Lasagna

This is a basic, back of the box lasagna that can be modified in many ways of your choosing.

Though I usually cook this with meat, today I didn't include it and didn't miss it either.

A good recipe to either make-ahead or double and freeze.  Always goes fast! :)

 

 

Ingredients:

10-12 lasagna noodles
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (and or cheddar or a mixture of cheeses of your liking)
2 eggs
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large can (28 oz.) of diced tomatoes
Italian seasonings to taste (basil, oregano, parsley)

optional:
1 pound sausage and/or ground beef or turkey, cooked and drained
1 package spinach
1 can or fresh chopped mushrooms
1/2 of a red and/or green pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Preheat oven to 350. 
In large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese and eggs (also spinach if using).  Mix well. 

In saucepan, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil, saute onions and garlic.  Add tomatoes and seasonings to taste.  I usually add about a half cup of the pasta water.  Add cooked ground meat if using.

In a greased 15x9 inch baking dish (or two smaller casserole dishes), spread 1 cup sauce.  Layer lasagna noodles over sauce.  Top with a layer of cheese mixture then a layer of sauce.  Repeat. 

(Note:  you could also roll them individually like this

Once the dish is filled, sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil.  Bake 40 minutes.  Uncover, bake an additional 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  10-12 servings.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole obtained from artistforpeace on redbubble.com

THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKIN ABOUT BABY….This is one of my easy, delicious, go to dishes. It's great for a family night in but it's also a great dish that you can take to a friend. Just have everything in the pan ready to go, and finish cooking it there!

Directions:

1.  Pre-bake or boil chicken breasts, when tender, shred or cube/dice and set aside.
2.  In a saucepan, mix together cream of chicken soup, chicken broth and tomatoes.  Add onions/peppers and seasonings, cook on medium-high until veggies are semi-softened, approx 8 minutes.
3.  Cut tortillas in half.  Spray or grease baking dish (one 9x13 pan or two smaller dishes).  To begin, place tortillas in bottom of pan, overlapping edges.
4.  Layer: tortillas, chicken, 1/2 of liquids, and then 1/2 of the cheese
5.  Repeat.
6.  Bake uncovered @350 degrees for about 1 hour

Tips:

~ Serve with avocado slices, sour cream and jalapenos ala cart for the ’’hotties’’
~ Serve with lemonaid, mojitos, margaritas?
~ This dish is always better the next evening…so save some (hide it!) J Enjoy!

The King Ranch, located in south Texas between Corpus Christi and Brownsville, is one of the world’s largest ranches (85% as large as Rhode Island).  It is the largest ranch in the United States.  The 825,000 acres (3,340 km2; 1,289 sq mi) ranch, founded in 1853 by Captain Richard King and Gideon K. Lewis, includes portions of six Texas counties, including most of Kleberg County and much of Kenedy County, with portions extending into Brooks, Jim Wells, Nueces, and Willacy counties. The ranch does not consist of one single contiguous plot of land, but rather four large sections called divisions. Only two of the four divisions border each other, and that border is relatively short. The ranch was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.(wiki)

* 2 cans of cream of chicken soup

* 2 cups chicken broth (1 can)

* 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes

* 10 (approx) corn tortillias

* 3-4 large chicken breasts

* 1 large onion ~ chopped

* 1 med. green/red pepper ~ diced small

* Seasonings to taste (salt/pepper, bay leaf, garlic, basil, oregano, chili powder)

* 1 lg. pkg. shredded Mexican cheese (sometimes I use two packages of various cheeses)

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Ingredients: ·        2-3 large chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, chopped into bite size pieces ·        1 large yellow onion, peeled & sliced ·        1-2 large carrots, peeled & sliced ·        2 celery stalks, chopped ·        4-5 medium red potatoes, chopped ·        1-2 zucchini, sliced ·        1-2 yellow crookneck squash, sliced ·        1 cup frozen corn ·        1 can kidney beans, drained (optional) ·        1 can stewed tomatoes ·        bay leaf/salt/pepper/chili powder to taste

Preparation 

1.   Place chicken, onion, celery, salt and pepper in a 10 quart stock pot.  Fill pot with water until ingredients are fully covered and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 1/2 hour or until chicken is tender.

