Cheesy Lasagna

I made this Cheesy Lasagna for my sister-in-law's baby shower this weekend.  I went with an Italian theme and it seemed like everyone enjoyed the food.  My mom even called me after the shower and told me how good the lasagna was!  If my mom likes it, then it must be good right?  I noticed it was the first thing to be eaten by the guests too.  This Cheesy Lasagna is actually quite simple to make ahead of time.  I did use my homemade tomato sauce, but you can substitute store bought sauce.  I was able to make this cheesy lasagna two days earlier and reheat it in the oven before serving.  I personally think this lasagna was even better after reheating.  Now I wish I made an extra lasagna for myself! Thank you to my cousins Stephanie and Cathy from Petite Therapy for the photos from the baby shower.  They really make this cheesy lasagna look extra delicious!

Cheesy Lasagna

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 box (9 ounces) Barilla lasagna sheets (no boiling required)

2 eggs

15 ounces ricotta cheese

4 cups shredded mozzarella (or Italian mix) cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

6 cups homemade tomato sauce (or your favorite store bought marinara sauce)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a bowl, beat eggs and stir in ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella and ½ cup parmesan.

Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish.

First layer 4 uncooked lasagna sheets, 1/3 of ricotta mixture 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup of tomato sauce.

Second layer 4 uncooked lasagna sheets, 1/3 of ricotta mixture and 1 ½ cups of tomato sauce.

Third layer 4 uncooked lasagna sheets, remaining ricotta mixture, and 1 cup of tomato sauce.

Last layer 4 uncooked lasagna sheets, remaining tomato sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella and ½ cup parmesan cheese.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.  Uncover and continue baking until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Let stand at least 15 minutes before cutting.

*If making ahead of time, reheat by baking at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes and be sure to cover with foil.  Uncover in the last 5 minutes.

Cran-Raspberry Fizz

I made this Cran-Raspberry Fizz drink for my sister-in-law's baby shower this weekend.  It was a hit!  I first got this recipe from The Pampered Chef (click herefor original recipe) after I had hosted a Pampered Chef party last month.  I actually doubled the original recipe to serve at the baby shower.  I love the flavors of this drink, the hint of lime with the cranberry and raspberry and also the ginger ale gives the wonderful fizz.  This drink was perfect for the baby shower and is great for any party.  If you need a non-alcoholic drink for your  next party, try this Cran-Raspberry Fizz!  Thank you to my cousin, Cathy from Petite Therapy for being the photographer and decorating!  The baby shower theme was "It's a Girl" combined with the Year of the Dragon, which is considered very lucky in our Chinese culture.  A little dragon will be on her way soon and I can't wait to meet my niece!  I'll probably be writing more about the baby shower this week so keep posted.

Cran-Raspberry Fizz

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

8 limes

2 cans (12 ounces each) frozen cranberry juice concentrate, softened

6 cups cold water

2 pints raspberry sorbet, softened

4 liters (16 cups) chilled ginger ale

Directions

Slice 4 limes using a mandoline if available (or you can cut limes into thin slices). Set aside.

Pour ginger ale into a drink dispenser.  Juice remaining 4 limes into drink dispenser.

Pour cranberry juice concentrate and water into drink dispenser.

Scoop sorbet into drink dispenser.  Add in lime slices.

Serves 30 to 35.

Salmon Teriyaki

I love this dish; it is one of my favorite ways to prepare salmon.  I serve it over plain white rice and it is delicious.  The rice soaks up the teriyaki sauce and gives the rice great flavor.  How simple is that?  This is a recipe that you can make on a weeknight since it doesn't take long to marinate the salmon and it cooks quickly.  I made the rice and salmon teriyaki all in under an hour.  I love this dish and I hope you will too.  Enjoy! 

Salmon Teriyaki

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound boneless salmon fillets (I used Trader Joe’s Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.)

½ cup soy sauce (I used low sodium.)

1/8 cup honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon ginger, minced

1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced

Directions

In an 8x8 inch baking dish, whisk together soy sauce, honey, lemon juice, ginger, and garlic.

Place salmon fillets, skin side up, in baking dish to marinate in sauce for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.  Cover with plastic wrap.

Preheat oven to broiler setting (usually at 500 degrees F.)

Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Place salmon, skin side down, on baking sheet.  Broil for 10 to 15 minutes.

Brush salmon a few times with the leftover marinade.  

