Day #72 and #73 - Homemade Lasagna

When I was growing up, I used to really look forward to Sunday evenings. We usually had a really nice dinner, like one of those meals that is usually reserved for special occasions. We didn't have dessert very often - but if we did, it was usually on Sundays while we were all sitting down to watch the Sunday night movie that was one TV. I'm probably the only one who remembers those movies, but it was something I always looked forward to.

Anyway - I have decided that I want to set aside one night a week to create these kinds of memories for Kayla. I just need to pick a night.

Anyway - Sunday night, we had all the fixings for Lasagna that's what we made and it was SO dang good. We had leftovers for dinner tonight!

Our fabulous dinner was washed down with these AMAZING chocolate fudge brownings topped with chocolate ganache and some vanilla ice cream.

Lasagna Ingredients:

Chunky Tomato Sauce:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Onion, Minced

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef

1 tsp Salt

6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

28 oz Crushed Tomatoes

28 oz Diced Tomatoes

1/4 tsp Dried Oregano

1/8 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Sauce Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, until shimmering. Add the onion and 1 tsp salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes with the juice, oregano and red pepper flakes. Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a separate pan, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook, stirring to break up the clumps, until no longer pink. Add meat mixture to tomato mixture and cook about 5 minutes.

Lasagna:

15 oz Ricotta Cheese

1-1/4 Cups Parmesan Cheese, Grated

1/4 tsp Dried Basil

1 Large Egg, Lightly Beaten

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

6 Cups Tomato Sauce (See Recipe Above)

12 No Boil Lasagna Noodles

4 Cups Skim Milk Mozzarella, Shredded

Directions:

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the basil, egg, salt and pepper until well combined.

Spread 1/4 Cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place 3 noodles on top of the sauce and drop 3 Tbsp of the ricotta mixture down the center of each noodle, then spread it to an even thickness. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Spoon 1-1/2 cups of the tomato sauce evenly over the cheese. Repeat this layering two more times.

For the final layer, place the 3 remaining noodles on top. Spread the remaining 1-1/4 cup sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and then the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Spray a large sheet of foil lightly with vegetable oil spray and cover the lasagna. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Day #71 - BBQ Ribs

My parents invited us over for dinner tonight. We ate some good food and worked on our Christmas cards (these were supposed to be for last year, but we didn't get them done in time to get them out - don't hate). Anyway - we had some yummy BBQ ribs with baked potatoes and Caesar salad. It was REALLY good - dinner always tastes better when someone else makes it.

Day #70 - Pizza Hut

I know we just had pizza the other night - but we had many reasons to celebrate this Friday - so we caved and went to Pizza Hut for dinner. It's Jim's all-time favorite place to eat - something about childhood memories or something like that. The funny thing is - we had to wait almost an hour for our pizza because the waiter gave the first pizza to the wrong table. So they had to make another one. As a result - we got our meal for free. It can't get any better than that!

Day #69 - Leftovers

Tonight is the last night we will be spending with our house guest. So we thought it would be the perfect evening to clean out the fridge and have leftovers. There were a TON of leftovers from this weeks dinners - I think between the four of us, we pretty much cleaned out the fridge. It was pretty nice! I'm looking forward to life being normal again.

Day #68 - Pizza

We were going to make homemade pizza tonight - Jim even had some homemade dough made for the crust. Then I realized - we didn't have any sauce, cheese or veggies for the pizza. So instead of buying all those ingredients, we decided it was the same price and much easier to grab a pizza from Papa Murphy's. So that's what we did - and it was fabulous!

Day #67 - Boston Baked Cod

I have always been a little hesitant about buying fish. I stick to the ones I know and trust - usually salmon and halibut. But when I saw these awesome looking cod fillets at Costco - I couldn't resist and bought a bag. Jim's chef skills are really being put to the test this week with new recipes. The cod was cooked perfectly and tasted great!

Ingredients:

TOPPING:
2 slices high-quality sandwich bread, such as Pepperidge Farm, quartered
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Baked Cod:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 medium shallot, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced very fine
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
2 skinless cod fillets (each about 1 pound), cut in half crosswise

Directions:

To make the topping: Adjust one oven rack to the upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heat source) and the second rack to the middle position; heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Pulse the bread in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade until processed into fairly even 1/4-inch pieces about the size of Grape-Nuts cereal, about ten 1-second pulses.

Spread the crumbs evenly on a rimmed baking sheet; toast on the lower rack, shaking the pan once or twice, until golden brown and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes.Toss together the bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.

To make the cod: Increase the oven setting to broil. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat until the foaming has subsided. Reduce the heat to medium and add the shallot and garlic and saute until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, add the lemon juice, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and swirl to incorporate. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Season the cod liberally with salt and pepper. Fold the thin tailpieces in half to increase their thickness. Place the fillets in a shallow 9 by 13-inch casserole dish and pour the melted butter mixture over. Broil until the fish is completely opaque when gently flaked with a paring knife, 14 to 15 minutes. Baste the fish with the pan drippings and top with the bread crumbs. Continue broiling until the crumbs are golden brown, about 1 minute. Using a metal spatula, transfer the fish to individual plates and pour the basting juices around the edges of the fish (not on top, or the bread crumbs will become soggy). Serve immediately.

Day #66 - Bruschetta Chicken

I'm starting to get used to the idea of having a "stay-at-home-husband" these days. I have come home to a wonderful home-cooked meal every day this week. It's been so nice - I'm not sure I want him to go back to work.

Tonight - we had Bruschetta Chicken served over whole wheat linguine noodles and steamed green beans. It was a pretty fabulous dinner - my husband is the BEST!

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Flour

2 Eggs, Lightly Beaten

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs

1 Tbsp Melted Butter

2 Large Tomatoes, Seeded & Chopped

3 Tbsp Minced Fresh Basil

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper

Directions:

Cut chicken breasts in half and pound flat.

Place flour eggs in separate shallow bowls. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter and place in another shallow dish. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs and finally in the bread crumb mix, turning to coat. Place in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Loosely cover the baking dish with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 to 1 minutes longer until the top is browned.

While chicken is baking - in a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken and return to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through. Serve over warm noodles (optional).

Nutritional Information (Approximately for 4 oz Chicken with tomato topping):

Total Calories: 380 cal

Total Fat: 14 g

Total Carbs: 19 g

Total Protein: 42 g