2.   Add the rest of ingredients to pot and increase temperature to medium heat.  Be sure to add additional water if ingredients are not fully covered (you can also add a can of chicken stock if you prefer not to use your own seasonings).  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes.

Note:  After cooling, this soup freezes well. 

Superbowl Sunday

For superbowl Sunday I made several things for my honey to snack on while yelling at the players on television.  It was a sad day for us Patriots fans, but at least our bellies were full!  And these little football trays were begging to be used! ;)

I've listed each dish individually here on my blog.  Click on the dish name to go directly to the recipe or just scroll down the blog.  I made:

Deviled Eggs

Potato Salad

Spinach Dip with Pita and French Bread

Eggrolls

Baked Subs

Pulled Beef Sandwiches



See how cute!

Pulled Beef Sandwiches

Number of hours cooking - 4-6 hours. Number of ingredients needed - 6 common ingredients. Number of pots/pans to cook in and clean - 1 slow cooker. Having an amazingly delicious dish on any day with little effort ... priceless!

Simply take a beef chuck roast, some garlic, dried rosemary, bay leaves, soy sauce and water and place it in a crockpot. Let it cook on medium for 4-6 hours or even longer. In fact, the longer, the better! The result is a super flavorful, extremely moist and juicy beef roast that falls apart. I shredded the beef (which was easy as it was falling apart) and placed it in between a toasted hamburger bun, then topped it with slices of provolone cheese. The au jus that develops is just as amazing and makes for a great thing to dip your sandwich into. It was one of the best sandwiches I've had in awhile and I'll definitely plan on making this again soon. This can also be made as a freezer meal!

Place roast in slow cooker. Season with garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves. Pour in soy sauce and water. Cook on medium setting for 4 to 6 hours.  

* 4 pounds beef chuck roast

* 1 tablespoon minced garlic

* 1 tablespoon dried rosemary

* 3 bay leaves

* 1 cup soy sauce

* 6 cups water

To serve, place in hamburger buns or split french bread and top with your preferred cheese if desired. Feel free to dip your sandwich in the au jus left in the slow cooker too!

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Place all the ingredients except the water into a gallon sized freezer storage bag; seal and freeze. When ready to prepare, defrost completely. Place contents into your slow cooker and add 6 cups of water. Cook on medium setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Spinach Dip

I got this recipe from make dinner easy and made it in my little fondue pot, which kept it nice and warm and gooey. :)

Slow Cooker
Fresh Spinach Dip

* 1 (8 ounce) bag of fresh baby spinach leaves
* 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into cubes
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 clove garlic, minced

1. Wash and drain spinach. Finely chop the spinach and place in a slow cooker.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir. It will look rather dry, but as it cooks the cheese melts and cooks the spinach.
3. In my fondue pot, I let this sit on low.  If cooking in a crockpot, cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally
4. Serve with pita chips and/or french bread

Deviled Eggs

I’ve never had a recipe written down. I usually just add the ingredients bit by bit until it tastes right.

• 12 eggs, hard cooked and peeled
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon yellow or Dijon mustard (or more depending on your taste)
• 1 tablespoon relish (my fiancé prefers sweet relish, I prefer regular)
• pinch of salt
• fresh ground black pepper (optional)
• paprika (optional)

After boiling, cooling, peeling, cut eggs in half (the long way helps them stand versus rolling around).  Remove yolks and put in a small mixing bowl.  Arrange egg whites cut side up on a serving plate (I have a cute little egg tray that I adore, you can get one for $7 at crate and barrel). Mash yolks with fork then stir in mayonnaise, mustard, and relish. Mash and stir all ingredients together well. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Spoon a little bit of the mixture into each egg white half, dividing mixture as evenly as possible between the eggs.  Sprinkle eggs with paprika if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield: 24 deviled eggs