Vegetarian Lasagna with white sauce or Bechamel sauce

This is a nice vegetarian dish that you can make even during Lent.  You can substitute the lasagna noodles with gluten free lasagna noodles.  You can also omit the mushrooms.  My daughter doesn't like mushrooms, so if I make this dish when she is coming over for dinner, I will omit the mushrooms altogether.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (Makes 12 servings appr. 8.5 oz each serving)

8 oz. lasagna noodles

3 tbs. olive oil

1 cup diced onions

1 tbs. chopped garlic

1 cup diced carrots

8 oz. mushrooms

12 oz. frozen spinach defrosted and drained of all the water

16 oz. cottage cheese

2 eggs

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

3 ¼ cup shredded mozzarella

White sauce or Bechamel sauce

3 tbs. butter

3 tbs. flour

3 cups skim milk

½ cup parmesan

¼ tsp. nutmeg

Directions

Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions.  When cooked drain the water and set aside to cool. 

In the meantime, peel and wash the onions and carrots.  Dice them and set them aside.  Peel and dice the garlic.  In a large sauce pan, add the olive oil and sauté the diced onions and garlic. Add the diced carrots, mushrooms and spinach. Season to taste.  Remove from heat, let it cool, then add the cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup shredded mozzarella. Set aside.

Make the white sauce:

In a pan, melt the butter and add the flour, to make a roux.  While stirring with a whisk add the milk and nutmeg, and continue cooking till it thickens, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add the ½ cup Parmesan. Mix  well together and set it aside.

Assembly:

Layer the lasagna, by putting some of the white sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 oven proof pan, then the lasagna noodles, the spinach filling, some of the white sauce, and repeat. On top finish with noodles, white sauce and 2 and ¼ cups shredded mozzarella. Bake at 350° F for about an hour till the cheese is all melted and it’s heated through.  Remove from the oven and let it cool before serving. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 serving (235.8 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 321

Calories from Fat 151

Total Fat 16.8g

Saturated Fat 8.4g

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 73mg

Sodium 562mg

Total Carbohydrates 21.2g

Dietary Fiber 1.3g

Sugars 4.8g

Protein 21.7g

 The stuffing

The layers with the stuffing....

.....and the noodles....

....with the shredded mozzarella before it goes in the oven

The final product... ready to eat.  Enjoy!

Greek Style Seafood with Herbs and Vegetables

Since it's Lent I'm trying to cook dishes that are free of meat or chicken.  Fish is allowed on certain days of the week. Enjoy this hearty seafood soup.  If not during Lent, during a cold rainy day.

10 servings (approximately 1 ½ cups per serving)

½ cup olive oil
1 cup onion chopped
1 tsp garlic chopped
2 cups celery diced
1 ½ cups carrots diced
4 cups potatoes diced
1 cup chopped parsley
1 lbs cod fillets diced
1 lbs large shrimp
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
2 15oz cans water + 1 extra 15oz can water
2 tsps. salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
3 bay leaves
¼ tsp cumin
In a Dutch oven, over high heat pour the ½ cup olive oil. Add the chopped onions and garlic. Sauté, until transparent. Add the carrots, celery, and potatoes. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables absorb some of the oil. Add the tomato sauce, the diced tomatoes, the two 15oz cans of water, the parsley, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and cumin. Let it come to a boil. Then, turn down the heat to medium and simmer for about one hour until the potatoes are cooked. If you need to add more water, then add the extra 15oz can of water. Depending on what size you diced the potatoes you might need the extra can of water so that the potatoes are cooked.

Towards the last five (5) minutes, add the fish and the shrimp. Let it come to a boil and lower the heat for the last 5 minutes. The fish should be flaky and the shrimp pink colored. Turn off the heat. Serve with some fresh bread.

 



Nutrition Facts

Serving Size  1serving(389.1 g) approximately 1 ½ cups
Amount Per Serving
Calories 267
Calories from Fat 109

Total Fat 12.1g
Saturated Fat 1.8g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 113mg
Sodium 853mg 3
Total Carbohydrates 17.7g
Dietary Fiber 4.0g
Sugars 5.3g
Protein 22.5g

Greek Style Chili with ground turkey and vegetables

On a cold, snowy day, I decided to make something that will keep us all warm.  This chili is a combination of a Greek bean soup (that is very popular in Greece, that recipe at another post) and the Mexican chili.  Greeks make their own version (shall I call it chili?) of a bean soup but they use pork pieces or just plain beans.  Since we all love chili in our family, this dish combines Greek spices, like ground cumin and ground coriander, which are also popular in Mexican cooking, along with vegetables and a better-for-your-heart version, by using ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Top it with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and you have another variation of chili.  More like Greek style chili. 

Enjoy!!!!

Greek Style Chili with ground turkey and vegetables 

Ten (10) servings of 15oz each. 

1/3 cup olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of a Dutch oven pot)

¾ cup diced onion

1.5 lbs. ground turkey

1 ¾ cups diced celery

1 ½ cups diced carrots

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 14oz can tomato sauce

1 14oz water

2 tsps paprika

3 tsps chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

½ tsp coriander

1 15.5oz can of kidney beans

1 15.5oz can of red beans

1 15.5 oz can of cannellini or great northern beans

 Vegetable preparation

Prepare the vegetables by washing, cleaning and dicing the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.   Pour the olive oil in a Dutch oven.  Turn the stove on.  Saute the onions and garlic till translucent (don’t let the garlic burn).  Add the ground turkey and let it brown stirring constantly (see the picture below).  

Then add the carrots, celery, the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, coriander, and water.  Let it come to a boil stirring occasionally so that it won’t burn.  Lower the heat and simmer for ½ hour to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the veggies are soft. 

Open up the cans of beans and rinse under cold water to remove any sodium.  Add to the ground turkey/veggie pot and stir.  Heat it through, stirring constantly so that it won’t burn.  Once it comes to a full boil, turn the stove off and remove from heat. 

Serve with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, mozzarella cheese (mozzarella cheese is healthier than cheddar cheese), and some nice crusty fresh italian bread.

The nutrition facts below do not include the calories for yogurt or mozzarella. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size                                         15.62oz (442.8g)

Amount Per Serving

                        Calories                                    536

Calories from Fat                                  232

% Daily Value^*

Total Fat                                               25.8g                           40%

Saturated Fat                                       5.8g                             29%

Trans Fat                                              0.0g

Cholesterol                                           139mg                         46%

Sodium                                                 936mg                         39%

Total Carbohydrates                             28.4g                           9%

Dietary Fiber                                         9.7g                             39%

Sugars                                                 6.3g

Protein                                                 46.4g