Dinner
Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite Food Network personalities. Not only is she down to earth, she and her family also like a little spice in their food as much as we do. This casserole does take a bit of time but it makes a lot and is great to split it and share with a friend or neighbor! Well, unless you are feeding a group of teenagers! In this case we shared. This definitely hits all the notes of a lasagna, but takes it a little further with the spice level, but still not over the top. We all enjoyed this. A simple salad with garlic bread and dinner is done!
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces of pasta, I used a spiral pasta
1 pound hot Italian pork sausage
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 ounces), diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (14.5 ounce), tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
15 ounce, ricotta
1 large egg
4 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley for garnish, optional
DIRECTIONS
Cook the pasta according to package directions, just until al Dante. Drain in colander and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking brown sausage and ground beef in a very large skillet with tall sides over medium to medium high heat. Break up the meat as it cooks. When the meat is almost cooked through, drain and discard the extra fat drippings from the skillet. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste along with oregano, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Let simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Fold in drained noodles and place half of the noodle mixture in a large casserole dish.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl whisk together ricotta and egg until well combined. Stir in two cups of the shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, 2 Tablespoons minced parsley. Spread ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta mixture leaving a one inch boarder around the edge, then top ricotta with the remaining noodles mixture.
Cover the hot dish with foil and bake 30 minutes or until the dish starts to bubble a bit. Remove foil and top with remaining mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan. Place back in oven and bake another 10-15 minutes uncovered until cheese is melted and bubbling hot. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired.
Serve warm.
Enjoy!
Recently Jim really wanted to have a lobster bake with our friends. The hard part was we were getting together at their house and did not want to completely disrupt their kitchen and wanted an easy way to boil the seafood…so guess what? We used our TURKEY FRYER! Say what? Yes, that turkey fryer that is sitting in your garage waiting to be used. This will bring new life to that fryer and something NOT deep fried and completely delicious! Dig out those deep fryers you are going to thank me! The best part is you can make as much seafood that will fit in that huge pot! (Adjusting the liquid of course) you will be the hit of the party with this! We have done this twice already and have plans to do it again!
My measurements serve 4-5 people
INGREDIENTS
1 pound small red potatoes
4 ears of corn, cleaned and broken in half
1 pound of kielbasa, sliced into 1 inch rounds
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, deveined with shell on
1 1/2 pounds little neck clams, cleaned and soaked in room temp. water for 20 minutes
6 lobster tails
1 onion, diced
6 beers (we used blue moon)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
3 Tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
1 stick of butter, melted and used when serving
Lemon wedges for serving
DIRECTIONS
Connect your deep fryer to the propane tank outside and away from the house. Add the beer, garlic salt and Old Bay seasoning to the bottom of the pot. In the basket of the fryer add the potatoes, onion and kielbasa and bring to a boil. Add corn, clams (removed from water)and lobster and cook five more minutes, add the shrimp and cook an additional five minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Using oven mitts as the handle will be very hot, remove the basket from the pot and liquid and pour everything onto a baking sheet or large platter. Serve with melted butter and lemon wedges.
Enjoy!
I made this salad with what I had in my fridge and it was delicious! I had three teenagers that all enjoyed it, so that says something! The fried goat cheese is AMAZING! If you have never tried it, I highly recommend it. Our family likes goat cheese and I use it often but this was really a nice change. Crispy and creamy all in one bite! I also marinated the chicken for a couple of hours, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead a little bit for this.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE DRESSING AND MARINADE
1 cup of blackberries
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of honey
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
FOR THE SALAD
8 ounces of goat cheese, sliced into rounds
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cups Panko bread crumbs
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
2 cups arugula
2 cups blackberries
1 cup cashew halves
Canola oil, to fry
DIRECTIONS
Mix all of the dressing and marinade ingredients together muddling the blackberries. Marinate the chicken with one cup of the marinade and store in the fridge. Reserve the remaining dressing for later also storing in the fridge.
Pre-heat your grill to medium high heat. Mix the romaine lettuce, arugula, 2 cups of blackberries and cashews in a bowl and set aside. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat with enough canola oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Slice your goat cheese into at least 1/4 inch thick rounds, flour all sides of the goat cheese and dredge in the beaten egg. Lastly coat the round of cheese in Panko Crumbs. Do this for each round setting them on a plate until they are all coated and you are ready to fry. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.
Grill the chicken on both sides until cooked through and no longer pink on the inside. While the chicken is grilling add the goat cheese rounds to your heated canola oil and quickly fry both one side of the cheese until golden brown and turn the cheese to the second side until golden brown. Remove from heat and add to your Romaine mix.
When the chicken is done slice and add to the romaine mix. Drizzle with the remaining balsamic dressing.
Enjoy!
This is another Pinterest favorite and using a rotisserie chicken really speeds up the process. This is a rich, creamy and delicious dish. I made this in the morning and popped it in the oven later in the day. Cooking the bacon the day before also makes this dish an easy one to put together. I served this along side a salad and garlic bread and it all worked really well together. Dinner Success!
INGREDIENTS
8 Lasagna Noodles
2 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie works well)
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup butter
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non stick spray and set aside. Cook 8 lasagna noodles according to package directions or until al dente. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water. In a medium saucepan add butter, heavy cream and cream cheese, cook over medium heat and whisk until melted. Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk until smooth and add the Parmesan cheese. Bring to a simmer and cook for a couple minutes or until it starts to thicken. Line the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan with one cup of the Alfredo sauce. To make the rolls lay one lasagna noodle out and add about two tablespoons of Alfredo sauce over each noodle, take 1/8 of the shredded chicken and add that on top of the Alfredo sauce, add a layer of the crumbled bacon and shredded mozzarella and roll the lasagna noodle up and place seam side down in your prepared pan. Do this for each noodle. Once the noodles are all rolled. And in the pan pour the remaining Alfredo sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.
Enjoy!
This recipe comes from www.therecipecritic.com
This recipe was an instant family favorite, so much so, I made it twice in one week! I served this along side a salad and dinner was done. This is shallow fried with Panko crumbs and Parmesan. What’s not to love with that?! The sweet honey sauce really makes the dish! Sometimes the boneless skinless chicken breasts are really thick and not the same size so to make the cooking time even, I place them in a Ziploc bag and pound them out so they are all the same size. I highly recommend this. The sauce made here is enough for 6 chicken breasts.
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup all purpose flour
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded even and thin
1 cup Panko crumbs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
2 eggs, beaten
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
1 Tablespoon chopped Tarragon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
Canola oil to fry
DIRECTIONS
Heat enough canola oil to cover the bottom and slightly up the sides of a large frying pan over medium-high heat. the oil will be hot enough when the end of a wooden spoon placed in the oil has small bubbles around it.
Season your pounded chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place flour, eggs and. Panko crumbs in separate bowls. Add the Parmesan cheese and chopped Tarragon to the bowl with the Panko crumbs. Add 1 Tablespoon of mustard to your beaten eggs and stir to combine. Taking one chicken breast at a time dredge in the flour first, then into the egg mixture and last into the Panko mixture. Do this for each piece of chicken.
Add three pieces of the chicken to your heated oil and cook on the first side until golden brown, three to four minutes each side. When the first side is golden turn the chicken to the other side and continue to cook through until done and golden. Remove from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Continue with the second batch of chicken.
FOR THE SAUCE~
Mix honey, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until well combined and heated through. Serve this warm over the chicken. Serve warm and garnish with chopped Tarragon if desired!
Enjoy!
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