Lasagna - Garfield knew what he was talking about!

Comfort food - why is it that MOST of the things that we love so much, that make us happy, that remind us of home, of love, of comfort, of true joy, are horribly bad for us?? Lasagna is one of those things that is full of the stuff that we are supposed to avoid. I absolutely refuse to make it with turkey sausage or soy cheese or fat free ricotta... that would just ruin it! Some things need to be done RIGHT :)

That brings to the table the other challenge for this particular lasagna. David and Nate did my grocery shopping for me. I was very specific about the brand of toilet paper and the conditioner that Kami needed for her hair. I guess I thought some things just go without saying. We eat out of the same refrigerator, right? I typically buy the same brands, the same things week in and week out. When I buy shredded cheese, it is always in the biggest bag I can find. Parmesan is almost always a hard wedge that I grate myself as I need it. And while we are on the subject - if I put hard taco shells on the shopping list, get hard taco shells. Don't leave them out because I am the only one that wants them... there... I feel better now!

Cindi told me that if I am making lasagna tonight, I need to post the recipe. So that is what I am doing. I will say that I use my own homemade sauce (recipe posted a while ago. look it up, make it and freeze it in 4-6 cup containers for nights such as this). So Cindi - here you go. I will try and remember to bring you a piece tomorrow night :)

Lasagna

1 box lasagna noodles - UNcooked (trust me - it works every time)
4-6 cups of meat spaghetti sauce
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese (freshly grated, of course)
2 eggs
1/4 c. parsley
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
4 cups shredded mozzarella (or apparently colby-jack works, too)
1 1/2 c. water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your lasagna dish with extra long pieces of aluminum foil. It makes clean-up much easier! In a large bowl thoroughly mix the ricotta, 1 c. of the Parmesan, 2 eggs, the parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In the bottom of the baking dish spoon 1/2 c. spaghetti sauce and 1/2 c. water. Layer one layer of lasagna noodles (about 5-7 depending on the size of your dish). Top with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture. Spread over the noodles. Top with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and 1 cup of spaghetti sauce. Drizzle over 1/2 cup of water. Layer 2nd layer of noodles, top with 1/2 of remaining ricotta mixture, 1 cup mozzarella, then another cup of sauce and then the remaining ricotta mixture. Top with third layer of noodles, remaining sauce and final 1/2 cup of water. Wrap tightly with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Remove the foil wrapping and top with remaining 1 cup shredded cheese and 1/2 c. Parmesan. Return to the oven uncovered for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

In this particular lasagna I added 6 Italian sausages that I baked last night and sliced in thin slices between the layers of pasta.

I'm off to eat, now that I have blogged about it :)

Enjoy your dinner. Until next time, stay warm (it's freezing in Tennessee) and safe, my friends!

Macaroni and Cheese

I swear I took a picture of a plate filled with mac and cheese - sigh - I will get one this afternoon and post it, I promise. At least I have a "cheesy" picture to go along with this post!

Yesterday was an exciting day (sarcasm)... I woke to a yard slightly dusted with snow, some of which remains mostly along the treeline, but also in the shady areas of the lawn and part of the deck. We are supposed to get 2-4 inches over the next 48 hours. I drove up to Hendersonville to have lunch with my friend Kim. We haven't seen each other in quite a while. We met at Mimi's Cafe. I am not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was, Mimi's was NOT it... sorry, Mimi. It just solidifies my resolve to steer clear of "chain" restaurants. There is just no personality in the food and I like my food to say something, to tell me that it was loved during the preparation process, not hauled out of a freezer, put together following some step-by-step directions on a package or corporate recipe card, or made by someone who would rather be drinking a beer with his friends. Also, the menu should not be more than 2 pages long. There is no way a "chef" can prepare food from a menu longer than that! I guess my first clue should have been the fact that on a Saturday afternoon at lunch time at one of the hottest shopping spots in Middle Tennessee I got a parking space in front, had no wait and the dining room was at least half empty. The optimist in me was going to say "half full" but it wasn't even that! At least the conversation was good!

Ali remained at home battling the flu. She had requested juice and macaroni and cheese for dinner, so I headed to the store - again breaking one of my Saturday rules - Thou shalt NOT grocery shop on a Saturday. But when your kiddo is sick, you tend to break a rule or two in the life-lesson book. Plus, with the threat of more snow on the horizon I figured I better be a good southerner, even if I am a transplant, and buy bread and milk. When I got home I hung out with her and we watched some TV and chatted a bit. She was feeling better, but still had a low-grade fever. This flu is no fun!! About 5:00 I decided to get the macaroni and cheese going so the pot hit the stove full of water with the macaroni standing by and I grated the cheese, Cabot Extra-Sharp White Cheddar, Jarlsberg and Gruyere. I make this dish with any variety of cheeses, cheddar, jack, Colby, provolone, Parmesan, Havarti.... they have all been used. Mozzarella doesn't work so well because it gets too stringy. This time I made it a little extra special since she is a "sicky"  and I wanted her to feel better :) See... put a little love into your food. Whatever you make, make it FOR someone, thinking of what would make them happy. When you do that, the food always tastes better!

