Lauren's Lasagna

When I make lasagna it is usually pretty simple. You need the following ingredients:;

no boil lasagna noodles  (i use barilla)
red sauce (i usually use bertolli 4 cheese: 2 bottles typically)
parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese (3-4 cups? totally depends on your taste)
sausage (i use a package of johnsonville mild or sweet basil)
sometimes I add frozen (drained) spinach to the sausage and cook it together
white sauce (see this post for my white sauce recipe: http://dinnergroupohio.blogspot.com/2011/11/pasta-al-forno.html) you can double this recipe if you like a really creamy lasagna

You can layer these ingredients however you want to. I usually do something like this:

thin layer of red sauce
layer of noodles: 4-6 noodles (depending on size of pan)
1/3 of sausage mixture
1/3 of red sauce
1/3 of white sauce
layer of noodles
1/3 of sausage mixture
1 cup of mox. cheese approx.
1/3 of red sauce
1/3 of white sauce
layer of noodles
1/3 of sausage mixture
1/3 of red sauce
1/3 of white sauce
layer of noodles
thin layer of red sauce (hopefully you have a little left)
1 cup of mozarella cheese approx.
parmesan cheese.

But just follow the directions on the back of the lasagna box if you need to. It is really hard to mess this part up.
Bake according to box instructions.

Turkey Bacon Avocado Sandwich

This is pretty easy. Just a sandwich.

Ingredients:
muenster cheese (melt on the bread)
cracked pepper turkey
avocado spread (see below)
crumbled bacon
lettuce
optional: cucumber and red onion (soak onion slices in red vinegar for 15 min).

Avocado spread:
avocados sliced (I used 4)
plain greek yogurt (1 used one
garlic salt to taste
cut up tomatoes
lemon juice to taste

mix together...keep it chunky

Tacozagna

Click here for a link to the tacozagna recipe I made last week: Or just look below.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 1/2 pounds ground turkey or ground sirloin
• 1 zucchini
• 2 carrots, peeled
• 1 onion, peeled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons chili powder, 3 palm fulls
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2/3 palm full
• 1 tablespoon coriander, a palm full
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup beef stock
• 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Chihuahua cheese or Monterey Jack
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
• 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a large high sided skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the meat and brown, 5 minutes. While meat browns, grate the zucchini and carrots with a box grater. Add the vegetables to the meat and grate in the onion and garlic. Season the meat with chili, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and cook 7 to 8 minutes more to soften vegetables. Stir in beef stock. Grease a 8 by 13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil. Layer in 3 overlapping flour tortillas and top with 1/3 meat, 1/3 cheese. Repeat the layers twice and bake 10 to 12 minutes to brown cheese. Top with scallions, lettuce and tomatoes, cut into squares and serve.

Fancy Meatloaf

Ingredients (not including "fancy"  relish on top...see below for that)

2 lbs ground beef

3/4 old-fashioned oats

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 c. ketchup

1/4 c. milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup ketchup

3 T. brown sugar

2 tsp. mustard

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into 2 loafs (or divide among muffin tins). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes (or 15 minutes for muffin tins). Combine 1/2 cup ketchup, sugar, and mustard. Spoon over meatloaf. Serves 6.

To make it more "fancy" meatloaf, you can make the relish below and put it on top:

Relish:

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced 

2 bay leaves

1 red pepper, diced

1 (14oz) can petite diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (or 1 1/2 T. dried)

12 oz ketchup

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

4 slices of bacon

Saute onion, garlic, and bay leaves in olive oil over medium heat. Add bell pepper and saute till soft. Add tomatoes. Stir in parsley, ketchup, Worcestershire and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes; then remove from heat.

When making meatloaf, add 1 1/2 cups of relish to meat mixture. Follow the rest of the meatloaf directions above. After forming 2 logs and placing them on the cookie sheet, coat the top of each meatloaf with 1/2 cup relish. Lay bacon across the top lengthwise.

When done cooking, pull the meatloaf out from the oven and allow it to rest 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with extra relish on the side.

My notes: I think I doubled this recipe and it made A LOT (enough for 4 good sized logs). If you double it, keep in mind that you may not necessarily need to double ALL the ingredients...I did and it felt like it was falling apart really easily. After making it with the bacon, I don't really think the bacon is necessary. Neither is adding the relish directly to the meatloaf mixture before cooking (although it's fine if you want to). Having it on top (or on the side) is good enough in my opinion.

