Tortilla Lasagna

Here's a tasty twist to Lasagna, ....Tortilla Lasagna.

I don't have pics showing the steps because I thought I had already posted this recipe. So this is a pic of the leftovers.

Recipe.......

1 Tbl vegetable oil.
1 lb ground beef. You can also use chicken or turkey.
1 cup chopped onion.
1 1/2 cups chopped green and/or red pepper.
1 cup corn
1 4oz. can of sliced black olives.
1 4oz. can diced green chilies.
1 pkg taco seasoning mix.
1 16 oz. jar mild taco sauce, divided.
10 flour tortillas, divided.
2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese, divided.

Pre-heat oven to 375.
Grease a 13x9 baking dish.
Heat oil in large skillet over med heat. Add ground beef; cook stirring occasionally until no longer pink. 5-6 min. Stir in vegetables, chillies and seasoning mix. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally 3-4 min or until veggies are tender.
Spread 1/2 cup taco sauce on bottom of baking dish. Cover with 5 tortillas. Spread with 1/2 the meat mixture and 1/2 the taco sauce. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese melted.
Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza

Here's a tasty twist to traditional pizza. It's called chicken cordon bleu pizza. And you use Alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce, and ham and chicken nuggets instead of ground beef or peperoni.

The recipe, courtesy of Taste of Home magazine...........


1 tube refrigerated pizza crust.
1/2 cup Alfredo sauce.
1/4 tsp garlic salt.
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese.
1-1/2 cups cubed cooked ham.
10 breaded chicken nuggets thawed and cut into 1/2-in pieces.
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese.

Now instead of refrigerated pizza crust, we used Boboli pizza crust. We're hooked on them now.

So spread the Alfredo sauce over the crust.

Sprinkle with salt and Swiss cheese.
top with ham and chicken.

and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over that.
Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

And this was some good food! Of course it doesn't substitute for regular pizza, but it's a tasty dish all on it's own!

Meat Loaf

mmmmmmm....meatloaf!
Craig makes a number of different meat loafs, but this on is particularly good!
He starts out with equal parts extra lean ground beef, and lean hot Italian sausage.
Add 2 eggs, bread crumbs, finely chopped onions, and Italian seasoning. Mix well and set in the fridge to 'rest' for an hour.

Roll out on wax paper to a thickness of about 3/4 of an inch. Craig used fat free shredded cheddar cheese and frozen spinach, thawed for the filling.

Roll into a log and place into a greased casserole dish.

Press the ends together and cover with tomato paste.

Bake at 325 for an hour or until done.

It was very tasty!

Turkey Tetrazzini casserole

Turkey Tetrazzini, Craig's way.

We found this recipe on-line and Craig thought it looked good. But as usual, he 'modified' it. So first, the original recipe.

Ingredients
10 ounce uncooked vermicelli
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 pound turkey breast cutlets
3/4 teaspoon onion powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 (8-ounce) packages presliced mushrooms
3/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed
3/4 cup fat-free milk
2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup (such as Healthy Choice)
Cooking spray
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°.
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle turkey with 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add turkey to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove turkey from pan.
Add 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, sherry, and mushrooms to pan. Cover and cook 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.
Combine peas, milk, sour cream, cheese, and soup in a large bowl. Chop turkey. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, pasta, turkey, and mushroom mixture to soup mixture, tossing gently to combine. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Combine breadcrumbs and butter in a small dish, tossing to combine. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over pasta mixture. Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated.


Now what Craig did different.
He used left-over chopped turkey breast from our turkey last week.
He hates peas, so he put chopped green onions in it's place.
He didn't have any dry sherry, so he used dry vermouth.
Instead of regular mushrooms, he used baby bellas.
And then before serving, he topped with shredded fat free cheddar cheese, and diced tomatoes.
It was delicious!

Ummmmm broth!

Pictured here are 11 pints of wonderful rich turkey broth.

After we cook a turkey, Craig saves all the 'stuff' in the bottom of the roasting pan and puts it in a freezer bag and in the freezer. After we've eaten enough turkey, he salvages the rest of the meat and freezes it for later use. (Craig makes a wonderful turkey rice casserole) Then he freezes the rest of the carcass. This turkey, we didn't have regular stuffing, so he 'stuffed' it with onions, celery, and oranges. They help to keep the turkey moist, and add some nice flavor too. So all this 'stuffing' gets frozen also. Also when ever he trims veggies for meal, he keeps a freezer bag in the freezer he adds the veggie scraps to it. Once he has accumulated enough stuff, he makes a batch of broth.
First in the pan, the frozen liquid from the roaster pan.

once that has thawed, the rest of the stuff.
Add enough water to cover everything, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and let simmer for 6-8 hours. When it's done, it should look like this.

Strain in a colander, pour into containers, cool, and freeze for future use.

This would make a wonderful soup base, but we're not much soup people. So Craig uses it for making mashed potatoes, boiling rice or noodles, anything where he can substitute for water. Makes things taste richer. And if you want clearer broth, use a finer screen colander.

Pork stir fry

This is another tasty stir fry.
Start with pork cutlets trimmed of fat and thin sliced.
You can add what ever vegies you like, but for this stir fry, I added the following..
Sliced red pepper,
baby portabela mushrooms,
sliced carrots,
sliced onions,
slivered almonds.

saute the veggies with a little olive oil until tender crisp. Set aside. Add almonds.

And pork to pan with more oil if needed. Season with your favorite seasonings. Craig used garlic powder, minced garlic, and Mrs Dash, onion and herb. Cook until no longer pink.
And sauteed veggies and 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup teriaki sauce, and 1/8 cup cornstarch mixed with water to thicken .

simmer for 5-10 minutes or until thick and bubbly.

serve over rice.

And boy was it good!

Sauerbraten Lasagna

Sauerbraten Lasagna

Craig quite often modifies recipes, but this time, he created a completely new one.

Ingredients.

18 oz beef gravy.

2 Tbl. vinegar.

2 Tbl. crushed ginger snaps.

1 small onion sliced.

1 small zucchini shredded.

1 lb steak, cut into 3/4 in pieces.

1 can beer.

2 bay leaves.

1 14 oz can sauerkraut.

8 0z fat free cream cheese.

8 0z. shredded Swiss cheese.

9 lasagna noodles.

Combine steak, beer and bay leaves in a Ziploc bag and marinate over night.

Mix vinegar and ginger snaps into gravy.

Mix sauerkraut and warmed cream cheese.

Drain meat, and lightly brown in a pan. set aside.

Saute onion until lightly browned.

Stir in meat, zucchini, and 1/3 gravy and set aside.

Pre cook lasagna noodles until soft. Grease a 7 x 9 casserole dish and layer 3 noodles.

add 1/2 meat mixture.


Then 1/2 sauerkraut/cream cheese.
Repeat layers and top with last 3 noodles and then with remaining gravy.

Cook at 350 for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

top with shredded cheese and heat till melted.

And I have to say it was delicious!

Craig did say, next time he'd use a little less gravy. It was a bit runny, but I liked it!