Easy Back to School Supper

Today was our first meal using recipes only from O Taste and See, Immanuel Baptist Church’s cookbook.  In my mind, the theme was “Back to School Supper.”  Something somewhat kid-friendly and somewhat easy so that you didn’t have to be stuck in the kitchen but could listen to your child talk about his day or help with homework.  As the hurricane threw everything slightly off-kilter, though, school has already started.  Oh well.  The meal was still tasty—and it was comfort food for these rainy, gray days. 

Menu

Bruschetta (p.3)

Green Salad (p.37)

Roasted Vegetables (p.89)

Easy Cheesy Lasagna (p.121)

Grandpa’s Easy Funfetti Cookies (p.304)

I started by making up the lasagna.  I was quite curious as to how this recipe would taste because I have never made Italian lasagna without meat.   I also always use eggs in my ricotta cheese mixture.  But I followed the recipe* and had it made and ready to go in the oven.  *(I substituted 1 T. Italian seasonings for the 2 T. dried parsley because I had forgotten to buy dried parsley at the store, which happened because I had forgotten to take my list to the store.  Sigh.  I also used whole milk ricotta cheese rather than part-skim because that’s what I had.) 

Then I prepped for the bruschetta.  My mouth was watering as I did this.  The colors were so beautiful, and the basil (I used fresh) smelled AMAZING!  Basil is one of my all-time favorite aromas.  I completed the salad and the dressing, waiting, of course, to put the dressing on the salad until dinner.  Then I got to spend time with my two children as they got up from their naps. 

At 5:00 I put the lasagna into the pre-heated oven to bake and started cutting veggies for the roasted vegetable dish.  That took very little time, and once the vegetables were all mixed together, it looked like a picture in a magazine.  I also had a little help putting oil on the bread for the bruschetta.

At 5:30, the vegetables went into the oven.  Now, the veggies are supposed to cook for 30-35 min. at 400^o.  But my oven cooks hot, and I usually end up burning things if I follow the directions.  So I left it at 350^o (the temperature for the lasagna).  At 5:40ish I pulled out the lasagna and put in the bruschetta to toast for the first time.  And yes, I changed the oven to broil but left in the veggies.  I completed the bruschetta instructions, and once I pulled the finished product out, I turned the oven to just under 400^o to let the vegetables cook for another 10 minutes or so. 

 We started eating dinner before 6:00 (a rare occurrence for us) while the veggies were finishing.  We had the bruschetta and salad first.  The bruschetta was full of flavor and texture.  I know it is something that I will be asked to make again.  The salad was light and fresh (though I slightly overdressed it as I poured the dressing on it. . .oops.)  Eating all the “goodies” scattered among the lettuces was a treat.  My 3 year old didn’t really enjoy the dressing as it didn’t seem to be quite sweet enough for him.  His favorite dressing, though, is raspberry vinaigrette, which is much sweeter.

 

The lasagna, about which I was so curious, was quite tasty.   I prefer lasagna to spaghetti because of the texture, but my husband prefers spaghetti over lasagna.  (He’s not a huge ricotta cheese fan—he also really doesn’t care for undercooked lasagna noodles).  These noodles were cooked perfectly, though.  It seemed to be just the right amount of liquid.  Also, as the recipe called for one less layer than I normally put on my lasagna, it wasn’t as thick of a texture.  That scored big points with my husband.  So now I know!  The roasted vegetables were quite good and a nice change of pace from how I normally cook vegetables—something I will definitely try again.  My 3 year old was uncertain about the onion, the yellow squash, and the zucchini stating that he didn’t care for those (which is not a true statement), but he had to try one of each anyway.  Once they were eaten he said, “Mom, those are yummy!”

After supper, he and I made the cookies—which are always addictive.  So don’t make them unless you are ready to eat a lot of them or are able to give them away!  Taste and see that these recipes are good!