Saucy Italian Orzo

A new favorite cooking magazine of mine is Taste of Home's "Simple & Delicious". It's packed full of wonderfully tasty recipes that are perfect for those busy weeknights when I don't have much time to spend in the kitchen but want to put something hearty and nutritious on the table for dinner. (Hence, the title "Simple & Delicious"...duh!!) During my last menu planning session I chose several recipes from the Jan/Feb issue and I can't wait to share them all with you in upcoming posts! This first dinner recipe was so incredibly quick and easy to prepare. I actually over estimated the time it would take to cook that I had time to choose and bake up a loaf of garlic-herb bread (look for in my next post) to serve alongside our meal. WOW! The original recipe called for 1 lb. of hamburger but since I was doubling this recipe to share with Sarah for our meal co-op, I added 1 lb. of Italian sausage to boost the flavors a little. I would highly recommend that you consider doing this if you decide to try this meal for your family, the sausage was a perfect addition and really vamped up the taste of the entire dish. Another huge added plus for me was the addition of spinach at the end of the cooking time! It not only added a beautiful color to the entire dish, but was also a major nutritional and healthy addition. Major points in my book! The little food critics in my home gave this two-thumbs up each as they raved over the "cute little pasta thingies" (orzo). Oh-the phrases of children. I love being their Mom!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Saucy Italian Orzo

1 1b. ground beef (or 1/2 lb. beef and 1/2 lb. Italian sausage)

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cans (14.5 oz. each) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic

1 can (14.5 oz.) beef broth

1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste

3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cups fresh baby spinach

In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in the tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, orzo and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until orzo is tender. Add spinach; cook and stir until spinach is wilted.

Source: Taste of Home's "Simple & Delicious" Jan/Feb 2010

Menu Planning, Meal Sharing and Meaty Lasagna Stoup

 

I've shared with you before that I am blessed to have the opportunity to work from home caring for my friend, Sarah's two precious little ones while she teaches first grade in our school district. When school resumed this fall, both of our households endured many major adjustments. For us, this marked the first year all four of our children would be in school all day. That probably doesn't sound like an earth shattering adjustment, but when you throw in homework, piano lessons, soccer, school cheer, competition cheer, youth group and daily responsibilities at home, I was struggling to keep our household afloat. For Mike and Sarah; she was returning to teaching after three long months of bed rest and six months of maternity leave with the birth of their second child. She is also continuing her education by pursuing her Masters Degree. Balancing a full time career, continuing education, family and household responsibilities were wearing on Sarah too. Several times during the first couple of weeks of school, we shared with one another our "leftovers" from a previous meal to help each other out on particularly busy nights. This worked so well that we decided to create a meal sharing schedule.

Here's how we've worked it out:

1.) We plan our menus two weeks at a time.

2.) We create our menus separately but communicate our ideas for the four meals that we will be sharing with one another.

3.) I am scheduled for Monday and Wednesday nights' dinners and Sarah is scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday. For our family, Friday is typically left over night and our weekend meals are planned according to whatever commitments we have.

I can't share with you how much of an INCREDIBLE blessing this has been for my family. On the two busiest nights of the week, when we're literally running in six different directions, I can relax knowing that there is a home cooked dinner waiting at home for us because Sarah brought it to me that morning when she dropped the kids off for the day. All I do is warm it up for the family and everyone eats according to their schedule for the evening. Whew-what a relief for me! On the nights that I send dinner to Sarah's, it offers her more valuable time to spend enjoying her kiddos without worrying about dinner preparations etc.  :)

We'll be sharing more tips and meal sharing ideas soon and I hope to begin listing our menus on the sidebar of my blog to share with you too. You can also check out the wonderful meal ideas that she has been sharing with us over at her blog; www.delectabledining09.blogspot.com.

This meal that I'm sharing with you today was a huge success for both families and made a large quantity of yummy goodness. This is basically lasagna in thick soup form. The noodles are broken up into the soup and they thicken the soup quite nicely. I loved that there were fresh veggies thrown into this too-always a great way to sneak nutrition into the kids' diet without them knowing. :) What's also wonderful about this recipe is that it's a Rachel Ray 30 minute meal, so you know it comes together quickly yet is full of wonderful flavors.

