BIZZY BAKES

Usually, I have little to say about my weekly Donna Hay recipe for WwDH (Wednesdays with Donna Hay) except that the dish was yummy, easy to make and used available ingredients. This week is a different story, thanks to Gaye who selected the Spinach Ravioli with Basil Oil found in Donna's book, Seasons, on page 174.  It was not easy for me, nor did I have all the ingredients, nor did I think to use them, even when I did have them.  Great way to start. Ravioli to me is an Italian dish with tomato sauce - boring probably but good. To make ravioli with Vietnamese paper rolls and lemon juice sounded out of kilter to me.  The cheeses were right (Oy vey, I forgot the Mozzarella).  Just another mistake in this recipe for me.   Give me credit, I did use Ricotta and Parmesan.  What's a little Mozzarella?  I started off feeling lost and never caught up.  I didn't have the paper rolls so I used so I used rice paper which should have worked beautifully...

I don't make salads enough.  I really do love them but I just don't bother making them.  It is funny how I don't mind chopping and shredding for hot food but I do mind for salads.  I did make this combination and we liked it.  And.......I don't like olives. Pepper, Olive, and Mozzarella Salad  Ingredients: 24 Cherry Tomatoes, halved 1/2 Cup Yellow Bell Pepper 1/2 Cup pitted Olives Mozzarella Balls (I used small chunks instead.) 1 teaspoon dried parsley 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 1/2 teaspoon RiceVinegar with basil and oregano Pinch of ground cumin Salt and fresh ground Pepper to taste Method: In a large salad bowl, mix together the tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, mozzarella, and basil. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad and enjoy! Results: I took my first bite and my mouth was filled with pops of flavor. This is delicious. I would make it again, happily and I will eat olives, from now ...

I have been enjoying cooking from Joy Bauer much more than I had expected.  She is known for her healthy cooking .   "As a monthly columnist for Woman’s Day magazine and the creator of  JoyBauer.com , Joy continues to be a leader in developing and delivering fresh, cutting edge health content to millions." She did not disappoint me with the recipes, I have chosen to make. Each one has been better than successful.  I plan to make a lot more.  She has many recipes also listed online for you to check out if you like healthy and tasty food, presented in a respectful way . Roasted Eggplant Parmesan  (adapted from Joy Bauer) Ingredients: 1 eggplant, ends trimmed Kosher salt, to taste ground black pepper, to taste 3/4 cup marinara sauce * 3/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese dried oregano, to taste Method: Preheat the oven to 400°. Liberally coat a baking sheet with oil spray. Slice the ...

I was reading Food Network magazine and saw a recipe for stuffed zucchini.  Actually, they had four solid recipes for stuffed zucchini.  The one with Ricotta is the one that caught my attention and the one I decided to make. When I gathered the ingredients, I found one of my zucchinis had a bad spot and I had to peel them to make sure they were usable.  I cut off parts of the bad zucchini and then cut them in half lengthwise in preparation to stuff them.  I decided, I was not scooping out the seedy part of the zucchini which we usually eat and was almost seedless.  My problem then was I had nothing to fill so I changed the name of the recipe and the way I put it together as well as one of the ingredients.   When I took the first  bite, I realized it was not cooked as well as it could have been and ended up liking it much better this way.  It gave the whole dish a firmer base and it was a good bite.   This is a dish, I can see...

Veggie Delight I had no name for this dish, I put together, this evening.  I am finding it difficult to follow recipes from cookbooks or online.  Almost always, I take the recipe, in another direction.  That is what happened, today.  I pulled out a few cookbooks, found a recipe for roasted cubes of vegetables in a tomato sauce and covered with cheese.  It had veggies, I had in the house and the idea of roasting vegetables with a cheese topping intrigued me. I ended up slicing the veggies thinly on the mandolin and separately putting piles of them, in a baking dish.  I then dropped some spicy cheese on top, well spaced out.  It was delicious. Ingredients: 1 zucchini 1 yellow squash 2 carrots 1 mini red pepper 1 mini yellow pepper 1 mini orange pepper 1/4 green pepper spray olive oil 3 slices from a twisted spicy mozzarella roll 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil (my basil is re...

Yesterday was my husband's birthday and I wanted to make him a meal, he would appreciate.  The best meal, I could make for him was hamburger with french fries or a baked potato.  Alas, I had no chopped meat.  Tonight, I am planning to serve that hamburger.   Last night, appropriate for Meatless Monday, I made this pasta dish.  I just happened to have a package of smoked mozzarella, in the house, and I used this to spark up the dish.   It was just right. Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Penna Pasta Recipe Ingredients: 8 ounces , smoked mozzarella, cut into small cubes 3 medium tomatoes , peeled and diced* 1/2 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon basil 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste 1 (16-ounce) package uncooked penna pasta Freshly-grated parmesan cheese Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss mozzare...

