Lazy Lasagna

I have a love/hate relationship with Rachael Ray and her recipes.  Most of them look pretty good and so easy (hello, 30 Minutes!) but I usually end up an hour and a half later, without a completed dinner, and a hungry baby helping me curse her name.  They aren't every really 30 Minute Meals.

This one, though, came close.  I'd say 45 minutes...and it might have taken less time had I turned the broiler on high and not low!  It was another magazine tear out and turned out to be a keeper.  I usually shy away from anything that calls for a bechamel sauce because I have a hard time getting it thick enough.  Or really, I'm not sure how think it should be...so I think I end up overcooking it.  This time I used skim milk and I'm pretty sure that was a bad idea.  The sauce was very thin and I ended up only using half of it, but the end result was still a winner!

I'm pretty sure this will be our new go-to lasagna recipe.

Lazy Lasagna adapted from Rachael Ray

• 1 lb whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion, diced small
• 1-2 yellow squash, diced into small pieces
• 3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 sprig rosemary, chopped fine
• ground cloves, to taste
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 cups beef stock (note: you can sub in 1 cup white wine...but I didn't want to give mine up)
• 3 T unsalted butter
• 2 rounded T flour
• 2 cups milk (I suggest using whole since my sauce never really thickened the way it should)
• nutmeg, to taste
• shredded mozzarella & parmesan cheese

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente.  Drain and set aside.  In a large Dutch Oven, heat 1-2 T of olive oil.  Brown the ground beef & add the onion, veggies, rosemary, garlic, cloves & salt and pepper.  Cook until tender, about 7 to 10 minutes.  Stir in the tomato paste and continue to cook for another minute.  Add in the broth and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes longer. 

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the flour and then milk, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.  Remove from the heat and season with nutmeg, salt & pepper.

Stir the cooked pasta with the beef mixture and pour into a greased 9*13 dish.  Pour the bechamel sauce over the top and sprinkle with the cheeses.  Broil in the oven until the cheeses have melted and browned.

Chili Rubbed Pork

We've been trying to get creative on not eating so much red meat since the freezer is stuffed full of it.  For some reason I've been leaning toward pork recently over chicken.  I consulted my favorite recipe site and came across a good pork kebab recipe that paired with a pineapple salsa - ideal since pineapples have been on sale quite often.  Plus, it gave me a chance to try out my new fire wire.  These things are awesome - they hold a ton of food and are very easy to use.

This recipe is quite simple, but still had a lot of flavor.  We chopped the pork the second night and had tacos for something different.  I'm still running through bags of rice pilaf left from my sisters wedding, so it ended up being an easy meal

Chili Rubbed Pork Kebabs from Real Simple

• 2-3 lbs of pork - I used a pork tenderloin roast, cubed
• 3 T chili powder
• 1 T olive oil
• onion, bell pepper & pineapple

Heat a grill to medium-high heat.  Cut onions, bell pepper & pineapple into pieces about the size of the pork.  Toss the pork in with the olive oil & chili powder, coating completely.  Thread the pork & vegetables onto skewers and grill for about 15 minutes, turning the skewers a few times during the cooking.

Serve with a pineapple salsa (or any salsa).

Dessert for a Year: Strawberry Shortcake

I fully intended on making this in May.  I found a recipe, bought the ingredients...and decided to just hang out and relax on Memorial Day instead of spending time in the kitchen. 

Last weekend I grabbed more strawberries (they don't last long with Cooper in the house) and threw these together.  I could easily make this recipe week after week.  The cakes were the perfect texture, with just the right amount of sweetness.  I did cheat and grab a container of Cool Whip, but let's be honest.  There isn't much about Cool Whip I don't like.  And Jason thinks it is awesome, so we were all happy.

Strawberry Shortcakes

• 4 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 4 T sugar
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 4 T sugar
• 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, diced into small pieces
• 1/2 cup cold skim milk
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• Cool Whip (or real whipped cream)

Preheat the oven to 425.  In a small bowl, stir together strawberries and sugar, set aside.  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar.  Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbles.  Pour in the milk and vanilla and stir until just mixed.

