Lasagna by the Ladle

We all love lasagna at our house, and I've posted my favorite lasagna recipe on here before, but sometimes I just don't have the time and energy to fuss with making it.  But soup - now soup is easy!  It takes a little time to simmer, but the hands-on time is minimal, and since I'm making dinner for 50 teenagers tomorrow and Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, I really need simple today.  Besides, I'd rather devote my energy to the dessert I have planned!  Plus, Uncle Johnny just arrived and he loves soup, so what better time to try out the recipe.  Lasagna is great for company, and this variation did not disappoint in the least.  Everybody thought it was fabulous, even the kid, who doesn't like any of the ingredients in this recipe, but scarfed down a big bowlful before I even had a chance to insist she give it a try!

Lasagna Soup
link to original recipe
Prep time: 5 min  Cook time: 55 min
Serves 7

1 lb Italian sausage
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 carton (32 oz) chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp dried basil
12 lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large soup pot, brown sausage with onion, green pepper and garlic. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil 2 minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, covered (I might try reducing this next time because I'm impatient!) Stir occasionally.

Add bite sized lasagna noodles to soup and cook until tender (about 15 minutes).
When ready to serve, mix in the grated Parmesan cheese. Ladle into individual bowls and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

517 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Cheesy Sausage Pot

You know what happens when you put a whole bunch of yummy things in a Crock-Pot and let 'em simmer together for a half a day?  You get a super yummy supper, that's what!  The magic ingredient in this dish is definitely the smoked sausage, but it's the Crock-Pot that turns it into something truly magical.  Slow cooking causes the delectable flavor of the sausage to permeate all the other ingredients, turning plain potatoes and vegetables into a creamy, smoky pot of deliciousness.  This turned out quite saucy, so I served it with some crusty dinner rolls to sop up the extra because I didn't want to waste a drop.

Crock-Pot Cheesy Sausage Pot
Prep time: 5 min  Cook time: 6 hrs
Serves 6

1 (16 oz) bag frozen mixed vegetables
3 large potatoes, diced
2 (14 oz) pkgs smoked sausage, sliced 1/4 in thick
1 (10 oz) can cheddar cheese soup
1 (10 oz) can cream of celery soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients together and pour into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

760 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Spectacular Squash

My mother was not an adventurous home cook and she didn't care for very many vegetables.  Consequently, I ate a whole lot of canned corn and green beans growing up, and not a lot of anything else.  However, I think my mother's predilection towards canned food stemmed more from ignorance of the plethora of tasty veggies available, not from a real affection for the delicacies offered up by the Jolly Green Giant!  For instance, if my mother had ever tasted caramelized butternut squash, I'm pretty sure we would have had this every other night instead of over-processed peas.  I myself am slowly learning to appreciate all kinds of veggies I never even tried until my 30's and I'm finding that almost all of them can taste great if properly prepared.  When I fix them for my mom, even she agrees!

Caramelized Butternut Squash
Prep time: 20 min  Bake time: 45 min
Serves 8

2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
5 Tbs butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400F.  Peel, de-seed, and cut squash into 1 inch cubes.  Spread out on a shallow, greased pan and sprinkle with remaining ingredients.  Mix gently.  Bake for 45 minutes till tender, stirring after 20 minutes.

172 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Cherry Pineapple Glazed Ham Steak

One of our local radio stations started playing Christmas music today.  Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas music, but we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet!  I am definitely not ready for Christmas.  To be honest, I don't really like Christmas.  Thank you, Jesus, for the miracle of Christmas, but the modern holiday I could do without.

To me, Christmas is nothing but stress: finding gifts for impossible-to-buy-for people, cooking a ton of food and then feeling guilty about eating it, traveling hours and hours to the arctic tundra of Indiana to visit family, untangling dozens of strands of lights only to have them quit working as soon as I hang them up, and pulling half-digested tinsel out of the cat's butt (yes, I really have had to do that, on multiple occasions!)  One of these years, I'm going to ignore societal expectations and spend Christmas all by myself on a sunny beach. But, alas, not this year.

Despite the eater's remorse I always feel, the best part about Christmas is definitely the food.  The cut-out cookies I make every year with my mom, the peanut butter buckeyes I make "for my dad," the yule log that's basically a gigantic Swiss cake roll. Okay, clearly I favor the desserts of the season, but how about that glazed ham?

You know, the one covered in pineapple rings and studded with cherries? Now that's a great combination.  Did you ever notice how it never tastes quite as wonderful as it looks, though?  That's because the ham to glaze ratio is off!  You take this huge hunk of meat and put fruit and glaze only on the outside, so each slice gets only a microscopic amount of the good stuff!  In a perfect world, every bite would be slathered in that fruity sauce.  Well, this recipe gives you just that, without the stress of the holiday season.  Whether or not you share it with those relatives you'd rather avoid is totally up to you!

Cherry Pineapple Glazed Ham Steak

Total time: 15 min
Serves 4

1.5 lb ham steak (I use thick cut, fully cooked)
2 Tbs butter
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks (or tidbits, drained)
4 oz maraschino cherries (in juice)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves


Melt butter in a large skillet and add pineapple. Sauté till nicely browned.  Add cherries, sugar, and spices and stir till sauce starts to thicken, about 2 minutes at medium heat.

