This is my first attempt at the No-Knead Bread.
Let it rose for 18 hours, formed, sprinkled cornmeal and covered and let rise for 2 hours. Plop into my Kitchen Aid enamelled cast-iron pot (pictured) and bake.

I'm just about to cut into it.

This recipe from January's Bon Appetit is a keeper - we really loved it!!

Tortellini with Italian Sausage, Fennel, and Mushrooms

Ingredients

�1 tablespoon olive oil
�1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, halved through core, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 3 cups), fronds chopped
�1 pound spicy Italian sausages, casings removed, sausage coarsely crumbled
�1 8-ounce package sliced fresh crimini (baby bella) mushrooms
�4 large garlic cloves, pressed
�1 tablespoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
�1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
�1 cup (or more) low-salt chicken broth
�1 16-ounce package dried tortellini with pesto filling or fresh tortellini with 3-cheese filling
�1 5-ounce package fresh baby spinach leaves
�1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional (for serving)

Preparation

�Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced fennel bulb, sausage, and mushrooms; saut� until sausage is brown and cooked through and fennel is almost tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Add garlic and fennel seeds; stir 1 minute. Stir in cream, then 1 cup broth; boil until liquid is reduced and very slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
�Meanwhile, cook tortellini in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain tortellini; return to same pot.
�Add sausage mixture to tortellini in pot. Toss over medium heat until blended. Add spinach; toss gently until spinach wilts. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese; add more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten if dry. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped fennel fronds, and serve, passing additional cheese.

seagrass

Here is a link that might be useful: Recipe with photo

Guess is was December's issue - anyway I cooked it in the New Year!! Also, just ignore the symbols including 1/2 preceding all of the ingredients. What's up with that, anyway????

seagrass

I've been hanging onto an old President's Choice magazine from 1999 (!) because this picture had tempted me since the day I bought it.

Well, I finally got around to making this on New Year's Eve and it was delicious! Our guests just raved about it. Even picky DH had seconds. I'm definitely going to make it again. It would be wonderful for brunch. The instructions are long-winded, but it's not that difficult at all.

Torta Rustica

1 package (400g) puff pastry, thawed in refrigerator
1 beat egg for glazing

2 TB olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb spinach or swiss chard, washed and chopped. (I used 1.5 packages of frozen spinach, thawed and drained well)
2/3 lb (350g) black forest ham or roast turkey
2 eggs, beaten with 2 TB cream
Fresh ground pepper
7 oz (200g) Fontina or friulano cheese
4 roasted red peppers, sliced into strips
1 TB each of parsley, basil, and oregano (chopped)
7 oz (200g) jarlsberg cheese
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
salt
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Grease a 9" springform pan. The base, sides and top will be lined with 3 strips of pastry. The top is one 9" pastry circle.

Place both blocks of pastry on your work surface. Cut 1/3 off 1 block and reserve for top of pie. Roll the remaining 2/3 in a single 16"x5" strip.

Roll the other block of of pastry into a rectangle 16:x10". Cut in half lengthwise to make two 16"x5" strips.

Lay the strips in the bottom of the springform pan, overlapping the edges by 1/2". Brush the overlapping edges with beaten egg. Allow the pastry to come up and over the sides of the pan.

Roll remaining pastry large enough to fit over top of the pan. Place carefully on a flat plate. Cover both pastries with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

In a large pan over medium heat, heat oil; saute onion and garlic for 1 minute. Add spinach and cook until wilted and dry. Place in a strainer over a bowl and allow to cool. (I did this step before I rolled out the pastry)

Remove the springform pan from refrigerator and begin layering. Make sure each layer fits right to the edge of the shell.

Line bottom evenly with ham. Squeeze any remaining liquid from the spinach mixture, mix with the eggs and cream, season with pepper, then use half of the mixture to spread overtop of the ham layer. Next place an even layer of friulano cheese, pressing each layer as you work. Next layer all the pepper strips, sprinkle with half of the chopped herbs, and pepper to taste. Follow this with remaining ham, then spinach, then jarlsberg cheese, pressing down after each layer. Add sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with remaining herbs, pepper to taste, then the Parmesan.

