Last week at the gym, a friend of mine came over and asked if I had a lasagna recipe to share.  I thought about it and realized that though I’ve made lasagna plenty of times, I’ve never actually written down a recipe.  I went home that afternoon and decided I wanted to make lasagna.  I normally make it with seasoned ground beef but I just love how crumbled sausage tastes in almost any pasta dish.  I had most of the ingredients in the pantry and fridge, but did run to the store for some ricotta and sausage.

There’s something about pouring yourself a glass of red wine and spending some time in the kitchen making a classic home cooked meal like this.  It’s just comforting to me.  I ended up baking the lasagna for a teacher at my son’s preschool who is recovering from surgery.  Using some leftover noodles and filling, I did make a few lasagna rollups that the kid’s ended up eating for their dinner.  Rollups are quicker and easier to make than lasagna and is a great way to use up any leftover noodles and filling.  To make a rollup, lay the noodle flat, spread about 2 TB cheese filling over noodle, top with small amount of meat and sauce.  Roll up from one end to the other, loosely.  Bake in additional tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella until bubbly.

Sausage and Spinach Lasagna
Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

(Printable Recipe)

1 box of Barilla lasagna noodles (or your favorite brand)
1 lb Italian Sausage or Turkey Italian Sausage, removed from casings, cooked and crumbled
Semi-Quick Tomato Sauce (see recipe below, best to make ahead) or 2 jars of your favorite sauce
2 cups whole milk ricotta
12 oz box of frozen chopped (or leaf) spinach, defrosted and drained very well
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 TB dried parsley flakes
2 good pinches of salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (it’s best to buy a block and shred yourself)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare noodles as directed on package or take this shortcut: Spread uncooked noodles in large pan (I used an aluminum roasting pan). Bring water to a boil, using a large tea kettle if you have it. Pour hot water over noodles, making sure there is plenty to cover all the noodles.  Add a little olive oil to water to help prevent sticking. Let them soak while you are preparing the filling.  Drain well when ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, egg, parsley, salt and pepper. Spray 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread about 3/4 cup of sauce over bottom of baking dish. Place 4-5 noodles over the bottom, slightly overlapping each other. Spread half of the cheese and spinach mixture over the bottom layer of noodles. Then spread half of the cooked crumbled sausage over the cheese mixture. Top layer with about a cup of sauce. Repeat next layer the same. Top last layer with noodles and remaining tomato sauce (about 2 cups), if you made the sauce using my recipe you will have sauce leftover. You can freeze any unused sauce for future use.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Take aluminum foil off lasagna and spread shredded mozzarella over top layer. Cook uncovered for an additional 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned and sauce is bubbly

Let pasta stand for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve with grated Parmesan, red pepper flakes and garlic bread.

Semi-Quick Tomato Sauce
Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

(Printable Recipe)

2 TB olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 large can of tomato sauce
2 tsp oregano flakes
1 tsp parsley flakes
pinches of salt, pepper and sugar (sugar is optional)

In large saucepan, heat olive oil and add minced onion and a small pinch of salt. Saute over medium heat until onions are softened. Add both cans of tomatoes to pot. Add a small amount of water to each can and swirl to grab any leftover sauce and add to pot. Bring sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Add oregano, parsley, salt, pepper and sugar. Sugar is optional, depending on taste.

Continue to simmer for about 20-25 minutes. Taste for any additional salt and pepper.

GO GATOR S!!

Bring home another SEC Championship!

Chomp…Chomp…

Is everyone enjoying their long holiday weekend?  We’ve really enjoyed ours so far…lots of family time at the house with the kids… playing games, enjoying the nice weather and watching lots of football and basketball.  Not kidding when I say LOTS of football and basketball…the Magic have played 3 times already since Wednesday and then of course yesterday our Gators had their BIG game in the Swamp!

