Ravioli Lasagna

Ah, Italian Food. Such fond memories, such vast amounts of leftovers. Having an Italian mother meant there were always tons of leftovers. As I type, there is a plastic container in the fridge filled with spaghetti. I've been working on finishing it for days.

Still, I have to say, Italian food has to be on the top of my list for comfort foods. Pasta just seems to magically solve all of life's problems.

Mmmmm.....carbs are truly magical. 

Anyways, today I bring you a pasta dish that will be sure to fill you up with deliciousness for days. I do admit that it isn't (as far as I know) an authentic, old world Italian recipe. I also admit that there are probably plenty of old Italian Grandma's that would be disappointed in it (Sorry, Grandma Costelli!). But hey, its 'Merica. Most people think Olive Garden is authentic.

Sorry... I just had to. Olive Garden is perfectly fine, and I'm fairly certain that they put illicit substances into their bread sticks. Bread shouldn't make you go into withdrawal. Haha, kidding! 

So the recipe of the week is Ravioli Lasagna. Its simpler to make than real lasagna, but still makes you look like you toiled away in a kitchen for your loved ones all day. Good old Italian-Catholic guilt right there!

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp parsley

salt

pepper

Parmesan cheese, to taste

2 bags frozen ravioli, meat or cheese

mozzarella cheese

1 jar pasta sauce

mushrooms or other extras of your choosing

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix together the ricotta, egg, herbs, and Parmesan cheese. You can use my measurements, but just go with what you feel tastes good. Chop or prepare your chosen extras, ex- mushrooms.

2.) Lay down a layer of sauce into a baking dish. Place a layer of the still frozen raviolis, then top with small dollops of the ricotta mixture, more sauce, and your extras.

3.) Make 2-3 more layers depending on the size of your baking dish.

4.) On the top layer, put the remaining sauce and the mozzarella cheese. Cover with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes or until it starts to bubble. Then, remove the foil and let cook an additional 10 minutes, to melt and brown the cheese. Let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

(Such bubbly, cheesy goodness <3 )

The "Lasagna" will be really cheesy, so you can omit the ricotta cheese mixture if you want, especially if you use cheese raviolis. Its gooey, comforting, and cheesy, just like a real lasagna should be. Minus the boiling of the noodles though. Which is a bonus. 

So, will you be giving this recipe a try? What Italian dishes do you enjoy? As always, leave a comment below and subscribe and share if you likey~

*Cutting back on Pinterest. Needed more sleep :p *

"Poke-Manju: The Rage Candy Bar"- Geek Recipe Highlight #2

Hello all, its time for Geeky cooking! And this weeks special is from the wonderful world of-

Erm, thanks Pikachu. I think the readers already knew what was coming...

Anyways, Pokemon! I love the little guys and have been playing since Gen 1, but there's just something about Gen 2, or Gold/Silver/Crystal, that has stayed especially close to my heart. I have such fond memories of picking out my Totodile every time I played,

(Dawww, look at him in his little costume!!!)

Or saving poor, sick Amphy. Even catching that crazy red Gyarados, and eventually taking on the big daddy of Pokemon himself: Red

The dude was almost as bad as Whitney and her Friggin' Miltank.

So...much...Rollout..... But that's a story for another day!

Today is all about a Pokemon inspired edible from Gen 2 called the Rage Candy Bar, which you buy from  a guy in Mahogany Town. It has subsequently appeared in the later Pokemon games, and still heals a Pokemon for 20 hp. 

Strangely enough, according to the all-powerful Bulbapedia, aka the virtual Pokemon Bible, the name Rage Candy  Bar is actually a miss-translation. In Japanese its called a "Rage Bun", based upon Japanese Manju cakes. After learning of this I had no choice but to discover the "true" Rage Candy Bar and found a simple and delicious recipe from Maangchi. So, hold onto your pokeballs, folks! We're taking a culinary trip to Japan ( technically, the recipe is for Korean Manju, but the recipe was so user-friendly I couldn't resist)!

Ingrediants:

1 cup Lima Beans

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup flour + 1/2 cup extra

2 eggs

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla

Filling

1.) Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Then, pop them out of their skins with your fingers. It will take a while if you use baby limas.

2.) Place in a saucepan with 1 1/4 cup water and boil for 10 minutes. Then, simmer for 30-50 minutes. They should get fluffy and absorb the water.

While waiting, occupy your time. I chose to do so with Woodchuck's Spring cider. I told you before, didn't I? I'm a bad role model.

3.) Mash the beans until they look like mashed potatoes. Then add in the sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir for around 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Then let it cool. It will get thicker.

Dough:

1.) Mix the 3/4 cup flour, 1 egg, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, and 1 tsp vanilla in a bowl until its smooth.

Make the Poke-Manju:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.) On a floured surface, roll the dough into around 8, even-sized balls. Roll out the filling too, if you can. I didn't and ended up just plopping it into the dough.

3.) Flatten the dough out into flat circles. 

4.) Put some of the filling into the center and fold the dough over it. Make sure to seal the edges with some water so nothing leaks out!. Then, dip the smooth side into water, then sesame seeds, then brush with the extra egg's yolk.

5.) Lay onto a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

6.) Let cool on a wire rack and Enjoy!

The Poke-Manju will be slightly sweet and earthy in flavor. With a light crispness from the sesame seeds (I think I made them correctly, either way they were pretty good). They actually reminded me a lot of Italian Sesame seed cookies (Giuggiulena), so if you like those you'll like these.

Not sure about next week's Geek Recipe, either Lemon Cakes from "A Song of Ice and Fire" or Pumpkin Pasties from Harry Potter. Maybe something completely different. Let me know in the comments below!

