A Becky Classic III

Good ol' Lasagna. A classic Italian stand by, but I don't really make it a lot, really. I've made lasagna with both lasagna noodles and curly pasta. It's far easier to make it with the flat lasagna noodles! I can fit more cheese, sauce and vegetables in between the layers. I use my classic sauce (same that I use to make spaghetti); we usually add meat but vegetarian lasagna is easy to adapt. I also like to change up my vegetables from spinach to yellow squash and zucchini.

Becky's Basic Mariana sauce:
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes or throw in some fresh (Optional and if you want a lot of sauce! Sometimes I add this the day after to stretch out the leftovers)
1/2 pound sausage
onion (fresh, saute with sausage; dried add to sauce)
Italian Seasoning
Parsley
Salt and Pepper

Brown sausage and onion in a skillet. Add tomato sauce(s), let heat until slightly bubbly and lastly add the herbs and season to taste.

Laying the Lasagna:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add some sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer lasagna noodles to fit tightly, top with cottage cheese and your choice of vegetable. Repeat with layering sauce, noodles, cheese and vegetables. Depending on how my noodles you boiled and how much sauce you have left, you could end there (and top with grated cheese and/or Parmesan cheese) or you can put a third layer of noodles and the last of the sauce (then add grated cheese and/or Parmesan cheese).

Bake for about 30 minutes

Another dish without an official recipe to look at every time you make it. For a variation, you can try the White Cheese Chicken Lasagna. Who could go wrong with classic lasagna?

A Slooow Cooked Dinner

This is the second crock pot recipe I've made in a six month period. The first was chili, and on Friday night I tried my hand at chicken. Really easy, very tender, lots of flavor and Thomas-approved! We put this on a bed of rice (tends to be our favorite) and I ground black pepper on top instead of cheese.

Campbell's Lemon Chicken (Fix it Quick: Favorite Brand Name, 2004)
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) CAMPBELL'S Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup or 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
8 large carrots, thickly sliced (about 6 cups)
8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves (about 2 pounds)
8 cups hot cooked egg noodles
Grated Parmesan cheese

Combine the first six ingredients in a slow cooker then add the chicken.  Stir to cover chicken with the soup mixture.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or until chicken is done.  Excellent with egg noodles or rice and sprinkle with cheese or top with salt and pepper.  Yield 8

A Becky Classic II

Enchiladas have always been my favorite at the Mexican restaurants. This one is a combination of two different recipes. The sauce stems from my old co-worker, Angie, and the other stuff comes from this recipe already posted on this blog, click here to refresh your memory. Alright, here we go!

Enchilada Sauce:
Make a roux of about 2 T each oil and flour, heat and stir until it bubbles (starts to thicken a bit). Whisk in 2-4 T (to your taste) of chili powder, pour in 4-6 ounces of tomato sauce. Add 1-1/2 cups of water (I do that a little at a time). Simmer and stir occasionally until it becomes a nice red sauce.

Enchilada Filling:
Part 1- Cut up meat (I like using leftover rotisserie chicken from the store); in a skillet combine a package of taco seasoning with 3/4 cup water (follow the directions on the packet). Add the meat and stir until it gets warm and thicker.
Part 2- Mix together cottage cheese and sour cream (to your liking, for instance 1 cup cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of sour cream) with salt and pepper.

Putting it together:
Warm tortillas. Add the meat sauce and a dollop of cottage cheese/sour cream mixture into the center of the tortilla. Roll it up (hopefully better than I do) and place it in a 9x13 pan. When you're finished assembling all of them, pour over the red enchilada sauce. Top with cheese (I don't recommend only mozzarella) and whatever else. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

That's how I make them and enjoy them. The original recipe that I have linked on here calls for green chile peppers and onions and those would make great additions to this recipe. Bon Appetit!

A Becky Classic I

The next few posts will feature classic meals that we eat frequently because of their taste and convenience. This one is so easy that it doesn't have a recipe. We often have a stir fry for dinner consisting of a frozen bag of stir fry mix, herbs (dried Italian Seasoning and parsley), garlic powder, and salt & pepper (feel free to improvise and add more spice as well).
I put just a bit (1 T) of vegetable oil in a frying pan, heat up the frozen vegetables, enhance with the above herbs & etc, and add either leftover meat, canned salmon or scrambled eggs (we've had it without a protein, too). Lay it on a bed of rice and top with soy sauce and crunchy noodles (only I top them with the crunchy noodles-- not Thomas). It's fast, healthy (careful with the rice and soy sauce!) and delicious. Enjoy this fast food!

My favorite meal

Lots of warm pasta, fresh vegetables (frozen peas, frozen broccoli, fresh yellow squash), olive oil, bunch of Italian seasoning, tons of dry parsley (we're growing some this summer, so I can use fresh soon!), and salt & pepper with left over grilled meat (pork in this case). Thomas said that it's good, but he prefers Pesto. Pesto has more oil, so I think this is healthier (and kinda like Pesto too with the oil and parsley/basil). This dish is faster than a Rachel Ray's 30 minute meal.

Blueberry Chocolate Cake

This recipe is a hit! So delicious-- and I'm a big fan as it has blueberries instead of oil and wheat flour! So chocolaty, yet sweet, and the blueberry sauce and chocolate ganache add a lot of flavor (the blueberry softens the chocolate too).

Blueberry Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 Tb unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For Cake- Mix dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. In blender combine water, egg, and blueberries. Blend until smooth. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture. Beat with mixer, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Pour into greased 8x 8 square pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Ganache

Ingredients:

• 1 cup reduced fat whipped topping, like Cool Whip lite
• ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• For Blueberry Sauce
• ½ cup blueberries
• ½ cup reduced fat whipped topping

Method:

Meanwhile for Ganache- in small microwave safe bowl combine chocolate chips and whipped topping. Microwave for 30-60 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Set aside. When cake is cool, cover with Ganache. For blueberry sauce- blend thawed blueberries and whipped topping in blender until smooth and liquid. Drizzle over cake.



The recipe was shown on "Studio 5" http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=204&sid=10304106 and the creator, Dorothy Olsen, won $25,000 for entering it with Better Homes & Gardens.

Spaghetti con Asparagi ed Uova... Spaghetti with asparagus, fried eggs, black pepper, and pecorino

From the lovely cookbook Four Season's Pasta, the editor writes "I've always loved asparagus with fried eggs on top, the eggs cooks so briskly so the whites get crisp but the yolks stay runny. Tossed with pasta, it's a one-meal dish. Timing is critical --you want the eggs, asparagus, and pasta done at the same time --so I never attempt the dish for more than two." Serves 2
I made this for lunch, today. I just couldn't wait to try it out and I didn't want to risk the asparagus going bad. We gobbled it up!

Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 eggs
3 tablespoons freshly grated aged pecorino cheese or toasted bread crumbs (page 22), plus more for topping

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.

Holding an asparagus spear in both hands, bend the spear gently. It will break naturally at the point at which the spear becomes tough. Repeat with the remaining asparagus. Discard the tough ends. Cut the trimmed spears on the diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces, leaving the tips whole. Put the asparagus in a baking dish or on a baking sheet big enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake until sizzling and tender, about 15 minutes.

While asparagus is baking, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. About 2 minutes before pasta is done, heat a skillet over moderately high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When oil is hot, break in the eggs, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook, without turning, just until the whites are barely firm. The yolks should remain runny.

Drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot. Add the asparagus and any oil in the baking dish, then add the eggs and any oil in the skillet. Toss well, breaking up the eggs as you toss. The runny yolks will coat the spaghetti with a creamy sauce. Add the cheese or bread creams, then add a few grindings of black pepper. Toss again and serve immediately in warm bowls, topping with additional cheese or bread crumbs.

**We didn't have a creamy sauce, must have used too much pasta, but it was still tasty. Also, we treated the picorino and bread crumbs as optional and didn't add them into the dish.

***

Fletcher, Janet. Four Seasons Pasta: A Year of Inspired Recipe in the Italian Tradition. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2004. 37.