Misadventures with Tori

in all of its pathetic glory….my lasagna.

(this is the second one I’ve made EVER and it was not as layered as I would have liked. My Pyrex dish was just too shallow. there was also a layer of meat sauce UNDER it…) 

I got this recipe from AllRecipes.com…. and slightly modified is simply amazing. I’m really picky about my sauce, and this blew me away

I stole a stock picture…. DH’s is still to warm to take a good picture. (and I dont want to cut a piece out and waste it… I wont eat it.) 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef (I did a pound, its what I had.)
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I couldnt find them, so I used finely diced and it was nice- left a bit of tomato in there.)
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I used dried)
• 1 tablespoon oregano (tori addition)
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced (I used shredded)
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

DIRECTIONS

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, oregano, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (Ours sat about an hour. Make sure to stir every few minutes to prevent burning!)
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. (I added 1/2 of my parmesan cheese in here too….)
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. (We were impatient- we only baked it for 30 minutes total.. oops :))

Found this super easy recipe on AllRecipes.com - we LOVED it! (and best of all, almost no clean up!) 

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 pounds boneless pork loin roast (we did two tenderloins- would be enough for 4.)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Lightly flour an oven bag.
In a small bowl, blend brown sugar, applesauce, and ginger.
Place pork roast in the prepared oven bag.
Pour the brown sugar mixture over the roast.
Seal bag, and cut several small slits in the top.
Cook the roast 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

DH loves meatloaf… I’m not normally a fan. I LOVED this one! It will be made again! I did them in a muffin tin so we could do reasonable portions

  INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 cup ketchup, divided
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons McCormick® Parsley Flakes
• 2 tablespoons McCormick® Minced Onion
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Ground Mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Season-All® Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Basil Leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Oregano Leaves

 DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine first 8 ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup ketchup. Mix thoroughly; shape into 8 loaves. Place in 13×9-inch baking pan.
2. Combine reserved 1/4 cup ketchup, basil and oregano; spoon over loaves. Bake 35 minutes or until done (165 degrees F. on meat thermometer).

Mashed potatoes are just Yukon Gold potatoes and chicken broth…. no dairy for me!!

We’ve been really busy… and havent done much that’s ended up being blog worthy :( 
We had some leftover watermelon… (well 4 of them!) so I decided to make some watermelon sorbet. 

I found this recipe on epicurious.com  and its really good!

INGREDIENTS
8 cups cubed (1 inch) watermelon, seeds and rind discarded
1 cup Simple Sugar Syrup
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
Puree the watermelon cubes in a food processor.
Measure 4 cups of the puree and place in a bowl.
Add the Simple Sugar Syrup and lemon juice and stir well.
Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Enjoy!

DH requested some chocolate chip ice cream… so I made it last night! Same recipe as the vanilla… but I added 4oz of chunked chocolate. mmmmm :) 

We love hosting a customer and friend picnic each year…. For this year’s picnic, I made vanilla bean ice cream to go with the peach blueberry cobbler that my MIL made…. Both were amazing- and stupid me forgot to take pictures!

Vanilla Ice Cream (recipe from Cuisinart, photo from Google Images)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole milk (well chilled)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream (again, well chilled.)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
tori addition : 1 vanilla bean, split in half and scraped- throw it ALL in! Remove whole beans before serving.) 

DIRECTIONS
Mix milk and sugar in a bowl with a hand mixer until sugar is dissolved. (1-2 minutes)
Add heavy cream and vanilla.
Pour into machine and turn on. Let mix until thickened and freeze!

Warning : this melts FAST. Even after being frozen for 24 hours, it STILL melts almost instantly! 

Peach Blueberry Cobbler (image and recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart.com)

INGREDIENTS
3 to 4 ripe peaches (1 1/4 pounds), cut into eighths
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine peaches and blueberries in a bowl.
Whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch.
Add to fruit; toss to combine.
Set aside. Combine egg, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and cream in a bowl; whisk with a fork.
Set aside.

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and remaining tablespoon sugar.
Make a well in center of dry ingredients, and pour egg mixture into well.
Using hands, slowly draw dry ingredients into wet ingredients, and work dough until just mixed together.

Divide fruit mixture among four 8-ounce ramekins.
Gently pat dough into 4 disks just big enough to fit on top of ramekins.
After placing, brush dough with remaining melted butter.
Place ramekins on a baking sheet.
Bake until juices bubble up and crust is golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes.
Serve hot, with ice cream if desired.