What are you having for dinner? AGAIN!

I don't mind ricotta but I hate cottage cheese. Many people use cottage instead of ricotta. I had someone try to tell me it was the same thing. No. It's not. Now I have used cream cheese or mascarpone in a pinch before when I didn't have ricotta and didn't feel like going to the store because I had everything else I needed. What do you use to sub for the ricotta?

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

I have to make it because she can't stand ricotta cheese. So having it in a restaurant is not something she would ever do.

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I hate cottage cheese too. Why anyone would put it in lasagna is beyond me. I like ricotta but I can live without it. I don't substitute anything for it because she wouldn't eat it if I did. I just use a flavorful mix of cheeses for the topping and I put some in the layers too. It's a very midwestern version of lasagna but it is very tasty. It has a lot of meat, I use very lean ground beef and mild pork sausage because I don't really like italian sausage very much. And all of this is why I rarely make it. It has literally been years.
Whenever I have substituted cream cheese or mascarpone in place of ricotta, I blended it with shredded provolone, shredded mozzarella, and grated parm and added minced garlic and parsley. It makes the filling a little creamier in texture. I doubt your wife would notice the difference, especially if you only used a little bit. Does she like bagels with cream cheese? Seems like she wouldn't mind the cream cheese for sure. It's not grainy like ricotta can be, and ugh cottage cheese is clumpy (shudder).
Her main objection seems to be that its white and she thinks it looks nasty. So i doubt there is any substitute that would suit her no matter how delicious (like your mascarpone concoction). If it were for me Id just get some at a deli or restaurant . since I make it for her I make it the way she wants. She is picky in some ways but she never complains about leftovers and will eat tbe same thing for days on end as long as its something she likes so in other ways she is extremely easy to feed. As you might have guessed she cant even boil water.
Cottage cheese on toast, sprinkled with salt and pepper, is da' bomb!

But that is a distant memory, and I have not had it for years and years and years, For dinner, we are having steak and veggies.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
I'm planning tostadas with guacamole for tonight for me. Ann will be having leftover lasagna.
Fish, mac and cheese, veggie TBD

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Real lazy tonight burgers with salad.
I love cottage cheese, but don't use it to replace ricotta or anything else.
CQ, that sounded so good that I changed my dinner. I had beef tostados and guacamole in the freezer. Since the other option was also frozen, it was very simple to change.

Based in MD, near DC
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I put all of the leftovers from the carpaccio and ceviche that my boyfriend made this weekend into the airfryer and then put it in ramen. It was probably the most decadent ramen I've ever had, much less made.

And now I have a weird craving for tostadas, guacamole, lasagna and cottage cheese...

Shopping the South Jersey Shore


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2020 02:48AM by Jenny Cassada.
Today I'm making Chili Colorado. I don't know why it's called that but the red sauce made from a mix of Ancho, pasillo and guajillo peppers and traditional mexican spices is possibly my favorite thing in the world. If you like mexican and have never had it, I recommend you go to a mexican market and then come home, get out your blender and start cooking. I learned to make it many, many years ago. This recipe is pretty close to how I do it but I use beef and haven't seen sage put in it before. I was also taught to add the oregano in last, about 5 minutes before serving. The sauce is not overly hot, and very complex. It might be hard to find chili's as fresh as this guys. The ones I find are generally pretty hard so I simmer mine in broth for at least 30 minutes and then I put the sauce through a sieve after blending.
[www.bonappetit.com]
Mex, you say? Yum! I am having a flashback to a looooooooong-ago convo about mola.... the enthusiast was explaining, and most people were looking queasy. I was the only other mola-literate in the room! But that is not what's for dinner. We are doing some sort of salad and whatever else inspires us when we are in the grocery store.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
From context, I think she means mole.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
oops. There was a little more to the story. One of the sickly looking ones asked, "Is that spelled like m-o-l-a?"

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
I am not a fan of mole or mola, either one. Tonight is chicken thighs cooked in BBQ sauce and shredded to go on buns with pickles and onion. Oven fries on the side.
crispy flour tortilla with jack cheese, steamed chicken and spinach.

got the idea from someone on this thread and tried it. sorry i don't remember who, but thank you. it is a great idea. I use different kinds of cheeses, veggies and meats. All depending on what I have and it is great to finish odds and ends in the fridge, plus I have my carbs, protein and veg all in one "pizza".
Exhausting 2 days, so more taquitos and guacamole.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Tonight I'm making chicken and pasta with lemon parmesan sauce (made by Prego). I think some green beans sauteed with garlic to accompany.
Homemade chili, guacamole, chips

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
I had a huge lunch and did not want dinner.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
My boyfriend made ravioli from scratch for my birthday tonight. Im pretty sure between this and the last 2 days, I've gained 10 pounds lol.

Shopping the South Jersey Shore
My sister gave me some pulled pork so I'm sauteing onions and BBQ sauce with the pork along with broccoli and rolls.
On the way home from local shops I will pick-up a lunch sized portion of General Tso's (something to be determined). Will make extra steamed broccoli to add to that and yellow rice (enough for several different meals) The lunch portion will make at least two dinners for me. The yellow rice will work with some of the cooked lamb that I have in the freezer. So, great planned-overs will happen.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Branzino stuffed with onions and rosemary. Marinating that with some olive oil which will be baked later. Also a nice salad to go with that.
A bowl of homemade yellow rice topped with chopped lamb, broccoli, black olives and feta, with a side of hummus. All great together whether served warm or cold.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Leftovers (and a pleasant little rumble of satisfaction from the still clean kitchen)

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu
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