Lasagna

Our Lasagna January 2026
 

We made this the night before serving. Sitting overnight in the refrigerator and heating it the next day melds the flavors of the lasagna.

 
This recipe is adapted from https://www.spendwithpennies.com/easy-homemade-lasagna/
 
12 Servings
 
Ingredients
 
12 lasagna noodles uncooked
Salt
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground Italian sweet sausage
42-42 oz Rao’s marinara sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 t fennel seeds
3 T dry red wine
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese shredded
1 15-oz container of ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 large egg beaten
 
Instructions
 
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside. Add some olive oil so the noodles don’t stick together while preparing the rest of the dish.
 

While the noodles are cooking, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the garlic in the olive oil. Add the beef and sausage, breaking into small pieces, and cook until no longer pink. Drain any fat.
 
Stir in the Rao’s sauce, tomato paste, fennel seeds, and wine. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove the skillet from the burner and add the chopped basil, stir to combine.
 

While the meat sauce is cooking, in a medium bowl, combine the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. In another bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, parsley and egg. Set aside.
 
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a baking pan, lined with foil, on the rack. This is not needed if you use a deep casserole dish.
 
Spread a layer of Rao’s sauce (not the meat sauce) in the bottom of a 9x13 glass or ceramic pan. Top it with 3 lasagna noodles. Layer as follows: Meat sauce, mozzarella/parmesan cheese mixture, and the ricotta mixture. Use a spoon to spread the ricotta. Repeat the layers two more times. 
 
For the last layer, add the 3 noodles, Rao’s sauce (not the meat sauce), and mozzarella/parmesan cheese mixture.

  

Cover the lasagna pan with foil, tenting the foil slightly so it doesn’t touch the cheese. You can also use toothpicks to help tent the foil. Place on top of the foiled baking pan, and bake for 50 minutes. 

 
Remove, uncover, and let cool before placing it in the refrigerator (covered tightly with saran wrap and then tin foil).
 
When Ready to Eat
 
Bring the lasagna to room temperature, 2-3 hours. Reheat the lasagna, covered, at 350 degree for 50-60 minutes.
 
Remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until browned and bubbly.
                
Rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes:
 
We did not salt the meat sauce. Taste to see if you want salt added. We felt the meat sauce didn’t need any because of the flavors of the Italian sausage and Rao’s sauce.
 
Because we made this in the early evening, we used Rao’s sauce. When we make a marinara sauce, we like to let it simmer for a few hours.
 
We boiled 16 noodles in case any broke in the boiling process.
 
Next time, we will use less fennel seeds; and more ricotta cheese, about 6 oz more.

To freeze, wrap individual sections in saran wrap and place in a zip lock bag. Freeze up to 3 months.

Garlic Bread: I followed this excellent recipe:  https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/the-best-garlic-bread-recipe/

   

     

My Greek Meatballs

My Greek Meatballs

I was looking for a recipe for Greek meatballs for a dinner party. We have a quarterly movie night and the movie that was selected was My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

 
Many recipes call for lamb. As I was not sure if people like lamb, I made up this recipe using beef and pork. Many recipes call for mint and oregano, but I decided not to include them, as my husband is not a fan of these herbs. These are so delicious and flavorful!
 
Ingredients
 
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1/2 C red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
1//2 C crumbled feta cheese
3 t flat-leaf parsley, minced
2 T lemon juice
2 t kosher salt
6 T panko breadcrumbs
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t ground cayenne
1 t ground cumin + a pinch more
 
Directions
 
In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients and gently mix by hand until everything is combined.
 
Preheat the oven to 425°F
 
Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
 
Form into meatballs in 2 ounce portions. I use a scale lined with saran wrap. Roll each meatball by hand to make a nice round shape.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the meatballs are nicely browned. Internal temperature should be 160°F.

 
Serve with a tzatziki dip. Click HERE for my recipe.
 
My Notes
 
I ended up with a total of 21 meatballs. Next time, I’ll make them smaller, 1.5 ounces.

For the ground beef, I used 85/15. Next time I'll use 80/20.
 
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days.

Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto (with spinach)

This is a delicious risotto that I made last night to go along with salmon that I baked in parchment paper. This was very easy to make in the Instant Pot. I adapted this recipe https://pressureluckcooking.com/instant-pot-mushroom-risotto/. See my Notes at the bottom of what I changed or added. 

 

PREP TIME 5 minutes
COOK TIME 14 minutes
TOTAL TIME 19 minutes
YIELD: 6

 

Ingredients

1 tbsp of vegetable oil
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) of salted butter, divided in half
2 large shallots, diced
24 oz (or three 8 oz packages) of Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp of crushed garlic [1 clove]
2 cups of Arborio rice (make sure you use Arborio rice for a risotto)
4.5 cups of mushroom broth (or chicken, garlic or vegetable broth – I used 4.5 tsp of Mushroom Better Than Bouillon + 4.5 cups of water)
1/2 cup of a dry white wine (white cooking wine is fine too – but if you don’t use wine, add another 1/2 cup of broth)
1 tsp of seasoned salt
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp of dried parsley
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp of white or black truffle oil
 
Instructions
 
Add the vegetable oil and the first 2 tbsp (1/4 stick) of butter to the Instant Pot
 
Hit “Sauté” and “Adjust” so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting and wait until the butter has melted and it bubbles.

Add the shallots and cook for about 2 minutes so it softens and just lightly browns. Then, add the garlic and sauté for another minute with the shallots. Lastly, add the mushrooms and add the other 2 tbsp (1/4 stick) of butter. Stir constantly with the shallots and garlic for another 2-3 minutes until the butter’s melted and the mushrooms brown a bit in color 
 
Next, add in the white wine and once it bubbles, let it do so for another minute so the mushrooms simmer in it as you deglaze (scrape) the bottom of the pot to make sure it’s free and clear of any veggie remnants from sautéing (NOTE: If not using wine, add in 1/2 cup of the broth now)
 
Add in the rice and mix it in with everything in the pot and let sauté for 1 minute
 
Lastly, add in the broth, seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning and dried parsley. Stir well, once again deglazing the bottom of the pot so nothing’s stuck on. (NOTE: It will look like there’s way too much liquid in the pot given how much risotto is in it, but trust me. It will be magical and perfect once cooked since Arborio rice is a major liquid absorber once cooked)
 
Secure the lid, hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 6 minutes. Quick release when done. Once the lid comes off, stir everything together and it will immediately be the right consistency.
 
Add in the grated Parmesan cheese and truffle oil, stir until well combined and transfer to a serving dish
 
If you want more truffle oil, add more after tasting or drizzle over individual servings. 

My Notes:
 
I cut the recipe in half but kept the same cooking times. I didn't want to make the entire recipe for just the two of us, and I read that freezing risotto isn't a great idea. The texture of the risotto will change. I also read that if you freeze the risotto, you could later make Arancini di Riso (fried rice balls). I think I'll do that!

I used avocado oil instead of vegetable oil.

 
I didn’t have shallots on hand, so I just used a white onion, chopped, about 1 cup.
 
Once the lid came off, I added some truffle oil, a 1/2 teaspoon of Trader Joe’s truffle powder seasoning (kicking up that wonderful mushroom flavor), 1 cup (packed) chopped fresh spinach, and 1 tablespoon half and half.
 
I found I needed to stir in more parmesan cheese, and a little more salt.

It took four minutes to come to pressure. 

Overall, this is an excellent risotto. In fact my husband said it was the best he's ever had.

 

Broccoli Mushroom Noodle Casserole

I made this for a cookbook club dinner yesterday. It's from Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen. There were two books to select recipes. 

 
6 Servings
 
Ingredients
 
2 stalks fresh broccoli, including stems, peeled and chopped
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 -2 T butter

Salt

Pepper

1/4 C dry white wine
3 Eggs
3 C ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, (or a combination)
1 C sour cream
3 C uncooked wide egg noodles

1 C grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 – 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs or 1/4-1/2 cup wheat germ

 
Directions

 
Sauté chopped broccoli, mushrooms and onion in butter till tender. Salt and pepper lightly. Toss with wine.
 

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in ricotta/cottage cheese and sour cream.
 

Boil noodles in salted water till slightly underdone. Drain and butter.

 
Remove sautéed vegetables from pan to cheese mixture with a slotted spoon. Add noodles and either 1/4 cup bread crumbs or 2 T wheat germ. Mix everything.
 

 

Spread into buttered 9x13 baking pan.

 
Top with more breadcrumbs or wheat germ and grated cheddar.
 

Bake covered for 30 minutes at 350.

 
Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.
 

My Notes:

The recipe wasn't really clear on the amount of broccoli, so I chopped up two large broccoli heads and later held  a bunch back, as it was way too much. 

I used baby Bella mushrooms; and added a clove of chopped garlic and some Trader Joe's truffle powder seasoning to the vegetable mixture.

I used a combination of butter and olive oil for the vegetables. 

I used ricotta cheese. 

I used Italian breadcrumbs. 

I added more cheddar cheese to the topping, as one cup really didn't cover the entire dish.

Overall, this was very good. 

You can add cooked grilled chicken to the mixture for added protein. 

  

Italian Wedding Soup

 For a recent Cookbook Club dinner, 26 June 2023, one person made this soup. This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook.

Ingredients
 
For the meatballs:

3/4 pound ground chicken
1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed
2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
 
For the soup:

2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
10 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed
 
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
 
In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.