Cottage Cheese and Egg Salad in Gougeres

This is from a couple of months ago, but it seemed like a good thing to post now that spring is here. I had some Gougeres formed and frozen in my freezer and needed to find a good filling.
I made these for a get-together where there were appetizers from all over the world. Since I lived in Estonia for 18 months, I made a Estonian twist on egg salad.

The recipe is in grams, but I just used my kitchen scale to get the right amount of butter and cottage cheese. These would be great for a party or spring themed shower.

The recipe for the Cottage Cheese & Egg Salad is here via nami-nami


I posted about Gougeres here and the recipe can be found HERE

Vegetarian Lasagna

Because we went to DisneyWorld for Christmas, we had a family dinner with my husband's family the week before we left, to celebrate the holiday.
We decided on an Italian theme and I brought this lasagna.

This recipe is the lasagna that we ate growing up at my house and it is requested by one of my brothers every year for his birthday dinner.
It is really simple and loaded with vegetables. Even my meat loving husband really loves this lasagna.
The recipe calls for mushrooms, but this last time I made it, I forgot to buy mushrooms, so I just shredded a zucchini that I had in my fridge and sauteed that along with the veggies.
You could probably substitute whatever vegetables you wanted to, just saute them along with the onion.
It is healthier than normal lasagna because it has lots of veggies, but also because the filling is made with cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese and there are less layers of noodles.

It was a big hit at our family dinner and is definitely a family favorite of ours.

This recipe can also be prepped in the pan and frozen for a later date. Just add a few minutes on the cooking time to make sure that it cooks and warms through.

Vegetarian Lasagna adapted from Managing your Meals by Winnifred Jardine
6 oz lasagne noodles, (6 noodles)
1 pd fresh spinach
1 Tbls olive oil
1 cup grated carrot (about 1 carrot)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 pd sliced fresh mushrooms or 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1- 15 oz can tomato sauce
1-6 oz can tomato paste
1-2 1/4 oz can sliced black olives, drained
1 tsp crushed dried oregano
1 tsp crushed dried basil
2 cups cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook lasagne noodles according to pkg directions. Meanwhile, rinse spinach and place in saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat until steam forms, then reduce heat and cook for a few minutes. Drain and set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil and saute carrots, onion, and mushrooms, until tender but not brown. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, olives, oregano and basil. set aside. Combine cottage cheese and egg.

In a 9 by 13 inch pan sprayed with cooking spray, layer half each of noodles, spinach, sauce, cottage cheese mixture, and shredded mozzerella. Repeat layers ending with shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Orange Rolls with No-Rise Dough

I can't remember when I saw this recipe, but I actually made it months ago when I had some cottage cheese in the fridge to use and I somehow came upon this recipe that uses cottage cheese in the dough.
I was on a kick of trying out different cinnamon roll/breakfast recipes and decided to give this recipe a try.
I wasn't sure how my family would like the orange filling and glaze, so I made half of the rolls with a cinnamon filling- the one from this recipe.
My daughter helped me put together the dough and different fillings and this recipe was super easy, which I absolutely love.
The thing that is great about these rolls, is that they are ready in no time and they taste just as good as any breakfast roll that contains yeast. I was surprised at how well the orange rolls were received, especially by my hubby. He really liked them.
The only thing I changed was the glaze on the orange rolls. I just used a combination of powdered sugar and fresh orange juice.
These would be a great thing to try at a holiday brunch or breakfast because they are ready in a flash.

Recipe for Orange Rolls with No-Rise Dough from Our Best Bites

Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

I found out about this recipe when Kalyn sent out a tweet about a new post on her blog. I immediately went over to her blog to check out the Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin.
I love spaghetti squash (although this love is fairly recent) and I also love swiss chard. I never in a million years would have thought to put the two together.

I put this down on my menu calendar and the next time I went for groceries, I found beautiful swiss chard and a nice sized spaghetti squash.

This recipe takes a little time, but it is completely worth it. Plus, you can roast your spaghetti squash during the day, when you are at home, before dinner time.

There are a few things that I did differently.

I always roast my spaghetti squash whole. I preheat the oven to 400 degrees, poke my squash all over with a fork or skewer, cover a baking sheet with foil and pop the squash in the oven. I usually let it roast for an hour, turning it once or twice. This to me, is way easier than trying to cut through it raw. Once it has roasted, you can slice the thing in half with no problem.

I also sauteed my swiss chard mixture a little too long. It wasn't completely my fault though. Some kind of emergency came up with one of my kids in the bathroom and so, you know how that goes.
I also used chard with red stems and chopped them up and saute them too.
I used greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
I topped my gratin with a combination of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese and a little bit of canola oil- to bring the topping together.
Delicious! I tasted it straight out of the pan and it was so good. My kids liked it and so did my hubby. So nutritious too.
Check out Kayln's blog for great pics of this recipe and lots of other great recipes too.


Recipe for Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

One Year Ago-Bulgur and Chickpea Stuffed Squash

TWD-Cottage Cheese Pufflets

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection was Cottage Cheese Pufflets, chosen by Jacque over at Daisy Lane Cakes. You can find the recipe on her blog.

I didn't love these, but since I made them I have thought of some possible reasons why:

1- I made 6 other desserts on the day I made these- blondies, cupcakes, angel food cake, etc. and these cookies just happened to be the fussiest of the bunch. By the time I got around to rolling them out I was already exhausted and ready for my bake-a-thon to be over.