Now, let’s talk about Thanksgiving…this year I hosted the big meal at our house.  I’ve hosted one time before, but the difference this time was that this time I did pretty much all of the cooking…and loved every minute of it!!  I started my prep early in the week and planned things out so that I wouldn’t be overwhelmed Thanksgiving morning.  I’m happy to report it was all a success…the food turned out great, we had lots of yummy leftovers and I was able to totally relax and enjoy the day with my family!

(Showing off the spread… )

I tried something new at the last minute that I’m excited to share with you…brining.  This may not be new to some of you, but I’ll tell ya, it was new and a bit intimidating to me and I’m so glad I tried it, with the help of my food blogging friend Ninette from Big, Bold, Beautiful Food.  Ninette has taught me so many things in the short time that I’ve “known” her…we keep in touch on Facebook so I’m very often in the know of what she’s cooking for her family and friends.  This woman can cook.  I saw her post something on FB about brining her turkey so I asked her how she did it and here’s what she told me to do:

In two gallons of water dissolve 3/4 – 1 cup salt and 1/2-1/3 cup sugar.  To this I added several crushed cloves of garlic, a quartered onion, sprigs of thyme and rosemary, a few celery stalks and a small handful of whole peppercorns.  I put my turkey in a Ziplock turkey bag (the big one!) and poured the brine solution in it.  We have an extra refrigerator in the garage so that is where I stored the bagged turkey in a roasting pan placed in a baking sheet for extra stability.  If you have no room in your fridge to store the turkey, then place your bagged turkey in a cooler full of ice.  I brined my turkey overnight, for about 14 hours.  I read online somewhere that a good rule of thumb for how long to brine is 1 hour per pound….and not to “overbrine”.  My turkey was a 16lber so 14 hours was plenty.  When ready, rinse turkey very well and discard brine.  Prepare your turkey and cook as desired.

The purpose of brining, I’ve been told, is to keep the meat juicy and flavorful.  And that is exactly what it did.  I could see the juices running when my grandfather was carving the turkey…it was awesome.  Bye bye dry turkey…

Now, I’ve also been told that brining is good for everyday cooking of chicken and pork chops…I’ll be experimenting with that soon.

(My brother in law, Nonno and hubby getting ready for some turkey…)

(The kid table…)

Here’s  a little sampling of the rest of our Thanksgiving eats…I’ll be sharing recipes with you throughout the week so check back in!

(Cranberry Orange Quick Bread)

(Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Almonds)

(Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Streusel)

(Nonna’s Stuffing)

(Gina and her best friend Amber, Thanksgiving 2008)

Working on my Thanksgiving menu and shopping list today…thought I’d share with you some of the recipes I am trying out or improvising…in case you are still looking for ideas!

Sage Roasted Turkey

Nonna’s Stuffing

(Sammy with his great grandmother, “little” Nonna, Thanksgiving 2008)

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Topping
(will create my own version based on this Southern Living recipe I have made before)

7  medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 7 pounds)
1  teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, cut up
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups chopped, toasted pecans

Bring sweet potatoes, salt, and water to cover to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Boil 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain.

Mash potatoes, or press though a ricer; stir in butter, and maple syrup. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Top evenly with pecans and brown sugar, and bake 8 more minutes or until golden.

Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Hazelnuts

Roasted Carrots

Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce

Pioneer Woman’s Pear Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Good Ole Libby Pumpkin Pie

Last year at this time we took a family vacation to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.  It was the first time both of my kids saw snow and the first time in a long time any of us felt that cold!  It was a beautiful place to visit.  Since I have no food pictures to share this time around, here are a few photo memories from just a year ago… and in case I don’t get the chance to post again this week I want to wish everyone and their families a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving holiday!!

(Sammy having a blast with his cousins!)

Basic Barbeque Rub
Recipe from Steven Raichlen’s How To Grill cookbook

1/4 cup coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir or whisk to mix. Transfer to a jar, cover, and store away from heat and light. The rub will keep for several months.
Makes 1 cup