St. Louis Toasted Ravioli

Since we started eating meatless at home, our "go to" meals have become breakfast for dinner or ravioli or tortollini. Both are quick and easy to get on the table when we are busy.

I was getting ready to make ravioli and sauce for the 10th time (it seemed) and I decided to ask the internets if there was some other option for ravioli. I'm happy to say, the internets came through with a recipe for St. Louis Toasted Ravioli.

This dish is super-easy to make and uses stuff that we usually always have- eggs, milk, seasoned bread crumbs. It can double as a great, easy appetizer that you can make a bunch of all at once. Plus- it was a big hit with the kiddos. Anything that can be dipped and resembles chicken nuggets has GOT to be good- right?

So, here goes. YOu can also get the super-print friendly version on allrecipes.com, but keep in mind I changed it a bit and bake instead of fry...

St. Louis Toasted Ravioli

24 packaged ravioli (or about 4-6 per person)

1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce

2 Tablespoons skim milk

1 egg

3/4 c. Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Beat milk and egg together. Pour bread crumbs into a ziploc bag. Dip the ravioli in the egg/milk mixture and then place them in the bag with the bread crumbs.

Once all ravioli has been dipped, seal the bag and shake to coat. Place ravioli in a single layer on a foil-covered cookie sheet (the foil seems to make them crispier). Bake at 375 until they are brown and toasty looking.

Dip hot ravioli in warmed spaghetti sauce and enjoy!

Yum?

Wow- this is a very interesting photography series of fast-food against a plain black background. Worth a look:
http://www.good.is/post/picture-show-visions-of-fast-food/?GT1=48001

I should print these out and look at them when I'm thinking I need a burger. Although, does anyone else look at the fries and think- yum?

Fee-Fi-Pho-YUM!

It may seem strange, but for DMP and I, Vietnamese food is "comfort food". When we were dating and first married in Logan, there was a little family-run Vietnamese place called Saigon. It had awesome, delicious food for really cheap. We went there a lot for date nights.

After we moved to Tempe, we located "the best Vietnamese food in the Valley". Boy, were they right. Yen Mei was tucked inside the giant Asian food store and was always packed. The decor wasn't anything to write home about, but it more than made up for it in the taste of the food. The funny this is that we were usually the only all-white family or couple in the place. That got us some strange looks, but hey- you know it's good if the locals love it.

After we moved here, we were sad to discover there were no Vietnamese places close enough for regular eating. We've had a fix occasionally (Roy, UT has one for heaven's sake) but never had full access to the goodness whenever we wanted. Until now.

About a month or two ago, I noticed a sign on State St. in Orem "Pho Noodle House- Opening Soon". Can it be? I thought?!?! Pho is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup, so I figured a place named "Pho" had to include some Vietnamese goodness right?

On my way home from work, I noticed an "Open" sign. Joy! DMP, the girls and I went last night. It's menu has a unique hybrid of Japanese and Vietnamese (and a little Thai) noodle and rice dishes, but we were over the moon to discover that they had spring rolls (called summer rolls, but still super delish) which our our absolute favorite. DMP had the Pho made with brisket and it was excellent. It was fun, too, because they give you bean sprouts, basil, jalapenos, limes, hoisin and chile sauce on the side. It is interactive food- you can make it to your taste.

The girls and I got my "regular"- BBQ pork and chicken vermicelli. It is a dish with vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts, cucumber carrots and the BBQ (which isn't like American BBQ, of course). It was SO good. Their vinegar sauce (not sure what it is called but it is rice vinegar, carrots, and other stuff) was the best we've ever had- a perfect blend of sweet, vinegar and it had a little kick. The girls ate their dinner right up- I was so proud but not surprised since EJ is practically made from Vietnamese food (and french fries and corn dogs...).

If you are in Provo, definitely visit Pho. Super-fantastic yumminess. I'll even take you!

P.S. DMP came up with the title of today's post. Don't make fun of him TOO much, it was better than anything I could come up with.

Best. Burger. Ever.

Behold- the Bowling Alley Cheeseburger!

Sure- we may be way more veggie at home nowadays, but we still eat meat when eating out (if the fancy strikes us) and that is a good thing because I can hardly make a trip to Heber to visit my parents without going to the Bowling Alley for a cheeseburger.

When people ask me "where is a good place to eat in Heber?" I usually try to tell them to go to the bowling alley. I don't think any believe me (or have taken me up on it) but that is OK with me- the less the merrier.

You see, the bowling alley burger is cooked one order at a time. Yep, none of this quick "30 seconds" stuff- nope a labor of love like this takes time. The burgers themselves are made of something that tastes like real beef- not cardboardy stuff - and they aren't too thick and have a perfect bun-to-meat-ratio. They are also cooked on a grill that is as old as the rest of the bowling alley and it probably hasn't been cleaned in 50 yrs. (which is a good thing, according to Alton Brown) so the burgers get a nice crust on the outside- not burned, just a crust.

The bun is brushed with butter and toasted on the grill as well. The burger usually comes with a tomato slice, onion slices, pickles and lettuce. Take a second to appreciate the beautiful tomato in the picture above. Delish!

When I was preggo with EJ, a Bowling Alley cheeseburger was pretty much all I craved. I even found myself plotting how to get one from Heber to Tempe, AZ! It is also the cheeseburger by which I judge all cheeseburgers.

I love the Bowling Alley for their burgers, sure, but I also love that the place literally never changes. It still has the look of a 60's classic bowling alley. It also reminds me of my childhood. AJ (my aunt) would take us out of school when she visited and we'd have lunch there. It was a BIG DEAL!

So now I'm really glad to pass on the food and tradition with my girls. If only we could eat lunch without begging for a game of "balling"...

Harvest Veggies & Creamy Polenta Recipe

Here is a recipe that we just created based one we got from the Rachel Ray 365: No Repeats cookbook. Bless her, her stuff is usually good, but not very veggie. Her original recipe has chicken in place of the squash and beans, if you want to meat this puppy back up :).

If you try nothing else, make the creamy polenta part- it is SOOO good!

Fresh Harvest Veggies and Creamy Polenta
2 T EVOO
1 c. chicken stock or broth (or veg.)
1 lg. Red onion- thinly sliced
1 zucchini, cubed
1 summer squash, cubed
1 can white beans (cannelloni)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 cloves garlic- chopped

1 pint whole grape tomatoes (we’ve used chopped tomatoes)
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn

Heat EVOO in a pan. Add squash and zucchini and salt and pepper to taste. After the squash has softened a bit, add the white beans, red onion and garlic and cook 3 min. Add 1 c. of chicken stock and cook until the stock has reduced by half- about 3-4 min.

After the stock has reduced, add the tomatoes and cook for 1 or 2 min. or until the tomatoes are heated and starting to burst. Add basil and toss.

Creamy Polenta:
3 c. Chicken stock or broth (can use veg.)
1 c. polenta
½ c. cream cheese
¼ c. Parmesan cheese

Bring chicken stock to a boil and whisk polenta in until it gets thick-ish. Stir in parmesan and cream cheeses. The polenta should have a mashed-potato consistency. If it gets too thick, add some water or stock to thin it up a bit.

Serve the veggie mixture over the polenta.

Stuff that will change your life- Kitchen Edition

I just have to blog about some kitchen gadgets that we have that are so awesome that I must encourage both of my readers to go and get some.

First is the y-peeler. This will change the way you peel veggies. Seriously. Once you use one, you'll wonder why you ever did it the old way. They are super-cheap at IKEA and places like Target and Walmart.
Next is the super-duper pizza stone. I got one because Macey's ran a deal that involved a cheap one and some free frozen pizza. This thing renders basic blah frozen pizza to crispy, bubbly brown-baked cheesy topped pizza. Better than (or at least equal to) delivery- and hotter. The best part? The stone keeps the pizza hot while you eat your first piece. Totally worth it!

Next up- our smoothie maker. Not just a regular blender- our smoothie maker is heavy duty and takes care of ice lickety split. We get on kicks where we make smoothies almost daily. We've found it is a good way to get rid of ripe fruit in a hurry. Ours has a handy spout at the bottom that makes dispensing super-easy!

Last, but not least, the humble pizza cutter. We use it for sooo much more than pizza at our casa. Quesidillas, waffles, pita pockets, hotcakes- they all get cut into bits by this handy tool. I'm thinking we need at least two...

How 'bout you? What can't you live without at your house?

Recipe- Eggplant Pannini

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I've kind of had blogger's block. I was actually trying to think of something interesting enough to post and came up with nothing. Good thing we went to an indoor arena football game and had a family party this weekend to spice things up!

In the meantime, I wanted to share a recipe for the awesome sandwiches we had tonight. We gobbled them up so quickly I forgot to get a picture- sorry! We got this recipe from our new BH&G "Vegetarian Cooking" cookbook.

Eggplant Panini

1 cup torn arugla (can sub spinach, arugla is spicer)
2 t. red wine vinegar (we had garlic flavored- yum!)
1 t. olive oil

Toss together in a small bowl.

1 Eggplant, cut into 1/2 in. thick rounds
3 oz fresh Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1 12in. plain or seasoned round foccacia bread, halved horizontally
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1/3 c. seasoned dry bread crumbs
2T parmesan cheese
1 egg
1T milk
2T flour

In a shallow dish, beat together egg and milk. In another dish, stir the bread crumbs and parm. cheese. Put the flour in a third dish. (we're breading the eggplant, see how that works?) Dip the eggplant slices inot the flour to coat, then dip into the egg mixture and last, into the crumb mixture.

In a 12 in. non-stick skillet, heat 1T oil over med. heat. Add eggplant slices and cook for 6-8 min. or until lightly browned, turning once. Top the eggplant slices with the mozzarella cheese. Cook, covered, just until the cheese begins to melt.

To serve, put the eggplant slices cheese side up on bottom half of bread. Top with the arugala mixture and tomato slices (and the top half of the bread, of course). Cut into serving-size wedges.

TIP: To keep the eggplant from tasting bitter, you will need to "degorge" it (I know, it sounds disgusting). Just make sure you rinse it really well- we didn't do a great job and it was a bit salty...

This was super-quick and really, really yummy! You can also make a great "second day" meal with the leftovers- just put some spaghetti sauce and some of the parm cheese on the eggplant/mozz and viola- eggplant parm!