Tag Archives: lasagna

Daily Thought – October 13

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Yesterday was the Canadian Thanksgiving and I decided to buck tradition – and made lasagna. I experimented with the oven ready lasagna noodles and it was a hit! Here’s my recipe for my lasagna.

1 package lasagna noodles (oven ready)
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 tbsp. oil and 1 tbsp. butter
2 jars of your favourite spaghetti sauce (or homemade)
1 500ml container ricotta cheese ( you can substitute cottage cheese as well )
Mozzarella cheese (I used 3 cups of shredded cheese in and had 1/2 cup for the top)

Sautee the onions in oil and butter for about 5 minutes, just until translucent. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute (don’t let it burn!). Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms shrink down. Remove from pan. Fry the ground beef until cooked then add back in the mushroom mix. Add in the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes, season with salt. In a bowl, combine the ricotta and mozzarella, mixing it well together

Prepare your lasagna pan. Spoon a small amount of the sauce on the bottom of the pan then add your first layer of noodles. I usually use about 4 and a half noodles, so that the entire bottom is covered.

Spoon sauce on top of the noodles. Spoon half the cheese mixture over the sauce and spread it out. Repeat – noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles. Pour remaining sauce on top of the noodles, sprinkle with the 1/2 cup cheese, and then bake for 60 minutes at 375 degrees. Take out and let sit for at least 5 minutes to let the lasagna set.

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Stuffed Shells

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I love making pasta dishes and these are a couple of my favourite shells to make. One is lasagna stuffed shells, and the other is crab-spinach shells. I made these tonight for my daughter, her boyfriend and me.

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Cook large shells until just al dente, drain and rinse with cold water.

Cheese filling

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, mashed
mushrooms (as many as you like), chopped into chunks
Butter and olive oil
Ricotta cheese (1 500-ml container)
Cheese (I use mozzarella and cheddar mix), 1 cup shredded

Saute the onion with the butter and olive oil, once nicely browned, add garlic and mushrooms. Cook just until the mushrooms are browned. Put in a big bowl. Add the ricotta cheese and shredded and cheese and mix together until the cheese has melted. Set aside.

For the lasagna shells, brown 1/2 pound ground beef in frying pan after you have cooked the onion mix. Put half the cheese mixure in a bowl and stir in the ground beef.

For the crab meat and spinach mix, take one package of frozen imitation crab meat (run under warm water to loosen it up) and shred the crab meat into a bowl. Add the remaining cheese mixture and stir together. Saute the spinach for about 2 minutes in the frying pan, then stir in with the crab and cheese.

Have two pans ready for the shells. Layer the bottom of each pan with some spaghettie sauce (I use a marina or a can of spaghetti sauce- the choice is yours). Stuff the shells with the two mixtures and place in the pans, using your hands or a spoon. Once all are stuffed, drizzle more sauce over them all, just enough to keep them moist. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with a caesar salad and you have a delicious meal!

Chocolate Lasagna

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  • 1 package chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos), crushed
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cold milk, divided
  • 1 tub Cool Whip
  • 1 package Instant chocolate pudding
  • 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips (either semisweet or milk)

Add 36 chocolate cookies to a large zip-top plastic bag and crush until fine crumbs form.

Transfer crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in melted butter. Transfer the mixture to a 9×13 baking dish. Press crumbs into the bottom of pan. Place in refrigerator to chill while working on other layers.

Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons milk and mix well. Stir in 1 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread mixture over cookie crust.

In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until pudding begins to thicken. Spread mixture over previous layer. Allow the dessert to rest for 5 minutes so the pudding can firm up further.

Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle evenly with mini chocolate chips. Place in freezer for 1 hour or in refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.