Recipe: Lasagna Soup

Mike loves my homemade lasagna! Even saying that, it's an understatement. If I let him he'd eat the whole dish himself in one sitting...

So, with the weather getting colder, I decided to make this recipe. It would be a fun, different and good meal to keep warm during the winter. It was pretty easy to make, and was very tasty! I think Mike liked it enough to have it again.

For leftover purposes, I cooked the noodles separately and placed them in the fridge separately as well.

So, here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (I used one pound)
3 cups chopped onion (I used 2 onions, because that's all I had!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
28 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes (I ended up getting 2 14.5 oz cans)
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
8 ounces mafalda or fusilli pasta (I used fusilli and it was tough to find!)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (I didn't use any as I couldn't get any here)
salt and pepper to taste

For the cheese:

8 ounces ricotta cheese (I used 15oz for "Mike Portions")
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (I used a cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper

additional cheese factor, get 2 cups of mozzarella

Brown sausage. Add onions and cook until softened. Add garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, cook for 1 minute.
Add tomato paste, stirring well to incorporate. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until it looks like a rust red color.
Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add pasta and cook until al dente.* Do not overcook the pasta as it will get mushy and absorb the broth.
Right before serving, add the fresh basil, if using, and salt and pepper.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese in a separate bowl.

To serve, add a dollop of the cheese mixture in each bowl and sprinkle the mozzarella on top. Ladle soup over cheese and enjoy!

Note*: If you are not wanting mushy pasta, or are wanting to keep some for leftovers, I would recommend cooking the pasta separately. When you serve, add some noodles into the bowl, before adding the rest of the ingredients, such as the cheese and soup. When you go to put them away in the fridge, put them in separate containers, as it will still soak up the broth and become mushy.

Recipe: Shrimp wtih Spicy Garlic Sauce

I think that I have mentioned that ever since Mike and I returned from Oregon, I've been on a seafood kick. Of course, living here in the Western mountains, we don't have access to fresh seafood. It's a challenge just to get fish here!
So I found yet another yummy shrimp meal, that I wanted to try. It was different from any other recipe that we'd tried, and the blog that I had found it on was written by a woman who had lost 135 pounds and she cooks really healthy. I figured that it was a win-win chance to try this out, and I think her blog is a keeper for recipes.

Needless to say...Mike and I devoured this meal so quickly, we were trying to figure out where it all went! I see this on the menu again soon.


Here is the recipe...

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons soy sauce (we used low sodium)
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (Rice vinegar is fine)
2 teaspoons sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated (I used dried, and only 1 tablespoon)*
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons chili sauce (Sriracha is what I used)
2 teaspoons corn starch, dissolved in 4 teaspoons cold water
1 1/2 pounds uncooked shrimp, large (I used 1 pound cooked shrimp)
6 cups fresh green beans, trimmed (I think I had about two handfuls, as that's all the store had)
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish(optional)

Combine the first seven ingredients in a small bowl, and whisk to combine. Add this sauce to a small saucepan set over medium heat and bring it to a gentle boil.  Let the mixture simmer for 2 minutes.

Stir in the dissolved cornstarch into the sauce and stir for about a minute.

In a large pot fitted with a steamer basket set over simmering water, steam the green beans* and shrimp until the shrimp is opaque.
Pour the sauce mixture over the steamed shrimp and green beans and toss to combine. Garnish with seeds and enjoy!

Note*: Dried spices/herbs are more potent than the fresh stuff, hence why I used only half of the ginger in my batch.
Also, with the beans and shrimp, I sauteed my shrimp and beans in a skillet until they were cooked before adding the sauce.

Recipe: Cherry Pie Bars

I am a huge fan of cherry pie. I remember Mike not being a huge fan, but then again, the same could be said about a lot of things that he says he "doesn't" like...like cheese, yet cheese soup is on the menu often. I found this recipe and saw how easy it was to make. I couldn't pass up the chance to try it out and of course, I think I'll be making it again here today...and quite possibly the next week once the second batch is gone.
Mike and I devoured this dessert within three-four days.