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Lasagna Stoup

2 tablespoons EVOO

1 lb. ground beef sirloin

Salt and Pepper

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and grated

3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth

One 28-ounce can Italian crushed tomatoes

1 lb. lasagna noodles, broken into jagged pieces

1 cup basil leaves, torn

1 cup whole-milk ricotta

Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, to pass around the table

1. In a soup pot, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned, 3 to 4  minutes. Stir in the onion, carrots and garlic and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in 2 cups water, the chicken broth and tomatoes; cover and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 15 minutes. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Serve the stoup in bowls and dollop with the ricotta. Pass the parmigiano-reggiano at the table.

Source: Everyday with Rachel Ray-March 2009

Slow-Cooker Chicken Parmigiana

Things are certainly getting busier around our household which always indicates that spring is just around the corner. Baseball practice has begun, soccer is soon to begin, next school year's choices of elective classes have already been selected, piano recital pieces have been chosen and the sun is just starting to grace us with more daylight hours. Yippee!! Added to all that, my friend Sarah and I are marketing our new business, promoting our Easter cookie bouquets and baking and completing incoming orders. Whew, I'm practically worn out just sitting here thinking of all that needs to be accomplished these next few weeks. But, oohhh how I love watching my kids in their extra-curricular activities and the excitement building for our bakery is quite contagious. I believe that with all our busy-ness this season I'm going to be relying a bit more on my faithful slow-cookers to aid me in getting a home cooked meal on the table for our family.

Early this morning I realized that the meal I had planned to serve tonight simply wouldn't work with our evening commitments. I browsed through the pantry, checked what I had in the deep freeze, then grabbed one of my favorite slow-cooker cookbooks and searched for a recipe that called for ingredients that I had available. I chose this particular recipe because of it's simplicity and the fact that it sounded delicious to serve on this cold, sunny day. After picking my little girl up from kindergarten it took me less than 30 minutes to defrost the chicken, saute' it and get it into the crock-pot to cook for the remainder of the day. What a wonderful relief it is for me to know that however hectic our evening becomes, dinner is ready and waiting.

All my family LOVED this chicken! It was moist, cheesy and delicious served with our home grown green beans. Marty enjoyed a second serving and asked that I pack the leftovers up for him to take to work for lunch tomorrow. Ka-ching....another slow-cooker success!!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!

Chicken Parmigiana

1 egg
1tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
2-4 Tbsp. butter
14-oz. jar pizza sauce

1. Beat egg, salt and pepper together. Dip chicken into egg and coat with bread crumbs. Saute' chicken in butter in skillet. Arrange chicken in slow cooker.
2. Pour pizza sauce over chicken.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 6-8 hours. (Mine was done in 5 hours)
4. Layer mozzarella cheese over top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cook an additional 15 minutes.

Source: Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook

Pasta Fagioli

A couple of weeks ago I hosted an all day baking excursion with two of my friends. It was a day filled with laughter, fun and togetherness baking some fantastic treats. The girls were so gracious to bring soup, salad and homemade bread for lunch since I had provided the kitchen to play in.

My friend Sarah brought this amazing soup that she had bookmarked from Brown Eyed Baker. Sarah was kind enough to leave plenty of soup for my family's dinner that evening so I could wrap up and clean the kitchen. Marty and the kids LOVED dinner and Marty even requested some to be packed up for his lunch the next day. Pretty impressive! This soup has many wonderful textures from the crispiness of the carrots, the spiciness of the sausage, the depth of two kinds of beans and the fun of tiny pasta noodles in all. Mmmm!

I had put this soup on our menu for last week and thought I had everything in the pantry that I needed. Does this ever happen to you? You are in the midst of preparing dinner and you go to the shelves only to realize that you don't have a major ingredient? Well, that's what happened when I went to add the tomato sauce to the soup. I had many kinds of tomatoes, but no sauce. What I did have was a jar of traditional spaghetti sauce. I was too far into making the soup to turn back so I grabbed the spaghetti sauce and poured it in hoping for the best. Oh my...we loved the extra kick the spaghetti sauce added! I believe it's a permanent change to this already fantastic soup.

When you're ready for a hearty, Italian soup for dinner, give this recipe a try and you'll see why this is one of our new favorites!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!
Pasta Fagioli

2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 large (or 1 medium) onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
64 oz. beef broth
28 ounce can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
4 oz. small dry pasta (Ditalini)

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large stockpot over medium high heat, and brown the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. Once brown, remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and discard any grease that remains in the pot.

2. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pot, and add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. (I cooked a little less so that the carrots still had a little crispiness)

3. Add sausage back to the pot, add the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain), stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Stir in the beans, and add the beef broth and tomato sauce. Add in all the seasonings, stir well, turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it boils, turn down to low heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

5. Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes.

Serve with your favorite bread or crackers.

Source: adapted from Delectable Dining, originally from Brown Eyed Baker

Lasagna Rolls

My family loves Italian dishes. Who doesn't? Most people enjoy savoring the pasta, cheeses, sauces, salad and bread. When we are planning to invite guests over for dinner, Italian dishes tend to be the first recipes that come to mind. The main reason I hesitate to serve spaghetti or lasagna or something similar is that those dishes really lack in "presentation". When I've spent time planning and preparing a meal to serve for guests, I like a certain "awe" factor when the meal is served up on plates. Not that I want my guests to admire the cook and sing my praises (though it's nice to hear sometimes.he he), but, let's be honest, when food has a pleasing presentation, they're more apt to enjoy the meal and its flavors.

When I came across this recipe, I was so excited to plan this on our menu. The presentation in the picture was beautiful and I thought it would be perfect for individual servings for a dinner party. Lasagna, a dish typically a mess to serve, rolled into single serve rolls. Genious! The rolls filled with wonderful, tasty cheeses, healthy spinach and prosciutto, are placed atop a creamy, delicious, bechamel sauce and topped with a small amount of marinara sauce. Mmmm!

From the heart of my kitchen to yours, may your experience be fun and the food always flavorful. Enjoy!


Lasagna Rolls

Sauce

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna

1 (15 ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 large egg, beaten to blend
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)

1. To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.
2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
3. Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.
4. Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.
5. Butter a 13-by-9-by-2 -inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamel sauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

Source: Food Network, Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian

Easy Cheesy Rigatoni

Today was the first day back to work, school, piano lessons, cheer team practice and, of course, the resuming of homework. For my weekly menu planning this meant putting my faithful crock-pot back to work to have dinner ready between activities. Knowing the kids would be mentally and physically exhausted tonight, I didn't want to spring any new dishes on them and encounter finicky taste buds and short tempers so I prepared one of our favorite slow cooker recipes. This dinner can be ready to place in the crock pot in under 20 minutes and is very versatile to please any picky palate. You might want to add sausage to the hamburger to spice it up a little, add mushrooms or onions for texture or use a variety of cheeses to change the taste. Change it up to best fit your family's pleasure. Enjoy!

Rigatoni

28-oz. jar spaghetti sauce
12-oz. rigatoni, cooked
1-1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, browned
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb. pepperoni slices

1. In a 4-quart slow cooker, layer half of each ingredient in order listed. Repeat.
2. Cover. Cook on Low 4-5 hours.

Source: Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Most Monday's, although I am home throughout the day, our evening commitments allow us approximately 30 minutes to sit down at the table as a family to eat dinner. In this case, I rely heavily on my slow cooker to have dinner ready for us when we rush in the door. Rarely does the crock pot let me down and this recipe was no exception. What a delightful, yummy success on a cold fall evening. It was quick and simple to assemble and had all the wonderful tastes of a lasagna that takes many hours to prepare. The only changes I might make the next time I fix this would be to add Italian sausage to the ground beef for more depth and add a variety of Italian spices to enhance the flavor of the sauce. I can't wait to put this on our weekly menu again this next month when we need a simple, delicious meal during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.

Convenient Slow Cooker Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
2 29-oz. cans tomato sauce
8-oz. pkg. lasagna noodles, uncooked
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

1. Spray the interior of the cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Brown the ground beef in a large nonstick skillet. Drain off drippings.
3. Stir in tomato sauce. Mix well.
4. Spread one-fourth of the meat sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker.
5. Arrange one-third of the uncooked noodles over the sauce. (break them up so they fit better)
6. Combine the cheeses in a bowl. Spoon one-third of the cheeses over the noodles.
7. Repeat these layers twice.
8. Top with remaining sauce.
9. Cover and cook on Low 4 hours.

Source: Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook