Lasagna

If you haven't been able to tell by now, I am a lover of Italian foods. Working at Amalfis, I still never got sick of the smell or taste of the delicious sauces. I am not even going to try and recreate their lasagna. I worked at the one in Statesville, NC (they now have two, that's how good it is). Here is the website to the one in Kernersville.

Sauce Ingredients:
1lb Hamburger
1lb Sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage)
1 Medium Onion, diced
2Tbsps Minced Garlic (I used the pre-minced in Olive Oil)
2 8oz Tomato Sauce
2 6oz Tomato Paste
1 28oz Crushed Tomato
2Tbsps Italian Seasoning
2tsp Basil
1tsp Salt
2Tbsp Sugar
1/2tsp pepper

Cheese Ingredients:
23oz Ricotta Cheese
1 Large Egg
2tsp Italian Seasoning

Other Ingredients:
12 Lasagna Noodles
1lb Mozzarella Cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In dutch oven/stock pot mix together Sausage, Hamburger, Onion, and Garlic. Cook through.



3. While that is cooking, get all tomato sauces/pastes ready and pour out the correct amount of sugar, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and basil to add to pot.





4. When meat is done and well blended, add in sauces and spices.





5. Let simmer for 1.5 hours (if you only have an hour, go ahead)

6. Mix together Ricotta cheese, 2tsps Italian seasoning, and large egg. Mix well.



7. In a large pan, place lasagna noodles to soak, for 25 minutes, in hot tap water.


8. In the pan you will cook the lasagna in, place a layer of meat sauce on bottom, to keep it from sticking.



9. Place down first layer of Lasagna noodles, covering pan (usually 6 noodles in the average 9x13 pang)



10. Add a nice layer of the Ricotta cheese mixture (about half)



11. Cover with Mozzerella Cheese. About 1.5 cups



12. Add another noodle layer (darn me forgetting to take a picture!)

13. Cover with meat sauce



14. Drop remaining Ricotta mixture, in "globs", and sprinkle Mozzarella cheese



15. Place on Final noodle layer



16. Cover with meat sauce and remaining Mozzarella cheese (forgot picture, sorry!)

17. Cover with tinfoil, bake for 25 minutes

18. Uncover after 25 minutes, and back for additional 25 minutes



19. Let set for 15 minutes before serving!

Easy Italian Meatballs

Who doesn't love meatballs? Who actually cooks them at home? Over the years, I have realized that some people find meatballs to be confusing and hard to make (by people I mean me. Matt remembers my first attempt at baking them...). In reality, it's not any harder than making meatloaf. I promise you.

Ingredients
1 pound Hamburger meat
1 package of Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage
1 Small onion, chopped
3/4 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
1tsp Garlic Salt
1Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1Tbsp Minced Garlic
2 Eggs, Beaten

1. Mix hamburger and sausage together in medium sized bowl



2. Line baking pan with wax paper



3. Add eggs to Hamburger and sausage mixture



4. Chop onion



5. Measure out Garlic Salt, Italian Seasoning, and Minced Garlic (you can mince fresh, I am out, so I used my jar)



4. Add Onion, Garlic Salt, Italian Seasoning, and Minced Garlic to meat mixture



5. This is important: HAND MIX. This is the best way to make sure that everything is mixed well. You're going to have to use your hands to roll the balls, so go ahead and get them dirty!




6. Roll mixture into golf ball sized balls, and place on baking sheet.



7. Place baking sheet into fridge for at least 1 hour. I did this at 12pm and am not going to be adding them to the pasta sauce until about 4pm. You can even do them the night before it needed. If your day is going to be busy, do it! Prep makes life so much easier. Here are the balls fresh out of the fridge:



8. When ready, heat frying pan with 1Tbsp of olive oil. Fry meatballs on each side, lightly browning, but not cooking through.





9. Add Meatballs to pasta sauce, which should be cooking on low heat in a crock pot, or med-low heat on stove.



10. Cook for 2 hours, or until cooked through.



11. Serve over spaghetti noodles!

Bowtie Festival

My husband has fallen in love with this recipe. I am "ordered" to make it for all of his holidays. Fathers Day, birthdays, Panthers season openers, every time the Panthers win... (So, maybe not that often!)

I got the idea from Johnny Carinos Bowtie Festival, which is wonderful. Dear Husband says mine tastes better.

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
1/4 Cup Bacon
1/4 Cup Red Onion
1 Garlic Clove
2Tbsp Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup Asiago Cheese
2 Roma Tomatoes (those oval shaped tomatoes)
Alfredo Sauce
1/8tsp Garlic Salt
Pepper
1 Pat of Butter

1. Melt 1 pat of butter in saute pan, along with 1/8tsp of Garlic Salt



2. Cut fat and skin from two chicken breast



3. Slice breasts into thing strips (you will have more than this. I snapped a photo of this small amount so you could see size)



4. Add to saute pan, sprinkle with fresh pepper, cook on medium heat, till done




5. Dice 1/4 cup of Red Onion



6. Dice 2 Roma Tomatoes



7. Mince Garlic



8. Cut up strips of Bacon, remove fat. Should equal 1/4 cup (It took 3 strips for me)



9. Add Ingredients chopped in steps 5-7 to cooked chicken. Saute until onions are translucent and bacon is cooked



10. Turn down heat to medium low, add 2Tbsp Heavy Cream and Asiago cheese. Stir until mixed well. Turn down to low heat.



11. Cook 1 box of Bowtie Pasta, drain, add back to pot



12. Toss together Bowtie Pasta with chicken mixture and Alfredo sauce



13. Serve hot with fresh bread!

Baked Spaghetti

It's been a long day, and I am tired. My go to meal? Spaghetti. When it's Matt making the meal (the only meal he can make, even if he doesn't spice it up), it's regular seashell spaghetti. Made like regular spaghetti, but with the seashell noodles. We like it better. However, when I make it, I like cheese (this is why I'm fat?). So, I make a baked spaghetti. It looks to be a lot more hassle than it is, and I promise, it's worth it.

Here is the best part. Almost all of the main ingredients are from Aldi. Yes, Aldi! With the exception of the hamburger meat and specialty cheeses (Asiago and Parmesan) which are from Harris Teeter, this is an Aldi meal.

Ingredients:
1 Box of Pasta
1-2 Jars Pasta Sauce
1lb Hamburger Meat
3tsp Pre-minced Garlic or 6 Garlic Cloves, minced
1Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2Tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
2.5 Cups Mozzarella/Italian Cheeses
6Tbsp Cream Cheese

Optional:
Asiago Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. In a skillet brown hamburger meat with minced garlic, red pepper, and italian seasoning. (here are pictures of the seasonings and the type of pre-minced garlic.)



3. Drain the excess grease


4. Stir the meat in with the pasta sauces. I am out of homemade, so I used my next fave. I prefer my spaghetti to be saucy, so I do two jars. If you prefer less sauce, use one.
(Spaghetti sauce is from Aldi)




5. Cook your pasta, al dente, according the the box, then drain.


6. Place cooked noodles in large bowl


7. Melt your cream cheese, 3Tbsp at a time, mixing with pasta



8. After the cream cheese is well blended, stir in 1 cup of Italian/Mozzarella cheese



9. Add in meat sauce, holding back 1 cup for topping, mix well



9. OPTIONAL mix in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese



11. Spread evenly into a 9x13 baking dish



12. Cover the noodles with the extra sauce that you held back earlier



13. Spread 1.5cups of Italian/Mozzarella cheese on top, evenly



14. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan and Asiago Cheeses



15. Cook, covered, for 30 minutes



16. Let stand for 15 minutes, to setting. Then serve and enjoy!