Mushroom Lasagna with White Sauce

I made this the other night and it was soooo good. A very different take on lasagna but this is actually my very first successful making of any type of lasagna. You also learn how to make a white sauce here which most people think they have to buy. I got the recipe here.



*Note: If you don't care to use no-boil noodles or don't have them on hand, substitute regular lasagna noodles, boiling and draining them prior to assembling the lasagna.

*Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

12 no-boil lasagna noodles (I prefer the Barilla brand)
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 sticks) butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 pounds cremini or baby bella mushrooms (or a combination of both)
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

For the white sauce, bring the milk and garlic to a simmer in a medium saucepan, or heat it in your microwave in a glass liquid measure, and set it aside. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons or 1 stick) butter. Add the flour and cook for one minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Pour in the hot milk, a little at a time at first and whisking until combined. Once you’ve added half of it, you can add the second half all at once, along with 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt, the pepper, and nutmeg. Cook the white sauce over medium-low heat, stirring or whisking frequently, anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes, or until thick. Set aside.

To prepare the mushrooms, slice the mushrooms 1/4-inch thick, trimming stems if desired (I left them on). In a large 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms with a couple pinches of salt and cook for about 5 minutes, until they are tender and release some of their juices. Stir occasionally to make sure they cook evenly.

To assemble the lasagna, lightly coat with cooking spray the bottom and sides of a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread 1/4 cup or so of the white sauce in the bottom of the dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top (I used 3 no-boil noodles for each layer without overlapping them - just laying them next to each other), then more sauce (about 1/4 of what remains), 1/3 of the mushrooms and 1/3 or so cup of the grated cheese. Repeat two more times then top with a final layer of noodles, your remaining sauce and last 1/4 cup of cheese.

Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit, lightly covered for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Lasagna Rolls

8 oz.  Lasagna pasta...not extra wide
10 oz pkg spinach thawed and drained (the recipe calls for 2 pk's, but i don't love that much.)
1 pd. ricotta cheese
1 c. Parmesan
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz mozzarella
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste

cook the noodles about HALF way.
*you want them to be soft enough you can bend and roll them but not so soft they rip.
beat all the other ingredients in a large bowl
lay noodles out on wax paper..or something they won't stick to.
place a half cup of the filling onto each noodle and spread it out evenly over the entire noodle
then roll the noddle up like a jelly roll.
place rolled up noodles in 11 by 14 Pyrex pan

Sauce:
1 chopped onion
2 gloves garlic minced
3 T butter
2, 1 lb 12 oz cans of crushed tomatoes in the puree
16 oz tomato sauce
2 T sugar
2 T olive oil
2 tsp basil
1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

saute onion, garlic and butter, until onions are soft.
then combine all other ingredients into the pan and let simmer for 20 min.
pour sauce over the noodles in the Pyrex dish...i usually don't use all the sauce it seems to be to much so i freeze the rest and use it on spaghetti or chicken Parmesan. it is one of my favorite sauces!

top it all off with a little more Parmesan cheese for looks.
cook 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until noodles are all the way soft

yes, this is one of those recipes that seems to take quite some time to make...but super yummy.

Chicken-Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls

This came from a friend of mine (who is a total foodie) and I haven't tried it yet but one day when I'm feeling ambitious I will!

Print Recipe Text Only

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
sharp cheddar cheese (I used 75% sharp cheddar and 25% mozzarella)
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
about 1 C shredded, cooked chicken.
3/4 C mayo
3/4 C milk

First take 1 teaspoon of your ranch dressing mix and combine it with 1 1/2 T parmesan cheese. Set aside. Combine the remaining ranch mix with 3/4 C mayo and 3/4 C milk and place in the fridge to chill.

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400-425 degrees.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.


When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.


I grab the four corners first and then squeeze the seams shut. Then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish). Brush with melted butter or olive oil and sprinkle with the parmesan-ranch mixture.


Time out for a sec. I tried a few new things this time around. One was to cook some of my rolls in a mini-muffin pan. This might work better for serving depending on the situation. They turned out great. You're making 24 rolls, so it fills up the pan perfectly. They cook quicker this way than in a pie pan so keep an eye on them. Mine only took about 8 minutes whereas the ones in the pan took about 13-15.


Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Place your rolls in the oven. I've noticed baking time really depends on the type of dough I'm using. Whether it's different brands from the store, or homemade dough, they all take different amounts of time. Set your timer for 10 minutes and check on them after that. They may take up to 15 or 20 to be done. Take them out when they're lightly golden on top.

Serve them warm with a side of freshly made ranch dressing for dipping.



