Little Lasagna Cups

   I love lasagna, but don't make it very often and I'm not sure why?? I've been seeing these fun little lasagnas on Pinterest and since there were wonton wrappers in the fridge that needed to be used I thought I'd attempt to make some for Saturday night dinner. Although I just sort of 'wung it' they actually turned out really well. 
   Hubby was at their business booth at a farm show and since it was the last day, they had to take their display down and bring it all home. He wasn't sure how long it would take or when he'd get back, so I assembled the lasagnas and then waited to bake them until I knew he was on the way home. It all worked out well and I had dinner ready for the table when he got here. {it actually felt like quite an accomplishment because G-bug was having a grumpy evening}  

Little Lasagna Cups 

yield: 14 muffin-sized cups

28 wonton wrappers

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 pint spaghetti sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 cups cottage or ricotta cheese

3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1-1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

fresh basil, chopped

In a skillet brown the ground beef seasoned with a bit of salt. Drain, return to skillet and add spaghetti sauce, dried basil, oregano and garlic powder. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile mix together cottage or ricotta and Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Grease muffin tins and press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup. Spoon in about 1/2 tbsp of cottage cheese mixture and then 1 good tbsp of meat mixture. Top with another wonton wrapper, and then another layer of the cheese mixture and meat mixture. Top with grated Mozzarella. Bake @ 350* for 8-10 minutes or until wontons are golden brown and cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh basil and serve.

              

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Whatever you do, work at it

with all your heart, as working for

the Lord, not for men, since you know

that you will receive an inheritance

from the Lord as a reward.

~Colossians 3:23+24

 ♥ Sheila 

   

Cubed Steak Parmigiana

   We have been out of beef for a little while and have just been picking some up at the grocery store every now and then until we can get a [part] of beef butchered for the freezer. We bought cubed steak the other night with cubed steak and gravy on the menu, but then I found this recipe and pretty quickly changed my mind. While I love cubed steak and gravy this seemed like a more exciting option and besides trying new recipes is kinda my thing....Turned out it was a smart decision. So delicious!

Cubed Steak Parmigiana

4 beef cubed steaks

3 tbsp olive oil

6 tbsp flour 

1 tsp salt

 1/2 tsp pepper

2 eggs

3 tbsp water

1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp basil

Sauce:

28 oz can tomato sauce

4 tsp sugar

1 tsp oregano, divided

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

 In a shallow bowl {or pie pans work great} combine flour salt and pepper. In a second bowl combine eggs and water. In a third bowl combine cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese and basil.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Coat steaks with flour mixture, dip in egg mixture and coat with cracker crumb mixture. Place into skillet and fry until golden brown on each side. Place into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

Bake uncovered @ 375* for 25 minutes.

Combine tomato sauce, sugar, 1/2 tsp oregano, basil and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spoon over steaks. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes longer. Top each steak with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and remaining oregano. Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted. 

Serve on a bed of browned butter fettuccine with extra sauce. 

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Be joyful in hope,

patient in affliction,

faithful in prayer.

~Romans 12:12   

  ♥Sheila 

 

Craving Pasta

  As I'm sure a lot of you know Daren and I are expecting our first child around April 21! So far I am getting along great; was really tired at first but no sickness as of yet. Hoping and praying that it continues this way! =) The craving has definitely begun though....so far being pizza {which makes Daren extremely happy because he loves it and I'm normally not just that crazy about it} and pasta, not exactly the best things to be eating a lot of. :/ I have had to give in and just go for it a time or so though.
  We have wanted to try our hand at making pasta for awhile now, so when I saw a guy on the food network making homemade ravioli I told Daren "We need to make that." I couldn't stop thinking about it then....I really wanted ravioli!!! Well, we didn't get it done right away and then I saw this easy peasy pasta recipe and knew that was what I was making for dinner the next night. =) I had an idea of what flavors I wanted in the ravioli so I did some research and came up with a few different recipes, combined them and added some things I thought would be good and was very excited with how they turned out. Daren said it was some of the best ravioli that he had ever eaten.
  I had about half of the filling left so I want to make more and then put them in the freezer before cooking. They would be great to pull out for a quick meal or if you want to serve them to guests since it wouldn't take as long to prepare. The only thing you would have to make is the sauce, and that is a quick fix. 

Homemade Spinach Ricotta Ravioli with Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Sauce

 Pasta:  

• 2 cups flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Using a fork make a well with high sides in the middle of the flour. Crack the eggs into the well. Add in salt and oil. Using a fork beat the eggs and slowly incorporate the flour by pulling it in from the sides of the well. As you continue to add more flour and mix, the dough will start coming together. Using your hands the fork or a scraper work the dough until it comes together. Knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for about 20 minutes. {or while you make the filling}

 

Spinach Ricotta Filling:

• 1 lb fresh or frozen spinach
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 lb ricotta
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp heavy cream {I used half & half}
• 4 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• pinch black pepper

Cook the spinach with half the salt until tender. Remove spinach from water and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Squeeze out the water and chop it up roughly if it's not already chopped. Mix together spinach, ricotta, egg, cream and cheese. Season with nutmeg, remaining salt and pepper.

