World's Best Lasagna

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 oz) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 T white sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 T salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 T chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 T salt, pepper, and 2 T pasley. Simmer, covered for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lighly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 tsp salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups (I did 2 cups each time because I had plenty of sauce) of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with on half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarela cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups (or 2) meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Now, I understand that this recipe looks like a lot of work and it kind of is.  I sort of cheated because I didn't have quite enough time to simmer the sauce so I just made the sauce and let it simmer while my noodles cooked and then I put it all together and baked it.  It tasted just fine so unless you have time, I wouldn't worry about simmering for an hour and a half.  Also I didn't have fennel or Parmesan so I skipped it. Next time I definitely want to try it with the parmesan cheese. For the mozzarella I just used shredded because that is what I had. This lasagna really is the world's best!  Unlike some lasagna's that are kind of sloppy and soupy, this one set up really good which made it easy to serve.  I can still smell the aroma...Delicious!

This recipe came from allrecipes.com

Pad Thai

4 cups water
1 package(6-8oz) rice stick noodles
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup water
3 T packed brown sugar
3 T fish sauce or soy sauce
3 T soy sauce
1 T vinegar
3/4 tsp ground red pepper
3 T vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
12 oz frozen shrimp, thawed (I use 2 chicken breasts, chopped and cooked)
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
4 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves

In saucepan, heat water to boiling. Remove from heat; add noodles (push down so them get covered). Soak noodles 3-5 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water. In the meantime, stir lime juice, 1/3 cup water, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper and 1 T of oil until well mixed; set aside. In nonstick wok, heat remaining 2 T oil over medium heat. Cook garlic and onion until it starts to brown (1-2 minutes). Add eggs. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring gently until scrambled but still moist. Stir in noodles and lime juice mixture. Increase heat to high. Cook about 1 minute, tossing with 2 wooden spoons, until sauce begins to thicken. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro. Cook 2-3 minutes. Top with cilantro and garnish with additional peanuts and green onion.

This is such a good recipe for pad thai. We don't make it too often because it makes a huge mess and takes a little bit of work. I love easy and simple but every now and then it is fun to have a nice meal. Enjoy!

Stuffed Shells

1 pkg jumbo shells
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
2 T italian seasoning
1 cup parmesan cheese
24 oz tomato sauce
2 cup mozzarella cheese

Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan. Prepare shells as directed on package, drain and cool. In medium bowl, lightly beat egg; add all ingredients but only 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Mix well. Stuff each shell with about 2 T filling. Place open side up in pan, drizzle sauce over top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes.

***Just a note: I did not use 2 T of garlic because that just seemed like tons so I might have done just a little more than half. I also didn't have onion powder so I just chopped up a couple green onions and threw them in. For the sauce I just used whatever spaghetti sauce was in the pantry. Pretty easy meal- although it does take a little extra time to stuff each shell. It really did taste pretty good. My husband said it made even better leftovers :)

Bowtie Festival

1 oz melted butter
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/8 cup diced red onion
1/8 cup diced cooked bacon
1/4 cup roma tomatoes
3 oz sliced cooked chicken
1 oz heavy whipping cream
3 oz alfredo sauce (recipe follows)
1/8 cup Asiago cheese
1/2 tsp salt, pepper, garlic salt
10 oz precooked bowtie pasta

Alfredo:
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 T pepper
1/4 cup whole milk

Alfredo directions: Saute cream, milk and pepper to a consistent boil. Remove from heat. Fold in parmesan cheese. Store in fridge until use.

In heated sauce pan combine butter, garlic, onion, bacon, tomato, chicken, and spice mixture. When onions become translucent, add heavy cream and asiago cheese. Once cheese and cream have reduced by half, add alfredo sauce and pasta. Toss until well combined. Remove from heat and let stand until sauce thickens.

This recipe is sort of a lot of work (I won't lie), but if you have a little time then it is definitely worth it. I found the recipe online a while back and have only made it a couple of times because once again heavy whipping cream, not that good for the hips. Every now and then I just want to have a nice meal so we splurge and then go for a long walk.
Oh and I know the recipe is wierd with the oz measurements. Next time I make this, I will try to figure out what it equals to in terms of cups and tablespoons to make it a little easier.