April 10
· Filed under Recipes · Tagged FAVORITE, italian
That sounds pretty cocky, huh?
Don’t blame me — I didn’t come up with it! The recipe is named as such on allrecipes.com by user Johnchandler. So what makes this lasagna the best in the world? Well, it tastes amazing, for starters. And who am I to argue with the 2,500 people who have given this recipe an average of 5 out of 5 stars?!
The husband and I made this for Valentine’s Day. It was a little time consuming, but fun to make (a little work-together time, you know?) and totally worth the wait.
The lasagna is really thick and hearty, so a 9×13 pan of it easily serves 12.
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 6-oz cans tomato paste
2 6.5-oz cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well-browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375º.
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
April 3
· Filed under Recipes · Tagged drinks, mexican/spanish, party food
This recipe came from “Lisa” on allrecipes.com. It was super easy to make (even as a first-time sangria maker) and very tasty.
You probably won’t need ALL this fruit (see photo, ha ha), so use what’s left to garnish your glasses.
1 lemon
1 lime
1 orange
1 1/2 cups rum
1/2 cup sugar
1 750-mL bottle dry red wine
1 cup orange juice
Have the indgredients well-chilled. Slice the fruit into rounds and place in pitcher. Pour in rum and sugar and chill in refrigerator for two hours to develop the flavors.
When ready to serve, crush the fruit slightly with a spoon and stir in the wine and orange juice. Adjust sweetness to taste.
We made this in February, but I totally recommend it for a summer evening.
February 11
· Filed under Recipes · Tagged quick & easy, vegetarian
I found this recipe on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Cooking With Court.
My favorite thing about this recipe is that it’s so easy to make, yet it comes out delicious. You could seriously make these little guys in 20 minutes, including time to preheat the oven! It was perfect for a quick dinner after a long day of work.
2 10-inch flour tortillas OR already made pizza crust
Olive oil
5 oz Monterey Jack cheese
5 oz cheddar cheese
2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup ripe sliced olives
Black pepper to taste
Heat the oven to 400°. Lightly brush the tortillas with olive oil. Place on baking sheet and bake for five minutes on each side or until crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350°. Top each tortilla with half of the ingredients. Bake for five minutes or until cheese melts.
A couple of quick notes based on our experience:
- If you’re using a dark baking sheet, reduce the tortilla cook time to three or four minutes on each side to avoid burning. We ended up having to do one tortilla over again. (Oops!)
- Make sure to pop any bubbles that form in the tortilla during the baking process, before they become crisp. Oddly shaped tortillas are very hard to put toppings on.
- We used mozzarella rather than MJ, because that’s what was in our fridge. Still tasted amazing.
- Next time I think I’ll use 8-inch tortillas, just so I can fit more than one on a baking sheet. Using a whole sheet per pizza would be totally impractical if you’re cooking for more than two people.
January 23
· Filed under Recipes · Tagged FAVORITE, pasta, vegetarian
I was drawn to this recipe in Good Housekeeping because of its label, healthy in a hurry. I’m pretty sure it’s called “festive” because it has red and green in it and was in the December issue of the magazine.
Whatever its name, I call it wonderful!
12 oz rotini*
12 oz broccoli
1 pint grape tomatoes
1/4 tsp salt
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 c Romano cheese
Heat oven to 450º. Cook pasta according to package directions, adding broccoli during last three minutes. Toss tomatoes, garlic, oil, and salt in bowl. Spread tomato mixure in 9 x 13 pan and roast 15 minutes or until tomatoes wrinkle and begin to burst, stirring halfway through cook time.
Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain pasta. Add pasta water to pan, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Return all ingredients to pot and stir in cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
*Make the smart choice. Use whole-grain pasta.
January 19
· Filed under Recipes · Tagged family recipes, mexican/spanish
This was my first time making my own salsa. I’d had some of my grandma’s homemade salsa while at her house over Christmas and loved it, so I got the recipe from her before I left.
This was super easy to make. We found it to be a bit sweet when we made it, so we’ll probably decrease the amount of sugar next time. Also, I’d recommend running the veggies through the food processor a bit before mixing it all together, unless you like really chunky salsa.
1 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 c salt
2 jalapenos
2 28-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 medium onion
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
Small amount of cinnamon
Cumin to taste (optional)
Combine all ingredients
January 11
· Filed under Recipes · Tagged chicken, one-bowl
This recipe initially came from the Pampered Chef Fall/Winter 2007 collection. I’ve made a few changes to make the recipe a touch healthier (and easier to read!)
