Paula Deen's Veggie Lasagna

this is the yummy veggie lasagna that Stacey made

Ingredients:

2 cup thinly sliced zucchini
2 cup thinly sliced yellow squash
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
1 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup sliced fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
8 oven-ready in.no cook in. lasagna noodles
12 slices provolone cheese, thinly sliced
2 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions

Combine zucchini, squash, carrot, mushrooms, onion and peppers with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain well, and return to pot.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, and eggs. Stir together. Spread 1/3 of the sauce evenly over bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Place 4 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Do not overlap noodles. Spread 1/2 of cream cheese mixture over noodles. Cover cheese mixture with 1/2 the vegetable mixture, more sauce, and top evenly with 6 slices provolone cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with 4 noodles, rest of the cream cheese mixture, vegetables, sauce, and remaining cheeses. Place in oven for 35 minutes or until lasagna is hot and bubbling

Let lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Servings: 8 servings
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 min
Difficulty: Easy

Show: Paula's Home Cooking/Sept/Oct 2006 Cooking with Paula Deen

Brian's avocado feta salsa

Prep: 20 min.

Make this salsa shortly before serving for best results. Avoid refrigerating it--the texture of the tomatoes will soften.


Yield

Makes 8 appetizer servings


Ingredients

* 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 (4-ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
* 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 avocados, chopped
* Assorted tortilla chips


Preparation

Stir together first 9 ingredients. Gently stir in avocado just before serving. Serve with assorted tortilla chips.

Grilled Carne Asada Tacos

Tacos Carne Asada

Adapted from Tyler Florence

- serves 4 (2 tacos per person) -

Ingredients

2 pounds flank or skirt steak, trimmed of excess fat

For the marinade
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 large handful fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
1 orange, juiced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

For serving
16 (7-inch) corn tortillas
Shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce
Chopped white onion
Shredded Jack cheese
1/2 cup Pico de Gallo
2 limes, cut in wedges

Procedure

1. In a mortar and pestle or bowl, mash together the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, and pepper to make a paste. Put the paste in a glass jar or plastic container. Add the lime juice, orange juice, vinegar, and oil. Shake it up really well to combine. Place the steak in a large ziploc bag. Pour the marinade over the steak and seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Place steaks in the refrigerator and to marinate for 2-8 hours.

2. Remove the steak from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature while you prepare the grill. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals out evenly.

3. Grill steaks immediately over high heat, until browned on both sides and cooked until desired doneness, about 3-5 minutes per side for medium. Remove steaks to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice steaks against the grain into 1/4 inch strips.

4. Warm tortillas on the grill until pliable. Assemble tacos by stacking 2 warm tortillas and adding the beef, lettuce, onion, cheese, pico de gallo, and garnish with lime wedges.

Lesson Learned:

Do what the recipe says and don't precut the meat. I did it partially for the time saved cooking and the inconvenience of cutting outdoors, but you spend too much time dealing with each individual piece.

As for how to cook them, you can go by these numbers or you can get an instant read thermometer and check the temp yourself and grill them to Rare, Med-Rare, Medium, Med-Well, or Well (my preference is medium). Follow this link: Meat Internal Temp.

Original Recipe Site: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/01/grilling-tacos-carne-asada-recipe.html

Grilled Fish Tacos

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• Marinade
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
• 1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into chunks
• Dressing
• 1 (8 ounce) container light sour cream
• 1/2 cup adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay™
• salt and pepper to taste
• Toppings
• 1 (10 ounce) package tortillas
• 3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 small head cabbage, cored and shredded
• 2 limes, cut in wedges

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the marinade, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, honey, garlic, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning, black pepper, and hot sauce in a bowl until blended. Place the tilapia in a shallow dish, and pour the marinade over the fish. Cover, and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours.
2. To make the dressing, combine the sour cream and adobo sauce in a bowl. Stir in the lime juice, lime zest, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning. Add salt, and pepper in desired amounts. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Set grate 4 inches from the heat.
4. Remove fish from marinade, drain off any excess and discard marinade. Grill fish pieces until easily flaked with a fork, turning once, about 9 minutes.
5. Assemble tacos by placing fish pieces in the center of tortillas with desired amounts of tomatoes, cilantro, and cabbage; drizzle with dressing. To serve, roll up tortillas around fillings, and garnish with lime wedges.

FOOTNOTES

• Lesson I learned. If you have a grilling basket you're better off putting the fish in that. It saves the time of flipping them and the trouble of them potentially crumbling if you didn't oil the grill well enough.
• The marinated fish in this recipe can also be cooked in the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake fish in preheated oven until it easily flakes with a fork, 9 to 11 minutes. Assemble tacos according to directions. Mahi-mahi can be substituted for the tilapia.

Original recipe link:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grilled-Fish-Tacos-with-Chipotle-Lime-Dressing/Detail.aspx

Speedy Lasagne (that's what my mom calls it!)

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3 1/2 cups (2 15-oz. cans) Italian sauce
• 8 oz. cooked lasagne noodles (8-10 noodles)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shedded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Chopped onion (optional)

Brown chuck in skillet; drain off fat. Add Italian seasoning, sugar, and sauce (may also add garlic salt to taste). Spread about 1/2 cut of the sauce on botton of 13x9x2 baking dish. Top with half the lasagne noodles. Combine cheeses. Top noodles with half the cheese mixture, then half the sauce. Repeat layers ending with sauce. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, until bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before cutting and serving. Makes 6-8 servings.

** This recipe is really easy to double and it also freezes well. My suggestion: make two. Eat one now; freeze the other one for later. Next time you need a quick (but good) dinner, thaw frozen lasagne in refridgerator; once thawed, follow baking instructions above.