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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Skillet Lasagna…with a twist

12 Feb
This meal was a lifesaver for us one Friday night, and we'd definitely make it again!

This meal was a lifesaver for us one Friday night, and we’d definitely make it again!

Friday nights have been tough for us the past few years. It’s generally our night for Dance, at least for one daughter, although some years it was for all of them. Lately it’s also been a Girl Scout night for my youngest too.

This year, twice a month, she goes from Dance to Girl Scouts with one hour in between, so dinner has to be fast and easy. Recently, I had a Friday where I looked on my weekly menu to see what was on there, and lo and behold….there was nothing.

Friday was blank.

Well, that’s inconvenient.

My first thought was to order out pizza but I don’t love doing that. It’s expensive for one thing and it’s not the healthiest for another.

What to make, what to make?

I kept thinking on it all day.

Shortly before the end of the afternoon, I was scrolling through Facebook, and there it was: Friday night’s dinner. A friend of mine had share a recipe for a One Skillet Lasagna that she’d found on Pinterest from a blog called Number 2 Pencil. I had found my dinner. She and her family had tried it the night before and loved it. I was going to try it on my family that night.

The recipe called for a couple of things I had to modify because of what I had on hand:  Italian Sausage and Ravioli. I didn’t have Italian Sausage, but I did have some Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles. I didn’t have Ravioli, but I did have two 12 oz. bags of Tortellini. Both those items would work out just fine.

So, with a slight twist in the ingredients, I created Number 2 Pencil’s One Skillet Lasagna at my house too.

It was a hit, everyone loved it. I still want to make it with Ravioli next time, just to try it, but it was good with Tortellini too.

In my exploration of the Number 2 Pencil blog I have seen lots of great recipes. I hope you’ll pay the blog a visit too!

Here is their recipe just as it appears on the blog itself. Other than the switch-a-roo I pulled with the pasta and sausage, I followed the recipe to a T.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 pound of Italian Sausage, Italian Turkey Sausage or Lean Ground Beef
  • 1/2 a medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
  • 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 9 oz packages of Buitoni four cheese ravioli, from the refrigerated section
  • 8 oz of fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
  • 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Flat leaf parsley for garnish

Instructions

  1. Add olive oil to large skillet.
  2. Sautee onions and garlic, over medium heat, until onions are soft and translucent.
  3. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with wooden spoon while it browns.
  4. Once sausage is cooked through, add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and ravioli.
  5. If using whole peeled tomatoes, use kitchen shears to chop them up while still in the can before adding to skillet.
  6. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer over medium heat.
  7. Simmer until ravioli are tender and sauce has reduced and thickened, 15-20 minutes
  8. Remove from heat and stir in mozzarella and parmesan.

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Fun Friday: Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

31 Jan
My mom used to make this all the time when we were growing up, but I'd forgotten all about it!

My mom used to make this all the time when we were growing up, but I’d forgotten all about it!

Today’s recipe for Fun Friday truly is a fun recipe! It’s fun to make and fun to eat. Like many recipes, it’s got a touch of science to it, and I always love recipes that show the kids something very cool. This one definitely does that as it creates a soupy, fudgy sauce underneath a crisp yet cake-like top.

The funny thing about this recipe is it’s one I grew up eating all the time. It was a go-to recipe in our house growing up. However, it’s been so long since I’ve made it myself, that none of my kids (the oldest being 14) even remembered ever having it.

I was recently reminded of it when a friend sent me a link to a similar recipe; she thought it was something I’d like. She was right, I love it! Seeing the link jogged my memory and I went to my oldest cookbook, a Campbell’s Soup photo album type of recipe binder and I pulled out my mom’s recipe for Hot Fudge Sundae Cake.

Elizabeth came into the kitchen, as she often does, and asked if she could help me. And, as she often does, she made almost the entire thing herself, with just some direction from me. It’s a great recipe for kids to learn to make themselves.

First group of dry ingredients get mixed right in the baking dish!

First group of dry ingredients get mixed right in the baking dish!

This recipe is a favorite because it’s a one-dish recipe. You make the entire thing in an 8×8 or 9×9 square baking dish. I used a glass Pyrex dish. You can mix the ingredients in four steps: dry, wet, dry, wet, and then you’re done!

Below is my mom’s recipe for Hot Fudge Sundae Cake, just as I copied it off her recipe card and put it into my first cookbook all those years ago. I hope you’ll give it a try this weekend and you too, will see what a fun, easy recipe it is!

