Family Lasagna

If you've made our Sunday gravy and traditional Italian meatballs, then roll up your sleeves, because you are ready to tackle old-fashioned, Old World lasagna.

Fear not — if you mastered the tomato sauce and meatballs, you're practically Italian already!

I call this "family lasagna" for two reasons: It's more than enough to feed a crowd of relatives (or friends) and you can put everyone to work helping you make it. The process might seem a bit much, but I remember having lots of fun as a kid, sitting around the kitchen table with my parents, my siblings and sometimes my grandparents, chopping meatballs and sausage and mixing up the ricotta cheese filling before building the lasagna.

Yes, there are many short cuts, like using no-boil lasagna noodles or cooking ground beef with some Italian seasonings instead of making meatballs. But trust me. I've made lasagna the quick way numerous times. The final result just can't compare to the real thing.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Family Meat Lasagna

20 wavy lasagna noodles (usually 1 and 1/2 boxes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 (15 ounce) containers of ricotta cheese
5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
6 cups or more of homemade tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked meatballs, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked Italian sausage links, chopped (mild, sweet or hot)

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions, adding 1 tablespoon olive oil to water to prevent sticking. After draining noodles, place them on parchment paper.

While lasagna noodles are cooking, mix together ricotta, parmesan cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.

Set up a lasagna prep station, with all ingredients in easy reach.

Cover bottom of a deep 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with 1 cup tomato sauce. Layer 5 lasagna noodles on top, slightly overlapping them.

Top noodles with 1 cup ricotta mixture, 1/2 cup chopped meatballs and 1/2 cup chopped sausage. Top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella and 1 scant cup tomato sauce.

Layer another 5 noodles on top of first meat and cheese layer. Repeat the cheese, meat, mozzarella and tomato sauce layering two more times. Top final noodle layer with tomato sauce, ensuring that corners are covered with sauce. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese on top.

Cover lasagna with foil lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 15 minutes more. Lasagna is done when it is bubbly.

Depending on your oven, it can take as long as 90 minutes to cook. You can also bump up the temperature to 400 degrees — just check the lasagna more frequently.

Remove from oven and let lasagna sit for about 15 minutes. Then slice and serve.

**Note on make-ahead preparation: You can prepare the lasagna the night before. Just refrigerate and bake within 24 hours.

**Note on freezing lasagna: If you plan to freeze an entire lasagna, it's best to freeze before cooking. Thaw, then cook as directed above.

Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups

So here it goes everyone for my VERY first official post ... so please be kind! :)

Recently my lovely roommate and project manager extraordinaire of Zuber Haus (yes ... the 100% German friend who hails from Amana, Iowa has coined that phrase as the official moniker of her home) celebrated a birthday. When I asked what she would like to do for her birthday weekend she didn't skip a beat and not only had meals, but events AND work projects laid out for completion. (Anyone who knows MZ will not be the least bit surprised by this) ... the Birthday Weekend Itinerary went as follows ... in her own words OF COURSE:

Friday: 3pm parents arrive from Iowa. 4:15 take train home from work to meet them. 5:15 grocery shop and make a new recipe from pinterest 8:00 my brother, Harry's, Air Jam Contest Performance at Wheaton College Aside by Kate: I must insert here that anyone who attended a Christian college will understand that this constitutes as a "cool"/"fun" Friday night activity and I must also mention that MZ's brother, Harry, and his glee club crew dominated and came in first 9:00-9:30ish Linda's famous poppyseed bunt cake with french pudding topping

Saturday: 9:00am clear out kitchen to commence work project of silver honeycomb backsplash 10:00 parents arrive - mom applies additional white coat of paint to previous work project weekend of faux board and batten in guest room while dad preps brats and sauerkraut for Harry and his roommates, you and I go to Menards for supplies. 10:30 we start applying backsplash 12:30pm transport lunch and eat at Harry's house 1:30 back to work on backsplash and painting (hopefully mom moves to laundry room door paint application) 8:00 reservations at Schnitzel Platz to eat authentic German food, steins of beer, catching up in German with Chef Wolfgang and sing along with Hank and Bob (the Saturday polka band) Aside by Kate: Yes ... they wear lederhosen! It is true! This place really exists and I thought we might be asked to leave due to the volume of our table. I happen to be Irish and Swedish so I contribute mostly laughter. 

