Valentine's Dinner

Over the past couple years my tolerance for Valentine's Day has grown ever so slightly. The treat baking began 2 years ago, thanks to Snowmageddon. Sister has always been more advanced in the kitchen than I. While snowed in for days on end (for the record, the suburbs are cleared a lot slower than the District...and if this had happened in Oklahoma, we would've been stuck inside for a month and I likely would've hung myself) she crafted this masterpiece for her bf (she also earned the title of best gf years ago): 

Although I couldn't compete, I made this...with festive M&Ms:

It's from a box and I now feel shame...but it was pretty good (at least it was when I was stuck inside with no better options)

Luckily, my freedom from the igloo that was my parent's neighborhood came before Valentine's day and TF and I had our first Valentine's Day in the District (and one of my favorites to date). 

Outside Pasta Mia

After spending the past couple of Valentine's Days out in the world, I was ready for a relaxed night in. The added benefit of this was that I got to try out a new recipe that I'd been eyeing for far too long on a willing guinea pig. In hindsight, I could've just made this for dinner one night, but it was beyond what I consider an acceptable amount of time to spend on a non-holiday meal (recall: cooking is still new to me, I still have some work to do). 

Boy was it worth the wait! I serious loved this meal so much that even after it was gone I missed it...and spent the rest of the night reminiscing about it. The true miracle of the night was that we managed to work together to create it and not kill each other in the process (a true first). As an added bonus, I finally got to put the cheesecake pan I got for Christmas to use!

Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna

This was my first foray into the lasagna world. Luckily, TF had a little experience in this area and was able to prepare me for how much I underestimated the time required to create this dish....the giant bottle of wine helped too :) But like I said, totally worth it.

Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna

[Adapted from another blog]

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• About 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
• 2 medium zucchini, cut on the diagonal into 1/2-inch thick slices
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large can whole tomatoes 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound no-boil lasagna noodles
• 12 ounces fat-free milk ricotta
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or italian seasoning
• 6 ounces mozzarella-blend
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
2. In a small pot, boil down tomatoes (seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano/italian seasoning). This probably should have gone on longer than it did for us, but we were ravenous so probably rushed it a little.
3. Sauté zucchini, eggplant, onion, and garlic with olive oil, salt, and pepper until lightly browned. Set vegetables aside
4. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta with oregano and 3/4 teaspoon salt and stir to mix
5. As tomatoes continue to boil, use a potato masher to crush to desired thickness
6. In a 10-inch round skillet, pour about 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture. Layer with noodles, breaking them to fit the pan. Top with the eggplant/zucchini in one layer, then spread on half of the ricotta. Sprinkle with a quarter of chosen mozzarella and another 1/2 cup of sauce. Continue this pattern until all ingredients are gone. Spread with the remaining sauce, then top with the remaining half of the mozzarella.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover, sprinkle with the Parmesan, and bake another 25 minutes, until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Let the lasagna rest 10-15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.