>>Make Ahead Series: Turkey and Zucchini Lasagne

This is another recipe that I came across when trying to find meals that I could plan ahead of time.  You can make it a few days in advance and it stores well in the fridge, or it can be stored in the freezer and left in the fridge overnight to thaw.  Also, it was soooo good!! I may just never use lasagne noodles again.  I highly recommend this recipe.  You could even swap out the meat for eggplant slices or portobello mushroom slices, which I may try next time. 

>> Ingredients

~ 2 lbs ground turkey

~ 3 cloves garlic, minced

~ 1 onion, chopped

~ 24 oz tomato sauce

~ 2 tbsp fresh basil, minced

~ 3 medium zucchini, sliced thin

~ 15 oz light ricotta

~ 16 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded

~ 1/4 cup parmesan

~ salt and pepper

>> Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.  Brown meat with onion, garlic, and basil, stirring to break up meat.  Add tomato sauce and simmer 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine ricotta, parmesan, and 12 oz of mozzarella in a bowl, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange zucchini slices on the bottom of a 9x13in dish (it serves 8-10, so split to 2 smaller dishes to have 2 separate meals!) Layer with 1/2 of the meat, 1/2 of the cheese mixture.  Repeat.  Top with a final layer of zucchini, and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.  Cover with foil and bake for one hour, removing foil for the last 15 minutes.  

To stop the lasagne from being runny, you can lay the zucchini on paper towel, sprinkle with salt to separate the moisture, and then blot dry.

Enjoy, it's delicious!

>>Recipe adapted from www.rachelschultz.com

>>One Pan Dinner: Mozza-Basil Stuffed Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes

This was such an easy dinner, and it was delicious.  It only uses one pan, which is amazing for those of us who don't own a dishwasher (who's with me here?!)

>> Ingredients

~ 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
~ 12 large, fresh basil leaves, divided
~ 60g part-skim mozzarella cheese, cut into 4 slices
~ 4 tbsp oil packed sliced sun-dried tomatoes, drained
~ 1/4 cup roasted tomato and olive oil salad dressing, divided
~ 2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced in half
~ cooking spray

>> Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400F.  Cut into the long side of the chicken breast to create a pocket, making sure you don't cut right through.  Fill with 2 basil leaves, 1 slice of cheese, and 1 tbsp of sun-dried tomatoes.  place chicken to one side of a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Brush with 1 tbsp of dressing. Keep closed with a toothpick.  Place sliced tomatoes on the other side of the baking sheet.  Chop the remaining basil and sprinkle over tomatoes.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken reaches 170F.
Toss tomatoes in the remaining dressing and serve on top of chicken.  It was great with a side of long-grain brown rice.

>>Recipe adapted from Kraft Magazine

>>Make Ahead Series: Butternut Squash Calzones

I was looking for recipes that I could prepare ahead of time and either store in the fridge, or freeze, until ready to cook.  This is great during the week when you don't want to spend an hour preparing food after a long day at work.  

I loved this recipe for this time of year because it used seasonal vegetables in a non-traditional way.  They were delicious! I made 6 total, 3 for the freezer and 3 to eat.

>>Ingredients

~ 3 packages of Pillsbury pizza dough (or fresh pizza dough of choice)

~ 2 Italian sausages, casing removed

~ 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed

~ 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced

~ 1 clove garlic, minced

~ 2 handfuls baby spinach

~ 16 oz jar of pizza sauce

~ salt and pepper to taste

~ flour

~ cooking spray

>>Directions

Preheat oven to 450F.  Allow dough to rest 20 minutes at room temperature.  Put squash in a ziplock bag and, leaving a small opening in the corner of the bag, microwave for 4 minutes to soften.  Brown sausage in a frying pan, stirring to separate the meat.  Remove from pan, and brown garlic in the drippings, being careful not to burn.  Add mushrooms and brown, adding salt to taste.  Add the browned sausage, butternut squash, pizza sauce, and spinach.  Cook on low for about 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  

Remove dough from the package.  If using the Pillsbury dough, you just need to unroll the dough onto a floured surface, cutting each piece in half for 6 total pieces.  If using dough from a package, grab a small handful with lightly floured hands.  Squeeze the ball, starting from the centre, creating a large, circular, thin piece of dough.  Once you have all 6 pieces, take 3-4 spoonfuls of filling and place on one half of the dough, leaving about half an inch of dough for the crust.  Fold over the other half and press the edges together to seal the dough.  (With the pillsbury, I just trimmed off the excess to make it circular, since the dough is a rectangular shape) Poke 2 holes in the centre for steam.  

Place calzones on a large cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray, and then sprinkle lightly with flour. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden.  Enjoy!

If freezing, wrap raw calzones tightly with two layers of plastic wrap individually, and then place in freezer bags. Bake frozen, at 450F, for 40 minutes.  

>> Recipe from www.thelodown.com