Battle of...Lasagna!

 We decided to take on an ambitious menu for this challenge:

Olive Garden bread sticks- see Emily's previous recipe
         (only change was exchanging Santa Maria Style Seasoning instead of Tony C's)
Strawberry Pecan Poppyseed Salad
Spinach Mushroom Ground Beef Lasagna
Chocolate dipped kiwi Popsicles with Blueberry Lemon Sorbet
          (we didn't get to the sorbet though due to Clinton having to leave)

AND the secret ingredient: homemade cheese!!

That's right people, we made our own mozzarella and ricotta cheese for our lasagna and it was sooo good!  I bought a kit a few weeks back and have been very excited to try it out.  Even better, it makes 30 ~1 lb of cheese total!

Just add milk, sort of...

This awesome kit includes all the ingredients you'll need except for milk:

Vegetable rennet tablet
Citric Acid
Cheese Salt
Dairy Thermometer
Butter Muslin cloth

In addition to the gallon of milk- must be not ultra pasteurized,  you'll also need a stainless steel large pot, or at least one that is not cast iron or aluminum.  A slotted spoon, colander, microwave bowl should also be on hand as well as rubber gloves.  Don't skip on the rubber gloves like we did unless you want to burn yourself because it's smoking hot!

Ricki's 30 Minute Mozzarella  (~3/4 lb.)

1 gallon milk- not ultra pasteurized we used Vitamin D milk for the added flavor
1 1/4 cup cool water, chlorine free- We used my Brita filter
1 1/2 tsp. citric acid
1/4 rennet tablet (wrap the rest in plastic and store indefinitely in the freezer)
1 tsp cheese salt

1. Dissolve 1/4 rennet tablet into 1/4 cup of cool, chlorine free water.  We used a small bowl.  Stir and set aside.
2. Mix 1 1/2 tsp into 1 cup cool chlorine free water until dissolved.  Pour into pot.

Citric acid into water

Milk into the pot

3. Pour 1 gallon milk into pot and stir in vigorously

Stir!

                                   

  4. Heat the milk to 90 degrees while stirring.

90 degrees, ready!

5.  Remove from heat and slowly stir in the rennet solution with an up and down motion for 30 seconds.

Up and down with the slotted spoon 

6. Cover the pot and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes.  We left ours for about 10

7. Check the curd.  It should look like a custard with a clear separation between the whey and the curds.  If it's still milky with no separation, let sit a few more minutes.

8. Cut the curd with a knife that will reach the bottom of your pot.

Little miss moffet sat on her toffet..

eating her curds and whey?  very strange 

9.  Place the pot back on the stove and heat to 105 degrees while slowly moving the curds around with your spoon.

10. Take the pot off the burner and continue slowly stirring for 2-5 minutes (the more time you spend the firmer your cheese).

11.  Pour off the floating whey using the cheese cloth.  We tried this without the cheese cloth for the mozzarella but wised up for the ricotta- use the cheese cloth!!

Ladle your curds into a large microwave safe bowl.  Drain off as much whey as you can without pressing the curds too much.  USE THE GLOVES!

Microwave for 1 minute.  Remove bowl and drain off more whey if necessary as you fold the curds together into one piece.  Add the cheese salt here.

Microwave another 30 seconds.  Drain again and stretch the curd.  It must be 135 degrees to stretch properly, so if it isn't hot enough put in for another 30 seconds.

Stretch the cheese until it's firm and shiny, like taffy!  The more you work it, the firmer it will be.  You can taste it now too, delicious!

Form your cheese however you'd like (ball, braid, mini balls, sticks) .  When finished submerge into cold water for 5 minutes and then ice water for 15 to cool it.  We just stuck it into the freezer and it was okay.

Yay we're cheesemakers!  It'll store up to 2 weeks in the fridge in saran wrap, or you can freeze and re heat for a later date.  We didn't have to worry about that as there were no leftovers!

Curds 

Into mozzarella!

Ricki's Whole Milk Ricotta  (~1 1/4-2 lbs.)


1 gallon whole milk- not ultra pasteurized
1 tsp. citric acid
1 tsp. cheese salt.

Now we're old hands at this and have a clue what we're doing so the ricotta was much easier!

1. Pour the milk into your pot (we used the same one as the mozzarella), add the citric acid and salt.  Stir.

2. Heat the milk to 195 degrees.  Keep stirring or else you'll scorch it.
3. When the curds and whey separate, turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

4.  Line a colander with the butter muslin aka cheesecloth and gently pour the pot into the colander.

Curds and whey into the colander

Draining

5.  Tie the cloth into a bag and hang for 30 minutes depending on desired consistency.

6. After draining, the cheese is ready to eat!  Again, this will keep up to 2 weeks or you can freeze it.

CHEEEEEEESE!

Next: Lasagna!

1 lb. ground beef
1 package frozen cooked spinach, thawed
1 cup shitake mushrooms (Costco re hydrated kind)
2 green chiles
Marinara sauce
Homemade mozzarella
Homemade ricotta
~9 lasagna noodles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put a large pot of water on to boil.

Cook the onions in basil olive oil and garlic for about 5 minutes.  Add the ground beef and brown.  Add spinach, chiles and mushrooms, cook for about 10 minutes to warm through.  Drain off the grease.

Pour sauce into 9 x 13 pan to cover.  Layer 3 noodles, then top with filling, shredded mozzarella and ricotta and more sauce.  Continue with this pattern until out of noodles.  Top with more cheese and sauce.

Ready to bake!

Cook for about 35 minutes in the oven, until nice and bubbly.  Enjoy!  

Chocolate Dipped Kiwi Popsicles

Ingredients:

As many kiwi's as desired ( I made 4 and used 2 kiwi's)

Popsicle sticks

semi sweet chocolate chips

Cut kiwi's into desired shapes.  Stick Popsicle sticks into pieces.  Be sure the kiwi is thick enough.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time until completely melted.  Add water to help with consistency.

Dip kiwi on stick in chocolate until covered.  Place on wax paper and let sit until the chocolate hardens to make it easier to move them.  Put in freezer until frozen, yum!

 Whew!  Dinner was delicious, we should have let the lasagna sit before cutting into it but we we were hungry!  And I think we may have the upper hand with the home made cheese...

happy eating :)  xoxo b

Lasagna

I wanted to try a recipe where you don't pre-cook the noodles.  Barilla has a flat lasagna noodle that you don't have to pre-boil.  The only thing I found was that it doesn't layer as nicely as cooked noodles because it is hard.  If you are trying to lay the noodles in layers and want to break one of the noodles in half for a good fit it doesn't work like it does when its pre-boiled.  


I cooked 2 lbs of Italian sausage for this recipe and used half for the lasagna and put half in the refrigerator to use tonight in homemade egg rolls.  While my lasagna was cooking I also cooked all my vegetables for egg rolls and mixed with the meat so when i got home from work tonight dinner was fast and easy.  I served the egg rolls with fresh zucchini and strawberries to lighten the fried egg rolls.  


Everyone here liked the lasagna and we had plenty for the next day for lunch and for Uncle Michael for two meals.  Served it with salad and garlic bread.    


1 (9oz) box of Barilla no-boil noodles
2 eggs
1 (15oz) container of ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef or sausage, browned (or a combination)
Mushrooms
Onions
Spinach 
Spaghetti or Pasta sauce (~2 jars worth) (I used some of my homemade marinara sauce)


Preheat oven to 375. 


In a bowl beat eggs, add ricotta cheese and two cups of the mozzarella cheese and the parmesan cheese.  Set aside.    


Brown the meat.  Before the meat was finished cooking, I added onions, rough chopped mushrooms and then fresh spinach.  


Lightly spray a 13x9 pan.  Spread about 1 cup (or about 1/2 jar) of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Layer the uncooked noodles on top (~4), then 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, half the browned meat, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and about 1 cup of sauce. 


Next layer about 4 uncooked noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and about 1 cup of sauce.  Do the same again if you have a higher pan, if you have a 2 inch high pan you may only have room for 3 layers.  For the top layer, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, remaining sauce and remaining 1 cup of mozzarella.

Bake covered with foil for 50-60 minutes and then uncover and bake until all the cheese is melted on top about 5 more minutes.  I would say to bake covered less and uncovered longer.  I prefer mine a little crispy and brown on top.  Let stand 15 minutes before serving.  


Note: The lasagna will hold up better if you switch the direction of the noodles for every layer.  Example: if you do the bottom layer of noodles horizontally, do the next layer of noodles vertically.  

Battle of the Lasagnas

For this week's challenge, I made lasagna with boudin (boo-dan).  For those of you who don't know what boudin is - rice, pork meat, green onions, bell peppers, onions, red pepper, black pepper and salt all stuffed in a casing like a sausage.  It's really good grilled, but I removed it from the casing and cooked it with my ground beef and pork.  I made a pink sauce instead of the traditional and typical red sauce.  For sides I made Caesar salad (homemade dressing) and breadsticks (I won't re-post recipe since I have already posted it).  For dessert I did a very vague version of Tiramisu - in ice cream form.  I made a homemade caramel sweet cream ice cream with just a hint of coffee and cocoa.

All of the lasagnas look awesome!

RECIPES

lasagna
2 cans whole tomatoes - drained, juice reserved
olive oil
minced garlic
red pepper flakes
Tony C's
SMSS
2-3 cups chopped spinach (I used frozen)
1/2 cup cream or 1/2 & 1/2
2 links Boudin
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
lasagna noodles
provolone/mozzarella cheese mix
skim Ricotta cheese
2 eggs

Add 1/8 cup olive oil in a stock pot, heat until shiny.  Add your garlic - cook down, but do not burn!!  Add your tomatoes and spices, break down tomatoes with a masher (I hate big chunks) and let simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add reserved tomato juice and continue to simmer.  After your sauce cooks down, add spinach and - if too thick - add 1/2 cup water.