MACARONI AND CHEESE

1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
1/2 c. flour
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. granulated garlic
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
dash cayenne pepper
3 c. milk
3/4 lb. grated cheese - any combination of your favorites

Optional:
1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
2 T. melted butter
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Combine the flour and seasonings and add to the butter, mixing well with a wire whisk. Try to get all of the lumps out by letting it cook for a minute or two and whisking it constantly. When it is combined, add in the milk, again whisking constantly until it comes to a low boil. Mix in the cheeses until they are melted and then pour over the cooked and drained macaroni.

When I get to this point, I usually stop because the kids like it "creamy". David likes his baked, so if he is home, I will put some in a small casserole dish and top it with crushed crackers and a little extra cheese and pop it into a hot oven for about 10-15 minutes to get the top crispy, which is how he likes it. Mix those crackers and cheese with lots of love!! :)

It really does not take much longer to make this than that stuff in the blue box and your family will love you! If they have to have their cheese orange, use cheddar and Colby! Expand their horizons and you will never go back. Without the cheese, dry mustard and cayenne, you have a white sauce (or Bechamel, if you want to be all fancy). You can cut the butter/flour to 1/4 cup and the milk to 2 cups, use some salt and pepper. Master a few simple sauces like this and you will have the beginnings of some great meals!

Stay warm and loved, my friends!

Creamy Lemon Penne

January 4, 2011

Back to teaching today. I am exhausted just thinking about it. Yesterday I had a great day with the kiddos. Nate went to Panera with Savannah to work on Geometry. I think they were there for about 5 hours!! I am not kidding. It wasn't all work - don't be shocked! They took some fun pictures with Savannah's computer and posted them on facebook, so I know they did more than school work. Ali, Kami and her friend Katie went with me to Target and then to the mall. I people-watched, they walked around for an hour or so. No one really had money to spend. Kami had a Target card and Ali had a Pac-Sun card so they had a good time window shopping, pretzel eating and rolling their eyes at people who either don't look in a mirror before they leave the house or don't care :) Either way, it was a good day. Came home and put a chicken in the oven to roast, Ali made a BIG salad with lots of veggies and I made the following pasta dish. It was delish! Enjoy!

CREAMY LEMON PENNE

1 lb. penne pasta, cooked al dente (just under the recommended time)
1/2 stick butter
2 T olive oil
2 large cloved of garlic, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 c. parmesan, grated (grate your own - not stuff in a can!)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper

Preheat oven to 350'. In a saucepan heat the butter and olive oil. Lightly saute the garlic then remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the juice, zest, sour cream and chicken broth until well-blended then stir in the pasta. Add 1/2 cup of the parmesan chesse and stir well. Pour mixture into greased casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350' for 10 minutes. Remove the foil, top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and finish baking about 5 minutes. Do not overbake!!

Happy Tuesday!

Meatballs

I can hardly believe it is the last day of 2010 already. This year has really flown by! 2010 brought with it milestone birthdays for all of my kiddos - ok, well, Nate's was in 2009, but since it is at the end, I always lump them together.

Ali turned 18, a beautiful adult, wise and wonderful and gorgeous. A freshman at Austin Peay State University, she is excelling (let's not talk about anatomy and physiology) and works for Starbucks. She intends to listen to God and head to Haiti for the summer. If you are looking for a good cause to donate to, let me know - you can donate to her trip tax-free :)

Nate turned 16 (and then 17 in 2010), which makes him legally able to drive... financially, not so much, hahaha. He is a junior, homeschooled and working parttime for Java Jacks, a family-run business of some friends and where Ali got her "barista" start. He is friendly, artistic, thoughtful and so full of life. God is really directing his paths and I am so proud of who he is becoming. Here he is with his beautiful girlfriend, Savannah.

Kami turned the road into teenager-hood and was 13 in February. She is in the 8th grade, also homeschooled and is in her 4th year as a competitive cheerleader. That girl can T-U-M-B-L-E!! She is so bubbly, funny, talkative, energetic and incredibly strong - in body and mind and will!! She loves her friends and enjoys doing things for other people... most of the time! She plays a mean acoustic guitare and is taking up piano this winter.

