Classic Lasagna

I decided to make a lasagna so I went to google. Of course, when I saw the 3rd recipe was a Giada recipe I had to make it. Took a little while to prepare (make the tomato sauce first!) but it was pretty good (and I am not a lasagna person). The recipe is C&P from Food Network. Their picture is pretty than mine but I didn't want to steal it too.

Ingredients

Bechamel Sauce:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk at room temperature
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
• Salt and white pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground chuck beef
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bechamel sauce:

In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Quick and Yummy Salad

So this isn't really a recipe but I have been in search of a quick and easy salad I could eat since that is way healthier than just looking around and eating the first junk I find.

A bowl full of spring mix or fresh spinach leaves (I get the bags of it) with purple onion, cold turkey pepperoni, feta cheese crumbles and topped with some ground peppercorn pepper and a little EVOO. Very quick, easy, and yummy!!

Beef and Lentil Soup

Giada De Laurentiis Beef and Lentil Soup from Family Dinners

I made this today because I wanted something different, it was good too. Changes I made are in parentheses. I was lazy and did put all of my veggies in the food processor instead of hand chopping. I am sure it would be a prettier soup if you could actually see the carrots and celery.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes (I had 2 .90 packs of lean stew beef)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large celery stalks, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped (I used the blender b/c Steven don't like carrots)
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
6 (14-ounce) cans beef broth (I had 2 boxes of beef broth, I think it was 64 oz total)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice (I use 2 "regular" size cans)
2 cups (about 11 ounces) lentils, rinsed
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (I used curley leaf)

Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, rosemary, and oregano to the pot. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Return the beef and any accumulated juices from the bowl to the pot. Add the broth and tomatoes with their juice. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the meat is just tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add the lentils. Cover and continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes (Mine cooked about 1.5 hours). Stir in the parsley (I accidentally added this with the lentils). Season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper.

EVOO Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Pictures were taken when I made this dish again and didn't have the fresh egg noodles so I used regular. This actually could become a very healthy dish and eat without the pasta. The chicken and veggies themselves are very filling!!!

This is very different for me but it was really yummy!!!

I was in the produce section at Winn Dixie and saw fresh egg noodles (but they were long and wavy not fat like regular egg noodles) and decided to try them. Then I was passing the stir fry mixes and that sounded good I just didn't want the soy sauce so I created my own stir fry.

3 cleaned and cubed chicken breast
1 bag fresh egg noodles (will need a little over half)
1 bag baby carrots
1 green bell pepper (or whatever color you like)
1 head broccoli
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
EVOO
Salt, Black Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder

Heat EVOO (enough to cover bottom) in large pan. Put in 1 tablespoon garlic and carrots, cover and let sizzle about 10 minutes to get carrots soft.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta.

Slice onions into circles and bell pepper into strips. Break up broccoli.

Season cubed chicken with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder. Add to pan. Let cook about 10 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through) then add rest of chopped veggies. Cook down about 6 minutes.

Drain pasta (only needs to cook about 5 minutes) and add to pot. Mix all together and let cook over high heat about 3 minutes. Mix the whole time. Serve.

Grilled Chicken on Flatout Bread

So, I was doing my regular weekly grocery shopping and looking for wraps and noticed these new Flatout Wraps. I didn't know what I would do with them but I love what I made tonight!

1 flatout wrap per person
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast per person
EVOO
Herbs de Provence
Salt
Pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella, goat, and parm)'
Fresh spinach leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Preheat outside grill

Mix about 3/4 cup EVOO, herbs de Porvence, salt, pepper, onion, and garlic powders together. Put about a tablespoon to the side then put chicken breast in to marinade. Let soak about 10 minutes.

While chicken is grilling, you can slowly pour a little left over marinade on each breast to keep it moist. When it is cooked, remove from grill and slice into thin slices.

Use a nonstick baking pan and place the flatbreads on it. Heat in oven about 2 minutes. Remove from oven, coat is marinade you put to the side. Cover in fresh spinach leaves, chicken, and cheeses (if using goat cheese, it is strong so don't use much). Put in oven on low broil until cheese is melted. Eat right away!

Italian Pasta Bake

This is very quick and easy if you have some marinara sauce already prepared and frozen.

All measurements approximate

16 oz marinara sauce
1.25 lbs ground sirloin
7 oz ritoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella
7 oz ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta

Brown ground sirloin in pot large enough to hold that plus sauce

Once meat is cooked, add sauce and mix together

Drain pasta and pour into a casserole dish (oven safe). Pour meat/sauce mix on top. Add ricotta and mix together well. Top with moxxarella cheese and bake approximately 20 minutes.

Creamy Spinach Spaghetti with Herb Chicken

I wasn't crazy about this dish I made up toinight but maybe someone else will like it :)

3 chicken breast
Fresh sprigs of lemon thyme, curly leaf parsley, oregano
Few slices of onion
1 box spaghetti
1.5 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup warm milk
1/2 box frozen spinach thawed and drained
Salt
Black Pepper
White Pepper
Nutmeg

Chicken:
Clean chicken and put in a sprayed baking dish. Sprinkle salt and black pepper and fresh herbs on top of chicken, top with onion. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for about an hour.

Bring pot of salted water to boil for spaghetti. Cook until tender.

Sauce:
Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly add warm milk mixing the whole time until sauce is thick, creamy, and lump free. Add a dash of salt, white pepper, and nutmeg (very little nutmeg) and stir.

Drain spaghetti and put back into pot. Add spinach and sauce, mix well.