lasagna

Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

Cooking Utensils

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 medium sweet white onion, diced

1/2 large bell pepper (green, red, or yellow), seeds and veins removed, diced

1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles - unbroken)

1/4 cup sugar

1 28 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 28 oz can (16 oz) stewed tomatoes

1/2 6 oz can (3 oz) tomato paste

1 lb Ricotta cheese

1 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese (large flat square slices)

3/4 lb freshly grated parmesan cheese

Garlic Powder

Oregano

Italian Spice

Salt

Garlic Salt

Parsley diced (fresh flat leaf preferred)

1 Garlic Cloves, minced

White wine vinegar

Large skillet (for browning beef, onions, green pepper)

6 Qt pot (for noodles)

3 Qt pot (simmer sauce)

13" x 9" x 2" lasagna pan (preferably a

Large colander (drain/blot beef, drain noodles)

Large baking pan (to wash and cool noodles)

Large slotted cooking spoon

Large cooking spoon

Paring knife

stainless lasagna pan. Do Not Use Aluminum Pans - the aluminum will react with the acidic tomato sauce, leaching the aluminum and ruining the taste of your lasagna sauce.)

Method

1

Add diced green pepper and onion to skillet. Brown for a few minutes on medium high heat, add browned beef back to the skillet, lower the heat to low and continue to cook for 5 more minutes stirring frequently.

2

Stir and allow sauce to simmer 15-45 minutes to thicken (do not scorch bottom, stir frequently). Remove from heat.

3

4

Note - Flavor improves for second service and may be reheated in convention or microwave. Leave aluminum tent on for storage (Do not allow aluminum to touch the sauce.)

Serves 8.

In dry lasagna pan, ladle one cup of sauce and spread along the bottom of the pan. Apply a layer noodles 3 length wise (edges overlapping). Ladle in sauce sparingly into center trough of 3 noodles. Apply a layer of mozzarella cheese slices on top of lasagna sauce. Place ricotta cheese dollops every 2 inches in center of noodles on top of mozzarella cheese slices, sprinkle grated parmesan cheese in thin even layer on top of ricotta cheese. Apply second layer of noodles, topping again with sauce and cheese. Finish with another layer of noodles. If you have extra sauce and cheese you can spread that over the top. Tent lasagna pan with aluminum foil (not touching noodles or sauce). Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Cook lasagna noodles in 6 Qt. Pot per cooking directions (al dente). (Note noodles may be cooked in advance.) Stir often to prevent from sticking and be sure that water remains at a boil during the entire cooking to prevent noodles from sticking. I add Tbsp of salt to the water so the noodles are more flavorful. Drain in colander and place in a cool water filled pan to keep from drying out and sticking together. Transfer browned beef, green pepper and onions to 3 Qt. pot. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste. Open stewed tomatoes and dice, then add to 3 Qt. pot. Add oregano, parsley, Italian Spice Mix to taste, probably 2 teaspoons of each. Add a pinch of garlic powder and a pinch of garlic salt, to taste. Add a dash of white wine vinegar. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time, until desired level of sweetness, no more than 1/4 cup of sugar. Note that it is hard to follow a pure recipe when it comes to pasta sauce. One Italian spice mix is not like the other, nor is one can of tomato sauce not like the other. So you really do need to taste the sauce as you are adding the spices, sugar and vinegar. Brown lean ground beef in skillet until lightly browned and cooked through. Put a few layers of paper towels in large bowl. With slotted spoon, remove browned beef from skillet draining off excess beef fat and put on top of blotting towels. After all the browned beef has been removed from the skillet, drain off and dispose of excess beef fat. Wipe skillet clean with paper towel. (If your ground beef is sufficiently lean, there won't be any excess fat to drain.)

Banana Bread

Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup sugar

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Pumpkin Bread

Makes approximately 12 muffins, 3 small loaves, or 1 large loaf
2+cups pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 eggs
4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350.
Combine the brown sugar, butter and cream, then ad  pumpkin, eggs and mix until creamy. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients except the nuts or chocolate chips. Mix 3 cups of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then add as much of the 4th cup as necessary to achieve the proper consistency (moist, but thick enough to stand a spoon in). Add the nuts or chocolate chips and stir in.
Pour or spoon the batter into greased muffin tins or bread pans. Bake on the center rack until a toothpick poked into the center comes out dry. At sea level, muffins should take between 20 and 25 minutes to bake, small loaves between 25 and 30 minutes, and full sized loaves between 50 minutes and 1 hour.

Cream Cheese Kolacky

Make sure to 4 or 8 x's recipe

3 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup any flavor fruit jam 

confectioners' sugar

Directions

1.

Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add flour slowly until well blended. Shape into a ball and chill overnight or for several hours.

2.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Roll dough out 1/8 inch thick on a powder sugared pastry board. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares and place 1/2 tsp (approx) of jam or preserves. Overlap opposite corners and pinch together. Place on parchement or foiled cookie sheets.

3. Bake 10 to 12 min, sprinkle with powdered sugar

Ingredients