Recipe #28 Classic Lasagna

I made this recipe before the weather turned to 100 degrees, so you may want to keep this one for later in the year.  I was craving comfort food and wanted to make something that I could just put in the oven for Family Night at the Quinns'.  I am also trying to eat a little lighter, so this is another recipe from Eating Well magazine.  It's a bit time consuming, so I suggest that you make it on the weekend; the good news is that you can make ahead of time and keep for later.  The recipe uses whole wheat noodles to help boost the fiber (and my fussy eater (DAD) didn't even notice).  I don't boil my noodles, but cook the recipe a little bit longer and noodles cook themselves.  I was missing the sun dried tomatoes and nutmeg, but otherwise, used all ingredients called for.  I served with whole wheat garlic bread and a light Caesar salad and of course wine. All in all it was a really good recipe and was a crowd pleaser on Family Night.  Happy Cooking!

Yummy!

8 servings

Active Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

Classic Lasagna

• Meat Sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces hot or sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 12 ounces mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 2 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, (not packed in oil), slivered
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

Pasta & Cheese Filling

• 12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles, (12 ounces)
• 2 cups nonfat ricotta cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Ground nutmeg, to taste
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1.  To prepare meat sauce: Heat oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up clumps, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions and carrot; cook, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushroom liquid evaporates, 4 to 6 minutes.

2.  Stir in wine, plum tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is very thick, 30 to 45 minutes more. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

I did not do these two steps:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. 
2. Cook noodles until just tender, about 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain, then cool by plunging noodles into a large bowl of ice-cold water. Lay the noodles out on kitchen towels.

3.  Season ricotta with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread about 1 1/2 cups meat sauce in the prepared pan. Layer 3 noodles on top. Spread another 1 cup sauce over the noodles.

4.  Dot about 2/3 cup ricotta over the sauce, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Continue layering the noodles, sauce and cheeses, finishing with the sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. Sprinkle with parsley; cover with foil.

5.  Bake the lasagna until the sauce is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, 5 to 10 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Nutrition

Per serving: 357 calories; 8 g fat ( 3 g sat , 2 g mono ); 32 mg cholesterol; 46 g carbohydrates; 22 g protein; 9 g fiber; 698 mg sodium; 396 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (36% daily value), Calcium (30% dv).
Carbohydrate Servings: 2 1/2

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 5. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw before baking.

 

Recipe #27: White Sea Bass, Kale and Pasta

Kale, Kale, Kale.  We are told it is really good for us and we must eat it, but how?  My friend Anita has grown three different kinds of kale and I scored some.  The challenge was to come up with a tasty recipe.  I found this recipe on foodreference.com.  The kale cooks down quite a bit and you have to braise it longer than you would spinach in order to get it to be tender.  I used Trader Joes Papardelle (wide egg noodles).   I had too much pasta for the kale, so pay attention.  I think I would add lemon juice and tomatoes to the recipe to make it even tastier.  The sea bass recipe follows, keep reading!

Yields: 4 servings

1 pound fresh kale
8 strips (rashers) bacon
1/2 onion - minced
1 pound dried pasta - medium wide noodles
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan


Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

Dice the bacon and cook over medium heat.

Remove the bacon, and saute the onions in the bacon fat.

Add the kale, and toss until wilted.

Add in the cooked pasta and toss thoroughly.

Serve with grated parmesan.


by Jennifer A. Wickes ©2005

I also made fresh white sea bass which I prepared using a modified recipe from AllRecipes.com and my good old George Foreman grill.

I marinated the sea bass with lemon slices, garlic salt, Montreal steak seasoning, juice from one lemon and a splash (or two) of white wine.  I then cooked on GFG for about 10 minutes (was perilously close to having cooked too long.). 

All in all yummy.  Served with a nice crisp, buttery chardonnay from Blackstone. Happy cooking!

For those of you following calories, the total dinner came to approximately 656 calories (excluding wine, of course).

Recipe #26 Crispy Potato Roast

Crispy Potato Roast

Here's another recipe that I found on Pinterest.  It was posted by Nicole, RD.  I love potatoes and am always looking for a new way to prepare them.  These were yummy.  Instead of the butter and olive oil, I substituted Canola Oil spray so hopefully the calorie count is a bit reduced.  I served with a grilled salmon (ok, potatoes got a little crispy because my cedar plank caught on fire), but they were delish even crispy.  I would definitely make this one again, but allow yourself enough time for the baking - that seemed a little bit time intensive to me.  A little shake of Parmesan Cheese would be a nice addition.  Happy Cooking!


Crispy Potato Roast slightly adapted from Fish Food
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 lbs russet potatoes
4 shallots, thickly sliced lengthwise
1 tsp coarse sea salt
8 sprigs thyme

Directions:

Mandoline

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush bottom of a round 9-inch baking dish with some butter mixture. With a mandoline or food processor, slice potatoes very thinly crosswise.

Arrange potato slices vertically in dish. Wedge shallots throughout. Sprinkle with salt and brush with remaining butter mixture.



Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Add thyme and bake until potatoes are cooked through with a crisp top, about 35 minutes more. Yield: 8 servings.



Nutrition Information (per serving): 175 calories; 6.1 g. fat; 0 mg. cholesterol; 288 mg. sodium; 31.1 g. carbohydrate; 3.6 g. fiber; 4.8 g. protein





Result: Tender and crispy potato slices seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, and a small amount of olive oil and butter. Though this bakes for quite some time, it was very simple to make and requires very few ingredients. While a mandoline is helpful, this can certainly be done with a great knife and some patience Enjoy!