Once my sauce was cooked, I added 1/2 cup cream and then blended it to make for a smoother sauce - this also helps with the liquid you sometimes see in lasagna - the tomatoes don't juice as much if they're broken down!  Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl add one container of Ricotta cheese, 1 cup of provolone/mozzarella mix and 2 eggs - combine until smooth.  Mix ground beef, pork and boudin in a pan - cook until no longer pink.

I used no-boil noodles because I really hate doing dishes...  To assemble the lasagna, spread thin layer of sauce on the bottom of pan, layer four noodles vertically.  Add a layer of your cheese mix, a layer of sauce and meat mix, noodles and repeat.  Bake at 375 degrees - covered for 40 minutes, uncovered for 10 minutes.  Let cool!!  If you don't let cool, the lasagna does not stay together.  I really liked this because it held together really well, which may be because of the rice in the boudin.

Caesar salad dressing
2 oz. grated parmesan
4 oz. plain yogurt (I used non-fat)
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire's
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
S&P

This actually turned out really well...  I used butter leaf lettuce, green apples, Almond Accents and avocado in my salad and then tossed it all together with my dressing.

caramel sweet cream ice cream
I used my Kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment, which I am in love with and want to use every day.

ice cream base
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk

Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy - about 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in the sugar - just a little at a time - until completely blended.  Pour in cream and milk - whisk to blend.  Place base in refrigerator.

I actually made homemade caramel (see a previous post for slow-cooker caramel) and used it in my ice cream.  Make sure to have it be completely cooled before adding it to your base!!

Once the caramel was cooled, I added it to the base - swirled is a more appropriate word.  I then added a little K-cup of coffee (2-3 tablespoons) and 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder into the mixture.  Once mixed, I grabbed my freeze bowl out of the freezer and hooked it up to my mixer.  Make sure the mixer is started before adding ice cream mix.  I let it run for 25 minutes and voila...

Battle of the....

Some new rules for the battles.  We decided against choosing ingredients, so we will be picking a "genre" of food instead.  There will be one main dish that everyone has to cook their own version of, but for the rest of the meal (sides, dessert, etc.) it is free choice.  However, the entire meal has to stay within the theme.

Since there is a good chance everyone will be cooking on the weekend, we decided that all posts must be up by Monday.

This week we are doing lasagna - so, obviously the theme is Italian.

Let the March Hunger Games begin!!

Chicken Pot Pie

I made chicken pot pie last night and I couldn't take a picture before it was gone!  No joke.  I've made this 4-5 times, and every time it is different.  But I think last night's was the best yet.  Evidence in the sliver left for me in the pan.  Eat or be eaten.

RECIPE

2 chicken breasts - thawed!
3 potatoes - peeled and chopped
1/2 bag frozen carrots and peas (you can use fresh but frozen is better - the peas don't mush as fast and turn everything green)
flour
chicken broth
2 pie crusts
S&P
Tony C's
SMSS

Season chicken, heat small amount of oil in a pan and brown chicken breasts.  While browning, pour about 2-3 cups of chicken broth into a saucepan (that has a lid), and bring to a boil.  Once chicken has a little color, drop the chicken into the boiling broth and cover with a lid.  Remove from heat and let sit for ~10 minutes - this will poach the chicken (cook while keeping it moist/juicy).  Make sure to keep oil hot to cook your potatoes in!

While chicken is being poached, start cooking your potatoes (in same pan/oil as chicken was cooked - no extra dishes).  You can boil them instead - but frying them keeps them solid and not mushy.  Do not add extra oil, as this will be the pan you make your gravy in as well.

You want them to be 90% cooked.  Season them with some S&P, Tony C's and SMSS.

Remove potatoes from pan, I let mine sit on a paper towel and plate to drain.  By now, the chicken should be cooked, remove and chop into bite size pieces or bigger - depending on how you like it (DAD).  Get your peas and carrots ready...

In same pan, make a gravy for your pot pie.  Using a whisk, add flour and chicken stock (that the chicken was poached in).  You don't want a runny gravy for this.  Bit by bit, keep adding flour and stock.  You may want to add some water to dilute the broth a little bit.  Make sure to S&P this as well.  Once gravy is to your preferred thickness, add in the potatoes, chicken, peas and carrots.  Remove from heat and mix well.  You do not want too little gravy or everything will be dry.
 

Roll out your pie crust and place in pie pan.  Scoop your pot pie mixture into the pie shell - do not overflow or it will overflow in the oven.  If you have too much gravy, just make sure to regulate it when pouring into the shell.

Place your other pie crust on top, pinch sides closed.  I cut four little slices in the middle of the top crust to let air in.  I also put my pie pan on a cookie sheet in case anything runs over.  If you pinch your sides well, nothing should.  Cook at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until crust is golden.  

**Optional - brush crust with melted butter about 5 minutes before it's done cooking**