Fold the overhanging pastry edges over the filling, toward the center, brush with beaten egg. Place top piece of pastry on the torta and trim to fit the pan. Gently press edges down to affix top. Brush the top with beaten egg. Chill 30 minutes.

Use a sharp knife to make several vents in the top crust. Brush again with egg and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in a 350 degree, preheated oven. Cool for 30 minutes before unmoulding.

That Torta Rustica looks fantastic Susy! The Sour Cream Coffeecake looks right up my alley too Rob. Here's my lastest ''something new''. I'm posting it with my revisions as the original version has star anise which I couldn't find (and don't really like anyway). Its a version of Mexican Hot Chocolate. I saw the original recipe on someone's blog, who wrote about it being her favorite breakfast on a cold morning. The masa harina thickens the drink and gives it a texture more like thin cream of wheat. It tastes better than it sounds! We have a great mexican market here, so the ingredients were easy for me to come by. David thought it could use a little more chocolate, so I'm going to try adding 2 T. unsweetened cocoa to the next batch, because I'm making this again!

Champurrado (Mexican Hot Chocolate) - Revised
3 cups water
3-4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup masa harina
1/2 disk Mexican chocolate, chopped (Abuelita or Ibarra chocolate)
3 ounces piloncillo, chopped (or 1/2 cup packed brown sugar)
2 cups Half n Half
1 cup heavy cream

In a large saucepan, boil water with the cinnamon sticks. Remove from the heat, cover and let the cinnamon sticks steep about 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks, return to low heat and slowly add the masa harina to the warm water, whisking until combined. Add the Half N Half, cream, chocolate and piloncillo.

Heat over medium heat until just boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 10 minutes or until chocolate is completely melted and sugar is dissolved, whisking occasionally. Serve immediately.

Recipes look and sound good but bread is my biggest weakness (I have others) and Jas,....that bread is calling my name.

jude

Seagrass, those darned symbols have been popping up all over the forum. Someone finally told me to go to the top, click View, then encoding, then Unicode and they go away. If Unicode is already clicked, I click Western European and they go away, but I'm always having to click one or the other.

Annie

Jasdip (Just another successful day in paradise, right?), that bread is great looking. How'd it taste?

Susy, At first glance I thought it was muffaletta, beautiful either way.

CdL, I've got some biscotti begging for great hot chocolate (since I don't do coffee). I was desperate this morning so I put a couple TJ's truffles in half & half, heated it up, then began dunking.

That Coffee Cake is on the MUST do VERY SOON list!

Susy, that torta looks amazing..but likely only I would eat it.

Susy, like Mustangs, my first thought was that it was a muffaletta. It looks delicious.

The bread tasted great Mustangs. Hubs thought he had gone to heaven. I guess it's a keeper ;-)

I found the perfect breakfast muffins. With just a few tweaks that I made (noted), I think they will fit nicely into the rotation.

Alexa

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Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients:
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oat
(1/4 cup ground flax seed)
• 1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (I omitted)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted (I subbed 1/3 cup applesauce and 1/3 cup low fat sour cream)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Total Time: 25 mins
1. 1 Preheat oven to 375°F In medium bowl, stir together the flour, oatmeal, flax seed, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, vanilla and butter. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

*Note - the batter was really dry and thick, so I added the 1/3 cup low fat sour cream and it was much better.

2. 2 Spoon batter into greased muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes (start watching around 12 minutes; oven temperatures vary) or until toothpick inserted into center muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and let cool on wire rack.

They are excellent!

I made a slew of cupcakes for our New Years Party.

{{gwi:1473874}}

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake
from Martha Stewart
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes from MS

Ingredients

Makes 18
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting (go to link)
Strawberry jam, for topping
Directions
Make cupcakes as directed in Basic Cupcake How-To, adding peanut butter before adding eggs. Use sour cream and vanilla as wet ingredients. Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with peanut butter frosting. Place a dollop of jam in center of frosting. Decorated cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.

Billy's Vanilla, Vanilla Cupcake from Martha Stewart
I didn't use cake flour, and I added the contents of one big fat vanilla bean.

