Lasagna Soup

Found this one on Pinterest.

Lasagna Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground round
1/2 lb sausage
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, diced
3 tsp minced garlic
32-oz carton chicken broth
28-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
8-oz lasagnette pasta, cooked al dente according to package directions
8 oz ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Brown and crumble the ground round, sausage, salt and pepper, onions and garlic until the meat is completely cooked and well browned.  Drain fat.  Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, rosemary, fennel, thyme, sugar and parsley.  Stir to combine, bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan and set aside.  Cook the pasta, drain and keep warm.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and dollop a large scoop of the cheese mixture on top.  Stir into the soup to melt the cheese while eating.  I did it this way, but if I ever make this again (doubtful!) I would run the soup bowl under the broiler for a minute or two.

This was just OK, as far as I'm concerned.  The cheese was gloppy and cold and didn't melt at all.  Not impressed.  John, on the other hand, loved it....but he didn't put any cheese in his!

Shumaila's Dad's Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

I found this recipe at www.novicehousewife.com and the story and pictures inspired me to try it.  Love her blog!  This spaghetti sauce is absolutely delicious and I will definitely be making it again!  Here's my adaptation (based on what I had in my pantry when I decided to make this):

Shumaila's Dad's Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

3 Tbsp olive oil
3 tsp minced garlic
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs ground round
Salt and pepper to taste
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
1 cup milk
28-oz can diced tomatoes
6-oz can tomato paste
1 cup V-8 juice
1/2 tsp crushed red chili peppers
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp sugar
1 lb spaghetti, cooked
1 cup pasta water (to thin down the sauce, if required)
Grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet.  Add the garlic, onion, celery and carrots and cook about 8 minutes or until tender.  Stir in the ground round with some salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring often until the meat is browned and crumbled really well.  Stir in the Worcestershire sauce while the meat is browning.

Add the milk, cover and cook over medium low heat for 20 minutes or until the milk has completely evaporated.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, V-8, chili peppers, basil, oregano, parsley and sugar and cook uncovered for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Add some of the hot pasta water if you like a thinner sauce.  I didn't...I like 'em thick!

Serve over the hot cooked spaghetti with a sprinkle of parmesan, if desired.

This is a really good sauce and the leftovers are even better the next day!

Cathy's Pork Chili

2 lbs ground pork
1 onion, diced
1/4 diced red bell pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground Smoked Black Pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
A couple splashes Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 heaping tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle chile powder
4 oz mild green salsa (I used Brooklyn Salsa Company's The Green)
1 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapeno
32 oz carton chicken broth
2 cans cannellini beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, undrained

Brown and crumble the ground pork in a heavy Dutch Oven with the diced onions and bell pepper.  Drain. Season with salt and pepper, smoked black pepper and garlic powder.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, smoked paprika, chipotle powder and cook a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the green salsa, jalapeno, chicken broth and beans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 30-45 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded colby-jack cheese.  Yum!

Sourdough Pancakes

You need to start this the night before you plan to make them.

Sourdough Pancakes

Overnight Sponge:
1 cup sourdough starter, unfed
2 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 cups buttermilk

Stir down your unfed starter and measure 1 cup into a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the flour, sugar and buttermilk.  Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight.

Pancake Batter:
All of the Overnight Sponge
1/4 cup melted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

In a small bowl or mixing cup, beat the eggs and melted butter. Add to the overnight sponge mixture and stir to mix.  Add the salt and baking soda, stirring to combine.  The batter will poof up and start to bubble!  (It's alive!)

Spoon the batter onto your hot, buttered griddle and cook until the pancakes start to bubble and get dry on the edges, then flip them and cook until done. Serve with butter and syrup.

Since this was my first time making Sourdough Pancakes I wasn't entirely sure what to expect.  They were tasty, a little bit of a sour bite on the tongue, but good.  They were a lot thinner than the pancakes I usually make...almost crepe-like, with a pretty lacy look as they browned.