INGREDIENTS and DIRECTIONS

                Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 In an ungreased 9×9 square baking dish mix together the following ingredients with a fork:

1 cup flour

¾ cup sugar

2 TBL. Baking cocoa

2 tsp. Baking Powder

¼ tsp. salt

Spread evenly in baking dish.

                Step 2: In a two-cup measuring cup mix together the following ingredients and pour over first five ingreidents.

½ cup milk

2 TBL canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Spread batter evenly in baking dish.

Before the water goes on top, this is what your baking dish looks like.

Before the water goes on top, this is what your baking dish looks like.

  Step 3: Sprinkle the following two ingredients over batter:

1 cup brown sugar packed

¼ cup baking cocoa

                Step 4: Pour the following over all:

1 ¾ cup Hot Water

Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand15 minutes and serve.

Spoon sauce over ice cream if desired.

The secret is in the sauce. Underneath the crispy chocolate cake is a fudgy sauce to top your ice cream and cake!

The secret is in the sauce. Underneath the crispy chocolate cake is a fudgy sauce to top your ice cream and cake!

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New on SheKnows: My Touchdown Turkey Sausage Taters

30 Jan

Be sure to check out my newest post today on SheKnows! It’s my new recipe for Touchdown Turkey Sausage Taters, and it’s out just in time for this weekend’s big Superbowl game!

I was happy to have had the opportunity to work with SheKnows and Jimmy Dean on this, the first of two posts for their products. You can be on the lookout for the next post on SheKnows to come out in the coming weeks. Until then, be sure to check out my post on SheKnows!

Wait til you see the great recipe that I created with the Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles!

Wait til you see the great recipe that I created with the Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles!

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Superbowl Week: Chili and Loaded Chili ‘skins

29 Jan
Chili with shredded cheese, sour cream and chips

This chili looks almost too good to eat!

ORIGINALLY POSTED JANUARY 27, 2012:

Don makes a great chili, he really does. I’d never even HAD chili until I met him and had his. I also had never had peppers or onions because growing up my dad didn’t like either, so we steered clear of them when cooking. Now though, I eat all of those things and I especially love my husband’s chili. It’s perfect for Superbowl Sunday.

INGREDIENTS

5 lbs ground beef or ground turkey or ground pork (or any combination of the three)

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 six ounce cans of tomato paste and 2 cans of water

2 twenty-eight ounce cans of diced tomatoes

3 twelve ounce cans kidney and/or black beans

2 green peppers, chopped

1 large onion chopped

4-6 TBL chili powder

1 tsp. oregano

Salt/Pepper to taste

Sour cream, cheddar cheese, chips for topping

DIRECTIONS

1.) Combine and cook meat, garlic, oregano in large cooking pot

2) Add chopped peppers and onions

3) Add all other ingredients and cook on low for two to five hours.

If you’d like to cook this in the crock pot, cook up the meat first and then throw it all into the crock pot to cook on low for the 2-5 hours.

This is the sort of recipe you can make according to your taste. The spicier you like things, the more spicy ingredients you can add to it (hot sauce, chili powder, chili peppers etc.) The more mild you like it, the less you add.

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BONUS RECIPE: LOADED CHILI POTATO SKINS

Loaded chili potato skins

A bonus appetizer that you can use some of your chili to make.

We love potato skins and chili seems to lend itself to an additional appetizer idea: Loaded chili potato skins.

Cook up a bunch of baked potatoes ahead of time. Let them cool a bit.

Cut them in half and hollow them out, leaving about 1/4″ to 1/2″ of the potato in the skin.

Add some of your chili and some cheddar cheese to the inside, and bake them until cooked through.

Broil at the end to crisp up.

Add your favorite toppings: sour cream, guacamole, etc.

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Fun Friday: Paula’s Whole Bag of Chips Bars

24 Jan
These were delicious, especially when topped with ice cream!

These were delicious, especially when topped with ice cream!

If you’re a longtime reader, you know that I often reference my friend Paula’s blog, My Soup for You. It’s a great blog and it’s so much more than soup!

Most recently I was honored when I saw that Paula had posted a new dessert recipe on her blog, and lo and behold, she named it after my blog! When I saw the post for The Whole Bag of Chips Bars, I was so flattered, and of course I had to make Paula’s recipe right away!

The recipe is a healthier dessert treat, but it includes of course, The Whole Bag of Chips! It also uses I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, an ingredient I now use instead of butter in all of my baking, and white wheat flour, another staple in our pantry here at home.

I hope you’ll head on over to My Soup for You and take a look at all of Paula’s recipes, but most especially The Whole Bag of Chips Bars! She wrote up the nicest post, you’ll want to read it!

Here is her recipe, just as she has it on her blog.

Enjoy!

Whole Bag of Chips Bars
1 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups white wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
splash of milk
A twelve ounce bag of baking chips of your choice – I used semi-sweet chocolate

1. Combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla and mix until nice and velvety and smooth
2. Add the salt and baking soda to the flour, and add that to the sugar etc a little bit at a time because you probably will still have the mixer on and you don’t want to make a mess.
3. Add in a splash of milk and mix thoroughly.
4. Stir in the WHOLE BAG OF CHIPS!
5. Transfer batter to a 9×13 baking pan sprayed well with cooking spray.
6. Bake at 350 for at least 40 minutes. These are very thick bars and take a long time to bake.

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Superbowl Recipes: Homemade Salsa(s) and Guacamole

22 Jan
Football Helmet and Football

We are big Patriots fans here!

ORIGINALLY POSTED JANUARY 24, 2012:

I hate football. Yup, I’m a buzz-kill when it comes to football season, (and also baseball season) Superbowl, anything like that.

However, I love food. So, featuring Superbowl Week, several days of recipes you can cook for the upcoming Superbowl Sunday feast, works for me.

The cool things about these recipes is 1) none of them are recipes I grew up with and 2) they are all recipes I would not have, had I not had these people come into my life at some point or another. To me, that makes them extra-special in a different way than the ones I treasure from my childhood.

Today I am featuring several recipes at once. The first is a Homemade Salsa recipe from my friend and college roommate, Karen. She first shared this recipe with me when we were in college and I’ve held onto it, making it ever since. She is also the one who introduced me to my husband when we were out back in December 1992. But, that’s a whole other story for another day.

KAREN’S HOMEMADE SALSA

Karen's Homemade Salsa

This is what Karen’s Homemade Salsa looks like when it’s all done.

2 cups peeled and cored plum tomatoes (I buy 18 but it says about 12)
peeling and coring is the most time-consuming part of the recipe. The rest is quick.

1 long green frying pepper (light green)

1-3 chili peppers chopped (Buying one or buying three depends on their size and how hot you like your salsa.)

1/3 cup chopped onion (I use one medium sized onion.)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan, bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve hot or cold.

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This next recipe is from my brother’s mother-in-law, Marianne. She makes a kickin’ guacamole and ever since we first tasted hers, it’s been the one we make as our own. Had my brother not married his lovely wife, we would not have this recipe to share with you! Unfortunately when we made this recipe last weekend, along with the above salsa, I took photos of the salsa but forgot to take photos of the guacamole! So next time I make it, I’ll add a photo here. But, you all know what guacamole looks like….green.

MARIANNE’S HOMEMADE GUACAMOLE

2 Avocados, mashed

1 tsp. salt

Juice of one small lemon (we use half a lemon, even for a double batch. You can always add more, but you can’t add less!)

1/2 of a 6 oz. plain lowfat Greek yogurt or non-fat (We get this at PriceRite for about $1)

chili powder to taste

Mash, mix and eat!

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The last recipe is one I haven’t made in a while, so I don’t have a photo yet, but again when I do, I’ll add it in. However, my friend Stacey brought this to a cookout at our house one year, I think a dance recital cookout we were having about ten years ago. It was so good and she said she got it off the side of a can of Bush’s Black Beans. I have made it since then and I think of her every time I do.

STACEY’S BLACK BEAN SALSA

one 15 oz. can Bush’s Best Black Beans, drained

one 11 oz. can white shoepeg corn, drained

one 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (basil, garlic and oregano flavor)

one 10 oz. can diced tomatoes and green chilies

one 8 oz. bottle Italian dressing

Chopped onion to taste

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients together.
Refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Serve with tortilla chips.

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Fun Friday: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

10 Jan
I was actually shocked at how much everyone liked this cake!

I was actually shocked at how much everyone liked this cake!

Last week we had some very cold weather here; colder than our normal winter weather tends to be. When the weather gets cold, the first thing I think of doing is baking. I like the warmth of the kitchen when the oven is on, and the warmth of the atmosphere in the house when something delicious is baking as everyone is coming home.

On this particular day, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make for an after school snack but I happened to be thumbing through an old issue of “Food Network Magazine” from July/August 2013. Being a summertime issue of the magazine, it was featuring recipes with zucchini; a garden staple for many.

It just so happened that I had two zucchinis that I’d bought to use for Christmas dinner and hadn’t used. This recipe would be perfect for making use of at least one of my zucchinis. Even better, it wasn’t just any zucchini cake, it was a *chocolate* zucchini cake! When I looked at the ingredients I actually had them all and it looked rather healthy, considering that it was a cake. I knew I could healthify it even more by making the flour a mix of white and wheat.

I decided to try it.

Well, it was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!!!!!!  Everyone loved it! They enjoyed it with a nice, cold glass of milk, which made me even happier. I’d definitely make it again, and I think I was a little bit shocked at just how rave the reviews actually were.

The only thing that I didn’t love about the recipe was that it used a lot of bowls. Not having a ton of work space, I prefer recipes that don’t need a ton of space. With so many bowls, this one took up some space. However, it was so delicious, it was well worth the extra bowls!

I am posting the recipe below, just as it appears in their magazine and on their website.

Besides changing the flour to include both wheat and white, I used a bigger baking dish and therefore doubled the ingredients for the frosting so that it would frost the whole cake.

Next time you’re looking for a healthier cake recipe, I recommend this one!

Thanks to “Food Network Magazine” for sharing such a great recipe!!

Look at that healthy, secret ingredient in the chocolate cake batter!

Look at that healthy, secret ingredient in the chocolate cake batter!

FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE’S CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

IngredientsUnsalted butter, for the pan (*I used a fat free cooking spray instead*)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan (*I used a mix of 1/2 cup wheat, 1 cup white flour*)
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice (*I went with nutmeg*)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (separated)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium zucchini, grated and squeezed dry
1 teaspoon honeyDirectionsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch-square cake pan (I used 11×7). Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.Toss 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl. Whisk the remaining flour, the cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.Beat the sugar, 1/2 cup olive oil, the eggs and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and pale, about 3 minutes. Add the flour-cocoa mixture; beat on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes (the batter will be thick). Add the zucchini and beat until combined, about 2 more minutes. Fold in the flour-coated chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

Make the glaze: Combine the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon olive oil and the honey in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium-high power in 30-second intervals, stirring, until the chocolate is melted. Spread over the cake, then cut into pieces. (*I doubled this glaze recipe*)

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Paula’s Pasta y Fagioli

8 Jan
Fast, easy and delicious! Perfect for a cold winter day.

Fast, easy and delicious! Perfect for a cold winter day.

My friend Paula has the most wonderful blog called My Soup For You, and I visit it often. Although it’s named for her delicious soups, it encompasses all of her cooking talents, not just soups. As she says, it’s “so much more” than just her delicious soups.

On one particular day she posted a recipe for a soup I just knew my family would love; a Pasta y Fagioli soup made in the crock pot.

Now, you know how I love my crock pot!

And with this cold, wintery weather, what would be better than a warm, simmering soup awaiting our arrival home one evening?

I only had to make two small changes to her super-easy recipe. The first change was that I didn’t have the pasta she recommended using, Ditalini. I used elbow pasta instead, which is a larger pasta, but still delicious. The second change was that I preferred to put cooked ground turkey into my recipe instead of ham or pancetta as Paula had done. Other than that, I followed her recipe to the T.

As I expected, this soup got all thumbs up from our family! We not only had it for dinner that evening, but there was enough left to send in thermoses for lunches the next day as well. It’s definitely a recipe I’d make again!

I have copied and pasted the recipe below, just as Paula has it on her blog, but I hope you’ll hop on over and visit her on My Soup For You and check out all she has to offer! She’s just recently updated and revamped her blog so there’s lots of great posts to explore!

Fast and Easy Pasta Y Fagioli
1 quart broth – I used chicken
6 oz can of tomato paste
2-3 cups pureed tomatoes
8 oz diced ham or pancetta – I used pancetta
1 can white beans – you can add more if you want a heartier soup
Garlic
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
8 oz prepared ditalini pasta

1. Put everything but the pasta in a slow cooker.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. Serve over the pasta.

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Monday Musings: Traditions

2 Dec
The Thanksgiving table is never too full, we can always fit one or two more guests!

The Thanksgiving table is never too full, we can always fit one or two more guests!

