Grandma's Lasagna

My Grandma has always made this lasagna, which usually feed 6-8 hungry people, for family and friends visiting. You can either make it the night before and put it in the fridge, or you can make it that night. I think, don't quote me, that she said, "If you are going to make it and put it in the fridge the night before, you don't have to boil your noodles. If you are eating it that night, cook the noodles". This lasagna is always a crowd pleaser in our household. I made it the first time tonight, without Grandma, for just TWO PEOPLE. So, my question is, Who's hungry?? There's leftovers... :)

What you will need:

1 - 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef

2-3 Italian sausage link, skinned and cut up (sweet or spicy)

28 OZ can chopped tomatoes

8-16 OZ tomato sauce

2 Evelopes (those little envelopes with spices and herbs in it. Lawreys is a brand) spaghetti sauce mix

1 onion, chopped

8 OZ package lasagna noodles

6 OZ mozzarella cheese (or more)

1 cup cream style cottage cheese or ricotta cheese

2 TBSP sugar

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Brown meats and drain fat. Add next ingredients (except the cheese), cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Watch, it wants to stick)

Cook noodles, drain and rinse with cold water

Place one half noodles in dish, cover with 1/3 of the sauce, and 1/2 mozzarella and 1/2 ricotta.

REPEAT layers ending with sauce on top. Add the parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes after cooking. Enjoy :)

Kathy's Egg Nog

My mother in law makes this egg nog that their whole family (including cousins) go crazy for. Well, its Christmas time and Jimmy is craving his mom's egg nog. Last night I got all the ingredients, and we mixed it in my pink Kitchen Aid, and he thinks it turned out great. I don't drink egg nog, but I did have a taste, and from what I tasted it was OK. Jimmy would rate this a 10/10. Im not going to rate this because I don't drink egg nog, at all.

What you will need:

6-8 fresh eggs

2 cups sugar

Pint of half/half or lean evaporated milk (Jimmy says half/half is much better)

dash of salt

Nutmeg to taste

Milk to make 1 gallon

Beat eggs until light yellow and fluffy. Add salt and sugar and beat on a high speed until sugar is dissolved. Add half/half or evaporated milk and beat until smooth. Add nutmeg and a little vanilla if desired. Beat again, place mixture in a clean gallon of milk jug or jar and add milk to fill container. Taste and adjust flavoring if necessary. Keep chilled

Flank Steak with Raspberry-Chipotle Sauce

This is Jimmy's dish that he makes, and I enjoy every bite! For the BBQ sauce, you can use any kind of sauce that you think will go great. We bought Sticky Fingers: Carolina Sauce this time around.

Ingredients:

large zip-top bag

1/3 cup molasses

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

2 lb flank stead

1 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup raspberry preserves

3 tablespoon chipotle mustard

1 tablespoon chipotle hot pepper sauce

aluminum foil

6 bakery hamburger buns

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Place in zip-top bag, molasses, worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and liquid smoke; shake to mix. Add flank steak; seal tightly and knead bag to evenly coat the steak. Transfer meat and marinade to 2-quart baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 F (for medium-rare). Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure doneness.

2. Combine remaining ingredients (except buns) in medium bowl. (Sauce may be warmed, if desired. Place in microwave-safe bowl; microwave on HIGH 30-45 seconds or until warmed)

3. Transfer steak to cutting board and cover loosely with foil; let stand 5 minutes. Slice meat thinly (across the grain). Place meat on buns, top with sauce, and serve

What we thought:

So apparently I forgot I had put this recipe on blogger already, but I decided I would keep this on the website since I took the time to type out the recipe! Of course, this is a 10/10 because A) its delicious! B) I didn't make it-Jimmydid.

Just imagine, it's cold outside, theres Christmas music playing, the heater is turned on to roughly 75, your husband or significant other is asking your for ingredients like a doctor would ask a nurse for a scapel and any other tools during surgery, and your cat is getting into cupboards and playing with plastic bags. Thats pretty much how our cooking experience went, except oddly enough, it was pretty romantic. Now I just need to find another recipe my husband enjoys making. Any suggestions?

