Valentine's Card

This isn't a recipe, but a card I made for my amazing hubby on Valentine's Day that I wanted to share :)  I used my wedding ring and Scrabble pieces and then had the card printed on Walmart.com for less than $2!!  I got the idea from Pinterest last year....So simple :)

Ground Turkey Lasagna with a Quick Homemade Sauce YUM

Lasagna is my hubby's favorite meal so I love to make it for him as often as possible.  I try to make a healthier version with the ground turkey and I make it much quicker by not boiling the noodles.  I don't buy the no boil noodles, I just use regular old dry lasagna noodles.  I hate overcooked noodles and have found this works the best to still have that bite in your noodles after cooking your lasagna for an hour!  The trick is to make sure your your noodles are completely covered with sauce in every step.  I sometimes cheat if I'm in a hurry and use store-bought sauce.  I still saute onions and garlic with the meat and just add the store-bought sauce (plus an additional 1/2 cup of water) at that point.  The ground turkey makes it much healthier, but you can absolutely use a different meat such as ground beef or sausage...just be sure to drain before adding the sauce so it doesn't become greasy!!

Ground Turkey Lasagna

 

Ingredients 

1 package regular dry lasagna noodles  

1 pound ground turkey 

1 medium onion, finely diced

1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped 

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

8 ounce can tomato sauce

2- 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

6 oz can tomato paste

2 Tablespoons italian seasoning

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley 

16 oz ricotta cheese 

4 cups mozzarella cheese, Shredded or finely chopped 

4 oz (1/2 cup) shredded fresh Parmesan cheese 

2 extra large eggs (Use 3 if smaller)

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add diced onions, mushrooms, and season with salt & pepper. Cook until soft and onions are translucent.  Add minced garlic and dried crushed red pepper and cook another minute or two.
2. Add the ground turkey and more salt & pepper and cook over med-high heat until browned. (If using store-bought sauce, add it at this point) Once browned, reduce heat to medium and add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning and tomato sauce. Season again with salt & pepper to taste.  Stir occasionally and cook for 15-20 minutes.  Add water when needed.
3. While sauce is cooking, in a medium to large mixing bowl combine ricotta, all but 1/2 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, eggs and fresh parsley (reserve a handful of parsley to garnish the top at the end).
4. Preheat oven to 350'F.
5. Spray a 13x9 inch casserole pan with olive oil spray and cover the bottom of pan with a layer of sauce mixture. 
6. Add a layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Lay the noodles side by side in the pan (not overlapping) They will expand when they are baked.
7. Take half the cheese mixture and lay it evenly over the noodles.
8. Now cover with another layer of the meat sauce over the cheese.
9. Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8 using the remaining cheese and more meat sauce, reserving some sauce for the top.
10. Add your last layer of noodles in the same fashion described in step 6. Top with the remaining sauce. Spread it out so there is no noodle uncovered.
11. Cover your lasagna with aluminum foil and bake in a 350'F oven. Bake covered for 45 minutes.
12. Remove foil and top with the reserved 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and parsley. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.
13. Let rest for at least 10 minutes and serve.

Homemade Potato Chips with Carmelized Onion Dip

I made this for the Superbowl and it was so delicious! My 15 month old loved the homemade chips.  With all of his allergies, he doesn't get to eat snacks unless I made them homemade!  You can make the dip in the crockpot if you want as well!!!

Hand Cut Potato Chips

Ingredients

Canola Oil for frying
2 potatoes, thinly sliced using a mandolin or very sharp knife
Salt

Directions

1.  Using a mandolin (or very sharp knife), cut potatoes into paper-thin slices, and let the slices stand in a bowl of cold water. until you are ready to fry them.  Drain potato slices and spread without overlapping on a triple layer of paper towels. Blot slices completely dry with another layer of paper towels.

2.  In a heavy saucepan, fill oil no more than halfway and heat the oil to 350 degrees F.

3.  Add the potato slices in batches. Fry until light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels, season with salt.  Continue to pat dry, cut, dry and fry remaining potatoes in same manner until they are all cooked.

4.  Store potato chips in an airtight container (if you don't eat them all immediately!!!)

Caramelized Onion Dip

Ingredients

2 large yellow onions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Canola oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh diced parsley

Directions

1.  Thinly slice both of the onions (You will have about 3 cups of onions). Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium low heat. Add the onions, cayenne, salt, and pepper and saute for about 30 to 45 minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. The longer you can cook them, the better.  Add about a 1/4 cup of water to the pan and stir until water evaporates.  Take off heat and allow the onions to cool.

2.  Place the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest, and Worcestershire sauce in food processor and process until smooth. Add the onions and mix well. Add the parsley (reserve some for serving) and serve with your homemade chips!!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu is one of my favorite recipes to serve when I have company over... It looks so fancy without being a ton of work.  I edited this recipe from Tyler Florence's Food Network Recipe to make it more affordable.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts skinless and boneless
• 8 think slices of deli ham
• 4 slices of Swiss cheese
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 t dried thyme
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Lay the chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, gently pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove the top sheet of plastic and lay 2 slices of deli ham neatly over the top to cover the breast, 1 slice of swiss cheese and sprinkle a quarter of the Parmesan cheese over the ham. Tuck in the sides of the breast and roll up tight like a jellyroll inside the plastic wrap. Squeeze the log gently to seal and twist both ends tight to form a nice log. Repeat with remaining chicken.

3.  Season the flour with salt and pepper. Mix the bread crumbs with thyme, garlic and kosher salt, pepper, and melted butter. The butter will help the crust brown. Beat together the eggs and season with salt and pepper as well.

4.   Remove the plastic wrap. Lightly dust the chicken with flour, dip in the egg mixture and gently coat in the bread crumbs. Lightly coat a baking pan with olive oil and carefully transfer the roulades onto it. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until browned and cooked through.

5. Serve whole or slice into pinwheels and serve over Baked Brown Rice!!