Homemade Pizza Crust

    After making the homemade pizza crust for my deep dish pizza I've decided I need to start making pizza dough more often.  It's easy to make, freezes great, and taste so much better then anything I could buy.  I wanted a thin crust for my pizza and was looking for a recipe that made more then one crust so I could use one and freeze the other.

     The pizza dough that I made is fabulous.  In my opinion there is almost no better smell in the world then yeast dough rising and the baking of fresh bread.  This was no exception.  There are only a few ingredients in the pizza dough so it's simple to make.  I had to add in a little more flour because it was sticky, but otherwise I had no problems.  The dough rolled out nice and think and I just doubled over the edges to make a thicker crust to hold on too.

    The crust tastes thin and fresh.  I made a pizza with half pepperoni for Frank and half vegetables for me.  It was great.  The bottom of the crust was crispy and the end of it was light and delicious.  I can't wait to use it to make stromboli's next time!

Homemade Pizza Crust (adapted from Annie's Eats)
1/2 c. warm water
2 1/4 t. yeast
4 c. flour
1 1/2 t. salt
1 c. water at room temperature
2 T. butter, melted

1.  Put the warm water into a small mixing bowl.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top of it. 

2.  In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and salt.  Mix to combine.

3.  Measure the room temperature water and add it to the bowl with the yeast mixture.  Stir gently to combine.  Add the yeast mixture and the melted butter to the flour mixture.  Then either mix on low speed or by hand until a dough ball is formed.

4.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes.  (You can also use a dough hook and knead for 5 minutes.)  Spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray and put the dough into the bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap then a clean towel and let sit 2 hours or until doubled in size.

5.  Once the dough has doubled punch it own to deflate.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.  Divide the dough into 2 pieces.  If freezing the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap at this point and place in a freezer bag.  If using right away roll each piece of dough into a ball and cover with a damp cloth.  Let it rise for 20 minutes.

6.  Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.  Shape the dough with your hands and place on a greased pizza pan or a pizza stone lightly covered with cornmeal.  Arrange toppings on the dough and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Note:  If freezing the dough remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  30 minutes before baking remove the dough from the refrigerator, cover with a damp towel, and let rest for 30 minutes. 

This post linked to:

Meatless Mondays, Mangia Monday, Making you Crave Monday,

Your Recipe, My Kitchen, Tuesdays at the Table, Made From Scratch Tuesday

Coffee Blends, Tea Blends, and Hot Cocoa

    I wanted to end my week of homemade gifts with a few that I made last year and were such a big hit that I'm making them again this year.  Since it's winter, I think people always appreciate hot beverages at this time of year.  Last year I made several coffee and tea blends that the people on my gift list really enjoyed.  I also made hot cocoa and homemade marshmallows and packaged them together.

     First are my tea blends which can be found HERE.  I made a lemon black tea blend and a citrus green tea blend.  This year I've made both of those and added a peppermint black tea blend and a spiced orange black tea blend.  Adding in fruit peels, extracts, and spices help to flavor the teas.

    Then I made the coffee blends, which can be found HERE. This year I'm sticking with the three blends I made last year because they were so popular.  I came up with a pumpkin spice blend, a peppermint mocha blend, and a vanilla blend.  I am making the vanilla one in decaf as well as regular.  It's easy to combine your favorite ground coffee with extracts and spices to make new blends.  Make sure you keep them sealed in air tight containers. 

     The final beverage, and the most popular, is my hot cocoa (found HERE).  I was shocked by just how much better real hot cocoa is then the packaged stuff I used to make.  Place the hot cocoa mix in a bag and pair with homemade marshmallows (found HERE) for the perfect holiday gift for just about anyone on your list.  The marshmallows are easy to make and last much longer then store bought ones.  I know for a fact several companies charge over $10 for 18 marshmallows where as you can make around 100 for under five dollars. 

This post linked to:

Seasonal Inspiration, Sweets for a Saturday, Bacon Time with the Hungry Hippo

Sundae Scoop Sunday, Not Baaad Sundays , Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Vanilla Extract

    Last Christmas I was extremely jealous of the people that thought far enough in advance to make vanilla extract to use for gifts at holiday time.  I vowed this year I wouldn't be left out and in August I remembered to start my vanilla.  I had no idea how easy it is to make vanilla.  This recipe makes so much that it is much cheaper then buying it at the store.  I also think that homemade vanilla extract has a much strong flavor and it tastes amazing in homemade baked goods.



