Whats for Supper...

[2bLikeJesus]

Blackened grilled salmon, asparagus, steamed broccoli and cauliflower with CHEESE sauce (that's for candlelight), and crescent rolls. 

[Invicta]

Onion, bacon and cheese omelette with grilled cherry tomatoes.

[Invicta]

Poached salmon steak and asparagus with homemade dread and a cup of cha.

[2bLikeJesus]

Just finished preparing TOMORROW nights dinner.  Making the best lasagna recipe I know of, from an expert.  If you are seeking a quick and inexpensive lasagna recipe this is NOT it!  It will take over 4 hours to prep before baking and I recommend letting it sit in the refrigerator assembled for 24 hours before baking it (everyone knows lasagna and spaghetti are always better the next day).  Here is the recipe I have used with great success for over 40 years.

 

1 lbs Sweet Italian Sausage (I prefer Hot).

3/4 lbs of lean ground beef

1/2 C Minced Onion

4 Cloves Garlic Minced

1 28oz can of Italian Crushed Tomatoes

2 6oz cans of Tomato paste

2 6.5oz cans of Tomato Sauce

1/2 C of water

2 T of sugar

1 1/2 t of Dried Basil Leaves

1/2 t of Fennel Seeds

1 t of Italian Seasoning

1 T of Salt

1/4 t of Black Pepper

4 T of Chopped Fresh Parsley

12 Lasagna Noodles

16 oz of Ricotta Cheese (bite the bullet and get the ricotta.  No cheating, substituting cheaper cottage cheese)

1 Egg

1/2 t of Salt

1 lbs of Mozzarella Cheese

8 oz of Grated Parmesan Cheese (NOT from a shake can of Kraft Parmesan, buy the fresh stuff)

 

1.  In a dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over a medium heat until well browned.  Stir in Crushed Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Tomato Sauce, and Water.  Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, italian seasoning, 1 T of Salt, pepper, and 2T of the Parsley.  Simmer on low heat for 3 hours, stir occasionally. 

 

2.  SKIP THIS STEP IF YOU ARE LETTING SET FOR 24 HOURS.  Bring Lg pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for only 8 min.  Immediately drain and rinse in cold water.  In mixing bowl, combine Ricotta cheese with Egg, remaining Parsley, and 1/2 t of salt.

 

3.  Preheat oven to 375 ( IF you are preparing same day instead of letting set overnight for best flavor)

 

4.  To Assemble:  Spread 1 1/2 C meat sauce in bottom of 9 x 13 Baking Dish.  Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce.  Spread 1/2 of Ricotta Cheese mixture.  Top with 1/3 of Mozzarella.  Spoon 1 1/2 C meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/3 of Parmesan.  REPEAT layers.  Top with Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan.  Cover with foil (spray foil with cooking spray to prevent sticking)

 

5.  See note* Bake covered 25 min.  Remove foil and bake 40 minutes. Check often after 25 min and adjust cooking time/temp to prevent overcooking.

 

Note:  Best when made the night before without baking it!  Let set assembled in the refrigerator over night covered.  If you do this step you do not need to boil the noodle but I usually will soak the noodles in Hot tap water for 10 min to make them pliable.

 

All that is left now is the right atmosphere with appropriate Italian music.  I highly recommend Itzhak Perlman playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

 

Bon Apetit!

 

Bro. Garry

[candlelight]

This sounds so delicious, Brother Garry.  I like a simple recipe, though.    My grandmother (my mom's mom) and my mom went to NYC before my mom married my dad in 1958.  They toured the city together.  Anyway, they went to the New York Spaghetti House.  My grandma was able to talk the chef into giving her the recipe for the sauce.  My mom used to make it growing up.  My sister has all my mom's recipes, though.

Last night my husband, son, and I celebrated my 50th birthday with his family at a nice family restaurant.  I had an 8 oz. strip steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and soup before supper was served.  They brought me a birthday cake after we ate, with a candle on top.  Everyone including the restaurant owner sang "Happy Birthday" to me.  My son also gave me a dozen red roses.  He knows already what a woman wants.  LOL!  My husband gave me a nice watch with my birth stones in it.  He ordered it from Avon, so I hope it holds up.  I have bought so many watches in the past, and all of them seem to fall apart.  My in-laws got me a nice journal, and the nieces and nephews made me a huge card and gave me balloons, and tied them to my chair.  I sent the balloons home with them, b/c I knew how much they liked them.

It was so nice to go out, relax, and not have to cook dinner.  My husband told me this morning to ask my brother to buy take out for dinner tonight.  It's been such a relaxing week.

[HappyChristian]

We'll be having sweet and sour chicken tonight.  Nummy. 

 

That lasagna does sound tasty, 2b.  I don't care for italian sausage or ricotta, though, so I would substitute beef and cottage cheese. 

 

My brother made a bolognese sauce one year when we were in WA for Christmas. We typically have lasagna on Christmas Day, so he had the stuff all there for us.  I assembled it (he never had, so wanted to see how it was done) and we enjoyed some of the best lasagna I ever had!

[candlelight]

Sounds delicious, HC.  I like the idea of substituting beef with cottage cheese.  It is healthier, too.

[HappyChristian]

Oh, no - I meant that I use beef instead of italian sausage and cottage cheese rather than ricotta. 

[candlelight]

That's what I meant to say.  It sounds healthier.

[2bLikeJesus]

Cottage cheese instead of ricotta?!  Beef instead of ITALIAN sausage in lasagna?!  I bet you decaffeinate your coffee too or use margarine instead of butter!  SACRILEGE!  Are you sure you're saved?  

Edited March 7, 2014 by 2bLikeJesus

[HappyChristian]

Heheheh - no, I use butter.  And my iced mochas are caffeinated. Hot coffee has to be decaf due to acid reflux.  And italian sausage upsets my stomach. Tomato can do a number on reflux, but if I combined that with italian sausage, I'd be one very sick woman!  So beef it is.    (oh, and I just don't like the texture or flavor of ricotta...sorry.  Well, no I'm not!  heheheh )

[Invicta]

We always had decaf until our church secretary who was an industrial chemist at Pfizer, said he would never drink decaf because he knew what went in it.  I did a Google search and read up on it and we never drink decaf now.

Edited March 9, 2014 by Invicta

[2bLikeJesus]

I am afraid all this week, dinners are not going to be all that good.  It is time for my annual spring clean and defrost of my large freezer (time change is the trigger) where I eat "mystery" meats and stuff that have been in there since probably last Spring.  It may be freezer burnt, but I am loathe to throw away any food that can be eaten safely, delicious or not.  I will just smother the meats in spicy sauces, stews, or casseroles to make them palatable.

 

Bro. Garry

[Miss Daisy]

Dinner for me was chicken fried rice with vegetables. Yogurt for dessert.

[HappyChristian]

We had Mexican yesterday.  Went out with some friends and enjoyed fellowship.  Tonight will be stuffed peppers.