I'm serious when I tell you these are amazing. They were actually way better than I had imagined them. Although how could you possibly go wrong with warm dough, gooey cheese, and crispy bacon, dipped in ranch. You can't. You just can't.



The other great thing is that these are freezable! Before baking, flash freeze individually, or together right in a disposable foil pan. Bake from frozen until golden brown.

Spaghetti Pie

This is so so so yummy! Especially with sausage!

* 6 oz. spaghetti, cooked and still warm

* 2 tbsp. butter
* 1 well beaten egg
* 1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 c. cottage cheese
* 1 c. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 2-3 cups Bolognese sauce (recipe to follow)

Bolognese Sauce: (This recipe makes a lot of sauce and is absolutely delicious. You will only need about a fourth of the sauce for the spaghetti pie, so plan on freezing the extra to use later for lasagna, sloppy joes, spaghetti or by itself!)

* 2 lbs. Hot Italian Sausage (I used mild)
* 2 lbs. ground beef (from freezer)
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 lg. yellow onion, diced (from freezer)
* 1 green pepper, diced
* 2 stalks celery, diced
* 2 cans crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
* 1 bay leaf
* 3 T. dried oregano
* 2 T. dried basil
* 2 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. pepper
* 1 cup dry red wine (optional)
* 2 cans tomato paste (6 oz. each)
* 1/8 tsp. cinnamon

-Remove sausage from casing. Place in pan with 1/4 cup water and crumble with spoon while browning. -When cooked, drain in colander and rinse with very hot water (this washes the extra grease off); set aside.
-Brown ground beef, drain, rinse as above, and set aside.
-Heat olive oil in dutch oven. Saute celery, onion, and pepper until tender. Add sausage, beef, tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer covered for an hour. Add wine, tomato paste and cinnamon. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until dinner time. You will use 2-3 cups of the sauce for the Spaghetti Pie and freeze the rest in dated gallon freezer bags.

Spaghetti Pie:
Combine hot cooked spaghetti with butter until butter is melted. Add egg and Parmesan cheese. Place in pie dish and form a "crust" with a well in the center. Spread cottage cheese over spaghetti in pie dish. Cover with Bolognese sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350°F or until bubbly. Cut into slices and serve.
***Note: I just realized as I was copying this recipe down that I completely forgot to add the tomato paste and cinnamon to the sauce!!! Oops! It was still very delicious!!!

Stromboli

This is a delicious Italian-style meal the whole family will love.

Dough
1 1/2 T. active dry yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
3 T. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (add more if dough is too sticky)

Dissolve yeast in water with sugar. Let rest a few minutes then stir in oil and salt. Add flour. Beat with mixer. I used my Kitchen-aid stand mixer with a dough hook. Divide dough in 2. Roll dough into a square.

6 T. butter
dash garlic powder

Melt butter and add garlic powder. Use pastry brush to apply butter and garlic to cookie sheet (you will also use this inside and on top of Stromboli roll). Place rolled out dough on cookie sheet. Add the following:

Divide the following between the 2 rolls:

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
12 pepperoni slices
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
3 slices deli pastrami (not turkey pastrami)
1/2 c. pepper jack cheese
3 slices deli ham
1/4 c. fresly grated Paresean cheese (aged at least 2 years - Costco sells a good one)
12 more pepperoni slices

Carefully bring up sides to make a roll and pinch together so nothing can escape while in cooking process. Also fold up and pinch ends. Use pastry brush to apply left over garlic butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for at least an hour. I put mine outside when it is warm (80 degree or above weather).

1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning

Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle with freshly grated Paremsean cheese and italian seasoning.

Bake in 350-degree oven for 22 minutes or until lightly browned. The Paresean cheese is always a good indicator after it has changed color. Immediately after removing from oven, place Stromboli on large cutting board to cool 10 minutes. Slice into 1 inch pieces with pizza cutter.

Dip in hot pizza sauce. Enjoy!

Aflredo Sauce/ Baked Ziti

I use this alfredo sauce alone or in baked ziti.

½ cup Butter
2-4 oz. Cream Cheese (depending how much of a cream cheese taste you want)
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
¾ tsp. Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
1 cup Parmesan Cheese

In saucepan, melt butter. Add cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk constantly until it boils. Bring to a boil. Stir every few minutes. Simmer for 20 minutes. Take from heat and stir in cheese. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.




Baked Ziti:

Boil the ziti according to directions. Drain. Put the pasta in a 9x13 pan. Pour the alfredo sauce above over the ziti. Cook the meat of your choice (Hamburger, Sausage, etc...). Mix it with jarred or homemade spaghetti sauce (We prefer Tomato and Basil Classico). Pour the meat sauce over the alfredo sauce. Top with the mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.