Ingredients

Makes about 30 cupcakes
1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Billy's Vanilla Buttercream
Colored Sprinkles, for decorating, optional
Alternate frosting: Billy's Chocolate Buttercream
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

and this was a shocker to most...the kids were afraid..the grown ups a bit leary..but WOW..what a great tasty cupcake!

Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

Chocolate Bacon Cupcake with Maple Frosting

You will need:
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
3/4 cup bacon, cooked and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each. Remove from stand mixer and gently fold in bacon.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Frost as desired.

Salted Caramel Frosting

You will need:
2 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup; plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and pure maple syrup and combine well.

Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, give it a taste and decide if you want to add in more maple syrup. For thicker frosting you can gradually add in a little more sugar.

Garnish with chopped bacon and a drizzle of pure maple syrup if you wish.
~I garnished with very fine minced crispy bacon pieces and Hawaiian Sea Salt.

Source: The Novice Chef Blog

Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcake

Lemon Cupcakes I dropped a few blue berries on the top of the cupcake before baking. For the frosting I had a berry sauce from a few days before, and painted the inside of the frosting bag with it. Then put in a butter cream frosting that I put the lemon juice in for "flavor"..Really really yummy. 2nd fav among the adults.

Here is a link that might be useful: Banana Cupcakes-Most popular

I made this for dinner last night with grilled chicken breasts, and it was awesome. DH announced that it was the best thing he has eaten in 2011. LOL!

Alexa

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Penne and Cauliflower with Mustard Breadcrumbs Bon Appétit
To make fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs, cut off the crust from country-style bread. Tear the bread into two-inch pieces and grind in the food processor until the breadcrumbs resemble very coarse sand.
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

8 ounces penne rigate (2 1/2 cups)
5 cups small cauliflower florets
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs made from crustless country-style bread
3/4 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional (for serving)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cauliflower. Cook until cauliflower is tender and pasta is tender but firm to bite, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Drain pasta and cauliflower, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta and cauliflower to pot.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in Dijon mustard. Add breadcrumbs. Cook until breadcrumbs are golden and crisp, stirring to break up clumps, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer breadcrumbs to medium bowl.

Add 3/4 cup grated Parmesan, cream, lemon peel, and 1/2 cup cooking liquid to pasta mixture in pot. Toss over medium heat until sauce simmers and coats pasta, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer pasta to wide shallow bowl. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Serve, passing additional Parmesan

Inspired by the Favorite Pizza Toppings thread, I tried a white pizza for the first time using the following sauce recipe.

Source: Food Network--Emeril Lagasse

Roasted Garlic White Pizza with Garlic Sauce

1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 to 4 heads Roasted Garlic, recipe follows
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
4 ounces grated fontina
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Gently heat milk in a small saucepan, just until barely simmering. Remove and keep covered.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter. When foam subsides, add flour and stir until smooth. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring. Do not allow flour to color. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking to combine. Add the salt and cayenne and increase the heat to medium. Cook the mixture, whisking continuously, until the sauce comes to a boil and is thickened. Remove from heat and add 10 of the roasted garlic cloves. Pour the hot mixture into a blender, cover tightly, and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and cool slightly, placing a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface.

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.

Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the yellow cornmeal on a baker's peel or baking sheet. Place the rolled out pizza dough circle on the prepared baker's peel or baking sheet.

Spread the cooled sauce over pizza dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Place sliced mozzarella on top of the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining roasted garlic cloves (whole) over the cheese and top with the grated fontina. Bake the pizza for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden and cheese is melted and bubbly and golden brown in spots. Remove from the oven and sprinkle chopped herbs over the top. Serve immediately.

Roasted Garlic:

3 to 4 heads garlic, upper quarter removed

4 teaspoons olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet and rub 1 teaspoon of oil into the top of each head. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and place, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake until the cloves are soft and golden, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. Carefully remove each clove of garlic from the head. Squeeze each head of garlic to expel any cloves that you cannot remove individually. Set aside until needed.

Yield: enough for 1 pizza

Notes: I made 1 1/2 recipe of the sauce because I like a saucey pie. "I sized the pizza dough to fit my 14 x 15 inch pizza stone) Tossed a bit of parmesan into the sauce. Roasted 3 heads of garlic and used two of them in the sauce--was okay but could have done with one or two more heads.

