Skillet Lasagna

This first recipe was the perfect summer meal. My husband and I both loved it. I think he has finally learned that a meal doesn't have to have meat to be delicious and filling. I haven't converted him to meatless meals with lots of beans--he still turns up his nose. But what can I expect? I am just glad he likes chicken.

Anyways, this meal is great because you cook it all in one skillet. The veggies, sauce, cheese, and noodles are all cooked in the same skillet. It is also quick. You get the taste of lasagna without all the work. I love it! I am typing up two recipes. The first is my favorite, but the second is more like a typical lasagna (with beef/pork). I found both at melskitchencafe.com.

Skillet Summer Vegetable Lasagna

From here

*Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Drain tomatoes into a 2-cup liquid measure. Add water to tomato liquid to make 2 cups. Add tomato/water mixture and 1 teaspoon salt to skillet.

Scatter noodles into the skillet, layer tomatoes over the noodles and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally (so the noodles won’t stick!) for about 10 minutes.

Stir in zucchini and squash, cook, stirring now and then, until noodles and squash are tender, about 8 minutes. Add basil and half of the ricotta cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese to the noodles, stirring until the sauce is creamy. Dollop remaining ricotta cheese over the noodles, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Simple and Meaty Skillet Lasagna

From here

3 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
Salt
3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef (I used 1 lb beef and no pork, b/c that is what I had.)
12 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 1 inch lengths
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup ricotta cheese (do not use fat-free)

Pulse the tomatoes with their juice in a blender or food processor until they are coarsely ground and no large pieces remain (in a food processor, that is about 12 pulses).

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking apart the meat, until it is lightly browned and no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes.

Scatter the broken lasagna noodles over the meat and then pour in the ground tomatoes and tomato sauce over the pasta. Stir in the basil and oregano. Cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in half the mozzarella and half of the parmesan. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and let stand off the heat until the cheese melts, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve.

Creamy Lemon Crumb Squares

These were a light and tasty treat that definitely hit the spot. I will definitely be making these again. I think I would prefer these over the typical lemon bar. This recipe originally came from the Pioneer Woman. You could replace the lemons with limes, and they would turn out equally delicious.

1-⅓ cup All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 stick (1/2 Cup) Butter, Slightly Softened
1 cup Brown Sugar (lightly Packed)
1 cup Oats
1 can (14 Ounce) Sweetened Condensed Milk
½ cups Lemon Juice
Zest Of 1 Lemon

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.

Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don’t press.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.

Serve cool.

Chicken Gyros

I have seen this recipe multiple places on the Internet, and I have been anxious to try it. They were delicious! I cook lots of southwestern and mexican food, so this was a nice change and tasted light and refreshing. My favorite is definitely the tzatziki sauce.

Ingredients:
For the tzatziki sauce:
16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible)
1/2 English/hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar b/c that's what I had.)
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces

To assemble:
Pita bread
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin

Directions:
To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible. If you buy greek yogurt, you can skip this step.

Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. (I used a layer of paper towels.) Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired (oven, skillet, grill, broiler). Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips.

Heat pitas (I heated them in a skillet). Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, cucumbers, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.

Pound Cake and Berries and Cream Trifle

I made this trifle for the 4th of July, but I am sure you could make it anytime. In fact, I already have requests to make it again. You could use a store bought trifle, but I guarantee the homemade pound cake was part of the reason the trifle was so good! Seriously, this pound cake is to die for.

Perfect Pound Cake

I originally found it at thesisterscafe.com, and they got it from the famous Pioneer Woman's website.

1 1/2 cups of butter
3 cups of sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
2 teaspoons lemon extract
3 cups flour
1 cup Sprite, 7-UP, or Sierra Mist

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter. Add sugar, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add butter flavoring and lemon extract and mix well. Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add soft drink, then mix together until combined. Scrape sides of bowl, then mix briefly. Pour into a greased Bundt pan (or 2 large loaf pans) and bake for one hour to one hour and ten minutes, until cake is no longer jiggly. Remove cake from oven and invert pan until the cake drops out. Slice and serve!

Patriotic Berries and Cream Trifle

Adapted from thesisterscafe.com and the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

2 cups heavy cream
2 T powdered sugar
2 large loaves of pound cake (or use recipe above)
2-3 cups of strawberries
2 cups of blueberries
2 3.4 oz instant vanilla, lemon, or even cheesecake pudding (I used vanilla.)

1. Bake your pound cake in 2 large loaf pans. (You will probably only use about 1.5 loaves in the trifle.)

2. In a medium bowl, combine cream and sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside. You want a stiffer whipped cream for trifle so that it holds up over time.

3. In another bowl make pudding according to package directions. Fold in 1-1/2c of the sweetened whipped cream.

4. Slice pound cake into one inch cubes.

5. In a trifle bowl, start by layering 1/3 of the pound cake on the bottom of the trifle bowl (A large glass bowl can be used if you don't have a trifle bowl). Next, layer 1/3 of the pudding mixture followed by a layer of 1/3 of the strawberries and blueberries. To make trifle look presentable three times or until bowl is almost full.

6. Garnish the top of the trifle with some of the remaining whipped cream, strawberries, and blueberries. (I did not use all of my remaining whipped cream.)

7. Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours. (I did not have time to let mine chill this long, and it still tasted good.)

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

Breakfast food is typically my fall back for dinner. It is what I make when I need to go to the store of have little time to make dinner. I try to make breakfast foods that are at least somewhat healthier, so I often use whole wheat, especially at dinner time. Our Best Bites has yet to fail me, so I decided to try their whole wheat pancake recipe. We loved it--even Anthony. It might be one of our favorites now. They were tender and fluffy with just a hint of whole wheat. So good. The link is here. It is adapted from Cooking Light, another trustworthy source.

3/4 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C all-purpose flour
3 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C low-fat buttermilk *
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs canola oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
Cooking Spray or butter for pan

*As a substitute for 1 C buttermilk, place 1 Tbs lemon juice (or vinegar b) in a 1 C measuring cup and then fill the remainder with milk. This recipe calls for 1 1/2 C buttermilk, so do the same thing with 1/2 Tbs lemon juice and remaining 1/2 C milk.

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. In a separate bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk well. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until moistened and combined.

Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet to medium heat. Coat pan with non-stick spray or a little butter and then pour on pancake batter. Use about 1/4 C batter for large pancakes (5-6″) and 2 T for kid-sized ones (2 /2-3″). Wait until bubbles form and edges are set and then flip.

Makes 12 large or 24 small pancakes.


Freezer Instructions: These pancakes freeze wonderfully. Just lay out pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet or other pan. Freeze until solid and then place in a zip-lock bag. To serve, just warm up in the microwave or toaster.