2- They were super sticky and required lots of chilling and re-chilling time- once again, not what I was looking for on a day when I was in a hurry to get loads of things baked. And since my brain was frazzled I completely spaced the whole idea of using flour to help with the rolling and cutting.

3. I accidentally baked them at 350 degrees instead of 400 degrees. They didn't puff much and took forever to become slightly golden. A few days later I realized that I had been baking all day and didn't change the temperature of the oven. So, I am guessing the lack of temp might have affected how they looked and such.

All that being said, I still had compliments on the taste and I am thinking that if I made them again with the right conditions, I would probably have a better experience. I filled mine with raspberry jam.

See what the other TWD Bakers thought by checking out the TWD Blogroll.

On a side note- I was tagged by Tracey, so here you go!

1. A – Available/Single? Married

2. B – Best friend? Matt

3. C – Cake or Pie? Cake

4. D – Drink of choice? I only drink water

5. E – Essential item you use every day? contacts

6. F – Favorite color? blue

7. G – Gummy Bears or Worms? gummy bears, but only the white ones

8. H – Hometown?Dugway, Utah

9. I – Indulgence? a taste of anything I bake

10. J – January or February? February- closer to winter being over!

11. K – Kids & their names? Jonah- 7, Ryanne-4 (a girl), Savannah-2

12. L – Life is incomplete without? friends

13. M – Marriage date? March 3, 2001

14. N – Number of siblings? 2 sisters and 2 brothers

15. O – Oranges or Apples? apples

16. P – Phobias/Fears? heights, natural disasters, losing a child or family member

17. Q – Quote for the day? " They're doing the best they can, with what they've got"- Tom Jennings

18. R – Reason to smile? I am healthy, have a great family and friends- life is good

19. S – Season? Summer

20. T – Tag 4 People? um, I will have to think about it

21. U – Unknown fact about me? Probably almost anything?!

22. V – Vegetable you don't like? mushrooms, but I will still eat them if they are mixed in with other things- I can't handle them all alone

23. W – Worst habit? staying up late

24. X – X-rays you've had? ankle, teeth,

25. Y – Your favorite food? watermelon, Mexican Street Salad

26. Z – Zodiac sign? Capricorn

One Year Ago-Cocoa Buttermilk Cake with PB Frosting, Peach Pie, and Banana Bundt

Slider Caesar Salad and Veggie Manicotti

Sliders are just too popular around here. My kids love them and they make a great, little lunch-I often sneak the leftovers into the lunchbox, if there are any leftovers.
We had a Rachael Ray night, combining two of her 30-minute meals. The salad was delicious- I swapped out the ground beef for lean ground turkey and used fat free mayo in the dressing. The kids were loving their little sliders on a stick. The veggie manicotti was a quick dish to throw together and these 2 dishes went really great together. As she would say, Yum-O!


Slider Caesar Salad From Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine
2 kaiser rolls, cut into cubes
4 Tbls extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup fat free mayonnaise
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
20 oz. lean ground turkey, 93% lean

One 12-ounce package romaine hearts, torn into small pieces

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 375°. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the bread with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toast for 8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons parmesan, mustard and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; season with salt and pepper.

3. Crumble the ground turkey into a medium bowl, season with salt and pepper and combine. Divide into 12 equal portions and roll into balls. Thread 3 meatballs onto each of 4 wooden skewers, leaving a 1/2-inch space between each; pat each meatball into a 2-inch patty.

4. Preheat a grill pan over medium heat. Brush the patties with olive oil and grill, turning once, about 6 minutes total for medium.

5. Meanwhile, add the lettuce and croutons to the dressing and toss. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Top with the skewers.

Veggie Manicotti from Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine
Eight 6-inch-long lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

1 pint cottage cheese, drained in a strainer

One 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and 1/3 cup finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped basil leaves, plus 8 leaves, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

1 tomato, chopped

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the noodles, stirring often, until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

3. Using a food processor, puree the drained cheese until smooth; add to the zucchini along with the chopped roasted peppers and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper. Rinse the food processor bowl.

4. Lay the noodles flat on a work surface. Place an equal amount of the zucchini mixture at the end of each noodle, then roll up. Divide the rolls among 4 dinner plates.

5. Using the food processor, puree the remaining roasted peppers with the tomato until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the rolls. Top with the sliced basil.

Scrambled Eggs with Spinach and Cottage Cheese

Originally this recipe was an Egg-White Omelet to serve 1, but who wants to make 8 individual omelets with only egg whites? Not me, too much work. So, I changed this recipe which I found in Martha Stewarts Everyday Food Magazine, to serve 8, use whole eggs and I scrambled them. It might not look great, but it was good tasting.
Scrambled Eggs with Spinach and Cottage Cheese
9 large eggs
salt and pepper
1 Tbls olive oil
7-8 cups packed spinach
2 cups cottage cheese
Grated Parmesan or Pepper jack for garnish

1. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and 6 Tbls water; season with salt and pepper; set aside.
2. In a medium nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and season with salt and pepper; cook until wilted and tender, 2-3 minutes. Add eggs; cook as you would normally for scrambled eggs, letting them set a little while first.
3. When cooked, serve with a scoop of cottage cheese on top and sprinkle your choice of grated cheese to finish it off.