Trying Something New

Hello and good afternoon everyone! I'm going to be doing something new this week. I will be posting recipe requests from my fellow friends on Facebook. Today, I will be starting out with a couple requests from Yas Simmons and April Weaver. Yas requested anything vegetarian. April requested something with grilled shrimp. Here's for you ladies:

Vegetarian Lasagna

You will need the following items:

• 10 ounces fresh lasagna noodles
• 10 ounces cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1.5 (1 in a half) pounds round eggplants
• 2/3 pound robiola (a mild, slightly runny, soft creamy cheese)
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 pound baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• A small bunch of chives, chopped
• 6 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Trim the ends of the eggplants, slice them into quarter inch pieces, put them in a colander and sprinkle with salt
2. Let them rest for 1 hour, rinse them, pat them dry, and grill them on a lightly oiled cast-iron griddle for a couple minutes on each side, seasoning them with salt and pepper as they come off.
3. Slice the tomatoes and wash the spinach
4. put the robiola in a bowl, work the milk into it, and add the chives
5. While combining the above items, bring your pasta to a boil, lightly salt it, and add a drop of oil to it. Cook the lasagna a few sheets at a time. 
6. Remove the noodles when Al Dente (mostly soft with a little bit of hardness to it) and put them on a clean cloth to cool.
7. Lightly oil a deep pan, big enough to contain all of the ingredients and lay down a layer of lasagna noodles, followed by a layer of the robiola mixture then eggplant, tomatoes, grated cheese, and a drizzle of Olive Oil.
8. Repeat Step #7 until all of the items are used up then drizzle the top with Olive Oil and bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes

NOTE: You can serve this dish with a nice white wine (If you are old enough to drink). Please note, I do not condone underage drinking. ^_^

Now, onto April's request. She requested something containing grilled shrimp. I've scrounged up a delicious and different take to an ordinary meal.

Grilled Shrimp with Pasta and Pineapple Salsa

You will need the following items:

• 2 pounds pineapple chunks, packed in their own juice, drained
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced
• 1/2 (one half) cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1.5 (one and a half) cup shrimp, peeled and de-veined 
• 2-2/3 (2 and 2/3) cup cooked rotini pasta

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the salsa ingredients, except the shrimp and the pasta
2. Prepare an outside grill with an oiled rack set 4 inches above the heat source.
3. On a gas grill, set the heat to high.
4. Grill the shrimp for 2 minutes on each side.
5. Toss your rotini pasta with the salsa and arrange the shrimp on top and serve. (You can wait until the last minute to cook your pasta, if preferred. I do.)

Both of these meals make for excellent summer meals. Enjoy and I'll be back tomorrow with more requests and fan favorites!