Lazy July Lasanga

So I was recently told that Lasanga is very difficult to make by someone who doesn't cook.  Well here is the truth, lasagna is super easy to make (and its delicious).

Ingredients:
One package no cook lasagne noodles (I prefer Barilla)
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese
2 eggs
4 cups part-skim grated mozerella
1 cup fresh grated parmessean
1 package pork or turkey sausage (I like jennie-o lean turkey sausage and Jimmy Dean lean pork sausage)
1 package frozen spinach thawed
2 jars pasta sauce ( I prefer Ragu Parmessean Romano Robusto)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In medium skillet cook the sausage until done.  Place sausage on a plate covered with paper towels to drain. 

In a medium bowl mix together ricotta, 2 cups mozerella, 1 cup parmessean, and 2 eggs.  Set aside. 

Pour one cup of sauce evenly over the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking dish.  Place 4 lasagne noddles across the bottom of the baking dish (may overlap); cover with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, cover with 1/2 of the browned sausage; cover with 1 cup grated mozerella; cover with 1 cup of sauce. 

Place 4 lasagne noodles over the top; cover with 1/3 the ricotta mixture; cover evenly with the thawed spinach; cover with 1 1/2 cups sauce.  Place 4 lasagne noddles over the top; cover with remaining ricotta mixture, cover with remianing sausage; cover with 1 cup of sauce.  Place 4 lasagne noodles over the top; cover with remaining sauce; cover with remaining mozerella. 

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the sides are bubbly.  Take out of the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.  Serve and enjoy.

Double Chocolate Cranberry Magic Bars that Melt in the Hot July Sun

These are fun and easy and delicious.  They taste like candy.  I recommend cutting small bars as they're rich.  They're delicious wth vanilla ice cream on a hot summer afternoon.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 stick butter
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 cups coconut flakes
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place butter in a 13 by 9 inch baking dish and place in oven until melted.  Pour the Graham Cracker Crumbs into the melted butter and mix.  press the crumb mixture into bottom of the baking dish.  Evenly spread chips, cranberries, coconut and walnuts over the graham Cracker crumb mixture.  Evenly pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the bars.  Bake for 25 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting.  Enjoy!

Summer Vegetable Casserole for a Lazy Summer Solstice

What can I say, this was amazing and easy.  I had three slices (approximately 1/3 of the casserole) in one go.  You should definitely try it!

Ingredients:
1 large tomato cut into slices
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 medium sized eggplant cut into thin rounds
1 large yellow squash cut into thin rounds
1 small red pepper thinly sliced
1 small purple pepper thinly sliced (use green, orange or yellow if purple not available)
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1 package reduced fat pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean; can substitute turkey sausage if so desire)
1 2 cup package shredded sharp cheddar Cheese
1 cup shredded Monteray Jack Cheese
About 8 Tbsp. sour cream
1 pre-prepared pie crust roll

Directions:
Cook the sausage over medium heat until browned and set aside.  In a skillet heat the oil over medium to medium hi heat.  Add the sliced eggplant, squash, and peppers and one teaspoon salt plus more to taste.  Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft (about 10 minutes).  Grease a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with pam.  Cover the bottom of the pan with an even layer of sliced tomatoes.  Pour the diced tomatoes evenly over the tomato slices.  Spread athe pork sasuage evenly over the tomato layer.  Spead the cooked eggplant mixture over the top of the pork sausage layer.  Spread the cheeses evenly over the top.  Put 8 (1 Tbsp each) doloops of sour cream randomly on top.  Cover with a pre-prepared pie crust; you may need to cut off a little and add to the edges.  Bake for thirty minutes or until sides are bubbling and top is lightly browned.  Let sit 10 minutes, then serve.

