Potluck surprise: Orzo and veggies with ricotta cheese

Is there any better venue for Sunday lunch than an awesome church potluck? We had some 500 people show up today for a party to help christen our beautiful new facilities at St. James Church in Wichita. And everyone brought excellent food.

I was among parishioners alphabetically assigned to bring a vegetable dish. I got up early this morning and made up this recipe; wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was good, and I'm happy to report there wasn't much left by the end of the party:

Zucchini , spinach and tomatoes with orzo, ricotta and basil

15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup orzo
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 small zucchini , sliced
2 small yellow squash, sliced
7 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons freshly grated Romano cheese
1/2 pound fresh spinach leaves
Olive oil

Cook orzo according to package instructions. In a medium bowl, while pasta cooks, combine ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Romano cheese, eggs, basil and garlic. Mix well. Rinse cooked pasta and drain. Add to ricotta mixture.

Brush a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with olive oil. Place a layer of zucchini in the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 1/2 of the ricotta/orzo mixture. Top with half the spinach, a layer of zucchini and tomatoes, then add remaining ricotta/orzo mixture. Top with yellow squash and the remaining zucchini, spinach and tomatoes. Top with 3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush top lightly with olive oil. Bake for another 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Leftover steak is lovely in spinach salad with Romano

Dinner last night was fresh spinach leaves topped with tomatoes, slices of carrot and green pepper, just a few walnut pieces and diagonally sliced strips of rare flatiron steak Dave had grilled the night before. Here's my balsamic dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, mixed with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and about an 1/8 teaspoon sugar. (That bit of sugar is essential.) Mix well and dribble over your salad, then top with shaved Romano cheese.

Top healthy pasta with shrimp, roasted veggies

It's harvest time; a great time to cook up an abundance of healthy food. Tonight, I grilled green, red and yellow pepper pieces on skewers along with big sweet onion chunks, all brushed with olive oil. (The key to grilling veggies on skewers just right is to keep the gas grill temp at around 350-400 degrees and let the veggies cook on an upper rack until they're soft and juicy, but not charred.) Then I mixed those veggies with shrimp and fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes to make this pasta dish:

Pasta with shrimp, tomatoes and roasted peppers

3 cups uncooked whole wheat rotini
7-10 medium fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup water
1 pound cooked medium-sized shrimp, shelled, with tails removed
2 cups green, red and yellow pepper chunks
1 large sweet onion, cut into large pieces
3/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons cup fresh parsley, chopped
Fresh grated romano cheese

Grill pepper and onion pieces on skewers as described above. Set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add chopped tomatoes, basil and garlic. Stir well. Add vinegar, red wine, lemon juice, water. Cover and simmer for about 6 minutes. Add peppers, onions and shrimp. Simmer 'til shrimp is heated through. Stir in feta cheese. Drain pasta; spoon sauce over rotini. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with parsley, pine nuts and fresh romano cheese.