Margerita Panini

I love grilling season. Unfortunatley, we can't grill every night in the summer. Sometimes we have to cook inside. Its a bummer because it makes the house hot, but oh well.

Tonight I'm going to make paninis. My step son calls them "bikinis" or "zuccinis" and my three year old insists they're "bananas". I don't know why:-)

This is a light, no meat panini recipe you can make with- or without- a panini press.

I use:
Foccacia bread
Fresh mozzarella slices
Fresh tomato slices
Red onion slices
Spinach or arugula
Pesto
Balsamic vinaigrette (or equal parts basamic and evoo)

The pesto and vinaigrette are for the bread. You can pile everything else on. Then cook it on medium in the press for about 5 minutes. If you don't have a press, you can wrap a brick in tin foil and press it in a pan on the stove (Thanks Rachel Ray... you are good for some things... lol) or you can broil them, open faced in the oven.

Enjoy your "bikinis" :-)

Baked Spaghetti

One of my friends brought this to me and my family after I had Dexter. Everyone loved it and I have made it a few times since then. The one that was brought to me was more basic, but I had to add more ingredients... because you know me: I'm a glamour recipe girl;-)

It is so easy and the recipe can be teased without screwing it up. Good luck!

Boil 16oz of spaghetti noodles according to the directions on the packet. I used whole wheat linguine but you can use whatever kind you would like and it wohld still work.

Prep:
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch spinach cut into chiffonaude ribbons
3 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbs fresh Sweet Basil, chopped
3-4 whole eggs
4 tbs butter
2 cups cheese total, grated (I used feta, mozzarella, and parmesan)
Salt and pepper

Toss all of the ingredients with the pasta in a large bowl. Press into a 9×13 baking dish and top with 2-3 cups marinara sauce (I can homemade tomato sauce every year so that is what I used. Store bought or fresh homemade work too). Top with a little cheese.

Bake at 365 for about 45 minutes.

It can be prepared and frozen ahead of time. Thaw before baking.

Oregon Morel Mushrooms

Busy Mama Recipes

My bff got some Morels the other day. Oh my gosh, they are so good. If you have never tried them and you have the chance, try them. They are amazing.

Of course we washed and soaked them, and cut off the gross parts.

I had about a half a pound. I tossed them in a stainless steel skillet with about a tablespoon of salted butter (if you use unsalted add a teaspoon of salt) and let them cook for about five minutes on medium heat.

Then I added 2 tablespoons of dry white wine, two cloves of garlic, and black pepper. I let them cook for about five more minutes.

Before serving them, I sprinkled fresh minced parsley on them.  And duh, we ate them with wine:-)