Strawberry Rhubarb Bars for a Hot and Sunny Easter Sunday

I made this as a light Easter dessert.  It's fruity and fun and best when served with fresh vanilla ice cream.  It's slightly tart and pairs perfectly with ice cream or whipped cream, or both!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 cups flour
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tsp. cinnamon

Filling:
32 oz. strawberries sliced
1 stalk rhubarb sliced thinly into nickel sized slices
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/4 cup cold water

Topping:
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
1 Tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar

For Crust:  Combine all ingredients using a food processor or pastry knife until coarse crumbles.  Spread evenly over bottom of a jelly roll pan.  Bake for 20 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven.

For Filling:  Place all but 1 1/2 cups of strawberries, rhubarb, 3/4 cup water, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan cook on medium-high stirring constantly until relatively thick.  Mix corn starch with cold 1/4 cup water until combined.  Add to strawberry mixture and cook on high until mixture is thick.  Pour over crust.  Sprinkle the reserved 1 1/2 cups of uncooked strawberries over top.

For crust:  Combine all ingredients with food processor or pastry knife until coarse; spread evenly over the filling.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until crumble topping is lightly browned.  Cool for 5 to 10 minutes.  Cut into bars and serve.  Best served with ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes about 32-40 bars.

Cheesy Bread with Hearty Beef Tomato Sauce for a Cold and Stormy Spring Night

So for a lack of specific ingredients, I made these two dishes up this week; and they taste amazing together!  This is seriously one of my new favorites.  I actually made the Cheesy Bread as a side at a dinner party and it is delicious by itself (it is basically a savory bread pudding or a savory french toast casserole).  However, it is amazing when covered with the Hearty Beef Tomato Sauce.  I highly recommend you try this on a cool spring day, before its Summer and it is too hot to cook anything in the oven.

I love to buy the day old Hearty Italian Loaves from Market Street Wine Shop in downtown Charlottesvillle.  They are always on sale and still taste amazing!

Cheesy Bread:

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. of butter
5 eggs
1 cup milk
1 (15 oz.) container of part-skim ricotta (or you can use 1 brick low fat cream cheese cut into cubes
2 cups shredded Pizza Cheese (*optional for cheese lovers))
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 large french loaf, Garlic Parmesan Skillet Bread or loaf of your choice cut into cubes (can be older bread) or
1 tomato diced (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the butter in a 13X9 inch baking dish.  Bake the butter in the oven until melted.  Make sure the butter evenly covers the bottom of the dish, place aside.

Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl; add the milk, 1/2 of the ricotta, cheese if desired, salt and pepper; mix to combine.  Pour the butter from the baking dish into the egg mixture and stir to combine; leave a layer of butter in the bottom of the baking dish.  Add the bread to the egg mixture and mix to combine covering all the bread cubes.  Pour half of the bread mixture into the 13X9 baking dish and spread evenly.  Add about 1 tsp. sized drops of ricotta randomly over top, using half of the remaining ricotta.  Cover with remaining bread mixture.  Add about 1 tsp. sized drops of ricotta randomly over top, using remaining Ricotta.  Spread diced tomato evenly on top if desired. Bake covered at 350 degrees for40 minutes.  Remove cover and bake for 10 more minutes at 400 degrees or until set and lightly browned on edges.

Cheesy Bread before going into the Oven:

Cheesy Bread after being baked:

While the cheesy bread is baking make:

Hearty Beef Tomato Sauce

or...

Hearty Sausage Tomato Sauce

Rouladen for a Surprising Chilly March Night Dinner Party with an Ecclectic Group of Guests

