Italian Chicken and Mushroom Casserole

3/4 lbs chicken (I use cutlet pieces)
Italian bread crumbs
olive oil for cooking
8 oz mushrooms
8 oz mozzarella cheese
1 cup chicken broth (I use 1 cup water and 1 bouillon cube)

Heat oven to 350. Roll chicken generously in bread crumbs and cook on each side in olive oil about 7 mins or until nicely browned. Put in baking dish. Brown mushrooms in same pan, dump over chicken. Cover with cheese. Pour chicken broth over entire dish. Bake for 30 mins or so, until cheese is melty and dish is bubbly. *For our purposes, thaw dish and bake the 30 mins or so as stated.

World's Best Lasagna -- Recipe listing for prior month

I know Sonia has had a lot of requests for this recipe, so I've found it and posted it. Unfortunately, this does not mean I am making this for November's meal swap (sorry girls). But here it is:

Ingredients

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

Directions

1. 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 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly 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 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups 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: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Pie Crust Recipe

Kimberly asked for this one, so I thought I'd post it here. It's my mother-in-law's recipe and is very forgiving (in my experience). Pie crusts also only get better after being frozen raw...

2 c flour
dash salt
2/3 c plus 2-3 T crisco/shortening
1/4 c cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in crisco with pastry cutter. Add water and stir with spoon until it becomes a ball. (I usually end up using my hands to form ball.) Cut ball in half and roll into two pie crusts. Use.

Tortilla soup

Toss the following ingredients into a pot and heat.

1 can of low sodium chicken broth-I used boulion and made 1 1/2 c.

1 can of mexicorn

1 can of diced tomatoes with chilis

1 can of non fat refried beans

half can of black beans

3/4 pack of taco seasoning (or 1 - 2 T from recipe below)

1 pack of pre-cooked southwest chicken strips-I used precooked chicken chunks

Taco seasoning: (this is what I used for this recipe)

1 T. Chili Powder

1/4 t. Garlic Powder

1/4 t. Onion Powder

1/4 t. Crushed Red Pepper

1/4 t. Dried Oregano

1/4 t. Paprika

1 1/2 t. Cumin

1 t. Cumin

1 t. Sea Salt

1 t. Black Pepper

mystery chicken

I have a mystery bag of chicken spiced with something yellow in a ziploc. It is not labeled and I cannot find a recipe in the blog that looks like it goes with it. Can someone please tell me what it may be. I would like to cook it. Thanks, Rachel

Sleep Deprivation in a Mother Leads to Murder

Jim Breuer - Let's Clear the Air

Re: Spicyness

Turns out that "hot" spices get "hotter" in the freezer, just like in the fridge. Fix Freeze Feast makes a caveat that says:

"If you taste something before it goes into the freezer and think its flavor should be stronger, resist the temptation to doctor the seasonings. Many flavors intensify in the freezer. If you need to, you can adjust the seasoning when you cook the entree."

I forgot about this when making my Pork & Green Chilis casserole, a non-F3 meal (from Better Homes & Gardens cookbook), and neglected to go light on the cumin and chili powder accordingly. So even the Batchellers' mouths were on fire when we ate it!

I did, however, remember this with the Black Bean Burritos, and it did not taste spicy to me at all when I made it, and my spice-tolerance is lowered due to pregnancy (I can't eat at Chipotle at all these days!), so I think this should be much better.

Black Bean Chili with Wheat Berries Burritos - November

From 366 Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, & Grains
"Wheat berries add texture and heartiness to this spicy*** party chili. Serve it with grated cheese, chopped sweet onion, chopped tomatoes, and heated flour tortillas or corn chips. Extras can be frozen and served as burrito filling at a later date."

1/4 c cooked wheat berries
2 c black beans
1 onion, diced
dashes chipotle chili sauce (to taste)
garlic cloves, minced (to taste)

1 28oz can tomato sauce + some water (couple of cups)
2 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
salt and black pepper (to taste)
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro

Drain beans & wheat berries, then combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid to a thick sauce, then reduce the heat and continue simmering, covered, for a total of 30 minutes. Add the cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes more.

* After cooling, I put the filling into flour tortillas with some grated sharp cheddar cheese, then wrapped in foil, then bagged. *

To cook burritos:
Thaw or reheat straight from the freezer.


Microwave:
Remove foil, defrost, and reheat. (I can nuke 'em for 1-2 minutes.)


Oven:
Bake in foil at 375 for 30 minutes if frozen, 300 for 30 minutes if thawed.


Serve burritos with sour cream and a salad.