Yes ... that was my weekend! And just think ... I didn't even include Sunday! Well by the end I'd consider the birthday weekend a MAJOR success, one of the biggest triumphs being the recipe Maria discovered on PINTEREST for Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups topped with meat sauce. Not only is this a simple and delicious alternative to time intensive lasagna, but it's healthier with the addition of a massive bag of frozen spinach and less noodles (for the carb concerned).   It's also easy to make vegetarian by substituting meat with extra vegetables.  And for quick, easy meals just freeze in single serving tupperware containers to be heated up for a delicious work lunch or dinner throughout the week! 

Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups
Serves 9 (depending on how hungry your group is of course)

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
• 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese - MZ requested we use fat free cottage cheese instead due to her aversion to ricotta - how could I refuse ... it was her birthday after all
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh pepper
• 32 oz tomato sauce
• 1 package lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
• 1 diced onion
• diced garlic to taste (feel free to use the jar variety - that's what I do for ease)
• 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a large skillet and saute garlic.  When you can start to smell the garlic aroma add the onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add ground meat and cook until browned.  Add sauce and season to taste.  I used some Italian Seasoning and Red Chili Flakes.

Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto a 9 x 12 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining noodles.

 

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll and ENJOY!

Easy Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

My husband loves my Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna and even counts it among my top five dinners. What I like most about it is that it's so easy to make. Recently, I was craving another easy dinner and decided to experiment. Enter Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

The verdict Chez George: Jeff liked this dish as much as Mexican lasagna and the kids liked it more because it wasn't as "spicy" — due to green enchilada sauce vs. red — and didn't contain any cilantro, which they don't like at all. We all decided I couldn't call it Chicken-Mex Lasagna as I'd intended, because the chicken is too chunky and not at all like ground meat and so not very lasagna-y.

Bottom line: An easy family dinner that was a hit with all.

Sometimes you just need dinner to be easy, so I hope you enjoy my Easy Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

XOXO,

Amy

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Ground pepper
1 small onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced into strips
1-2 cups salsa
20 ounces of green enchilada sauce (I have seen this in 10 and 20 ounce cans)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cilantro for garnishing, optional
Sour cream for serving, optional
Sliced black olives for serving, optional

Place chicken in glass dish, sprinkle with ground pepper. Place onions and peppers around chicken and top everything with salsa. Bake at 350 until chicken is cooked through.

Using two forks, shred cooked chicken and cut up the onions and peppers into smaller pieces. Stir in one cup enchilada sauce and 1 cup of cheese.

Line your slow cooker with an aluminum foil collar and spray with vegetable oil spray. (The purpose of the foil collar is to put a layer between your food and the heating element of the slow cooker. Without a foil collar or sling – the latter involves lining the bottom of your slow cooker – some dishes, like this one, and fish, will overcook and dry out. To make a foil collar, simply fold two pieces of aluminum foil to fit around the inside of your slow cooker.)

Spread 1/4 cup enchilada sauce at bottom of crockpot.

Arrange 3 tortillas at the bottom, breaking the third tortilla in pieces so that it will fit to fully cover the bottom. Top with a third of the chicken mixture and 3 more tortillas; repeat layering two more times until all 12 tortillas have been used. Cover the top layer of tortillas with enchilada sauce and cheese. (For more photos on the process, refer to Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna.)

Cook for 3 hours on low, until casserole is heated through.

Remove foil collar. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired. Top each serving with sour cream and black olives, if desired. Enjoy.

Black Bean Tortilla Lasagna

We love lasagna and Latin-inspired food at our house. This Black Bean Tortilla Lasagna is a fun vegetarian take on our usual tacos or Italian fare.

This recipe is a spin-off of the Layered Tortilla Tart from one of my favorite cookbooks, America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. When I went to make the meal, I realized I didn't have several of the ingredients, so I improvised with what I had on hand.

The results were quite yummy. I see lots of versatility in this recipe, such as using pinto beans instead of black beans, or subbing out a can of beans for a can of corn. I hope some of you will experiment and tell us how you finesse this dinner in your own happy kitchens.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Black Bean Tortilla Lasagna

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small bell pepper (red, green, orange or yellow), chopped
2 15 ounce cans of low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (omnivores can sub chicken broth)
4 10-inch whole wheat flour tortillas
3 plum tomatoes, cored, chopped and divided
1 bunch green onions, sliced and divided
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped and divided
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Sliced black olives, guacamole for garnish

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until pepper is softened, stirring often. This will take about 6 to 8 minutes.

Add black beans, lime juice, cumin, chili powder and chicken broth to pan. Stir to combine and heat through. As the broth absorbs, mash some of the beans so that they break apart and form a paste. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place tortillas in the oven two at a time, directly on a middle rack. Cook just 2 or 3 minutes, until slightly browned and crisp around the edges (The tortillas may puff up. This is OK as they will deflate.) Remove from oven and set aside.

Now you are ready for assembly. Place one tortilla in center of lined cookie sheet. Spread one-third of the bean mixture onto the tortilla. Top with one-fourth of the green onions, tomatoes, cilantro and 1/4 cup shredded cheese.

Repeat two more times, ending with the fourth tortilla. Sprinkle remaining tomato, cilantro, green onion and cheese on top. Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven and let rest about 5 minutes. Slice and serve garnished with black olives, guacamole and additional cilantro.

Mexican Lasagna

I wasn't in the mood to cook, but I had some ground turkey in the fridge that was about to get funky. I also wasn't in the mood to go to the store, so it was time to get creative with my pantry.

I pulled some flour tortillas and corn out of the freezer, a can of enchilada sauce off the pantry shelf. Let's make this as easy as possible. I thought to myself. No need to chop onion and garlic; I just used spices from the cupboard to add pizzazz to the turkey browning on the stove. Then I started layering. Zippy sauce + flour tortillas + spicy filling + creamy cheese. Repeat. Bake. Stuff face. Mmmm.

What's that they say about necessity being the mother of invention? Well, it's also the mother of dinner. Delicious dinner.

Mexican Lasagna
Serves: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey or ground beef
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 tablespoon taco seasoning*
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper
1 (14 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
5-6 flour tortillas, halved to fit in the baking dish
1 2/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream, for serving
Salsa, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 8 minutes. If there is lots of liquid or fat in the pan, drain it off. Stir in corn, taco seasoning, and onion powder. Allow the spices to toast for 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/3 cup enchilada sauce into a 9" baking dish and spread it around so it covers the bottom. Arrange tortillas in the baking dish to cover the sauce. Top tortillas with half of the turkey mixture and 1/2 cup cheese. Cover cheese with another layer of tortillas. Pour another 1/2 cup enchilada sauce over the tortillas and layer on remaining turkey mixture and another 1/2 cup cheese. Top with a final layer of tortillas, remaining enchilada sauce (about 1/2 cup), and remaining 2/3 cup cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. Allow Mexican Lasagna to rest for 10 minutes before serving with sour cream and salsa.

*I used Penzey's Fajita Seasoning. If you don't have taco seasoning, I think a mixture of chili powder and cumin would do the job quite nicely.

Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna

Confession: I'm off my cooking game. I've never been so off my cooking game. But I have good reason.

Reason: I started my own business in April, bidding adieu to corporate America and hustling all for myself. It's called By George Communications and I love it. But the thing is all of my creative energy is going into my business and writing and strategizing for my clients. I'm working from home, so I don't need to come home and unwind by cooking. I don't want to turn off my work brain the way I used to want and need to do.

These days when I do cook, it tends to be from recipes rather than something I create on my own. That has to be OK for right now. I mean we are eating here Chez George. Nobody is going hungry. And my Hot Dinner Happy Home cohorts Andrea and Erin keep telling me to give myself some grace. That's what we're about here. We recognize that we all want to put dinner on the table. But it's not always easy and so we take it one dinner at a time.

Here is an easy go-to dinner that I recently made for the third or fourth time and that everyone always loves. So, seriously, why am I complaining? This Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna is adapted slightly from America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution; Volume 2: The Easy-Prep Edition.