Rouladen is one of my favorite  family recipes.  This recipe has been passed down at least since my Great grandmother.  My Mom makes it for special occasions and it is delicious.  It is also much simpler than it looks; i.e. people will be impressed, but it's not that hard to make.  It also has only a handful of ingredients which makes grocery shopping a breeze.  It is best served with mashed potatoes (I prefer garlic mashed potatoes; garlic makes everything better...as does bacon).  Oh, on a side note, this dish smells amazing and is great leftover too!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
About 2 lbs thinly cut sirloin or other comparable meet cut into 1 1/2 inch wide by 6-8 inch long pieces
1 lb bacon (cut in half)
about 25 baby carrot cut in half lengthwise
1 sweet onion cut into 1 inch long slices
4 cups beef broth (I use 4 Knorr beef bouillon cubes and 4 cups water)
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
toothpicks
Makes about 25 pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Take each 2 by 6-8 inch piece of steak and lay flat.  Lay a piece of bacon on top, place 2 carrot halves and some onion at one end and roll the steak and bacon up around it.  Secure each rouladen with a toothpick(s).  If you think you are going to have extra bacon slices, then put two slices of bacon in some of the bigger rouladen (I always use the whole pound of bacon and I suggest you do the same, it adds a lot of flavor; and, on a similar note, I always use all the onion.  If some pieces have more onion than others, who cares, this isn't a science experiment).  Next roll each rouladen in flour (coat all sides).  Heat your oil and butter in a large skillet at medium high heat.  Cook the rouladen until browned on all sides.  You may need to do this is batches if they don't all fit at once.  Place the browned rouladen in a 13X19 inch dish or other  large oven-safe dish with a lid (if you don't have a dish with a lid, use aluminum foil).  Using the pan with the leftover butter, oil and rouladen bits boil 4 cups of water and add 4 beef bouillon cubes (I prefer Knorr); cook until bouillon cubes are absorbed.  Pour over the rouladen.  place rouladen in the oven with the lid on and bake at 350 for 1 to 3 hours.  The longer it cooks to more tender it will become.  You may need to add more beef broth if you cook for longer than 1 1/2 hours.  Check to make sure rouladen is covered with broth at all time or it may get dry.  Serve with mashed potatoes.  The beef broth becomes a great gravy.

Hint:  I prefer to use a cast iron dish to bake this in, I think it makes it taste better.

Classic Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

Ingredients:
7-10 medium potatoes (I like to leave the skin on, its good for you)
2cups sour cream
1/2 to 1 cup milk
2 Tbsp salt
1 tsp. black pepper
3 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 stick butter

Directions:
Fill a large pot 1/2 to 3/4 full with cold water.  Add salt to water and bring to a boil.  In the meantime, clean your potatoes and cut out any bad spots.  Cut your potatoes into 1 inch thick chunks.  When the water is boiling add the potatoes and cook until soft (use a fork to test; don't let the potatoes start falling apart).  While potatoes are cooking heat your butter in a small saute pan on medium to medium high heat.  Then add the garlic and saute until garlic is soft.  Add 1/2 cup of milk, turn off heat, and let sit until potatoes are done.  One potatoes are cooked drain the water and add the garlic milk mixture, sour cream and pepper to the potatoes.  Mash the potatoes.  If potatoes are too think, add more milk until desired consistency is reached.  Serve with dish of your choice (or rouladen above).

Chicken Cassoulet for a Full Moon and Lots of Friends

I love this dish.  Its a bit of prep work, but its not difficult.  I have been working on making the prep work more managble and have updated the recipe.  I make it when I have a lot of really close friends coming over for dinner or if I am in a "cozy" mood.  My sister, her boyfriend and her two good friends came to visit me this month and I made it for them.  It was just what we needed after a day of beer and wine tasting in the country.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 package bacon sliced into small pieces
1 large sweet onions diced
1 pounds Chicken Breast chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
1 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 + 1 cup chicken stock
3 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 Tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. parsley (use fresh if you have it)
1 tsp. sage (use fresh if you have it)
1/4 tsp. thyme (optional)
2 links Low Fat Turkey or Chicken Sausage chopped into 1/4 inch slices (Hillshire Farms or Jennie-O lean kielbasa sausage works great, however just use one large link, Jennie-O Lean Mild Turkey Sausage, or any other low-fat turkey or chicken sausage will work; you can also simply use a whole package of bacon and leave the sausage out)
1 cup baby carrots cut in half (or 1 cup carrots, cut carrot in half lengthwise, then into 1 inch long slices)
1 (15 oz.) can Cannellini beans (Great Northern Beans)
1/4 stick (2 Tbsp.) butter
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp. parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Fry bacon in a large saute pan.  Once bacon is crisp, place on plate with paper towels to drain; reserve oil. 