Sugared Almonds

The salad I made was just red leaf lettuce, strawberries, sugared almonds and raspberry vinaigrette. Nothing fancy, but here is how you sugar almonds in case you're wondering.

Stuffed Shells

This is the recipe I use for my stuffed shells (link is here). The Essence is not needed (I've made it with and without and either way it is still good). When I made this I used a little less than 2 boxes of shells and I almost doubled the stuffing ingredients (more like x1.5). Luckily, you don't have to have exact proportions on anything and it still turns out good. This is an especially great meal if you need to bring dinner to someone. After you assemble the shells they can put in the freezer until you are ready to use them. Then just thaw, put the topping on and throw in the oven. 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells (18 to 20 shells)
• 2 cups finely chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 pound ground veal (I just used sausage)
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Basic Red Sauce, recipe follows ( I just used jar sauce)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pasta shells, and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally with a long-handled spoon to prevent the shells from sticking together. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain.

In a medium skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until very soft, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the ground veal and cook, stirring, until cooked and browned. Add the squeezed spinach and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Add the spinach mixture, the extra-virgin olive oil, Essence, remaining teaspoon of salt, the basil, oregano, and pepper, and stir to combine thoroughly. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the spinach-ricotta filling into each cooked pasta shell. Place the filled shells in the prepared dish.

Pour the Basic Red Sauce over the filled shells and top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, until bubbly, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Joyce's Cheesecake

For the calzones, I used Kelsey's recipe although I didn't make the pizza dough from scratch (my attempt failed so I just bought dough from Market District). Here is my cheesecake recipe though. It is best if you leave it in the fridge for a day or two (or three) but I just served it the same day I made it.

Joyce's Cheesecake

Crust:
1-1/2 packages graham crackers. Place in gallon ziplock bag and crush with rolling pin.

In medium bowl:
1 cube butter, melted. Add crushed graham crackers and stir until well mixed. Pour into 9x13 baking pan, spread evenly and pat down firm.

Filling: In a blender mix...
3 (8oz) cream cheese (the real Philadephia stuff)
1 c. sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (I usually don't have this on hand and it still turns out okay)

Blend until creamy. Carefully pour over crust (do not clean out blender). Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes and let cool 5 minutes.

Topping:
In the same blender (remember don't rinse it out), mix...
2 cups sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbsp. sugar

Blend until creamy. Carefully pour over the baked filing and smooth even. Bake 10 minutes longer. Refrigerate several hours.

Roasted Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips and Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 medium carrots (about 3/4 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick circles
• 1 1/2 cups Brussels sprouts (about 1/2 pound), halved
• 4 cups red bliss potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices
• 3 medium parsnips (about1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices
• 1 cup sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

(I didn't have oregano when I made this)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet pan with extra-virgin olive oil. Place vegetables in baking sheet and add the dried herbs, salt and pepper. Toss well, evenly coating all the vegetables with the seasonings and oil. Add more oil if the vegetables seem dry

Spread the vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet. Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Breaded Pork Chops

Parm-Breaded Pork Chops

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
2 Tbsp. 2% milk (I used whole)
1 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers (I used Ritz)
3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted
6 boneless pork loin chops (4 oz. each)

1. Place flour in a shallow bowl. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk egg and milk. In a third shallow bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, salt and pepper. Dip pork in flour, in egg mixture, then in cracker mixture.
2. Place butter in a 13in x 9in. baking dish; add pork chops. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a thermometer reads 145 degrees (I cooked them for about 40 minutes). Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: I made this recipe with 12 pork chops and so I basically doubled the recipe although I don't think you have to be too specific about the measurements. I served with vegetables and bread. Would be good with rice too.

Thai Masaman Curry

Thai Masaman Curry

Ingredients:

-1 can coconut milk (19 or 13 oz size)
-1T Masaman curry paste
-2T peanut butter, creamy works best
-1lb. chicken or beef, sliced in very thin strips
-3T fish sauce (I don't use this)
-4T sugar
-1/2 T tamarind paste
-2 potatoes, (2 small or 1 large) diced in one-inch cubes
-1/4 cup water
roast peanuts and/or cashews

Directions:

Pour coconut milk into pot over medium heat. Add masaman paste and peanut butter. Heat for one minute.