So, here it is...

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
21 ounces cherry pie filling (I think it would be better with 2 cans)

For glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons milk


Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Add extracts and continue to mix.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Mix well.

Grease a 9x13 or 15x10 pan. (I used 9x13) Spread 3 cups of the batter into the prepared dish. Spread the cherry pie filling on top, and drop the rest of the batter on top of that.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.*

Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over entire cooled batch. Enjoy!

Note*: An observation to be aware of...even though my toothpick came out clean, it was still pretty under done. I put it in for an extra ten minutes and it was still kind of gooey. If you don't want that yummy gooey texture, try baking the base first, then adding the filling on top and baking again.

Recipe: Bacon-Tomato Jam

 

 

 

I decided to surprise Mike with a jam. I've never made jam before, and this recipe seemed too easy to be true...but my luck turned out pretty good, because it was easy and tasty! Mike had said that he needed protein in his breakfast to be full and happy during the day at work, and that of course, means he would be happy coming home too! So, that was honestly, the main reason that I did this!

 

Needless to say, this jam was practically gone within a day. He has since portioned it out so that it would last a little longer, but it's so good, that it might be gone too soon! I foresee making this often!

 

 

Here's the recipe...

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound thick-sliced bacon, diced

1 pounds tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley (I used dried because the store didn't have any fresh)

salt and pepper to taste

 

 

Cook the diced bacon in a large saucepan until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, discard drippings.

Add tomatoes, onion, sugars, vinegar, garlic and pepper flakes to pan with bacon. Bring to a boil, stirring often.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick, like a jam. (Roughly 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours)

Stir in parsley and salt and pepper. Put into an air tight container in the fridge.

 

 

Serve on biscuits, burgers, sandwiches, bread or toast.

 

Enjoy!

Recipe: Oven Roasted Sausage & Vegetables



 

 

 

One thing that I have stumbled upon several times during my Pinterest days of gathering recipes, is that not everyone is a skilled blogger.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Pinterest, you create boards and add to them. When you want to view something, like a recipe that you've "pinned", you click on the picture and it will take you to the recipe on the original site it came from.

This is a blessing, but it can be a real pain too. Sometimes, you'll run into people who have posted pictures of the meals, but will not include anything but the bare minimum. That doesn't help anyone who is wanting to make this said meal.

Usually, I will skip those meals, no matter how tasty they look, because I'm not going to figure out the ingredients and how to make it. This recipe, I had already purchased the ingredients, as it was listed, but there were no directions...great.

 

So, this is where the adventure began. Mike helped by cutting up the onions and sausages, as I took care of the rest. Once it was all in the pan, ready to go, I just guess the oven temperature and the length of cooking. An hour later, and we were ready to eat.

 

Another thing that really annoyed me about this blog, was the lady who wrote it. I'm sure she's a lovely person in life, but she shouldn't be posting things online, if she isn't going to include things, and if she insults people! She made a remark about what seasoning she used, "Salt and pepper and rosemary", then she goes on to say that bachelors should just ignore the rosemary because they are simply salt and pepper people. Um...not true. I know a lot of single men, and this includes Mike when we were first together, who know what rosemary and other spices/herbs are...so, I found this to be a little belittling and uncalled for.

 

 

Overall, this meal is really good and filling, while being gentle on the wallet. We had a couple meals out of it too!

 

 

Here's the recipe...

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound of sausage links (I used Andoullie but will get some polish sausage next time) {Pick something you like}

1 pound of potatoes (I used red potatoes, but yukon or russet could be fine too)

1 small jar of banana peppers (The store hid all of them, so I used a package of sweet peppers, fresh)

1-2 bell peppers (I used one red and one green)

1 onion

Olive oil

salt

pepper

rosemary (Yes, bachelors, you may use rosemary too...)

 

 

Preheat your oven to 350*.

Slice/Dice/Cut your ingredients to the size you want, bite size is usually ideal! =)

Place all of your cut ingredients into a 9x13 baking dish, and toss with olive oil, coating everything to keep from burning in the oven. Sprinkle with your seasonings*.

