Lasagna

Don't ask why, but I wanted to make and eat lasagna. It's a comfort thing I guess. I don't really have a set recipe to make lasagna and this time well suffice it to say I REALLY did wing it.

Have you ever CRAVED something and "thought" you had all of the ingredients, only to find you kinda had the ingredients but you were too far gone and you decided to plow through and hope for the best? Now you know about this adventure I am about to share with you.

This lasagna turned out really good. This time improvising worked.

Start off by boiling 12 lasagna noodles in salted water for about 10 minutes. Remove the noodles and lay them out flat on waxed paper. Lightly coat the cooked noodles with olive oil so they will not stick together.

Off to a good start with the vegetables. Chop 1/2 medium onion, rough chop 2 cloves of garlic, chop 2 carrots and 2 stalks of celery. Just for fun and because I had fresh basil, add in 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil.

Saute the vegetables in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Ok this where things went off the beaten path. Brown 1 lb. of lean ground beef and 1 lb. of Italian sausage. I used 1 lb. of regular pork sausage because that is what I had. Brown meat until it is no longer pink. Drain fat from pan and discard.

Stir in two 16 ounce cans of tomato sauce and one 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Season with salt and black pepper. Remove pan from burner and allow to cool slightly.

I didn't have enough ricotta cheese and substituted sour cream. This added an amazing dimension to the flavor of this lasagna! In a medium bowl, mix together one 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese, one 16 ounce container of sour cream, 2 beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons of chopped flat leaf parsley, 1 tablespoon of dried oregano and 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Now, we are ready to assemble! Coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with the meat/sauce mixture.

Place 4 noodles length-wise, over lapping slightly, then place a noodle at each end.

Spread half of what is left of the meat mixture over the noodles.

Spread 1/2 of the ricotta/sour cream mixture over the meat.

Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese over the ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer of noodles, meat, etc. Top with 1-1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Allow to cool for 30 minutes so the lasagna will set and stay together once you cut it to serve.

Visiting, Baked Beans and Awards

I'm prejudiced, but I think my brother, John, is a wonderful photographer. A few of you have visited his blog, My Viewfinder, and have left him comments. He doesn't comment on blogs and I don't know why...I think he thinks he's busy. I'm his sister and he rarely comments on this blog, but that's life and I still love him anyway, go figure.

John and his lovely wife Theresa, invited us to his home this past Saturday for some barbecue. He lives on the other side of the Smokies from us, about an hour drive. Between you and me, i would drive at least two hours for his barbecue because it's just that good and slow cooked barbecue is like crack for me.

Dont' be jealous, these are the ribs he was cue-ing. Drool worthy!

Yes, there were leftovers and I was offered some to take home. No, I'm not stupid, I filled up a re-sealable plastic bag!

He also had some chicken on the smoker. YUM!!!

I snagged one of these to take home too.

Ah, the barbecue master in his habitat. I'm thinking we should do this every Saturday.

My contribution was baked beans. These are John's favorite. Now they are Theresa's too. A.J. shoveled down quite a bit too.





Both John and my sister-in-law, Theresa, commented that they hadn't seen this on my blog. They strongly urged me to post this recipe.





Ah-ha! Stalkers! I knew it!





Ok, so here's my version of baked beans. Just so you know, I came home with an empty dish.





Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees.





In a large bowl, mix together, 2 cans of pork and beans, 1/2 onion finely chopped, 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, 1/2 cup molasses, 1 tablespoon yellow mustard, 1/2 14 ounce can of crushed pineapple. Pour into a 9x9 baking dish. Top with three strips of crumbled, cooked bacon and 1 small can of french fried onions.



Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.



This is from Michelle from Live, Laugh, Love, Learn Thank you Michelle!

This ward is from Cathy from Accountants Can Cook Thank you so much Cathy!

I'll be around later today commenting.

Banana Bread Remix

Kristina from Stonyfield Farms was kind enough to send me some coupons so I could sample Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt. Many of you have posted some wonderful recipes incorporating the Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, so of course I told Kristina "YES"! I was thrilled that she contacted me. The Oikos Greek Organic Yogurt is phenomenal! It has the consistency of sour cream which I love, and a tart fresh flavor. The Oikos Greek Organic Yogurt has definitely become a staple in out household.

Last September I posted Banana Pecan Bread which is one of my husband's favorites. I've had a yen for baking with bananas (thanks Debbie!) and decided to morph this recipe and use the yogurt and lighten the calories in this bread just a tad. The bread was moist and held together very well.

Let me show you what I did!

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a bread pan.

Melt one stick of butter and allow butter to cool.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

Mash 2 over ripe bananas with a fork, but let them have a little bit of texture.

Place two over ripe bananas in a mixing bowl, add 1 cup of sugar.

Using your wire whisk attachment, whip the banana and the sugar for three minutes to obtain a light, fluffy banana cream.

