Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage

So, I quit my food blog awhile back. The main reason is that I am not a good photographer...at all. Even when I try hard my pictures still suck. But...I miss blogging about food and keeping all of my recipes in one place. So, I think I might attempt it again. We'll see if I can actually get pictures each night though since we typically don't eat until 8:30-9 with Jon's work schedule. Alright, here we go!

I love pasta, but don't usually make lasagna because my mom always makes it for me. She makes up large batches of food throughout the winter and we are always the eager recipients of it. But then I realized that I can make other types of lasagna, like ones that are more geared towards summer. This lasagna was especially good and I can see it being a repeat in my kitchen. The tomatoes and basil made it seem very fresh and light. Even the white sauce wasn't too heavy, especially since I made it with non-fat milk. I also used less mozzarella than called for, but it was still cheesy enough to be good. 

Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage
Source: Iowa Girl Eats who adapted it from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

3/4lb lasagna noodles (you only need 9 noodles & you could easily use no-boil noodles to cut out a step!)

extra virgin olive oil

3/4lb hot turkey Italian sausage 

2 Tablespoons butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tablespoons flour (I used a bit more flour since I used non-fat milk - so you will want to add a bit more butter too)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups 2% milk

salt & pepper

4 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

8 basil leaves, chopped

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, then drain. Return to pot and add a little extra virgin olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
2. Meanwhile, remove casing from sausage and cook in a large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate.
3. Using the same skillet, melt butter, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour, then whisk to combine and cook for 30 more seconds.
4. Pour chicken broth in slowly and whisk to get rid of any clumps. Continue adding the broth and whisking until mixture is smooth. Pour in milk and whisk to combine. Season with salt & pepper. Note:  You can always pour through a fine-mesh sieve if the mixture does not turn out smooth.
5. Stir sauce until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Optional step: Pour mixture into a bowl with a spout to make it easier to pour onto the lasagna. 
6. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9×13″ baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour 1/4 cup sauce into the bottom, then spread evenly. Put 3 lasagna noodles in the bottom, then top with 1/3 of the tomatoes, 1/3 of the basil, 1/3 of the cooked turkey sausage, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat 2 more times, for a total of three layers.
7. Cover dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and sauce is bubbly. Let sit 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Meat Goulash

Does anyone else find the process of cooking relaxing? I used to get really frustrated in the kitchen, especially if things weren't going the way I wanted them to. I have definitely gotten more comfortable in the kitchen since then, and now I look forward to moments in the kitchen. I think I am turning more into my mother everyday! Anyway, Mondays are always a busy day for me and I usually don't get to cook dinner until after 9pm. Yeah, I know...but this is the way my schedule must be at least until I am done with school. Fortunately, my husband works at night so dinner is always done before he gets home! :) Even though I didn't start dinner until 9:45pm I still felt relaxed and liked the fact that I was making dinner instead of grabbing fast food. I got the idea for this meal from one of the girls on the message board...you can read her blog here. I liked this meal because it's definite comfort food and after some snow flurries today it was needed! I think if I make this again I will add some kind of vegetable - like some canned tomatoes because it needed some veggies!

Meat Goulash
Adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
Salt
1 pound short pasta, such as macaroni, ziti rigate or gemelli (I used elbow macaroni)
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 slices lean bacon, chopped (I used turkey bacon)
1 pound ground meat (a mixture of beef, pork and veal) (I did NOT use this because frankly, it sounds pretty gross to me - I used ground turkey instead)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used jarred garlic)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika (I don't have this so I used a combination of paprika and cumin to get the smoky flavor)
Freshly ground pepper
3 large jarred roasted red peppers, drained (The jarred peppers I had were in pieces and not whole so I used about 3/4 of a jar)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup sour cream
A generous handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (I used dried parsley)
A generous handful of fresh dill, chopped (I used dried dill)

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt the water, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside.

While the pasta cooks, heat the EVOO, half a turn of the pan, in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 3 minutes, then move the bacon to the side of the pan and add the ground meat, crumbling it. Brown the meat for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and onion; season with the paprika and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

In a food processor, puree the peppers until smooth and stir into the meat. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the beef broth and simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in the sour cream and cooked pasta. Top with the parsley and dill.

It kinda looks like slop, but I promise it's good!

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Chili!

So even though it's been in the 70s here this week, I still really wanted chili. Plus it's quick & easy and I love how Jon makes it. So technically, this recipe is his but is going in my blog. Oh, and we don't really measure things so I'll just list what he put it in and you can adjust according to your taste!

Jon's Chili



Ingredients:
1 pound of ground turkey, browned
1 can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1/3 carton of chicken broth (you can use more if you like your chili less chunky)
Brown sugar
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
Crushed red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients in dutch oven and simmer on stove.



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A summer dinner in the midst of snow flurries - Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

So in an effort to use items in my pantry this week, I decided to make these burgers since I've had pineapple rings & baked beans from this summer sitting in there. I have to say - I am quite impressed with these burgers. They don't have that "burgery taste" where it just tastes like all meat, but a nice combination of meat with the breadcrumbs. I prefer my burgers to not be too meaty! Most of the time I add a lot of toppings to my burgers, but with these I just added a little more teriyaki sauce and the pineapple ring and I was all set. I think it also helps that these were made with turkey instead of beef.

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers
Taken from ...and a cookie for dessert

Ingredients:

1 cup bread crumbs

1 can pineapple rings, drained, 1/4 cup of juice reserved

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 lb lean ground turkey

Teriyaki sauce for basting

Sesame or whole wheat hamburger rolls (I was forced to use white buns because the grocery store literally did not have any wheat ones - I think they needed to restock the bread aisle!)

In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of juice from canned pineapple and the soy sauce. Crumble turkey into bowl and mix well. Shape turkey into four patties. Grill over medium heat 10-15 minutes, brushing occasionally with teriyaki sauce. (Since it is pretty cold outside, I used my George Foreman and grilled them for 7 minutes and they came out perfectly). Towards the end of grilling, add pineapple rings to grill and grill 1-2 minutes per side. Pineapple can also be brushed with the teriyaki sauce - it's good with and without the sauce! Place burgers on buns and top with a slice of grilled pineapple.

I served these with some baked beans as mentioned before. A nice light meal! And plenty of burgers left for lunches this week. :-)

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