The BEST Lasagna EVER!!!!! Seriously!!!

I'm so excited that I get to cater my first wedding in November. The bride wants Italian food so of course, one of the dishes we decided on was lasagna. I was looking around for a special recipe but couldn't find one. I did however, come up with a few different ideas based off of what I found. I made this the other day and it was a hit to those I served. Don't get scared!!! It's easier then it reads. Happy lasagna layering!

Ingredients

1 lb ground meat

1/4 cup diced carrot

1/4 cup diced celery

1/2 of a large white onion diced

1 package of oven ready lasagna noodles

12 oz ricotta

8 oz package sliced mozzarella

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 jar spaghetti sauce ( I use Ragu mushroom flavor)

1/8 tsp cinnamon

4 tbs butter

4 tbs flour

2-21/2 cups milk

 

Put about two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Add onions, carrots and celery. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook until veggies are soft. Transfer to a large bowl. Add ground meat to skillet. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cinnamon. Cook until brown. Transfer to same glass bowl with veggies. To this bowl, add ricotta and sauce and mix.

 

 In a medium sauce pan, add butter and melt on medium heat. When butter is melted, add flour and stir to combine. Let this cook about two minutes so the flour taste cooks out. Slowly whisk in milk. While still whisking, bring mixture to a light boil for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Lightly cover the bottom of your baking dish with meat mixture. Put one layer of noodles down. Pour 1/3 of white sauce over noodles. Then layer 1/3 of the meat mixture and top with 3-4 slices of mozzarella. Continue layering ending with mozzarella. Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan cheese on top and cover with foil. Bake at 425 for 45-60 minutes or until noodles are fork tender. Remove foil and allow to cook for about 10 more minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

 

Not So Ordinary Hot Dogs

There are not many people that I know of that do not have a package of hot dog franks in their refrigerator. Here are a couple of ways to jazz up a boring hot dog or use up left over hot dogs.

Day 1- Hot Dog Melts

Ingredients
Hot Dogs, slit lengthwise
Bacon slices (as many as the number of hot dogs you are using)
Hot Dog buns (as many as the number of hot dogs you are using)
Cheddar cheese slices
1/4 c. mayo
2 TBS sour cream
1 TBS Hot sauce
1 TBS Dijon mustard
1/2 Tbs Honey
Salt and Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, hot sauce, honey and mustard. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill in refrigerator. Place a slice of cheese in each slit of the hot dog. Tear the slices to fit. Wrap each hot dog with a slice of bacon securing with toothpicks. Place on a line baking sheet and cook for about 10-12 minutes until bacon is crisp. Place the hot dog in a bun and smear with mayo sauce.


Day 2- Hot Dog Tenders

The pancake mix makes these "tenders" fluffy like a corn dog. If you don't have Parmesan cheese on hand, its ok. You can omit it and it will still taste good. Instead, add 1 tsp of salt instead of the 1/2 as stated below.  You can use this recipe to make easy chicken tenders or even sausage for breakfast.

Ingredients
2/3 pancake mix
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 egg beaten
3 Tbs butter or margerine - melted

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. In a large Ziploc bag, place pancake mix, cheese, garlic, salt and paprika. Seal and mix well. Cut hot dogs in half length wise. Dip hot dog into egg and then into dry mix. Place hot dogs on baking sheet. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake 10- 12 minutes turning half way through. Since hot dogs are already cooked, you are only looking to bake until the crust is browned. If you are making chicken tenders, you will want to cook them for 14-16 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Chicken Divan with Dijon Sauce

Chicken Divan is an "old school" dish that I took and made it my own. It tastes good and is good for you.

Ingredients
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 cups cooked broccoli
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup blend of Italian cheese
Oil
***1 tablespoon dried parsley
Salt and Pepper
*** Double if using fresh

Pre-heat oven to broil. Make a hole in the chicken by using a small knife, inserting in the  side of the chicken and working back and forth until about a three inch space is made. Be careful not to go all the way through either sides or back of chicken.
I like to steam my broccoli in a little bit of chicken stock instead of water. Make sure broccoli is cook and drained. Chop broccoli into small pieces. Combine in a bowl with garlic and cheese. Stuff mixture into chicken breast packing tight.
Rub chicken with oil on both sides. Salt and pepper on both sides. Crush the parsley in your hand before sprinkling on chicken. This releases the flavor of the dried herb.
Heat a saute pan over high heat for about 3-5 minutes before adding chicken. Add chicken cooking through on both sides. If chicken starts to brown too quickly, turn down heat. Remove chicken from pan and put in a small baking dish. Broil for about five minutes. Finish with Dijon sauce.

