Everyday Food

With our house for sale and the pressure to keep it clean all the time (Boo, hiss....), I've pretty much stopped sewing altogether. It's just not worth it to get out all my stuff, set it up, work for a few minutes, and then clean it all up again. I like to sew for long stretches and make a big huge mess with several projects going at once and that doesn't work so well with our lifestyle right now.

So, I've turned to cooking in my need for a creative outlet and hobby. It still makes a mess, but it's also a *necessity* to feed my family, so I might as well experiment a little with some fun new recipes.

My new best friend is my subscription to Everyday Food magazine. My new obsessions: 1) ricotta cheese, 2) getting creative in using up our food storage.

Here are some of our favorites. The french dip is an old standby, but the rest are new found treasures.

French Dip Sandwiches I used London broil for the last batch and they were the best ever--so flavorful and hardly any fat. Use leftover meat in chimichangas or burritos.

Whole wheat flatbreads with lamb and yogurt (I used ground beef with great success. This was an instant mega hit. Make extra flatbreads to serve with hummus!)

Thai Beef with Chiles and Basil over coconut rice (I have made with ground beef, sausage, and chicken--all tasty. Great way to use lots of that yummy basil from your garden!)

Zucchini Pasta with Ricotta: very light and summery.

Roasted Potatoes with Ricotta (this one is newly published, so it's not on her website yet. It's a fantastic way to use up the other half of the ricotta from the zucchini pasta. You can also roast the zucchini and potatoes at the same time to cut down on your work later!)

Preheat oven to 450. Place 1 1/2 lbs. small new potatoes in center of a 3-ft. long piece of foil. Drizzle with 1 tsp. olive oil and season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Bring long sides of foil together and fold edges over, then tightly crimp ends to create a packet.

Roast on a baking sheet until cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup ricotta, 2 Tbsp. finely grated Parmesan, and finely grated zest from 1/2 lemon; season with salt and pepper. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a small X on top of each with a paring knife and gently squeeze open. Dollop about 1 tsp. ricotta mixture into each. Drizzle 1 Tbsp. olive oil over potatoes. Serves 4.