Add beef or chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Add fish sauce, sugar, tamarind paste, yellow onion, and potatoes.

Add water and gently simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes or until eat is cooked and potatoes soft.

Last, add roasted peanuts or cashews and turn of heat.
Serve over rice.

Note: When you double this or make it for a large group, keep in mind that there is not a lot of liquid in this recipe so you might want to actually triple the amount of coconut milk (or maybe use normal milk). I doubled this but found that I could have used a little more liquid. Ingredients can be found at an asian store. I went to one off Sawmill near Joanns. It took a little searching. You are free to use my masaman curry and tamarind paste if you want to make this because I have LOTS.

Lauren

Healthy Corn Chowder

• Corn Chowder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion , diced
• 5 garlic cloves , chopped
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups red bell peppers , seeded and chopped 
• 2 carrots , peeled and coined
• 2 cups corn (frozen, fresh or canned)
• 1 potato , peeled and diced
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated skim milk
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans (or Great Northern beans or other white beans)

Directions:

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium-high heat.
2. 2
   Add the onion and garlic (and the peppers, if they are frozen) and saute' for two minutes.
3. 3
   Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. 4
   Add (the peppers if fresh), carrots and corn and stir well.
5. 5
   Stir in the potato, milk, broth, and thyme.
6. 6
   Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes (until the potatoes are tender).
7. 7
   While it simmers, drain and rinse the beans (helps eliminate the 'toot' factor) and them mash them with a fork in a small bowl until they form a paste.
8. 8
   Stir the beans into the soup and cook until warmed or ready to eat.
9. 9
   Serve hot.
10. 10
    For Vegetarian use the Vegetable Broth of course.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/healthy-corn-chowder-227627#ixzz1jSP1gKlP

Lauren

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

This is a pretty easy recipe is usually my go to recipe for bread. However, I always forget that I need time to let it rise. It is best if you start in the morning so you can let it rise a few times. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup honey
• 5 cups bread flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

Wild Rice Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

-1 c. brown rice or 1 (6 oz) box white and wild rice mix
-3 T. Balsamic Vinegar
-1 T. brown mustard
-2 T. honey
-1/4 t. salt
-1/4 t. pepper
-1/4 c. vegetable oil
-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
-2 apples, cored and chopped
-2 c. grapes, halved
-6 scallions, chopped
-3 large ribs celery, chopped
-1/2 c. pecans (candied if you have time)
1/2 c. Craisins
3/4 c. feta cheese
-3 c. chopped romaine lettuce (optional)

* note: when I made this I didn't include celery or scallions. I really like the Balsamic vinegar from Giant Eagle Market District called "Traditional Balsamic". I think it is the best tasting Balsamic you can find in Ohio and adds a great flavor. If you aren't going to serve immediately, I would leave out the apples because they brown quickly.

[If you do not have chicken already cooked, heat 1 T. oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cut chicken into tenderloin strips, season with salt and pepper, and saute 4-6 minutes til cooked through and lightly browned. Cube chicken.]

1. Prepare rice according to directions on package.
2. In a large bowl, combine apples, grapes, scallions, celery, pecans, craisins, feta and lettuce. Add chicken and toss.
3. In a small bowl, mix vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Whisk in 1/4 c. vegetable oil. Pour over rice mixture and toss.
4. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve cold. Serves 4. (So I would double above quantities for meal group)

I recommend serving with fresh baked wheat bread.

Pasta al Forno

Pasta al Forno (I just winged this. Quantities listed should feed 8-12 adults at least)

Ingredients

-2 boxes rigatoni
-beschamel sauce (recipe below)
-2 jars red sauce (store bought)
-1 package sausage
- 2-4 cups of mozarella cheese
- parmesan to taste

Beschamel sauce: (I usually double this because I like a lot of white sauce but the quantities listed below will probably still give you enough if you want it less creamy)

-3 cups whole milk (I just use whatever milk I have...usually 1% or 2%)
-6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
-6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
sea salt

Directions:

Cook sausage. Cook pasta al dente (I usually cook 8-9 minutes). Prepare beschamel sauce. You will want to have about 10 minutes of uninterrupted time to make the beschamel sauce so it doesn't burn. When you're done, layer all the ingredients any way you want. I usually start off with some red sauce on the bottom and a layer of rigatoni. I usually don't put cheese on every layer but how you do it is up to you. Top it off with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan to taste. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. I usually cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes and then cook it 5 minutes without the foil.