Instead of microwaving the meat, I fry it up on the stove. It's impossible to get the meat to cook up into a super fine consistency – that you want for easy layering – via the microwave. I also omit the jarred jalapenos, because the kids and hubby don't like them. Finally, I use 90 percent lean ground beef, not 85 percent lean; 90 percent lean is easier to find at the grocery.

I hope you enjoy this easy dinner!

XOXO,

Amy

Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna

2 pounds 90 percent lean ground beef
20 ounces of red enchilada sauce (I have seen this in 10 and 20 ounce cans)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese (I typically use the latter, which is easier to find)
1/4 cup jarred jalapenos, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced (optional, but I use it)
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Cook meat on stove top, breaking into super fine pieces, drain and return meat to skillet. Stir in one cup enchilada sauce, 1 cup of cheese, jalapenos (if using), and 1/4 cup cilantro.

Line your slow cooker with an aluminum foil collar and spray with vegetable oil spray. (The purpose of the foil collar is to put a layer between your food and the heating element of the slow cooker. Without a foil collar or sling – the latter involves lining the bottom of your slow cooker – some dishes, like this one, and fish, will overcook and dry out. To make a foil collar, simply fold two pieces of aluminum foil to fit around the inside of your slow cooker.)

Spread 1/4 cup enchilada sauce at bottom of crockpot.

Arrange 3 tortillas at the bottom, breaking the third tortilla in pieces so that it will fit to fully cover the bottom. Top with a third of the beef mixture and 3 more tortillas; repeat layering two more times until all 12 tortillas have been used. Cover the top layer of tortillas with enchilada sauce and cheese. (See pictures of all these steps below.)

Cook for 2 to 3 hours on low, until casserole is heated through.

Remove foil collar. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve.

Repeat layers above two more times and you end up with this...

Traditional Italian Meatballs

Meatballs – easy to make and easy to use. And oh so easy to eat. Pop a few on top of spaghetti or pizza, bake some into a lasagna or cover them in cheese inside a warm submarine roll.

Meatball subs are exactly what my family eats on frenetic nights when we are rushing from after school meetings, to sports practices to church activities and somehow need to sandwich (pun intended) in a quick and tasty meal.

One thing I love about making meatballs is that my boys can help. They get a kick out of rolling the meat mixture into golf ball-sized yumminess. My youngest, Sam, helped me with our latest batch. Meatballs freeze well, too. After one recent Christmas, my freezer was stocked-full for months with the dozens of meatballs left from the 90(!!) prepared by my Mom and Grampy.

So make a double batch and store some for later. When you need a fast meal, warm in the microwave, in the oven or in a pot of your favorite tomato sauce.

This is my family's traditional Italian meatball recipe, with one slight change. My Mom uses 1 cup of breadcrumbs for every 1 pound of meat. Too bready for me, so I use fewer breadcrumbs. Feel free to add your own touches here by using ground turkey or chicken, adding chopped onion, experimenting with different seasonings or swapping out some of the dry herbs for fresh herbs you have on hand.

Meatballs are very forgiving and fun – and that's the point!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Traditional Italian Meatballs & Meatball Subs

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal (you can replace with beef or pork)
4 eggs
1 1/2 to 3 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 tablespoons garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Place meat in large bowl and make a well in the center. Add all other ingredients into the well and mix thoroughly. I recommend using your hands. The consistency should not be too wet or too dry.

Form large or small meatballs and place in foil pans or pans lined with aluminum foil. This is where the kids can help. If you make the meatballs the size of a golf ball you should get about 36.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or longer if your meatballs are larger.

If you plan to serve these meatballs with tomato sauce, let them simmer in the sauce for a bit before eating. This nicely flavors both the sauce and the meatballs.

Meatball Subs

4 submarine or hoagie buns or a large baguette (a softer bread works a little better here)
3 to 4 golf ball-sized meatballs per sandwich
Tomato sauce
Sliced or shredded provolone and/or mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice buns lengthwise. Scoop out some of the inner breading to make a pocket for the meatballs.

Place buns on cookie sheet. Put 3 to 4 meatballs and some sauce inside each bun. Top with cheese.

