Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers - total time 35 minutes

My pepper plants are producing an endless supply of peppers (finally).  I typically make one of two things with sweet peppers... some sort of fajita tacos, quesadilla, casserole... or stuffed peppers.  You can change up both meals enough for it to feel like you aren't eating the same thing you had for dinner the night before. You won't hear a single complaint out of our house if tacos are in the menu for the third time this month, but you'll probably hear some sighing if I said "stuffed peppers". And I can understand, the filling to pepper ratio can be a little off for certain preferences.  For me it's the fact you have this beautiful dinner package and then the first thing you have to do is cut it up for three minutes to be able to eat it.  Why not just serve it all cut up to begin with?  Because it's not as cute that way!

Well here comes mini sweet bell peppers to the rescue!  It's like combining our not-so-favorite anymore standby with the fun of jalapeño poppers for something that works for dinner or an appetizer!  Also, we normally have done either quinoa or ground turkey for the filling.  Now I have completely converted to sausage. We get local sausage delivered by GreenBEAN Delivery and it is so good with bell peppers!  Of course we're going to add a little more vegetables for flavor and nutrients... and there you go... a dinner you can eat with your hands.  No more cutting up the cute presentation, just eat it!

Veggie Calzone - total time 35 minutes

Do you like ricotta?  There are a lot of people that don't.  Most of them substitute cottage cheese to replace ricotta... that's just not an even switch to me.  Maybe you either like ricotta or you like cottage cheese.  Maybe?

I've been making calzones for years.  My husband and I call them Alley Doughs after consuming more DP Dough calzones than we probably should have in college.  I never thought to put ricotta in them... ever.  But lately I have been limiting the amount of meat I eat (and currently that is no meat) so I've been choosing the veggie calzones at Sarefino's and Little Palace, both of which have ricotta and are molto delizioso (starting to work on my Italian for vacation :))!  I might be bias, because I love ricotta, but I think it makes calzones so much tastier!

This recipe is for one calzone, but one is easily enough for two people.  If you finish a whole calzone by yourself in one sitting, you get a free tshirt and your photo on a wall somewhere in cyberspace.  And a nap.  Because you'll be so full you won't want to do anything else. 

Creamy Springtime Pasta - total time 20 minutes

Happy first day of Spring!  After a super long winter, man, am I glad it's Spring.  The first flowers are starting to bloom.  We can see hints of green everywhere.  Time to open the windows and let the fresh air and sunshine in!

In honor of Spring starting today, I'm cooking up a quick springtime veggie pasta.  Super quick, creamy, crunchy... perfect for when it's still a little cold outside and you want something comforting but sorta light too.  Asparagus, the poster child of Spring veggies, is the star in this dish.  I used to be afraid to try it... it kind of looks funny and everyone says it makes things smell funny... but now I love it.  And asparagus season is over in a flash, so eat it up while you can!

The other thing about this dish is the toasted garlic panko breadcrumbs.  Man, have I missed out by not toasting these in the past.  This ought to be a requirement in any dish with panko!  And it only takes a few minutes... while your prepping other things... so it adds zero time at all.  Definitely worth it!

Spinach and Artichoke Panini - total time 15 minutes

I've said it several times and I'll say it again, spinach artichoke dip is my favorite appetizer!  Have you seen the new Miracle Whip commercial?  If you're going to bring the artichoke dip... bring the artichoke dip.  Haha!  Love it!

I don't know that I have ever had mayo in my spin dip though.  I always use cream cheese.  But in the case of this awesome sandwich, I used gouda... mmm... gouda.

Wasn't really sure whether to call this guy a panini or a grilled cheese, they're kind of the same thing.  I use all my grilled cheese tips to make the sandwich, but 'panini' has a classier sound for this fancy grilled cheese sandwich.  If you love spin dip, you have to try this out.  It's super quick and easy.  Perfect for lunch or a quick dinner with a soup or salad!

