Lasagna!

I believe that everyone is allowed to have one food or another that they simply don’t have to like. One of my sons hates tomatoes and eggs. Another can’t stand rice. A daughter gags at raisins and peanut butter. For me, it’s pickles, mustard, and hot dogs. And in theory this sounds fine, until it’s time to make dinner—and at least one person doesn’t care for some part of what I’m fixing. I have to keep a mental tally of the few foods I make for dinner that everyone likes. The one in the top spot is lasagna.

I avoided it for years because it seemed so daunting to make, but a friend of mine clued me in to the fact that you don’t have to pre-cook the noodles. That simplifies things quite a bit. I like one-dish meals whenever possible. As my family has grown, I’ve had to make bigger and bigger portions so we have plenty to go around (though there are seldom leftovers). I’ve found that lasagna is actually not an exact science. I can just dump in whatever sounds good, as long as my spaghetti sauce to noodle proportions are correct (essentially one can to every 9-10 noodles), so that they soften enough to eat. So here’s the scoop on tonight’s version:

Ingredients:
2 cans (26.5oz) spaghetti sauce (Hunts is cheapest and runniest, which helps soften the noodles)
1 pkg lasagnae noodles (about 20 noodles)
Various cheeses
Hamburger (or other favorite meat) and/or various vegetables of choice.

Basically, it's easiest to think of lasagna as a noodle sandwich with sauce & noodles on top and bottom with extra fillings in between. First, I layer on about 1/3 of a can of spaghetti sauce in a 9 x 13 pan.

If you're cooking for a smaller group, you can cut the noodles & sauce in half--try a 7 x 9 pan distributing five noodles and half of one can on the bottom, with five more noodles and the remainder of the can on the top.
Next, place five dry noodles on the sauce (one may need to be broken to fit), and layer on another 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce. Add a second layer of noodles like the first, then spoon on the remainder of the can.
I like hamburger in mine, but I've made it without and it tastes good too. I'm also too cheap to buy ricotta cheese, so I've sometimes used cottage cheese that I've strained some of the liquid out of. But my favorite variation is a half-block (4 oz) of creme cheese. Hamburger cooks up beautifully in the microwave in about five minutes--a nice place to add in onions and peppers too--then I add the creme cheese directly to the beef so it is well mixed.

Then I layer it on top of the noodles & sauce.

I happen to have a five-pound bag of spinach in my fridge that we're trying to use up, so two or three cups worth (coarsely chopped) go into the lasagna. This is actually experimental for me--I haven't tried it with spinach before.

My family eats a lot of cheese. I always keep a five pound bag of shredded three-cheese mix in my fridge (that typically only lasts about ten days). I don't measure--I just take handfuls unil it looks like enough. I also sprinkled on some Parmesean.

Lastly comes the top of the noodle sandwich. Pour on 1/3 of the second can of spaghetti sauce.

Place five more noodles and another 1/3 of the sauce.

Then the last layer of noodles . . .

And the rest of the sauce.

Bake for 1 hour at 400, and it will look like this:

Which looks good, but not perfect yet. Topping the whole thing with a layer of shredded mozarella and putting it back in the oven for another five minutes gives it the final touch.

I actually loved the spinach and my kids did too. Surprise! Guess that ingredient is a keeper. We'll be trying out things like zuccini and yellow squash next. Never hurts to sneak in a few more vegetables. Especially with a dish that is more fat-indulgent like this one. The only disappointment was not having leftovers for lunch the next day. Guess I'll just have a spinach salad.

http://intuitivehomemaking.blogspot.com/

Better than Mint Oreos

I’m a sucker for anything with chocolate and mint. A good friend of mine gave me two cartons of chocolate-mint ice cream for my birthday, and my sister gave me several varieties of cookies in the same flavor. They both know me well. But my mint Oreos ran out too soon. I had to make a special treat for a gathering of friends, and for my brother’s birthday, so I decided to try something new involving my favorite flavors.

I started with a bag of chocolate chips and used the recipe on the back. Let me say here that most chocolate chip cookie recipes are pretty much the same. But there is one key thing to do to make them turn out well. Last year, my third-grade daughter did her science fair project on different types of fat used in baking. With five packaged cookie dough mixes, she tried using butter, margarine, soft-spread, shortening, and oil. Then she had her classmates rank them by appearance, taste, texture, and so on. By the vote of her fellow third-graders, the margarine cookies won. That was quite a surprise. By my own judgment though, the butter cookies tasted the best, but the shortening cookies were the prettiest. Since then I go half-and-half on the fat. They turn out perfect every time. Guess I won’t complain about helping my kids with the annual science fair—I actually learned something useful that time.

So here is my adapted recipe, courtesy of Hershey’s:
2 ¼ c. flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ c. butter
½ c. shortening
¾ c. sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 c. chocolate chips

To this I added
1/3 c. cocoa
½ t. mint extract

Mix well, drop by small rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet, and bake 8-10 minutes at 350.

While they are baking, mix up a batch of cream cheese frosting (see Orange Rolls post http://intuitivehomemaking.blogspot.com/2009/11/orange-rolls.html), add ¼-½ t. mint extract (it's strong stuff) and some green food coloring. When the cookies are cool, spread frosting on the backside of one cookie and sandwich with a second cookie. If the cookies are still warm, it will melt the frosting and they’ll run all over (yep, I tried that and had to put them in the fridge to salvage them).

Just make sure you save enough for your family before you fill your party platter. I didn’t have any leftovers to take home.

http://intuitivehomemaking.blogspot.com/