Linda's Lasagna

This is my old stand-by dish for when I have company over. It feeds large crowds, it's good, and it's fool proof. I don't think I've ever messed it up, it probably can happen, and will happen, but if you follow the directions exactly it will turn out perfect.

It's also a great dinner for any old time because there is usually left overs for lunch or dinner the next day.

(Find the recipe here.)


Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
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• 12 ounces cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
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• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef until brown. Drain. In another skillet over medium heat, cook onion until translucent. Combine beef and onion in a large saucepan with tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, water, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour.
2. While sauce is simmering, blend cottage cheese, Parmesan and egg until smooth. Set aside.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Spread 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover sauce with 3 noodles. Cover noodles with one-third of remaining sauce. Top with half the mozzarella. Place another layer of noodles and one of sauce over the mozzarella; top that with the cottage cheese mixture. Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining sauce.
6. Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top and bake 15 minutes more, until golden and bubbly.

Homemade shake and bake

Ingredients:

4 cups dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon minced onion
1 pinch dried basil leaves
1 pinch dried parsley
1 pinch dried oregano

1. Combine ingredients in a large resealable plastic bag and shake.
2. Add chicken and shake.
3. Just for fun you can shake it some more, but don't forget to dance while you do so.
4. Bake the chicken at 350 for 30-40 minutes. (Sorry I don't remember exactly how long I cooked it.)

**I've only tried this recipe with chicken, but it would probably be good with pork chops as well. I've only had real shake-and-bake once and I think this tasted the same.

Chicken-Rice skillet

This one is super-duper easy, it's cheap, and it tastes good.

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 lb. boneless chicken breast cubed
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon butter
1 bag (1 lb.) frozen broccoli, red peppers, onions and mushrooms (or other combination) thawed and drained
2 cups uncooked instant rice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

1. heat oil and cook chicken 3-4 minutes, until no longer pink in center.
2. Add water and butter, heat to boiling. Stir in veggies, rice, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Remove from heat.
3. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.


**I made this the other night with fresh veggies instead of frozen and it turned out good. Just make sure you saute them before or they will be crisp. I added broccoli, peppers, corn, peas, cauliflower. I also like to make sure everything boils before I remove it from the heat and cover it because then the cheese will melt for sure. Also, don't forget the salt like I did.

Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad

I loved this meal and Benji hated it. So maybe don't waste your time, or make the salad and use a different dressing.

Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 (8 ounce) package bow tie (farfalle) pasta
• 1/2 cucumber - scored, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced
• 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion
• 2 diced Roma tomatoes
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 (6 ounce) bag fresh spinach
• 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

1. To make the dressing, whisk together the ginger root, rice vinegar, orange juice, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soup mix, sugar, and garlic until well blended. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the bowtie pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, and rinse under cold water. Place pasta in a large bowl.
3. To make the salad, toss the cucumber, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, carrot, spinach, mandarin oranges, chicken, and almonds with the pasta. Pour the dressing over the salad mixture, and toss again to coat evenly. Serve immediately.

Chicken garlic pizza

Mmmmm....this pizza is so good. It has a lot of flavor and it's a nice change from normal red sauce pizza. It's also fast and easy and that doesn't hurt at all.

Ingredients

• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Place the chicken breast in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until no longer pink, about 20 minutes. Drain and cool slightly, then cut into strips.
2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with garlic, onion and basil. Pour into a chilled dish to cool, and refrigerate until set.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Roll out the pizza dough, place onto a pizza pan or other baking sheet, and spread the herb butter over the surface using the back of a spoon. Arrange chicken on top, then dot with ricotta cheese. Top with tomato slices, cilantro and Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until crust is browned and center is cooked through.

What I did:

I actually doubled the garlic sauce which happened to be a BAD idea--way too much garlic. I did add a whole teaspoon of basil and even added some oregano, but next time I won't add so much garlic.

I had four mushrooms that I needed to get rid of and since one of my New Year's resolution is to not waste so much food, I added them to the pizza, but because of the extra topping I only used one tomato.


My fancy grocery store in Brigham City (Walmart) didn't have any shredded Romano cheese, so I found this blend from Kraft and it worked well since the recipe calls for both Romano and Parmesan cheese

I cooked my cubed chicken in some basil, oregano, and a little onion powder. Then I put it on top of the sauce, then covered that with some of that Parmesan, Romano, Asiago cheese. (I probably used about 1/3 cup, but you can use more if you like it, I wasn't sure if Jordan would like the strong flavors of those cheeses)

I then added the rest of the ingredients and then I topped it with mozzarella cheese. I think you could just use mozzarella instead of both kinds of cheese and it would still taste wonderful, I was just experimenting and trying to make it a little more kid friendly. One more bit of advice, next time I will add the cilantro before the tomatoes, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese, it dried out quite a bit in the oven. Any piece of cilantro that had something on top of it was safe though, so next time it's going on the bottom of the veggies.

Beef and Bean Chimichangas

We made these tonight for the Fiesta Bowl. I followed the recipe exactly. They tasted pretty good. This is where I found the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups whole kernel corn
• 2 cups taco sauce
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 8 (12 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 (16 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• shredded lettuce
• 1 tomato, diced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess grease, and add the onion, bell pepper, and corn. Cook for about 5 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in the taco sauce, and season with chili powder, garlic salt and cumin, stirring until blended. Cook until heated through, then remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Open the can of beans, and spread a thin layer of beans onto each of the tortillas. Spoon the beef mixture down the center, and then top with as much shredded cheese as you like. Roll up the tortillas, and place them seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Brush the tortillas with melted butter.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Serve with lettuce and tomato.