Skillet Lasagna and Leafy Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Last night I made Skillet Lasagna for dinner.  My family loves lasagna so I thought that this would be a good and quick way to make it.  Essentially everything is prepared in the skillet.  There is no baking at all.  The recipe calls for a meatloaf mix for the meat, which is a combination of ground beef, pork, and veal.  I just used 1-lb of ground beef since that is what I normally use in my lasagna.  Once the beef is browned, the noodles are broken into 2-inch pieces and placed on top of the ground beef, then the tomato sauce mixture placed on top of the that and the mixture is simmered for about 20 minutes.  Parmesan cheese is stirred in and tablespoon size dots of ricotta cheese are placed over the mixture.  The final step involved sprinkling with basil and Parmesan. 

While the meal was very quick and easy to prepare I felt that it lacked in flavor.  I personally added more basil, some oregano, a little more salt, and some mozzarella cheese to mine.  That helped a bit, but it still seemed to be lacking something.  My husband described it as tasting like Hamburger Helper.  Yuk! Despite the simplicity of the recipe I will not be making it again.  I would rather take the time to prepare my regular lasagna.

In addition to the Skillet Lasagna, I also made Leafy Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette.  Like the lasagna, it was very easy to throw together, taking maybe 3 minutes.  However, the red wine vinaigrette was a flavor that none of us preferred.  Luckily the dressing wasn't so overpowering that we couldn't add another dressing to mask it, and that's what each of us did to save the salad.

Not every recipe is bound to be a success, but you won't know until you try it.  The Skillet Lasagna was not uneatable, it just lacked the flavor of my normal lasagna.

Next on the menu:

Pan-Seared Inexpensive Steaks w/ Tomato Caper Pan Sauce 
Broiled Asparagus

Easy Apple Strudel w/ Tangy Whipped Cream

Easy Apple Strudel was very easy and quick to make with America's Test Kitchen recipe.  It basically replaced the homemade dough for store bought.  They suggested 10 (14 by 9-inch) sheets phyllo, thawed.  Well, I looked and I looked for these in the freezer section at both Meijer and Kroger and online.  I did find Athens phyllo shells and phyllo dough, but not the sheets at Meijer.  So I looked online at the Athens Pastries website and did find what I was looking for:  Athens Pastries twin pack fillo dough 9" x 14".  So I went to Kroger and I looked around in the freezer section and finally found the frozen dough.  However, I was in a hurry and carrying my 10 month old baby, saw pastries sheets and grabbed two boxes of them.  When I got home I realized I had bought Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets.  I didn't have time to take them back, so I used them instead.  The recipe states that the apple filling will make 1 large apple strudel.  Since I got the wrong sheets, I had to make four smaller strudels.  Aside from the phyllo sheet mix-up, the only other change I made was  the Calvados or apple cider.  The recipe called for simmering the raisins and the Calvados at medium heat and the let stand and drain.  Well I didn't have either Calvados or apple cider on hand and I wasn't going to buy a bottle of French apple brandy just for 2 tablespoons so the raisins can soak.  Instead I just soaked the raisins in water until I needed them. 

Overall, the recipe was good.  My son really liked it, my husband not so much.  I was indifferent.  But I probably won't make this recipe again.  I did make the Tangy Whipped Cream recipe that went along with the Easy Apple Strudel.  The whipped cream was real easy to make and had a nice flavor.  I will probably make that again for another recipe.

It's Chinese Night! On The Menu: PORK LO MEIN

Pork Lo Mein a classic Chinese take-out meal turned homemade.  I must say that I think that I prefer the homemade version.  First of all I didn't get sick, which is what usually happens when eat out anywhere other than pizza or Subway. Second, the pork was very tender and plentiful.  Third, it wasn't overly greasy or salty (you got to expect a little with Chinese food).  Finally, it was pretty quick and easy to prepare. 

I do want to note that there are a lot of ingredients for this recipe.  Many of which I had to hunt down in the Asian aisle at Meijer.  The cost of these ingredients did add up, but most of them I barely used and I have a feeling that I will be using them for future recipes.  Also there are a lot of steps to this recipe, but each step goes very quickly so read the recipe in advance.

The recipe suggested to sear one pound boneless country-style pork ribs in a cast-iron skillet, which was what I did and they did sear nicely.  The recipe also called for shiitake mushrooms.  Meijer did not have any available so I just used sliced baby bella mushrooms.  As for the noodles, the recipe stated that your can either use fresh Chinese noodles or dried linguine.  I went with the dried linguine, and it work very well. 

Overall, everyone like this recipe and would like to have it again.  However, everyone did say that it was very filling. In fact, so filling that no one was able to finish their plate!

On the menu for tonight:

Skillet Lasagna
Leafy Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Perfect Potstickers with Scallion Dipping Sauce: Our Appetizer for Chinese Night

Normally I would include my comments for this recipe with the main dish for the night, but I have quite a bit to say about these guys that I decided to create a post just for them.

Perfect Potstickers?
You might ask, what are potstickers?  I was wondering myself what they were when I opened America's Test Kitchen Cookbook to the Let's Do Takeout chapter and saw the first recipe listed entitled Perfect Potstickers.  There is a picture of them above the recipe, but that didn't really tell me what they were because I had not recognized them from any of the Chinese restaruants I have eaten at.  The book stated, "To achieve the "perfect potsticker" there goal was to create  soft, savory pillows filled with tender ground meat and crunchy cabbage and spiked with a pleasing hit of garlic, ginger, and soy.  And they didn't want to make the wrappers from scratch."  Hmmm. 

So this recipe can be made in advance, which from my experience is probably what you want to do especially if you plan on having other items with them.  The filling is very easy to make, basically like making meatloaf except with ground pork, cabbage, and scallions.  The time consuming part (the part I became frustrated with) is the working with the wrappers.  The recipe suggested to purchase 24 round gyoza wrappers...what's that???  Ok, so there is a side note that you can subsitute wonton wrappers instead.  Oh great!  I know actually what those are and where to find them at the grocery store (fyi: I'm being extremely sarcastic).  After many trips up and down the Asian food isle and frozen food isle at Meijer, I finally located them in the produce section (go figure) by the mushrooms.  What I found were wonton wrappers and they were square.  

The filling process seemed simple enough on paper and even simpler with a step-by-step picture process on the next page, but I struggled on the first few.  The book stated that they prefer round wrappers, I had square.  They said if using square wrappers, fold diagonally into a triangle.  Ok I did that.  The book states, fill 1 tablespoon of filling into 1 wonton wrapper.  Problem.  One tablespoon is way to much for my square wrappers.  Filling is pushing out everywhere and I had a major problem trying to get the wrappers sealed.  I finally determined that 1/2 tablespoon worked well on the square wrappers then folding them over into a triangle and sealing the filling in.  To seal the filling I first got a bowl of water for my fingers and dampened the wrapper before placing the filling on them.  Once the filling was on, and the wrapper was slightly damp the sealing process went fairly easy by just pressing and pinching the air pockets out of the dumpling. 

After about 15 minutes of doing this, I realized that I had hardly made a dent on the filling.  This was going to take forever.  So, I thought maybe I would try using 2 wrappers with 1 tablespoon of filling.  This worked, but end result was too big of a serving.  Also, I had left over filling.  I used that to make meatballs.    Once the potstickers were made, they were very easy to cook, you just have to make a small batch at a time.  That was fine, because fortunately the potstickers freeze very well.  So you don't have to cook them all in one day. 

The scallion dipping sauce  can also be made up to 24 hours in advance, but not really necessary it only took about 5 minutes to put together.    It had a very good, spicy flavor to it. 

Now for my review on the potstickers.  Despite their ugly appearance, they are quite good.  My son gobble up several of them right away.  He wasn't a big fan of the sauce because it was a little too hot for his liking.  My husband was leery about trying them because he said that he had had them before and didn't like them.  But after begging him to just try one he said that he liked them and the dipping sauce very well and then proceeded to eat more. 

I don't know if I will make these again after I use up my freezer store, because they did take a long time to make.  Perhaps if I come across some better wrappers I may give it a try, but if you want to take the time to make them, go for it, they tasted great!