Recipe from the King Arthur Flour website.  You can use the same batter for waffles, which I will be trying soon!

Maple Glazed Skillet Pork Chops

Maple Glazed Skillet Pork Chops

4 pork chops, 3/4-1" thick
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

Heat the oil in a large iron skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Season the chops with salt and pepper and brown well on one side.  Turn the chops and cook for about 1 minute.  Add water to skillet, cover and reduce heat to medium.  Cook about 30 minutes until pork is done and the water has nearly all evaporated.

In the meantime, combine the remaining ingredients and whisk until well blended.  Pour over the pork chops and reduce heat to low for about 5 minutes or until the glaze thickens.

Tasty! Adapted from a Cook's Country recipe.

Sausage Veggie Roast

Sausage-Veggie Roast

4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion, quartered
1 fennel bulb, cut into wedges
1/2 red bell pepper cut into strips
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth (or 1/2 cup boiling water + 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs
5 Italian sausages
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 450^F.

Place the potatoes, carrots, onion, fennel and bell peppers in a large baking dish.  Combine the olive oil, Italian herbs and chicken broth and drizzle over the veggies.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

In the meantime, brown the sausages in a skillet.  You don't have to completely cook them, just get them nice and brown.  Cut them in half and after the veggies have baked for 40 minutes, place the sausage pieces on top of them and return, uncovered, to the oven for another 20 minutes or so.

Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over all and serve.

This was good....and John raved about it!  I'd add the whole bell pepper next time though.

Original recipe found on Pinterest.  

Rustic Sourdough Bread

So, now that I'm retired, I decided I'd start making my own bread regularly (instead of the chemical laden store-bought stuff).  I bought some starter from the King Arthur Flour site (supposed to be a descendant of one that's over 250 years old!) and I've been "feeding" it for the last couple of days.  The instructions were a little scary, but I did it!  I have a beautiful batch of starter in my very cute King Arthur crock - at least, I think it's beautiful!  It smells kind of yeasty and just a little sour...and good!  I almost feel like I know what I'm doing!

Rustic Sourdough Bread

1 cup "fed" sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups luke-warm water
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
5 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour

Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth, soft dough.  I threw it all in my Kitchen-Aid mixer and turned it on for about 5 minutes.  You're supposed to add additional flour if needed, but since I'm not entirely sure if I needed more, I just went with the 5 cups.

Rub some butter in an large bowl and put the dough into that.  Now, at this point I think I might could have used a little more flour, because it was just a tad sticky, but I got it in the bowl and managed to turn it over once so it looked kind of smooth on top.  Then I covered it with a piece of aluminum foil and let it rise for 90 minutes.  It was definitely doubled in size!

Divide the dough in half and shape into two oval loaves.  I would rather have tried putting them into loaf pans, but figured I'd stick to the recipe the first time.  I rubbed a little flour on my hands before I tried shaping the dough into ovals and that seemed to work fine.  Place the loaves on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.  I opted for parchment-lined and I even sprinkled a little bit of cornmeal on there before I put the loaves on it.  I read that somewhere else and it sounded kind of cool...sooo, I went with it.

Cover (I used a couple of paper towels) and let rise until very puffy, about 60 minutes.  Success!

Preheat the oven to 425^F.  Slash the tops and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  I'd also read somewhere that you should put a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven to create steam and that you should occasionally mist some water over the bread while it bakes.  I put in a pan of water, but the misting was too much for me to handle without advance planning.  I don't have a mister bottle, but I guess I'll have to go buy one now!  I checked mine at 25 minutes and it was done!  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Check it out!

I have bread!  Nice fresh, home-made Sourdough Bread!   I'm so proud I could spit!  I rubbed a little butter over the tops because John told me that's how his Mom used to do it.  Aren't they pretty?

And they taste so much better than the Sourdough I buy at Publix!  I'm calling this one a winner!