Lasagna

PART 2 of 2

for part one CLICK HERE

INGREDIENTS

**Meat**

2Lbs of Meat

1 Medium Onion

1 Tablespoon of Garlic

1 Tablespoon of Tomato Paste

1 Tablespoon Salt

1 Tablespoon of Black Pepper

**Noodles**

See Previous BLOG

**Cheese**

2 Cups of Ricotta Cheese

16 Oz Mozzarella Cheese
3/4 Cup Grated Cheese

1 Teaspoon of Oregano

1 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon of Salt

1 teaspoon of Black Pepper

MEAT PREP

In a deep pan line the bottom with Finely diced onions, oil and Chopped Garlic

Once the onions have become translucent

Add the Meat

Using a potato masher press the meat to separate it

Once meat is separated keep stirring over medium high heat

Once meat has lost that reddish tint drop in the Tomato Paste

Stir until most of liquid has evaporated. If you see too much liquid
then you can strain some off

You need to make sure your meat is liquid free or close to it

Add two cups of tomato sauce set aside and prep other things for lasagna

 PASTA NOODLES PREP

After preparing the noodles and having them ready to go in you freezer take them out
PART ONE OF TWO

Large sauce pan bring 4 quarts of water to a boil add tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of oil

Drop in pasta and keep in mind once they float to the top with fresh pasta
means they are done

Prepare a deep bowl or container with cold water as it will help the noodles from sticking

strain the cooked noodles from the boiling water and make sure they are now covered with cold water

Select the best pieces and set aside for the top and set aside

CHEESE PREP

Take a block of mozzarella cheese

Slice half and put aside.
Then cube up the other half

Place the half block of cheese in a bowl

Add two cups of Ricotta Cheese

Add one egg

And 3/4 of a cup of grated cheese

Add to the mixture oregano salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder

Stir and put aside to start putting our lasagna together

 FINAL PREP AND COOK

Line bottom of cooking pan with sauce

Place half of your Noodles over the sauce

Pour half of the Cheese mixture

Pour half of the meat to cover the noodles and cheese mixture
By adding the sauce to the meat it helps to skip the step to add the sauce now

Repeat with Noodles and this time sprinkle some grated cheese it will
help soak up some moisture

Repeat with Cheese and Meat mixture

Cover the top with the longer noodles

take the sliced mozzarella you have and distribute on the top

1/2 cup of sauce to cover the top and sprinkle grated cheese

When ready to eat lasagna take pan and put in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes

Since it is fresh pasta you need to have it sit and the serve and ENJOY

Thank you for taking your time to read this. If you have any comments please post them. Questions, suggestions, hate mail, fan mail or anything you can write to me CookingMyBrain@hotmail.com.

See you later

Leo

Homemade Pasta with White Clam Sauce

HOMEMADE PASTA

As described in our other post Homemade Dough pasta is a very simple and inexpensive way to prepare a meal. You can take a day where you have time, make the pasta and freeze it for another day....

LIKE TODAY.

Separate the Pasta into handfulls easier to portion later

Once the Pasta has been in the freezer for more than 24 hours
Take out and place in a Zip-Lock back for storage

2 to 3 handfulls is enough for each person

WHITE CLAM SAUCE

You can make the clam sauce but we don't always have the time. So it is a good idea to know a good alternative to homemade. Good rule of thumb if the ingredients are not in your pantry then they cannot be all that good for you. This has to be the best White Clam Sauce I've had in a while and at about $3 a can it cannot be beat. 

Clam sauce is available online HERE.

INGREDIENTS

3 Handfulls of Homemade Fetuccine

1 Can of White Clam Sauce

1 Tablespoon of grated cheese(Optional)

(Total cook time 5 to 7 minutes)

In a large pot combine 3 quarts of water, 2 teaspoons of salt and a teaspoon of oil.
The oil will keep any pasta from clumping up into a ball.
Bring to a boil. In a separate smaller sauce pan put can of clam sauce in
medium heat so by the time the pasta is done the sauce will be hot and ready to go. 

