Vegetable Lasagna

I channelled Pioneer Woman on this recipe. I saw her vegetable lasagna a few months ago. Yum! I changed it up quite a bit, but the basic method is the same. I used less noodles, less ricotta, less egg, different veggies/herbs. Whatever you do, don't leave out the wine. This is what makes the sauce taste so good! It is my new summer lasagna.

Ingredients:
9 cooked lasagna noodles
2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, Diced
1 eggplant, Chopped
3 squash (yellow Or zucchini), Diced
1 can (28 Ounce) crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup White Wine
1/4 cup Fresh basil, chopped
1 t fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt (more To Taste)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Extra Parmesan Cheese, For Sprinkling

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and lay flat on a sheet of aluminum foil.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for a minute. Add diced red peppers and saute for another minute or so. Add squash and eggplant and cook for a few minutes. Pour in wine, add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, and stir.
Pour in tomatoes. Stir to combine and let simmer for 20 minutes or so. Stir in chopped basil and oregano.
In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, egg, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
To assemble, spread a little of the vegetable/tomato sauce in a lasagna pan. Layer three cooked noodles in the pan, slightly overlapping them if necessary. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on the noodles. Top the ricotta mixture with mozzarella. Spoon a little less than 1/3 of the veggie/sauce mixture over the mozzarella.
Repeat the layering two more times, ending with a large helping of vegetable sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan.
Bake at 350 degrees, covered in foil, for 20 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Chicken Chili

This is my fool proof Chicken Chili recipe and one of our winter staples.

Put the following ingredients in your crockpot:

1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups of tomato sauce (I usually use 1/2 of an extra large jar of Prego spaghetti sauce from Costco)
2 cans beans, drained & rinsed (I usually like pinto and black beans)
1 chicken breast, uncooked
2-3 T chili powder
1 T cumin
Season to taste with: garlic powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
1 cup frozen corn (I usually add this at the end of cooking)

Set crockpot on low and cook for 7-8 hours. Shred chicken and serve. Makes 6-8 servings.

Time saving tip: I often put 1-2 extra chicken breasts in the chili to cook for another use later in the week.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

I found this recipe off another blog, but I altered it just a little. It was originally called Bourbon chicken, but it doesn't have any Bourbon in it, so I decided to rename it! :)

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
1/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup orange/apple juice
1/4 cup agave nector or brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce


I usually prepare this the night before and let it marinade, but the recipe will work if you don't let it sit overnight. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and then mix all of the ingredients below the olive oil together and pour into a ziploc bag and add the chicken (you can make a double batch so you have one for later and put it in the freezer!) .

The next day remove chicken from marinade, but reserve the marinade. Cook chicken in olive oil until done. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add reserved marinade plus cornstarch to the same pan. Once this mixture comes to a simmer add the chicken back in. Bring to a hard boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rice. I also served this with steamed broccoli and carrots