Slow speed down to "stir" and add the melted butter, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and one 5.3 ounce container of Oikos Organic Vanilla Yogurt to the banana cream mixture. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, then add the dry ingredients and turn on mixer and blend just enough to evenly combine. then fold in the mashed banana. Turn into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before removing from the pan.

I really don't think you'll have to do Pilates after eating this little slice of heaven.

Chicken Pontalba

If you want to make a chicken dish that is impressive and will bowl over you, your family, friends and neighbors then look no further than Chicken Pontalba! If you want to show them all you can cook Creole, than make this dish....make it tonight!

I'm using boneless skinless chicken breasts because that is what I had, but you can use any cut of chicken you have handy. Just be sure to remove the skin from your chicken to keep the sauce from being greasy.

Slice up 1/2 yellow onion and 1/2 lb. of oyster mushrooms and set aside.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat add 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add chicken to the skillet and brown the chicken. Once chicken is brown evenly, transfer to a 9x9 baking dish.

If you are cooking more chicken pieces, use a 9x13 baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Reduce the heat to medium and saute the onions and mushrooms until tender, about 3 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine, 1/2 cup of beef broth, (I know we're cooking chicken, but trust me, use beef broth) 1/2 can (14.5 oz.) stewed tomatoes (If you're cooking more chicken pieces, use the whole can), 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and 1 tablespoon flour. Stir to combine thoroughly. Cook at a low simmer for about five minutes. Add 1/2 cup of roughly chopped pimento stuffed olives. Stir to mix and remove from heat. Be careful if you decide to add salt since the olives contain a lot of salt.

Pour mixture over chicken and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes. While the chicken is in the oven, cook up some fluffy white rice.

Serve yourself a piece of chicken a spoonful of fluffy rice and a generous ladle of gravy. This will be your "go to" meal!

French Vanilla Cupcake Surprise

Kaitlin, my baby and recent graduate and I were home alone yesterday afternoon. I enjoy being able to spend one on one time with the homegirlz.

Kaitlin is becoming quite the baker and I am thrilled she is letting me post this. The deal breaker was no pictures of her.

The cupcakes are VERY good. A few of her friends came by while she was baking and camped out until the cupcakes were done. I'm telling you the whole house smelled amazing! I was lucky to get a picture of the cupcakes...these were the last three left!

So let's get busy with French Vanilla Cupcake Surprise

Grease the muffin cups of one muffin tin with shortening.

Bake one box of French Vanilla cake mix using the cupcake package directions. Fill the cups 3/4 full. Allow the cup cakes to completely cool.

In a food processor combine one 8 ounce tub of mascarpone cheese, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Pulse until smooth. Spoon the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip. Push the tip gently into the bottom of a cupcake and squeeze about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon in the strawberry mixture into the cupcakes.

Pour 2 cups of powdered sugar into a medium size bowl and set aside. Then in a small pot bring 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup of water, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Combine the syrup with the powdered sugar. Stir until smooth.

Very quickly. spread the icing on the top of the cupcakes. The icing firms up very fast.

Now, I need to learn how to move pictures around with this new web browser.

Have a great weekend!

Chicken Piccata

Whew, what a crazy day! I finally installed Firefox and am a lost ball in tall weeds. I can't move my pictures around this has slowed me down a lot and not making me happy. Kaitlin is helping me with while she's back and forth in the test kitchen making some kind of special cup cakes that she is going to allow me to post! They sure do smell good.

I really don't know if this is a real Chicken Piccata or not. I saw Tyler Florence (I hear ya Donna!) making Veal Piccata. That day I had chicken cutlets thawing for Chicken Parmesan. What intrigued me the most was his method of coating the veal. He floured it first, then dipped it in the egg wash then into the pan. This method really changed the texture and taste of the finished product.

When I got started, I decided I needed certain ingredients that his recipe didn't call for and lightened up just a bit. I know Marjie identifies with me on this. So here's my version of Chicken Piccata:

Season both sides of chicken cutlets with salt and lemon pepper. Pre-heat a high-sided skillet with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Also bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil 1/2 lb. of your favorite pasta. I used gemelli pasta this time.

Dredge the cutlets through flour seasoned with salt and pepper.

Dip the floured cutlets in an egg wash also seasoned with salt and pepper.

Brown the cutlets for about 4 minutes each side in pre-heated skillet.

After browning, place a platter and set aside. If you are doing this in batches which is what I did, you may need to add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the skillet in between batches.

Once the chicken is browned. add two more tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and add 1/2 red onion chopped and 4 cloves of minced garlic and saute for about 3 minutes.

Add 1 cup of white wine to the skillet and let it reduce by half.

Add 2 tablespoons of capers and 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley.

And the juice of one lemon.

Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and stir in to thicken sauce. Add the chicken back to the skillet for about 2 to 3 minutes to re-heat it.

Spoon pasta onto plate along with a chicken cutlet. Ladle a generous amount of sauce over chicken and pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.