Giada De Laurentiis Mushroom Parmesan

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the grill pan
• 4 to 6 portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on the grill to prevent the mushrooms from sticking. Grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the grilled mushrooms on top of the marinara sauce and top with the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the cheeses and top with the butter pieces. Bake until the cheese melts and the top is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve.

By Giada De Laurentiis

Batter-Fried Zucchini

• 1 1/2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour, divided
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 pound fresh zucchini or yellow summer squash (about 3 medium)
• Crisco® Butter Shortening, for frying
• OR Crisco® Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening Sticks, for frying
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• 
  
• 1COMBINE 1 cup flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, lemon pepper, onion powder, milk and egg in medium bowl. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

1. 2.
   PLACE remaining 1/2 cup flour in plastic or paper bag. Cut zucchini into 1/4-inch diagonal slices. Rinse and pat dry. Shake slices in flour to coat.
2. 3.
   MELT shortening to a depth of 2 to 3 inches in a deep fryer or deep saucepan; heat to 375ºF. Dip floured zucchini in chilled batter. Let excess drip back into bowl.
3. 4.
   FRY a few at a time in hot oil 4 to 4 1/2 minutes, or until golden brown, turning several times. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately or keep warm in 175ºF oven. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Tortelini Soap

ingredients

• 1 1.8-ounce envelope white sauce mix
• 4 cups water
• 1 14-ounce can vegetable broth
• 1-1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 7- to 8-ounce package dried cheese tortellini (about 2 cups)
• 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
• 6 cups fresh baby spinach leaves or torn spinach
• Ground black pepper (optional)
• Finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

directions

1. Place dry white sauce mix in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Gradually add the water to the white sauce mix, stirring until smooth. Stir in broth, mushrooms, onion, garlic, basil, salt, oregano, and cayenne pepper.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
3. Stir in dried tortellini. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 1 hour more or high-heat setting for 45 minutes more.
4. Stir in evaporated milk and fresh spinach. If desired, sprinkle individual servings with black pepper and Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Egg Plant Parmesan

Ingredients
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 (8-ounce) cans no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (1-pound) eggplants, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup water
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Vegetable cooking spray
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Fresh oregano sprigs (optional)
Preparation
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.

Place eggplant in a large bowl; add water to cover, and let stand 30 minutes. Drain well; blot dry with paper towels. Combine 1/4 cup water and egg whites in a shallow bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese; stir well. Dip eggplant in egg white mixture, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture.

Place half of eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and broil 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant. Set eggplant aside.

Spread half of tomato mixture in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of eggplant over sauce; top with half of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with remaining sauce, eggplant, and cheese.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh oregano sprigs, if desired.

Stuffed Shells with Spinach

Ingredients
◦12 oz of large pasta shells/◦2 c ricotta cheese/◦1/3 Parmesan cheese, grated/◦1 c mozzarella cheese/ grated or diced/◦1/3 c fresh parsley/ chopped dash nutmeg/4-5 c Italian tomato sauce note if you a vegan get mock cheese. If you don't want to use cheese at all replace it with Spinach. YUM!

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Boil the pasta shells until done, drain, and set aside.Mix cheeses, parsley, and nutmeg. Put enough tomato sauce into baking dish to cover the bottom. Fill shells and put a single layer in the pan. Cover with sauce, put foil over pan, let bake for 30 minutes. Sorry blogger photo up loader stopped working ill try again tomorrow!

Ingredients
6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped/ 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil/3 cloves minced garlic/1/4 cup olive oil/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar/1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed/1/4 teaspoon salt/1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper/
1 French baguette/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, if you want to make it vegan use a product such as Daiya mzeralla cheese, tofutti etc which is easy to find.http://www.daiyafoods.com/

Directions
1.Preheat the oven on broiler.
2.In large bowl, mix roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Letmixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3.Cut baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, place the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
4.Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5.Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

tortellini soup

Ingredients

• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth/4 cups water/2 extra-large vegetable bouillon cubes/1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, unthawed/2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained/1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 (9-ounce) packages refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini/1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.Add spinach, stewed tomatoes, and garlic, and return mixture to a boil.Stir in tortellini, and cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle each serving evenly with shredded Parmesan cheese.Note: For testing purposes only, we used Knorr Vegetable Bouillon Cubes.

Zucchini Pistou Pasta

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil /2 1/2 cups zucchini (cut roughly penne shaped) /1 cup basil (packed)/ 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated) /1 clove garlic/ 2 tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)/ 1/2 lemon (juice)/ salt and pepper/ 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion (diced)/ 2 cloves garlic (chopped)/ 1/2 pound pasta (I used whole wheat penne)/ 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)/ 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Heat the oil in a pan. 2. Add the zucchini and saute until tender, about 5 minutes and set aside. 3. Place 1/3 of the zucchini in a food processor along with the basil, parmigiano reggiano, garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
4. Heat the oil in the pan. 5. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. 6. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute. 7. Add the remaining zucchini and set aside. 8. Meanwhile cook the pasta as directed on the package reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta water when you drain it. 9. Add the reserved pasta water to the food processor and puree it contents. 10. Add the pistou to the pasta along with the zucchini and heavy cream and toss to coat.
11. Serve garnished with parmigiano reggiano and pepper.