Once water has come to a boil, drop in pasta and stir. When cooking fresh pasta it cooks a lot faster than store bought pasta. So try it and once you get it to your desired consistency, put through colander and stir into clam sauce.

Plate and sprinkle grated cheese over the plate.
I am not a photografer but I like to eat and this was DELICIOUS.

Thank you for taking your time to read this. If you have any comments please post them. Questions, suggestions, hate mail, fan mail or anything you can write to me CookingMyBrain@hotmail.com.

See you later

Leo

Chicken and Penne with Vodka Sauce

LIQUOR IT UP

Let's step away from the grill a moment and into the stove now there is a million possibilities for pasta as far as cut, size, cheese filling, meat but one very important factor is the sauce. Now to understand this there is a couple of things to look out for (1) what "meat" are you serving it with beef,chicken,veal etc. and (2) what type of pasta are you using(depending on the pasta cut is how much sauce will travel with the pasta from the plate to your mouth).Today I will give you tips on making my Fiance's favorite Chicken and Penne with Vodka Sauce.

PASTA

For this dish I use either Penne or Penne Rigati. Rigati basically just means there is grooves on the pasta and going back to the traveling together these grooves help you bring more sauce with the pasta. Follow instructions on the box but add a tablespoon of oil to the water so if you have the pasta sit for a bit they will not stick to each other.

CHICKEN

In our household we save by buying in bulk pre packaging and freezing a lot of our meats. This saves the constant trips to the store and it does help on the wallet. DO NOT POUND DOWN THE CHICKEN BREAST This I believe makes them dry. Just get a sharp knife and fillet the breast thin. In this application I use egg wash , flour, egg then fry medium heat. I use this method because since the Vodka sauce is somewhat delicate you don't want a thick and heavy breadcrumb coating since it will take away from the flavor of the sauce.

Chicken Breast

3 Whole chicken breast (12 fillets)

6 Eggs

1lb All purpose Flour

Salt and Pepper to taste

**Prepare you station as follows to facilitate the cooking process...Cutting board with the sharpest knife, egg wash in a bowl which helps with the coating of the chicken, Aluminum Pan with Flour since it does have a tendency to splatter all over. By having these in order you will be able to prepare the food easier. We are not professional chefs so we can cut into the chicken to see if it is done....Fry up all the chicken and keep in mind to keep the coating crisp but not burned since the sauce like I said is delicate.

SAUCE

It may seem like a complicated sauce but once you have done it the first time it is very easy to make. NO NEED TO COOK ON HIGH.

2 Quarts of premade marinara sauce(no special flavors just plain sauce works)

2 Quarts of Heavy Cream (no Subs ad this will make the sauce very loose)

1/4 prediced Prosciutto(if sub maybe Pancetta or bacon)

1 Med Onion

2 cups of Vodka(Nothing expensive as it will not make much difference)
Oil
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Pepper

**Sauce pan take your onion and chop it fine and put it on high to cook with the prosciutto until the onions are translucent. Once this happens add the first cup of Vodka and let it reduce. When the mixture has reduced continue stirring and incorporate the Heavy Cream and the Sauce(the right color should be a little towards the orange color the picture above was missing a cup of red sauce). Once this starts to bubble add the second cup of vodka black pepper and red pepper flakes (even if you don't like the heat use a pinch or red pepper to cut down the thickness of the cream). As soon as all is in the pot bring down to a simmer and let it reduce 1/4 of the way(about 20 minutes). We enjoy the sauce very thick so we let it reduce more but once about 20 minutes where the alcohol has evaporated and the flavor is in your sauce you are good to go.

SERVE AND ENJOY

Thank you for taking your time to read this any comments post them. Questions, suggestions, hate mail, fan mail or anything you can write to me CookingMyBrain@hotmail.com

See you tomorrow

Leo