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Showing posts with label main dish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label main dish. Show all posts

Sunday, October 13, 2019

World's Best Lasagna

I've convinced my husband that I make the most incredible lasagna they've ever tasted with this recipe. I make it pretty much as shown, except if I have the time, I let the sauce simmer on the stove as long as possible. I also add a bit of whatever red wine I have on hand to the sauce. And I try to make a double recipe, so I can use the sauce for other things - it works wonderfully for Chicken Parmesan, plain spaghetti, and anywhere else you'd use a red sauce.

Everything tastes better the second day, too. Oh, one more thing - I never boil my noodles. I simply buy regular dried noodles, and make sure I have plenty of sauce in the lasagna. It cooks long enough that the noodles boil in the oven, and you end up with a lasagna that isn't runny and holds its shape well.

I made the sauce the day before, simmering it for about 5 hours and stored it in the fridge overnight. I assembled the dish the following morning, put it back in the fridge until ready to cook and serve. Cooked at 350, covered with foil, for about 1-3/4 hours and then another 15 minutes uncovered. The 9 lasagna noodles were just right for three layers in a 9 x 13 pan. This recipe makes twice as much sauce as you need. I froze the rest and will use it to make this recipe again. You really should try this recipe if you are looking for an excellent lasagna.

WORLD'S BEST LASAGNA

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 pound sweet Italian sausage 
  • 3/4 pound lean ground beef 
  • 1/2 cup minced onion 
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed 
  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste 
  • 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce 
  • 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons white sugar 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves 
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds 
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
  • 1 tablespoon salt 
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
  • 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 12 lasagna noodles
  • 16 ounces ricotta cheese 
  • 1 egg 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  •  3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
  •  3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  2. 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. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 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: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

CREAMY ROASTED TOMATO BASIL SOUP

Simple to prepare, delicious creamy roasted tomato basil soup. Great for an easy lunch served with bread or grilled cheese. This soup does sound wonderful. I believe that one can of tomatoes is about a pound, so I would start out using three cans of tomatoes. Hope this helps you.

We loved this soup! You get more than just soup! The strained leftovers make a sort of pesto. I sliced some French bread, toasted it,then spread some of the "pesto" on the bread and sprinkled it with grated Parmesan cheese and baked for about 10 min at 220. You can also use the "pesto", add some sour cream and grated Parmesan and make a delicious dip.

Excellent soup, though very similar to others I've tried from this site. I think its main distinction is the addition of onion, and a good amount of it at that. It may have added extra flavor but to tell you the truth, I didn't notice an appreciable difference than those I've made without the onion. I prepared the recipe pretty closely, only adding a couple dabs of tomato paste since my tomatoes weren't as ripe as I would have liked them to be. That proved to be a great addition! Loved the flavor boost it provided. I topped each serving with an red bell pepper and fresh basil for garnish. Fresh, simple and satisfying. And pretty too.
CREAMY ROASTED TOMATO BASIL SOUP

INGREDIENTS
  • 1.2 kg 2½ lbs Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • 600 g 1¼ lbs Grape (or Cherry) tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • 8 whole cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper (capsicum), deseeded and diced
  • 2 potatoes (200 g 7 oz), diced
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, roughly torn


INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 430°F | 220°C. Place tomatoes on a baking tray with the garlic cloves. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for about 25 minutes, or until soft and charred on the tops.
  2. While tomatoes are roasting, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium-sized pot/saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, peppers (capsicum) and potato; cook while occasionally stirring, until the onion is transparent and the potatoes begin to crisp on their outer edges (about 6-7 minutes). Stir the tomato paste through the potatoes and onion; pour in the broth/stock; season with extra salt; cover and bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat to low; simmer for about 15 minutes or until potato is just tender when tested with a fork. Add the tomatoes, garlic and basil to the broth (save 2 tablespoons of basil to use as garnish if you wish); continue to simmer until the basil is just soft (about 2 minutes). Blend soup using a stick blender until smooth.
  4. Optional: Pour the soup through a strainer or colander to remove any skins and thick tomato pieces, for a textured smoother soup.
  5. Sprinkle with extra basil, shaved parmesan cheese, and serve with cheesy, crusty bread.

One Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice

Good but I also added carrot, celery and onion to the chicken mixture. In addition I took out the chicken bullion and used garlic and onion powder with the seasoning salt. For the topping I halved the cracker crumbs and added about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to them for the topping. I also took out the butter which was not needed once the cheese was added, I used sharp chedder instead of the velveta. I think the combo of velveta, bullion and seasoning salt would add way to much salt to this dish. 

Great first out of the oven, when re-heated I felt it was too dry, maybe the rice soaks up the extra liquid. Next time will add more sour cream or something to make it have a little more liquid.