Fudgy Low-Fat Brownies

The Fudgy Low-fat Brownies had mixed reviews.  While they were easy to make (especially while using the foil sling in the backing pan) and had a moist and fudgy texture, their flavor was  very strong.  Most, if not all of the tasters, were people who are accustom to the sweetness of store bought brownie mixes.  This recipe, on the other hand, were very rich in flavor which several people did not like.  Initially I cut the brownies into large squares, but came to realize that smaller bite-size pieces were the way to go since their richness went a long way.  I probably will not be making this recipe again, because both my husband and son were not a fan of them.  I guess not every recipe is bound to be a hit.  There are 3 more brownie recipes in the cookbook that I will try eventually.  Hopefully, one of them will be a better success.

Slow-Roasted Beef with Horseradish Cream Sauce & Smashed Potatoes

Today for dinner I made Slow-Roasted Beef with Horseradish Cream Sauce and Smashed Potatoes.  On my last post I stated that I was going to be making King Arthur Soft Dinner Rolls with this meal, but time permitted me to make them today.  Do not fret, I will be making them sometime soon. 

As for the Slow-Roasted Beef, it turned out very well.  I nice Medium-Rare bottom round roast.  Most of the time when preparing a bottom round roast, it turns out very dry and tough.  By roasting the beef at a very low temperature it turned out just the opposite, tender and juicy.  This recipe was very simple involving just a couple main steps: Brining the meat, searing, and slow roasting.  With the beef I prepared Horseradish Cream Sauce, which complimented the meat well.  My husband even ate the sauce, and he is not a horseradish fan!

The Smashed Potatoes were a big hit. I had never had potatoes this way before.  They had a rich and creamy flavor, with a chunky texture.  The red potatoes that were used in this recipe were literally smashed with a wooden spoon and folded into butter-cream cheese mixture. 

I would have preferred to include the King Arthur rolls with this meal, but the Slow-Roasted Beef and Smashed Potatoes were satisfying enough by themselves.  Besides, we had room for some left-over Peach Pie for dessert!!

I won't be making any meals until Sunday, but I will be making brownies on Friday.  So a preview for what's to come:


On the menu for Friday:
Fudgy Low-fat Brownies

On the menu for Sunday (we're doing Chinese)
Potsticker  w/ Scallion dipping sauce
Pork Lo Mein
And for dessert:
Easy Apple Strudel

Peach Pie

One word. Yum! 

I can't believe how well this pie turned out.  It wasn't soupy or overly sweet, the bottom crust wasn't soggy or undercooked.  The pie also set and cut very well.  The piece cut and the remaining pie held its form.  It was by far one of the best peach pie's both I and my husband has had.  He loves pie and raved about how good the crust was, and how the peaches maintained their natural flavor.

So how did I make it?  This pie was time consuming, I'm not going to lie.  However, it was not overly difficult.  I am usually intimidated making pies because of soupy insides, soggy crust, and pieces that fall apart when you cut them.  For this pie I used the Basic Double-Crust Pie Dough recipe, which called for 2 parts flour to 1 part fat.  The fat was key in this crust.  It called for a stick and a half of butter and a 1/2 cup vegetable shortening.  Now I most would use Crisco for the shortening.  I don't like Crisco. I think it is unnatural and unhealthy.  Instead I used Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening and it seemed to work just fine.  The recipe also recommended that I use a lattice-top structure to allow for maximum evaporation while the pie cooks so that some of the peach juices cook down making the filling not as soupy.  The other technique that helped with the juices was to let the sliced peaches sit in the sugar for a while and then drain most of the liquid.  Like I said before this was a time consuming pie due to a lot of waiting for crusts to chill and peaches to get juicy.  But overall this pie was fairly simple to prepare.  The only complaint I have is my poor crimping skills.  I suppose that will get better with time.

On the menu for tomorrow is:

 Slow-Roasted Beef with Horseradish Cream Sauce
Smashed Potatoes
I'm also going to make a box of King Arthur Flour Soft Dinner Rolls