Recipe Club - Mostly May (Probably?)
In an ideal world, I would do these posts weekly. But lately has been…less than ideal for me. But I want to get this out of my head and into the ether so please enjoy this brain dump of the best recipes I remember making in the past few weeks:
Weeknight Winners
Pioneer Woman’s Comfort Meatballs - Ree doesn’t mess around when it comes to comfort food and this was another big win in our house. My only changes: way less oil and I browned the meatballs in my Le Creuset braiser, poured the sauce on top and popped the whole thing in the oven. We served with roasted green beans which make a weekly appearance on our dinner plates.
I also feel very bougie linking to a Le Creuset anything but we legitimately use this at least five times every week.
Gregory Gourdet Glazed Chicken Thighs - My favorite Thai place took my go-to meal off their menu a few years ago and I’ve been lamenting the loss ever since. But Gregory (one of my Top Chef forever favorites) hit every note I missed about that dish in this recipe. My husband rarely eats leftovers, which is a whole thing, but I had the remaining chicken for lunches for four consecutive days.
Oh Snap Macros Taco Mac - Mac, Cheese, Spicy, and moderately healthy? Sign me the heck up. This one has been in regular rotation and the leftovers are perfect for work lunches. My only change - swapping in a poblano or jalapeños instead of bell peppers.
You’re going to have to buy the book (Sorry!)
Renee Paquette’s SPAM Fried Rice - You’ll have to snag Messy In the Kitchen for this one (or you can probably Google SPAM Fried Rice and find a solid option) but you should buy the book. I know you think you don’t like SPAM. It’s fine. Trust me. Buy the reduced sodium version and get it really, really crispy.
Julia Turshen’s Spinach Artichoke Chicken Bake - Who doesn’t love Spin Dip? Add some chicken for protein and it’s the perfect weeknight meal. You’ll have to grab Simply Juliafor this one but following her Substack lands several recipes. cooking class opportunities and a non-overwhelming approach to dinner in your inbox.
And a recipe (or a method?)
You know how lasagna is delicious but it’s a project? Well, I’m too impatient for the layer and what is ravioli if not layers of pasta with cheese? I’m too tired of doing dishes to mess with a homemade béchamel, red sauce, cooking pasta sheets, and browning meat. So Lazy Lasagna is a cheat code to cozy comfort without doing all the things.
What you’ll need
A 24 oz jar of pasta sauce - whatever sauce feels right in your heart!
A pound of ground beef
Some onion - I used one small yellow onion
Some garlic - 3 or 4 cloves, maybe more.
A family size bag of Rana ravioli. What kind? Doesn’t matter as long as you have cheese in it.
More cheese. Mozzarella? Sure. Provolone? Great. Parm? Sounds good.
Seasonings - also what feels right in your heart. I usually go with an Italian seasoning blend and CRP (crushed red pepper)
What you’ll do
Brown your ground beef (I use 96/4) with diced onion and garlic - salt and pepper it. I also use this as an opportunity to sneak some finely diced mushrooms into the mix. You could also do spinach here.
Grab an 8x8 baking dish and spray it with some non-stick.
Pour in a thin layer of sauce to coat the bottom of your pan, add half your beef mixture.
Put down a layer of ravioli, uncooked.
Do another layer of beef and half your remaining sauce.
Lay down the rest of those ravs.
Finish up with your remaining sauce.
Top with cheese. How much? The amount that feels right in your heart. I use six slices of thin cut provolone, but I’m not the boss of you.
Pop that into a 350 degree oven until its nice n’ bubbly.
When you pull it out, let it rest. That sauce is molten and burning the roof of your mouth is the worst.
