Lasagna: My way!

Perfect!

  My mom and mother in law made their own homemade pasta which is very easy to do and I have made it many times!  I'll share the link:  Pasta Dough    The pasta dough is very easy to make and I use my pasta machine so it is really easy.  Mom and Lil ,my mother in law, had very strong arms and rolled those pasta sheets so very thin.  I rely on the pasta machine..just sayin!


**This is a short cut recipe for us modern day people!


I make lasagna every now and again because it's easy and freezable.  I love to freeze meals.  It may be a little more work the day you are preparing it but in the long run it'll really help you out when you just don't know what to have for a quick meal...

Here's my basic recipe:

I make a hearty meat sauce which includes bulk sausage or thinly sliced  Italian sweet or hot sausage.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef and pork(sliced sausage or meatballs can be added)
2 large cans crushed tomatoes or tomato purée 
1 large can tomato sauce
2 or 3 large fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
2 or 3 cloves minced garlic

Approximately 1  1/2 tsp Salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper

In a large dutch oven pot place several tablespoons olive oil. Add cooked ground meat and cooked sausage.  Cook over medium heat breaking ground meat into pieces while cooking. Add salt, pepper and minced garlic. Cook until browned slightly.  Drain off excess grease and then add the tomatoes, sauce and basil.  Cover slightly and bring sauce to a slight bubble and simmer for approximately 2 hours or more. 

Note: I’ve made this recipe in my crockpot making sure to brown my meat before placing in the crockpot. Then adding the rest of ingredients.

Check out all my Pasta Sauce recipes on the right side of the blog under Labels.. 

If you want to take a short cut , use ground beef and pork and fry until browned, adding some salt, pepper and garlic, add one of your favorite jarred sauces and simmer until meat is tender..

Next I use Barilla no cook lasagna pasta noodles  Usually 2 boxes will be needed for a large lasagna pan.  1 Box fits nicely in a 13x9 in pan.

1 -15 oz. ricotta cheese
Approximately 2 cups or more shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 cup extra mozzarella for top as needed
1 egg 
1+cup Pecorino Romano or Romano cheese( save some for top)
Approximately 4 cups meat sauce for a large lasagna pan.

Mix cheeses with egg. Using  a medium size deep baking dish place some sauce and then put the first layer of no boil noodles. 

Then by spoonful while spreading place cheese mixture then add some more sauce , sliced sausage and repeat layers until you have made 4 to 5 layers.  Top with remaining sauce and some mozzarella and grated cheese..

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50 to 60 minutes covered...(for a large lasagna pan) Less for a 13x9.  Approximately 30 to 45 minutes.

Take cover off and bake additional 5 minutes or so to make sure cheese on top has melted and is bubbly.  Enjoy!!!

Put a large amount of sauce in bottom of pan.  I used 10 x 14 pan.

Layer sauce then pasta, ricotta mixture, sauce, pasta, ricotta mixture until you have approx. 4 layers

Easy to make lasagna with no boil pasta noodles.

Family favorites recipes from my family to yours, 

10/14/11 original

3/18/13

Italian pasta sauce: A personal opinion

A Blessed Sunday to everyone.

On occasion I get asked why I don’t add oregano or different herbs to my pasta sauce.  Truth be told is that authentic pasta sauce uses basic seasonings. Garlic, basil, salt,pepper and olive oil.  Visiting our family in Italy I watched my relatives cook.  They never added anything in the spice area other than what I use. They said Americans Americanize it with heavy seasonings.  I’m guessing it’s what you get used to 😊. Of course they also use their garden fresh tomatoes which I only use on occasion.

Try your hand on a pasta sauce with basic ingredients. It's the best way to make quick and easy sauce.

Fresh ingredients, limited spices and herbs, and when in season fresh tomatoes. You can't go wrong.

You can find my easy recipes for various versions of my pasta sauce under labels on the right side of the blog.

Enjoy!  

Meatless Pasta Fagioli from my kitchen to yours!

This is an oldie but goodie from the archives.

Hello:  I am re-posting this recipe for those newbies who haven't had a chance to jot down this easy and so good family favorite recipe.  Enjoy and thanks for checking out my blog!  Love, M.j.


It is hard to believe it has been over 1 1/2 years that I have doing my blog!  This dish was prepared for my 100th Blog post.  Today I am going strong at over 600 blog posts and I am truly proud of each and every one that I have shared with you.  I have learned a great deal about blogging and hope that I have entertained and educated you on some new recipes and ideas from my family to yours.  I absolutely love how you have inspired me and hope I have inspired you to get back to some good home cooking!







My 100th blog..Wow!!! I  love pasta fagioli..and I love to make it as well!  Easy and so good! My granddaughters love it so that makes this a great meal to make them when they visit. A definite plus! 

 Mom and grandma made it a lot when I was growing up and I have changed it a bit from their original recipe but the results are still the same..

Everyone loves it! and there are seldom any leftovers.  I am not fussy about how I serve it..Right from stove to table! Make sure you put a hot pad to protect your table.. Italian cheese in a dish on the side.  Put a large ladle in it, extra sauce in a dish if needed,  and it disappears one two three..Hope you enjoy this as much as our family does. I just made this today and it is Oh sooooo good!!!!!.Happy Cooking!

 2 cans cannelini beans (drained and rinsed)
3 medium celery ribs and tops, chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried basil or 2 fresh basil leaves chopped
1 medium onion, chopped coarse
1 large carrot,chopped in large pieces( If you put the carrots, celery and onions in food processor and add back into sauce, the sauce will be a little heartier)
1 large can Tomato sauce ( I use Hunts)

1  1/2 cups water 
1 box Ditalini (cooked)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper( if you like a kick to it pepper will give it!)
1/4 cup olive oil

Just look at those beans!!!!!!!!!

Mashing some of the beans

In a large Dutch oven where you have placed 1/4 cup olive oil; add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Simmer slowly  until translucent and slightly browned about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove large pieces. Add tomato sauce, salt, pepper, basil, parsley and 1  1/2 cups water.  Add rinsed and drained beans.. Cook slowly on medium heat.  (you may have to lower heat).   As sauce is simmering, with a potato masher, mash beans slightly to break up some of the beans.  Simmer on low heat.   Cook pasta according to directions..Rinse and Drain.  Add  sauce toss to make sure all pasta is covering the pasta, some grated Italian Cheese(Pecorino Romano or Romano) and toss more.. 

Note: I use Ditali or Ditalini(little tubes).

Note:  Grandma and Mom used basically the same ingredients except they used 1 large can tomato juice and 1 small can tomato paste in their recipe as well as dried beans that were immersed in cold water overnight and then drained. 

Remove large vegetables after they are tender.  You can chop them in a food processor and add to sauce for thicker consistency if you desire.

They also washed their pasta out with cold water after cooking it and then added the sauce which made the recipe a little thinner (soupy). This is a meatless meal but for all you meat lovers you can add 1/2 lb. ground beef or sausage (Just brown it before you add it to the sauce!)

Happy Cooking from my kitchen to yours,





7/15/11 original
1/6/13
8/16/13

Marinara with Gnocchi and Peas: One of my favorite food memories

I love this meal!

I'll start this blog post by saying I love peas and have eaten peas and sauce since I was a little girl.  I don't know how it started but it has become one of my famous all time early food memories.

Till this day my hubby teases me about it.  He had never heard of this dish or would have ever been tempted to eat it.  He is basic Italian and peas are not a part of any of his early food memories. lol

My Mom would make her homemade (meat sauce)every week and with the leftover sauce I would add some drained canned peas and along with a slice of bread or two this was a favorite meal of mine.

Not everyone loves peas but for those of you who do, this is relatively easy to make.  I used my homemade marinara sauce but jarred sauce can be used as well and today I decided to add some bought De Cecco gnocchi which really added to this dish.  

All it takes to make this easy meal is:

1 pkg. De Cecco Gnocchi (17.5 oz)
1 qt. Marinara sauce or desired sauce
1 pkg.. Steamfresh frozen peas (cook according to directions) Canned peas can be used (drain)
Pecorino Romano cheese

Cook gnocchi according to directions.  Drain.  Microwave peas.  Heat sauce. Add gnocchi and peas. Toss with sauce and add fresh Pecorino Romano Cheese.  Serve with Salad. 

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking from my kitchen to yours

6/29/12 
3/6/13
2/18/14

Our Family Christmas 2016 "Buon Natale"!!!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours,

Our Christmas was wonderful and fun. Games, gifts and lots of food and laughter.  It also helped that our Steelers played and won a great game.  We were all glued to the TV.

How can it not be fun with 3 teenagers and 2 twenty year old?

I look forward to our Christmas family get together every year  because as the grandchildren get older they have many social and school options so Christmas is a time we can connect and find out a little more about what's going on in their lives.

Two are in college and one is busy with soccer and the other is busy with basketball. Practice practice practice. Our youngest granddaughter is a high school cheerleader which doesn't give her many free nights. 

They excel in their studies and are very conscientious of the importance of a good education.  Makes me very proud.

Here are a few photos of the day. 

I made homemade gnocchi

Gnocchi with meat sauce

Sweet Ricotta filled cannoli

Granddaughters!!

Saran Wrap Game..Poppy giving instructions...

Lots of laughs

As my Dad used to say "he's taking a fiver"...

Veggie aglio

A great light easy meal for you and your veggie loving family.

Note:  Cut back on the pasta and add lots of vegetables to lighten the carbohydrates.

1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 thin sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced zucchini
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup mushrooms (optional)
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
8 oz. Angel hair pasta(reserve 1/2 cup water)
Salt and pepper
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In a medium size pan on low heat place olive oil and garlic . Add mixed vegetables of your choice and sauté until slightly tender.

While veggies are sautéing cook pasta in salted water until a’dente. Drain and toss with veggie/olive oil. Add pasta water if too dry.  Garnish with grated cheese. Enjoy!

Easy Lasagna Cups, My Way

I love using ingredients and food items I have hanging around my kitchen so today I decided to use several ingredients that I had and put together my version of Lasagna cups.  I had pasta sauce with 4 meatballs in my frig and a small zucchini too so this is today's Lasagna cups that we had for dinner.

I used my large muffin pan and made 6 large lasagna muffins.  Two of which I used thinly sliced zucchini since I only had 4 meatballs.  I lightly sprayed the muffin pan before I started to layer.

You can easily make this recipe and you don't even have to use the meatballs.  Using thinly sliced veggies will I am sure work well.  Since you only bake them for approximately 30 minutes make sure your veggies are thinly sliced. I think eggplant, mushrooms, yellow squash or zucchini would work fine.

 Happy Cooking!

 


6 oven ready no cook Barilla lasagna noodles(soak in a large pan of warm water approximately 10 to 15 minutes)  so they are slightly pliable then cut  in half.  Will equal 12 pieces.
6 tsp. ricotta cheese
6 slices fresh mozzarella sliced in half or you can use prepackaged shredded mozzarella
6 medium cooked meatballs squished with fork or thinly sliced veggies (I used thinly sliced zucchini in two)
1 qt. pasta sauce, homemade or jar you choose
freshly grated cheese
fresh or dried basil
parsley

Spray large muffin pan with cooking spray.  Place one of the half slices of lasagna noodle on bottom.  Press meatballs slightly before adding to cups with a fork.  Add one meatball and some pasta sauce, then a piece of mozzarella and 1 tsp. ricotta, sprinkle grated cheese and basil/parsley mix over cheese.  Top with the other half of the lasagna noodle and push down slightly.  Top with pasta sauce, grated cheese and grated mozzarella.  Bake covered 25 minutes, remove cover and bake an additional 5 minutes.  Remove from oven allow to set for 10 additional minutes and serve.

Broccoli Aglio E Olio

 Pasta with healthy broccoli was one of the Friday staples when I was growing up.  Raised Roman Catholic during our Lenten season we abstained from eating any meat on Friday's so Mom would make the below dish along with others on Friday's.  You can make it any day of the week but on Friday's it was either pasta with broccoli, homemade Italian mac and cheese with stewed tomatoes, tuna fish in pasta sauce, grilled cheese.  It our home there were many meatless dishes that I will share along the way.  Have a great day!

Family Favorites from my kitchen to yours,

Pasta with Garlic and Oil:(Aglio E Olio)

Italian for 'garlic and oil,' pertaining to pasta dressed with garlic and heated olive oil.

 You can make this recipe with cauliflower too! I have also used different shapes pasta too..Shells are excellent as well. or better yet try any type pasta you may have in your pantry!  Enjoy!  A nice veggie meal!  



When there are days I just don't know what to make for some reason pasta always tops the list..Everything seems  to go with pasta..Pasta and red sauce, pasta and roasted vegetables, Alfredo pasta, seafood and pasta, buttered pasta the list can go on and on.. So today I am making a favorite of ours,  Broccoli and pasta with olio. .I have eaten this before lots of times and I have brought it with me as a side for picnics and get together. Family and friends agree Broccoli is a nice add in to pasta and olio( Olive oil and garlic) you can't help but love. Enjoy!!!  Happy Cooking!!

Note:  You can make this dish minus the broccoli.  Saute garlic, oil slowly with parsley in olive oil..Cook pasta, drain and mix together.  Garnish with Italian cheese of choice!

1 large head broccoli or broccoli crowns ( cut in pieces)
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
2 T butter optional
salt and pepper to taste
grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Cook cleaned broccoli in lightly salted water. Drain.

In the pot that your cooked your broccoli place 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil and butter. Once butter is melted and oil is warm, Place drained broccoli in pot add minced garlic and simmer..Take pot off stove add and some salt and black pepper if necessary to taste.

Cook 1/2 to 3/4 lb. pasta of choice according to directions.  Before draining, reserve 1/2 pasta liquid..Add pasta, grated Pecorino Romano cheese and reserved pasta water..Stir..add a little more cheese and serve..  Bon Appetite! Note:  I have eaten it right from the refrigerator..so cold is good for me too!

Happy Cooking from my kitchen to yours,

7/5/12
8/30/12 
8/29/13 
11/7/14
6/8/16