Classic Italian Lasagna

I've never realized that what we assume to be "real" lasagna in our little corner of the world is NOT "Italian".  In case you don't know what I'm referring to as Utah Lasagna - it's typically long, curly-edged noodles layered with ricotta cheese/egg mixture and red meat sauce smothered in cheese.  

Apparently, that is not real Italian lasagna.  A few friends have enlightened me that the real deal does NOT have ricotta cheese and/or eggs (or if you are in Utah, cottage cheese - because most of us try to watch our pennies).  What it does have is a homemade white sauce layered with a rich red sauce with browned veggies blended into it.

The flavors are wonderful together.  My favorite part though, is the absence of a watery lasagna that flows all over your plate.  Of course, you do need to let any cooked lasagna rest at least 15 minutes before you cut and plate, which helps it hold it's shape.

If you've never used a lasagna pan, it makes for easy layering and serving.

This recipe has ground turkey instead of ground beef.  I like to mix the two, so the beef flavor is still there.  You may also use either no-boil pasta or regular.  If you use regular, only boil it for half the recommended time.  

I LOVED this lasagna - I much prefer it over the ricotta/cottage cheese Americanized version.  

Classic Italian Lasagna

Ingredients:

Red Sauce:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
4 cloves minced garlic (or 1 tsp minced dried)
1/2 large onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
8 oz mushrooms, washed and chopped
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp Italian Seasoning (or mix of dried oregano & basil)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

White Sauce:
3 cups milk (not skim)
4 Tbs butter
5 Tbs flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Lasagna:
9 lasagna noodles (boiled for half the recommended time) - OR - 12 non-boil noodles (Barilla brand works well)
1 lb (+ or -) mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz parmesan cheese, shredded (or use 1-1/2 lbs 3 cheese blend in place of all the cheese)

Directions:

Cook and drain meat, set aside to add to red sauce later.

Add olive oil and butter to a large, deep skillet.  Heat, then add chopped onion and mushrooms.  Cook until limp and translucent.  Add garlic last.  Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes.  Heat together at a low simmer for about 30 minutes to develop flavor.

Use an immersion blender (or remove to a standing blender) to puree as desired (you may also reserve part of the diced tomatoes to add later for a little more texture).  At this point, add Italian Seasoning and salt & pepper.  Stir in reserved ground beef/turkey.  Set red sauce aside.

Prepare white sauce by melting the butter, adding flour and seasonings, then whisking in the milk.  Stir constantly as you cook until thickened - being careful not to scorch.  Set aside.

Boil noodles as directed for half the cooking time recommended.  Remove most of the cooking water, leaving just enough to keep them from sticking to one another.  

Now, to layer:  Grease a large, oblong pan (or use a Lasagna pan, as shown - a great tool for more than Lasagna)  If using no-boil noodles, layer four per layer (overlapping slightly as shown).  If using boiled, use three noodles per layer.  

Layer the red sauce, then drizzle the white sauce over, then a generous layer of cheese.  Repeat layers two more times.  I like to reserve enough red sauce that it is the final topping.

Cover lasagna with foil, and bake @ 350° for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and let lasagna sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.  

To prepare ahead, bake as directed for at least 15 more minutes.  You can freeze unbaked lasagna for up to 3 months.  If you freeze before baking, bake from frozen for 1-1/2 hours, covered.  Then remove cover and bake for another 45 minutes to one hour until hot and bubbly.  

Recipe source:  adapted from melskitchencafe.com

Last-of-the-Bag Dorito Bake

If you feel guilty tossing the remains at the bottom of a bag of tortilla chips - here is a tasty way to use them up.  We enjoy Doritos in Taco Salad during the summer, but there are always just a FEW left that are hard to throw out.  They make a great addition to this creamy, cheesy one-dish casserole.

Broken chips seem to be doomed to extinction around my house.  Not sure why - other than they are a lot more fun to crunch when they are full-size.  Broken chips make a nice base for this casserole.

You can use leftover corn-on-the-cob, or frozen, or drained canned corn.  Leftover cooked chicken is also great here, but you could also use cooked and drained ground beef.  You can see, it’s very versatile and accepting of most leftovers in many forms.

You’ll find that the hint of Mexican flavor is something most kids would enjoy.  It’s also fast to assemble and have on the table within about 30-45 minutes.  

Add a green salad and/or fruit, and you have a great meal in a hurry.

For the recipe, go to:
www.changeabletable.com

Creamy Ro*Tel Enchiladas

For the creamiest enchiladas ever - this recipe includes cream cheese, whipping cream, and Ro*Tel (oh... and don’t forget the chicken & cheese)  This is not health food, I know.  Just a great weeknight comfort dish.  A serving of these is great incentive to work out at the gym (for an extra long time...)

I would wager that every single family in the USA has their own version of creamy chicken enchiladas.  Most of them contain sour cream and cream-of-something condensed soup.

This one, however, is different.  It has a bit of a kick (depending on the heat of the Ro*Tel tomato mixture you are using.  Adjust according to your own family “heat index”.

Ro*Tel began in 1943 in a small family canning plant in Elsa, Texas.  Carl Roettele and his wife processed over 25,000 cases of vegetables a year - but their specialty was tomatoes with green chilies.  He changed the spelling on the cans because he knew no one would be able to spell (or pronounce) “Roettele”.  Soon, the wife of a popular politician in Washington bragged to a national magazine about her chili recipe.  She revealed to them the secret ingredient that made her chili better than anyone else’s - Ro*Tel tomatoes with green chilies.

