Buttery Garlic Green Beans

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
3 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste

1. Place green beans in a large skillet. Cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until beans are preferred tenderness.

2. Drain beans. Put butter in the skillet and return beans, stirring until butter is melted and beans are well coated.

3. Add garlic to the beans, stirring 2-3 minutes until garlic is fragrant. Salt to taste before serving.

Serves 4-6.

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Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Citrus

3 lbs sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, cut into 1" chunks
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

1. Steam sweet potatoes until very tender.

2. With electric mixer, mix in milk, orange zest, orange juice and cayenne pepper, until well blended. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 8-10.

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Pasta Pinwheels

extra virgin olive oil
8 dried lasagna noodles
5oz baby spinach, washed
1 container (15oz) ricotta
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp pepper
1 jar marinara sauce
4 sticks string cheese, halved crosswise

1. Preheat oven to 400. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add a splash of olive oil. Put lasagna noodles into the pot. Cook according to package directions; do NOT overcook! Drain, then rinse with cold water, being careful not to tear the noodles. Transfer noodles to a large bowl of cold water until ready to use.

2. Rinse out the pot, and 1" of water and bring to a boil. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Using your hands, squeeze all the liquid from the spinach.

3. Pulse the spinach, ricotta, egg, Parmesan, and pepper in a food processor to blend. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl.

4. Grease a 9" square baking dish. Spread about half the sauce in the dish.

5. Place 4 noodles on a work surface and spread each with spinach-ricotta mixture. Place a piece of string cheese horizontally across one end of the noodle. Roll up the noodle around the cheese.

6. Cut each pinwheel in half crosswise (so it maintains it round shape, with one "smooth" cut side and one "ruffled" edge) with a serrated knife. Arrange pinwheels, cut side down, in the baking dish. Repeat entire process with remaining 4 noodles.

7. Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake until sauce is bubbling and the spinach-ricotta mixture is firm, about 45 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

8. Warm the remaining sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat.Spoon some sauce onto each plate and top with pinwheels. Serve with additional grated Parmesan, if desired.

Notes: If you prefer to have some meat in the dish as well, I have browned up a half pound of Italian sausage until it is crumbly and cooked through, then drained it and added it in between the pinwheels in the baking dish, before baking.

Serves 4.

(adapted from "Everyday With Rachael Ray," JAN/FEB 2014 issue)

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