Toast sandwiches in oven until cheese melts. Enjoy with a green salad.

Dinner Co-op

Am I the only one running around like a chicken with her head cut off this time of year?  Between buying presents, trimming the tree, singing with Bing, baking cookies, and signing cards, there's barely time for the little things...like working, for example.  Needless to say, cooking hot dinner has dropped a few pegs on my priority list.

On days like this I'm particularly grateful for dinner co-op.  Now I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Dinner co-op?  What in the world is that?"  Well, I'll let you in on this genius idea.

My friend and co-worker, Therese, and I both enjoy cooking.  For years we've swapped recipes and tips.  Then one day, we decided to start a dinner co-op.  It's a pretty simple concept: Therese and I both cook twice as much as we need one night a week, and then swap the leftovers.  Typically, we both cook the double dinner on Mondays and bring the leftovers to work on Tuesday.  So, the husband and I have a new-to-us meal on Tuesday night, and I don't have to cook a thing!

In addition to saving time, dinner co-op is fun because it gives you the opportunity to try new dishes.  Therese has some delish recipes that my belly has benefitted from.  Chicken curry, Indian lasagna, mini burgers, mac n' cheese...  I'm getting hungry just thinking about some of these meals!

So, if you have a friend who enjoys cooking, consider proposing a dinner co-op.  Once a week, month, quarter, or year, it's a fun project that will save you money and time.  Oh, and if you do start a co-op, I'd love to hear about it!  Comment, send an e-mail, or visit our Facebook page to let me know.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

The other day I was trying to decide what to make for dinner, and I stumbled upon a recipe for cheese enchiladas that I'd torn out of an old issue of Cooking Light. The smarty pants at that delightful publication included cottage cheese in their enchiladas. I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta when I'm making lasagna, but I never thought to use it for Mexican food.

If you're not a fan of cottage cheese, don't be deterred! Once the enchiladas are cooked, it turns into creamy goodness. You'd never guess cottage cheese is an ingredient. In fact, the husband does not like cottage cheese. He doesn't like it one bit. But I served him these enchiladas, and he loved them. I just kept the ingredients a secret. Until I shared it with the entire world wide web, that is.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas
Serves: 4

2 1/2 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup cottage cheese*
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper
10 ounce can enchilada sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salsa and sour cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chicken, cottage cheese, onion powder, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pour about a quarter of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of an 8" x 8" baking dish. Place four tortillas over the sauce, overlapping them so they cover the bottom of the dish. Pour another quarter of the sauce on top of the tortillas. Spread the chicken mixture on top of that. Layer the remaining four tortillas on top of the chicken, overlapping them as needed. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over everything and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

*If you're really worried about the texture of the cottage cheese, blend it in the food processor or blender for a minute until it's smooth.

Cooking with Kids, Building Confidence

I've mentioned the volunteer work I do with the Junior League of Peoria's Kids in the Kitchen program a few times on this blog.

Today, I'm sharing a post from the Fischer & Wieser Culinary Adventure blog that explains in more detail the importance of teaching kids of all ages how to cook and prepare healthy meals and snacks for themselves and their family.

Fischer & Wieser makes gourmet foods and is a Kids in the Kitchen partner. They asked us to talk about what the children and our volunteers gain from cooking together.

It's amazing to see children expand their horizons when they try a new dish, like Sweet Potatoes Topped with Spicy Black Beans & Tomatoes, or to watch their confidence rise when they see how easy it can be to bake healthy One Bowl Banana Chip Muffins.

Support from partners like Fisher & Wieser means we can do more. Our younger cooks crafted sandwiches using whole grain waffles, sunbutter, fruit and Fischer & Wieser pear preserves — surprising themselves with how much they liked the snack!

And our older junior chefs recently made cheese lasagna, using the jars of tomato sauce we received.

If you cook with your own kids, you know how much fun it can be, and how it strengthens feelings of emotional well being.

When we volunteer our time to teach children how to safely chop vegetables and prepare a meal for others, we are giving them lifelong skills and showing them we care.

Smokehouse Spaghetti

I'll keep this entry short. You will make this dish. You will make this dish for one reason: bacon.

