Berry Patriotic

Since the 4th of July is next week, I decided to be a good little patriotic American and make red, white, and blue food, and chant 'USA' a few times.  In reality it would probably be much more American if it was loaded with high fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes, but believe it or not, they’re not necessary.  This little tasty bite is colorful, delicious, and actually quite healthy.  It’s the perfect little nibble to add to your barbeque menu. 

Here’s what you need:

• Large strawberries
• Blueberries
• 1 15oz. container of full fat ricotta
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 orange

Dump the ricotta into a mixing bowl.  I know, it looks like a big pile of paste, which you haven’t been interested in eating since you were 5.  It gets better, though.  I promise. 

Add about a teaspoon of orange zest. 

Squeeze in about a Tablespoon of the juice from the orange.  (no I didn’t measure these things, but you can if you want to go to the effort)

Whip that together for a good minute or two.  The ricotta should become nice and fluffy. 

Sift the powdered sugar over the top and mix until it’s completely incorporated.  Make sure you scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl at some point. 

Now, put that into the fridge to chill while you prep your strawberries.  After you’ve washed them, run a knife around the top to remove the hull, leaving an empty cavity. 

Then turn the strawberry over and slice off the tip. 

You want to remove enough that it has a nice flat base to stand on. 

There should be enough filling for around 30 strawberries or so, depending on their size.  When I’m in need of large ones, I can usually count on Costco to have some in stock.  Go ahead and prep as many strawberries as you want and line them up on a sheet pan.  (Feel free to line it with parchment.)

Scoop the ricotta mixture into a pastry bag with a medium star tip.  You can just use a plastic bag with the corner cut off if you don’t have a pastry bag.  It just won’t be star shaped.  You could probably even just use a spoon and dollop it if you want.  Otherwise, pipe the mixture into the cavity of the strawberry, filling it, and making a spiral on top. 

Then place a blueberry on top of that.  Isn’t that cute? 

Repeat with the rest of your strawberries, filling, and blueberries.

These really are the perfect little patriotic snack.  They’d make a fabulous snack or dessert for any summer evening, though.  Juicy strawberries, filled with lightly sweet, orange, ricotta cream, and topped with a fresh blueberry.  Seriously divine, and best of all, no oven required so you can keep your house cool. 

What are your plans for the 4th of July?

Lasagna all Rolled Up

I’m on a bit of a roll.  Last week’s mini meatloaves, and now these single serving lasagna rolls.  I don’t know that they really qualify as small, but it’s a fun spin on lasagna.  Everyone gets their own little spiral of deliciousness.  Plus it makes for easy freezing of single servings if you have extra. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

½ lb ground beef
1 cup diced tomatoes
½ cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ t. salt
1 t. basil
½ t. oregano
½ t. thyme
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup parmigiano reggiano
½ cup mozzarella
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
8 lasagna noodles
1 pint marinara
More grated cheese for the top

We’ll start with the meat mixture so that it can be cooling.  In a pan over medium heat, put a tablespoon of oil followed by half of an onion, diced, and 2 minced cloves of garlic. 

Sprinkle on ½ teaspoon of salt and add the ground beef. 

Stir and chop that as it cooks, and when the meat is browned and cooked through, add a cup of diced tomatoes. 

Sprinkle on the herbs.  I used dried, so if you’re using fresh ones you’ll want to adjust the amounts to your liking.  Usually fresh herbs require double or triple the amount of dried ones. 

Stirring frequently, allow that to cook down until most of the liquid has evaporated.

If you can watch them both at the same time, you can cook your lasagna noodles at the same time as the beef.  If not, set the finished beef aside and cook the noodles now. Drain them and rinse them with cold water and lay them out on an oiled piece of foil. 

Now onto the cheese mixture.  Into a bowl go all the cheeses, a minced clove of garlic, and an egg. 

Stir until you until everything is combined.  This is probably a good time to preheat your oven to 350°.  Also, pour a little marinara on the bottom of your baking dish.  (Imagine my excited surprise when packing for my move I realized one of my bottles of ‘salsa’ was actually marinara.  Woohoo!)

Spread a thin layer of the cheese mixture onto a lasagna noodle leaving about an inch at each end naked. 

Then do the same thing with some of the meat mixture. 

Go easy on these things or you’re not going to be able to roll it up, which you’re going to do now.  Fold over one of the naked ends like this:

And then carefully roll it all the way to the other end.  See how cool?

Then place it, seam side down, into your prepared pan and repeat with the remaining 7 noodles.  You should be able to just squeeze all 8 of them into an 8x8 pan. 

Pour the remaining marinara over the top, spreading it all the way to the edges. 

Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. 

Hmm… doesn’t look much different except for the steam.  Well, we’ll fix that.  Sprinkle some grated cheese over the top.  I used probably ½ cup or so of each. 

Back into the oven, uncovered this time, for 15 minutes.  It should be nice and golden and bubbly on top. 

Ahh… there’s the oven magic I was waiting for.  Just look at that crusty deliciousness. 

Allow it to rest for 15 minutes or so before serving.  I just added a basic salad to the side, but garlic bread would be another nice addition. 

What do you like to eat with your lasagna?