If the salmon separates into flakes, it's done.  Remove the skin while the fish is hot.

Serves 2.

Spinach and Kale Roll

This is probably the most easy dish you could make, and it is perfect as a vegetarian appetizer or main dish too.  You only need 2 ingredients basically - frozen puff pastry and Trader Joe's spinach and kale greek yogurt dip.  If you don't have eggs, you could omit the egg wash but it gives it a nice color when baking.  I love Trader Joe's obviously, and their spinach and kale greek yogurt dip is awesome.  I usually like to eat the dip with Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Lavash Chips!  But you will love this spinach and kale roll instead, enjoy!

Spinach and Kale Roll

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted

16 ounces spinach and kale greek yogurt dip (from Trader Joe’s)

1 egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Unfold puff pastry sheet and lay puff pastry sheet flat.

Spread spinach and kale greek yogurt dip on the puff pastry sheet.

Roll the dough and place seam side down onto parchment lined baking sheet.

 

Brush with beaten egg.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until slightly browned.

Let stand at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I finally tried the Joy of Baking recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies, click here for the original recipe. I did adapt the recipe, because I always like to add in extra vanilla and I don't always follow directions.  I wanted to see how these cookies compared to my classic chocolate chip cookies recipe.  In comparison, the classic chocolate chip cookies are thin and more crisp than these chocolate chip cookies from Joy of Baking.  These chocolate chip cookies were soft and chewy.  I brought these into work recently and they were a hit!  

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups chocolate chips, semisweet

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.  Beat until creamy and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Add vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. 

Slowly add in dry ingredients to egg mixture (about ½ cup at a time). 

Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop cookie dough by tablespoon onto baking sheets. 

Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Cool cookies completely on wire racks.

Makes about 40 cookies.

Creamy Mushroom and Artichoke Soup

This creamy mushroom and artichoke soup is one of my favorites.  It is a really easy soup to put together for either a meal or as a starter.  This soup can be really filling and is perfect for a light dinner or lunch.  I’ve been making this soup for a couple years now and everyone who has tried it so far enjoys it.   It has been crazy busy these last few days with Thanksgiving and now back to work.   Enjoy!

Creamy Mushroom and Artichoke Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup onions, diced

1 cup mushrooms, diced (I used cremini mushrooms.)

½ cup artichoke hearts, diced

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespooon cornstarch

4 cups chicken stock, low sodium

1 cup heavy cream (You may use half and half or milk.)

1 teaspoon salt

½ to 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a large pan, over medium heat, add butter, onions, and mushrooms.  Sauté until onions and mushrooms are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in diced artichokes.

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch with 1 cup chicken stock. 

Pour in cornstarch mixture.  Slowly add in remaining chicken stock.

Cover and allow to simmer on low for 30 minutes.

Next, stir in heavy cream.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 to 6.

Easy Peanut Butter Pie

I am making this easy peanut butter pie for Thanksgiving.  I am going nontraditional dessert this year.  This pie is loved by everyone who I have served it to and I've made it on several occasions.  I first saw a peanut butter pie on a tv show featuring Yoder's Amish Restaurant in Sarasota, Florida, where they served their famous peanut butter pie.  My easy peanut butter pie is a knockoff recipe of Yoder's.  If you search for "Yoder's peanut butter pie", you will be able to find a bunch of recipes online for it.  I hope my family loves this pie as much as I do.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  

Easy Peanut Butter Pie

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 baked pie crust (frozen, deep dish, 9 or 10 inch)

1 package of vanilla pudding (4.6 ounce box of Jello cook and serve pudding.)

3 cups milk (I used low fat milk.)

1 cup powdered sugar

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

8 ounces whipped topping (I used fat-free.)

Directions

Make pudding according to package directions – stir pudding mix into 3 cups milk in medium saucepan.  Bring to full boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Pour into a container and cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding.  Chill in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

Bake pie crust according to package directions – allow frozen pie crust to defrost in countertop for 15 to 20 minutes.   Prick crust with a fork all over to prevent bubbling of crust while baking.  Bake in 400 degree F for 7 to 9 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.

For crumb mixture - in a bowl, mix together powdered sugar and crunchy peanut butter using a hand mixer until crumbly. 

Place half the crumbs into pie shell. 

Spoon pudding on top of crumbs.

Place remaining crumbs on top of pudding and reserve a little of the crumbs to sprinkle on top.

Spoon whipped topping on top of the crumbs.  Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top.

Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serves 8.