It’s been a while since my last post, but with the holidays and then a great mini vacation, it was simply too hard to find time for a ton of cooking. I did want to share my mom’s awesome lasagna recipe that I made for Christmas day. It has been a tradition in my family to have lasagna for Christmas Eve and it always taste so good. So this year, how could I possibly break that tradition?
The recipe is so easy and great to make ahead of time and just stick in the oven. Plus it always turns out so good! As a side note, it also freezes really well, so you can enjoy it at a later date.
Mom’s Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
32-45 oz. jar spaghetti sauce (depends on how much sauce you like)
1 1/2 cups water
8 oz. lasagna noodles (uncooked)
2 cups (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 cups (12 oz.) mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, beater
1/4 cup parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Directions:
Brown meat and drain the fat. Add the spaghetti sauce and water and then simmer for 10 minutes. Mix all the other ingredients in a large bowl (except noodles). Note: You may want to have extra mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on the top of the lasagna.
Then layer 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of pan, 3-5 pieces of lasagna noodles, 1 1/2 cups sauce, 1/2 of the cheese mixture, 3-5 pieces of lasagna noodles and then the remaining sauce. Optional: sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
Cover with foil. (May be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated, allow for extra baking time.) Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
One word for homemade meatballs: Delicious! These were seriously one of the best meals I have made in a long time. They were super easy to make and they turned out so good! My husband loved them so much, he had leftovers the next night! Needless to say, this will definitely be a meal I make again.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
7 mushrooms, diced fine
1/4 yellow onion, diced fine
1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 egg
1 tbsp basil
1/2 tbsp parsley
Salt & pepper for seasoning
Combine all the ingredients. Form into small meatballs and place in a lightly greased baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Adapted from For the Love of Cooking
When I was growing up, “Italian food” was simply a jar of marinara sauce and noodles. No one ever thought about much else except for the Christmas dinner lasagna. My husband is Italian and if it weren’t for him, I’d probably still be eating the same boring pasta. This said, I’ve been looking for more ways to impress the Italian in him and try something new. I stumbled across this recipe for Baked Ziti on Annie’s Eats. The recipe sounded easy enough and looked delicious in pictures.
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I headed to the kitchen armed with all the delicious ingredients with hopes of creating something we would all love. The recipe was easy to follow, but a little time consuming for an after work meal. My husband was happy to help especially when the aroma from the kitchen made its way to him. When it was all said and done, the finished product looked pretty good and smelled great! After first bite, I knew my husband was hooked. The dish turned out great and I feel fairly confident that this will be come a family favorite for years to come.
Baked Ziti
Ingredients:
1 lb. whole milk or 1% cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
Table salt
1 lb. ziti
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
20 oz. turkey Italian sausage
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
5 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves, divided
1 tsp. sugar
Ground black pepper
3/4 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream (or whole milk)
8 oz. low-moisture mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; cook until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Drain the pasta and leave in colander.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Crumble in the turkey sausage and cook until nearly browned. Add in the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is softened and the sausage is completely browned. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup basil and the sugar, and season with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and heavy cream. Transfer the mixture to the now-empty stockpot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cottage cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and 3/4 cup mozzarella. Stir to combine. Add the pasta and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce.
Transfer the pasta to a 9×13″ baking dish and spread the remaining tomato sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the top. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil from the pan and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.
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