Hello strangers! It’s been about 2 years since my last post and I am SO HAPPY TO BE BACK! There has been a lifetime of change since 2015, so much in fact, that we will catch up in segments so that I don’t spend all day blabbering on about me and we can down to the good stuff…cheesy, gooey goodness in a casserole dish :)
One of the biggest changes made it’s way into my life on New Years Day 2016 at 12:06am. That was the date and time I officially became a Mommy to an incredible little human. This meant a whole new way of navigating life. An overwhelming love, as they say, also came packed with hormones, paranoia, exhaustion and a need to prioritize what was truly important. Unfortunately that meant blogging had to go. There has always been such a big place in my heart for This Season’s Table and I just couldn’t completely shut it down. Putting it to the back burner, I kept that flame on low until the right time to serve up another round of deliciousness…
It’s revival day, folks!
Now let me fast forward from the beautiful baby days where my tiny little lovebug happily injested all forms of milk available – and park us right in the middle of toddlerville. That not so magical land where most things end up on the floor, your clothes or in the dogs mouth. Especially if it has any slight hue of green attached. Being that I am such an adventerous eater, it was a shock to my system watching my own flesh and blood morph into one of the pickiest eaters I have ever seen in my life. Observing him with equal amounts of fascination and frustration, I am always amazed at the never ending facial expressions of disgust he can create when presented with one of Mommy’s delicious home cooked meals. However, if I gave him open access to our laundry room, he would happily eat his weight in dog food. Go figure…
At first I felt a little defeated. I am a food blogger. People make my recipes and actually like them. And this tiny person prefered Diamond Naturals in beef flavor. I had to do something to pull him back to the land of the foodies. So I tried over, and over, and over, and over (you get the point…) until one day, something stuck. It was this delicious medley of cheese, noodles and secret veggies that eventually won him over. We affectionately refer to this as Tiffany’s toddler friendly lasagna around our house these days. The best part is while it is super easy to serve to the pickiest of eaters, the smoked gouda playing off of fresh collard greens still makes it a craved comfort food for those of us that enjoy complex flavors hitting our tastebuds.
In the end, I win. Moms always do ;)
See you around at my table! ~Tiffany
Smoked Gouda and Collard Veggie Lasagna - Toddler approved!
Ingredients
- 12 pieces oven ready lasagna
- 2, 15 oz containers low fat ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 6 oz smoked gouda shredded
- 1 cup low fat mozzarella
- 4 cups fresh collard greens chopped
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 jars tomato sauce approx. 6 cups
Instructions
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Preheat over to 350 degrees. Sauté carrots, onion and garlic together about 5 min. Add collards and 1/4 cup water to help steam veggies. Cook another 2-3 min or until collards are slightly wilted. Set aside to let cool for a few min. Meanwhile, mix ricotta and eggs together, set aside. Shred gouda in food processor if necessary. Mix gouda and mozzarella, separate into 3 parts and set aside. Pulse cooled veggies in food processor until they are in tiny pieces. Place back in sauté pan with 4 cups tomato sauce. In a 9x13 deep casserole dish (I typically use a non-stick foil throw away...and it's recycleable!), place a few tablespoons of remaining tomato sauce. Layer lasagna as follows: 4 lasagna noodles, 1/2 ricotta mix, 1 part cheese, half veggie mix, 4 lasagna noodles, remaining 1/2 ricotta mix, 1 part cheese, remaining veggie mix, 4 lasagna noodles, reserved tomato sauce, last part cheese.
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Cover with foil (add parchment underneath foil to prevent cheese from sticking) and bake for 30 min at 350 degrees. Remove foil and bake another 15 min or until top is brown and cheese is melted.
Lucy says
I remember those ‘picky eater’ days well. So frustrating 😜. My recipes still get judged and sometimes rejected but by the teenage versions of those picky eaters. I love the challenge thought and I’m sure this recipe will pass with flying colours. It looks great and I love cramming as many veg as I can into my recipes.
Tiffany says
Oh gosh…I hope this phase is only a toddler thing and doesn’t go up into the teenage years. I don’t know if my foodie self can take it! I may have to teach him how to cook his own food by then lol! It is such a victorius feeling when you watch them eat veggies though isnt it!!
Julie says
What a wonderful post! I don’t nearly make as much lasagna as I should since it’s so easy to prep and reheat for the week! Thank you for sharing about the struggles you had with having a new baby and finding the time and priorities to blog – it’s something I’ve thought about before. Either way, I’m glad you are back and posting delicious recipes like this one! I did have a question – do you post on a schedule? Like once a week? Or do you post whenever you have a recipe ready?
Tiffany says
Yes I LOVE lasagna for that reason too. I work 3 overnight shifts in a row so I love the convenience of reheating something that is tasty and nutritious. It gives me more time to spend with my family instead of scrambling to make dinner on my worknights (although that time constraint has gotten me into developing more 30 minute meals lately). I like to post 3 times a week but just recently I realized how hard that is in reality. Some posts are much more complicated and if I am doing them right, can take quite some time to complete. I try to make a goal of 2 posts a week now, or if I am doing something really detailed or working on SEO, I will only do one for the week to play catchup/cleanup for the site. It’s so hard to slow myself down this time of year because I’m over here like “It’s the holidays! Let’s make lots if things and share them!” lol. I have to remember that I need a balance between my blog and family too so some weeks it has to be less than others.