Scalloped Potatoes with Chicken Sausage

My mom makes this pretty often and my family just loves it. I had to try it out. Glad I did, it's delicious!

You need:

1 pd. seasoned chicken sausage, sliced (I used spinach & mozzarella chicken sausage links)

6 potatoes, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp butter

1 2/3 cup boiling milk

'about' 2 tsp sat

pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

In a 2 qt casserole dish, place half the butter into the bottom. Spread 1/3 of the potatoes over the butter.

Over, the potatoes, sprinkle 1 tbsp of flour, 1/3 of the onion, and salt.

Pour 1/3 of the milk over..

Add 1/3 of the sausage, and repeat layers twice more. Finish with a tbsp of butter "dotted" on the top.

Cover with foil and bake 30 min. Remove foil and continue baking for 60 more min. Enjoy! 

Short Rib Lasagna Rolls

Me and Cory (my hubby) watched Giada De Laurentiis make this dish on tv like 4 months ago and I have been thinking about it ever since. I called Cory at work the other day to tell him I was going to make the rolls for dinner and he said I must be psychic because he was just thinking about them too!
They were a bit time consuming because the meat needs about 3 hours of simmer time, and there's a bit of prep, BUT it was well worth it. I had the parents over for dinner, and they said it was the best lasagna they had ever had. And my dad didn't even question the "green stuff" (aka spinach) inside them!

You need:

Ribs:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 pounds beef short ribs

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning

1 onion, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

2 (4-inch) sprigs fresh rosemary

2 cups red wine, such as pinot noir

2 cups beef broth

Filling:

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups grated Pecorino Romano

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 (10-ounce) packet frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed of excess liquid

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning

12 lasagna noodles (about 10 ounces)

Butter, for greasing baking dish

1 (25-ounce) jar marinara sauce

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Olive oil, for drizzling

For the Ribs:
Heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil over med-high heat. Salt and pepper both sides of your ribs. Cook them in the oil for about 4 min each side. (about 4 ribs at a time)

Remove the ribs from the pan, and set aside. Add the onion, rosemary and garlic to the pan and saute until onions are tender.

Turn the heat to high and add the wine. Scrape up the brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the beef broth and return the ribs to the pan. Turn the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 3 hours.

3 hours later...

Remove the ribs from the pan and let sit about 20 minutes, until they can be handled. Once cooled, remove the bones and using two forks, shred the meat.

For the filling:
In a saucepan bring the milk and whipping cream to a light boil, reduce heat to low. Add the cheeses and stir until smooth. Turn the heat off. Add the spinach, basil, and garlic.

Pour the cheese sauce over the meat and fold together. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish, and spread 1 cup of marinara sauce into the bottom

Boil the lasagna noodles for 8-10 min. (always make extra lasagna noodles in case some tear)

Lay 4 noodles at a time on a dry work surface. Spoon 1/3 cup of filling onto each noodle and spread over entire noodle. Roll noodle up..

Place rolls seam-side down into the dish. Make 12 rolls. (I made 15 but I had closer to 3 pds of beef)

Top with remaining marinara sauce and 1/2 cup of parmesan. Bake for 25 min.

These little rolls were so cute and easy to dish up. You will never make lasagna any other way again. Enjoy!

"Apple Pie by Grandma Ople"

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com., made a couple alterations, and it ended up being the BEST apple pie I have ever had.

You need:
Pie Crust- recipe-
1 cup vegetable shortening

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold water

Mix shortening, flour, salt and water, just til combined and ball starts to form.

Divide the dough in 2 parts (for top and bottom crust)

Roll out one half onto a floured surface and place into the bottom of your pie plate. Save the other half to make a lattice top.

For Apple Filling:

7 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced.

1/2 cup butter

3 tbsp flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

Place your apples into the pie plate

In a saucepan, melt butter, add flour and stir until paste forms.

Stir in the water, sugars, vanilla, and cinnamon

Bring to a boil and reduce heat, let simmer about 5 min.

In the meantime, make your lattice pie top. Roll out the other half of the dough and cut it into strips. Lay over the apples in a lattice form. Pour the sauce right over the top of the pie and bake at 350 for 45 min.

Crab-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Well I have out-done myself this time! This was one of the best dinners I have ever had. I found the recipe in an old Taste of Home Country Cooking book, but I had to tweak it quite a bit. The end result was pure bliss.

For a serving for 4 you need:
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped onion
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves.
1 (6 oz) pkg. of fresh crab meat
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
dash of pepper
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 350
In a saucepan, melt 3 tbsp of butter, and add the flour, whisk until smooth. Slowly add the milk and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 2 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a skillet, saute onion in remaining butter, until tender. Add the panko crumbs, the crab. parsley, salt, pepper, old bay, and 2 tbsp. of the white sauce. Heat through.

Flatten the chicken breast to 1/4 in thick. I find it easiest to cover the chicken with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and then pound the chicken with a meat tenderizor, but whatever gets the job done.

Scoop about 1/2 cup of stuffing mixture onto a chicken breast and roll up. Secure with a toothpick, or two, or three toothpicks..and place into a greased baking dish.

Pour remaining white sauce over the chicken, and top with shredded swiss cheese and paprika. Bake uncovered for 30 min.

I served it with white rice and it was perfect. Enjoy!