Cooking Light with my Supper Club!

Tonight was another wonderful supper club gathering with the most amazing women who also happen to be amazing cooks. Our theme this month was Cooking Light recipes, and every single dish tasted wonderful. There was so much variety and each dish was decadent. Conversation was enjoyable, as always, and certain subjects came up that were especially pleasing (i.e. Anthony Bourdain)! Here is what we all cooked...most of the recipes are linked to the Cooking Light website.

Jo made Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Herbs. I popped them in my mouth like they were candy...so good! I love dill and there was plenty in the seasoning of the egg filling. It was the perfect spring appetizer plate.
Jo also made a wonderful Kofte with a yogurt harissa sauce. Being Armenian, I absolutely loved these and the sauce was a great accompaniment.
Jo made Green Beans with Orange and Hazelnuts, another spring dish that would be perfect along side any dish. The zest of the orange and rich hazelnut flavor were complex and added so much to the beans.
Alex made a Provençale Pepper-Chicken Salad that looks even better than the photo does on the Cooking Light website! And oh it tasted so good! The herbes de provence and sun dried tomatoes gave each bite-full such a pop of flavor, and the sweetness of the peppers was delicious.
Alex also made a Spicy Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew that was perfectly spiced; she even made her own Berbere spice mix! I look forward to making this as well...the spices were phenomenal.
Jo made a basmati saffron rice dish with some green onions to compliment the kofte. There is just something about the color that saffron creates that makes a dish even that more enjoyable to eat.
I made a fun dish called Dracula's Revenge that was a garlicky mix of pasta and sausage! I loved that the recipe called for roasted garlic mashed up into the creamy cheese sauce.
Marianne decided on a Fresh Coconut Cake that was so decadent, it was hard to believe it was light! The frosting was heavenly and had a slight meringue taste that made it over-the-top rich and creamy. I could have eaten her entire cake in one sitting.
Stephanie made a dessert I would be too scared to attempt and gave her lots of credit for: sour cream donut holes! They were absolutely wonderful and the maple glaze just made them all the more appealing since I love anything and everything with maple!
I also tackled a cake recipe and absolutely enjoyed both making it and eating it! Its a Nutty Graham Cake that had orange notes. I look forward to eating a slice tomorrow morning with a cup of coffee. I would definitely make it again.

Labor of Love Lasagna!

My supper club decided that next month's theme will be recipes from Cooking Light Magazine. I started thumbing through recipes already and saw a dish that I wanted to make this week since it looked so good and was easy to freeze. This lasagna was a labor of love, let me tell you! I can't believe I prepared this dish on a weeknight, but it was well worth it.

Three different pots, a casserole dish, multiple bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoons, a garlic press, two different wooden spoons, a large ladle, and a dirty spoon rest are all piled high in my kitchen sink!

I tweaked the recipe originally published by the magazine and was happy with the results! It was light, yet the creamy spinach sauce and browned cheese on top were rich in flavor and made for a guiltless piece of comfort food!

Garden-Style Lasagna (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

Olive oil

Cooking spray

2 cups chopped yellow onion

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chopped zucchini

2 cups thinly sliced carrots

1 box of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

1 box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 1/2 cups of 1% milk

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

dash of nutmeg

1 tub (16 ounces) of 1% whipped cottage cheese (Friendship brand is best)

2 cups reduced fat shredded Italian blend cheeses (Sargento brand is best)

16 lasagna noodles, cooked and divided

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375 degrees and coat lasagna pan using cooking spray

2) Add one tablespoon olive oil to dutch oven on medium heat and cook onions until they are translucent and light brown, 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Spoon mixture into bowl.

3) Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and stir in zucchini. Saute for 8 minutes until it begins to brown; add onion mixture back into dutch oven.

4) Add a teaspoon of olive oil to pan and stir in carrots, sauteing for 8 minutes. Add thawed broccoli. Salt and pepper to taste. Saute for another minute and set aside.

5) In a medium saucepan, place flour in and slowly whisk in milk. Bring do a low boil, constantly whisking for 2 minutes. Add spinach, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep on low simmer so sauce stays warm.

6) Cook lasagna noodles according to directions minus 2 minutes since they will soften in the oven.

7) Assemble the lasagna: Place noodles on bottom of pan. Spread cottage cheese over the noodles. Add the spinach sauce and then the vegetable mixture. Repeat until you have noodles on top. Add the last of the spinach sauce on top and then place Italian cheese over the sauce.

8) Bake for 20 minutes

9) Place oven on low broil for 2 minutes or until the cheese on top browns nicely.