We love lasagna in this house, it is a very fun thing to try a bunch of different ways! In this one I mixed chicken and spicy italian sausage, it came out great!
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
3 italian sausages
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 jar plus one cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 12 oz. container ricotta
2 1/2 cups mozzarella
3/4 cup shredded parmesan
8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, whipped
9 lasagna noodles, uncooked
Make It:
In a bowl mix together ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan, basil, and garlic. Taste and then add salt and pepper to your liking. Mix in egg, cover and set in refrigerator. Heat a large pot over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray add chicken to pan, cook till brown on all sides. Add italian sausage, stir, cook until browned. Add onion and bell pepper, stir, cook until softened about 5 minutes. Pour in spaghetti sauce, leaving the extra one cup out. Stir, allow to come to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover stir and cook for 15 minutes. Turn oven to 375 degrees. In a large casserole dish, Pour reserved cup of spaghetti sauce onto bottom, spread to cover bottom of pan. Stir 1 cup water into sauce. Begin layering lasagna, put noodles first, then 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, then 2 1/2 ladles of sauce, then 1/3 cup mozzarella, and a good sprinkle of parmesan. Continue the next two layers the same ending the top with the rest of the sauce and cheeses. Cover with saran wrap, and then foil. Bake on a cookie sheet for 45 minutes. Remove saran wrap and foil. Allow to bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven let sit for 15 minutes. Enjoy!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce
So my plan was to make chicken piccata, for the first time, but after I got home I decided I did not want to go through the trouble of breading the chicken. So this is what I made. It came out very tasty.
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, pounded thin
1/2 cup chardonnay
1/3 cup lemon juice, keep lemon halves
3 tablespoons butter, divided
salt and pepper
Make It:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Spray skillet with cooking spray. Salt and pepper each chicken breast on both sides, put in skillet 2 at a time. Cook for 2 minutes per side, remove to a cookie sheet. Once all four chicken breasts are done place them in oven for 15 minutes. Wipe out skillet, add 1 tablespoon butter, wine, lemon juice and reserved lemon halves to skillet, Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce by 1/2, should take about 10 minutes. Remove lemon halves. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to pan, allow to melt. Serve sauce over chicken. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, pounded thin
1/2 cup chardonnay
1/3 cup lemon juice, keep lemon halves
3 tablespoons butter, divided
salt and pepper
Make It:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Spray skillet with cooking spray. Salt and pepper each chicken breast on both sides, put in skillet 2 at a time. Cook for 2 minutes per side, remove to a cookie sheet. Once all four chicken breasts are done place them in oven for 15 minutes. Wipe out skillet, add 1 tablespoon butter, wine, lemon juice and reserved lemon halves to skillet, Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce by 1/2, should take about 10 minutes. Remove lemon halves. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to pan, allow to melt. Serve sauce over chicken. Enjoy!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Italian Sloppy Joe's
This is my third version of sloppy joe's. They have become a favorite in this house. They are quick, easy and filling with not to many ingredients. Good for a weeknight dinner.
Ingredients:
2 italian sausages
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic glove, chopped
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
8 pieces provolone cheese
4 ciabatta rolls, sliced in half
salt and pepper to taste
Make It:
Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef to pot, cook breaking up and stirring. Once browned drain off grease. Add italian sausage to pan, squeeze out of lining into pot, add bell peppers and onion to pot. Cook and stir, using a spoon to break up italian sausage, until sausage is browned and veggies are tender. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in spaghetti sauce, bring to a low simmer and cover, let cook for 5 minutes. Uncover add salt and pepper to taste and basil, stir to combine. Let cook for 5 more minutes. Put one piece of cheese on bottom piece of each roll. Spoon 1/4 of the meat mixture onto the cheese, place a second piece of cheese onto top of meat, continue with next 3 rolls. Place on a baking sheet, put under a broiler set to low. Broil until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Place top of rolls onto sandwiches. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 italian sausages
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic glove, chopped
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
8 pieces provolone cheese
4 ciabatta rolls, sliced in half
salt and pepper to taste
Make It:
Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef to pot, cook breaking up and stirring. Once browned drain off grease. Add italian sausage to pan, squeeze out of lining into pot, add bell peppers and onion to pot. Cook and stir, using a spoon to break up italian sausage, until sausage is browned and veggies are tender. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in spaghetti sauce, bring to a low simmer and cover, let cook for 5 minutes. Uncover add salt and pepper to taste and basil, stir to combine. Let cook for 5 more minutes. Put one piece of cheese on bottom piece of each roll. Spoon 1/4 of the meat mixture onto the cheese, place a second piece of cheese onto top of meat, continue with next 3 rolls. Place on a baking sheet, put under a broiler set to low. Broil until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Place top of rolls onto sandwiches. Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Creamy Italian Sausage Spaghetti
This is a fast one should take about 30 minutes. So nice to have fresh seasonal tomatoes again. I used spicy italian sausage but mild could be substituted if you do not like spice.