Day one of vanilla extract



    The key to making the vanilla is to have good quality ingredients and a lot of time.  I bought 30 Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans on Amazon.com in the summertime.  They are much more reasonably priced online then I've found in the stores.  I think bought a bottle of good quality vodka and the rest was simple.  Put the vanilla beans into the vodka and store in the basement.  I used single serve wine bottles to pour the vanilla into and created personalized labels for the people on my gift list!



Vanilla Extract

12 vanilla beans

1 (750 ml) bottle vodka

small bottles for the vanilla

Three weeks after beginning vanilla.

1.  Pour a cup of the vodka out of the bottle and reserve for later use. 

2.  Cut 12 vanilla beans down the middle and place in the bottle of vodka.  Replace the cap and give it a shake.  Store in the basement for at least 6 weeks, shaking the bottle at least weekly.



3.  When ready to use the vanilla, simply pour into smaller bottles and secure with a cap.  You can pour more vodka into the bottle with the remaining vanilla beans and continue the process, adding a few new beans to your new vanilla batch.

**Whenever I need more vanilla I go down to the basement and pour some into a small jar.  When the bottle is half empty I add more vodka.  The vanilla stays good for a long period of time.  Keep the bottle of vodka in the basement or a cool, dark place.**

Two months after beginning vanilla.

This post linked to:
Friday Potluck, Shine on Friday, Sweet Tooth Friday

BLOG TOUR: Farsighted

        I am excited to be the first stop on the blog tour for the book Farsighted by Emlyn Chand.  Farsighted is a young adult paranormal novel that follows Alex Kosmitora, a blind tenth grader that hasn't had an easy life.  The kids at school bully him, he doesn't have any friends, his father lost his job, and weird things begin happening to him at the beginning of his tenth grade year.

      Just when Alex begins to think that this year will be just as bad as all the years before he meets Simmi, a beautiful girl who has recently moved to his school from India.  Not only is she good looking but she is smart, funny, and wants to be his friend.  Soon another girl new to the school, Shapri, becomes the third in their group. 

     Just when things are going well Alex starts to "see" things that aren't really there.  These visions begin getting him in trouble at home and at school as he realizes what he is seeing is the future.  At first he tries to ignore the visions but when one of them shows his new friend Simmi in grave danger he knows he has to do everything in his power to stop that from happening.

    As Alex begins his journey with his gift of seeing the future, he learns he's not the only one who has a gift.  It turns out both of his new friends have their own unique gifts as well.  With the help of his friends and Miss Teak, the psychic next door, Alex begins to embrace his gift and sets out on a journey to change the future and save his friends.

    I enjoyed reading this book and getting to know the characters.  Alex is a teen that has had it rough his entire life living with a disability that has always made him different.  He is a believable character who speaks in the straightforward way teenagers often do.  He is unsure of his gifts and comes into them slowly and naturally.  Shapri is sarcastic, witty, and unafraid of anyone but herself and her own ability.   Simmi is sweet and lovable.  The unlikely trio have a wonderful chemistry that works well in the dialogue and storyline of the book. 

    While I really do like vampire and werewolf books it's a nice change to have a paranormal book with human characters that simply have extraordinary gifts.  The teens look to the adults who understand their gifts and work with them to strengthen their psychic abilities.  The story is not only one of overcoming obstacles and coming into psychic gifts, but it's also one of friendship, family, and trust. I thought the book ended a little abruptly so I'm glad to hear that this is just the first in a new series of books.

I give this book 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.



Emlyn Chand



Farsighted was written by Emlyn Chand.  Readers can connect with the author at:

Website: http://www.emlynchand.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emlynchand?sk=wall

Twitter: @emlynchand

**To follow the tour please go to Lightning Book Promotions**

This post linked to:
Saturday Situation, Goodreads

Making Crayons

    As an elementary school teacher, I have access to a LOT of crayons.  Each year I buy boxes and boxes of crayons and it seems as though the reds, the browns, and the blacks dissappear half way through the year.  I'm not talking about violet-red, red-violet, red-orange, etc. I'm talking about your basic red, brown, and black.  Also, I always end up with about 20 white crayons that have not been touched.  Another issue I'm always having is that the crayons get broken into little tiny pieces that no one wants to use.

    Last year I finally came up with a solution.  I had 2 silicone molds just sitting in my cupboard at home when I had the idea to melt down my old, broken crayons and make fun new ones!  I have a star mold and a flower mold.  The first time I did this I gathered up all the broken crayons, nasty crayons, "nudie" crayons, and the white crayons.  If they were a little bit longer then I'd like I broke them into smaller pieces.  Then I grouped them into colors.  The blues (light blue, dark blue, cornflower blue, blue-purple, etc) all went into a pile.  I then split up the white pieces in between all the groups.

    Next I put like colors into the molds together.  I heated them in the oven until they liquified and then took the out to cool.  Once they had cooled they were easy to pop out.  I took them to school and the kids were fighting to use them because they were so cool.  I ended up making them again for Christmas and giving them to the kids as gifts.  They loved them!  This is also a great project for kids to help with.

Homemade Crayons

2-3 cups of broken, peeled, crayons

Silicone baking mold

1.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Put each of your silicone baking molds on a cookie sheet.

2.  Peel the paper off the crayons and break into small pieces if needed.  Group the crayons by color.

3.  Put the crayons in the molds acording to color filling to the top.  Put in the oven on the baking sheet for 15 minutes (or until they are completly melted). 

4.  Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes.  Take the silicone molds off the baking sheets and place on a cooling rack and additional 20 mintues.  Pop out and enjoy!

Martha Stewart's Toffee

     I had several people I wanted to send homemade gifts to this holiday season. I originally thought of making homemade cookies, but I do that every year. I also feel like around the holidays there are always cookies around. I recalled someone making toffee and went on a search for a good toffee recipe.

     I decided on Martha Stewart’s recipe. It seemed easy enough-boy was I wrong. It took a lot longer to come to temperature then the directions state. Then, I was able to get the toffee out of the cookie sheet pans, but not out of the baking dish. I fought the good fight with the baking dish and the baking dish won. I had to throw out the entire pan because it wouldn’t come out. The other toffee came out greasy on the bottom because of the cookie spray. I was seriously distraught.

     However, after letting the toffee dry out for 24 hours, the bottoms dried out and the toffee hardened. It turned out rather tasty. I have to admit that while it took some series effort, the toffee was worth it.   It was great to give as gifts and people told me how much they enjoyed it. Next time I’d make sure I have several types of nuts to sprinkle on the toffee and I’ll use all baking sheets and line them with parchment paper so the bottoms won’t be greasy.

Martha Stewart’s Toffee (slightly adapted from Martha Stewart)
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ c. light corn syrup
½ c. water
2 ½ c. sugar
1 pound chocolate almond bark, chopped into pieces
2 c. almonds, finely chopped
Cooking spray

1. Spray a 15 x 10 baking pan, a 9 x 13 baking pan, and an 8 inch square baking pan with baking spray.

2. In a large saucepan combine butter, sugar, water, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over high heat stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir an additional 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stop stirring. Place a candy thermometer on the side of the pan.

3. Let the mixture come to a boil without stirring. Continue boiling at low heat until the mixture reaches 285 degrees (between 40-60 minutes. It took me 65 minutes). Remove from heat and immediately pour evenly into the prepared pans. Smooth if needed. Let cool for one hour at room temperature.

4. Melt the chocolate almond bark in the microwave heating at 30 second intervals until it’s totally melted. Pour over toffee, spreading with a spatula. Immediately sprinkle with nuts.

5. Let stand for 24 hours. Use a knife to score the toffee pieces or else break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 weeks.

This post linked to:

Made From Scratch Tuesdays,  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays , Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Turning the Table Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, 12 Days of Christmas Goodies

Skittles Vodka

    There's nothing like a homemade gift to wow your friends and family during the holidays.  All it takes is a little time, a little planning, and a little work to make fabulous holiday gifts for everyone on your wish list.  During the next week I'll be sharing five easy and wonderful homemade holiday gifts that I am personally giving this year for Christmas.

    First on the list is Skittles Vodka, perfect for those that enjoy flavored martinis or like to add a kick to an alcoholic beverage.  My favorite part of this flavored vodka is the brilliant colors of the finished vodka.  Another great twist is that you can make Skittles Vodka in any flavor that you can find the candy in.  I made lemon, lime, strawberry, and orange. 