Lasagna Rollups Recipe Reboot - total time 1 hour

Just like the Dark Knight movies, sometimes classics need a reboot to make them cool again.  Lasagna is a classic dinner in my family for sure.  We have even had lasagna for Thanksgiving meals... you know... with ground turkey for Turkey Day.  And it never fails, when my husband is at an Italian restaurant, he orders the lasagna.  You might call him a lasagna aficionado. 

I've tried making lasagna a lot of different ways (with butternut squash, spinach & artichoke, pesto chicken, broccoli chicken, and the classic rollup that we're improving upon today)... this recipe is the best.  You don't have to make it all rolled up either if you prefer regular pan style.  I like the rollups because they make the perfect serving size and you don't have to worry about cutting it up and layers sliding around... plus they look cute!  And if you wanted to make extra, the rollups freeze well... perfect for individual servings to heat up in the microwave or freeze a tray of them for a weeknight dinner or busy friend.

So what makes this recipe so cool now after it has been rebooted?  I think it is the sun-dried tomatoes.  A little bit goes a long way for flavor with these babies!  Also, adding some of the sauce to the rollup filling just makes sense when you look at regular pan-style lasagna.  

This recipe will be in heavy rotation at our house, especially while it is cold out... it's the perfect Italian comfort food.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Creamy Tortellini Soup - total time 30 minutes

You have to love a tortellini soup!  They are so quick and simple... and a great meal for meatless Mondays (examples here and here).  And like most pasta dishes, the leftovers almost taste better than the original meal.

I love to stock up on fresh raviolis and tortellinis when I make my quarterly trip to Whole Foods (it is just too far away to go more often and our bank account probably appreciates the distance).  So we always have some tortellinis in the freezer to make a quick meal.  Bertolli or other frozen tortellinis work too, of course.  

Using cream cheese instead of cream in this soup make it a thicker, more satisfying soup.  While making the soup richer, you're actually saving some fat and calories, especially if you use the lower fat cream cheese... can't get better than that!

Mini Spinach Quiche - total time 1 hour

I love breakfast foods, love.  Savory or sweet.  Morning or night.  I am down for some pancakes, eggs, breakfast sandwiches, muffins, doughnuts, hash browns... okay, I am getting hungry again.  So I have been planning on making a quiche for a while now.  But after my husband kept calling frittatas "egg pies" that making quiche for dinner might seal the deal on no more breakfast for dinner.  (I got him to admit that frittatas are more like omlettes cut like a pizza, not a pie.)  

Thankfully, he liked it.  So I will continue to sneak breakfast for dinner meals into our menus!

So you could make one big quiche or little ones in a muffin pan.  The little ones are definitely cuter... but I couldn't stop eating them!  Just one more...  ha!  The crust if flaky, the egg is fluffy, and the spinach and feta are savory.  Yum!  It kind of just melts in your mouth.  Also with the mini sized ones... forks are not required... just three bites and you'll be looking for the next one.

Springtime Pizza - total time 35 minutes

Our CSA deliveries started last week and I can't explain how exciting it is to get a cooler full of produce that was just in farm fields the day before.  The only thing more satisfying to eat is something you grew yourself.  Now that we have our CSA deliveries, Green BEAN deliveries, and a garden out back my trips to the grocery store are so quick and only require one bag!

Speaking of our garden... if anyone knows how to get rid of aphids... they seem to be taking over everything!  I have never noticed them on my plants outside before.  Now they have taken over some bushes and a few tomato plants.  Need to get them under control before they do any damage!

Alright, no more talking about bugs...  It is still Spring time even if it is starting to feel like Summer outside.  We got asparagus, spinach, and green onions in our CSA bin this week, so I made some springtime pizza!  Such a simple idea with fresh flavors.  It tasted great right out of the oven... and cold for breakfast this morning.  ;)

Pan Ravioli - total time 30 minutes

For those of you that think bacon makes everything better... here is a dish for you!  I have never been that into bacon.  I mean, it is good in small amounts on occasion.  This dish kind of changes my mind.  The bacon gives it a salty, rich flavor with the crunch of the pan toasted ravioli tossed in some delicious veggies.  Basically, I can't wait to make this again!