A classic, home-cooked, comfort food dinner! I didn't add the cooked chicken to the sauce (so that I could stir it better/smoother) but just mixed it in ahead with the rice (Step one or two). Also, I took another's advice about adding veggies: I added some cooked chopped celery & cooked chopped carrots. Overall - an easy dinner that we all thought was terriffic!

ONE POT CREAMY CHICKEN AND RICE 
INGREDIENTS 
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts), cut into 1-inch piceces
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups rice, rinsed (I used jasmine)
  • 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. In a 3 quart pot heat 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat.
  2. Place chicken thigh pieces into the heated oil. Add plenty of salt and pepper.  Sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked.
  3. Add diced onion and garlic to the chicken and sauté for another 3 minutes. Next add the carrots and celery to the chicken.
  4. Increase the heat to high and add chicken broth, then stir in the rinsed rice.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  Stir again and then cover and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked, stirring occasionally.
  5. Stir in the parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. Add more salt, pepper or seasonings if desired.

CREAMY CHEESY CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

A cheesy baked blend of chicken and spaghetti. Great meal to make for a quick New Year's Eve meal for me and my kids! Will definitely eat it again soon.This is by far the easiest and most delicious chicken spaghetti I have ever made.

This is a good start. I used 2 cans of broccoli and cheese soup and 1 can of cream of chicken, added about 3/4 cups half and half. Then I sauted some onion, yellow pepper and chopped garlic and added some peas to the sauce. It still could of used a little more liquid.


Can't believe how easy and quick this was to make. Absolutely loved it and it was a complete hit. Thanks a bunches for making dinner so much easier & less stressful. #delicious.  I used southwest chicken and Mexican blend cheese. I'm glad I used the flavored chicken or there would not have been much flavor. I enjoy this simple dish. I added a variety of mixed veggies to it though.




Monday, October 7, 2019

Buffalo Chicken Celery Sticks

I made this today for the first time and it is excellent!! I have been trying out lots of different recipes to prepare for my annual Halloween party and this one will definately make it to the table!

Canned chicken is repulsive to me so I used rotissary chicken (from Sams), which has such wonderful flavor and compliments the entire dish. Also...nothing beats Franks Original Hot Sauce! Used blue cheese instead of ranch and 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Combined all in the crock pot and let it sit on low for a couple of hours. Served with tortilla chips, celery and scoops. Yuuummmm!!!


Buffalo Chicken Celery Sticks

INGREDIENTS

2 cups shredded chicken (you can use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken or canned)
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons buffalo wing sauce
6 celery stalks cut in half (12 total)
chopped chives for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS
  • Mix the chicken, mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, pepper and buffalo wing sauce together in a bowl.
  • Fill each celery stalk with the chicken filling and garnish with chopped chives.


Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

I just made this casserole with a couple of changes after reading other reviews. I baked the hash browns for 20 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.

I too added about a cup of mixed vegetables and that was plenty. I also added about 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. This is really delicious but doesn't reheat as well as I anticipated.


CHICKEN POT PIE CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Chicken Breast
12 oz Frozen Peas and Carrots, thawed
2 cup Frozen Diced Potatoes, thawed (like Hash Browns or Potatoes OBrien)
1 Onion diced
2 can Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup
1 cup Water
2 cans Refrigerated Crescent Rolls.
1/2 tsp Poultry Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS
  • Grill chicken breasts until cooked through. Allow to cool.
  • Grill diced onions until transparent. Set aside.
  • Dice chicken into 1/2" cubes.
  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Grease a 11x13" baking dish.
  • Unroll 1 can of crescent rolls and pinch perforations to seal into a sheet. Press into bottom and up sides of prepared disk. Don't worry if sides do not go all the way up.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is light brown.
  • Allow to cool.
  • In a large skillet, combine chicken cubes, diced onion, water, potatoes and peas and carrots.
  • Stir and cook over medium heat until ingredients are warm (5-10 minutes).
  • Add soup and poultry seasoning and continue heating for another 5 minutes. If sauce looks too thick, slowly add a little more water until desired consistency is reached.
  • Pour chicken mixture over baked crust and spread evenly.
  • Unroll other can of crescent rolls and pinch perforations to seal into a sheet. Place over top of chicken mixture and press into sides of dish.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until top is golden brown.


Friday, October 4, 2019

Super Easy Stromboli

Yum! This was so easy & really good. Nice change from pizza. I made a couple changes based on what I had on hand & personal preferences. I reduced in half for our smaller family & made one big stromboli rather than smaller ones.

I only put half the sauce inside & saved the other half for dipping. I used salami, pepperoni & Italian sausage because that is what I had. And I slightly sauteed the veggies with a little olive oil & Italian seasoning. That is the great thing about this recipe is there are so many ways to change it up. The possibilites are endless.



Great. I omitted the sauce and served it on the side as a dipping sauce. A suggestion from a friend was to add a little yellow mustard to the dough before laying everything else on. Surprisingly the mustard gives it a good taste.

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