December 30, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Easy Lasagna

Lasagna.

My mother makes the best lasagna in the world. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you! I ask for it for my own birthday. This is not her recipe. But I still think it is really good. I have made lasagna for years. In fact, it was the first “complicated” meal I ever attempted.

It’s is one of those dishes that looks hard to make, but is incredibly easy to execute. I find it calming to make the layers. I also feel like a superhero when I view the final completed project. And who doesn’t want to feel like a superhero? Well, unless it is The Hulk. Nobody wants to feel like The Hulk. Unless you are a ten year old boy. Or me, apparently from all of the posts I have done on it. But even then, you gotta admit the name leaves much to be desired.

Remember my new favorite spaghetti recipe that uses coffee grounds and is made in the crockpot? Well, I usually have three quarts of sauce left after the first dinner that I separate into three individual quart containers and freeze for use at a later date. I have friends with three sons. Actually, when I think about it, I have a lot of friends with three sons. I have heard that with that many boys they do not get as many leftovers as I do with a recipe. In fact, the exact words were, “What are leftovers?” I think with the crockpot spaghetti recipe, they would probably only have one to two quarts left after the initial dinner. There should still be enough to freeze at least one additional meal, so if you have a larger family, do not be discouraged. Make it. Save the rest. Then make a giant lasagna that will appease all. Even three growing boys.

The other day I took one quart out of the freezer. This is completely off topic, but make sure you defrost any sauces appropriately before you reheat them. I thought it would be a great idea to just throw the frozen sauce into a pan and bring it to heat. The sauce broke up into nuclear hot parts and frozen chunks. It splattered out and hit my arm where it made a small hole. I eventually had to see a doctor for it. I will definitely have a scar from it, so please be careful in reheating.

So, I defrosted the sauce first and then reheated the sauce and added an additional jar of pasta sauce to make it stretch further.

Then I just layered it into a lasagna. It was so good.

Okay. Finally. On to the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 quart of prepared spaghetti sauce (I use this recipe, but you could use your favorite)
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
One package of lasagna noodles (you can use no-boil ones or the fresh ones above. I highly recommend the fresh ones above, found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the ricotta. Do not use regular lasagna noodles unless you boil them first. I have attempted to use them without boiling. They are not as good. They are about one minute before al dente tasting)
2 cups grated mozarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
15-16 oz. of ricotta cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Yell, “You’re making me hungry! You won’t like me when I’m hungry!” If your family stares at you during this time, stare back, unwavering in your lasagna conviction.

Defrost spaghetti sauce for two-three hours and then reheat in a large pot over low heat with additional jar of pasta sauce until hot. Turn off heat.

Take a 9 X 13 pan and ladle in some spaghetti sauce into the bottom of the pan until the bottom is just coated. About 2/3 cup.

Take lasagna noodles and lay on top of sauce. This is two of the fresh ones above.

Take half of your ricotta and smear over lasagna noodles. Ladle one third of your sauce over the top, sprinkle one cup of mozzarella cheese. Place noodles over cheese. Spread the remaining ricotta over the noodles. Ladle one third of your sauce over the top. Sprinkle one cup of mozzarella. Lay noodles over cheese. Ladle the remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle one cup of Parmesan cheese over the top.

Cover with foil and bake for thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, uncover and bake for an additional fifteen minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest for five to ten minutes.

And serve.

Hulk Hands ~~not~~ optional.

August 28, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

A Better Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Most of us have done it. Thrown chicken breasts into a crockpot and tossed in a jar of salsa with it. It is easy. It tastes good. And there are so many fantastic ways to use the chicken once it is cooked.

Chicken Tacos. Chicken enchiladas. Chicken salad. Chicken tostadas. Chicken quesadillas. Chicken empanadas. Chicken burritos. Chicken casseroles. Chicken and rice. Chicken…

“That-that’s about it.”

For the last few months, I have been adding a few items to my crockpot salsa chicken to give it a greater depth of flavor. It is still easy. It makes your mouth water. And the best part about it is, it just does not taste like crockpot chicken. And that is…

“All I have to say about that.”

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders (Tip: do not ever crockpot chicken breasts with salt water added to them. Those are fine for grilling, but if you put them in a crockpot, the salt water will seep out and create a very salty, watery product)
1 1/2 cups of medium salsa (I used Pace)
1 four oz. can of diced green chiles
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground mexican oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Knorr’s chicken seasoning
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:

Put chicken breasts in crockpot. Place all other ingredients on top of chicken. Cover and cook on high for four hours or low for six. I was preparing for company coming over that morning so I forgot to take a picture of the chicken in the crockpot. Trust me, it was there. Unlike my brain in my head that day.

Remove bay leaf and throw it away. Take chicken out of the crockpot.

Shred the chicken. Ladle some of the liquid from the crockpot over the shredded chicken until it is moist. This is usually three-four ladlefuls for me. Taste. Add salt as needed.

Serve however you would like.

I make such a big batch because for my family I can eke out three meals from this one batch. With this batch: The first day I always make chicken tacos (fry white corn tortillas in vegetable oil, allow to cool in layers on paper towels. Add shredded chicken, taco veggies, shredded monterey jack cheese, cilantro. Serve with sour cream and taco sauce on the side). The second day we had tacos again and the third day I made my chicken enchilada casserole (post to come next week).

This chicken is so good. It is great to feed a crowd. It goes with everything.

Or as Forrest Gump would say, “~~Me and Jenny~~ crockpots and chicken goes together like peas and carrots.”

June 8, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Crockpot Spaghetti (with coffee grounds)

I am usually pretty lazy when it comes to making spaghetti. I just brown the meat and toss in a couple of cans of pasta sauce. The end.

But the other day I stumbled across a recipe. This is not an odd thing to happen. But what is odd is the ingredient in the recipe. Coffee grounds. Coffee grounds? Yes. And since I love anything absurd. And I love an ingredient I have around the house for free (that I usually throw away). I decided to try it.

I am not going to post the ingredients for the recipe, even though ingredients are fair game when it comes to copyrights. This is because it is a crockpot recipe so if I post the ingredients, you pretty much know there are three steps to follow after that.

Brown the meat.

Put the ingredients in the crockpot. Cook.

Make the noodles. And stir the now completely yummy and bubbling sauce.

And that would not be fair to the creators of this recipe (Layers of Happiness). If I change a recipe in at least three ways, I will blog the recipe in its entirety, but I did not change this one except to reduce the water by a cup and double the red wine. I like to play nice. So, I definitely recommend clicking over to the blog that posted this recipe to see it there.

This makes my family of four, four complete meals. The first night, we eat what we can.

Then, I pour the remaining spaghetti sauce into two of these handy dandy freezable containers (best. things. ever. The link is an affiliate link. I bought mine four months ago. I use them for everything). Each container is a family sized serving for four. I freeze two containers. The rest, I save in the refrigerator with the leftover noodles from the first evening to eat the next day as leftovers.

This spaghetti sauce is so good. It is even better the next day.

When I am tired and I do not want to cook, I simply defrost the spaghetti sauce that is in the freezer on the counter for an hour (this is so it slides out easier). Then I pour (more like plop) the sauce into my dutch oven with 1/4 cup of water and cover the whole thing and simmer on medium low heat for thirty minutes while I make the noodles.

I serve it with frozen baguettes from Costco. Have you tried those loaves? They come in 5 packs of 2. They are my family’s favorite baguettes.

Have you used coffee grounds in a recipe before? At first I was kind of nervous about it. But then I researched it and it turns out coffee grounds are a great antioxidant (article found here). And I was sold.

It looks like I am not the only one who enjoys this spaghetti. : )

May 12, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Summertime Pasta

This really should be called, “Cherry Tomato Broccoli Pesto Pasta.” But that’s a mouthful! This pasta reminds me of everything I love about summer. It is fresh. It is quick. It is easy. There is not any meat in the dish, but you do not miss it. My family loves this.

I recently indulged in a similar pasta dish at a local Italian restaurant. I wanted to try to recreate it at home. I searched for a recipe, but the closest I could find was this yummy one. The following recipe is loosely adapted from that one.

Ingredients:

1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine (I always use Riesling and it is fine. Any white non-bubbly wine will do)
1 clove of crushed garlic (or a handy dandy frozen cube)
6 oz. refrigerated pesto (pick your favorite. A bad pesto will ruin this dish)
1 12 oz. package fresh linguine (if you cannot find this a regular package of dried linguine is fine)
2 pint size containers of cherry tomatoes
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 head of brocolli chopped (or one small steamable all ready chopped package)
5 small slices fresh mozarella (cut again into thirds)

First things first. Chop your broccoli heads up into large bite sized pieces and place into a large sealable gallon sized plastic bag. Or you could simply buy a small package of steam-able brocolli. I normally do that, but this time, my store was out. Seal the chopped broccoli crowns, place them in the bag and set aside.

Boil water in a large pot.

Chop three-quarters of your cherry tomatoes into half. Also cut mozzarella slices into bite sized pieces and set mozzarella pieces aside.

In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook one minute. Add halved cherry tomatoes and remaining whole tomatoes into the skillet. Add salt and red pepper flakes. Let simmer twelve minutes. Stir occassionally.

In the meantime, boil noodles according to the directions on the package. I prefer to use fresh pasta found in the refrigerated section. It cooks faster and generally just tastes better. But you can use boxed pasta, just be aware of the time difference. Before draining pasta, carefully reserve a cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta and return the drained pasta to the pot it boiled in (with no water in it).

Pierce broccoli bag with fork two times. Microwave the bag for three and a half minutes on high.

After the tomatoes have simmered for twelve minutes, add wine and let simmer for two more minutes.

Add a little of the pasta water (about 1/4 cup) and broccoli. Mix.

Add pesto to the drained noodles. Add enough pasta water to make it easier to stir (about 1/4 cup. Do not add all of your reserved pasta water).

Add pesto noodles to the cherry tomato/broccoli mixture. Stir. Before plating add mozzarella to the pan and quickly mix. You do not want your mozzarella to melt too much.

Plate. And eat up! If you have picky kids, and they are old enough, I recommend letting them carefully cut the tomatoes and mozzarella when you are preparing this dish. It will make them feel like they made the dish and they will be more inclined to eat it. Both of my kids always have seconds. ; )

Enjoy! We will be eating this yummy pasta all summer! It just tastes fresh and happy!

P.S. Please do not forget to enter the Blog Giveaway. It ends on the 15th! Thank you!

This post was edited using the fun Afterlight app. It makes the colors richer in the photos.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

quick

Easy Lasagna

A Better Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Crockpot Spaghetti (with coffee grounds)

Summertime Pasta