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...