Man, more food posts – it really has been a fun month experimenting with cooking at home more and messing around with recipes.  We made this latest meal for our small group bible study on Tuesday night because we had most of the ingredients already at home. Good thing it worked out and tasted great… otherwise we might have been banned from bringing dinner again.

• 1.5 lbs bulk Italian sausage or lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 2 dried)
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 2 dried)
• 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 Cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 Cans (10 oz) tomato puree
• 1/4 cup water

• 2 eggs
• 1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese (or 2 cups small curd cottage cheese)
• 1 Cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano

• enough lasagna noodles to make 3 layers in a 13×9 pan (8 or 12 noodles, depending on brand)

1. Cook beef, and onion in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until brown; drain, set aside
2. Brown garlic, Mix Tomatoes, tomato puree, water; stir.  Add 3 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, red pepper, and sugar, simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Combine half of tomato mixture with cooked ground beef or sausage.
4. Cook lasagna noodles as directed by the box (or set aside noodles that don’t need to be pre-cooked)
5. In medium bowl, beat eggs. Sir in ricotta, 2 cups of mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, oregano, and remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley.
6. Spread 1/2 of the meat&tomato mixture (about 2 cups) on the bottom of a 13×9x2 baking dish. (Leaving 1/2 meat/tomato mixture, along with all of the “just tomato” mixture).
7. cover sauce with one layer of noodles (approx 4 noodles)
8. spread one half of the ricotta mixture over noodles, add 1/2 of the “just tomato” mixture, and sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella, add another layer of noodles.
9. spread second half of the ricotta mixture over noodles, add the second half of meat/tomato mixture, and add final layer of noodles.
10. spread second half of “just tomato” mixture over noodles, sprinkle with final cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
11. Bake, covered with foil at 350 degrees, 30 minutes for boiled noodles – 50-60 minutes for uncooked noodles until bubbly.  Uncover, and continue cooking until cheese is melted.  Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.  Makes 10 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 egg
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Sift the flour together with the soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the oats. Combine the other ingredients and add them to the flour mixture, stirring thoroughly.
3. Drop by tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 15 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.

I’m a big fan of finding great recipes online, and modifying/combining them with the best of whatever else I find out there…. the only problem is that once I do that, I can’t ever remember how to replicate it!  Today we made some amazing spaghetti & turkey meatballs by again pooling multiple internet recipes, but I had the idea to put the creation back online for my own finding later (and yours too I guess).

We can thank Martha Stewart for the base of this one, and a few different places (along with some improvisation) for the amendments…. enjoy!

Spaghetti Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups canned crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 fresh red pepper, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 pound spaghetti

Turkey Meatballs
1 large egg
1 white onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
2 to 3 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, for dusting the meat balls before browning
1 pound ground turkey

1. Make the sauce: In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and everything else – then season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer, covered, 20 to 25 minutes.

2. Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, whisk together egg, cream, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with a fork. Stir in onion, breadcrumbs, cheese, oregano, garlic, and parsley. Add turkey, and mix until combined. Form mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls. Chill for 15 minutes.

3. Dust meatballs in a little flour, Place in baking pans. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Place meatballs on another baking pan to cool.

4. Cook spaghetti until al dente according to package instructions, about 12 minutes. Drain pasta, transfer to skillet, and toss gently with the sauce, then add cooked meatballs. Serve with more Parmesan.

Note: Keeping your hands wet when forming meatballs will prevent the meat from sticking, making the task much easier.

Note: I recommend you taste and test the meatballs as you go by making and frying a small patty before you begin to assemble the meatballs.

Note: there are many ways to cook the meatballs once prepared – sometime try browning them on the stovetop, then finish cooking them in the sauce….