Recipe #107: Lasagna

I've posted various lasagna recipes previously (specifically, enchilada lasagna and healthy lasagna- which is turkey-based), but never a traditional recipe.. until now. This recipe is rated five stars by more than 5,000 people on allrecipes.com, so I knew I had to try it, and it was definitely fantastic!

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) 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

Directions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 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.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

It's been awhile

Between setting up the new house, emptying out and cleaning the apartment, and work (including travel!), I've been way too busy to work on new recipes.... hopefully that will change soon, and I'll be trying new techniques as well- my mom gave me a pressure cooker for my birthday that I can't wait to try!  I want to try more seafood, roasting a leg of lamb, and using my bamboo steamer more.  Stay tuned...

Recipe #106: Lamb Chops with a Balsamic Reduction

Two new recipes in one day!  I'm on a roll, getting comfortable in my new kitchen.  My latest copy of Cooking Light magazine had a feature on all cuts of lamb and how to cook them, and I realized I've never made lamb.  Actually, I wasn't even sure if I've had it before.  I'm so glad I tried, because these were so good!  Kind of like steak, but a little different flavor.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com (of course!) and it had such great ratings, I had to try.  Nick said it was a "high-class" dinner.  It was quite easy to make, too!  So herbal and fresh, and you feel kinda fancy eating it...

I love taking pictures in natural daylight again!

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 lamb chops (3/4 inch thick)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. In a small bowl or cup, mix together the rosemary, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub this mixture onto the lamb chops on both sides. Place them on a plate, cover and set aside for 15 minutes to absorb the flavors.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place lamb chops in the skillet, and cook for about 3 1/2 minutes per side for medium rare, or continue to cook to your desired doneness. Remove from the skillet, and keep warm on a serving platter.
3. Add shallots to the skillet, and cook for a few minutes, just until browned. Stir in vinegar, scraping any bits of lamb from the bottom of the skillet, then stir in the chicken broth. Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half. If you don't, the sauce will be runny and not good. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Pour over the lamb chops, and serve. 

Note:  I served these over a bed of spring leafage!  Side of mashed sweet potatoes.  These chops are small, bone-in, so I recommend two per person.

Recipe #105: Field Grade Spaghetti Sauce

I didn't have much time to plan a meal for six people, but I knew that pasta would be the best solution, and I've always wanted to try a good hearty meaty sauce.  I did a little hunting on allrecipes.com and found this awesome one, which features cinnamon.  I love it, and I think everyone else enjoyed it too, judging by the clean plates.  This fed me, Nick, my sister, one of my best friends, my uncle and my grandma!

The pictures aren't that great because I forgot to take pictures before we started eating, but you get the idea.  I can't wait to eat the leftovers!

Half-eaten...

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can canned mushrooms, drained  (I used 2 cans)
• 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground allspice  (I didn't have this)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. In a large skillet, brown the meat with the garlic over medium heat. Stir in the wine; simmer, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
2. Mix in dry onion soup mix, mushrooms, basil, salt and pepper, cinnamon, allspice, parsley, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and water. Cover pan almost completely, allowing space for steam to escape, and simmer 1 hour. Add additional water if needed to prevent sticking.

What recipe number am I on again? Ahh, #104: Easy Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Here, this one's easy.  Fry up bite-sized cut up chicken, breaded in Panko bread crumbs in butter until fully cooked.  Pour some buffalo or mild wing sauce over them, heat through, and serve in a burrito-sized tortilla/wrap of your choice with ranch or similar dressing, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, whatever your heart desires.  Easy and good imitation of bar food!

The Kitchen

Well, it's been a couple weeks since we received the keys to our house, and immediately the kitchen was the focus.  We saw the potential in this when we saw the house for the first time, and it turned out just how we liked it!  It has a cut out to the family room, and to the back is the dining room.  The door next to the pantry goes to the basement.  Nick just has to fix a tiny leak that's evident by the rag under the dishwasher, and we're done!

New House!

Hello dearest followers and fans!  I haven't been able to even be online much because we're so busy getting our new house ready for moving in next weekend!  The big project so far is the kitchen, where we replaced the faucet, Nick is fixing the walls and preparing them to be painted, and we ordered all new stainless steel appliances.  I can't wait!  By next weekend the kitchen should be all done and my new recipes will be posted from there!  We also have a great dining room that's got a wallpaper issue- it's quite ugly.  I'm working on taking that down so we can paint in there as well.  It's going to look awesome!!  So far I got the border down, and today I'm going to work on the rest.

 

Nick's dad helping us replace the faucet ...

 

My work so far in the dining room...

 

The kitchen is a bit of a mess, but it's going to be perfect when we're done!!

Recipe #103: Pumpkin-Peanut Curry Noodles with Five-Spice Seared Scallops and Shrimp

Longest recipe title yet.  This one is from Rachael Ray's Book of 10.  This hearty delicious Thai-style dish makes a little bit of a mess in the kitchen, but it's worth every dirty pot and pan.  Nick helped me make this, and it turned out great- maybe too many noodles.  You do NOT need a pound of noodles (unless you really want them...)  I used 10oz and still had too many, but you'll have to use less sauce so it's not soupy.  Adjust to your tastes and how many your feeding.