     When giving the vodka I tied a ribbon around the lid and tied a bag of Skittles to each jar.  I'm also attaching a drink recipe to each flavor vodka.  This vodka is quick to make and is ready in a week.

Skittles Vodka
1 bottle vodka
10 fun sized packs Skittles

4 or 5 pint sized mason jars

1.  Divide the Skittles into colored piles.  Put all the Skittles of one color into each of the jars.  (I did not use purple because I hate grape flavoring).

2.  Fill each jar with vodka leaving 1/2 inch of room in the top.  Put the lid on and shake the jar for a minute.  Let it stand overnight.

3.  Continue shaking the jar each day for a week.  After the week is up either skim the sugary foam off the top or strain the mixture through cheesecloth.

4.  Tie a ribbon around the lid, attach a package of Skittles, and a recipe for using the flavored vodka.  Keep the lid on tight and use for up to 3 months.

This post linked to:
Meatless Mondays, Mangia Monday , Making You Crave monday
What's Cooking Wednesdays, Turning the Table Thursday, Sweets for a Saturday

Sans Rival Cake (a Filipino dessert): Daring Bakers

   Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Baker's host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert-the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.

    When I first read how to make this cake I was more then a little confused.  The recipe was for a meringue with layers of buttercream in between.  I have to admit that I didn't think it sounded appetzing at all.  The recipe itself didn't look like it would be too hard to make but it was time consuming.  After racking my brain I decided to make a lemon flavored buttercream and top my cake with raspberries.

   The original recipe calls for toasted cashews but I have to admit I really don't like nuts at all.  Seeing that there was a large amount of nuts in the sans rival I knew I'd have to put some type of nut in and really the only nut I even partially like is an almond so I substituted those in.  I cooked the sans rival in two batches in order to make all four layers.  I was able to make them in quarter sheet pans and get a nice thin layer.  The sans rival was actually very good.  It was crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle with a faint flavor of nuts.

    It turns out the buttercream is a French buttercream which is nothing like the Americanized version that I normally make.  The French buttercream is so much better.  It's made with eggs, sugar, butter, and flavorings which makes it fluffy and not overly sweet like American buttercream.  I loved it and plan on using this to top my cupcakes with from now on.  I flavored it with lemon extract and lemon zest which gave it a nice tartness.

    Layering the cakes and buttercream wasn't as difficult as I would have thought.  It came together quickly.  The hardest part for me was getting the nuts to stick on the sides.  I wrapped the entire thing in plastic wrap and refrigerated it.  Two days later I served it as dessert after and Asian inspired meal.  Everyone loved it.  The nutty sans rival and the lemony buttercream worked perfectly together and were offset by the tart raspberries on top.  Not only did it taste good but it was beautiful and impressive as well.  I'd like to try making it again with different flavored buttercreams.

Sans Rival Cake (adapted from Catherine's own recipe)
10 large egg whites (save the yolks for the buttercream)

1 1/2c. granulated sugar

1 t. cream of tartar

2 c. chopped, toasted almonds

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

2.  Line two quarter sheet pans with parchment paper. Butter and flour the sides of the pan well.

3.  In a large mixing bowl beat the egg whites on medium until foamy (about 2 minutes).  Sprinkle with the cream of tartar.  Gradually add in the sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, beating at high speed now.  Continue beating at high for 7-10 minutes or until stiff, shiny peaks form.

4.  Fold in the toasted, chops almonds, reserving a handful for decoration. 

5.  Divide the meringue into 4 each parts and spread one part in each of the pans.  Try to make it as even as possible, spreading to the edge of the pans.

6.  Baked for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove the meringue from the baking pans while still hot.  Allow to cool for 2-4 minutes and then remove the parchment paper.  Allow meringue to cool completely. 

7.  Line the pans with new parchment paper and repeat the process.  When all 4 meringues are cool, trim the edges so all are uniformly shaped.  Set aside.

Lemon French Buttercream
5 egg yolks
1 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. water

1 1/4 c. butter (2 1/2 sticks), softened

1 t. vanilla
1 t. lemon extract
zest from one lemon

1.  Put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and beat on high until the have doubled and are lemony yellow in color.