The blend of these tomatoes together with diced chicken and the creamy sauce(s) is legendary.  Making them with flour tortillas helps them hold together much better than corn tortillas.  

These are especially good warmed in the microwave as leftovers (they were a hot item around here until they were gone a day later).

For this very simple recipe - go to:
www.changeabletable.com

Chicken Divan

This adds another dimension to the Chicken Broccoli Curry my family has always liked - rice.  The rice lightens it up, and makes it go further.  Of course - the thing that makes it unique is that tiny touch of curry.  It’s so subtle, everyone asks “what’s in this?”  Without it - it’s just another chicken casserole.

I realize that canned creamed soups are not as popular as they were back in the ’70’s and ’80’s - but they can take a few steps out of most casserole recipes.  It’s hard to make a casserole as creamy without that trusty canned soup.  

So for recipes like this one - I don’t give that a second thought, and I reach for the convenient can.  

I never have good luck with rice cookers - and I’ve found a great way to cook rice without the usual boil-overs.  Not sure where I heard about this - but all you do is place a paper towel over the saucepan and clamp on the lid.  Make sure you bring the rice to a boil beforehand, and turn it to low before covering it.  No mess - and fluffy rice every time.

I’ve become hard to please the older I get.  I don’t enjoy leftovers at all - so I have started to split a casserole between two containers.  

One to keep at home - and one to give away.  I use the round (cake-size) tins that have a foil lid for meals I give away.  Just enough for 2-4 people.  

This version of our old family favorite (which you’ll find HERE) is just as good.  But also try this one with rice and a little less “sauce” and see what you think.

You'll find the recipe at:
www.changeabletable.com

Winter Ground Beef & Rice

When it’s cold outside, it’s the perfect time for a hearty one-dish meal.  When my kids were young, they loved this no frills casserole.  No elaborate ingredients make it a good last minute meal.  Even the tiny kids loved the creamy rice (and didn’t seem to notice the GREEN celery, and even the ground beef).

Hopefully you aren’t experiencing the subzero weather we have had since before Christmas.  It’s a real commitment to go anywhere if I don’t have to.  So it’s nice to have a recipe like this you can fall back on for days you don’t want to venture out of the house.

The most difficult thing about this recipe is remembering to set out a pound of ground beef to thaw in the morning, so it’s not a brick when I want to use it.  

It seems like I always have celery & an onion in the refrigerator - and who doesn’t have cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups on their shelf?

So if you haven’t even thought of dinner, and it’s 4:00 - you can still pull this off.

For the recipe, go to:
www.changeabletable.com

Creamy Spinach & Chicken Rollups

I can see a typical enchilada with my eyes closed - and this is definitely not typical.  Take sauteed spinach, cheese, and chicken rolled in a sundried tomato basil wrap - then smother in a sauce with a hint of sour cream.  Then sprinkle heavily with cheese and let the flavors blend.  Deliciously different.

I’ve had fun experimenting with two new flavors of wraps - spinach/herb and sundried tomato basil.  They are a nice change of pace from plain flour tortillas, and so good with deli meat, greens, and other veggies.  

I thought I’d give them a whirl in a baked enchilada ('rollup').  Somehow ground beef or heavy shredded beef seemed a bit much - so I opted for canned chicken breast.  I had these in the oven in about half an hour.  

Saving the broth when you open the canned chicken is a great beginning for the sauce.  A little bit of butter combined with cornstarch made it very smooth, then adding milk and sour cream improved it even more.  

As with most multi-ingredient, saucy dishes - allowing it to stand and “set” for about 10 minutes always makes it easier to serve without falling apart.  

These are great warmed up in the microwave as leftovers.

You'll find the recipe at:

www.changeabletable.com

Chicken Alfredo in Zucchini Crust

Change from the traditional pasta to a puffy zucchini crust under everyone’s favorite - Chicken Alfredo.  There are three very simple components to this recipe - the crust, the sauce, and the topping.  When all three combine, it’s a great marriage.  The tender crust, laced with just enough zucchini is a welcome switch from starchy pasta.

Two years ago I posted a recipe using zucchini called Pizza Bake w/Zucchini Crust.  It’s one of those surprising recipes that you don’t expect to be wowed by.  I’ve been craving that recipe for a few weeks now, but didn’t want to overcommit to the crowd-size pan it makes.  

I decided to try making it with a Chicken Alfredo twist.  As I thought about that, I knew it would need a nice topping to make up for the bland appearance of the alfredo.  Since I love anything finished with panko, it was my choice for the topping - combined with a little grated parmesan and a touch of butter.

My daughter has been telling me I should try out her husband’s legendary family Alfredo Sauce (a creation of her sister-in-law, Loralyn Jewell).  This was a good opportunity to do that.  I slimmed it down a touch by reducing the cream by half with milk - and it was delicious all by itself...

Using frozen chicken tenders made this extra fast (ready to slice in 20 minutes)  No defrosting required, and the meat was tender and just the right size when sliced (instructions are included in the recipe).  

Yes, zucchini is singing it’s swan song right now (am I the only one who uses that phrase anymore?) - and you may not want to see it in your kitchen for a long time.  But give it a nice farewell by using it in something memorable - one more time.

For the full recipe - go to:

www.changeabletable.com