Zucchini Lasagna

Yum-a-licious! The kids and my oldest son's BFF loved it too:)


White Sauce:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lasagna:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds bulk spicy Italian turkey sausage
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
15 ounces whole milk ricotta
1 large egg
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
Coarse salt
1 package no-boil lasagna noodles
2 small zucchini, finely sliced, I used my mandolin
8 ounces shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the white sauce: Bring a medium saucepan to low-medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon; cook for 2 minutes (do not let it color). Add the milk and bring to a boil, continuing to stir. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 minute. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add in the Parmesan, whisking to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.

For the lasagna: In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and cook the turkey sausage until just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until golden brown and the turkey is cooked through, 4 to 6 additional minutes. Season with kosher salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Stir well, and then shut off the heat and set aside to cool.

In a small mixing bowl, combine ricotta, egg, Parmesan, about 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and a few rounds of cracked pepper. Spread 1/4 cup of the white sauce in the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch nonreactive baking dish. Begin layering with 3 noodles, followed with about 1 cup ricotta mixture. Layer about half of the zucchini evenly over the ricotta. Follow with half the turkey sausage and mushrooms, finishing with 1 cup white sauce. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella. Repeat. Top the second layer with 4 noodles, white sauce and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella. Bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and remove the foil cover. Heat the broiler to maximum temperature. Broil until the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 1 minute. Garnish with the parsley.

Creamy Coleslaw

I don't generally like a creamy coleslaw. I'm a big fan of the Asian/ramen noodle version, usually. But tonight the hubs and kids decided to make fish and chips, so creamy seemed appropriate. This is what I made and I think it's fantastic. Hope you do too!

1 bag of coleslaw mix
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use Miracle Whip)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar (to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:


Toss all vegetables in a large bowl with salt and pepper.
Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar.
Toss with slaw.
Chill, covered, stirring occasionally, at least 1 hour (for vegetables to wilt and flavors to blend).

Turkey Meatloaf

Needed a use for my ground turkey tonight, and a little comfort food sounded great. Hence the next recipe. Hope you enjoy!

2 lb ground Turkey
2 eggs
1 cup of Rolled Oats
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 zucchini, grated coarsely (I used my box cheese grater)
1/2 small onion, grated coarsely
2 celery stalks, grated coarsely
2 large carrots, grated coarsely


Mix all your ingredients together in a large bowl. Grease your 9x13 pan and form the meat mixture into a loaf in the middle of the pan. Bake at 425 and check after 25 minutes. Continue cooking until done. I topped it with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. My son added a little BBQ sauce to his.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

I have 2 little nieces who will not eat veggies. If you have a picky eater in your life, make these yummy brownies to get some fiber in their bellies!

15 oz Canned Black Beans, Rinsed And Drained
1/2 cup Butter, Plus More For Greasing Pan
1 1/2 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
4 whole Eggs
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 cup Semi Sweet Or Dark Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9"x 13" pan with butter.
In a food processor or a powerful blender puree black beans until smooth, scraping the sides of bowl as needed.
Fit a large heat safe bowl over a pan of boiling water. Add pureed black beans, butter and 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Stir with a whisk until butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. Be careful of the bowl since it will become hot! Remove from heat.
Stir brown sugar and vanilla into chocolate mixture until smooth.
Add eggs 1 at a time. Mixing thoroughly between additions until all 4 eggs have been added.
In a large bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sea salt. Mix until combine.
Add chocolate mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour into prepared baking pan and smooth the top of brownies using a spatula.
Bake brownies for 30 minutes. The might appear under done but will continue to bake in the pan after removed from oven.

Thai Curry Soup

Ive had a nasty headache all day. I don't know why, but it has made me crave Asian food. I did not want the crappy stuff they serve at the local Chinese buffet restaurants, so I made this instead. My oldest son made some fried rice, and the whole meal hit the spot. And guess what, my headache is gone!

2 cans coconut milk
1 box chicken stock
1 onion diced
1 sweet potato, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
1 can chunk pineapple, drained
1 can garbanzo beans
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 knob of ginger, peeled and grated
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp turmeric
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Sauté all vegetables but the garbanzo beans in some olive oil. Pour in the coconut milk, stock and spices. Simmer until the Vegs are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in garbanzo beans. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pear and Blue Cheese Crisps

So, last Sunday, we decided to have a family cook day. Everyone drew their meal choice out of a hat (well, a popcorn bowl). My oldest son got appetizer. He scoured my Food Network and Rachael Ray magazines, and this is what he came up with. They were delicious! Everyone in the family agreed. The warm pear paired with the creamy, melty cheese was so yummy. Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

1 pkg pitas
2 pears (he used 1 Bosc and 1 Bartlett)
1 pkg of blue cheese
Dried rosemary

Preheat your oven to 425. Cut the pitas into triangles. Brush pita with olive oil. Slice the pears and put a slice on each pita triangle. Top with a crumble of blue cheese and sprinkle with rosemary. Bake for 10 minutes and enjoy!

WInter Salad

So, I made this salad last weekend for a brunch I had with my childhood friends. It was delicious, and we had a great time:) Enjoy!


Dressing:
1 shallot
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup EVOO
Salt and pepper
Mince the shallot up super fine. Mix with other ingredients in bowl and set aside.

Salad:
I pkg mixed arugula, spinach, baby greens (whatever greens you like)
1 pear, sliced thinly
Pecans
Crumbled cheddar
Minced parsley
mix in bowl and top with dressing. Easy peasy!