Spinach Artichoke Dip - total time 40 minutes

All-time best appetizer has to be spinach artichoke dip!  I don't know anyone that doesn't like it.  If it is on the menu, we're getting it.  And when we make it at home, its a hundred times better than from a can.  Even though it is full of cream cheese, it is also loaded with a bunch of good stuff... spinach, artichokes (duh, it is in the name), garlic, spices... yum!  It's so easy to make too!

Manicotti - total time 40 minutes

My husband thinks that the reason Mexican restaurants are able to get you your food so quickly is because everything on the menu is a variation of the same thing.  Pick your shell (tortilla for burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, hard shell for tacos, chalupas, and salads), pick your meat/veggies, and pick your sauce (cheese, red, verde) then wrap it up and serve with some rice and beans.  Seems like it should be the same for Italian restaurants... pick the type of noodle, cheese or meat, and type of sauce... done... but it never comes out quite that fast.

I used to think manicotti was the superior Italian entree until I started making it myself and realized manicotti is just stuffed shells in tubular form.  Still delicious!

Creamy Sundried Tomato Pasta - total time 30 minutes

One of the less fun things about cooking a lot at home is the mess that needs to be cleaned up afterward.  It doesn't matter how simple the meal is, my kitchen looks a wreck every night.  I don't know how I manage to be so messy and use so many bowls, pots, pans, spoons, and knives.  I seem to fill up the dish washer every night... and there is only two of us!

This meal actually had minimal clean up.  It is almost a one pot meal (you need one to boil pasta in, but that isn't hard to clean up after).  Everything else is just sauted, tossed, and served in one pot.  Soak the pot while you eat and you're pretty much done cleaning!

Veggie Stromboli - total time 30 minutes

There is this place called Sarefino's at North Market in Columbus that serves up the best strombolis I've ever had.  So delicious, we get some every time, even if it is to take it home and eat later.  There are a couple must stop at vendors at North Market... I always come home with a bag full of tasty treasures after even a quick trip.  

Any way, I know I could never recreate their veggie stromboli perfectly, so I made some modification (not to improve upon their recipe, but to prevent mine from turning out soggy).  I used the same concept I did for my Italian Chicken Braid, but used most of Sarefino's ingredients (I know they use ricotta, but I have no idea how they make that work).

Baked Lasagna Raviolis - total time 45 minutes

So this is cheating a little on the 40 day challenge because I already made baked raviolis a few weeks ago.  But these are different because I am actually making the raviolis!  So this recipe is kind of the spinach and artichoke lasagna recipe wrapped up in wontons.  These make a great meal covered in tomato sauce, but also make a great appetizer because they can be finger food too!

Oh... and just so you don't make the same mistake I did... artichoke petals and stems are not friendly with garbage disposals.  Toss them in the compost or garbage... not the sink!

1 cup ricotta
40 wonton wrappers
1 egg
1.5 cups spinach
1 artichoke, steamed
shredded parm
salt and pepper
.25 cup tomato sauce

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Steam artichoke for 10 minutes and wilt spinach in pan. Remove artichoke petals, stem, and choke and chop the artichoke heart.
2.  Add ricotta, egg, chopped artichoke, spinach, some parm, and tomato sauce in a small mixing bowl.
3.  Lay out wonton wrappers on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Add about one tablespoon of filling mixture on each wonton.  Wet edges of wonton wrapper with water (brush on with finger) and carefully lay another wonton wrapper on top.  Press edges to seal.
4.  Bake for 12 minutes or until edges start to brown and get crispy.  Serve with tomato sauce.

Chicken & Spinach Baked Taquitos - total time 45 minutes

With as much Mexican food that I eat, how could I have lived so long without knowing about taquitos?  They are pretty easy to make.  Pretty much like a sauce-less enchilada, although I believe taquitos are supposed to be fried... they still get a nice crispy shell in to oven.  These make great appetizers with some salsa, guacamole and sour cream for dipping.  Or serve them as a meal with corn and spanish rice.

