Lazy Day Lasagna

I found this lasagna recipe and loved it. Let me count the reasons I love it ...

1. Easy
2. Quick
3. Yummy
4. Easy
5. Freezable
6. Common Ingredients
7. Easy
8. Adaptable
9. Low Cost
10. EASY!

I found this recipe in one of my freezer manuals I enjoy using. I like to put meals in the freezer because it saves time, something I find in short supply. For one-of-those-days it saves my sanity, also something I find in short supply. I also like to be able to help friends. It is so easy to go to my freezer and find a meal to take to a friend who had a baby, surgery, loss or just an overall stressed day. I find adding a bit of love to the ingredient list makes the meal taste that much better.

This recipe makes a 9"x13" pan or 2-8"x8" pans. It serves 12. I always double the recipe and make one for dinner and one for the freezer. Once when I was having dinner company, I doubled the recipe but made a ooey-gooey monster lasagna. It was the best! The recipe is good as is, but I like adding more sauce and cheese to mine. I can also make it healthier (to make up for the extra cheese) by using fat free cottage cheese, whole wheat lasagna noodles and extra lean ground beef.


Lazy Day Lasagna

12 ounces cottage cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 eggs
1/3 cup chopped parsley (reduce amount if using dried)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
32 ounces spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup ground beef, cooked
9 lasagna noodles, uncooked
3/4 cup water (for firmer pasta decrease to 1/2 cup)

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, parsley, onion powder, basil and pepper until well blended. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together and cooked ground beef. In a 9x13-inch glass baking dish, spread 3/4 cup meat sauce on the bottom. Layer 3 uncooked noodles on top of the meat sauce. next spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1-1/2 cups meat sauce. Layer 3 more uncooked noodles on top of meat sauce. Spread with remaining cheese mixture. Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining meat sauce. Pour water around the outside edges.

To freeze, place dish in a 2-gallon freezer bag. If you want to wrap it in foil, cover the top of the lasagna with wax paper or plastic wrap and then foil. The acid in the tomato sauce will leave small holes in the foil. Label, seal and freeze.

To serve, bake thawed lasagna covered at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. uncover and bake additional 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. If cooking from a frozen state, add 30 minutes to the total baking time.


**More notes and changes from me ...

I add plain sauce to the bottom of the pan since I like the meat sauce to be in my lasagna. I also add shredded mozzarella to the top of the lasagna. I told you I like more cheese. I cook more meat and have more sauce on hand than the recipe states. I usually cook mine either from the frozen state or right after assembly. I rarely am thinking clearly enough or soon enough to have the lasagna pulled from the freezer in time for a complete thawing.

The recipe goes together very easily. The hardest part is waiting as you smell it baking.

Allergy-Friendly Birthday Dinner & Cake

My youngest is allergic to dairy, eggs, grapes, rice and we think we can add red dye now too (had a reaction this weekend). It makes for some extra planning when it comes to cooking. Eric loves food thankfully so doesn't seemed phased unless told he can't have it.

Yesterday Eric turned one so a cake was in order. Eric recently discovered Oreos (and can actually have them). So starts his love affair with chocolate. The trick was to find a cake recipe that he could eat. I found one (gotta love Google). It is on Recipezaar.com and called (surprise) Egg-free Milk-free Chocolate Cake. What the name lacks, the cake makes up for in taste. I am not a big sweets fan so the amount of sweet was just right for me. Hubby has a major sweet tooth so it wasn't sweet enough for him. There were no leftovers so that is the better judge. I didn't have it frosted (ran out of powdered sugar earlier making pancakes ... oops) so that would add to the sweetness.

Eric is a fan of peas, chicken and noodles. What else could I serve but Chicken and Noodles? I used this recipe using chicken instead of turkey. I had cooked up some chicken earlier so had it on hand. I had some egg-free noodles as well as peas & carrots. Oh, yeah I add more black pepper than called for as well as garlic powder. It is a quick and filling meal. Eric loved it. It does call for milk. Pre-Eric days I would make it using evaporated milk for a creamier taste. Yesterday I used plain soy milk and crossed my fingers. It turned out so yummy. Eric loved it as did the rest of the family especially hubby. I served it with a simple salad of Romaine with grated carrot and radishes.

So begins my journey into the world of cooking allergy-free for Eric. It was worth though seeing him enjoy the dinner and cake so much. It is good to have a success for the trial run. I'd hate to start discouraged.