I topped the pizza w/ chicken, fresh spinach, dried basil & parsley, 1 pound of mozzarella (didn't have Fontina) and the garlic cloves from one head of roasted garlic. The chicken breast was pounded flat, sprinkled with chipotle chili powder & cooked in the panini grill. Cut into bite size pieces after cooking.

It was a really pretty pizza & everyone liked it. While it was a change of pace & used up that lone thawed chicken breast that I had in the refrig, probably won't make the recipe again. Just not enough pizzazz (too bland) to suit us.

I think the sauce would have benefited from the addition of some fresh pressed garlic near the end of the cooking or stirred in after removing from heat to give it a bit of garlic bite.

Or a more robust garlic variety (I had just the bulk garlic from WMT) which I don't have access to. Yet. (Planted several different varieties this past fall.)

Rob333 I made that struesel crumb cake and it tasted wonderful. Only thing was the cake part kind of bubbled up and covered most of the struesel topping so it was inside the cake sort of. I have no idea why either...tasted great though! It took so many bowls and measureing cups etc my kitchen looked like a bomb exploded...it took a long time to make it too so I probably won't make it again. My Dad loved it though. It is his 91st Birthday today!
Joann

Glad you tried the cake ghog! Below is the picture of how my perfect for me! coffee cake turned out. It wasn't that much more labor intensive for me than anything else, but it's not totally easy either. I'd give it a moderate level on easiness. It does bubble some, but that's something I liked about it. The recipe does say to press the topping in and I decided I wouldn't do that next time so more stayed on top.

Ok, on to new business. For forever, I've wanted to try a carrot cake cookie recipe I came across, it's pretty good. I thought the ratio of oatmeal is too much, but other than that pretty good. And even when using the 1/2 ounce scoop I got 33 sandwiches, not 24 or 25. They weren't uniform enough for me (pretty dang close, but CDO is my name (see? I'm so OCD, I have to alphabatize them). On a scale of 1-5, a three. As to level of easiness, it's difficult. Although I got the recipe off of a blog, shame on me, I don't remember where. Martha Stewart's recipe is the same. Sorry blogger!

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Carrot cake is among everyone's favorite desserts, and this former Cookie of the Week incorporates the same ingredients into delicious sandwich cookies with rich cream-cheese frosting in the middle.

Ingredients
Makes about 25 sandwiches.

1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins
Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour to butter mixture; mix on a low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.
Using a 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Transfer to oven, and bake until browned and crisped, rotating pan halfway through baking to ensure even color, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat baking process with remaining dough. Once cooled completely, use an offset spatula to spread about 2 teaspoons of cream-cheese filling onto a cookie. Sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Use this to frost Carrot Cake Cookies and Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, June 2003.

Ingredients
Makes about 2 cups.

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. Gradually add butter, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners' sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and stir to combine.

I got a Cuisinart Programmable Slow Cooker for Christmas and vowed to try one slowcooker recipe a week for the winter months. Slowcooking so fits our lifestyle, but honestly I have not been a fan. One reason is that I am gone for 8 hours, so most thing would overcook. Now I can program the cooking time and then the slowcooker turns to warm. Another reason is that I swear that all crockpotted meat has a "taste" that I can discern, so I am seeking recipes with lots of flavour. This one was good, simple and very tasty. I served it over buttered egg noodles and a side of steamed broccoli and it was well received. The only change I made was to remove the skin from the thighs before browning.
Jane

French Onion Chicken Stew

Courtesy of : Michael Smith - Food Network Canada
Ingredients
Vegetable oil
1 large package of chicken thighs, 10 or 12
10 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 cup sherry
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
Sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a splash of oil, enough to lightly coat the bottom. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down and brown them well on each side.
Put half the onions into a slow cooker and stir in the thyme, sherry, mustard and salt and pepper. Add the chicken thighs and cover with the rest of the onions. Season again with salt and pepper. Add the lid, set to medium or low and cook for at least six hours or longer. The onions will turn golden brown, shrink dramatically and release lots of moisture for the chicken to braise tender in.