I am so ashamed.  I can't believe what I did.  Taste and Create was due in on the first of the month.  Being an organized gal, weeks ago, I got the name of the person, I was partnering with and I went to her lovely blog and picked out some recipes to make.  I then did what a good blogger does and made something but I have no idea what the something is.  How does one lose a dish? Easily, is the answer, at least for me.  I run off lots of recipes and make some, each time, I go through the pile.  I then, type the recipe into the blog and schedule it.  This time, I didn't do it.   Of course, I went on cooking and never gave a thought to Taste and Create.  Sorry Min.  I went back to Avocado-Pesto and went through her recipes and while I have made similar recipes, they were not hers.  Feeling rather foolish, I picked out a new recipe, needless to say, an easy recipe, so I could get this in, only a few days late.  Note: I pr...

Last night, I planned to make a nice chunky soup, you know the kind that fills you up.  One bowl, and you are groaning, you are so full.  That was the plan.  What do they say about the best laid plans? I walked in, after work, and all I could think of was my bed, a place to fall into to sleep.  I was sure that peeling, chopping and seasoning was too much, for me.  Please tell me, you get like this, at times.  I usually pull, one day a week, like this. Forget the carrots, potatoes, onions, lima beans, sweet potatoes, kidney beans, celery and anything else, I would have thrown in.  Forget the aroma of a rich and vegetable soup, simmering on the stove.  Forget it all.  Forget dinner to. I was ready to skip making dinner and scouting the freezer for something to stick in the oven but hubby called and in that loving voice, asked what special dish, was I making.  The question comes from his satisfaction with weekday dinners, when I lea...

I have made a variety of Eggplant Parmesan meals, over the years, each time seeking to find one healthier than the last.  I found the one, I just made, at readytoeat.com.  I had no real desire to make this one other than it looked healthy.  It also looked bland.  With a bit of seasoning, this was not bland, at all.  I did replace the diced tomatoes and the can of sauce with bottled Marinara, keeping this as an easy recipe, as well. To make it gluten-free, I subbed in crumbs from potato chips instead of the Italian style bread crumbs.  If you are on a regular diet, I suggest using the bread crumbs because of the seasoning, built right into it.  I added Italian seasoning to my "chip crumbs" and they had plenty of flavor. I did so with a heavy hand. Healthy Eggplant Parmesan Ingredients: 1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs 2  eggplant, peeled Olive oil cooking spray 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese...

Girlichef made this wonderful sauteed cheese and I just had to try it.  I used four cheese and only two worked.  The cheddar and goat cheese melted down into a delicious mush.  The other two held their shape and were a real treat. Sautéed Cheese Ingredients:   Feta Cheese, Cheddar, Goat and Mozzarella brown rice flour olive oil Method: Cut the cheese into slices 1/2 thick . Pour some flour onto a plate. Dredge each piece of cheese in flour, shaking to remove excess and set aside for a moment. Place a large cast-iron (or nonstick) skillet over medium-high heat.  Pour on a thin layer of olive oil, and once it is screaming hot, add a few cheese pieces to the pan (being careful not to overcrowd) and brown for ~1 minute per side.    Heather  made sauces for these but I was too impatient to do this and ate them out of the pan. Heavenly. These are the cheeses that melted. These retained a shape. Ingredient Spotlight

I am honored to be featured, this week, at the Saturday Evening Pot, a well organized, diversified site where interesting activities are popping up, constantly.  You will not get bored visiting there often. I think, I have been linking there since its inception from both my blogs.  Check it out on Mondays to find great recipes and then go look, on other days, to keep up with all their goings on.  Meet the Lucky wife who puts herself into this personal labor of love. Now for another recipe to link up, tomorrow.  This is simple and definitely a QED, quick, easy and delicious.  It is perfect for this hot weather, we have been experiencing.  It is a simple tomato mozzarella salad.  If you are growing your own tomatoes, this will taste so much better than using store-bought but even those from the market shine next to fresh mozzarella. Tomato Mozzarella Salad Ingredients:  (depending how many you are serving   I used two tomatoes for th...

 I found this as a draft.  It may be that I already blogged this but if so, I don't know why it is sitting here.  These muffins were very nice.  They are not muffin consistency.  They are a light vegetable consistency.  They, obviously are faux muffins, and make a great side dish.  I turn many vegetables, meats, and eggs into muffin shaped dishes.  It is fun to get a plate with a main course, a salad and a vegetable muffin. I started making Saucy Mozzarella Patties and made the wise decision not to make something fried.  I turned the recipe completely around, making spinach the star and making muffins instead of patties.  They make a nice side dish. Spinach Mozzarella Muffins Ingredients: 2 cups frozen spinach, water squeezed out 1/2 cup flax seed flour 1/2 cup brown rice flour 1 egg salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup shredded mozzarella 1/2 teaspoon Italian spices 1/4 cup Parmesan spray ...