Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Lasagna. Either you love it or you hate it. I love it but hate to make it. And why make it when you can buy Stouffers frozen lasagna and it just as good or even better than homemade. But being as I have been living on my own for more than 25 years, I figured it was time to make my own. This Homestyle Lasagna seemed simple enough so I thought I would give it a go. Or at least try...

Modifications Made: Meat Sauce
Meats called for 1 lb of sweet Italian sausage and 1 lb of hamburger but I used 1 lb of both to make life easy. Both the garlic and the onion were doubled in quantity and the sugar was omitted all together. Per many suggestions, fresh basil was used instead of dried and parsley was as always left out.

Modifications Made: Cheese Mixture
Wanting to ensure the cheese mixture was not too runny causing the layers to fall apart when cut, shredded mozzarella was substituted for slices. 12 oz of mozzarella was then mixed with the ricotta, egg, and fresh basil to taste were mixed together to form a thick, creamy base.

Modifications Made: Assembly
Instructions say to use 12 noodles in two layers. Never have I had a two layer lasagna. Never. Using a slightly larger than 9x13 pan, I used four noodles per layer for a total of three layers cramming as much meat sauce and ricotta cheese mixture as possible ending with a final layer of sauce and then topped with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Scaled for Likability: Good
Many of the recipes reported being a lot of work but worth the effort. I did not find the work to be too much. Once you brown the meat and onions, all the other ingredients are tossed together and time on the stove does the rest. Assembling the layers took less than minutes and then again time in the oven does the rest. What I found to be more time consuming was the amount of dishes created. Not a very photogenic dinner, the meal was less than exciting. It was just standard run of the mill lasagna. Or maybe it could be lasagna is just a dinner I enjoy after all.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green be

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese and did not contain enough onion, garlic,

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Cover and reduc

Eating Waffles

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