I made Paula Deen's lasagna recipe for our family get-together this past weekend. OMG! I think it is about the best lasagna I have ever had! I used Italian Sausage in place of the ground beef and did not have any cream cheese so I left that out.....still superb!

Lady & Sons Lasagna

2 cups canned, diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup green bell peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley leaves
11/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
11/2 teaspoons The Lady's House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 bay leaves

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
6 to 9 Long strips lasagna noodles
12 ounces cottage cheese, mixed with 1 beaten egg and 1/2 cup Parmesan
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
1 cup Swiss cheese, grated
2 cups cheddar, grated
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup mozzarella, grated

Directions:
To make the sauce, in a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Crumble the ground beef in a saucepan. Cook until no pink remains, then drain off the fat. Add the ground beef to the stockpot. Simmer for another 20 minutes. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the package directions (if sauce is too thin, for your taste, you can thicken it up at this time by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and a 1/4 of a cup of cold water. Bring sauce back to a boil. Stir in cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly). Remove bay leaves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To assemble lasagna, place a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan. Layer 1/3 of each, noodles, cottage cheese mixture, Gruyere, Swiss and cheddar cheeses. Pinch off small pieces of cream cheese and dot over other cheeses. Add another layer of sauce. Repeat layering 2 to 3 times ending with sauce. This may be covered and refrigerated at this point. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with mozzarella and continue to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Note: If lasagna has been refrigerated, bake for 40 minutes total.

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Linda

That lazagna sounds like a keeper Linda. The different twist of the combination of cheeses sounds good to me. I will set it aside until the day I have a new oven!

I guess I can't spell lasagna today!

Jane (tobyt), thanks for sharing the French Chicken Onion Stew. I made it today and we both liked it a lot. I left the skin on and browned the chicken well, it looked lovely. Of course by the time it had cooked for hours most of the skin had worked its way off the thighs and wasn't appealing. Next time I'll remove it first as you did.

Lee

I just made this tonight and it was delicious. I got the recipe from a book I got from the library, The Foods of the Greek Islands by Aglaia Kremez. I changed it up slightly. The book mentions that you might not need all five cups of the stock, and to add that last cup in at the end if needed. I like "soupy" stuff so I just went ahead and added all five cups at the appropriate time. It was soupy, so if you don't like soupy, probably four would be ample. I also added in a can of chipotle chopped tomatoes instead of regular because that was all I had in the pantry. I used about 7 cloves of garlic (I love the stuff) and skipped the parsley cuz I didn't have any.

In any case, I think my adjustments are minor and this was delicious. The macaroni cooking in the wine/tomato/onion/garlic/stock gives it an entirely different dimension than cooking it in water and adding a sauce. This recipe is a keeper!

SKORDOMAKARONIA
Pasta cooked in Garlicky Tomato Sauce
From The Foods of the Greek Islands by Aglaia Kremezi

Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup red wine
16 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
pinch of sugar
5 cups chicken stock
1 lb macaroni
1 cup grated parmesan
3 Tbsp chopped parsley

Saute onions. Add garlic. Add pepper. Add wine. As it bubbles, add tomatoes & sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.

Add the stock. Bring to a boil. Add pasta. Cook till pasta is done. Add cheese and parsley.

I made Meyer Lemon Pudding Cakes for dessert last night. Oh my! They were so light and delicious! I posted a pic and the recipe on a separate thread.....they deserved it! LOL

We really enjoyed this meatloaf last night. It was very low in fat since I used 99% lean turkey, but still it was plenty moist. I also used whole wheat white bread. The cilantro and cumin gave it a nice spin but it still tasted like comfort food, as meatloaf should.

Tex-Mex Turkey Meat Loaf and Chipotle Mashed Potatoes
Gourmet : April 1998

1 medium onion
1 bell pepper (orange or red)
3/4 cup packed fresh cilantro sprigs
5 garlic cloves
4 slices firm white sandwich bread
1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons bottled chili sauce such as Heinz
1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
1 large egg
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Chop onion, bell pepper, and cilantro and mince garlic, transferring all to a large bowl. Into a blender tear 2 bread slices and grind into fine crumbs. Add crumbs to onion mixture. Make more bread crumbs in same manner with remaining 2 bread slices and add to onion mixture. Add ‚ cup chili sauce and all remaining ingredients and with your hands mix until just combined (do not overmix).