Thursday was Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays for a few reasons. First off, the obvious: dessert. But really, more importantly than that, I love it because of the traditions that surround us at Thanksgiving each year. Some traditions started before I was married with kids.  Watching the Macy’s Day Parade has been a favorite Thanksgiving morning tradition since I was a kid myself. Thanksgiving dinner has been hosted by my aunt and uncle for as long as I can remember, and they do a phenomenal job. It’s always a huge meal, a huge crowd and pretty much anyone and everyone is welcomed to our table each year. This year, five tables stretched end to end, filled with laughing, talking and even some tears as we remembered those who weren’t able to join us this year.

As parents, traditions are definitely something we wanted to pass along to our kids, but they’re also something we wanted to create with them as well. We passed along the love of the parade to our kids; now we watch as a family each Thanksgiving morning. We eat the same thing for breakfast each year: my Pumpkin Cranberry Bread, grilled to perfection. We spend Thanksgiving day from about noon through after dark, at my aunt and uncle’s house, having a huge, multi-course Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends; new and old. I bring the same pie every year to add my contribution to the plethora of desserts: my Cranberry Pie.

I was so happy to read about all of the memories we've helped to create for our kids as they've grown.

I was so happy to hear about all of the memories we’ve helped to create for our kids as they’ve grown.

Interestingly enough, we were riding to school on Wednesday morning when Elizabeth mentioned that she hoped the rain that day would not continue into the next, because every year we take a walk down to the beach during “the soup break” between courses at dinnertime. She said she wrote about that in her journal, and then proceeded to tell me all about her Thanksgiving journal entry.

I was stunned as she spoke, detailing for me all the things she wrote about in her journal entry that she was looking forward to having, eating, seeing or doing the very next day. As I drove her to school, listening, I swallowed a lump in my throat.

I was so happy to hear the details that she remembered from each year’s Thanksgiving, but I was all the more thrilled that the foundations we’ve worked hard to instill in them, the love for tradition and family and memories has carried on from us to them. They love the things about Thanksgiving that we love as well. They look forward to those traditions now, as much as we do, as well as some new ones we’ve peppered in, here and there.

After Elizabeth told me about her journal entry, I asked her to see if she could bring it home for the long weekend so that I could read it and photocopy it for some of our family members who I thought would enjoy it as much as I did, including my parents and my aunt and uncle. I made a few extra copies, just in case anyone else wanted one.

When my uncle mentioned Elizabeth’s Thanksgiving journal entry over dinner, someone asked her to read it out loud. I didn’t know if she would or not-there were 34 pairs of eyes waiting for her response-but she did. She stood up and read all about her Thanksgiving, and she did a great job. A few people actually cried as they listened to it, showing that our shared traditions mean as much to them as they do to us.

I believe that traditions are passed on and that they are also created. It doesn’t matter so much what the traditions are, but more so that they just are; that traditions exist within a family. They represent the foundations of our family and the values that we hold true. I am glad to see that our kids love both kinds of traditions as much as we do; both the ones we’ve passed on to them, and the ones that have been created since we’ve had them. I know that in the future as times change, our traditions may change as well, but I also know that if we need to let go of some old traditions, we will be making new ones in their place.

And it’s my hope, that no matter what, my children will take at least some part of our Thanksgiving tradition; something that means so much to each of them, and pass it along to their families one day in the not-so-far off future as well, and add it to the traditions that they too, will be creating.

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German Apple Cake

18 Nov
German Apple Cake is a recipe I loved, growing up.

German Apple Cake is a recipe I loved, growing up.

ORIGINALLY POSTED OCTOBER 17, 2011

**I decided to re-post this today, November 18, 2013 because I made it this weekend for our friends who came for dinner. Making it reminded me of this post, so I thought I’d run it again for my newer followers who may have missed it.**

Growing up, this was one of my favorite recipes that my mom made. I have one specific memory also, of a time (the ONE time) when my mom was sick and my dad helped us make this recipe for her. I still think of that each time I see the recipe or eat this cake.

As with all of my recipes it’s super easy and of course, super delicious.

What’s your favorite apple recipe for fall?

Ingredients:

3 c. chopped or shredded apples

1 c. oil

2 c. flour

1/2 c. choc. chips (or a few more if you love ’em as much as I do!)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together by hand in large bowl.

Grease and flour bundt pan.

Pour batter into pan.

Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool 1/2 hr. before removing from the pan.

 

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