Anna's Cannelloni

Anna makes homemade pasta and fresh tomato sauce to go with this. It's amazing!! The cannelloni can be make ahead and frozen without damaging the integrity of the dish! Just freeze the cannelloni separately from the sauce.

(This picture was taken before the cannelloni baked...it's beautiful, very impressive!)

The filling:

1 lb. spinach

2 lbs. Italian Ricotta cheese (Anna buys it fresh from a nearby Italian market)

Kraft Italian 5 cheeses (I just use 1 lb. Mozzarella for everything)

Parmesan and Romano cheeses, grated (I use the hard cheeses to top off the cannelloni)

1/4 c. Cream

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. butter

 Melt the butter and stir in the cream. Add the spinach and then the Parmesan. The spinach has to be cooked, drained and chopped through with a knife. Stir in the ricotta and season with salt and nutmeg. Place a dap in the center of the prepared noodles. 

 

I use Anna's fresh tomato sauce for this dish....It makes the dish incredibly light!!

Grilled Eggplant

This is an amazing recipe!! It's great as a side dish for any meal OR an appetizer...especially an Italian dinner. My daughter, Jessy and her awesome husband have just adopted our new grandson, Luis. He is 13 years old and an incredible addition to our family!! We love him so much and we are so grateful that the Lord has given him to us!! We are celebrating by having an adoption party this evening. I have made Lasagna, Cannelloni, Grilled Chicken and Grilled Eggplant for the occasion. Here is that inspirational Eggplant recipe!

6 eggplants, washed and cut into 1/4" rounds

6-8 T. Kosher salt

2 cups EVOO

1/3 c. sugar

2/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1 head of garlic, minced

4 T. Chili sauce

1/2 c. chopped parsley, chopped

1/3 c. chopped mint, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Salt the eggplant and place in a sieve to drain for 20-30 min. Dry the eggplant completely. Toss the eggplant in 1 cup olive oil and heat the grill.

Meanwhile combine the sugar, vinegars, minced garlic and chili sauce in a small sauce pan and heat. Bring to a simmer and keep the mixture on the burner with the fire off until the eggplant is grilled. Cut each round of eggplant in 1/2 and place in a bowl. Pour the vinegar mixture over the top and gently stir. Pour 1 cup of the olive oil on top and stir again. Sprinkle with the herbs and pepper and stir again. Serve while its still warm or can. The longer it sits the better it is!!

Don't be intimidated by the amount of eggplant. It cooks down a lot! This will only feed ~20 as a side dish. The best part of this recipe is that you can actually store this by following canning procedures. Just be sure and sterilize the jars properly. I have numerous containers of eggplant in my pantry now and it's great to just pull one out for a party!! One less thing to have to worry about! You can warm it slightly or serve at room temperature. Either way this is a GREAT addition for your personal recipes!!