Drop the mixture in 4 equal spoonfuls on to an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until done.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing.  Place a spoonful of the strawberry mixture on the bottom half of the biscuit, a portion of the whipped cream and the top of the biscuit.  Serve slightly warm.

Source: Pinch My Salt

Edamame Salad

I've mentioned a few times about buying a cow.  Here's the (short) story.  A few months ago I started talking to Cindy about her garden, farmer's markets and buying meat in bulk.  I did a little research (aka Ask Mom) and got a price quote from the meat market my family used to own.  It really just made sense, although we were not quite sure how much meat we'd end up with.  We included Rachel & her family in on a portion, so I placed the order.  The day after Lindsey's wedding, we headed to the meat market thinking we were going to get about 300lbs of beef.

Instead, we loaded up 461lbs.  To say I had a panic attack would be putting it mildly.  Thankfully, my super awesome friend Rachel & her parents took a slightly larger portion and we now all have freezers full of beef.

The largest portion of the beef came ground, but we did manage to get a good stack of tenderized round steak.  I'm saving a few packages for Chicken Fried Steak, but I needed to look for something just a little healthier.  Rachel actually came across this recipe, so I added it to the menu for the week.  We both liked it, although Jason admitted that it is a lot of edamame.

Edamame Salad adapted from Cooking Light

• 3 cups shelled edamame
• 2 T low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 T grated peeled ginger
• 1 T light mayonnaise
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2 t white wine vinegar
• 1 t dark sesame oil
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1 T olive oil
• about 8-10oz tenderized round steak, cut into 1" pieces
• salt & pepper

Steam the edamame according to the package.  Rinse with cold water, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce with the next 5 ingredients, and whisk until combined.  Add the edamame, tomatoes, cucumber & onion, tossing to coat.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat.  Season the steak with salt & pepper and add to the pan.  Cook until crisps, about 5-7 minutes.

Just to note, Wednesday kicked off hurricane season.  Yeah.  I've got 150lbs of beef in my freezer.  Usually hurricane season wouldn't be more than a blip on my radar, but if something comes our way this year, I'm loading up my beef and heading to Camp Nana.  To grille. And eat.

Crispy Chicken Taquitos

This recipe has been floating around the cooking board I frequent for a while, so we finally tried it out.  I was in love.  It really is a great recipe to keep on hand for nights we want something that tastes like it should be bad for you, but isn't.  And it can be manipulated a dozen ways!  I've got a laundry list of ideas...I should probably buy a few more packages of corn tortillas!

I adjusted the recipe to make it low fat, but since they are baked you're well off to begin with.  Jason & I were both pleased that they did get pretty crispy without the greasy fried taste.

Crispy Chicken Taquitos adapted from Pink Parsley

• 3oz fat free cream cheese
• 1/3 cup salsa verde
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 t chile powder
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 T fine chopped onion
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I used a rotisserie chicken to make things easier)
• 1/2 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup 2% shredded Mexican Blend cheese
• 12 6" corn tortillas
• salt & pepper
• cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 and spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice & spices.  Mix well and stir in chicken & shredded cheeses.  Add additional salt & pepper if needed.

Warm the tortillas, a few at a time, in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  Spoon 2-3 tablespoons into each tortilla and roll tightly.  Place seam side-down on the baking sheet.  Spray each taquito with cooking spray, add a small sprinkle of salt & bake until they are crisp and golden-brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 3 points each, however when I added a serving of 3 it calculated 9 points.  They are very filling and a great low-point dinner if you add fat free sour cream.

