(shared by Courtney)

Ingredients:

15 Medjool pitted dates
1 pound aged Manchego, cut into 15 blocks
5 slices bacon, cut into thirds
1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make an incision on one side of each date and insert a block of Manchego. Squeeze the date shut in your hand to secure. Wrap each date with a bacon strip and secure with a toothpick. Place all the dates on a sheet tray lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Roast the dates in the oven until the bacon on top is starting tocrisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the dates over and cook the other side until the bacon crisps.

Remove the dates from the oven and brush both sides with maple syrup. Return the dates to the oven until they are really crackly and sticky, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve hot.

**Courtney's notes:

The recipe makes it for 15, but I made more cause I knew 15 wouldn't be enough. I also had to cook the bacon longer than 5-6 minutes on both sides. I just kept checking every couple of minutes till it looked alright.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna (shared by Zoe)

This dish takes a little bit of work, but can be prepared in advance and reheated for a party main dish. Thanks to my Mom for the special cheese sauce recipe.

Ingredients:
Your favorite veggies to roast
Olive Oil
Lasagna Noodles
Butter
Flour
Milk
Jarlsberg Cheese
Your favorite tomato/spaghetti sauce
Nutmeg
Black Pepper
Your favorite seasonings (red pepper, garlic, oregano)

Step # 1: Prepare your favorite roasted veggies.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. I use squash, zucchini, red bell pepper, onion, mushroom, and eggplant. Chop veggies, spread out on a baking sheet. Drizzle with your favorite olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper. Roast veggies in the oven at 450 degrees for 20 min. After 20 min in the oven, mix the veggies, make sure they still have a bit of olive oil coating, and roast for 20 more min.

Step # 2: Boil the lasagna (while the veggies are roasting.)
I use the packaged lasagna that require boiling. When they’re cooked, I drain them and then spread them out flat on paper towels and let them air dry.

Step # 3: Prepare the cheese sauce.
Grate the Jarlsberg cheese. One normal size block of cheese (at Trader Joe’s or Vons) is enough for one lasagna dish. Use more if you want extra cheese, or are making more than one lasagna.
Use a medium sized saucepan. Start with 1 – 2 tablespoons of butter and melt. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons of flour, and stir to make a paste. Brown the paste. Gradually add milk until your saucepan is about ¾ full. Stir constantly on medium-high heat about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens. You can increase the temperature or add a little bit of flour if the sauce doesn’t thicken. When the sauce has thickened, add the grated cheese and lower the heat. Add a dash of black pepper, and a few dashes of nutmeg.

Step # 4: Tomato sauce
I usually use my favorite spaghetti sauce from a jar, but feel free to make your own tomato sauce if you’re really ambitious. Season to taste with your favorite spices (black pepper, red pepper, oregano, garlic.)

Step # 5: Layer all the ingredients & bake
Lightly grease the bottom of your pan. Spread lasagna noodles across the bottom to make a base layer. Use about 1/3 of your tomato sauce, and then 1/3 of your cheese sauce. Repeat with a 2^nd layer of noodles, sauce, and cheese. Repeat with a 3^rd layer of noodles, sauce and cheese. Your sauce and cheese mixture should be on top of your 3^rd later of noodles. Cover with foil (use toothpicks if you need to hold up the foil, but be careful not to lose the toothpicks) and bake at 375 degrees for 45 min. Remove the foil and bake for 5 more min. to crisp the top.

Buon Appetito!

Variations: Lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey

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