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

My Grandpa went to a cooking lesson and got a few recipes, and this recipe was one of them. I tried his leftovers and it was pretty good. So I decided to make my own and see how it went. Not too shabby!

1/2 oz ladle Olive Oil (We used EVOO)

10 ea Shrimp, 31/40 peeled and deveined (we used frozen w/ tails on)

2 oz diced onion (we probably used too much, lol)

1/2 tsp Garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper

1 oz White wine or sweet vermouth (we used chicken stock instead)

2 oz ladle Tomato Sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

4 oz ladle heavy cream

2 tablespoons parmeasan cheese

1 table spoon butter

1 tablespoon chiffonade basil

1 pinch salt && pepper

7 oz cooked pasta (we used wheat pasta)

Heat oil in saute pan, add shrimp and cook halfway. Remove from pan

Add onions and saute to translucent

Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute

Add wine and simmer for 15 seconds to burn off alcohol (if you use alcohol)

Add tomato sauce, sugar and cream, let reduce by 1/3

Add shrimp and half of cheese

Add butter and mix

Season with basil, salt and pepper

Add hot pasta to pan and toss well

What we thought:

We really enjoyed this. I contemplated using light cream to have less calories, but I decided to go by the recipe this time around and next time maybe make some adjustments. Jimmy rated this a 9/10 and I would rate this a 9/10. It would have been perfect 10/10 if I had gotten shrimp without the tails. Very yummy! We will make this again for sure!

Yumm-o! Porterhouse steak

Tonight was my day off, and Jimmy has night class so I didn't want to make a big meal just for myself. I decided to mix EVOO, garlic, rosemary, soy sauce, balsmic vinegar, and soy sauce together and broiled the steak. If i had let the steak and the sauce sit for a few hours, im sure it would have turned out amazing. Other then that, my steak was medium rare and juicy!!!!! We get all our beef (most of it anyways) from Jimmy's parents. They raise cattle and eat the beef. I would love some porterhouse steaks please :)

Classic Tuna Noodle Casserole

I've never, ever have eaten Tuna Noodle Casserole before. I've always thought it was one of those recipes your mama's mama made back in the day, so I decided to give it a whirl. Also, my three cans of tuna were screaming to get of my cupboard so that was a plus. I got the recipe off Allrecipes

• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (regular or 25% Lower Sodium)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 (10 ounce) cans tuna, drained
• 4 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

1. Stir soup, milk, peas, tuna and noodles in 3-quart casserole.
2. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot. Stir.
3. Mix bread crumbs with butter in bowl and sprinkle over tuna mixture. Bake for 5 minutes more.

What we thought: Jimmy rated this a 9. I rated this a 7. I love, LOVE seafood, but this seemed too...."fishy", for lack of better word. It was simple, perhaps too simple? I don't know, this wasn't my cup of tea, but Jimmy enjoyed it. This goes back to my theory that he tends to like the casserole-ly dishes, as I enjoy more "complicated" dishes? Anyway, cheap and easy to make! Maybe I will make it again in a couple of months? I would like to make a more modern version of the dish. Perhaps a seared tuna over homemade pasta and a mushroom sauce.

Oven Baked Pork Chops

I had bought some pork chops on sale a few weeks ago that I put in the freezer. Since my husband informed me that we went through our budget for the week, I had to improvise! No problemo! I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I found the recipe at All Recipes. Luckly I had all the ingredients in my cupboard screaming to get used!

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 6 pork chops, trimmed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, thoroughly blend soy sauce, vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup.
3. Place pork chops in a medium baking dish, and spread with 1/2 the sauce.
4. Bake pork chops 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn, and spread with remaining sauce. Continue baking 30 minutes, or until internal temperature of the chops has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

What we thought:

I am very pleased with this meal. It was not planned, and I had all the ingredients in my cupboard! Jimmy rated this a 9.5/10 and I would rate this the same. It was really good, and I will most definitely make this again. I had a can of carrots, so I sauteed them in light butter and brown sugar. DELISH! I saved some of the sauce, heated it up in the microwave, and put the sauce over the pork chop and white rice. Yummy!