GF Lasagna

Yummmmmmmm. I must say, this was awesome. Probably the best lasagna ever. I had been anxious to try GF lasagna but had a really difficult time finding GF noodles. Whole Foods, Lunds, Trader Joe's and Rainbow were out of the one or two brands they carried for weeks and weeks. I looked weekly for 2 months before I found a box at Whole Foods. I bought several. I used DeBoles for this recipe - which was super easy, as they are the kind you don't have to boil first. I will be making this again - yay!

Ingredients:
1 box DeBoles lasagna noodles
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 package of Hormel (GF) pepperoni (quartered)
1 green pepper, diced
1 small jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Newman's Own tomato basil marinara)
1 (15 oz) container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups Italian cheese blend (shredded)
s/p

Directions:
Brown the ground beef, season with salt and pepper (LOTS of freshly ground pepper), drain. Add diced onion, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic. Saute a few minutes until green peppers get a little soft. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and pepperoni. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and egg. Add some salt and parsley (or any other seasoning you like).

In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, begin building the layers. Start with some of the meat mixture, then top with noodles. Top noodles with half the ricotta mixture, layer more noodles, then more meat mixture (sprinkle some of the shredded cheese atop the meat) and layer until meat and cheese mixtures are all used.

Top with more shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until noodles are cooked through - according to package directions.

Enjoy!

Cincinnati Chili, revisited

This is still one of my all-time favorite meals. My grandma used to always make it on New Year's Day. The aroma is to die for. Someone should make a candle or room spray of this scent....Luke would buy it by the crate.

I recently made it with Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta - it was fantastic. This pasta is SO much better than the stuff made with brown rice. The texture and consistency were great and the flavor was awesome. I love it!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 white onion, chopped, divided
1 green pepper, chopped
1 large can (29oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) can diced tomato
2 tsp. cinnamon
s/p to taste
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. Chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves

Directions:

Brown beef, season with salt and pepper, drain. Add peppers and onion, saute a few minutes until soft. Add tomatoes and sauce and remaining ingredients. Simmer at least 30 minutes.

Serve over regular or gluten-free spaghetti noodles. Serve with warm kidney beans, chopped raw onion, shredded cheese and sour cream as optional toppings.

 

Semi-homemade tortellini with red sauce

I had never tried any of the Buitoni fresh pastas, and decided to give it a try. I purchased the Sweet Italian Sausage Tortelloni (http://www.buitoni.com/products/#/tortelloni/sweet-italian-sausage-tortelloni) and made a semi-homemade sauce for it.

I sauteed diced green and red pepper and onion in EVOO and added a clove of garlic. I added a can of diced tomatoes, 1 tsp. of sugar, a pinch of salt and some Italian Seasoning.

Serve atop the cooked tortelloni with fresh Parmesan cheese. Deliciouso!

Salsa

I love fresh tomatoes, I can't wait until local tomatoes are available in MN. Fresh salsa and bruschetta are two of my favorite things. I love to have this with chips, but it is also _really_ good on grilled chicken - yummy!

My salsa recipe is very simple. I generally use Roma tomatoes, but any variety will work, it just depends upon preference. I usually spoon out the seeds and juice, as I prefer thick and chunky salsa to the liquidy variety.

Recipe:
3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, diced (or 2 to 3 larger tomatoes)
1/4 white onion, diced
1/8 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
juice of 1/2 to 1 lime
sprinkle of cumin

Review: Beirut Restaurant

I love, love, love Middle Eastern food. Luke and I used to go to Jerusalem's in Minneapolis all the time.....until we rediscovered Beirut Restaurant. Luke's family used to go there frequently when they visited Minnesota - and it is amazing. The restaurant is located on Robert Street in West St. Paul, here is a link to their website:

http://www.beirutrestaurantanddeli.com/

We usually go there for dinner when Luke's dad is in town, and I try to get everyone to go eat there when they visit us. I crave their hummus...and their tabouli is so fresh and the best I've ever sampled. Here are some photos from our most recent trip there. The white sauce in the cup is garlic, lemon and oil -mostly garlic - and it is Luke's most favorite thing in the world.

Lulu's shawirma sandwich:

My shish ta'ook (chicken) kabob:

Luke's kafta mishwe kabob: