American Lasagna

Recipe from Allrecipes.com
makes: 4 servings
prep time: 30 mins
cook time: 1 hour 30 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 6 dry lasagna noodles
• 1 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion and garlic; drain fat. Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoons salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until al dente; drain. Lay noodles flat on towels, and blot dry.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9x9 inch square baking dish. Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top.
5. Bake in the preheated oven about 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I had some fresh parsley on hand, so i topped mine with that, and served with some frozen cheesy garlic bread.

Baked Mac & Cheese

Serves 6-8 adults

• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• Vegetable oil
• 1 lb cavatappi or elbow macaroni
• 1 qt. whole milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 4 cups Fontina cheese
• 2 cups extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
  
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup bread crumbs (3 slices, crusts removed)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to package, usually 6-8 minutes. Drain well and remove to a large casserole dish.
   
3. Heat the milk in a sauce pan but don't boil it.
   
4. In the pot used for the pasta, melt the stick of butter and add the flour. Whisk well until combined and smooth, cook about 2 minutes.
   
5. While wisking your butter/flour combo, add in the warm milk. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens and is smooth.
6. Off the heat, add in your cheese, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine, then pour over your macaroni in the casserole dish and mix well.
7. Top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

This is an adaptation of Ina Garten's Mac and Cheese. She uses Gruyere and tops hers with tomatoes. I prefer Fontina and don't like tomatoes, so this is my version.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Serves 2-3

1/2 lb of spaghetti
1 T Olive Oil
2-3 ounces of pancetta or bacon, sliced or cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/2 cup freshly ground parmesan cheese
1/4 C cream or half and half
handful of parsley, chopped (to garnish)

*Make sure that the pasta is piping hot when combined with the sauce to cook the egg.

Bring pot of water to a boil and cook pasta.

In the mean time heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes, until it is cooked (but not crunchy). Add garlic and cook (just to soften, do not burn) - about 30 seconds.

Prepare the sauce: whisk together the egg, cheese, and cream in a small bowl.

Drain pasta and toss in saute pan with bacon and garlic, coating the pasta. Remove pan from heat. Add the sauce to pasta, tossing to coat. Heat from the pasta and pan will cook the egg. Serve and garnish with parsley.

I fell in love with carbonara in Greece. This is one of those recipes that literally takes 10 minutes to make and is deceptively scrumptious - people will think you spent a long time cooking this. We make this recipe about once a month (I'd do it more often, but we don't eat bacon very often).

Rotini with Ground Turkey

(Makes 4 large servings)

3/4 box of whole wheat rotini or other short pasta (I like Ronzoni Healthy Harvest)
12 oz of lean ground turkey
1 jar of roasted red peppers, chopped
1/2 white onion, diced
1/2 jar of marinara sauce (I used Prego Traditional Heart Smart)
1/4 cup of red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
Approximately 1 T. of minced garlic
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I use about 1 tsp.)
Approximately 2 T. of fresh oregano
Approximately 4 T. of grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet over med-high heat. At the same time, start the water for the pasta. When the meat is mostly cooked, add the onion and garlic, when the onions are translucent, add the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low and let simmer. When most of the liquid is cooked off, add the roasted red peppers and marinara sauce. Meanwhile, add salt to the boiling water for the pasta and cook 8-10 minutes, drain. Add the drained pasta to the meat sauce and toss together. Let simmer another couple of minutes for flavors to combine. Top each serving with some oregano and cheese.

You could also use ground beef or chicken in this dish as a substitute for the ground turkey. Serve by itself or with steamed vegetables or garlic bread.