Remove fruit from pan, leaving glaze, and add ham steak. If using one very large ham steak, I like to cut it into single serving sizes before cooking. Sauté until lightly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Serve topped with fruit and drizzled with glaze.


463 calories per serving. Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Refrigerator Eclair Cake

Don't you just love it when something turns out even better than you had hoped? Months ago, I pinned a recipe for an eclair dessert that looked really good in the picture, but when I read the ingredients I was disappointed and figured it wouldn't taste nearly as good as it looked. Regardless, I kept the pin, and every time I scrolled through my Pinterest dessert board, it would catch my eye.

Finally, the other day I needed a quick dessert that I could make with the things I had on hand. Being fall, my first thought was pumpkin, but once again my mind went to this dessert and it looked so quick and easy I just couldn't resist any longer. I am so glad I tried it! The ingredients are plain and simple (and somewhat unimpressive) but the end result is creamy, chocolatey perfection.

You do need to refrigerate this overnight, so it takes a little forethought, but it comes together in just a few minutes and I usually have all the ingredients in my pantry.  Plus, this is an eclair cake, and eclairs are donuts, which are definitely breakfast food, so I am totally having this for breakfast tomorrow, no guilt required!

Refrigerator Eclair Cake
Prep time: 10 min Chill time: 8 hrs
Serves 20

Filling:
2 (3.5 oz.) boxes vanilla instant pudding (Some boxes are smaller than 3.5 oz. If yours are, add enough from a 3rd box to equal 7 oz or use a little less milk so the filling sets properly.)
3 cups milk 
1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip, thawed
1 box (14.4 oz) graham crackers (I used cinnamon, but regular are fine. I might try with chocolate next time!)

Topping:
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 stick (1/2 c) butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine pudding mix and milk; beat 3 minutes. Stir in Cool Whip.

Lay out one sleeve of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x13" dish. Spread 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and pudding; then top with a final layer of graham crackers.

Bring cocoa, milk, and sugar to a full rolling boil; boil about 1 minute, stirring very frequently. Remove from heat and cool one minute. Add butter and vanilla; stir until butter is melted. Pour chocolate topping over the top layer of graham crackers.

Refrigerate overnight.

271 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Good-anoff for Company

We've got company in town this week, my husband's aunt and uncle, and although they are staying with my mother-in-law I felt the need to take a turn feeding them.  Unfortunately, their visit just happened to coincide with the one day my bosses decided to double up on the schedule, creating the busiest workday I've ever had!  Let me tell you, I have never been happier to have a great Crock-Pot meal up my sleeve!  Beef stroganoff sounds fancy enough to impress even the most important company, but this recipe was so easy it didn't take an ounce of extra effort from me.  In fact, I even had enough energy left to blog about it!  I've tried a dozen different stroganoff recipes, but this one is so simple and tasty, it beats them all.

Crock-Pot Beef Stroganoff
Prep time: 5 mn Cook time: 8 hrs
Serves 6

1 lb stew beef chunks
1 (10.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 oz) envelope onion soup mix
8 oz sliced mushrooms (fresh or canned)
8 oz sour cream
6 oz egg noodles, prepared

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray and add beef, soup, soup mix, and mushrooms.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours till beef is tender.  Stir in sour cream and prepared noodles. 

338 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Happily Apple-y

I think I understand why Eve was tempted in the garden of Eden by a bright, juicy apple.  I mean, apples are practically the perfect food!  They're great baked in a cake, fried in a pie, tossed in a salad, stewed in a sauce, puffed in a dumpling; heck, they're even tasty raw and plain!  They're a good source of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, magnesium, iron and zinc, and they contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, E, K.  Plus, keep 'em cold and they last just about forever!  I'm pretty sure Eve took one look at that miracle fruit and knew she had to have it.  Okay, I know some theologians will argue that the tree of knowledge grew pomegranates or some other food more common to the region, but come on, who's gonna give up paradise for a pomegranate?  But the apple, now that's almost worth the curse.

This cake is a perfect example of the versatility of the apple.  It's sweet, moist, and absolutely delicious, yet it's chock-full of wonder fruit, so you can feel just a little bit better about feeding it to your family.  Plus, it comes together in no time but tastes like it took all day.  I made it today on my lunch break!  I took it to my mother-in-law's tonight and she said it was the best dessert I've ever made.  Thanks, Eve, for eating the apple!

Caramel Apple Cake
link to original recipe
Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 45 min
Serves 20

Cake:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
3 cups peeled and chopped apples

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13" pan.  Combine oil, sugar, and eggs.  Stir in flour and baking soda.  Add vanilla, pecans, and apples.  Spread in prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.  Cool for at least 2 hours, then prepare frosting.

For frosting, boil all ingredients in a small saucepan for 2 minutes.  Set pan in a bowl filled with ice water.  Beat icing until of spreading consistency, about 5 minutes.  Spread over top of cake.  Sprinkle with additional pecans, if desired.

388 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!