New Lasagna Recipe (From Scratch)

Tonight I gave a homemade lasagna recipe a try. The only thing I didn't make were the noodles, since they take so much special equipment. It was really fresh and full of flavor, so I would vote that it was completely worth the effort...it's only time consuming, not labor intensive. I even had a little sauce leftover, which I plan to freeze for a tortellini night later. The sauce was so tasty, I will be making it for spaghetti nights too! To round out the meal, I made caprese salad and garlic toast. It made for a really nice meal with plenty of leftovers for a busy week.

The recipe calls for sweet Italian sausage. I gave it a try, but will probably try spicy next time to give it an extra kick. The recipe also called for an additional 3/4 pound ground beef in the sauce to accompany the Italian sausage, but I opted to leave that out and add in some extra mozzarella to the final product.

Sauce
1 package sweet Italian turkey sausages, casings removed
1/2 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 cans tomato paste (6 oz each)
2 cans tomato sauce (6.5 oz. each)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. sugar
1.5 tsp. dried basil
0.5 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

In a large pot, cook sausage, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Add sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and parsley. Simmer on low, covered, for about 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Lasagna
Meat Sauce
9 lasagna noodles
16 oz. Ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
3/4 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.

While noodles are boiling, mix ricotta cheese with the egg 2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

To assemble, spread 1.5 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with one third of the mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1.5 cups meat sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and baked uncovered an additional 25 minutes.

Note: To keep foil from sticking, spray it with cooking spray before covering dish.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever, Hands-Down

Leatta shared this chocolate chip cookie recipe with me a couple of years ago, and after tasting these cookies, I started making them on a regular basis. This is the cookie recipe that led to the passage of the "no break-n-bake cookies at our house" rule (Jeff has even learned to make these cookies). With the addition of a Kitchen Aid Mixer (use the paddle attachment) to our kitchen a couple of years ago, this recipe is now almost as easy as making break-n-bake cookies. I can also say that these cookies have passed multi-state taste testings, and are just as popular in my new office as they were in my old one.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups milk chocolate chips (I usually just go by sight here and I use milk chocolate because Jeff likes them best and it's something a little different)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Melt butter, and cream with sugars. Add vanilla and eggs. Mix until well-blended. Add baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just blended. Mix in flour one cup at a time until cookie dough is of a consistency to roll into balls (sometimes this takes adding a little flour if you didn't get exactly 3 cups in). Add chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed throughout.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and bake 1 dozen at a time. Bake for 4 minutes, and then rotate pan in oven (this allows the cookies to bake evenly). Depending on your oven, you will need to bake 3 and a half minutes to 4 minutes more after rotating the pan.

Pour a big glass of milk and enjoy them warm right out of the oven!

This is a dough that can be made ahead and placed in the refrigerator for a few days. I haven't tried freezing it yet, but if you do, please let me know how it goes!

Citrus Glazed Salmon - Something delicious since it's been awhile!

I pulled this recipe out again this week for a treat. The original inspiration came from Alton Brown, but he likes to get too complex for me with a huge salmon fillet. I've simplified it, but there is absolutely no taste sacrificed in this delicious dish! If I were having a dinner party, and the people liked fish, I would have to seriously consider serving this dish.

Citrus Glazed Salmon
1 package frozen wild or farm-raised salmon (I typically pick up 14 oz. - 1 lb for the two of us...skin on or off, it doesn't matter)

1/3 cups brown sugar

Zest from 2 lemons

1.5 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Take the salmon out of its package (if it has skin on it, place the skin side away from you) and place it onto a cutting board. Mix together remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and distribute it evenly on top of the salmon. This will require you to get your hands dirty, to make sure the brown sugar mixture is evenly spread over the salmon.

Let the salmon sit with the mixture on top for 45 minutes at room temperature. I usually make some oven baked Lipton soup mix potatoes while I'm letting the fish marinate in the glaze.

After the salmon has marinated at room temperature and the glaze has become a thick liquid on top of the salmon (it should look kind of like a thinner bbq sauce), turn your broiler on high and move the top rack in your oven to 3 inches from the broiler. Transfer your fish to a foil-lined (cooking spray required) cookie sheet. If you have a Pampered Chef baking stone, this might be a good time to use it, since the sugar will burn under the broiler (it burns less on a stone). This will cause a small amount of smoke as some of the sugar drips down onto the sheet and burns, but don't be alarmed...just turn on the exhaust fan and it will pull it right out. You should broil the fish on high, depending on thickness, 6 - 8 minutes. Pull the fish out of the oven when done and let it sit for 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

In the meantime, I put some broccoli in the microwave to steam and use the juice of the lemons, some butter, and salt to give it some kick when it comes out.

The next day, this recipe is still amazing as leftovers! Shred the salmon and mix it a spinach salad with some craisins and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. You will be just as happy with the leftovers as you were with the original dish!

One Bowl Brownies Courtesy of Bethann Oswald

Jeff and I are fortunate enough to have made a friend already here in Texas! This week Bethann, our new landlord, brought us some delicious brownies when she came in for lunch and a visit! As soon as I tasted them, I knew they didn't come from a box. Unlike box brownies, these were a perfect consistency - delicious, moist and chewy but firm enough to withstand cutting into servings.

The only problem I have with them is that it's really hard to stop at one! She generously shared the recipe with me, and has given me permission to share it here too. Thanks, Bethann!

1 c. oil
8 t. cocoa
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
2 T. Karo syrup
2 t. vanilla

Mix above ingredients in bowl.

Sift and add:

1 ½ c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. pecans or walnuts (optional)

Bake at 350 for 30 min. in 9" x 13” pan.

Spaghetti with a Kick

Tonight I made a yummy, lower fat, meat-based spaghetti sauce. Instead of 1 pound of hamburger meat, I bought spicy Italian turkey sausage. If you like a kick, use the spicy kind, but mild Italian turkey sausage can also be used. I just bought the turkey sausage in the casing, and removed the casings before browning the meat. Then I added it to my favorite bottled sauce (Newman's Own Sockarooni) and cooked the spaghetti as usual. If you try this, my guess is you'll be like us and never go back to regular old hamburger meat again! You get a lower fat spaghetti sauce with more flavor (and turkey is comparable in price to leaner ground beef)!