Also, be careful if you're using a zester or grater to mince your fresh ginger... I'm missing skin on three of my knuckles because the ginger slipped while I was grating it.  Not fun...

ANYWAYS, here goes:

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti (I recommend 10oz whole wheat spaghetti instead)
• Salt
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 inches ginger root, minced or grated
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup tamari dark soy sauce, eyeball it
• 1 (15-ounce) can cooked pumpkin
• 2 rounded tablespoonfuls mild or hot curry paste, found on international foods aisle
• 3 tablespoons five-spice powder
• 12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 10 jumbo or 12-14 large scallops, trimmed and patted dry
• 4 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces, then thinly sliced lengthwise into matchsticks

Directions

Heat a large pot of water for noodles. When water boils, salt it and add pasta to cook to al dente or with a bite to it.


While pasta cooks, heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil. Add garlic, ginger, red bell pepper, and pepper flakes to the pan and cook together a couple of minutes, then add peanut butter and melt it. Whisk soy into peanut butter, then stir in pumpkin and curry paste. The sauce will be very thick. Turn down the heat to low. Add a ladle or 2 of pasta cooking water to thin sauce a bit and simmer over low heat. Adjust salt, to taste.

Heat a small to medium skillet over high heat. Pour the five-spice powder onto a plate with some salt. Press both sides of the shrimp and scallops into the powder. Add 3 tablespoons of remaining oil to hot skillet. Place the shrimp in the pan and cook 1 minute, flip and sear the other side until just opaque. Remove shrimp to a plate and set aside. Add another 3 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and heat back up to smoking. Add the scallops and sear on both sides until opaque. Remove scallops and add to the plate of shrimp.


Drain pasta and return pasta to the pot. Add the curry-pumpkin sauce and toss thoroughly. Serve noodles on 4 plated and top with scallions and seafood

Recipe #102: BEEF JERKY!

A coworker from a previous job used to bring in his homemade beef jerky, and it was SO addicting... so addicting in fact that I asked for a dehydrator for my birthday to make my own!  This is better than any jerky you can buy in the store, and did I say it's ADDICTING??  Here's the recipe he gave me (from allrecipes.com) with some notes at the end...  (be sure to read them!)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef round steak, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon meat tenderizer
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Place beef strips in the bottom of a large bowl. Pour soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, brown sugar, salt, pepper, meat tenderizer, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika over beef. Mix to assure all the meat is evenly coated. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Remove meat from bowl and place between two pieces of plastic wrap; pound to 1/8-inch thickness.
3. Arrange the meat strips on the tray of a dehydrator and dry at your dehydrator's highest setting until done to your liking, at least 4 hours. Store in an airtight container or resealable bags. 

 Cutting the steak into strips

 We made a double batch

 In the marinade for an overnight soak

 One of five layers!

 My little minion!

NOTES!

1.  You can make spicy jerky by adding your powdered pepper of choice to the marinade.

2.  Meat on the bottom of the hydrator will dry faster, you must keep an eye on it and rotate out the "done" jerky as it finishes.  We couldn't fit all the beef in the hydrator at one, so I take from the bottom, then add new to the top until everything is finished.

3.  The jerky is done when it's not easy to bend the strips.

4.  No, you don't cook it first.

5.  Try not to eat it all at once.  You'll get heartburn.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Recipe #101: Cran-Orange Pork Chops

I've said before that I'm not the biggest fan of pork chops, but I'll definitely eat them again with this sauce! The cran-orange sauce that goes on these chops is so perfect with the pork.  This is a modified cook book recipe.  I couldn't find fresh, regular cranberries, so I used a can of them (but NOT cranberry sauce).  I also made the big mistake of reading the amount of orange concentrate wrong and used the whole can instead of 2 tablespoons, but I liked how much sauce it made.  Sometimes mistakes are a good thing!

INGREDIENTS:

Pepper and celery salt, to taste
2-4 pork loin chops (I used bone-in)
2 teaspoons cooking oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
2 tablespoons water (or chicken broth)
1 can cranberries (NOT the sauce)  (OR 1 cup of just cranberries)
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate (or as little as 2 tablespoons for less sauce)
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel (or zest)
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Season the pork chops, both sides, with pepper and celery salt.  Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat and add chops.  Cook chops and onion rings until chops are browned, turning once.  Add 2-3 tablespoons water (or broth) to the skillet and cover.  Cook over medium heat 15-20 minutes until no longer pink.  Remove onions with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Meanwhile, for the sauce, in a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, the orange juice concentrate, orange peel, sage, and salt.  Cook and stir over medium heat about 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens (I used a little flour since mine was a bit runny).  Stir in the onions; heat through.  Remove from heat.

Serve pork chops with sauce on top. 

The side I made was mushrooms sauteed in butter with dried rosemary, thyme, and sage.