I had a taste for a quick-fix veggie cannelloni. I had ate at a local Italian restaurant about a year ago, called Raggazi's. I had ordered the Spinach/Cheese Cannelloni.I thought I had died and went to heaven! Each mouthful was an explosion of flavors. Here is my version which takes less than an hour and can feed 4-6 people.
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1 box Frozen Bertolli Spinach and Cheese Cannelloni
2 cup fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese
8 oz. baby Bella mushrooms, quartered
1 jar Bertolli Marinara Sauce
1 jar Bertolli Alfredo with Garlic Sauce
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Follow directions on box. Before placing cannelloni in the oven at 350 degrees, mix 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, the whole milk ricotta cheese and the pine nuts together. Place dollop size spoonfuls onto cannelloni. Sprinkle mushrooms, 1/2 jar of the Bertolli Marinara sauce. Mix the mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese together. Sprinkle on top of the cannelloni. Sprinkle basil, salt and red pepper flakes. Place into oven and bake for 45 - 50 minutes.
Heat up the Bertolli Alfredo sauce with garlic. (About 2-3 minutes). Pour a large circular dollop of Alfredo/garlic sauce onto plate. Spoon out 1 cannelloni, sauce and mushrooms and place on top of the white sauce. Serve with a nice Italian dense bread. *I make my own olive oil dipping sauce. Just add 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp. basil, 1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt, 1/2 tsp black coarse pepper. Whisk or shake away.That's it.
Enjoy!
TheFryeGirl2U
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Fried Catfish and Cheese Grits
*This is a "spin" on Fried Catfish & Grits. Down South, I noticed that a lot of families like to say "It's all
going down into the same place". Ok, maybe that's true..but I'm going to make it not only taste fantastic, it's going
to look pretty too. This dish is "plated", meaning sauce, grits, greens and catfish, one on top of each other in that
order. This dish takes between 30 - 45 minutes to make. I gave a 45 minute window just in case you want to fry up
a mess of catfish. I like using catfish nougats.
1st Dish - Fried Catfish
6 pieces of cat fish fillets or a mess of nougats
1 cup of buttermilk (milk, is ok too)
1/2 cup of *Frank's Hotsauce (4 oz is needed) more, if you like
1 package of Seafood Breader
Lemon pepper seasoning
Canola Oil
Rinse off the catfish, dry with a paper towel. Use either a baking dish, add buttermilk and Frank's hot sauce.
Let catfish soak in this mixture for no more than 15 minutes. Meanwhile, start preparing all the rest. You are
going to learn multi-tasking here and don't worry, it will turn out right:)
In another baking dish, add 1 package of your favorite seafood breader (not a batter, it has to say "breader").
This is a mixture of an already prepared cornmeal/flour. (I like my catfish Really Spicy, so I use a Cajun breader).
This is found in the baking isle along with the oils.
*Great Tip*
Dip soaked buttermilk catfish into the breader (use one hand only for dipping and the other hand only for covering
the fish with the cornmeal/flour mixture). Sprinkle with any lemon pepper seasoning and set aside.
Canola oil (about 1 index finger deep-not including your nail please)
*Great Tip*
Heat oil to 375F (I keep regular popcorn nearby). Just add one kernel to the oil. When it "pops", the oil is ready.
Add catfish; DO NOT CROWD! Fry pieces about 3-5 minutes on each side until a nice golden brown.
Drain on paper towels and set inside a 200F oven to keep warm.
2nd Dish - Cheese Grits
2 cups of Half & Half
2 cups of Low Sodium Chicken Broth (Swanson's)
1 cup of 5 minute grits. (If you have to use instant, do so
at your own risk)
1/4 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
In a saucepan, bring Half & Half, Chicken Broth and unsalted butter to a boil.
Add the grits.Reduce heat to med/low. Use a whisk to prevent lumps and whisk
several times during the 5 minutes. Remove from heat *S/P to taste, then cover
with lid. Set aside.
3rd Dish - Collard Greens
Now this is Real Easy! Unless you already have made some fresh collards (see my recipe-it is worthy),
PLEASE by all means use canned "Glory Collard Greens" or my favorite "Marguerite Holmes Collard Greens"
Yes, I said the forbidden word "canned greens"! Just heat them up on stove top or microwave and set aside.
There are 4 parts to this recipe, although I stated 3 dishes. This is the "Plating part".
In the "Mexican" section look for a small can that says: EL PATO
SALSA de JALAPENO
Buy at least 2-3 cans (Cost is about 90 cents a can at Walmart).
It is in a 7 &3/4 ounce can "Green Can"
Heat up Jalapeno Salsa in a small microwavable bowl. Set Aside.
Take 4-6 plates: Pour about 1/3 cup of Jalapeno Salsa onto plate; Add a Large dollop of Cheese Grits on top of salsa.
Then add a large scoop full of the heated Collard Greens. Lastly, top off with either one large catfish fillet or 4 fried
catfish nuggets in a spike-like fashion. That's It! I promise, this combination in the order presented is just as good as it
looks! Try to get a little bit of all ingredients into your mouth and savor the flavors!
List of Ingredients:
3 cans of EL PATO SALSA de JALAPENO ( Green 7 3/4 ounce can:"Mexican" Isle Section)