I love Sunday afternoons. The hustle and bustle of the work week is just a memory, the weekend errands have been run, and in the quiet of a Sunday afternoon, I find peace. There is just something about the comfort of resting on the couch half paying attention to football while browsing food blogs on the iPad, listening to Neil practice, while the wafting aromas of a big Sunday meal fills our home. Sundays are excellent. I think many families cook large meals on Sundays because there is more time to enjoy the cooking process, and it’s almost guaranteed everyone will be home as opposed to busy weeknights when the family is shuffling back and forth between extracurricular events. Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Although we are not attending a large football party, you can bet we’ll be making a meal that we couldn’t pull off during the week.

This lasagna is the perfect healthy dish to make on a Sunday afternoon. It brings a warmth of flavor and heartiness of a big meal without all the extra carbs or calories. Thin layers of eggplant sub for the pasta in this dish, and a variety of colorful vegetables paired with the creamy ricotta make this dish a comforting one that will readily gather your family around the table. This lasagna, like most, makes great leftovers that are quick to dish up during the week!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, sliced thinly lengthwise

1/2 fennel bulb, medium chop

1 orange bell pepper, medium chop

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 small yellow squash, cut into half moons

1 pound frozen chopped spinach, cooked and well drained

8 oz. button mushrooms, quartered

1/2 cup roasted pine nuts

15 oz. part-skim ricotta

1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (add more if you would like more heat)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 jar tomato sauce, homemade preferred

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°. First, create the “pasta.” Slice eggplant thinly using a mandolin or very sharp knife. Lay flat on kitchen towels and sprinkle with salt to extract any bitterness. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a bowl and set aside.

Bring a sauté pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and sauté the fennel, bell pepper, garlic, squash, and mushrooms together with another 1/2 teaspoon salt for about 15 minutes.

Build the lasagna by first coating the bottom of a 9x13x2″ glass baking dish with a thin layer of sauce. Lay eggplant slices side by side to crate an even layer.

Then add a fourth of the ricotta mixture and a fourth of the vegetable mixture.

Continue this process until all ingredients are layered. Top lasagna with the Monterey Jack cheese and cover with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes or until cheese on the top browns. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Cut into large squares and serve.

Serves 6-8

Let’s get real, people! Remember back when we completed the 10-day pledge from 100 days of real food? Well, we’re back at it again! We’ve cut out white flour, white sugar, and are sticking to good-for-you-oils and low processed food. At first it might seem like we’ll have nothing delicious to eat, but we just make the regular food we crave with a few simple substitutes.

These carnitas soft tacos are so good. Braising the pork is not as hard as you think- just add a little dry rub and a little liquid and pop it in the oven. A few hours later it will come out savory and succulent. Your family will have fun building these tacos and individualizing their meal.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. bone-in pork shoulder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 red onion, rough chop
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 poblano peppers, seeds removed and thinly sliced

Optional taco bar toppings:

Cilantro
Monterey Jack cheese
Lime
Guacamole
Sour cream
Tomatoes

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325°. Combine chili powder, turmeric, celery salt, cumin seed, and cayenne pepper in a bowl and mix. Using your hands, work the dry rub over the entire pork shoulder. Reserve any leftover dry rub.

Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and when hot, add olive oil to coat. Place pork in the dutch oven. Brown the meat 4 minute on each side and 1 minute on the edges. Transfer browned pork to mixing bowl with left over rub to rest.

Add onion to the dutch oven and sauté for 2 minutes. Then, add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add 1 cup of water and scrape up the bits from the bottom and sides of dutch oven.

Return the pork and remaining dry rub to the dutch oven. Add enough water so that the liquid comes 3/4 up the sides of the pork. Cover and place in oven for 2.5 to 3 hours until pork easily falls apart when pulled with a fork. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Pull all the pork (now carnitas!) apart with two forks.

In a medium sized skillet, add thinly sliced red onion and poblano peppers and cook until tender and slightly browned.

Set up your taco bar with whole wheat tortilla shells, carnitas, onion/poblano mixture, cilantro, guacamole, cheese, lime, and more.

Cue Auld Lang Syne music: da naaa da na na naaa na na, da na naaa na na na na!

Well friends, another joyous year is coming to a close. We’ll post a reflection later of our favorite dishes we’ve posted over the past year, but first wanted to give you a recipe to try to help ring in the new year. In many countries, round foods are eaten on New Year’s to bring hopes of wealth and prosperity for the upcoming year. Black eyed peas, lentils, grapes and more all are served with these hopes in mind. Some of our favorite round foods to eat are orecchiette, which in Italian literally translates to “little ears.” They hold sauce nicely are easy to stack on your fork, and are down right fun. Although not labeled a traditional New Year’s food, they are round, so… I think they’ll count.

Of course fresh corn isn’t in season right now, but Trader Joe’s roasted corn is a great option. If you add a little more adobo sauce or chipotle peppers you can really warm things up and chase your cold winter blues away. We hope these little ears will kick off a prosperous new year for you! Here’s to 2013!

Ingredients:

1 pound orecchiette (little ears) pasta-  DeCecco is one reliable brand.

1 1/2 pounds  raw medium-large shrimp,  peeled and deveined

1 can (7 oz.) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 stick butter (+ 2 tablespoons to sauté shrimp)

1 cup (8 oz.) heavy cream

1 cup (8 oz.) freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 cups corn cut off the cob. Can be raw or cooked.  (Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn works if fresh is not in season)

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Preparation:

Sauté the shrimp in 2 tablespoons butter in small skillet 4-5 minutes or until just cooked.

Boil pasta in large pot in heavily salted water 9-10 minutes. Drain.

In same large pot on low heat, melt the butter, then slowly add the cream then add the parmesan. Stir to a smooth sauce. Add 3-4 thinly sliced small chipotle peppers and some of the sauce.

Add the cooked pasta and shrimp to the sauce. Stir in the corn and pine nuts. More chipotles and/or adobo sauce may be added for extra spice.

Works as a main course for 4-6 or a side dish for many.