Directions for beschamel sauce: In a sauce pan of medium heat, heat the milk until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Meanwhile, in a heavy, nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until a thick, smooth paste forms, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Slowly drizzle 1-2 Tablespoons of the hot milk into the flour paste while whisking constantly. The mixture will immediately become thick and lumpy. Continuing to whisk vigorously, add the milk about 2 tablespoons at a time. The Sauce will gradually become smooth. After adding about 1/2 cup of the milk, slowly add the remaining milk in a thin, steady stream while whisking constantly. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, return the pan to medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 1 minute. Makes about 2 cups.

Pork Chops with Rice

Yummy Pork Chops (has sort of a sweet and sour flavor)

-6 pork chops
-1c. chopped onion
-1/2 c. ketchup
-1/4 c. brown sugar
-3 T vinegar (I use Balsamic)
-1 T soy sauce
-1/2 t. salt
-1/4 t pepper

Brown pork chops in a fry pan. Transfer to baking dish and cover with onions. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over pork chops. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. When it's done cooking I usually cut up each pork chop into bite size pieces and return it to the pan. Serve with cous cous or rice. This recipe is GREAT for feeding a large group of people and is especially easy if you want to do most of the work ahead of time and just put it in the oven an hour before dinner time. As written would probably only feed about 6 people so I always double for dinner group. I like to make a little extra sauce too  (2.5 times the quantities listed above) because I like it extra saucy.

Lauren.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef 1 small onion, chopped 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn,

drained 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained 6 cups corn tortilla chips 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup chopped green onion (I didn't include this)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a skillet over medium heat, cook beef and onion until beef is browned; drain. Place beef mixture in slow cooker with taco seasoning, tomato sauce, corn, and beans.
2.	Cover, and cook on Low 2 hours. To serve, put a handful of corn chips in each bowl, and top with soup, cheese, and green onions. note: I used cannenelli beans instead of regular kidney beans and also added black beans and northern beans. Served with corn bread. Lauren

Zucchini and Andouille Sausage

Zucchini and Andouille Sausage

½ c. brown rice, uncooked

Chicken broth

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. andouille sausage links (preferably precooked), sliced into disks

2 large zucchini, large diced

1 (14 oz.) can Italian style diced tomatoes

Parmesan cheese



1. Cook rice according to directions, substituting chicken broth for water.

2. In a large, deep skillet or dutch oven, coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Over medium-high heat, sauté onion ‘til soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.

3. Add sausage and sauté, stirring occasionally until all the sausage pieces have nice crispy brown edges. Add zucchini and season with salt and pepper.

4. Stirring occasionally, sauté until zucchini is crisp-tender. Add diced tomatoes and rice and simmer for 4 minutes. Note: it will look very “soupy” at this point. Don’t fret. That fixes itself once it has a chance to rest.

5. Turn off heat, and allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes. Ladle in bowls and shower with parmesan cheese.


Lauren

Jamaican Pork Chops with Tropical Fruit Salsa

Jamaican Pork Chops with Tropical Fruit Salsa 
2/3 cup prepared Italian salad dressing
1/3 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayanne Pepper Sauce
1/3 cup lime juice
2T Brown sugar
2t dried thyme leaves
1 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground cinnamon
6 loin pork chops, cut 1 inch thick -about 2.5 pounds 


Place Salad dressing, redhot sauce, lime juice, sugar and seasonings in blender or food processor. Cover and process until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup dressing mixture for Tropical Fruit Salsa. Place pork chops in large resealable plastic food storage bag. Pour remaining dressing mixture over chops. Seal bag and marinade in refrigerator 1 hour. 


Place chops on grid, reserving dressing mixture. Grill over medium coals 30 minutes or until pork is juicy and barely pink in center, turning and basting frequently with dressing mixture. do not baste during last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve chops with Tropical Fruit Salad. 


Tropical Fruit Salsa: 
1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
2 T finely chopped red onion.
1T minced fresh cilantro leaves  
combine pineapple, mango, onion, cilantro and reserved 1/2 cup dressing mixture in small bowl. Refrigerate until chilled.


Lauren