We enjoyed this for dinner tonight and look forward to the leftovers later this week (recipe serves 6). We did a lot of the veggie prep as we went along, which threw our cooking time off a bit. Even still, the dish came out delicious! Tastes both fresh and full and really hit the spot on a cold evening.
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, cut in half crosswise
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 8.8-oz packages pre-cooked chicken-flavored rice*
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced into julienne strips
1 medium zucchini, sliced
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil
Use meat tenderizer to flatten chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat 1/2 Tbsp oil in 12-inch skilley over medium-high heat. Arrange chicken and lemon halves (cut sides down) in skillet. Cook chicken 3-4 minutes on each side or until center of chicken is no longer pink; remove chicken and lemon from skillet. After chicken has cooled slightly, slice into 1/2-inch pieces.
Heat 1/2 Tbsp oil in same skillet. Cook onion and garlic over medium heat 4-6 minutes or until onion is tender. Add rice. Juice onion halves into skillet (beware of seeds!). Cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until juice is absorbed into rice. Add broth and remaining vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 4-5 minutes or until broth is slightly thickened. Stir in chicken and cook until heated through.
Remove skillet from heat and add cheese and basil. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is thickened.
*we used Uncle Ben’s whole grain
November 24
· Filed under Recipes · Tagged chicken, FAVORITE, mexican/spanish
The name’s quite a mouthful, huh? Ha ha!
I got this recipe from Robin Miller, who has a show on the Food Network called “Quick Fix Meals.” I made these for some girlfriends, and then again for my husband, and they were a hit. Not exactly an authentic enchilada recipe, but the dish wasn’t hard to make and was full of flavor.
Note: Robin’s recipe has you cook enough chicken to use for another recipe. If you’re just making this, use only 1 pound.
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 4-oz can diced green chilies
1/3 prepared salsa, mild, medium, or hot
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 8-inch flour tortillas
1 1/3 cups shredded Monterey jack and/or Cheddar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute 5 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove half of the chicken and reserve for another use.
Stir in black beans, green chilies, and salsa and simmer 5 minutes, until sauce thickens and reduces. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
Arrange 4 tortillas on a flat surface. Top each tortilla with an equal amount of chicken mixture. Roll up tortillas and place side by side in a shallow baking dish. Top tortillas with shredded cheese (1/3 cup per tortilla).
Bake enchiladas 15 minutes, until cheese is golden and gooey!
October 4
· Filed under Recipes · Tagged dessert, party food
These little desserts were a hit at a party I hosted recently. I topped mine with caramel and pecans / chocolate and strawberries.
One of my guests commented they made it easy to control portion size. I’d like to see how well they’d turn out with fat free cream cheese. Thoughts?
1 c graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp margarine, melted
3 8-oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
Mix together cracker crumbs, sugar, and margarine with a fork. Place one packed tablespoon of mix into each muffin cup. Bake 5 minutes; cool.
Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Mix in the eggs. Pour mixture into muffin cups, filling each to 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes. Cool completely in pan before removing.
Top with desired toppings (fruit, pie filling, etc). Refrigerate until ready to serve.
September 16
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged mexican/spanish, soup, vegetarian
I made this dish for a recent lunch with some girlfriends, and it turned out even better than I’d expected! They all seemed to enjoy it as well. Pair it with some yummy bread like we did, and you’ve got a satisfyingly cool and delicious lunch.
2 cups tomato juice, chilled
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 cup fresh corn
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowls.
I only made one change to this recipe: Instead of using fresh corn, I just thawed out some frozen corn, which worked perfectly. I love convenience!
August 7
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged chicken, one-bowl
The husband and I made this Campbell’s casserole the other night as a quick and easy dinner after work. The prep time is almost nothing. It does bake for 45 minutes, though, so be warned…
Although this wasn’t exactly bursting with flavor, it tasted good and makes a fantastic comfort food. We only used half as much chicken and took the leftover rice and veggies for lunch the next day. Yum!
I’m tempted to try this with brown rice, but don’t know whether that’ll affect the baking time. Anyone??
1 can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 c water
3/4 c uncooked long grain white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 c frozen mixed vegetables
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c shredded cheddar
Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, and vegetables in an 11 x 8-inch baking dish. Top with the chicken. Season the chicken as desired. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with cheese and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir rice before serving.