Bake for 1 hour, or until you can pierce potatoes easily with a fork.

 

Enjoy!

 

Note*: Mike and I added cheese to the top of our finished, plated servings for added flavor, as what was instructed in the recipe, didn't seem to be enough flavor. We are going to try this again, but add more flavor to it, such as garlic and maybe some paprika and hot spices to kick it up a notch!

Recipe: Moscato Cocktail

I love fruity or flavored alcoholic drinks that do not taste like alcohol. I hate the taste of alcohol. Some things that I have tried in the past, make me think that I am better off sucking down hand sanitizer...blech!

This drink allows you to control exactly how much you want in your glass. Plus, you can always add more soda to it to help hide the flavor of the alcohol...which I did the first time I tried this cocktail, but the second time, I did it by the book, and it was still really good!

I love rose wine and this resembles that a lot, and is probably a bit cheaper too, especially if you already have a couple of the ingredients.

Bonus about this drink...serve this with the girls on a girls' night, or bachelorette party...it will be a hit.


Ingredients:

3 ounces Sutter Home Moscato
1 ounce Vanilla Vodka
1 ounce Strawberry Soda
Strawberry garnish

In your shaker, add ice, Moscato and vodka. Shake until well mixed. Pour into glass, and top off with soda. Place your garnish on the rim and enjoy!

Recipe: Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Mike is well known for his love of enchiladas. He usually requests it a few times a month. Lately, he hasn't been, but that's because I've been writing out the menu before he's had a chance to ask. Because he has been such a good sport as of late about the menu, I decided to give him a new enchilada recipe. This was very similar to another version, which I think we preferred more than this, but that was simply due to the fact that this version has little spice to it. We like spice and heat to our food.







Ingredients:

1 pound of chicken, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oil (I used olive)
8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (Mexican or Monterrey jack blend)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
15 ounces chicken broth
1 cup sour cream (I used the whole small container since they don't make 1 cup servings)
4 ounces green chilies, chopped


Preheat oven to 400*.
Cook the chicken and onion together in oil.
Add your chicken and cheese to each tortilla and roll, placing seam-side down in a baking dish. (Don't forget to spray it first with cooking spray!)
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in flour and cook until bubbly. Whisk broth and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and add sour cream and chilies. Stir until well mixed.
Pour over the enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes of until sauce is bubbly near edges.

Enjoy!


Note*: Mike and I agreed that this was a good meal, but we will be adding more to it just to spice it up. For those of you who would like more spice before eating this meal, try adding some cayenne pepper or cumin, depending on the spice level you want to the sauce as you're mixing the ingredients together.

Recipe: Spinach Burgers

I have found that I waste a lot of my free time searching Pinterest, mainly when Mike is playing a game on the TV or watching football and I don't care about the teams playing. During my several hour marathon of "pinning", I find some interesting recipes. I have tried several of them, that I had to make another folder to contain the ones that we've repeated or would like to have again!

When I pinned this recipe, Mike had seen it but didn't realize that I was the one who discovered it, so when I asked about a menu for the week, he started to describe this meal. I laughed and pointed out that I was the one who found it. Needless to say, it was on the menu.

It was really easy to make, and when it was cooking in the pan, my nose kept smelling hamburgers instead of this healthy meal. It was really good, and will most likely be seen around again soon.




Here's the recipe...

Ingredients:

1 bag of thawed and well drained chopped spinach (I ended up with a small frozen container)
2 egg whites
1 whole egg
1/4 c diced onion (I added whatever I wanted, since we both like onions)
1/2 c shredded cheese (I added a little more to help with texture)
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 tsp red pepper flakes (I added to taste)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I added to taste)

Mix in a bowl until everything is well combined.

Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Spray the pan with non-stick spray. Make your patties and place them into the skillet. Cook each side 4-6 minutes each side, then flip and repeat.

Serve with your favorite toppings.*

Enjoy!

Note*: Mike had his on a bun with more onion, Dijon mustard and Srircha. I had mine with a little more onion.