Spinach Mushroom and Goat Cheese

...on top of a burger. Oh yes, bring on the tasty! My apologies to the veggies and vegans out there, I just couldn't help myself. There is something about a nice juicy burger that calls my name. I'd much rather make one at home, lets face it, the ones you get out are 100 times worse for you. This way I can choose a lean beef, not have it be 1/2 pound (don't look at me like you haven't polished off a half pounder on your own), and you can top it with whatever your little heart desires!

I'll be honest here, the mix of sauteed mushrooms, wilted spinach, a ton of black pepper, and a little crumbled goat cheese, would have been an amazing sandwich on its own... the burger was just an added bonus :)

So eat this alone, or on a burger like me. Either way, you're going to love it!

Put a little drizzle of olive oil in the pan, add your sliced baby bella mushrooms. Cook through. Add a few handfuls of spinach and a good helping of fresh ground pepper, and a dash of salt. Once the spinach is wilted, transfer to a bowl, or onto some bread. Sprinkle with goat cheese and enjoy!

Get well lasagna and cookies

We all know I'm a "feed the soul" kind of person. If someone is sick or has bad things going on in their life, I'm there with some form of comfort food. I know in the grand scheme of things it's not much, but I think food is one of the most comforting things when life is being turned upside down. I was telling my mom about what I was making and she started telling me about a neighbor who brought over a salmon casserole and warm pita chips after her dad passed away. The memory was so strong in her mind. A simple meal, yet filled with so much love, is so powerful. I can only hope I bring that kind of warmth and comfort to those I cook and bake for.

The short version is a friend had to go to the hospital with many weird symptoms and not a lot of answers for said symptoms. She totally rules the roost at home and John and I knew her husband and two kids could use a little bit of home cooking while she was stuck in the hospital. (side note: any good thoughts, prayers, whatever you believe in sent her way are much appreciate) She's home now but I know she still has a good amount of time left to recover.

Cue lasagna and cookies... The lasagna whips together in no time... the cookies take a little more time but as so worth the effort.


Let me share the simple recipe for this meat packed bad boy... cookie recipe to come in a bit :)
Meat and Cheese Lasagna

what you need
12 lasagna noodles (you don't have to cook them first)
1 lb ground beef
1 jar favorite tomato sauce (Diavola for me)
2 cups water
1/4 cup pesto
1 container part skim ricotta
1 egg
parsley/basil/black pepper to taste
2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella

Brown the beef in a pan, once cooked drain off excess fat. Dump in the tomato sauce, pesto, and water. Bring to a boil. White that is going on... in a medium bowl take your tub of ricotta, an egg, seasoning, and half your shredded mozzarella and mix it all up.

OK now layer in this order in a 9 x 13 baking pan
enough sauce to cover the bottom
4 noodles
1/2 of ricotta mixture
more sauce to cover
4 noodles
1/2 of ricotta mixture
more sauce to cover
4 noodles
remainder of sauce
layer of shredded mozzarella

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes with tin foil. Remove tin foil and let brown for final 10 minutes.

Quick and easy and oh so comforting :)

Hamburger and sweet potato wedges

I've been craving a hamburger, not a gross chain restaurant smashed flat bland greasy patty and certainly not from a fast food place... bleh!!! John was off in Minneapolis on a business trip so I figured tonight was the night to make a burger! Wegmans is great in the fact you can have them portion out ground meat for you in whatever quantity you like, so I got a third of a pound 90/10 ground beef to make my burger. I hate how some places have it prepacked in 1 lb increments and dont' let you get less then a pound, I mean what am I going to do with a pound of meat when it's just me home to eat??

I didn't do anything fancy just a little cracked pepper and a dash of salt then formed it into a nice little patty. Don't mash or flatten it too much you want that nice airy texture in the meat. A quick 2 1/2 minute trip on a heated up George Forman resulted in a delicious medium rare burger. mmmm I let it rest for 5 minutes to let all the nice juices reincorporate themselves, topped it with ketchup and lettuce and chowed! mmmmmm sooo good. Of course that wouldn't be enough to fill me up so I whipped up some baked sweet potato fries before making the burger. Super easy and a great side.

Baked sweet potato wedges
1 medium sized yam or sweet potato cut into thin wedges
olive oil spray
paprika
brown sugar
Jack Daniels BBQ sauce

Cut potato into thin wedges and spray with olive oil, sprinkle on some paprika and a little brown sugar to taste, you can load it on or do a nice light coating depending on how feisty you feel :) Place on a cookie sheet and heat in an oven (I used my toaster oven since I was just doing 1 potato for me) at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Place some BBQ sauce in a cute little cup and stack wedges into the cup.

Chow!