A New Take on Lasagna

In the most recent issue of Mother Earth News magazine there is a story by Roger Doiron titled Cozy and Comfy Fall Recipes. Being that I am trying to eat seasonally, I thought that I'd like to try out at least one of the recipes in the article. I spotted an appealing picture of Butternut Squash Lasagna that I was calling my name. Normally I wouldn't post a recipe I've never made before, but I felt like I could pull it off. So, here goes.

1TBSP olive oil
1 1/2- 2 lbs peeled seeded and cubed butternut squash
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Of course I've already made alterations in the original recipe. I wanted to keep the ingredients as fresh and environmentally friendly as possible so I used organic whole grain flour and organic brown rice lasagna noodles. In addition, I purchased the milk from a local dairy and the squash from a local farmer.

I peeled and cubed the squash, placed it in a large skillet with the olive oil and added salt, pepper, and water. I then covered it and let it simmer on medium for about 20-25 minutes.


While the squash was simmering I put the pasta on to boil.

I have made my share of white sauces and never once have I measured the butter, flour or milk, but for the sake of this recipe I did.

Don't be afraid of making a white sauce, it's really not that hard. Simply melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, making a paste and then slowly add in the milk. I like for my milk to be at room temperature.

You will need to stir it continuously over medium heat until it thickens up. Then add nutmeg, salt and pepper.

After the squash was tender, I transferred it into my food processor and pureed it and added more salt and pepper.

Then I began the layer process; starting out with a buttered 13x9x2 inch baking dish.

I added enough of the white sauce to coat the bottom of the dish. I then layered noodles, squash puree, mozzarella, and more sauce. I repeated it once more. I finished with a layer of noodles that I coated with the white sauce. I covered the pan with foil and baked it for 40 minutes at 375 degrees. I removed the foil adding the Parmesan and remaining mozzarella and baked an additional 15 minutes.

When I took it out of the oven the entire house filled with the most incredible aroma. I can't say that I will make this very often, but it was very tasty. From start to finish it took me about 1 1/2 hours to make. Enjoy!

Irish Beef Stew

When the weather starts to cool off I get a hankering for stew. My favorite is Irish beef stew. I have the ingredients listed below with a rough estimate of how much to use since I'm not really one to measure.

Ingredients

1/8 cup olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces coated in seasoned flour
6 large garlic cloves, minced
3 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons flour

water
Optional:
1 cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of red wine

I like to season my my beef with salt and pepper before I dust with a little flour. Next, I heat my oil in the skillet and brown my meat adding the garlic right at the end. Then, I add the beef stock simmering the meat for an hour before I add the potatoes, onion, carrots, and additional seasonings. I add several cups of water bring to a boil before I turn the heat down, cover, and simmer all afternoon.

Serve with sour cream and crusty bread.

Mushroom Quiche

Okay, I have to confess something, can you keep a secret? I LOVE MUSHROOMS! shh don't tell anyone, it's just between you and me. Since we have a plethora of eggs and I have a fondness for mushrooms I decide to make a mushroom quiche.

This is all you need, how simple can it be?

A pre made pie shell

Mushrooms

4-5 eggs

half and half

Swiss cheese

I started by preheating the oven to 450. I covered the edges of the pie shell with foil and baked it for about 10 minutes. While that was baking, I sauteed the mushrooms (I just cut up a lot, I don't know how many, if I had to guess, I'd say a lot!). You could buy pre-sliced and save yourself a bit more time. When they're done, spoon them out in to your egg mixture along with the Swiss cheese. Pour it into your pie shell. I like to tossed in some parsley flakes for color. Then I just bake it with foil still covering the edges of the crust for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove the foil and bake and additional 10 minutes.

Cream Cheese and Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breast

All you need are:

8 TBS of cream cheese

4 TBS basil pesto

4 chicken breast

breadcrumbs, egg and milk mixture and cooking oil.

I butterflied the chicken breast, pounded them, filled them with the mixture of cream cheese and pesto and closed them up. If they won't stay closed you can use a tooth pick or some butchers string.

Next I dipped the chicken in the egg and milk mixture and then dredged it in the bread crumbs.

I cooked the chicken in the oil for about 2 minutes on each side. I then baked it at 375 until it was done (thermometer should register 170 degrees Fahrenheit)

This was so easy. You can serve with your favorite vegetables.

The Best Garlic Bread You'll ever Eat

Now doesn't this look simple?