Beef Stroganoff

A few weeks ago we did an inventory of the freezer to get a handle on what was in there.  A small stack of tenderized round steaks led me to start thinking outside of the "chicken fried steak" box.  Because, guess what, that's not on my diet.  A quick dig through the fridge and online, and I landed on a Weight Watchers recipe for Beef Stroganoff.  Now that I have quite a few more packages of tenderized round steak in the freezer, this will be a good stand by.  Especially since Cooper was a fan and the points value isn't bad for dinner.

Beef Stroganoff adapted from Weight Watchers

• 1 cup canned beef broth, low sodium
• 2 T flour
• 1 t dijon mustard
• salt & pepper
• 2 t olive oil
• 1 small onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 T light sour cream
• 2 T fresh parsley, chopped
• 3/4 pound tenderized round steak, sliced into 1/4" strips
• 8 oz whole wheat egg noodles

Cook egg noodles according to package.  Drain and set aside.

Whisk together the beef broth, flour and mustard in a large skillet over medium-high heat until blended smooth.  Continue stirring until the mixture begins to boil and thickens, about 2 minutes.  Pour into a small bowl, set aside.

Wipe the skillet clean and heat the olive oil.  Season the steak with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat.  Remove from the skillet and add the onion, stirring until translucent - about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and return the meat to the skillet.  Whisk the broth mixture again and add back to the meat & onion mixture.  Cook until warmed through and remove from heat.  Stir in the sour cream, parsley & noodles.

Note: we're not fans of mushrooms, so I left those out.  If you add them, saute them with the onions.  I'm not sure if it will change the points value.

WeightWatchers PointsPlus: 4 servings, 10 pointsplus

Date Night In: Filet Oscar

I've been reading the Foodie Bride recipes for a while.  I've made a few recipes, realized some aren't for me (hello...I don't eat shrimp) and then I come across those that just scare me.  The ingredients are scary, the directions are scary.  I feel like taking it on would have me way in over my head.  But there is still a part of me that wants to try.  The Filet Oscar is one of those recipes.

I love ordering filet oscar when we go out to eat.  I'm generally a meat & potatoes gal, but I also have a strange love of crab meat.  The sauce is yummy, the crab meat just adds a little something extra, and the crunch of the asparagus rounds it all out.  I've been eyeing this recipe for ages.  But every time I think I might try it, I change my mind.  It just looks like a lot of work for something that could very easily flop considering it involves all sorts of things I've never done before.

Earlier this month, we decided to have our date night in for May.  We're also in the process of cleaning out the freezer since we decided to buy part of a cow, so steaks were the first thing that came to mind.  I've whipped up a good horseradish sauce to go with filet before, but for some reason I kept thinking about the crab meat.  Maybe because Deadliest Catch is back on?

Either way, I went for it.  The end result: totally worth it.  The lesson learned: I'll pay more attention to those posts talking about using all of the dishes in the kitchen and spending more time cleaning up than eating.  Totally true.

Filet Oscar adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

• 2 Alaskan King Crab legs
• 1/2 lb asparagus tips, blanched
• 2 beef filet steaks
• 2-3 T white wine vinegar
• 2-3 T dry white wine
• 2 T onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 T fresh tarragon
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 stick butter, cut into 4 pieces
• splash of lemon juice

To steam the crab legs, wrap in a loose foil pouch with a small amount of water.  Place in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  Use forks (or small power tools) to remove the crab meat.  Add the crab meat to the asparagus tips, set aside.

Season and grill the steaks to desired temperature.  Jason prefers medium rare, I'm more of a medium person.  Remove from the grill, cover with foil and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, wine, onion and tarragon to a boil.  Reduce the liquid to about 1-2 tablespoons and press through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl.  Toss the solid pieces and whisk the egg yolks into the vinegar mixture.  Set over a double boiler and heat until the yolks begin to thicken, whisking constantly.  Add in the butter, one piece at a time melting completely before adding in the next piece.  Remove from the heat and add in a splash of lemon juice, salt & pepper.  Gently stir in the crab meat & asparagus. 

Top each steak with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup sauce.  It also helps to add in a nice large glass of Zinfandel.  Brought back personally from the winery.