Golden Gate Lasagna

I'm not a big lasagna fan. I've never really gotten the appeal of ricotta cheese, and it just seems like a lot of work to make a big pan of lasagna, especially for two people. Tim, on the other hand, loves lasagna.

We remained a lasagna-less household until a year or two ago, when I found this recipe. I've have made it several times since, and we love it. It's simple, it's a great size for two people (including one who doesn't eat leftovers ::shoots death glare at husband::) and it's easy to make during a toddler's nap time for baking at dinner time. I also love the fact that I can customize it so that Tim can have his ricotta side, and I can have my ricotta-free side. It's easy to clean up and we don't waste a ton of food.

This recipe calls for cottage cheese, but I use ricotta. Sometimes I buy the tomato sauce with oregano and basil in it, other times I buy plain tomato sauce - either way, I can adjust the amount of spices and seasonings I want to include in the meal. Bottom line, this is an awesome recipe.

The inventor of loaf pan lasagna is a genius. If you have picky eaters in your family but love lasagna, or if you're cooking for a small household and hate wasting food, this is perfect for you.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 (8-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 of a 10-ounce package wide lasagna noodles, uncooked
3/4 cup cottage cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Brown beef. Stir in garlic salt, onion, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile cook noodles as package directs until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. (I make 10-12 noodles, but I usually only use nine.)

Place 1/3 of noodles in 8-inch loaf pan (you'll have to trim the noodles). Layer with beef sauce, cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese. Repeat, making two more layers.

Bake in 375 degree F oven 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

NOTE: If prepared ahead and refrigerated before baking allow 10 more minutes oven time.

From: Recipelink.com

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Easy Pepperoni Rolls

Drool ...

Shock of all shocks, we had a work potluck a while ago. I wanted to make something in additional to my usual dessert contribution, so I started brainstorming what I could make with the leftover pizza sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese from this recipe. Initially, I thought "pizza rolls" - but I was thinking I'd do something time-intensive and elaborate, like making the dough myself, making the large, cheesy rolls almost as big as biscuits.

But then reality hit - I don't have time, or really, patience, for that. So I found a recipe for something that would require ingredients that I had on hand, aside from the packaged pizza crust, and not a ridiculous amount of time or effort. And then I modified the recipe a bit - the first batch I made was in a 9x13 pan and I used two packages of dough. Since then, I've made them a few times with one package of dough in a round 8- or 9-inch pan and half of the rest of the ingredients. I tried to make note of my changes below, but really, I kind of wing it and haven't failed yet.

In summary, my version of these rolls is very unscientific, but the end result is still easy and delicious. We've had it as a snack or paired with a salad to make more of a meal. They're fantastic warm but also good cold. You can't go wrong with these, and they're great to serve at a party!


INGREDIENTS
2 cans (13.8 oz each) refrigerated classic pizza crust (I used Pillsbury's thin crust)
8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 48 cubes (I used about 1/2-1 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese)
48 slices pepperoni (3 oz) (I usually only use 16 or 32 depending on how many cans of dough I'm using.)
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning (I put together a mix of seasonings and combine it with a dash of EVOO)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 
1 jar (14 oz) pizza sauce, heated (I don't heat it)

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 400°F. Spray two 9-inch pie pans or one 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Remove dough from both cans. Unroll dough; starting at center, press out each dough rectangle with hands to form 12x8-inch rectangle. (I just unroll the dough.) Cut each rectangle into 24 squares. (I usually get 16.)

Sauce!

Pepperoni!

Cheese!

Top each square with cheese cube and pepperoni slice. Wrap dough around filling to completely cover; firmly press edges to seal. Place seam side down with sides touching in sprayed pie pans.

In small bowl, combine oil and Italian seasoning; mix well. Drizzle over filled dough in pans. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400°F. for 16 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm pizza bites with warm pizza sauce.

Source: Pillsbury

Pizza casserole

About a month ago - two days before his birthday - Tim excitedly tore a page out of his newspaper, telling me this recipe was for a dish his mother had made all the time when he was younger. He LOVED it, he said. I HAD to make it, he said. I'd be the BEST WIFE EVER. (OK, he might not have gone quite that far.) I told him I would save it and asked him to remind me about it after the holidays.

Fast forward to last week, when I was doing the meal planning and grocery list. We found out that Tim had gotten a promotion - a job that is perfect for him and that he is extremely excited about. We don't have a day off together for a while, but I wanted to celebrate the big news, so I told him I'd make the pizza casserole he had been begging for since last year. The promotion was officially announced today, so tonight's dinner was pizza casserole.

The first time I make a recipe, I try to follow it to the letter. I had two issues with this recipe - one, I think there is a step missing, and two, there is entirely too much sausage and cheese for my liking. To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with it - I thought the soup and pizza sauce flavors jumped out a bit too much, and again, too much sausage and cheese for me. Full disclosure, though - if I'm going to have the fat and calories of pizza, I want the real deal, darn it. This wasn't bad at all, just wasn't my dream meal. BUT ... my husband, who is by far the pickier eater in this relationship, said it was amazing, just like what his mom used to make. The man practically gags at the mention of cream of anything soup (he has serious issues with the texture of soups, yogurts, puddings, etc. - things I could basically live on), and he loved it.

Tim said his mom used spaghetti noodles when making her casserole, but I followed the ingredient list and went with rigatoni this time. The directions never say what to do with the browned meat and onions, but I mixed them in with the pasta as the "base layer" and followed the rest of the recipe from there. I used a 13x9 dish.

Ingredients:
2 pounds sausage
1 box 16 ounce rigatoni pasta, cooked
1 pint pizza sauce
1 (10.75-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (12-ounce) can mushrooms
1 package pepperoni slices
1 medium onion, diced
1 (16-ounce) package mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Brown sausage and onions in a skillet over medium heat. In a casserole dish, layer pasta, pizza sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and mushrooms. Top with cheese and pepperoni slices. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Source: The Amish Cook newspaper column

Why I married my husband...

... because he comes up with seriously yummy, random meals like this:

That is asparagus and cheese-stuffed chicken, with a side of couscous.

We've recently decided you can stuff chicken with just about any kind of veggie and cheese, and it's good.

You can see why I love that man.