Meat and Vegetable Lasagna

This is not a "quick" meal, but it is oh so worth the time and effort. Who doesn't love a good (and I do mean good) lasagna? This is the best of both worlds...hearty meat and cheese lasagna combined with lovely vegetable lasagna.

Start by browning the meat (lean ground sirloin or venison). Add 3-4 cloves minced garlic to the meat. While that cooks, chop up your veggies...
3-4 carrots
2 zucchini
1 cup mushrooms



Once the meat is browned, add vegetables to the pot.


Saute five minutes, then add one large can of crushed tomatoes, one small can of tomato sauce, and lots of seasoning (salt, pepper, basil, oregano, marjoram).


In a medium bowl, mix 1 container part skim ricotta cheese, one egg, and 8 oz shredded mozzarella.


Boil water and cook whole wheat lasagna noodles according to package directions. Five minutes before assembling, add one box of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and rung out) to the sauce, shredding with your fingers as you drop it in.

To assemble the lasagna, start with a little sauce on the bottom of a casserole. Then layer 1/4 of the noodles, 1/4 of the meat/veggie sauce, and 1/3 of the cheese.

End with a final layer of sauce, and put in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes to one hour.

Delectable.


Enjoy!

Pizza Casserole

I heart pizza. Soooo much. We eat homemade pizza at least once every two weeks. I can't live without it. Please don't make me give up pizza, Lord.

Tonight I put the flavors of my favorite meal into a casserole.
Pizza + Pasta + Casserole= True Love

This dish has so many possibilities, I can't even begin to fathom them. But in my version tonight, here were my ingredients...

1. Ground Venison. I browned the meat and seasoned it to resemble sausage...a couple of tablespoons of fennel seed, some cumin, chili powder, and red pepper flakes, and of course, a few cloves of minced garlic.
2. Mushrooms. I chopped a whole box of them and threw them right in there with the browned meat.
3. Pizza Sauce. I used one 20-oz can of tomato sauce and seasoned it with marjoram, basil, and oregano.
4. Cheese. I used mozzarella and 2% sharp cheddar. Yummmmm.
5. Pasta. I used whole wheat rotini. I think whole wheat elbows would be just as delicious.

That's it! Just mix all your (cooked) ingredients together in a big pot, pour it in a casserole, top with more cheese if you like, and pop it in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.


Mmmmm. Enjoy!

Enchilada Lasagna

I LOVE making enchiladas. Correction: I love EATING enchiladas. I really don't mind making them either, but sometimes I just get a little frustrated filling each shell individually with enchilada stuffing. It seems like I always overstuff the first couple, and then I don't have enough when I get to the end. Or, I understuff at first and then overcompensate on those last two. It's very hard to make them even. Soooo...what if we could make enchiladas without the work of stuffing each one???

Let me introduce you to...Enchilada Lasagna.

Note: If you are using long-cooking brown rice in this dish, go ahead and start the rice before preparing the sauce. Whatever type you use, prepare one cup dry rice (yields 2 cups cooked).

To make the enchilada sauce...
Heat 2 T canola oil over medium heat. In a small bowl combine 2 T flour, 2 T chili powder, and 2 tsp cumin. Stir flour mixture into hot oil and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. After one minute, stir in 1 can tomato sauce and 2 cups water. Remember, the more slowly you add the liquids, the more quickly the sauce will thicken.

While the sauce simmers, brown one pound of lean ground meat in a large pot (I used venison). To the browned meat, add one can of black beans, one can of pinto beans, one cup of corn (fresh, frozen, or canned), and two cups of cooked brown rice. You may want to add some salt and pepper at this point as well.

Then layer away.
1. Spread a little sauce on the bottom of a casserole.
2. Make a single layer of corn or flour tortillas (I used whole wheat flour tortillas. Flour tortillas get very soft, while corn tortillas would be a little sturdier).
3. Scoop out some filling (beef/beans/rice/corn mixture) and make a layer on top of the tortillas.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top of the meat.
5. Pour some sauce over everything, and start the next set of layers!

Save a little sauce to pour over everything right before you put it in the oven...400 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

Tortillas + Stuffing + Cheese + Sauce - Work = Enchilada Lasagna


Enjoy!

Crescent Shepherd's Pie

This is (are you ready?) shepherd's pie with crescent roll topping. You can use the store-bought crescent rolls if you would like to. But I wouldn't like to. Probably because store-bought rolls contain enriched bleached flour, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, and several color additives. Not on my list of favorite ingredients.

To make a homemade crescent roll topping...

Mix 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tablespoon sugar, and 2 1/4 tsp quick-rising or bread machine yeast in a bowl. In a larger bowl, mix 1/4 cup warm water and 1/2 cup warm milk. Pour the dry into the wet, mixing with a fork. When everything is incorporated, use your hands to mix in 2 Tablespoons of softened butter. Knead for 2 or 3 minutes; place in bowl and cover with a cloth for 45 minutes.

While the dough is rising, prepare the rest of the pie. Cut an onion into strips and saute them in a tablespoon of olive oil. After a couple of minutes add a pound of lean ground beef. Then get to choppin'...

3 to 4 carrots
2 zucchini
3 small red potatoes
1 package mushrooms
4 cloves garlic

Once the meat is brown, add the veggies to the pot and let them cook for a few minutes. Then stir in a few tablespoons of flour, followed by a can of beef broth. Add salt, pepper, basil (or other herb), and a few dashes of hot sauce. Let the sauce thicken while the crescent dough finishes rising.

After the 45 minutes are up, take the dough and flatten it out. Cut it into thin strips. Dump all the beef and vegetables into a large casserole, and top with the strips of dough.

Put in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. This is one of those meals that I like to fix a few hours ahead of time and let it sit in the oven until suppertime.

Notice the chunk missing in the corner. That was Little Bit's supper. She LOVED it.




Enjoy!

Southwest Chicken Bake

This is a "clean the pantry" meal. It is the result of my asking, "What do we have in the house that would allow me NOT to get out on a rainy day and go to the grocery store?" The answer: 2 split chicken breasts, already cooked but not yet shredded or chopped; frozen corn; a can of black beans; a can of chicken broth; hot sauce; brown rice. And when this is what you have, this is what you can do...

Melt 2 Tablespoons butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Sprinkle 4 Tablespoons flour over melted butter; let it cook out for a minute or so, then stir in 1 can chicken broth and about 1/3 cup or so of hot sauce. Cook 1 cup dry brown rice separately. Add chopped chicken, a cup of frozen, fresh, or canned corn, and a can of black beans to the hot sauce mixture. Once the rice is done, add that as well. Stir it all together and pour into a casserole.

Top with cornbread batter. I was running low on cornmeal so I used what I had, which was a little shy of a cup, and then a little over a cup of unbleached all purpose flour. Add 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 cup demarara sugar, 1 egg, and 1 cup milk (no oil necessary). Mix and spoon over the whole casserole.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. I like to cook it early and then cut the oven off and leave the casserole in until suppertime. I think the flavors mix together better that way.


Southwest chicken with cornbread crust. Pretty darn good for a clean-the-pantry meal. Enjoy!