Smokehouse Spaghetti is one of my favorite dishes my mom made when I was growing up. I've tweaked Mom's version ever so slightly -- mainly leaving out the can of mushrooms with juice called for in her version. Mom also uses garlic salt if she doesn't have fresh garlic around, but I always have fresh garlic on hand. Now, this baked pasta is a favorite with my kids and hubby, too.

Penny and I recently made a double batch of Smokehouse Spaghetti. I asked Penny why she likes it and her response: "Because it's like spaghetti and lasagna together."

You will make this dish. I hope you will tell me about it, too.

XOXO,
Amy

Smokehouse Spaghetti
12 ounces spaghetti
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound bacon, cut up
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Pepper
15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup shredded provolone, mozzarella or Italian blend cheese, divided
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Grated Parmesan cheese for serving, if desired

Start water for pasta to boil. Add spaghetti when water is boiling and cook until done.

In your biggest skillet, fry beef, bacon, onion and garlic together, seasoning with pepper as desired. Drain.

Stir in tomato sauce, oregano and basil into the beef  and bacon. Add a little water -- just enough to basically clean out the inside of the can of tomato sauce. (If you are making my mom's version, here is where you would add the mushrooms and juice.) Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add spaghetti, which you have drained by now, to the meat and sauce mixture. Stir to incorporate fully.

Spray with Pam the bottom and sides of a 9X13 dish. Place half of spaghetti and meat sauce mixture into dish. Top with half of each kind of cheese. Repeat layer. Bake in 375-degree oven for 25 minutes.

Smokehouse spaghetti can be frozen, so I always make two at one time. Keep in mind that once thawed you will have to up the cooking time on the previously frozen smokehouse spaghetti,  because it is not going straight from stove to oven.

Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni

I recently made a Slow Cooker Low Country Boil and had leftover andouille sausage. Here's what I did with it — make Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni.

Disclosure: I Googled "andouille sausage recipes" and this one — One Pot Andouille Sausage Skillet Pasta — is the first that came up. (Congrats, Damn Delicious, your SEO worked!)You will see this recipe calls for 12.8 ounces of sausage. I had just 8 ounces of leftover sausage, but I had a little more ground beef than needed to make Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna, so I improvised and used some of that.

Verdict: The hubs liked it a lot. Penny and I liked it and Penny even took it in her Thermos for two day camp lunches. Lucy didn't like it; there's always one.

XOXO,
Amy

Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 (12.8-ounce) package of smoked andouille sausage — or if you are short on sausage, supplement with some ground beef
2 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces elbow pasta, uncooked
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese — or cheddar/pepper jack, or whatever cheese you choose

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, meat(s) and cook, stirring frequently until sausage is lightly brown and ground beef is cooked through — about 3-5 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, milk and pasta; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through — about 14 minutes.

Remove from heat and top with cheese. Cover until cheese has melted — about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Amy's Yummy Year

This time last year, my friend Erin invited my friend Andrea and I join her on this delicious blog she created. Andrea and I bellied right up. Thank you, Erin for the creative culinary outlet. It's been a sweet year blogging with two awesome foodie friends who share the goal of putting food on the table and keeping the tradition of family dinner alive.

Here are some of my happiest Hot Dinner Happy Home moments from the past year as well as some of my favorite dishes by Andrea and Erin.

Enjoy!

XOXO,
Amy

Happiest Moments

• Cooking with my kids, including "baking"  sugar cookies with them on live TV. Check out these posts:
• Good Day Charlotte Features George Girls and Sugar Cookies
• Chocolate Madeleines
• Ginger Cookies
• Smokehouse Spaghetti

• Creating Spring on Toast with Erin while my Lucy and Penny "babysat" her Danny-boy. (Love that Erin shared this memory in her Friday post.)

• Conquering the pressure cooker. See these posts:
• Midwestern Vegetable-Beef Soup
• Pressure Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
• Pressure Cooker Potato Soup
• Shrimp Curry Under Pressure

Favorite dishes by Andrea

• Having an Italian BFF means access to recipes for classic, authentic dishes. It also means I get to know how each member of her family tweaks their own interpretations of the classics. Check  out:
• Traditional Italian Meatballs
• Sunday Gravy (Tortora family tomato sauce)
• Family Lasagna
• My favorite of Andrea's non-Italian dishes and a fantastic lighter dinner paired with a green salad: Buttermilk Spoonbread.

