Sunday, July 23, 2017

Mom's Lasagna

I already have a recipe on this blog for a lasagna with bechamel, but the one I grew up eating doesn't do it that way. Here's the recipe my family ate when I was younger. I use slightly different proportions today (for example, it's virtually impossible to find 15 oz spaghetti sauce jars in stores nowadays, so I usually just use a 24 oz one. Doesn't hurt the recipe at all) but the principles are the same.


Mom's Lasagna

12 oz lasagna noodles
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
24 oz jar spaghetti sauce with mushrooms
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 cup cottage cheese
2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain.

In a large skillet, brown beef and onions, drain if there's excessive fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce, garlic salt, oregano, and basil. In 2 qt greased rectangular baking dish, layer 1/3 of noodles, 1/3 of sauce, 1/3 of cheeses. Repeat layers twice (ending with cheeses on top).

Bake at 350F for 45 min, until hot and bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting to give it time to set up.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Baked Chicken Breasts

A quick, easy recipe that produces fantastically tender and flavorful chicken breasts in the oven.


Baked Chicken Breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2 large breasts butterflied in half to make 4)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Paprika

Begin by brining chicken for 15 minutes. Fill a bowl with warm water, add 1/4 cup salt, stir until the salt dissolves, and add the chicken. You can preheat the oven to 450 while the chicken is brining.

Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Lay it out in a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray and brush both sides with olive oil. In a separate dish, combine approximately equal parts salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. sprinkle mixture over chicken and rub in, on both sides of all four pieces.

Bake at 450 for 15-18 minutes, then allow to rest for at least 5 min before cutting.

Serves: 4

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Chicken Salad

This is a take on the classic chicken salad with grapes and nuts. My version adds mustard and tarragon for a bit of flavor interest.


Chicken Salad

2 large chicken breasts, thawed (about 1.25 lbs chicken)
15 large red grapes, cut into 1/8ths
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup celery, minced
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise (don't substitute greek yogurt, it'll wind up too watery with the added waer from the grapes)
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp tarragon
Salt
Pepper

Begin by poaching the chicken breasts in boiling water for 15 minutes. I like to salt my water and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to try and get some flavor into the chicken as it poaches, so it won't be too bland, but what you do to your poaching liquid is totally optional. When the chicken is done, remove it from the liquid, dice it into slightly smaller than 1/2 inch cubes, then add salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning to taste. Put it in the fridge to cool while you chop the rest of your ingredients.

Go ahead and do the rest of your chopping, then in a large bowl combine the grapes, celery, red onion, pecans, mayo, mustard and tarragon and stir. Adjust the mayo amount so that the salad achieves your desired level of creaminess, the 1/2 cup in the recipe is more of a guideline than any hard-and-fast law. Serve chilled.

This plates really well on a bed of spinach or lettuce leaves, with grape tomatoes around it for color. It's also great on sandwiches if you want to go that route.

Serves 6.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Asian Lettuce Wraps with Teriyaki Pineapple Meatballs

These are fast, require little cleanup, and are surprisingly both tasty and healthy. Even my father, who is wary of all things Asian-inspired, loved them. It uses meatballs that I sampled at the store and liked, which is a lot faster than making your own.


Asian Lettuce Wraps with Teriyaki Pineapple Meatballs


For the coleslaw:
1/2 head red cabbage, grated
1 granny smith apple, cored and grated
1/2 cucumber with the seeds scooped out, minced
12 baby carrots, minced
1 tsp dried cilantro (fresh can also be used and is better, but dried is what I had)
Salt
Pepper

For the dressing:
3 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (add more to taste)
1 tbsp lime juice

For the lettuce wraps:
6 leaves romaine or iceberg lettuce, large enough for wrapping
1 package Aidells Teriyaki Pineapple Meatballs
Coleslaw (see above)

Start by mixing all the ingredients in the coleslaw dressing into a small bowl, whisking vigorously, then setting aside. They'll meld while you prep the slaw vegetables themselves.

Grate the cabbage and the apple, chop your carrots and cucumber. Add all the ingredients for the slaw into a large bowl and pour the dressing over them, then stir well. Add salt and pepper to season to taste. Set slaw aside. If you're prepping this in advance, the slaw can go in the fridge for up to a couple days.

Prepare the meatballs according to package directions. I used the oven for 12 minutes at 375 and they came out well. Rinse your lettuce leaves and pat them dry.

Serve meatballs, slaw, and lettuce leaves and let guests assemble their wraps themselves. Sriracha sauce, sprigs of cilantro, and lime slices are optional garnishes.

Serves 3