*** I did not put in all of the spices it called for. See my Re: Spicyness Post.

Breakfast Casserole - November

1 lb turkey bacon, cooked and sliced
1 c sauteed onions
16 oz frozen hash browns, thawed
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 t salt
12 eggs
1 c milk

Wisk together eggs, milk and salt. Then layer ingredients in a 9 x 13 baking dish - bacon, onions, hashbrowns, cheese, egg mixture. Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes.

For FREEZER MEAL: thaw and reheat at 350 for 30 minutes.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork -- November

INGREDIENTS:

2-1/2 (2 pound) pork tenderloin 2-1/2 (12 fluid ounce) cans or bottles root beer 2-1/2 (18 ounce) bottles your favorite

barbecue sauce 20 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS:

You have scaled this recipe's ingredients to yield a new amount (20). The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield (8).

1.

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

Chicken Tortellini Soup - Mid Month

1 pkg (9 oz) frozen cut broccoli, thawed
6 1/2 c water
33 oz chicken broth
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
2 c cooked chicken, cubed
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1 1/2 c sliced carrots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t basil
1/2 t oregano
1 pkg (7 oz) cheese tortellini
grated Parmesan cheese

Saute onion and carrot in olive oil. Add basil, oregano and garlic. Add rest of ingredients, EXCEPT broccoli, tortellini and Parmesan. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Add broccoli and tortellini and simmer for 5 or 10 more minutes - until the broccoli is tender.

Serve and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Sleep Deprivation Broadcast from Radiolab

I found a link to the broadcast Jenna was telling us about on Monday. It's a broadcast from Radiolab on SLEEP DEPRIVATION! I've just started listening!

http://www.radiolab.org/2007/may/24/sleep-deprivation/

Honey Curry Chicken (mid-oct)

I'm going to make non-spicy honey curry chicken for mid month. The recipe will come soon...

An Idea . . .

I am so jazzed about this new arrangement! Thank you, thank you for inviting me to join! I made Kimberly's dish tonight (after working until 3am and I'm exhausted!) and it was DELICIOUS!! I'm so grateful!

Anyway, just an idea . . I realized how much we're using plastic wrap and foil and gallon bags. What would each of you think about investing in some Glad Ovenware? It can be baked in up to 400 degrees, frozen, reused, microwaved! It seems as though just about anything we could make would fit inside of it - even soups and such. They come in 8 by 8 by 2 inches deep sizes in packages of 3 - I'd guess they're around $4. It would save us money in the long run if we each buy 6 and just cook our food in them and they would go from person to person and we can all just keep reusing them. Also, it would probably be a bit more environmentally friendly! Here is a link to a review I found: http://www.epinions.com/review/Glad_Ovenware_All_Sizes/content_285308194436

No big deal either way, just a thought! I can investigate where to find them and we can start using them next month if we all agree! (I'm just thinking it would work better if we all used them so we don't have to worry about returning them to anyone specific.)

Enjoy your month of meals!

Some Pictures... just for fun....

I made the chicken 'sketti and pork & green chilis (shown here) at the same time, so my pile of dishes was ridiculous!

Just a couple things . .

Hi ladies,
I won't be around tonight b/c I'm working. I'm also working in November, but I promise I won't be working in December and can't wait to hang out with you all! Kimberly will bring my meals tonight.

I forgot to put brown sugar in my recipe when I posted it - that's the sweet part! About 1/4 of a cup. Also, since I've never frozen this recipe before, I'm not sure how the flavors will be. If it is too "sweet", add a splash of red wine vinegar while heating it up. If it is too "sour", add a few dashes of brown sugar.

How fun this is! Can't wait to enjoy all the meals from you!
Sharon

Moussaka

1. Eggplant-peel+sweat (to sweat: cut lengthwise, salt both sides and let set on counter at least 10-15 minutes) Slice halves into 1/2" slices.

Flash fry in olive oil to brown

2. Meat sauce-like spaghetti sauce: beef (I will use beef for switching) or lamb, dry red wine(Merlot), tomatoes, onions, lots of fresh basil, fresh oregano, Italian parsley, garlic, cinnamon, and small pinch of nutmeg

3. Cheese grated: Parmesan, Romano, Asiago (that or something similar)

4. Layer of sauce - eggplant - sauce - grated cheese

REPEAT eggplant - sauce - grated cheese

5. Topping: Bechamel

2 c milk (or milk and cream mix)

1 T butter

3 eggs

1/4 c flour

1/2 t salt

-heat milk + cream just until bubbles, add butter

-beat eggs then slowly add flour + salt

-slowly add a little bit of warm milk until all warm milk is added - if you do too fast then it will curdle -

- return entire mixture to heat - cook until thick stirring constantly

- pour over entire casserole (9 x 9 dish)

Bake 30 min 325

Then increase temp to 400 for 15 min more.

Let it rest 15-20 min before serving.

Wine suggestion: Merlot or Sirah:)