Basic Lasagna

1 16oz can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce

1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

about 1 cup of parmesan cheese

3 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of butter

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 onion

2 tablespoons of flour

1 box of OVEN READY lasagna noodles

Red Wine

This is a very basic lasagna recipe. You can always add ingredients, like meat (1 or 2 ground sausage links, browned or 1/2 pound of ground beef, for example) or spinach or mushrooms or pretty much whatever you like. The measurements in the above ingredients are approximate.

In the pasta aisle, there are two types of lasagna noodles. I like to use the "no boil" or "oven ready" noodles because they are faster. Check the box. The other noodles you will need to boil. If you have the kind that you do NOT have to boil, then do the following:

In a large bowl, fill it nearly all the way up with the hottest water that comes out of your tap. Pour a touch of olive oil in the bowl. Stack the lasagna noodles in the water, criss cross so that they don't stick to each other. 

In a deep pan, heat oil and add onions, salt and pepper. 

When the onions are soft, add the can of tomatoes. 

Add as much wine as you'd like. :) I recommend about a cup. Boil the sauce until it is not too liquid-y (reduced by 1/3)

In a sauce pan, melt the butter. When the butter is melted, add the flour. You want the same amount of butter and flour in the pan. With a fork, stir these two together to make a paste. 

Let the paste bubble for a while and then add about two cups of milk. Turn the heat to medium-low and stir with a fork until all the lumps are gone. 

The sauce should get very thick, like this: 

Add salt and pepper. Put about twice as much pepper as you normally would - don't worry, it won't be too spicy. The milk and cheese will absorb it and it will just taste flavorful. Go light on the salt because the cheese you add later will be salty. 

Stir and add milk until it is thick but not clumpy. It should look like this. 

This is a "basic white sauce". If you added a lot of parmesan cheese and garlic, it would be alfredo sauce. But we'll do that another time. 

Add the container of ricotta cheese to the sauce. I used ricotta cheese in another dish earlier this week, so I didn't have the whole container. That's ok. 

At this point, the sauce was way too thick, so I added milk until it looked more like sauce and less like paste. 

I let the sauce bubble a bit and then grated some garlic into it. Then I turned the heat completely off. 

Once both the sauces were done, I got my "station" set up. Meaning that I put both sauces close to me, opened the bag of mozzarella and the box of parmesan, with the noodles close at hand. This way, when I start layering the lasagna, I'll have everything I need. 

First, scoop out a couple of ladle's worth of tomato sauce into the bottom of the glass pyrex so that the noodles don't stick when you bake it. 

Then lay out one layer of noodles, covering the pan. For mine, I had two horizontal and one vertical 

Add several scoops of tomato sauce and top generously with mozzarella. 

Add another layer of noodles, but this time, I put the horizontal noodles on the other side, so that when you cut into the layers, they will stick together better and not slide apart. 

Add a layer of the white sauce. Top with parmesan cheese. 

Add more layers, switching the position of the noodles again. 

More red sauce and mozzarella. 

More noodles, again switching. 

More white sauce. 

I didn't count my layers right for this one so I ended up with white sauce on top and no noodles to cover it. Ideally, you'd want to cover this layer of white sauce with noodles and then top with red sauce and cheese, but I improvised and topped the white sauce with red sauce. 

Then I covered it with a layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. 

Bake this for 20 minutes or until it is bubbly and the cheese on top melts and becomes a little brown. 

Despite the mix up with the layers, it worked out great. The cheese on top makes a nice crusty layer.

VERY IMPORTANT: After it comes out of the oven, wait 10 minutes. I know. It's hard. But if you cut into it while it is too hot, then it will slide apart and become a soupy mess. Trust me. Set the timer and walk away. When you come back, and cut a slice out, it will all stay together and look like this:

Enjoy! 

Turkey chili with couscous

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 onion

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can of Goya red beans (black beans are also delicious)

1 can of "Mexi-corn" or corn with peppers

Chili powder

Chicken broth

Salt and Pepper

Couscous 

Chili is one of the easiest things to make and this particular recipe is also low-calorie while filling you up with the good stuff. This takes less than 30 minutes so it's a great weeknight meal. 

In a pan, heat olive oil on high heat and add ground turkey. Brown, stirring occasionally. 

When the meat is nearly cooked through, add the onions and chili powder. Cook the onions for a few minutes until they are softer. 

Stir the meat and then empty all three cans - tomatoes, beans and corn. I didn't add the whole can of corn. 

Stir it all in and add some chicken broth to cover the bottom of the pan. 

Cover, and boil for 10 or more minutes. 

While the chili is coming together, boil water for the couscous. The ratio of water to couscous is one to one - so I made one cup of couscous and boiled one cup of water. Once the water boils, add salt and couscous, stir, TURN OFF THE HEAT and then cover. 

Set a timer for 5 minutes. 

After 5 minutes, take the lid off and "fluff" the couscous with a fork, breaking it apart. 

I serve the chili and couscous side-by-side. This batch was so good, we each went back for seconds. Yum!

Enjoy!

Spicy Pasta with Shrimp and Peas

Pancetta (or bacon)

1 onion

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 pound shrimp

Salt and Pepper

Paprika

Garlic Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Chicken Broth

Ricotta Cheese

1/2 a box of Curly Pasta (Or Penne or Bow Tie)

1 clove garlic

Italian Parsley

2/3 cup parmesan cheese (or pecorino romano) 

1 tablespoon butter

Set a pot of water to boil for the pasta. 

In a pan, heat olive oil and pancetta or bacon. 

Add onions, salt and pepper.

In a bowl or a plastic bag, add paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Toss the shrimp in the spices until each shrimp is evenly coated. 

Clear a space for the shrimp. Add the shrimp to the pot. 

When the shrimp are starting to turn pink and curl, add the frozen peas. This will help them cook slower. 

When the pasta water boils, add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. 

To the shrimp, add 2 cups of chicken broth. Grate a clove of garlic into the pot. 

Add 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese to the sauce. Stir to combine. 

Add a little more salt and as much pepper as you'd like. 

When the pasta is ready, strain it and add to the pot with the shrimp. Stir to coat in the sauce. 

Add parmesan and parsley. Stir to combine. 

If the pasta is too dry, add one tablespoon of butter. 

Taste it to adjust for seasonings. 

It makes about 4 servings.

Enjoy!