Dijon Sauce
1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper

Make a rue by melting butter then adding flour in a small sauce pan. Mixture should look like a paste. Let cook for about 2-3 minutes so the flour taste will cook out. Add chicken stock whisking until clumps are gone. Whisk in mustard. Bring sauce to a simmer and continue to stir until sauce has reduced by almost a half. about 5 minutes. Spoon over chicken.

Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Sauce

This is the tastiest recipe that I have ever used on pork!! I will admit, this wasn't all me. I went to New York in October to the Food and Wine Festival. I saw Bobby Flay in a cooking segment. He made something very similar but used a more expensive cut of meat and a whole lot more ingredients that you don't really need, especially if you on a budget. I took his idea and tweaked it to make it my own. This is truly a comfort food dish! I have also used this with pork chops. Putting the meat in a brine does add flavor and makes the meat more tender but, it is not a necessary step. If you don't have time, don't worry about it!


Ingredients for the brine
****6 apple juice
½ cup salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 onion, peeled and quartered
10 black peppercorns
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon dried Thyme
**** This Christmas I had apple cider left over from my holiday mimosas so I used that instead of regular apple juice. It added a lot richer flavor.
Bring all ingredients to a simmer until sugar has dissolved. Cool completely. Submerge tenderloin in a large bowl or pot. Place a plate on tenderloin to make sure it says under the brine. Plastic wrap the bowl and let stand in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.


Ingredients for glaze
¼ cup Dijon
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
¼ cup molasses
salt and freshly ground black pepper


whisk together ingredients in a small bowl


Ingredients for pork
1 Pork tenderloin
Salt and ground black pepper
1 small onion finely chopped
2 cups good Bourbon
5 cups chicken stock
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Season the pork liberally on both sides with salt and pepper; you want to make a good crust cook on both sides until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer the pork to a baking sheet, brush with some of the glaze and finish cooking in the oven until cooked to an internal temperature of 150 degrees on a meat thermometer, about 25-30 minutes, brushing with the glaze every 10 minutes. I glaze a second time with about 5 minutes to go. Remove from the oven, let rest loosely tented with foil for 10 minutes.
3. Add the onion to the pan that the pork was browned in and cook until soft. Add the bourbon, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken broth and brown sugar and bring to a boil and cook until reduced to a sauce consistency. Stir in the butter, season with salt and pepper.

Garlic and Herb Tuna Croquettes

I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the new flavored tunas that they have started to sell! I have used many of the flavors in different dishes. My mom used to always make salmon croquettes when I was growing up so I decided to use these flavored tunas to do a twist on the traditional croquette.  This is a cheap and healthy (if baked) dish to make.


Ingredients
2 Packages of Garlic and Herb Tuna
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper.
1 green onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. grated onion
1 egg lightly beaten with a Tablespoon of milk (2%)


Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Form into 4 equal sized patties. Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes.


**** If your going to fry them. Add 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 cup flour. You can make them larger patties like above or roll into golf sized balls and fry. Heat oil. When a sprinkle of flour in the oil bubbles. Oil is ready to fry. Fry until golden brown.

Traditionally, croquettes are served with white sauce. My mom always served them with tartar sauce. I like using either a tartar or remoulade sauce. Look for those under sauces.

White Lasagna

I was looking to make dinner one afternoon and had a bunch of mix-matched items that really didn't go together in the traditional sense. I started to think about what would make the most sense and would make the most food so I put together this "white" lasagna.

Ingredients
I package oven ready lasagna noodles
1 8 oz container softened cream cheese
1 regular can cream of mushroom soup
1 5 0z container of fresh spinach or 1 small package of frozen spinach thawed and drained.
1 can (12.5 oz) chicken breast chunks chopped into small pieces
1 small carton of sliced mushrooms
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
*1/8 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
*small pinch of crushed red pepper flake

*Oregano is a very strong flavor. If you don't like it, just omit it. It won't make this dish any less tasty!!!
* I like a tiny hint of heat in everything I eat. If you don't, omit it.

Pre-heat oven to 425. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, soup, spinach (fresh will wilt in the oven), chicken, mushrooms and one cup of the cheese. Mix together and add spices. Take a small amount of the mixture, about 1/4 cup and spread on the bottom of a casserole dish. Make one layer of noodles being sure to cover to edge. Spread enough mixture on top of these noodles so that they are covered but not "caked" with mixture. Repeat ending with mixture. Layer amount will depend on size of dish. Cover with remaining cup of cheese and cover with foil. Bake at 425 for about 60 minutes. During the last 5-10 minutes, remove foil so the cheese can bubble and brown.