*All images are not mine, except for the recipe pics. Look at Pinterest if you want the others*

"They gave me a knife, Oshawott, I'm going to use it!"

Just a quick question for everyone: Is it really necessary to have a large knife come with a poached pear and a scoop of ice cream? Oh, well. EXTREME EATING!!!


Thanks to my friend, codename K.Pond, for this hilarious quote. Also, for butchering the pear. It deserved it for being so dang delicious.

Thank You, Oh Blessed Gods of Literature!

I'm not sure why I didn't know about this sooner.....but HUZZAH!!!! The new Dresden Files book is coming! This May, on the 27th the 15th novel in the series, Skin Game, will be making its debut!

 If you already haven't checked them out or have no idea of what I'm speaking, its a series about a wizard named Harry Dresden (Just a coincidence) who works as a private investigator/ consultant to the Chicago P.D. Hilarity and random explosions of fire ensue. There is also a talking spirit of knowledge, aptly named Bob, Holy Knights that literally slay dragons, a socially awkward polka-loving medical examiner named Butters. Oh, I almost forgot the hordes of evil and malicious baddies out to get poor Harry and those he cares most about. Like his giant Buddha dog named Mouse and his VW beetle. I think this picture based on the book Dead Beat sums up the series very nicely:

These books have just the right amount of fantasy, mystery, action, snarky dialogue and emotional turmoil to make fans of many different genres of books come together in  peaceful bliss (except maybe the Twihards....they can stay away. No sparkly vampires in THIS series!). The first couple of books have pretty stand-alone plots, but at the series progresses the real bad guys, the Black Council, slowly start to show themselves. And trust me, shit gets crazy! You saw the T-Rex, think that. ALL.THE.TIME.

So, if you're in the mood for some high-fantasy meets modern mystery, or maybe just need a reprieve from the withdrawal symptoms caused other wizards named Harry, definitely check it out and show author Jim Butcher some much deserved love. You won't regret it!
http://www.jim-butcher.com/

Wait...there's no coffee in coffee cake?

Haha, just joking! I know there isn't any coffee in coffee cake, that's why you have it with coffee! And I drink a lot of coffee. Really. A LOT. The fact that I have an actual gold card from Starbucks attests to this. Anyways, I'm sure you all have had your fair share of coffee cakes, its sort of an art. You can put pretty much anything into and on top of them. Fruit, molasses, you can even trick people into being healthy by putting zucchini in it. Then there is pumpkin. Ah, pumpkin spice latte, return to us soon! 

Er, sorry. I promise I wont go pumpkin crazy until Fall comes back around. Back on topic! Despite just making cupcakes, I had a bad day so I figured I'd bake something else (baking and cooking are very therapeutic). Since I had sour cream and pecans, I went with coffee cake.

It tastes better than this picture makes it look, I swear. If you don't trust me, check out the recipe. It's a pretty basic sour cream coffee cake with a pecan streusel, but something about it was special. It was gooey, yet firm, moist yet flaky. All good things!
http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/803755-Sour-Cream-Coffee-Cake-with-Brown-Sugar-Pecan-Streusel

Forewarning: This recipe takes a lot of steps and uses up a lot of mixing bowls, so be prepared! I  would recommend eating a slice of this with a latte or cappuccino. The milk will be a nice way to cut through all that sugary goodness!

Post #1....This calls for Cupcakes!

Happy 1st blog post everyone, erm... or no one depending on numerous circumstances. To mark the occasion, I made cupcakes! Specifically, Vanilla cupcakes filled with a fig and balsamic compote topped off with a whipped cream cheese icing and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Long and tedious, I know, but they turned out so good!

Now, I like recipes to be as short and sweet as possible, so I trimmed this one down to size.

1. Make and vanilla cake you want; your favorite, grandma's recipe, even a box mix. As long as you like it, go on ahead. I wont judge :D
2. For the compote cut up 8oz of figs into small pieces, about 1/4 inch in diameter. I used dried, but feel free to use fresh if they're in season or if you're lucky enough to have a fig tree. Add them to a small pot with 1/2 cup honey, 1-2 cups of water ( if you like a runny-er compote add more water), and a tablespoon of good balsamic vinegar. A dash of cinnamon is also applicable. Heat on low until the figs soften and the mixture becomes gooey and delicious. Beware not to burn and turn it into a candied-fig mess.....no reason for bringing this up by the way...haha. If you want more information on compotes, the internet is your friend!       * Be sure to let it cool before you fill the cupcakes*
3.  The caramel that I made wasn't a "real" caramel. I didn't have a lot of butter on hand and couldn't afford a mistake, but this quick and easy caramel from foodnetwork is amazing and tastes like the real thing. Its also good on pancakes....again, no reason for bringing this up.... just add an extra little pinch of salt, this cupcake is about balanced flavors and well, salted caramel is the shiznits. thttp://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/easy-caramel-sauce-recipe.html

1. The frosting is also a recipe I borrowed, but I've used it countless times and it is divine. BUT instead of granulated sugar, use powdered sugar, its better to use if you're planning on piping the icing on in a fancy swirl or something. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/easy-caramel-sauce-recipe.html
2. Then, all that's left to do is carve out the center of the cupcakes (save the flat top so you can cover up the compote), fill with what will be your new favorite fruit mixture, and ice! 

And there you have it! These are truly one of the best cupcakes I've ever made, and were inspired by the best gelato I have ever eaten-Thank you so much Florence, Italy for having a gelato festival!!!! Since this is my first time doing something like this, be sure to give me any (polite) feedback. If you want more pictures or exact recipes or the like, just let me know and I'll do some tweeking.