 

Sprinkle flour on a baking sheet; set aside. Take the pasta dough and divide into four parts. Flour your work surface liberally. Roll the dough out very thin with a floured rolling pin; making the longest thinnest piece you can. Once the dough is rolled place a rounded tsp of filling on the dough {along the edge so it can be folded over} about 1-1 1/2" apart. Fold the dough over top and seal well. Using a sharp knife cut a square around each little pile of filling. Take a fork and press around all the edges of each square to seal them off. Place onto the floured baking sheet.  {At this point you can place the raviolis in the freezer for 24 hrs then transfer to a freezer bag for when you need a quick meal}

 

To cook the ravioli, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the raviolis and stir gently. When they float to the top they are finished cooking. Drain and then either pour the sauce over all and gently stir to coat or arrange on a plate and pour the sauce over top.

 

Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Sauce:

• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream {I used half & half}
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4-6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a kettle. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened. Pour over cooked raviolis and toss gently to coat or arrange on a plate and pour over top. Garnish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.   

 

 Sooo delicious!!

 

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For You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I will praise You because I am
fearfully and wonderfully made; 
Your works are wonderful,
 I know that full well.
~Psalm 139:13 & 14 

Have a relaxing, rainy evening! =)
♥ Sheila  

:: Zucchini Parmesan ::

  Two zucchini posts in a row...what?!? Yep guys, hope you don't mind that I recently seem to be stuck on the ever abundant green veggie of the summer.... I've just been so very blessed with them & I can get tired of them  rather quickly, so I keep looking for new & exciting ways to cook with it. Since I now have tomatoes from my garden I wanted to use them too. 
  So I went on a search & found a couple different versions of this recipe which I thought would be a perfect way to use both veggies. I sorta combined two & then added my own twist as well....
  I recruited some help for this dish also. It wouldn't have been that bad to do everything myself, but Daren was here so I asked for his assistance & he willingly agreed. :) So while I was breading the zucchini he was mastering the frying pan; giving the zucchini a nice golden color & then layering it in the baking dish. I would then add the other layers while he was frying more zucchini etc.... It all went quite smoothly & we were finished in no time; which was great since it was really too hot to be cooking anyway!
  Will have to say it was worth cooking in the heat for. We both thought this tasted really yummy! I didn't fix meat of any kind, (just cooked some fresh sweet corn to serve with it) & to be honest I didn't miss meat at all. (and I do love meat!:)) Guess when it's this warm the less cooking I have to do the better! So without further ado, here's the recipe....

Zucchini Parmesan~

1/2 cup olive oil

3  zucchini, sliced 1/4" thick

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder

3 eggs

1 (16 0z) can pasta sauce*

1-2 tomatoes, depending on the size, sliced

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

fresh basil

Slice the zucchini, & set aside. In a shallow bowl combine bread crumbs, salt, pepper, basil, oregano & garlic powder. In a separate bowl beat the eggs. Dip the zucchini in the bread crumbs, eggs & then bread crumbs again. Preheat olive oil in skillet & then fry zucchini slices until golden brown on both sides. In a baking dish spread 1/2 of the pasta sauce. Cover with a layer of zucchini. Layer tomato over zucchini. Follow with fresh grated parmesan, chopped fresh basil & mozzarella. Top with more pasta sauce. Continue layers finishing with cheese. Bake uncovered @ 350* for 25- 30 minutes or until hot & bubbly.

* I just used my canned spaghetti sauce

mm mm gooood! :)

Enjoy!

~Sheila

 

   

Spaghetti Carbonara [Take 1]

 Ok, so we tried this dish & thought that it was alright but not great....I made my own alfredo sauce instead of buying it & I think that may have been the problem. The texture wasn't quite what I thought it should be. I'm going to keep this recipe for now until I can try it with store bought sauce & decide whether we like it well enough to keep for future use.

{Spaghetti Carbonara}

1 (16oz) pkg spaghetti

1 (15oz) jar creamy alfredo sauce

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 lb. thinly sliced pancetta*

2 shallots, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Cook pasta al dente & drain, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water. Return pasta to pot & cover to keep warm. In a bowl whisk together pasta sauce & eggs. Meanwhile in a skillet over med heat brown pancetta until crisp. Reserve drippings. Place on paper towels & coarsely crumble. In the reserved drippings over med high heat cook shallots & garlic for 2-3 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine & cook for 1 min. Remove from heat. Return pasta pot to stove top over low heat. Add shallot mixture to warm pasta & lightly toss with tongs. Slowly add pasta sauce mixture, a little at a time, tossing pasta often to prevent eggs from scrambling. Cook for 4-6 min, or until sauce is cooked through & thickened. Add reserved hot pasta water if needed to thin sauce to desired consistency. Add cheese, parsley & pancetta. Cook for 1 min, stirring frequently. Season with salt & pepper to taste if desired. Serve immediately.

* substitute 1/2 lb. pancetta with 1/2 lb. thin sliced bacon. I didn't have quite enough pancetta so I used part bacon.

Until next time,

~Sheila