Put 1 Tbsp. reserved bacon oil in the same (unwashed) saute pan and cook onions at medium heat until soft.  Put onion on plate and set aside. 

Put 1 Tbsp. reserved bacon oil in the same (unwashed) saute pan and cook chicken until done (approximately 8 minutes). 

If using precooked suasage, then skip this step.  If your sausage is raw, cook it over medium heat in a saute pan until done.  Set aside.

Mix tomatoes, wine, garlic, salt, pepper, 1/2 Tbsp.  parsley, sage, thyme together in a mixing bowl.  Set aside.

Evenly distribute, bacon, chicken, sausage, onions and carrots in a 13X9 inch casserole dishes (I use a cast iron casserole dish with a lid that is oven safe).  Cover evenly with the tomato mixture.  Pour two cups of chicken broth evenly over the casserole.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake covered for 45 minutes.  Remove the casserole from oven, add remaining cup of chicken stock and beans to casserole; and mix.  Bake covered for 30 more minutes.

While casserole is baking, melt butter in a saute pan; and mix with 1 tsp. parsley and breadcrumbs; cook until lightly browned over medium heat.  Remove the casserole from the oven and top the casserole with the bread crumb mixture (make sure to spread bread crumbs evenly).  Bake uncovered 30 more minutes.  Serve hot.  Can be served with rice, but it is great alone too.

Tip:
Since this takes some time to prepare, I often double the recipe.  Then simply freeze one casserole.  To do this, simply follow the steps above, except double everything.  Then distribute the bacon, chicken, sausage, onions and carrots evenly between two 13X9 inch casserole dishes (I use a cast iron casserole dish with a lid that is oven safe). Cover each casserole evenly with half the tomato mixture. Pour two cups of chicken broth evenly over the casserole you plan to bake.  Follow reamining instructions for the casserole you are baking.  Freeze the other casserole and add the chicken broth prior to cooking.  Simply thaw, mix in chciken broth, then follow cooking instructions above, and remember to add the breadcrumbs.  You can also store the 2nd batch in tubberware in the freezer, then thaw and then pour into a casserole dish before baking.

Serves 6-8.

Chocolate Almond Toffee for a Sunny Saturday

Chocolate Almond Toffee for a Sunny Saturday

This is the easiest candy to make and its delicious.  So, if you are new to candy making, it is a great starter recipe.  It is great to give as gifts at Christmas time, or really for any occasion.  I made it because my Mom and sister were coming into town and I wanted them to have a yummy dessert to snack on.  Serve with coffee, or as we did this weekend, a good red wine.

Just between us, a little trick my grandmother taught me, never make candy on a rainy day.  It just doesn't turn out as well.

Ingredients:
16 oz. whole raw unsalted almonds (or other raw unsalted nuts of your choosing)
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
2 3.5 oz. bars of Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate

Directions:
Pour almond evenly onto a 13 X 9 inch jelly roll pan (i.e. a baking sheet with sides).  Almonds should be scattered but next to each other and may not cover the entire pan.  Melt butter in a medium sauce pan on medium high heat and add the brown sugar.  Cook, stirring constantly, until temperature reaches about 270 degrees.  If you do not have a candy thermometer, cook for about 5 minutes until the mixture is very thick and bubbling (mixture will also expand in size).  Do not allow sugar to burn!  Immediately pour the hot mixture over the almonds as evenly as possible (mixture is very difficult to spread once poured).  Break up the chocolate bars into quarter sized pieces and scatter evenly on top of the hot toffee. Wait about 5 minutes, then spread the chocolate evenly with a spatula.  Place in refrigerator to harden for approximately 30 minutes.  Break into chunks and serve.  Store in refrigerator for a longer shelf life.

This is also good with walnuts, peanuts, cashews or hazelnuts.

If you do not have chocolate bars, then you can use chocolate chips instead.  I would recommend using milk chocolate chips.  Scatter chips on the hot toffee until covered and spread according to the recipe after 5 minutes.

Creamy Bacon Corn Chowder for a Snowy Afternoon at Home

  So on Wednesday my office closed early due to some crazy winter weather.  First there was a lot of rain, then a downpour of sleet, next there was hail and finally it ended with an evening snow.  I decided to make the most of my afternoon off by making Creamy Bacon Corn Chowder.  I generally make this with whatever I have lying around the house (and I rarely make it with every optional ingredient since undoubtedly I will be out of something and generally after a long day the last place I want to be is at the grocery store).  Thus, there are many optional ingredients; and they really are optional, make it with what you have available or try adding something new.  Regardless of what you may have on hand, it will turn out great.  It's a hearty filling soup perfect for a snow day.

Ingredients:


1/2 lb bacon chopped (if you love bacon try adding a whole pound, bacon makes everything better)
1 onion chopped
1 sweet potato cubed (or use potato if desired)
2 Tbsp. Garlic
2 sticks of celery finely sliced (optional)
2 carrots finely sliced (optional)
1/2 bell pepper chopped (any color will do; optional)
1 tomato diced (optional)
4 cups frozen yellow corn (feel free to substitute fresh corn off the cob or canned corn)
1/2 cup white wine
1 Tbsp fresh chopped sage (or 2 tsp. dried sage)
1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour (or more if needed)
2 1/2 cups skim milk (or more if needed)
more salt and pepper to taste
Shredded Cheddar Cheese for serving (optional)

Directions:

Cook the bacon on medium heat in a large soup pot until crispy.  Please bacon on a plate covered in  paper towels to drain; set aside.  Pour out all but 2 Tbsp. of the bacon oil.  Cook the onion, sweet potato, garlic, celery, carrots and bell pepper in the oil on medium high heat until the onion is transparent (about 6 minutes).  Add the tomato and corn.  Cook on med high for 5 minutes or until corn is thawed.  Add the wine, sage, pepper, salt, nutmeg, bay leaves and cook on medium high heat for an additional 5 minutes.  Add the chicken stock; and bring to a boil.  Then turn down heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, make your roux.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Add the flour and stir with a small whisk while incorporating the milk.  Cook on medium-high heat stirring constantly until mixture is thick (should be consistency of cake batter).  Once the roux is prepared, set aside.  Add the roux to the soup slowly after the soup has simmered for 10 minutes.  Add bacon.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I prefer this soup hearty and chunky, but you can blend the soup in a food processor if you prefer a smooth consistency.  Serve your soup with shredded cheddar on top, if desired.

Serves a lot!

Triple Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies for a Cold and Rainy Night

    I got home from work last night craving cookies.  It was dismal out and icy/rainy and cookies seemed like the best way to brighten up my day.  I wanted something quick and delicious and Triple Chocolate Cherry Cookies seemed like the best option...

    These are my absolute favorite cookies.  As an added bonus, they are relatively low-guilt for a cookie with less butter and eggs than traditional cookie recipes.  I tend to make up for that fact by eating way too many, but oh well.  These cookies are quick and easy to make; and they're delicious.  I highly recommend you try them out for yourself!

Ingredients:
10 Tbsp. Butter (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp. butter)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3 Tbsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup dried cherries (or may substitute dried cranberries)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional; may also use other nuts of your own preference)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mix master cream butter and sugars. 

Add egg and vanilla and beat until blended.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in remaining ingredients just until incorporated. 

Form into 1 inch balls and drop unto ungreased cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart.  Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned.  Cool on a wire rack.  Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

May substitute milk chocolate chips for semi-sweet chocolate chips, or vice versa depending on what you have available.