Leftover Chicken + Fresh Spinach = A New Dish

My 13 yo son said once that there was a reason why leftovers were leftovers. I think it was after I announced that was what was for dinner. He's not too big of a fan of leftovers if you didn't guess.

This morning while I was thinking of what to serve for dinner (haven't been too good at menus lately ... oops!), I decided on a leftover makeover. In the refrigerator were some seasoned chicken patties leftover from when I made homemade McChickens. I happened to have some linguine and fresh spinach too. All that equates to Chicken-Spinach Linguine. I ain't too good with coming up with cool recipe names.

I put water on to boil to cook the pasta. Next was cleaning and cooking the spinach. The rabbits got any wilted or bad leaves. They love me now. After the spinach was done and set aside. I sauteed some red onion and garlic in olive oil and butter. I added chicken boullion and water. Next comes the cream, milk, and parmesan cheese. Once that was done I added the spinach (I chopped it after cooking) and chicken, sliced thinly. I seasoned it with white pepper. The sauce was served over the liguine with a salad for a side.

I was able to use up leftover chicken and try my hand not only at a new recipe but add my own mark to it. Now here's hoping it tastes as good as it looks and smells!

Weekly Menu

Having a meal plan or menu can help save time and money, things we would probably like in greater supply. Menus can be planned a week or even a month is advance. I prefer a week as I like to change my mind often.

A frugal way to plan is to see what is on sale in the grocery store flyers. I access the local store ads on-line since I do not get a newspaper. I then create a menu plan around what is on sale. A way I save time is to have a planned leftover meal as I call it. For example, this week I am making pork chops for Monday's supper. I will cook up enough to feed my family (has to be a large batch as my oldest grasshopper loves pork chops) and have leftovers. The leftover porkchops I will slice up for the Pork over Curly Noodles later in the week. I also place them in the freezer to discourage above mentioned grasshopper from eating them. I save on time and money by creating two meals from one. Another advantage is that the leftovers get a make over so there is less chance of mutiny.

Another money-saver is a meatless or almost meatless meal planned into the week. This week it is Thursday's meal in conjunction with the planned leftovers. I also do a soup and/or sandwich night because it is easy, quick and cheap. I schedule it for the night where we are running off to the four winds. When finances allow, that is also the paper goods night so there are little or no dishes to wash.


My Weekly Menu:
Monday - Grilled Pork Chops, Sweet Potato Fries, Green Salad
Tuesday - BBQ Meatballs, Rice, Italian Spinach Salad, Fresh Fruit
Wednesday - Homemade McChicken Sandwiches, French Fries, Baked Beans
Thursday - Pork over Curly Noodles, Egg Drop Soup, Buttered Green Beans
Friday - Pizza Night (Cheese, Vegetable, Pepperoni)
Saturday - Kids' Cook Night (kids plan/cook with my assistance, if needed, for learning and one-on-one time)
Sunday - Fend for Yourself or FFY (aka clean-out-the-frig, leftovers, etc.)


Italian Spinach Salad
(taken from Simple & Delicious)

4 cups fresh baby spinach
2 medium tomatoes, quartered
8 large fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
1/2 cup real bacon bits
1 small red onion, sliced and separated into rings
3 tablespoons snipped fresh dill
1-1/2 cups Italian salad dressing
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup croutons

On eight salad plates, arrange the spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, bacon, onion and dill if desired. In a small saucepan, cook the salad dressing and sugar over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Drizzle over the salads; sprinkle with the croutons. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings Prep Time: 25 minutes


Pork Over Curly Noodles
(taken from Simple & Delicious)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
3 packages (3 ounces each) chicken or pork ramen noodles
4-5 pork loin steaks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can (14 ounces) bean sprouts, drained

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, soy sauce and garlic; set aside. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine bread crumbs and contents of two noodle seasoning packets (save the remaining packet for another use). Add chicken, one piece at a time, and shake to coat.

In a large skillet, cook pork in oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.

Remove prok and keep warm. Add peanut butter mixture to skillet; cook and stir until heated through. Drain noodles. Add noodles and bean sprouts to skillet; toss to coat. Serve with pork. Yield: 4 servings Prep/Cook Time: 30 minutes

(Note: I substitute pork for chicken which is what was called for in the original recipe. I also am using pre-cooked sliced pork from a previous meal instead of cooking it according to recipe's directions.)