2.  Put the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat.  Continue cooking and stirring until the syrup reaches 235 degrees.

3.  With the mixer on high, very slowly and carefully pour the syrup down the sides of the bowl, until it has all been added.  Continue beating on high until the mixture is at room temperature (about 10 minutes). 

4.  Keeping the mixer on high, add in the butter a tablespoon at a time.  Add in the vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon zest and beat for another minute.

Assembling the Sans Rival Cake:

1.  Put a dab of the buttercream on a cake board and put the first layer of meringue on top.  Spread a think layer of lemon buttercream on top of it.  Place another meringue on top of the buttercream and spread it with lemon buttercream.  Continue until all four layers are in place. 

2.  Spread buttercream on the top of the cake and around the sides.  Immediately push the reserved almonds into the sides of the cake or decoration.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days before serving.

3.  When ready to serve pull the Sans Rival Cake from the refrigerate and cut gently with a serrated knife.  Top each piece with raspberries and serve.

This post linked to:
Not Baad Sundays, Sundae Scoop Sundays, Your Recipe, My Kitchen

Apple Spice Toffee Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Glaze

    I love making homemade treats from scratch but I don't always have the time to throw the ingredients together so I like having a mix or two on hand so I can whip up something semi-homemade in a pinch.  As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program I was given a box of Duncan Hines cake mix as well as Comstock-Wilderness Fruit Filling to make a delicious dessert.

     I'm very familiar with Duncan Hines and I knew I wanted to use the spice cake mix because there are so many different things you can do to dress up a spice cake mix.  I wasn't familiar with Comstock fruit fillings but the apple looked delicious and would pair well with the spice cake.  I needed a quick dessert for Thanksgiving dinner and thought an apple spice muffin would be perfect.

     After getting things together I wanted to go a little more fancy and decided on an apple spice toffee cupcake with a brown sugar glaze.  I know the Duncan Hines spice cake is filled with spicy notes and bakes up moist.  The addition of the sweet apples was a perfect contrast to the spicy cake mix.  The Comstock apple filling can is made with apple slices that would be great in a pie.  I cut mine into pieces to mix with the batter.  I then added some toffee chips and baked up the cupcakes then finished them off with brown sugar glaze.

     The resulting cupcakes were sweet, spicy, and delicious.  They were moist and the pieces of toffee and apple really added a nice fall inspired flavor to the spice cake.  The sugary sweet brown sugar glaze was a great addition to this cupcake.  The best part was everyone thought I had made them from scratch and all 2 dozen were gone by the end of the night!

Apple Spice Toffee Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Glaze
1 box Duncan Hines spice cake mix
2 eggs
3 T. oil
3/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. Comstock-Wilderness apple filling
3/4 c. toffee pieces

For the glaze:
1/2 c. brown sugar

4 T. butter, softened

1 t. vanilla

1 c. powdered sugar

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2.  In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, oil, and water.  Mix until well combined.

3.  Add in the spice cake mix and stir until combined.  Add in the apple filling and toffee pieces and mix for 1 minute or until ingredients are blended.

4.  Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

5.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add in the brown sugar and continue heating and stirring for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Add in the powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time, whisking as you go to avoid lumps. 

6.  Allow the glaze to cool.  Using a butter knife put a thin layer of glaze on each cupcake.  Keep in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

This post linked to:

Sweets for a Saturday, Party Mindie Style

Happy Thanksgiving! 2 Turkey Desserts

     Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers!  This year I am thankful for my loving husband, my wonderful friends, and my amazing family.  I'm happy to be spending Thanksgiving day at my parents house celebrating with my family and having some delicious comfort food.  I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday.

     I'll be out shopping tonight at midnight for all those Black Friday sales so I have to keep my energy up by eating all the Thanskgiving favorites!  But before I leave, I'd like to share with you two fun and easy Thanksgiving desserts that I made for my students this year.

Pilgrim Hat Cookies (adapted from Women's Day)
16 Fudge Stripe cookies
16 small peanut butter cups
royal icing (in white and yellow)

1.  Place the cookies fudge side up on a cookie sheet.  Place a small amount of white royal icing around the edge of an unwrapped peanut butter cup and place it over the hole in the cookie.

2.  Place the yellow royal icing in a piping bag with a small tip.  Pipe icing around the peanut butter cup to make a hant band and then pipe on a gold bucket in the middle of the hat.

