recipe of the week: ny quesadilla

i cannot lie. this recipe, i'm pretty pleased with.


a few months ago (or weeks...pinterest time gets away from me) i found a recipe for reuben quesadillas that i thought sounded amazing.  i even put it on our menu. 


and then, less than a week before i was to make it...i realized.  my husband does not like cabbage, does not like pickles, and especially does not like german pickled cabbage. and while i had taken that into account when i planned the menu and figured i'd leave the kraut off his...i realized that it would be really boring to eat corned beef and a smattering of cheese on a tortilla.


even though he loves corned beef
and cheese
and tortillas


so i got out about half the following sentence before he interrupted me with a resounding "YES!"


"hey, how about i try making a new yorker quesadilla instead of the reuben one?"


what he didn't realize until after the fact was that i didn't actually have a RECIPE, i just had the model of his favorite sub at firehouse subs, and the fact that meat and cheese always get a resounding reception in this house. not just from him...from me, from the cat...


so between his approval of my suggested ingredients and my imagination, here's what i came up with.  it really is QUITE simple. but it's also simply amazing if you are a fan of the new yorker deli sandwiches.

ny quesadillas


(makes 4 large quesadillas)
4 ounces each pastrami, peppered salami, and corned beef*
6 slices provolone cheese
italian seasoning
8 flour tortillas
german mustard
mayonaise


*way easier to get deli slices of each of these, and that's what would be served on a new yorker sandwich anyway! i got my corned beef from the deli and pastrami and salami from trader joes.





begin by putting all the meat and the italian seasoning into a food processor and pulse until it's roughly chopped

 add cheese, and pulse again

for each quesadilla, spread one entire tortilla with german mustard and the other with mayo

 top with generous portions of meat and cheese

 and cover with the second tortilla

pan cooking this didn't seem like an option. i decided to pop them in the oven at 275゜

keep an eye on them. when the cheese is melted to your liking (and the tortillas are browned to your degree of satisfaction. in my case satisfaction on both arrived in about 12 minutes)

 this is my husband's plate, which he filled with chips

 mmmm

this is my messily cut quesadilla hanging out with a fresh tomato and a couple of pickles

the verdict? as intrigued as i was by the idea of reuben quesadillas, i think this one is more for us.  definitely staying in the meal rotation!

let's be real and mention that this is not the most figure friendly meal.  here's the info for each serving if you care :-)

oh, and click on the button for a link to more yummy recipes!

EASY recipe of the week: stuffed mushrooms

ready for one of the easiest appetizers EVER?

1 pkg whole mushrooms
1 cup freshly grated mozzarella
4 ounces cream cheese (room temp)
4 ounces sour cream

(1) remove stems from mushrooms and place on baking sheet









(2) mix together mozzarella, cream cheese and sour cream.





(3) fill each mushroom with cheese mixture.









(4) bake at 350* for about 15 minutes

(5) enjoy!

(crappy iphone photo...sorry)

recipe of the week: stuffed shells casserole

**please excuse the lack of pictures.   it was so good that we kinda forgot about that part.**

i LOVED the idea of this recipe

who doesn't love stuffed shells?

who doesn't get frustrated when making them because either they fall apart, leak all their filling, or just in general don't turn out the way you expected?

(ok, maybe i'm the only one who prepares to make 12 stuffed shells and ends up with 7 - 9 actual shells and 3 - 5 shells worth of ripped fragments)

but even if they work out perfectly

they're kind of a pain.  yes?

so this recipe from rachael ray comes in to make our lives a bit easier.

it's CERTAINLY not a 30 minute meal

more like three times that

but most of that is kind of passive time

so you can set the table, make other foodstuffs, etc while the sauce is cooking or the casserole is baking :)

stuffed shells casserole
 

for the sauce:

extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely (i minced)

3/4 of 1 large (or 2 small/medium) onion, chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped or grated

salt and pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano or marjoram

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed with the flat edge of your knife

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped (i only had dried since my thyme didn't survive all summer!)

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup dry wine, white or red (i used white)

2 cups chicken stock

2 cans crushed italian tomatoes (i used diced this time around, use whatever.  also, the original recipe calls for 28 oz cans, but i used 2 regular sized cans.  it was the perfect ratio for us, but if you prefer a more tomatoey sauce, use the big cans.)

for the "stuffed" bit:

1 pound medium or large pasta shells

2 boxes frozen spinach, defrosted and wrung dry with a clean towel (i used 1 bag from trader joes because it's about the same)

nutmeg

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

the other 1/4 of the large or two small/med onion

2 cups fresh ricotta cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano - reggiano cheese 

2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

in a large pan, heat about 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.  add the garlic, onion and carrot.  season with salt, pepper, oregano, crushed red pepper, fennel seeds, and thyme and gently saute for about 10 minutes.  add in parsley and stir, then add wine and reduce a minute (unless you're me and forget that step), chicken stock and tomatoes.  bring to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer.  simmer sauce for 45 minutes.

after sauce has been heating for 30 minutes, preheat oven to 375゜

bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta.  salt the water, and boil pasta for 5 minutes.

at the same time, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  add garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes.  add spinach, pulling apart and separating as you go. stir to combine well and add nutmeg, salt and pepper.  turn off heat.

(ok, to save time, i had the defrosting spinach in a bowl, wrung it out, and then went ahead and seasoned with nutmeg, salt and pepper while it was still in the bowl)

drain undercooked pasta and return it to the hot pot. add spinach mixture to pot, along with ricotta and parmigiano cheeses. stir to combine and then add egg yolks.
(erm, again, i saved time here by mixing the spinach, cheeses and eggs in the large bowl the spinach was defrosting in.  i then added the drained pasta and stirred it all up)

pour a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish.  fill dish with pasta, and then top with another layer of sauce.  if you wish, you can save some to dish on at the table...i just dump all the sauce in :)  bake 30 minutes.

extra fresh parmigiano on the table is never a bad idea ;-)

enjoy!  just so you know, this recipe makes a TON.  anthony and i ate big helpings, i sent him home with 2 really large servings of leftovers for he and his roommate, i put aside a serving for his grandpa, an additional serving for me, and i STILL had 2 large servings to freeze.

we're taking another dish of this to a friend who just had a baby this week, along with a salad.  pasta and sauce is always a winner :)