Classic Lasagna

http://www.simplyscratch.com/2012/11/classic-homemade-lasagna.html

 

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound Ground Beef (85/25 is good)
1 pound Ground Sausage (I used bulk pork sausage)
1 large Yellow Onion, chopped
2 whole Garlic Cloves, smashed, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon Dried Basil
1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
1 tablespoon Dried Parsley Flakes
1 {28 oz} can crushed tomatoes
12 ounces  (2 cans) Tomato Paste
3 cups Whole Milk Ricotta
2 whole Eggs
1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
4 cups {16 oz} Grated Mozzarella Cheese, divided
16 Oven ready Lasagna Noodles

 

DIRECTIONS:
For the Sauce:

In a large pot over medium heat, sauté chopped onions in a tablespoon of olive oil until they start to soften. Add in minced garlic, ground beef and the ground Italian sausage. Stir occasionally until the meat is browned.

Add in the kosher salt and a tablespoon of each basil, parsley flakes and oregano.

Add in the 12 ounces of tomato paste.

Add tomatoes and enough water to simmer.

Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 45 minutes – meanwhile, make the ricotta mixture.

In a large bowl combine the 3 cups of ricotta, two eggs, parsley, black pepper and a half cup of both Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese. Stir and keep in the fridge until ready to assemble the lasagna.

To Assemble the Lasagna:

Lightly coat a 13×9 baking pan with olive oil and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Spread 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of the baking pan.

Layer 1: Start with 4 noodles and top with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture {spread it out}. Spread out 1 to 1-1/2 cups of sauce, sprinkle with a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Mozzarella.

Layer 2: 4 Noodles and top with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, 1 cup of sauce and sprinkle a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Mozzarella.

Layer 3: 4 noodles, top with the remaining ricotta mixture, and 1 cup of sauce {no cheese}.

Layer 4: 4 remaining noodles, the remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cup or so of Mozzarella.

Bake the lasagna for 30-40 minutes {rotating the pan halfway through} or until cheese is thoroughly melted and golden. After baking let the lasagna sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Arroz con Pollo

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/arroz-con-pollo-recipe.html

Artichoke Raviolis with Tomatoes

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/01/artichoke-gaga/

Cream cheese pesto stuffed chicken breasts

http://mobile.eatingwell.com/recipes/cream_cheese_pesto_stuffed_chicken_breasts.html

Creamed Spinach

http://www.marthastewart.com/317508/easy-creamed-spinach

Ingredients:

• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 to 4 bunches (2 1/2 pounds total) flat-leaf spinach, trimmed and cleaned
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 medium onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 ounces bar cream cheese, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup milk
• pinch ground nutmeg

Directions

1. STEP 1

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spinach, and cook just until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander; rinse with cold water until cool. Squeeze spinach to remove as much liquid as possible; coarsely chop, and set aside.

2. STEP 2

   In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. STEP 3

   Add cream cheese and milk; cook, stirring, until cream cheese is melted and smooth. Stir in spinach. Simmer over medium heat until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. Add nutmeg; season with salt and pepper.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-cordon-bleu-recipe2.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-cordon-bleu-recipe.html

I combine both recipes – I used black forest ham and swiss cheese, gruyere can be substituted. Coat in flour/salt/pepper mix, egg, then breadcrumbs with garlic/salt/pepper/thyme. These are very difficult to roll up – toothpicks required. Bake for ~35 minutes. (one recipe says 20, one 40-45…)

Sausage/Spinach Breakfast Strata

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/the-ultimate-breakfast-for-dinner-sausage-and-spinach-egg-strata-recipe.html

Brown the cheese on top next time in the broiler. Maybe add mushrooms. Make sure to have enough bread in the mix or this won’t reheat well. I used Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage and that worked out well…sweet Italian would not have been as good. I didn’t let this sit overnight before baking and it still turned out fine.

 

Ingredients:

1 box or bag chopped frozen spinach
12 ounces bulk spicy breakfast sausage
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 pound stale white or French bread, cubed (7 to 8 cups)
12 eggs
2 cups milk or half-and-half
1/4 cup Dijon mustard (make sure to mix this in well)
2 cups shredded cheese…mozzarella works fine

Directions
Defrost the spinach in the microwave, and then wring out any excess liquid.

Brown and crumble the spicy breakfast sausage into a skillet, and then remove the crumbles to a plate. Return the skillet to the heat. Reduce the heat a little and melt the butter. To the skillet, add the onions and garlic and cook to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Then add the spinach and season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Turn off the heat and combine with the sausage bits.

Arrange half of the bread in a casserole dish.

Whisk the eggs with the milk, Dijon and some salt and pepper.

Scatter half of the sausage-spinach mixture over the bread, top with half the cheese, pour over half the eggs, repeat. Cover and store in the fridge at least overnight and up to a few days.

Bring the strata to room temperature for about 30 minutes before you bake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the center of the oven.

Set the casserole on a baking sheet and bake uncovered 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.