8 small tortillas
1 lb chicken, shredded
.5 can of beer
1 cup queso cheese, shredded
1 medium onion
2 cups spinach, chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 green onion

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sear chicken in pot, pour beer over chicken and continue to cook for about 8 minutes.  Once cooked, shred chicken with two forks.  While shredding chicken, cook onions and spinach in pot until spinach is wilted.
2.  Combine shredded chicken, spinach, onion, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and shredded cheese in miking bowl. 
3.  Scoop about two tablespoons of mixture into tortillas and roll closed tightly.  Place in casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn taquitos and bake for additional 10 minutes

Spinach Pinwheels - total time 30 minutes

Looking for a twist on boring croissants?  I love croissants, probably more than the next person... but some times you want to change things up and this packs in more nutrients and flavor.  You can make these for appetizers or your bread basket for dinner.  Make sure you get one for yourself, they will disappear fast!

2 cups spinach

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 oz. cream cheese (reduced fat)

1 container of crescent (precut or sheet)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Saute spinach and garlic for a few minutes on low heat to wilt the spinach down a bit.

2.  Roll out the crescents on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Spread the spinach over the entire crescent and add small dollops of cream cheese on top. 

3.  Roll up the crescent and cut into eight slices.  Arrange slices on baking sheet so you can see the spinach swirl (pinwheel shape).  Bake for 15 minutes or until croissants are lightly browned on top.

Spinach & Artichoke Lasagna - total time 1.5 hours

So... we love spinach artichoke dip, it is the perfect appetizer.  I will pretty much try spinach and artichoke in every form possible.  Haven't made a bad one yet.  But usually I use artichokes from a can or jar, well, because I didn't know how to cook an artichoke.  It is hard to find canned artichokes that aren't marinated in some kind of oil or italian dressing of some sort... which can really change the flavor of what you were planning to make.  Well, now I can say I have officially cooked artichokes and will likely not spend the time to do that again any time soon (especially after I found out there are bag or artichoke hearts in the freezer section).

Since it took an hour to steam and peal the artichokes, I ended up using a jar of alfredo instead of making my own sauce like I planned.  This recipe would have been a lot faster if I had known about these frozen artichoke hearts...

9 lasagna noodles

1 cup fresh mozzarella, divided

16 oz ricotta

1 egg

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups spinach

1.5 cups artichoke hearts

3 cups alfredo sauce

.5 cup grated parm, divided

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Saute spinach in pan with garlic for four minutes, just enough to wilt down a little.  

2.  Combine ricotta, .75 cup mozzarella, egg, artichokes, cooked spinach, and .25 cup parm cheese.  Boil noodles for about one minute to get them warm.

3.  Spread some alfredo sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish.  Layer three noodles then the cheese mixture and some alfredo sauce.  Repeat.  Top with the last three noodles, cover with sauce, and finish with the remaining mozzarella and parm.

4.  Bake for 35 minutes.

How to make your own artichoke hearts...

1.  Chop off excess stem (should be an inch long).  Chop off the top of the artichoke (the prickly part).  You can cut about the top half off... you want what is in the core... or heart. 

2.  Steam artichokes for 10 minutes.  Let cool.

3.  Peal the artichoke petals and cut off the bottom, white, fleshy part.  Repeat until petals are gone.

4.  Cut out the fluffy part of the artichoke flower and scoop the rest of the artichoke flesh.  

Each artichoke results in about a half cup of artichoke heart.

Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin - total time 1 hour

Apparently we didn't get enough turkey after Thanksgiving!  Turkey tenderloin is so much easier to cook than a full turkey though.  I need to remember this for next Thanksgiving...

1 turkey tenderloin (or two breasts)

.5 cup sliced gruyere

2 cups spinach

4 garlic cloves

1 small onion

2 tbsp butter, divided

salt and pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Saute onion and garlic in pan with one tablespoon of butter.  Add ripped spinach and cook until wilted down.  Cut a deep slice into the tenderloin to create a pocket to stuff.

2.  Stuff the tenderloins with the slices of cheese and hot spinach mixture.  Hold together with toothpicks or wrap with baking twine.  Melt another tablespoon of butter in pan and turn up heat to medium-high, season with salt and pepper, and sear turkey on both sides.  Transfer seared turkey into a casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes.