Mini Lasagnas

This recipe was so good and so easy! It took me about 20 minutes to put them together and another 20 to bake. You can make them in a muffin tin, or a petite loaf pan like I did here. I used Trader Joe's Organic Marinara sauce and they turned out great, I will definitely be adding this recipe to my dinner menus.

Mini Lasagnas

1 jar marinara sauce
1 lb. ground beef
12 wonton wrappers (for muffin tin, or 8 egg roll wrappes for petite loaf pan)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
4 oz. parmesan cheese
4 oz. ricotta cheese
basil or flat leaf parsley for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375.
Brown ground beef in skillet, drain and return to pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour in marinara sauce and heat on low while cutting the wonton wrappers.
If using the muffin tin, cut wonton wrappers with the top of a drinking glass or biscuit cutter, just so it's about the right size to fit in the muffin cup. There will be two layers of the wonton wrapper so you will need to cut 24 circles, or 16 rectangles if using the petite loaf pan.
Spray pan with cooking spray. Beginning from bottom, layer one wonton wrapper, mozzarella, ricotta (I just grabbed the ricotta with my fingertips and pressed into pan), parmesan, meat sauce, wonton wrapper, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, meat sauce, a little more mozzarella and parmesan. Bake 18-20 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.

Herbed Monkey Bread

Monkey bread is the best! Little rolls rolled in something yummy (here I used butter and herbs), baked in a bundt pan, and then when they are done, you just pull apart and dip! I love making these herbed rolls to go with spaghetti or lasagna. You can also roll them in butter and then cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat!

Herbed Monkey Bread

Dough
1 cup (8 ounces) water
3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Herb Coating
5 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1 tablespoon fresh stemmed thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, minced

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients, stirring until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it's smooth, shiny and supple. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Meanwhile, melt butter (or oil) in a saute pan. Add chopped herbs and let cook for a minute or two. Add garlic and then remove from heat. Pour into medium bowl. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray.
Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and cut off 1 1/2 inch pieces, roll in hands to form balls. Place about 5 or 6 dough balls at a time into the butter and herbs, stir gently to coat and then place in the bundt pan, continue until all dough is in the pan. They will rise a lot, to the top of the pan, so don't worry if it looks like there isn't very much. Cover and let rise 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is browned and dough is cooked through.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes and then invert onto plate, best if served warm with marinara sauce! Would be great with soups too!

Chicken Parmesan

I love Chicken Parmesan! This is a pretty easy dish to make, the only bad thing about it is the clean-up time! For this dish you can either pound out 4 chicken breasts to make them thin, or for an easier solution (and cheaper!) you can just slice 2 chicken breasts in half. If you use a really sharp knife it is super easy.

Chicken Parmesan

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
or 2 chicken breasts, sliced in half
3/4 c. breadcrumbs
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 c. flour
3 egg whites
1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 slices mozzarella cheese

Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, Italian seasoning, and black pepper in shallow pan, set aside. Place flour in another shallow pan, and egg white in another shallow pan.
I placed my oil in my largest saucepan over medium heat, that temp seemed to work well. Let oil heat up.
Preheat oven to 400.
Dredge chicken breasts through egg white, and then flour, egg white again, and finally Parmesan coating. Place in oil and cook for approximately three minutes on each side.
Place chicken on baking sheet and cover with mozzarella slices. Bake for approximately five minutes until cheese is melted. I like to serve over spaghetti.

Pizza Rolls

So this is my husband and 14 year old brother's favorite thing that I make. It's like a cinnamon roll with pizza filling and you serve it with warmed pizza sauce, Yum! I usually make homemade bread dough, but you can also use the frozen Rhode's bread dough or Pillsbury refrigerated Pizza crust to save time. These also freeze well, just microwave to reheat!

Pizza Rolls

16 oz. sausage
4 oz. pepperoni
3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 loaves frozen Rhode's bread dough, thawed
or 2 Pillsbury pizza crusts, or 1 recipe white sandwich bread (on this blog)
Pizza sauce for dipping

Cook sausage in skillet, drain and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, chop pepperoni by hand or with food processor. Combine sausage, pepperoni, cheese, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out into large rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Spread half of sausage mixture over dough. Press down on filling, and then starting at the bottom, roll up like you would cinnamon rolls. Pinch end tightly. Cut into 2" slices and place on baking sheet.
Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Makes about 20 rolls.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Thanks Elly (my mother-in-law) for this recipe! I made it in the slow cooker this morning so it cooked while we were at church and when we came home, as soon as walked in the door, there was this delicious aroma. It was great, I got rave reviews from our dinner guests!

Spaghetti Sauce

1 c. finely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. sugar
1 small can tomato paste
1/4. tsp salt
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 Tbs. chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
28 oz. (2 cans) diced tomatoes, plain or Italian style, undrained
2 Tbs. chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, or 1/2 tsp dried
1 pkg. (tube) of Jimmy Dean regular sausage (optional, you could also use ground beef or ground turkey)

Brown sausage and drain fat.
Turn on slow cooker to low heat. Add sausage and remaining ingredients, stir well. Let cook on low 4-6 hours. Right before serving, check consistency. You may want to add a little water if it is too thick. This made enough to cover 1 whole pkg. of spaghetti noodles.

It's great served with my garlic breadstick recipe that I posted in May.

Garlic or Cinnamon Breadsticks

These breadsticks are super soft and chewy. I like to make half of the recipe into garlic breadsticks, and the other half into cinnamon and sugar breadsticks for dessert (the taste is similar to Indian Fry Bread!)

Breadsticks

2 pkgs. (or 4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
1/2 c. sugar, divided
2 c. warm water (between 105 and 110 degrees, or lukewarm)
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 -6 c. flour ( you will have to add more flour if you live in high elevation, or have more humidity in your air than Phoenix AZ! Just keep adding flour until a soft dough forms, until it is no longer sticky when you touch it)
1/2 c. butter
garlic powder
garlic salt
cinnamon and sugar

In large mixing bowl, or KitchenAid, dissolve yeast and 1 Tbs. of sugar in 1 c. of the warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 1 c. water, oil, egg, remaining sugar, 2 c. of flour, and salt, beat until smooth. Slowly add the remaining flour until a soft dough forms, knead for 6 minutes.
Place in greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover and let rise 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400.
Punch down dough, working with one half at a time, lay out on floured surface. Roll out to a rectangle, dough should be about 1/2 inch thick.
I use a pizza cutter to cut the dough rectangle into strips. Twist and place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
Cover and let rise 20 minutes.
Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes, until a light golden brown.
Remove from oven.
Melt 1/2 c. butter in microwave. Brush over the breadsticks you want to make into Cinnamon and sugar breadsticks. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and sugar, set aside.
Add garlic powder and a little garlic salt to remaining melted butter. Brush over remaining breadsticks. Best when served warm!

*Remember to always keep the cinnamon and sugar and the garlic breadsticks separate, when you're making them, when you're serving them, when you're storing leftovers! :)

This recipe makes about 18 large breadsticks, in the picture above they are cut in half.

Sloppy Joe Calzones & Roll Recipe

This is comfort food at it's best, hamburger with lots of cheese surrounded by a yummy homemade roll, does it get any better than that? I made the dough to go over these calzones but they would also be good inside a good store bought roll, or you can buy the refrigerated buttermilk biscuits and roll them out.

Sloppy Joe Calzones Filling

1 lb. hamburger or ground turkey

1 packet Sloppy Joe seasoning (I use McCormick)

1 small can tomato paste

1 can olives

about 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger in saute pan and drain. Add back into pan, add the tomato paste, seasoning, and water per the seasoning packet instructions. Let simmer about 5 minutes. Chop about 3/4 of the can of olives into large chunks, add to hamburger mixture.

If you'd like to use a homemade roll recipe, here is mine, I use it for cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, etc.

Homemade Roll Recipe

1 Tbs. active dry yeast

1/3 c. warm water (not hot!)

1 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 c. butter

about 5 cups flour

1 egg

1/2 c. cold water

Place the yeast in the bottom of a small bowl, add warm water on top and stir to combine. Cover and let sit 10 minutes.

In saucepan combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt over medium heat. Heat until butter is melted, do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool.

In large bowl, or Kitchenaid fitted with a dough hook, combine 2 cups of flour, the egg, and the cold water. Add the warm milk mixture and mix, then add the yeast mixture. Add the remaining flour until a soft dough forms, knead for 6 minutes. Place in a large bowl, cover it, and let rise 1 hour.

Punch dough down and cut into two balls. Working with one ball at a time, roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired circle size (I used a 4 1/2" round biscuit cutter). Place big spoonfulls of meat mixture onto dough circles, top with a generous helping of shredded cheese. Top with one more layer of dough. With a fork, crimp edges and poke two holes in the top of each calzone. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Brush with butter and sprinkle Chili powder on top.

I was able to make eight 4 1/2" calzones, or I usually get about 18 dinner rolls out of it.

Alfredo Sauce

Well, Mike, that comment about me having bottled Alfredo sauce in my refrigerator really hurt so tonight I got out my recipe for homemade Alfredo sauce just to remind myself how good it was. Watch out ladies, it is not low fat! :) If anyone has a lower fat Alfredo sauce recipe, let me know! This one is delicious!


Homemade Alfredo Sauce

12 Tbs. butter
1 1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper and nutmeg
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I have also used the refrigerated pre-shredded Parmesan and it has turned out fine)
Fresh chopped Parsley
2 chicken breasts, cut into thin slices

Over medium heat, combine butter and whipping cream until mixture bubbles. Continue cooking 2 minutes more. Add salt, dash of pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese until smooth. May return to stovetop to help smooth out cheese, but do not let it come to a boil. Toss with pasta and chicken and sprinkle fresh parsley over top.
This recipe makes enough sauce to cover one box (12 oz.) of pasta.

Pizza Pizza Pizza!

So quite often I will become obsessed with making something, and improving upon it, until I know I won't be able to make it any better. Recently, it's been pizza. I've tried lots of different recipes for crusts and toppings, and I think I've found my two favorites- Chicken Garlic and Pesto Tomato. I found that making the perfect pizza dough takes lots of practice! It really helped to use a pizza stone and a pizza peel, I think you really need these two items to make delicious pizza at home. Two big tips: Make sure the water you put in the dough is between 105 and 110 degrees (just warm), too hot and it will kill the yeast. Also, do NOT roll out the dough with a rolling pin, hand stretching can make all the difference between an OK crust and a delicious, chewy, pizzeria style crust.
Be patient! Really good crust can take up to 24 hours to make!

Pizza Dough Recipe

1 Tbs. active dry yeast
1 1/2 c. plus 3 Tbs. warm water
4 1/2 c. bread flour (all purpose is ok too)
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. salt
3 Tbs. olive oil

Place yeast in bottom of small bowl, pour warm water over the yeast and let sit until bubbly, 5-10 minutes.
Combine all other ingredients, add yeast mixture. If using a Kitchenaid with dough hook attachment, use speed 2 and let run for 3-4 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.
If you don't have a kitchenaid, mix by hand and knead for 3-4 minutes.
Lightly oil the dough and the interior of a large bowl, place the ball in the bowl and seal air tight with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator overnight.
Three hours before you want to serve the pizza, remove from refrigerator. Punch down and form into a ball once more, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise on counter 1 1/2 hours.
Remove dough from bowl and cut (do not tear) dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Place in an oiled 13X9 pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 45 minutes on counter.
Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 500.
Working with one piece at a time, softly stretch dough until you've reached your desired crust size. Place on a pizza peel covered with cornmeal and top with sauce, cheese, and toppings. Open oven and slide pizza from peel to hot stoneware. Bake for approximately 7-8 minutes. Remove with pizza peel and place on cutting board to cool. Repeat with second dough ball.
I know it takes a long time to make, but it's really pretty simple and you won't believe the quality of pizza dough you'll have!


Chicken Garlic Pizza

1 recipe for pizza dough (see above)
Freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 c. ranch dressing
3 cloves garlic, minced
pepper to taste
Shredded chicken
3 green onions
1 Roma tomato

Combine ranch dressing, garlic, and pepper. Set aside.
I like to buy a rotisserie chicken, about 1 breast shredded will be enough. Chop tomato and green onions.
Top your pizza crust with the ranch dressing sauce, freshly grated mozzarella cheese, the chicken, tomato, and then green onion. Bake at 500 for 7-8 minutes.



Pesto and Tomato Pizza

1 recipe for pizza dough (see above recipe)
Pesto sauce (I like to buy the large jar from Costco)
2 Tomatoes
Freshly shredded Mozzarella cheese

This is an easy one! Which is probably why I make this one most often! :)
Top crust with pesto, cheese, and tomatoes. Bake at 500 for 7-8 minutes.

If you want to make these pizzas over-the-top-amazing you can use fresh whole milk mozzarella cheese.