Favorite dishes by Erin

• Erin's Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Pork is the first HDHH dish I ever made and I chatted it up A LOT on my Facebook page. I couldn't even tell you how many friends have made that dish. Suffice to say it's a hit from coast to coast and all points in between.
• Parmesan and Yogurt Crusted Chicken is a George family go-to dinner. My younger daughter Penny requested it for her birthday dinner last month.
• I see Spiced Pecans becoming my go-to holiday party nosh. I didn't make them last year like I intended. But in 2014 my friends walked off with the few remaining nuts after the Thanksgiving feast Chez George. I don't blame them, because, after all, we call these crack nuts.

Sunday Gravy (Tortora family tomato sauce)

Confession time. I rarely make my own tomato sauce – or 'gravy' as us East Coast Italians call it – because it takes time to develop the deep, rich flavor that is its signature.

When I was a kid, my grandmothers made gravy nearly every Sunday, to go with the 'macaroni' we were having at that week's family gathering. When Amy asked for the Tortora tomato sauce recipe, I finally put it down on paper. In the process, I discovered many family variations: My brother adds grated carrot for sweetness. My Dad pours in some red wine. My mom tosses in a pinch of thyme and maybe a dash of sugar. My Grammy Marie always spiced it up with lots of red pepper.

The one component no one ever changes is what makes this gravy special. The tomato sauce simmers for hours with browned Italian sausage links and homemade meatballs. For special occasions such as Christmas, browned beef short ribs and brachiole (thin slices of beef rolled with parmesan cheese, parsley and basil, and tied with kitchen twine) are added.

Prefer chicken? Do what my Grandma Lucy sometimes did: Brown some chicken breasts and thighs and add them to the sauce instead of meatballs and sausage.

Vegetarian? Simply skip the meat.

If you happen to overdue it on one of the spices, as I may or may not have done recently with the red pepper flakes, fear not! Just toss in another can of tomatoes (crushed, diced or sauce) to dilute the strong flavor. You will be rewarded with extra gravy to use for making lasagna or another meal.

Finally, a warning: This recipe makes A LOT of tomato sauce. I use a 22 quart pot. This ensures plenty of room for the meatballs and sausage. If you don't have a pot this large, cut the recipe in half.

My recommendation? Buy or borrow a giant pot, invite your friends and family to dinner and make room in your freezer.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Sunday Gravy

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil to cover the bottom of a large pot
About 2 cups diced yellow or white onion
3 to 5 minced garlic gloves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 (6 ounce) cans of tomato paste
3 (28 ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can of unseasoned tomato sauce
1 (8 ounce) can of unseasoned tomato sauce
1 cup dry red wine, optional
12 or more large cooked meatballs, optional
1 or 2 pounds of browned or baked Italian sausage links, optional

Warm oil in bottom of pot. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Add in spices and salt and pepper and cook until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir, cooking until mixture is caramelized. Taking the time to brown the aromatics gives the gravy a richer flavor.

Stir in all cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce. (Note: You can vary the types of tomatoes you use. For example, if you like a chunkier sauce, substitute diced tomatoes for the canned tomato sauce.) Add red wine, if using.

Bring gravy to a boil, stirring occasionally. Lower heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring a few times. Add meatballs, sausage, etc., and continue to simmer on lowest setting for at least 1 hour but preferably more (you can simmer it all day,) stirring occasionally to prevent sauce from burning in the bottom of the pot.

I recommend tasting the gravy here and there. It's OK to add in more spices as the sauce simmers to achieve the flavor you prefer.

Serve hot with your favorite pasta.

Baked Ziti

Baked ziti is the Italian-American version of mac & cheese. The dish is filling, cheesy and so easy to make.

Growing up, baked ziti was a staple at every event — family reunions, birthday parties, any gathering, really. The meal is even immortalized in many episodes of HBO's The Sopranos.

This is also the dinner to bring to a potluck or to deliver some cheer to a favorite family. Add a bottle of wine and a green salad or dessert and you'll truly make someone feel loved.

