Month: September 2020

Freezer Meal, Italian

Lasagna

Lynnae

Lasagna is one of those dishes that is so easy to make a double or triple batch for very little extra time. You can feed a crowd or throw an extra in the freezer for a day when all you have time to do is throw it in the oven. It’s also so great to have on hand to take dinner to a sick or mourning friend. I love to keep these on hand because they are great comfort food.

For this recipe, you’ll need a batch of my tomato sauce. You can also use our homemade ricotta cheese or our homemade pasta in this recipe.

Start with a batch of tomato sauce. This does take some time to simmer on the stove top, so you make want to make the sauce the day before or the morning of.

After your sauce is ready, brown your hamburger and sausage together in a frying pan. Drain the grease and add the meat to the tomato sauce.

Next you’ll combine the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and egg together in a bowl. You can also add an optional 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the mix. It’ll add to the depth of flavor in your lasagna. You’ll also need a pound of grated mozzarella cheese. My preference is to buy the already grated cheese from the store for ease.

After the sauce and cheese are ready to go, the next step is assembly. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start with a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 pan. (My preference is to use the aluminum ones because they are easy to clean up and easy to freeze. My local restaurant supply store carries them for less than $0.50 a pan, so you may want to try a store like that to get a great price on the pans.) Next, layer the noodles. My favorite are the Barilla oven ready lasagna noodles. 3 fit perfectly in the pan, AND I don’t have to boil them first. Next, layer the cottage cheese mixture, sprinkle mozzarella over that, then a thick layer of sauce. Repeat the layers of cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and sauce. Top it off with 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 45-60 minutes. If you are baking a frozen lasagna, plan an additional 1-1 1/2 hours baking time.

Allow the lasagna to stand for 10 minutes before cutting into it. This allows it to set up a bit and keep the layers from running all over the plate.

Lasagna

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Serves: 8-12Prep Time: 30 minCook Time: 45-60 min

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 recipe of tomato sauce
  • 1 pound hamburger
  • ½ pound pork sausage
  • 2 cups cottage cheese
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 6 oven ready lasagna noodles
  • 1 pound grated mozzarella cheese
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional: extra ½ cup of Parmesan cheese)

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the hamburger and sausage until brown. Drain off the excess fat. Add to the tomato sauce. 

Grate the mozzarella cheese and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, optional ½ cup of Parmesan cheese, and the eggs, and stir together well.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  

To assemble the lasagna: put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan to prevent sticking.  Layer 3 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture onto the noodles; spread to distribute evenly. Sprinkle half the mozzarella on top of the cottage cheese mixture. Spoon just under half the meat mixture on top of the mozzarella, and spread evenly, being careful not to disrupt the layers below. Now repeat the process, beginning with a layer of lasagna noodles, followed by the cottage cheese mixture, followed by the mozzarella, and ending with a thick layer of the meat mixture. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top.

Bake until the lasagna is hot and bubbly, 45 to 60 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

Helpful Hint: Lasagna can be fully assembled and frozen, unbaked!  I double the sauce and cheese and get 3 9×13 pans of lasagna.  You can also make this a day or two ahead and keep refrigerated until you are ready to bake.

lasgana-1Download
Easy Dinner Ideas, Italian

Browned Butter with Mizithra Cheese Spaghetti

Lynnae

If you’ve ever eaten at the Old Spaghetti Factory, you may have tried their browned butter with mizithra cheese spaghetti. I LOVE it, but I live no where near an Old Spaghetti Factory, SOOOO, I have to make it at home whenever I get the craving. It’s actually super easy to make and kids love it. Win, win, win!

You need 3 ingredients for this dish–spaghetti (prepare spaghetti according to package directions, or make your own pasta to kick things up a notch), butter, and mizithra cheese. I find mizithra cheese at our local Winco grocery store here in Twin Falls, ID, so I’m pretty sure it’s not too hard to find.

1 cube of butter serves about 4 people. Using a medium sauce pan, melt your butter over medium to medium high heat, stirring constantly so your butter doesn’t burn. It will only take a few minutes from the time the butter melts to the time it turns into a caramel brown color. It will also give off a caramel smell. As soon as you reach this point, remove the butter from the heat. I like to strain it to remove the solids that will form.

From here, it’s easy peasy. Put the pasta on a plate and top with butter and grated mizithra cheese. ENJOY!

browned-butterDownload
Italian

Tomato Sauce

Lynnae

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Serves: 6Prep Time: 10-30 minCook Time: 4-6 hours

INGREDIENTS:

  • 6 14 ounce cans San Marzano canned tomatoes
  • 5 cloves of minced garlic
  • 1 ½ tablespoons of tomato paste
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon round pepper
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil (or 2 teaspoons dried basil)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons fresh oregano (or 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano)
  • 2 tablespoon fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons of dried parsley)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Sauté the garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 30-60 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add the San Marzano tomatoes, tomato paste, and salt and pepper to the garlic.  Mix, cover, and simmer on low heat for 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally to keep the bottom of the pan from burning.  The tomatoes will break down as it cooks.  If you prefer an even smoother tomato sauce, you can use an immersion blender to puree the sauce. 

