfort food!  And, I was all excited to see I had all of the ingredients for this yummy recipe.  I know, the picture isn't the greatest, but believe me, you will love it!  Miss Mia actually asked for seconds!

The original recipe calls for an entire loaf of French Bread.  I only used 1/2 of a loaf, but it will depend on how thickly you slice your bread.  Also, the original recipe calls for a bag of frozen meatballs.  Homemade will work just as well - especially as you can sneak in some extra veggies in your homemade ones!  I also cut the meatballs in half but will cut them into 4ths next time - just because I have little ones in the house.  Another modification was the cream cheese - I used around 6 oz instead of 8 and it was low fat cream cheese.

Meatball Sub Casserole
~ adapted from Confessions of a Semi-Domesticated Mama


1 loaf French Bread, sliced
12 meatballs
8 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz mozzarella
1 onion, chopped
1 28 oz jar spaghetti sauce

Line 9x13 baking dish with sliced French Bread.  In small bowl, mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, Italian seasoning, onion and pepper.  Spread mix on top of French Bread Slices.  Top with meatballs.  Sprinkle 1/2 of mozzarella over meatball and mayonnaise'd French Bread.  Pour spaghetti sauce over everything.  Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.  Let sit 5 minutes prior to serving.

Avocado Chicken Salad

When looking through recipes, I decided to try this one since it used avocado and it seemed an easy way to introduce the veggie to the family.  It's not a bad recipe, just an everyday one that I will make again because it tastes good and is simple to make.


Avocado Chicken Salad 
~ adapted from becomingbetty.com


2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 avocado, peeled and cut into chunks
4 green onions, sliced
1-2 T lime juice
3/4 cup mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in bowl.  Stir.  Serve on rustic Italian bread.

Even the toddler liked it . . . .

Homemade Cheez-Its

I love me some snack foods.  BUT I hate thinking of all the icky stuff that goes into them.  So, when I found this recipe, I thought I'd try it.  Seriously, snacky food with only 5 ingredients?  SCORE!

Mom came up right as these were coming out of the oven.  She stayed to sample a few . . . and then sampled a few more . . . and a few more.  She hates HOT stuff and told me to remove the Cayenne next time I make them for her, but she still kept eating this first batch!

My one friend tells me they're "a lot of work for something you can buy for 2 bucks . . . ".  I disagree.  They're worth it!

Homemade Cheez-Its
~ adapted from Fromaway.com


1 cup flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup regular)
4 T cold butter, cut into squares
8 oz Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
3/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne Powder
Water to form dough
Kosher salt (optional)

Place all ingredients in food processor.  Process.  Enjoy the pretty color of your new food processor.  Think about taking pictures of it to share since it was such a great pre-Thanksgiving deal!  Pulse until mixed.  Slowly add cold water 1T at a time until mixture creates a dough.  Place dough on parchment paper and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes.  Do not rush this part.

After dough has chilled at least 30 minutes, place between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to 1/8" thick.  Using pizza cutter, cut dough into squares roughly 1" square.  Transfer to parchment paper lined cookie tray(s).  Sprinkle SPARINGLY with kosher salt.

Bake 25 minutes or until crisp.  I waited until they started turning brown to take mine out.  They then started to crisp while cooling.  Try to let cool before eating all of them!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

My Mom is a chocolate freak.  I really think she could find a way to live on chocolate alone if we'd let her.  So, when her anniversary came up, it was a simple choice.  We needed a chocolate cupcake.  Then, I found a recipe that was chocolate and included Oreos.  JACKPOT!!!  The hardest thing about these cupcakes was making certain there were enough Oreos since I have two chocoholics in training.  Oh, for the icing, if you're wanting to pipe it out, using fancy tips, make certain to smash the heck out of the cookies or they will clog the opening.  Or just be lazy like me and glob the very yummy icing on the cupcakes.  These cupcakes were well received. even if they used a cake mix.  Miss Mia actually ate the entire cupcake and not just the icing.

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes
~ adapted from instructables.com


Cake
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package Oreos

Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix cake mix according to directions (I, as usual substituted unsweetened applesauce for the required oil).   In the bottom of each cupcake liner, place one Oreo cookie.  I then placed 2/3 of the remaining Oreos in mixer and let the mixing paddle smash the cookies up.  Or, if you feel a little angry, maybe take a rolling pin, fill a baggie with the cookies and smash them this way.  Dump them in the cake batter, and mix them up.

Fill the cupcake liners with cake mix.  Bake for approx 20 minutes at 350 (refer to cake mix for appropriate times), or until cupcakes are done.

Let cupcakes cool.  While cupcakes are cooling, mix frosting.  Again, I just let the mixer break up the Oreos, but I didn't pipe the frosting on my cupcakes, just lobbed it on with a knife.  Cream together the butter and cream cheese.  Slowly add the powdered sugar.  Add vanilla.  Finally, add cookies.

Enjoy!

Linking up at:
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Oatmeal Muffins (with infant cereal!)

We have a TON of infant cereal left.  A TON.  This is because Miss Aisey never really ate it - and people loved giving us cereal as "gifts".  Me, not wanting to let things to go to waste, decided to use the cereal to make some oatmeal muffins.  BTW - I used oatmeal in one batch and rice cereal in another - both work with this muffin.  It's not too sweet - perfect for lathering on the butter and jams!

Infant Cereal Oatmeal Muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup dry infant cereal (oatmeal OR rice)

1/2 cup milk

2 T applesauce

2 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425F.  Mix dry ingredients together.  Make a well, and slowly stir in the milk, oil and eggs until just blended.  Use 1/4 cup cookie scoop to add batter to paper lined muffin tins.  Bake at 425 for 20 - 25 minutes.

Makes 10 muffins.

Chai Tea Mix

I love tea.  Well, I should be more specific and state that I love tea like my Goobie makes . . . a lot of sugar . . . a lot of milk . . . leave the Lipton tea bag sit in it as well as the teaspoon to stir the tea every-so-often for maximum absorption of sugar.  So when I found this recipe, I knew it was for me.

Chai Tea Mix
adapted from USIS Cookbook


1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups instant unsweetened tea (i use decaffeinated)
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves      

In a blender, combine all ingredients.  Blend 1 cup at a time until mixture is a fine powder.    Store in airtight container.

Add 3 heaping teaspoons to 1 cup boiling water.

Pumpkin Latte Mix

Yes, we got a Cuisinart that takes K-cups for Christmas.  BUT . . . I'm too cheap to buy the fancy K-cups.  This is one of the reasons I've been searching for mixes.  This one was made to appease the Hubby since he likes coffee and not any type of cocoa or tea . . . For me, I HATE coffee, so this has too much of a coffee flavor.  I may make it again, and reduce the coffee to 1/4 cup and increase the sugar (bad, I know!) to 3/4 cup.

Pumpkin Latte
~ adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/3 cup powdered vanilla creamer
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 c instant coffee
1/2 c white sugar

Place in blender and blend until fine powder.  Mix 1-2 T in 1 cup hot water.

Hot Cocoa Mix

There are tons of recipes out there for hot cocoa.  Heck, I'd mentioned to a friend that I was looking to make my own mix so I wouldn't have to use the powdered store bought.  By the end of the day, I'd received emails from three other people with their versions of hot cocoa mixes. 

Here is the one I made.  I think I might do some more tweaking.  It was good, but not perfect.  It was certainly creamy, something I did like.  BUT I want it more chocolate-y.  Therefore, I'll be adding even more baking cocoa next time!

Hot Cocoa Mix

6 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
1 cup instant chocolate drink mix
1 5 oz package cook and serve chocolate pudding mix
1/2 c confectioners sugar
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer
3/4 cup baking cocoa

Dump all ingredients in blender.  Blend until powdery.  Mix approx 1/3 cup of mix in one cup boiling water. 

Spiced Cider Mix

Miss Mia loves to feel that she is a grown up.  This includes making tea or coffee in our Cuisinart.  Unfortunately, caffeine and a three year old are just not something Mommy wants to mix.  So, I searched and came up with a spiced cider recipe.  It's also referred to as "friendship tea" on various websites and older cookbooks.  From reading, it appears this can be served hot or cold.  We've only tried it hot.

It's not too bad.  Of course, we've reduced the amount of sugar . . . yet another thing Mommy doesn't want a three year old to have too much of during the day!

Spiced Cider
- adapted from various old cookbooks and websites

3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup tang
1/2 c instant tea (unsweetened)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves

Dump all ingredients in blender.  Mix until fine powder (be warned, it will create a large dust cloud, so you may want it to settle before removing blender lid).  Store in airtight container.  Add 2-3 T to one cup hot water. 

Lasagna Roll Ups

Lasagna Roll Ups

Yes, I know, I make tons of lasagna and pasta recipes.  This one is right at the top of the list.  SERIOUSLY!  Miss Mia ate it - and she's in an "I hate cheese!" kick.  The little one ate it.  The Hubby ate it - and remember, I think he's trying to kill himself with his red-meat only diet.  Then, I shared this with the Parents.  My DAD (GULP!) ate it and he and Mom agreed this recipe needs put in our meal rotation as well!

So, without any other chatter . . .

Lasagna Roll Ups

- adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 16 oz package uncooked lasagna noodles

1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

1 15 oz contained ricotta cheese

1 lb firm tofu (yes, I said tofu!)

1 10 oz pkg spinach, thawed and drained

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

2 cups Parmesan cheese

1 28 oz jar pasta sauce

Basil, thyme and oregano to taste

Cook noodles 5-8 minutes - just until almost done.  Drain and rinse to stop cooking process (and get rid of some of the starch).

Mix mozzarella, ricotta, tofu, spinach, onion, herbs to taste and 1 cup Parmesan cheese.

Lay out a noodle.  Spread a layer of cheese mixture.  Then, add thin layer of sauce.  Roll up noodle.  Place seam side down in greased 9x13 pan.  Repeat with rest of noodles (if any filling is left after noodles are rolled, tuck it in around the noodles).  Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan. 

Bake for 30  minutes at 350 degrees.  Let sit 5-10 minutes to sit up. 

This does not need covered with foil. 

These are also good freezer meals!