I bet your saying to yourself, "Why do I need a recipe to make garlic bread?" Well, the answer is simple, this is the best garlic bread your ever going to eat and your not gonna want to forget it! Now, let move on.

Take a stick of room temperature butter and a cup of Parmesan cheese, mix well.

Then add a little (or a lot) of garlic, your preference.

If you really want to jazz it up mix in a bit of dried parsley flakes.

Next slice your bread (I use different breads; sour dough, french baguette, just use whatever you like) and spread a generous helping of the butter mixture all over your bread.

I like to sprinkle it with paprika.

Then, just pop it into a 375 degree oven until toasty brown and there you have it, the best garlic you'll ever eat.

Southern Fried Okra

My husband will tell you he never knew how truly good fried okra tasted until he had it in the South. You may have tasted that breaded fried okra out of a freezer bag or in one of those big ole buffets, but until you fix it (the right way) at home you can't say you've eat fried okra.

There's a long list of ingredients so get out a pen a paper, this is gonna take a while.

1) fresh okra

2) white corn meal

3) salt

4) cooking oil

Okay, y'all, now,here's what you have to do.

Slice up your okra into about 1/4 inch thick pieces, discarding the stem.

Place it in a colander and rinse with water.

Salt first then pour your cornmeal over the okra.

(I just toss it around in the colander over the sink until it's lightly dusted)

Place one layer in a skillet with about an inch and a half or two inches of hot oil.

DO NOT stir it.

As it begins to brown, just turn it over and let it brown on the other side.

When you take it up, drain any excess oil. You may want to salt again.

Now start eating!

Chicken Pasta Toss

Oh, you are not going to believe this one. I have really gone and out done myself this time. This is so simple and doesn't take any time at all to make. All you need is:

Cubed chicken breast,

minced garlic,

some butter to saute with,

salt,

dried thyme,

onion powder,

white and black pepper,

spaghetti,

heavy whipping cream,

Parmesan cheese, parsley and

a dash of cayenne.

Don't forget that cooking is an art so feel free to add whatever else you think will be good. I ended up adding mushrooms at the last minute and it worked out wonderfully. Also remember that I don't measure so I can only estimate what I used. Sorry...

While the spaghetti was cooking, I melted the butter and added about a tsp of crush garlic. Then I seasoned the chicken with the peppers, salt, and onion powder. After sauteing the chicken for about 3-5 minutes I added the thyme and mushrooms. I then added in about 1 -1 1/2 cups of cream, parsley, cayenne and 1/2 a cup or so of Parmesan cheese, cooking it until the cream thickened up. I turned the heat down and added the pasta, tossing it until it was covered with sauce.

I am so sorry you can't taste this. Oh, it was so wonderful! You just have to try it, it's really not that hard and it only took about 30-40 minutes to cook.

Bayou Chicken

I think of cooking as an art and baking as more of a science so, when I cook I don't measure and I change ingredients to suite my self. I seem to screw up almost every time I try baking. Apparently, I'm an artist not a scientist.
Sunday I made chicken piccata tossed with bow-tie pasta. It called for penne rigate, but alas I did not have any in the cupboard. Sorry, I neglected to take a picture. It was devoured before I could find a camera.

Tonight I decide to try a bayou chicken pasta Yum yum people! I decided to share a picture and the recipe with you since it was a winner with everyone at my house.

Now doesn't that look good!

Start with:

1 lb of linguine

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 TBS butter

1 TBS olive oil

1 1/2 lb skinless chicken cut into 1-in pcs (I didn't measure)

2 TBS seasoning salt (I used Tony Chachere's)

1 cup finely chopped onion (I used much less and added onion powder mixed with Tonys)

1 TBS chopped habanero pepper

1 TBS minced garlic (once again I didn't measure, but I love garlic)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup reserved pasta water (I used chicken broth)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (didn't measure)

2 TBS chopped parsley (didn't measure)

As I was cooking the pasta (al dente) I took the butter and the olive oil and heated it in a skillet adding the chicken that was sprinkled with onion power, Tony's and salt. I let that cook until it was brown on both sides then took it out and set aside while I sauteed the onion (this is where you can add the habanera if you like) I added the garlic and then stared adding the cream , the chicken, the chicken broth, parsley and Parmesan cheese (the recipe calls for adding the parsley, green onions and Parmesan at the very end) I let the cream reduce then added the linguine (this is where you can add your tomatoes)

If you try this recipe let me know how it turns out and what you did to make it your own.