Ingredients:
3 italian sausage
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
7 oz. spaghetti
1/2 cup chardonnay
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic gloves, chopped
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
Make It:
Fill a large pot with water and place over high heat, cover, once boiling add spaghetti noodles, cook for 11 minutes. While spaghetti noodles are cooking, heat a large pot over medium high heat. Put italian sausage in pan by squeezing sausage out of lining. Break up sausage using a spoon, add bell pepper and onion to pan, stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes until sausage is not pink and veggies are tender. Drain of any excess oil. Add garlic and tomato to pan, stir to combine. Add wine to pan, cook for 5 minutes until wine is reduced to almost gone. Drain pasta, do not rinse. stir seasonings and cream and parmesan into pan. Allow to cook for a couple minutes till thickened slightly. Pour noodles into sauce and toss to combine. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 italian sausage
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
7 oz. spaghetti
1/2 cup chardonnay
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic gloves, chopped
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
Make It:
Fill a large pot with water and place over high heat, cover, once boiling add spaghetti noodles, cook for 11 minutes. While spaghetti noodles are cooking, heat a large pot over medium high heat. Put italian sausage in pan by squeezing sausage out of lining. Break up sausage using a spoon, add bell pepper and onion to pan, stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes until sausage is not pink and veggies are tender. Drain of any excess oil. Add garlic and tomato to pan, stir to combine. Add wine to pan, cook for 5 minutes until wine is reduced to almost gone. Drain pasta, do not rinse. stir seasonings and cream and parmesan into pan. Allow to cook for a couple minutes till thickened slightly. Pour noodles into sauce and toss to combine. Enjoy!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Menu for May 10th - May 16th
So I have had a cough for a week now, ugh. I'm hoping it goes away soon. Mothers day was fantastic, I wish it happened more than once a year! We got Kili's last book report done and turned in this week, and I can see the end of school coming. I'm very excited to have a break for a couple months. Going on this week we have Kili's open house at her school, and a birthday party. We finally made it back to the farmers market this week and it was wonderful. Sweet tomatoes, blueberries, cherries and white peaches. We also picked up snow peas, broccoli and a huge bunch of basil for a dollar. The kids were so excited, all I heard was mom can we have this mom can we have that. I have a dehydrater this season so I will be able to preserve fruit for winter, this week i'm making strawberry slices. I must have been craving italian food when I made this weeks menu. Except for tacos its all italian!
Monday- Creamy Italian Sausage Spaghetti, snow peas
Tuesday- Italian Sloppy Joe's, green salad
Wednesday- Chicken Piccata, masshed potatoes. peas
Thursday- Shredded Beef Tacos, carrot sticks
Friday- Ham and Veggie Calzone, broccoli
Saturday- Chicken and Sausage Lasagna, green salad
Sunday- Birthday Party
Dessert of the Week: Triple Chocolate Brownies
Monday- Creamy Italian Sausage Spaghetti, snow peas
Tuesday- Italian Sloppy Joe's, green salad
Wednesday- Chicken Piccata, masshed potatoes. peas
Thursday- Shredded Beef Tacos, carrot sticks
Friday- Ham and Veggie Calzone, broccoli
Saturday- Chicken and Sausage Lasagna, green salad
Sunday- Birthday Party
Dessert of the Week: Triple Chocolate Brownies
Friday, May 7, 2010
Leah's Slow Cooked Chicken
My new friend Leah e-mailed this recipe to me a couple weeks ago. I was so excited to put it on the menu. I used chicken thighs because I prefer them in the crock pot, but you can use breasts or a whole chicken cut up. I also used bone in thighs to give the sauce more flavor, when its done cooking you can just pull the bones out and throw them away. I used sun dried tomatoes that were in olive oil, next time I will rinse the oil off of them. I thought it tasted a little oily. Serve this over rice or noodles.
Ingredients:
8 skinless chicken thighs
3 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
Make It:
Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray. Put chicken thighs in first, then tomatoes, onion, olives, and basil. Pour chicken broth over top and stir lightly. Set on low for 8 hours. Turn crock pot on high and stir in cornstarch water mixture, recover for 10-20 minutes, till thickened. Taste and salt to your preference. Serve over noodles or rice and sprinkle with basil and parmesan. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
8 skinless chicken thighs
3 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
Make It:
Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray. Put chicken thighs in first, then tomatoes, onion, olives, and basil. Pour chicken broth over top and stir lightly. Set on low for 8 hours. Turn crock pot on high and stir in cornstarch water mixture, recover for 10-20 minutes, till thickened. Taste and salt to your preference. Serve over noodles or rice and sprinkle with basil and parmesan. Enjoy!
Tortellini Toss
This is adapted from a pampered chef recipe. They do their's in the microwave. I just can't cook a dinner in the microwave. If you don't care for spinach, switch it out with broccoli or asparagus. You can use chicken instead of ham if you prefer. This is also a very quick dinner, if you make the sauce while the tortellini cooks, this will take 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
1 ham steak cut into cubes
1 container tortellini noodles, cooked
2/3 cup shredded parmesan
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
8 oz. spinach, cooked
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
Make It:
Heat a large pot over medium high heat, add butter. Once butter is melted add garlic, cook for a minute. Add flour to pan, stir, cook for another minute. Pour milk in whisking to combine. Cook for a minute or two until thickened. Turn heat to low. Add ham and tortellini, stir to combine. Add spinach, cover pot for 2 minutes to wilt spinach. Stir in parmesan. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 ham steak cut into cubes
1 container tortellini noodles, cooked
2/3 cup shredded parmesan
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
8 oz. spinach, cooked
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
Make It:
Heat a large pot over medium high heat, add butter. Once butter is melted add garlic, cook for a minute. Add flour to pan, stir, cook for another minute. Pour milk in whisking to combine. Cook for a minute or two until thickened. Turn heat to low. Add ham and tortellini, stir to combine. Add spinach, cover pot for 2 minutes to wilt spinach. Stir in parmesan. Enjoy!
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