Ree Drummond's Meaty Lasagna

So I lied. I promised to post some of the make-ahead meals I've made last month to stock up for the upcoming arrival of my 2nd baby. Well, let's just say that it got quite busy around the house and I got quite lazy. I returned to work after being put on bed rest for 2 weeks and I've lost all my energy to do anything else. However, I still  managed to make a few dishes that I've stocked up in the freezer, including this new recipe from The Pioneer Woman, which she featured on the Food Network one day.

I've been on a search for a great lasagna recipe for quite some time. I really wanted a hearty and meaty lasagna. With this recipe, I think I found what I'm looking for. The recipe was quite easy to make. I doubled the recipe so that I can make multiple small trays to freeze. I baked one of the frozen trays today and it was just as yummy and comforting as when I originally made it last month. My search for a great lasagna has ended.

1 Tbsp. oil
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. breakfast sausage
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
10 oz lasagna noodles
1 lb. shredded mozzarella
10-12 fresh basil leaves, cut chiffonade
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten

1) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute ground beef, sausage, and garlic until brown. Drain off the excess fat. Add tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, salt, and black pepper to taste. Stir together well. Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add half of the fresh basil and half of the chopped parsley. Stir well.

2) Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain noodles and lay them flat on aluminum foil to keep its shape.

3) Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

4) In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, and the remaining basil and parsley.

5) To assemble the lasagna, spread about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture on the bottom of a deep, rectangular baking dish. Lay 4 lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping each other. Evenly spread about half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta cheese. Spoon about 1/3 of the meat mixture over the mozzarella cheese. Repeat process ending with the meat sauce, then topped with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

6) Bake until hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

** To freeze, tightly seal the assembled, unbaked lasagna with plastic wrap. Cover with foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake in a preheated 375 deg oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Taiwanese Spaghetti

I'm always looking for creative ways to serve spaghetti pasta because I absolutely love spaghetti. Its one of my favorite things to eat. And I think I've rubbed off on my daughter because she loves it as much as I do. So when this recipe came up on my reader from Steamy Kitchen, I was intrigued. An Asian pasta. Hmmmm....

The preparation was real easy. However, I wasn't too satisfied with the flavor. Maybe my preparation was off but it needed more umph. The meat mixture, however, would probably go great as a filling for a lettuce wrap. Or maybe with real Asian noodles. But not in a pasta. Not sure if I'd make this again as a pasta dish.

1 lb. noodles or any kind
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce (or oyster sauce)
2 tsp. regular soy sauce
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. five-spice powder
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. cooking oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lb. ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, etc.)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
8 oz can bamboo shoots, diced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, diced
1 stalk green onion, chopped

1) Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2) In a small bowl, combine broth, soy sauces, balsamic vinegar, five-spice powder, and brown sugar. Set aside.

3) Heat wok over medium-high heat. Swirl in cooking oil. Add onion and cook for about a minute. Add ground meat and cook until almost all the pink is gone. Push meat mixture to the sides of wok. Add garlic in the center of wok and cook until fragrant. Add bamboo shoots an mushrooms in the center. Toss everything together in the wok.

4) Pour broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in green onions. Serve over  noodles.

Arroz Chaufa

Chaufa is a term used in Peruvian cuisine when a rice dish is Chinese-influenced. Arroz Chaufa (or Chinese Fried Rice) is more  of a Chinese based rice dish rather than Peruvian. But it certainly shows how big Chinese cuisine is in Peru.

I first had Arroz Chaufa de Pollo (Chicken) at a local Farmer's Market and really enjoyed it. Recently, I had a taste of it, once again, in the form of beef. As usual, I made it a goal to try to replicate the dish at home. And so I did a quick search online and modified this recipe from about.com. I'm not sure if there is a difference in cooking styles between Arroz Chaufa and regular Chinese Fried Rice, but this dish was delicious, nonetheless. Another great way to use up leftover rice.

1/2 lb. beef, chicken or pork, sliced into strips
1/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
4 Tbsp. vegetable or sesame oil
4 eggs
1 bunch green onions, sliced (separate the white ends from the green)
1 cup bean sprouts
4 cups cooked rice
salt and pepper to taste


1) In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, brown sugar, half of the minced garlic, and 1/2 tablespoon of grated ginger. Add meat and marinate for at least an hour.

2) Whisk together eggs and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil over medium heat  in a wok or large frying pan. Pour eggs into pan and allow to cook without mixing. Turn the egg pancake over to finish cooking. Remove egg from heat and coarsely chop. Set aside.

3) Add remaining oil in pan. Add the white parts of the green onions and the remaining ginger. Saute for 2-3 minutes.

4) Remove meat from the marinade and add to pan. Saute for a few minutes until cooked through. Add bean sprouts, the remaining green onions, and remaining soy sauce. Continue sauteing until heated through. Add rice and continue stirring until well incorporated and rice has heated through. Mix in prepared eggs and serve hot.

Rad Na

I've been asked a few times by a co-worker of mine if I had a Rad Na recipe. I honestly didn't really know what Rad Na was, but I had always seen it in Thai menus. When ordering noodles, I always go for Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe. I had recently finally decided to have a taste of Rad Na and discovered that it is similar to Pad See Ewe, but with a gravy. So now that I know what Rad Na is, I wanted to see if I could make it at home and finally let my co-worker know that I had found a recipe.

After searching for recipes, I decided to settle with this one from Thai Table. I used fresh noodles to make this dish, but next time I'll probably work with dry noodles. Fresh noodles is just too messy to handle, as they stick to the pan. I should have learned from my first attempt at making Pad See Ewe, when the noodles became overcooked and kind of soggy. However, with that experience, I was more careful in cooking the noodles this time. This recipe looks intimidating, but once you have all your ingredients together, like most Thai recipe, its all a matter of tossing everything together. The dish came out quite good. I still prefer Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe over Rad Na, but at least now I know what it is and how to make it.

1/2 lb. thinly sliced chicken, pork, or beef
4 Tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca flour
3 1/2 cups water
3/4 lb. Chinese broccoli or regular broccoli
2-3 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. fresh, flat rice noodles (or dry rice noodles, softened)
3-4 Tbsp. dark, sweet soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. yellow bean paste
1/4 tsp. white pepper

1) Massage 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or tapioca flour) onto meat and set aside. Combine remaining 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with the water and set aside. Cut Chinese broccoli (or regular broccoli) into 2 inch pieces and set aside.

2) Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or a pan. Add noodles and carefully stir. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of soy sauce over noodles and toss to coat thoroughly. Continue to stir until noodles are heated and separated. Remove from heat and transfer noodles to a platter.

3) In the same pan, add remaining 2 tablespoon of oil. Add garlic and meat. Stir until meat is almost cooked through. Add cornstarch water and whisk thoroughly to prevent clumping. Allow sauce to come to a boil and become translucent.

4) Add remaining 1-2  tablespoons of soy sauce, sugar and yellow bean paste. Stir and allow to simmer until sauce has thickened to a gravy consistency. (note: If the sauce isn't thick enough, make a slurry of more cornstarch and water and add to gravy).

5) Add more soy sauce and sugar to your taste. Add broccoli stems and cook for about a minute. Add remaining broccoli leaves just until heated through (note: do not overcook broccoli). Season with white pepper. Place sauce over noodles and serve hot.

Slow Cooker Pozole (Mexican Pork & Hominy Stew)

I remember back in my Spanish classes in high school many years ago (I won't say how many), we would always have a potluck of international foods at the end of the semester. Many of my Latino classmates would bring dishes from their individual culture. One classmate brought banuelos, which were fried tortilla chips dredged in cinnamon sugar. Another brought Tamales. But one dish that stood out was the Pozole, a pork and hominy stew. I was hooked. I haven't had Pozole since then, but I often see it on the menus at Mexican restaurants. I've always wanted to order it, but worry that it wouldn't taste as good as the first time I had it. I was also intimidated to order it.

Pozole is said to be a cure for hangover. Well, I don't drink much. But I can tell you that this is easily a comfort food. Perfect to have on a cold day. I was finally inspired to try to make Pozole myself when I was looking through some blogs one day and found someone who made it. That pozole looked too chunky and didn't look like what I had years ago. So I decided to do a search for Pozole recipes. There were quite a few recipes out there and I couldn't tell which one came closest to that recipe. But I finally settled on this one from allrecipes.com. What made me decide on this one was the fact that its a slow cooker recipe. I've been busy all day today, baking almost 200 mini cupcakes for hubby's pinning ceremony tomorrow. So I wanted to just throw everything in the slow cooker and have it ready for dinner.

This dish was quite good. However, as one of the reviews on this recipe indicated, this was more like a soup than a stew. This wasn't the Pozole that I had back in high school. I'll probably continue my search for that recipe. But I don't mind making this one again.

1 dried chile negro pasilla (or 1 1/2 Tbsp. ground pasilla)

3 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin, cubed

2 cups chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (4 oz can) diced green chiles

2 (15 oz can) hominy

1 bay leaf

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 Tbsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

1) Puree (or blend together) chile negro pasilla and 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Pour in slow cooker pot.

2) Pour remaining chicken broth, beef broth, onion, garlic, green chiles, hominy and pork in slow cooker pot. Season with bay leaf, oregano, cumin and salt. Cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 6-7 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve topped with chopped cilantro and avocado.