My favorite Lasagna

Every summer I would take a trip with my grandparents to go see my Uncle and Aunt in San Diego. I loved going with them and getting to spend a week with my cousins. The downside to our trip was the lasagna (gosh I hope they don't read this!). We just had it a lot!!! Like 3 times out of the week.

So when I met my hubby and he told me one of his favorite foods was lasagna, I inwardly rolled my eyes and groaned. After we got married he shared all of his family recipes, which let me tell you is a God send, considering my mom doesn't use recipes. I will literally ask her to send me how she makes something and the email will always start out with "you know I don't use a recipe" and then have no amounts to ingredients (thanks mom...not!!!).

Anyways, I found this recipe on my my hubbys recipe list and have fell in love ever since I first tasted it. One of things I love about it....all the ingredients are pantry staples!!! Seriously! No Ricotta Cheese (which I don't even like)! Alright, let's get down to business...

Ingredients:

                

                1lb  ground beef (I use turkey)

                1 Onion, chopped

                 1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 15oz. Can Tomato Paste 

               1 300 ml Can Tomato Juice

               1 Can Water

               1tbsp Dried Parsley

               1tbsp Brown Sugar

               1tsp Salt

               1½tsp Oregano

               ¼tsp Thyme

               ¼tsp Baking Soda

               1 Bay Leaf

               1tsp Basil

               1 cup Spinach (fresh or *frozen)

               1 cup heavy cream

               11 partial cooked lasagna noodles

               3 cups shredded cheese (I used, colby and some chedder)

Brown meat with onion and minced garlic.

Add all the above ingredients to meat (except spinach and cream).

Simmer for 30 minutes on lowest heat with the pot/pan covered

Remove bay leaf

Add 1 cup cream

And desired amount of shredded fresh spinach (about 1-2 cups) *if using frozen spinach, add before simmering. 

Cover bottom of 9x13 pan with small amount of sauce

Put on layer of noodles 

Cover with some sauce and shredded cheese

Repeat having 3 layers of noodles and finishing with sauce

Bake at 350, covered for 30 mins

Uncover, add layer of cheese as the top

Bake 15 more mins

We had this for hubbys birthday dinner this past week. He loved it!

Our little toddler also loves this meal! 

Hope you enjoy this delicious meal that is super simple to whip up! 

-Kir

3 Easy Baked Chicken Recipes

We always keep chicken in our freezer. We have it every week for dinner so I am constantly trying to come up with different recipes so we don't get bored.


Here are 3 chicken recipes that are super simple to put together:

1. BBQ Chicken Bake
       *Place 3-4 chicken breasts or thighs in a 9x13 baking dish. Heat oven to 400. Pour 1 C. BBQ Sauce evenly over the top of the chicken. Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of chicken) or until juices run clear and inserted meat thermometer reads 170.
     (optional): melt a slice of cheese over the top and serve



2. Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
     *Place 1 whole sliced onion and 1 sliced bell pepper in crock pot that has been sprayed with pam. Lay 2 chicken breasts over the top of your peppers and onions and sprinkle 1 packet of fajita or taco seasoning and pour over 2 c. (or so) of salsa (of your choice) over that.  Low 6-8 hours. Serve with tortillas and your choice of other condiments.



3. Chicken Caprese Bake
    *Place 3-4 chicken breasts in a 9x13 baking dish. Heat oven to 400. Cut up 1 large tomato and place 2 slices over each breast (or pour 1 can of diced tomatoes over chicken). Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of chicken) or until juices run clear and inserted meat thermometer reads 170. Place 2 large basil leaves on top of tomato covered chicken and cover with slices of mozzarella and heat until cheese is melted.




I hope you guys enjoy these simple dinner ideas! I would love to know what your favorite chicken dinner recipe is!
-Kir

Chicken Pasta Bake

I usually try and plan out my meals for the week so I can grocery shop for exactly what I need and the hubby is well aware of what we're having and when he needs to be home (or if it's a crock pot meal then he can come home kinda whenever he finishes up).

This Chicken Pasta Bake is super simple and I always have everything on hand for this meal!

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Breast, cooked and cubed

2 cups assorted veggies, sauteed until soft (zucchini,squash, eggplant, bell peppers, onions...really use whatever you have)

1 cup cheese, shredded

8 oz. tomato sauce

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 tsp. italian seasoning

salt and pepper (to taste)

1 box of penne, cooked

fresh basil (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the chicken, veggies, tomatoes, sauce, seasonings and penne. Add in 3/4 cup cheese and mix until all incorporated. Put in a 9x13 and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly inside. Top with fresh basil.

That's it! How simple was that. This is one of my favorite go to, "wing it" dinners. I always have chicken in the freezer and some type of pasta and canned tomatoes on hand. I can mix it up with whatever veggies I have and you can use whatever type of cheese you want.

Enjoy!

-Kir

Zucchini and Smoked Sausage Skillet

Recently I have been trying to make lots of simple dinners that don't require to too much work in the kitchen and don't use the oven. Since we don't have an AC in our apartment, it has been hot hot hot! 
So I like to experiment with the crock pot and new stove top recipes (not to mention that this skillet was made with one pan)!

Alright let's get cookin':


Zucchini & Smoked Sausage Skillet 

1 TB Butter (or olive oil)

1/2 onion, diced

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 lb. smoked sausage (cut in a half lengthwise and then into 1/4" pieces

1 zucchini (cut the same as the sausage)

1 yellow squash (cut the same as the sausage)

2 cups grape (or cherry) tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. salt (more if desired)

•  

Instructions

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
2. Melt butter in the pan
3. Cook onions and smoked sausage until onions are translucent, add in garlic. 
4. Stir in the veggies and seasonings and cook another 7 minutes or until zucchini is tender and soft
5. Serve on it's own or over a bed of steamed rice.

cook your sausage, onions and garlic

 add veggies 

 Serve!

I blended up some of the zucchini for baby Hailey and she loved it!

I hope you love this recipe as much as the hubby and I. It was super simple (event with an active 7 month old :)

The original recipe can be found on :http://www.yellowblissroad.com/smoked-sausage-zucchini-skillet/

Enjoy!

-Kir

Curried Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I was craving Thai food last night for dinner and I found this awesome coconut chicken recipe but had no idea what else to serve with it. So I went searching on the internet for some Thai Side Dishes and I found this one, Curried Rosemary Roasted Potatoes . I went to go look for my russet potatoes, however, and found that they were all way to old to salvage and had to get tossed. Lucky for me, I had 3 sweet potatoes that I could use, and so that is what I did. I tweaked the recipe of course but my hubby and I both loved it! He isn't a huge sweet potato fan unless in fry form, but he got thirds on this side dish.

Curried Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes

1 TB curry paste (I always get mine from World Market)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp rosemary (more or less for your liking)
3 sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)

Preheat oven to 450. Combine the curry and olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat until curry is dissolved and oil is hot (don't worry if your curry doesn't completely vanish). Combine your curry oil with your cubed sweet potatoes in a large bowl and toss. Cover a baking sheet with foil and lay out your potatoes and sprinkle on some rosemary. Bake for 15 minutes and then flip and bake another 15 minutes at 400. Potatoes are done when they are fork tender. Serve and enjoy!

Such a simple recipe that was not only healthy but of course easy because I had everything already on hand! I will be making this dish again and again and I hope you will try it out! Also check out this tasty Coconut Chicken recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/01/coconut-chicken-w-sweet-chili-dipping-sauce/. I love her blog and am never afraid to try anything from her!

Enjoy!
Kir

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers was always one of my favorite meals that mom would make when I was younger. I had always thought it was a difficult dish to make, however, making it myself, I now realize that it is super simple to create! I make my mine vegetarian style, however you can easily add ground beef or turkey if you would like. This is a gorgeous dish with lots of color and is a great healthy dish that we have at least once a month! I almost always make enough "inside goodness" to freeze for a future quick meal, or if Mark just wants a snack on the weekends without the bell pepper. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers

2 Tb. olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup rice, cooked (I use brown)

3 Tb chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 cup cheese, grated (I like either mozzarella or colby jack...whatever you have should work)

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. chili powder (or more if you like some heat)

salt and pepper, to taste

4 peppers, stemmed and seeded (depends on size of peppers, might need more)

4 slices of cheese (to cover the peppers at the end of cooking)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking dish with parchment paper.

In a frying pan, heat oil and cook onions and zucchini until softened.

In a large bowl, combine rice, beans, corn, tomatoes, and the cooked veggies. Mix well. 

In a small bowl, combine spices and combine with rice mixture. Add in cilantro and grated cheese. Set aside.

Boil water in a large pot and cook your bell peppers until they begin to get soft. Take out and cool.

To assemble peppers: Place pepper in the baking dish and fill with rice mixture. Fill all peppers with mixture and bake about 25 minutes. Place sliced cheese on top for the last two minutes of cooking. 

Serve immediately. 

My combined rice mixture

Boiling the peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers!!!

This is a simple meal that can be made with basically whatever you have. One of the many reason why I love it! 

Hubby's Rating: 4 MMMM's! The sweetness of the yellow peppers is fantastic.This is a delicious way to get lots of veggies.  Definitely good stuff.

Enjoy your veggies this week!

-Kir

Easy Chicken Piccata

For one of my New Years Resolution I decided that I would work on being more creative and challenge my cooking. During my days at home, while cleaning the house or doing laundry, I usually have Food Network on. One of my favorite shows is the Barefoot Contessa. I love how fancy her food is and yet very simplistic. On one particular show I was watching this past week she made Chicken Piccata that looked easy to make and I had all the ingredients already on hand (yeah me!).

It turned out perfect and had a sauce which my husband loved!!! What a simple meal that will leave your family guessing why you aren't a five star chef...okay maybe not, but my hubby was proud of me :)

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (split in half) and pounded thin
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 Flour (possibly more depending on size of chicken)
1 egg
1/2 Tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs (possibly more)
Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons butter, divided
Juice from one lemon, lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup chicken broth
Sliced lemon, for serving


Preheat oven to 400. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sprinkle pounded chicken with salt and pepper.

On one plate, mix flour, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. In a bowl, beat egg and mix in 1/2 Tablespoon water. On another plate spread out your bread crumbs. 

Dip chicken into flour mixture and then in the egg mixture and next into the breadcrumbs. Repeating with all chicken breasts. 

Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan. Once heated, cook chicken (about 2 minutes on each side).
After chicken is cooked, place on baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you prepare the sauce. 

To prepare the sauce, wipe out with a dry paper towel. Heat 1 Tablespoon of butter over medium heat, adding in lemon juice, reserved lemon halves, broth, and 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Boil over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and add remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter until combined. Discard lemon halves. Serve a small amount over each chicken breast on the dinner plate. 

*I added a bit of cornstarch to my sauce, because my husband likes sauces not so runny. Up to you!!

I served the chicken with some roasted zuchini and carrots and some homemade Rice-a-Roni (post to come).

You can find this original recipe at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-piccata-recipe/index.html.

Enjoy!
Kir

Simple Roasted Chicken

We tend to eat a lot of chicken. Nothing wrong with that, but I do get bored and have hard time coming up with good baked chicken recipes that aren't always breaded in the "flour mixture." This roasted chicken recipe is one of my new favorites! It is simple, super yummy, and I was able to make it using the "picnic pack" chicken package from the grocery store, which is usually always cheaper than regular boneless skinless chicken breasts. 

This recipe has been adapted from http://myfridgefood.com/. 

Roasted Chicken

About 8 or so pieces of chicken (I used thighs and drumsticks)

2 Tb soy sauce

1 Tb brown sugar

2 Tb red wine vinegar

2 Tb olive oil

2 Tb onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425.

Rinse chicken and get rid of any fat. Combine ingredients and toss with chicken. Season with salt and pepper and lay in a baking dish skin side up. Roast for 30 minutes. Flip and re-baste with marinade. Roast for another 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. Garnish with parsley.

The only change that I will make for next time is to set some marinade aside and thicken it up into a gravy/glaze type thing. 

Hubby's Rating: 4 Mmm's. Loved the flavor, would have liked a thicker sauce. Really liked this marinade on the drumsticks. 

I hope you enjoy this simple yet delicious roasted chicken recipe!

Happy New Year!

-Kir