3.  Allow the icing to harden for at least 2 hours and enjoy!

Oreo Turkeys (adapted from Our Best Bites)
1 package Oreo cookies

1 bag candy corn

1 box Whoppers

1 bag mini Reese peanut cups
royal icing
sprinkles

1.  Get two baking sheets.  Lay out 18 Oreo cookies.  Put icing in the crack in the top half of the cookie and stick in 5 candy corns, point side in.  Lay the cookie down on the baking sheet.

2.  Next put a dab of royal icing on the opposite end of the cookie and stand a cookie up at the other end to make the base.  Push it against the side of the baking sheet so it holds as the icing hardens.

3.  Once the icing has dried, unwrap 18 peanut butter cups.  Cut off the very end of each peanut butter cup, making a flat end.  Put icing on the cut side and the top of the peanut butter cup.  Push the cut side onto the plain cookie and the top covered in icing on the cookie with the candy corn.

4.  Put a dab of frosting on a Whopper and stick it on top of the PB cup.  Cut the tops off of 18 candy corns.  Dab a little icing on each one and stick it to the front of the Whopper to make a beak. Allow to dry for 15 minutes.

5.  Put the royal icing in a piping bag with a small tip.  Pipe on two eyes for each turkey.  Immediately put a sprinkle in the middle of each.  Allow the entire thing to dry for 30 minutes then carefully stand each turkey upright.  Keep in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

This post linked to:

Sweet Tooth Friday, Friday Potluck, Shines on Friday, Foodie Friday

Vegetable Manicotti with Vodka Cream Sauce

     I have never made manicotti. That’s right. The princess of pasta has never made manicotti. Surprised? I am kind of surprised I’ve never made it. I like to eat it. I’ve had it at restaurants but I’ve never made it myself.

     I recently came across a recipe for a vegetable manicotti with a homemade vodka cream sauce. I was in love before I even made it. I made the sauce in the morning. It was easy to make and smelled divine. I covered it up and refrigerated it until I made the manicotti. Basically, you can use any vegetable you want in the manicotti. All you have to do is sauté it then add it to the cheese mixture. I’d recommend you have a base of onions, garlic, and spinach, but feel free to add in whatever veggies your family enjoys. We added mushrooms, artichokes, and shredded carrots.

      The manicotti took some time to prepare but it looked great. I spread some of the vodka sauce on the bottom of a pan, put in the manicotti, then topped it with the remaining sauce. They were really good! The manicottis were firm and easily held the stuffing. The insides tasted of a vegetables medley slathered in Italian cheeses. The sauce was wonderful with the vegetable manicotti. It wasn’t too heavy on the tomatoes and paired well with the vegetables. We each only ate 3 manicotti because they were so filling. This would be a great dish to prepare for company because it can be made in the morning and then refrigerated until it’s time to heat.

Vegetable Manicotti with Vodka Cream Sauce (adapted from Pretty Peas )

For the manicotti:
12 manicotti shells cooked, drained, and cooled
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
1 c. lowfat ricotta cheese
¼ c. Parmesan cheese
½ c. mozzarella cheese

1 t. salt

1 t. black pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a large baking pan with cooking spray.

2.   Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms, carrots, and artichokes and cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

3. Put the spinach and the onion mixture in a large bowl. Add ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses. Mix well. Add in the salt and pepper and stir.

4. Stuff the manicotti with the prepared mixture. Place in the baking pan with vodka cream sauce covering the bottom.  Pour remaining vodka sauce over the top of the manicotti.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes. 

**To freeze the manicotti, place on a cookie sheet and freeze for 3-4 hours.  Wrap in plastic wrap then place them in a freezer bag and keep frozen for up to 6 months.**


For the vodka cream sauce:
1 T. olive oil
½ onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
½ c. light cream
½ c. low fat milk
1/3 c. vodka
1 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
½ t. oregano
¼ c. Parmesan cheese

1. In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add in the garlic and onions and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half.

2. Add in the cream, milk, and vodka stirring well to combine. Stir in salt, pepper, and oregano. Stir occasionally over simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add in Parmesan cheese and remove from heat.


This post linked to:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Totally Tasty Tuesday
What's Cooking Wednesday, What's On Your Plate Wednesday?