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.
July 29
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged italian, pasta, slow cooker, vegetarian
The cookbook describes it better than I can: Herb-infused tomatoes tango with garlic, artichokes, and cream–a dance that results in a sauce with Mediterranean flair.
I spent all day today on this pasta… Or rather, my slow cooker did. 
This recipe came out of my 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Recipes book.
3 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic
2 14-oz cans artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 Tbsp bottled minced garlic (6 cloves)
1/2 c whipping cream
12 oz uncooked linguine, fettuccine, or other favorite pasta
(optional ingredients)
Sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives and/or sliced pitted ripe olives
Crumbled feta cheese or finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Coat a 3.5- or 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Drain 2 of the cans of diced tomatoes (do not drain remaining can). In the prepared cooker, combine drained and undrained tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and garlic. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.
Stir in whipping cream; let stand about 5 minutes to heat through. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Serve sauce over hot cooked pasta. If desired, top with olives and/or cheese.
As usual with slow-cooker recipes, I mixed this up this morning and let it cook all day while I was at work (9 hours). No optional toppings for us this time, and it came out great.
Bottom line: Good, unique pasta sauce. If you’re not a huge fan of artichokes, though, I’d recommend using only one can.
March 19
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged chicken, italian, one-bowl, pasta
“This is one of those classic dishes that always finds its way onto Italian-American restaurant menus…”
I found this recipe in the Lund’s and Byerly’s Real Food magazine, where I always seem to find recipes that sound amazing but I’m too afraid to try. This one didn’t look too intimidating, so we gave it a whirl tonight.
1/4 c olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 lb broccoli florets (about 3 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c white wine
1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 c diced roast chicken (skin removed) and any juices
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 lb ziti
Boil pasta in a large pot for 10 minutes while everything else is cooking. Heat oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring, until garlic starts to brown (about 3 minutes). Add broccoli, raise heat to medium high, sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring often, until broccoli turns dark green and starts to brown (about 2 minutes). Add wine and cook, stirring, until it almost completely reduces (aout 2 minutes). Add broth, chicken, and thyme, bring to a boil, cover, and cook until broccoli is crisp-tender and mixture is hot (about 3 minutes). Stir in half of the cheese and a generous sprinkling of black pepper. Remove from heat. When pasta is finished, drain and return to pot. Add chicken and broccoli and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and serve.
We totally loved this dish! We made ours with a Chenin Blanc and substituted pre-cooked chicken breast. The ingredients work very well together to produce a light but flavorful result. I definitely recommend this as a fun-to-make, simple one-bowl meal.
March 12
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged italian, pasta, slow cooker
This is a new recipe for me, from my 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Recipes book (which, by the way, I LOVE!). I wouldn’t actually call it a “casserole” …It’s more of just a pasta with sauce, but whatever.
I mixed up the ingredients the night before and refrigerated it. All I had to do the next morning was drop it in the slow cooker and turn it on before I left for work. Now THAT’S how to do dinner!
2 15-oz containers marinara sauce
2 14 1/2-oz cans diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic (undrained)
1 12-oz package sausage
1 9-oz package refrigerated tortellini
1 cup shredded mozzarella (4 oz)
Lightly coat the slow cooker pot with cooking spray. Stir together the marinara, undrained tomatoes, and sausage.Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
If using high-heat setting, turn to low-heat setting. Stir in tortellini. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until tortellini are tender. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Let stand covered for 10 minutes until cheese is melted. 8 servings
My thoughts: This was pretty tasty and VERY easy to make. Nothing super out of the ordinary here… We had ours with Italian bread and green beans the first night, salad the second. I will mention that (for us at least) it made 6 servings rather than 8.
Things I used to make it healthier:
- Turkey sausage rather than pork
- Whole-wheat tortellini
- Cheese made from 2% milk