They are all healthy and happy and all those good things. I have the best kids in the world and what makes them even better is that they love spending time with me almost as much as I love spending time with them!

2010 wasn't without its challenges. In February I learned that you can still develop gallstones without a gallbladder (removed in 1996) and had a couple of days in the hospital which included a lovely procedure which hopefully took care of any future stones that decide to develop - so far, so good :) In July my boss decided it would be a good idea to retire, effective immediately. Not so nice... but, it did spur me on to find some tutoring/writing teaching gigs and I am much happier. In August Ali headed off to college - ok, so she is 30 minutes away, but still, she is living away from home. She also announced that she would be spending the summer (2 months of it, anyway) in Haiti, working with the orphans. Fortuantely my old friend, Glen Clementi is a missionary there starting an orphanage. The timing is nothing short of Providential, for sure.

2011 will be a good year. I have no idea what it will bring, but I feel certain that God has great things planned for me, for my family, for many lives around me. I look forward to the good and the bad - it's all good in the end, right?

Here, as promised, is the meatball recipe. I make this two ways - one is definitely Italian in nature and I simmer it in either marinara or meat sauce. The other is "Balkan" - think southeastern Europe, Greece, Turkey, several former Soviet countries, the beautiful Croatia... warm spices and simmered in a white sauce, served over noodles or rice. Either way, they are amazing! I bet you can do this in barbecue sauce or thickened beef broth for cocktail meatballs. Haven't tried it, but I am sure it would work - or that grape jelly stuff... *shudders*

Meatballs

Basic Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork (Balkan) or italian sausage (Italian) - or you could use ground turkey
1 large egg
1/4 C milk
1/2 cup croutons, processed in food processor (or 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs)
1 small onion, minced
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

add to Italian recipe:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano

add to Balkan recipe:
1/4 - 1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground allspice

Preheat your oven's broiler. Combine all ingredients thoroughly. I mix mine in the Kitchenaid. Using a small scoop, or about 1 T of meat mixture, form into balls and set on cookie sheet. You should get about 40 small meatballs. I have made larger ones, they just take longer to cook. Have your sauce ready on the stove and put the meatballs under the preheated broiler until they are brown on top. You do not need to move them, turn them or anything. Once the tops are brown, dump them in the sauce, drippings and all, and let them simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Tomorrow I think I will post my mom's New England Baked Beans. She was a "Maine-iac" and we had them almost every Saturday night.

Until then, have a safe and Happy New Year!

Spaghetti Sauce (Meatballs tomorrow!)

Last night I made meatball sandwiches. Fortunately I had a stash of sauce in the freezer, so all I had to do was make the meatballs. I even went so far as to make the rolls - but don't think me too saintly ... I almost never make bread unless it is in the bread machine or the "quick" kind - I am far too impatient for all the rising and rolling. But last night Ali pitched in to help form the rolls, so that made it easier. Plus, we had spent a few hours doing a bit of cleaning downstairs and my wrist had just about enough motion for the day. Who knew that if you knit 7 pairs of socks in 4 weeks that you would develop a mad case of carpal tunnel syndrom! You could have told me, Melissa :)

Anyway, this spaghetti sauce recipe has been a work in progress. I began my love affair with it about 20 years ago when I discovered it from some now-forgotten source and have adapted it, added, subtracted, altered - it is no longer the original recipe for sure! It makes a rather large pot, so I portion it out into smaller containers and pop them in the freezer for future meals of pasta, lasagna, meatballs, pizza... the possibilities are endless! I will post my recipe for the meatballs tomorrow. Make it a few times and the recipe will most likely be firmly etched in your memory. I hope you love it as much as I do!

1.5 lb. ground beef
1 lb. italian sausage
3 medium yellow onions, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
3 28oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 14oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 12oz. can tomato paste
2-3 cups beef stock or broth
1 jar roasted red peppers, pureed
1 jar capers, drained and rinsed
2 T. olive oil
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper
2 t. dry oregano
4 t. dry basil
4 T. dry parsley
4 bay leaves

Heat oil in the bottom of a large stockpot. Add onions and saute 1-2 minutes before adding garlic. Saute additional minute then add the two meats and cook until no longer pink. Add in the canned tomatoes, then use the beef broth to "clean" out the cans dumping into the pot (so you don't miss a drop). Stir in all of the remaining ingredients, bring to low boil and reduce to simmer. Allow it to simmer at least 4 hours - stir it occasionally!! A big pot will prevent splatters all over the stove or counter as it simmers and pops.