Transfer mixture to an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch glass loaf pan, pressing down on mixture to eliminate any air pockets (mixture will completely fill pan), and spread remaining 6 tablespoons chili sauce evenly over top. Line a shallow baking pan with foil and put loaf pan in baking pan (to catch any drippings). Bake meat loaf, uncovered, in middle of oven 1 1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted 2 inches into middle of loaf registers 170°F. Transfer meat loaf in pan to a rack and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 20 minutes before slicing. Meat loaf may be made 1 day ahead and cooled, uncovered, before being chilled, covered. If desired, reheat meat loaf, covered, in a 350°F. oven about 20 minutes.

hey! FOAS! What happened o the "and Chipotle Mashed Potatoes" part of your "Tex-Mex Turkey Meat Loaf and Chipotle Mashed Potatoes" recipe? I was gonna look at that. :)

Oops - I didn't make it so I tried to remove reference to it! Who'd have thought to look in the title!

Chipotle Mashed Potatoes
Gourmet : April 1998

3 1/2 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1/2 tablespoon canned chipotle chiles in adobo, or to taste
2 tablespoons nonfat sour cream
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro sprigs

In a kettle combine potatoes with enough salted cold water to cover by 2 inches and boil potatoes until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander, and, when just cool enough to handle, peel potatoes. Return warm potatoes to kettle and with a potato masher mash potatoes with milk over very low heat. Chop chiles and mash into potatoes with sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Potatoes may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat potatoes, covered, in a 350�F. oven about 30 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Chop cilantro and stir into potatoes.

LOL thanks! It's actually a pet peeve of mine when they combine recipes like that. I'm almost never interested in both! And it's annoying when they intertwine the instructions. Anyway, I might make those potatoes. Sounds good!

Here's the new recipe I tried tonight. Actually made it last night and baked it tonight. I never make meatloaf. I don't know why because I like it. Something about this particular recipe attracted me. Well, it was delicious but it didn't hold together well. Probably my fault because I didn't measure most of the ingredients and I'm sure I ended up putting too much liquid in. But it was incredibly moist (due to the copious amount of liquid no doubt) and very tasty.

Below the recipe I've added some notes.

Cheddar Mushroom Meatloaf

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup onion, finely-diced
1 cup red pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 pounds ground beef
1 1/4 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups (8 ounces) Cheddar Cheese, cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. In non-stick skillet, melt butter and cook mushrooms, onion, red pepper, and garlic over medium heat until softened, 5-6 minutes.

In large bowl, combine mushroom mixture with the remaining ingredients; mix thoroughly. Place in 9x5-inch loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes. Drain fat. Let meatloaf stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

May's notes:
I used low fat sour cream instead of yogurt. I don't keep yogurt on hand because it doesn't agree with me but sour cream I always have.

I didn't have italian bread crumbs so I used crushed crackers. Maybe I shoulda used more to soak up that excess liquid.

I didn't have red pepper so just compensated with extra onions. Also added in more than one clove of garlic for pete's sake!!

It didn't say how large to make the cheddar cheese cubes so I kept them small at 1/4 inch or so. They melted right into the meatloaf. They were good, but next time I might go with 1/2 inch.

Extra moisture was probably caused by a combination of too much ketchup, worcestershire sauce and sour cream. Next time I might measure. OTOH though it was not beautiful, it was certainly delicious and seeing as how I'm not out to impress anyone with looks, I probably won't bother.

In any case, this recipe is definitely a keeper.

Here's what it was supposed to look like. This is NOT my picture!

{{gwi:1473877}}

I made roasted garlic soup with artichoke croutons. Artichokes were $4 each for fresh ones so I resorted to using quartered canned ones and added them when my onions were almost caramalized. I don't really care for french onion soup but I really did love this soup as the concept is the same. I think it is more of a starter than a big bowl of soup for lunch thing though.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Soup/Vegetables/recipe.html?dishid=11386

May, that meatloaf looks good, I may have to try that one!

I made a recipe from one of Suzanne Somers' cookbooks that I picked up a while back at a book sale.

