Hashbrown Cakes

Some of my favorite recipes from cooking magazines are the little side bar ideas with just a few ingredients or an article about how to use an everyday ingredient. This recipe is from the April issue of Cooking Light.

Hashbrown Cakes
1 1/2 C shredded ham
1/2 C chopped green onions
2 1/2 T all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
1 20 oz bag hashbrowns*
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Combine ham, onions, flour, salt and potatoes. Add eggs and mix well. Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat with 1 T canola oil. Scoop mixture by 1/4 C spoonfuls into skillet, flatten slightly and cook 5 minutes on each side until browned.

This recipe made enough for two meals. I cooked up a couple of cakes as part of our breakfast, then froze the rest in patties for use another time.

*I hate buying bags of stuff like that when I can just as easily prepare the potatoes myself. I boiled 6 russet potatoes (of varying sizes, not the big huge ones) until they were cooked through. I let them cool a little (I was pressed on time and would have rather they cooled completely, but hey) then shredded them skin on into the bowl.

Spinach and Prosciutto Lasagna

My co-worker and I have been talking about making food for the freezer lately so I've been searching for a new lasagna to try and found this. Thank you Martha! I will probably adjust a bit but I like the thought of adding proscuitto and such an easy recipe too.

This weeknight lasagna is fast, thanks to no-boil noodles, frozen spinach, and jarred sauce; chopped prosciutto elevates the dish.
· 2 package(s) (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach , thawed and squeezed dry
· 1 1/2 cup(s) part-skim ricotta
· 1 clove(s) garlic , minced
· Coarse salt and ground pepper
· 2 1/2 cup(s) jarred tomato sauce
· 4 ounce(s) thinly sliced prosciutto, finely chopped
· 6 no-boil lasagna noodles
· 1 cup(s) (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make filling: In a medium bowl, stir together spinach, ricotta, garlic, teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside. In another medium bowl, stir together tomato sauce and prosciutto.

2. In an 8-inch square baking dish, spread cup tomato sauce. Layer 2 noodles, 1/3 filling, and 1/3 remaining tomato sauce; repeat twice. Top with mozzarella. Bake until browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezing Food

Here's a good article on freezing food. Anyone else have good tips?