Baked ziti is perfect for a friend with a newborn, the new neighbors down the street, or a fellow parent with kids who needs a night off from having to prep dinner (friends, you know who you are!) Since I live too far away from Erin to bring a freshly-cooked meal to her door, let's consider today's blog post my way of sending her some virtual home cooking in celebration of baby Elaine's arrival!

Keep in mind that baked ziti is designed to serve a crowd. Each 13 x 9-inch tray will satisfy a group or feed a family of four more than once. Baked ziti is also great for stocking your freezer.

This recipe is made for customizing. I like to add provolone cheese to mine. You can change the pasta shape, but do note: the tubular ziti traps the sauce and cheese inside the pasta, which makes it taste even better.

You can't really mess up this meal. Any sauce and cheese combination that you and your family love will taste delicious baked up with some ziti-shaped pasta.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Baked Ziti 

1 pound ziti pasta
2 to 4 cups of homemade tomato sauce or 1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce
2 to 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 pound (or less) ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded provolone, or 4 to 5 slices, cut into thin strips
1 or 2 teaspoons basil
1 or 2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Spray a deep lasagna pan or baking dish with cooking spray. The pan should be at least a 9x13x2-inch size. If your family is small, divide the recipe into two deep 8 x 8 pans. Cook one and freeze the other.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Place pasta in large bowl.

Add 16 ounces tomato sauce and all other ingredients except the Parmesan cheese and a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Feel free to add more or less tomato sauce and cheese to suit your taste.

Mix well so that everything is combined.

Tip: My mom and my brother just mix everything up right in the baking pan, but whenever I do that I end up accidentally shooting a few spoonfuls onto the floor. So I use a bowl.

Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking pan. If you like, top with more tomato sauce (I skip this step.) Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. You can throw in some provolone here, too.

For freezing: Wrap baking dish in foil and freeze for another day. When you are ready to cook the baked ziti, follow the instructions below after it has thawed in the fridge.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes to an hour or until the ziti is browned on the edges and bubbly. If the cheese on top starts to brown, cover it with foil for the rest of the cooking time.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 or 15 minutes. Serve with a side of extra tomato sauce and your favorite wine.

At my house, my husband and sons fight over who gets the crunchy corner pieces, like this one.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, my dear readers! The husband and I headed west to spend the holidays with his family, and it was filled with all the magic of the season. We celebrated Christmas surrounded by parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We drove north to ski in in the majestic mountains of British Columbia. We toasted the new year with dear friends.

Oh, and we ate. We ate a lot.

Homemade Swedish cardamom bread slathered with butter and sprinkled with sugar. Perfectly cooked, tender prime rib. Lasagna with two, count 'em, TWO meats. Slow-cooked BBQ beef piled high on crusty buns.

And have you heard of Puppy Chow? Sweet mercy, the Puppy Chow. My brother-in-law requested that my fabulous mother-in-law whip up a batch of Puppy Chow, and I'm so glad he did. (My too-tight pants are less glad, but I'm disregarding their opinion for now.) We began our trip with gallons (literally) of this peanut buttery, chocolatey, sugary treat, and we returned empty-handed and full-stomached.

Today I'm sharing with you the recipe for Puppy Chow. Next week I'll start thinking more about those too-tight pants.

I was too busy eating the Puppy Chow to snap a photo, so the image above is courtesy of chex.com. 

Puppy Chow (a.k.a. Muddy Buddies)
Recipe from: Chex

9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 cups (or more) powdered sugar

Place Rice Chex into a very large bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt together chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. (You can do this in a saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat or in the microwave. Just microwave for 30 seconds on high and stir. Repeat until everything is melted.) Stir in vanilla.

Pour chocolate mixture over Rice Chex and stir gently until the cereal is evenly coated. Transfer to a very large (2-gallon) Ziploc bag. Add 1.5 cups powdered sugar to bag and seal it tightly. Shake, shake, shake the bag until cereal is evenly coated with powdered sugar. If the Puppy Chow is sticking together too much, or if it doesn't look sugary enough, add a bit more powdered sugar and shake it up again.

Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.