Fillet of Sole with Lemon-Caper Butter over Seared Spinach.

It was quite tasty, and I'll make it again. I used cod because sole is difficult to come by in my part of the country. Still good. I'd be happy to share the recipe if anyone wants it, just that I am at we=ork right now so don't have it handy.

Linda

Yes, I am interested in that Linda! That sounds fantastic. All of my favorites. When you can post it.

:)

Here you go, Rob333. Only thing I would change would be to adjust the amount of lemon juice. I found I needed less than the recipe called for.

Fillet of Sole with Lemon-Caper Butter and Seared Spinach
Source: Suzanne Somers� Eat Great, Lose Weight

1 T olive oil
2 large sole fillets
1/4 c chicken broth
1 T butter
2 T drained capers
2 T fresh parsley, finely chopped, plus additional for garnish
Juice from 1-1/2 lemons

Heat a saut� pan large enough for both pieces of fish. Add olive oil and then the fish, saut� about 3 minutes per side. Remove fish and keep warm. With the heat still on high, add the chicken broth and reduce by half. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter until well combined. Stir in the capers, parsley and half the lemon juice. Set aside.

Seared Spinach

1 T olive oil, divided
1 lb fresh spinach, torn, rinsed and spun dry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tsp of the olive oil, then the spinach. Saute for about a minute until just wilted. Sprinkle with Salt & pepper. Arrange on two plates.

Return the pan with the caper sauce to medium heat. Place the fish back in the pan to reheat, spooning sauce over the fish. Place a fillet on top of the spinach on each plate, drizzle with remaining sauce and olive oil. Garnish with remaining parsley.

Linda

After being intrigued with stinky's idea of an Asian meatloaf, I looked up a recipe, and the below this weekend. Prep time is not 15 minutes, it's more like 30. It serves 12, not 6. I couldn't puree as the equipment had gone caput. I loved the way this tasted. Both the sauce (which is completely necessary, a foil against the sweetness of the loaf) and the meatloaf. It filled two meatloaf pans. Will I make it again? Doubtful, unless I can cut down the prep time. Both the loaf and the sauce are very labor intensive. For the amount of time, all you get is meatloaf. Not that that is a bad thing, but it sure isn't boeuf bourginon.

Asian Pork Meatloaf with Red Wine-Mushroom Gravy
Copyright, 2000, Ming Tsai, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time: 15 min
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Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min

--
Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients
 Canola oil, to cook
 1 tablespoon minced garlic
 1 tablespoon minced ginger
 1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed and chopped
 3 carrots, peeled and 1/4-inch dice
 4 stalks celery, 1/4-inch dice
 2 onions, 1/4-inch dice
 1 zucchini, 1/4-inch dice
 1 tablespoon sambal
 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
 2 cups cooked long grain rice
 2 pounds ground pork
 4 eggs, lightly beaten
 Salt and black pepper, to taste

Red Wine-Mushroom Gravy:
 1 tablespoon minced garlic
 1 large onion, roughly chopped
 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
 1 bottle dry red wine
 2 cups chicken stock
 2 tablespoons soy sauce
 2 tablespoons butter
 Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large saute pan coated with oil, add the garlic, ginger and black beans. Stir and season. Add
carrots, celery, onions, zucchini and stir. Add sambal and hoisin and continue to stir. When the
mixture is cooled, mix in the rice, pork and eggs. Season with salt and black pepper. (Test for
seasoning by cooking a small piece in boiling water, a frying pan or even nuking it.) Spray a nonstick
meatloaf pan and fill with mix. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes or
until a knife/poker comes out clean.

For the Red Wine Mushroom Gravy: In a saucepan coated with oil, caramelize the garlic, onions
and mushrooms. Deglaze with red wine and reduce by 75 percent. Add the stock and soy sauce and
reduce by 50 percent. Check for seasoning. Using a hand blender, puree the sauce and add the butter.
Check again for seasoning. Keep warm.
Plating: Sauce the plate completely then top off with a thick slab of meatloaf.

Wine Suggestion: Rabbit Ridge. California Zinfandel, Barrel Cuvee, 1997

And thanks Linda. Sorry. I didn't even notice you'd posted the recipe until I remembered to go look for it. Sounds great!