After the sauce has finished simmering, add the basil, oregano, and parsley.  Adding them at the beginning will result in a bitter tasting sauce.  Serve with your favorite pasta or use as a sauce for lasagna or parmesan chicken.

tomato-sauceDownload
Italian

Homemade Pasta

Lynnae

Pasta is the quintessential Italian dish. There are so many varieties of pasta, and there are few dinners that are easier than opening a box of pasta and throwing on some sauce. But, if you want to take a simple Italian dinner to the next level, homemade pasta will knock it out of the park

The ingredients for pasta are simple—flour, eggs, salt, and water.

You start by combining together the flour and the salt. You can do this in a bowl, or straight on the countertop. Then, make a well in the center of the flour. Whisk your eggs together, then pour them into the well you made.

Using a fork, start grabbing a little flour at a time and incorporate it into the egg until it’s all combined. Your dough will likely be pretty dry and crumbly.

Start kneading the water to the dough, about a tablespoon at a time. Keep adding the water until the dough comes together to form a non-sticky, soft dough. If the dough becomes sticky, no worries. Just incorporate a small amount of flour until it comes together.

After the dough is kneaded and mixed, form the dough into a disk and wrap it in seran wrap. It needs to rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. It can rest up to 24 hrs.

The next step is to roll it out. Taking a golf ball size piece of dough, dredge it in flour, and roll it unto a rough rectanglular shape. Now it’s ready for a pasta maker. Put the rollers on and put it on the widest setting. Run the dough through the roller. You may have to do it twice on the widest setting, depending on how thin you rolled the dough to begin with. If the dough starts to get sticky, dredge it in flour as needed. Now start stepping the roller to thinner and thinner settings, passing the dough through the roller each time, until the dough gets to your desired thickness. I usually step mine from a 1 down to a 4.

When you are finished with that piece, coat both sides of the dough in flour to keep it from sticking to itself and set it aside while you roll out the remaining pieces of dough.

Now that your pasta is rolled, it’s time to cut. You can do this by hand, making rustic noodles, or you can use a pasta cutting attachment on your pasta machine. Today, I’m using the spaghetti attachment. Run the dough through the cutter and then set aside while cutting the other pieces. If the pasta is not well coated in flour before you cut, it will stick together.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain the pasta and add your favorite sauce.

Homemade Pasta

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Serves: 4-6Prep Time: 1 hour + 20 minutes restingCook Time: 2-3 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ¼ cup water
  • Salt
  • Extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine the salt and the flour in a bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour.  Whisk the eggs to combine and then pour the eggs into the well.  Using a fork, pick up a little flour at a time while combining the eggs and the flour together.  Turn the mixture onto the countertop.  Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and knead it into the dough.  When the dough all comes together without being sticky, the dough is ready.  You may not need all the water.  If the dough gets sticky, you can knead a little flour at a time into the dough until it is no longer sticky.  Form it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and rest it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes up to overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap.  Pull off a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll it into a rectangular shape.  Dredge the dough in flour.  Run the dough through the pasta machine roller, stepping it down from the thickest setting until you reach the desired thickness.  Coat the dough with flour again to prevent the dough from sticking to itself. Cut the pasta.  This can be done by hand into rustic noodles, or with the pasta maker into the desired type of pasta.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Generously salt the water and add a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the pasta to the boiling water.  Boil for 2-3 minutes.  The pasta should rise to the top when finished cooking.  Drain the pasta and serve with your favorite sauce. 

pastaDownload

Italian, Salad

Caprese Salad

Lynnae

This simple salad is light and refreshing and is a great compliment to any Italian meal.

First you’ll need to drain your fresh mozzarella balls. I like to use Ciliegine sized mozzarella, but you could also use pearls. Rinse and drain your tomatoes. Grape tomatoes work well with this salad both because of their size and their sweet flavor.

Next you’ll want to add a chiffonade of basil to the bowl. You slice the basil by stacking it, rolling it into a tight pinwheel, and then slicing it into thin strips. The sharper the knife and quicker your slice, the less bruised your basil will be. Clearly, my knife could use some sharpening.

Add the basil and salt and pepper to taste. I also like to add a little bit of olive oil, but this is optional. Toss to combine.

Finally, finish the salad by drizzling it with Balsamic glaze. You can make your own by reducing Balsamic vinegar on the stove top, but I like to buy a glaze or a cream, which is readily available at my local grocery store. I toss the salad and then finish it with a little more glaze on top.

Caprese Salad

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Serves: 4-6Prep Time: 10 minCook Time: n/a

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 8 ounce containers ciliegine fresh mozzarella balls
  • 16 ounces grape tomatoes
  • 10 fresh basil leaves
  • 2-4 pinches of salt
  • Fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar glaze

INSTRUCTIONS:

Drain the ciliegine mozzarella using a strainer.  Add them to a bowl.  Add the grape tomatoes.  Rinse off the fresh basil leaves.  Roll the leaves into a tight pinwheel and then slice into thin strips or a chiffonade. Add these to the salad.  Add salt and pepper to taste and then drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over the salad.  Give it a toss to combine all the ingredients.  Next drizzle the balsamic vinegar glaze over the salad.  Toss again.  Finish off with a decorative drizzle of the balsamic glaze on top.

caprese-saladDownload