GUY FIERI'S WHITE LASAGNA WITH SPICY TURKEY SAUSAGE AND MUSHROOMS

This is the best lasagna I have ever had.  Seriously, ever.  In my entire life!  I am not patting myself too hard on the back here because all the credit goes to Guy Fieri.  His recipe was perfection.  Click here to find out for yourself!

This is a tomato-less lasagna and that includes the sauce.  Instead of a marinara, it oozes with a creamy white cheese sauce.  Surprisingly it didn't feel heavy, like a typical creamy pasta dish.  The addition of mushrooms, spinach and zucchini help push it away from the "heavy" category as well.

Speaking of spinach, I made a couple tweaks to the recipe.  Spinach was not listed as an ingredient.  Nor did the recipe call for copious amounts of cheese.  I know you are absolutely SHOCKED to hear that I deviated from the plan, and for that, I apologize.  No, you know what?  I don't!  I will never apologize for using extra cheese.  Anyway, here are the changes:  a full cup of parmesan for the sauce, chopped fresh spinach mixed into the ricotta mixture, aaaaaaaand like maybe double the amount of mozzarella.  What?  Cheese is delicious.

P.S. The people I served this to had seconds.  Gave compliments to the chef with their mouths full.  Asked for leftovers to take home.  Two mushroom haters gobbled it down.  It's that good.

BAKED TURKEY SPINACH MEATBALLS

These little meatballs are amazing.  Whenever I make them, I find myself hunched over the kitchen counter just popping them in my mouth.  You could find a more refined technique, like eating them with pasta and marinara, or inside a meatball sub, or with pesto and vegetables.  Don't be like me.  Or do, because it's a delicious way to live.  Also, these are delicious served with some soy sauce for dipping.

Before we get started, I need to tell you a little secret: you must taste the meatballs before you bake them!  How, you ask?  Prepare the meat mixture, then form a tiny little patty and cook it in a skillet, like a burger.  If it tastes fab, proceed.  If it needs some additional flavoring, add needed spices and test again.  Sounds like a pain, but it's a much better option than ending up with a huge batch of meatballs that aren't properly seasoned. 

Saute onions and seasonings, then add chopped spinach.

Allow the mixture of onions and spinach to cool, or throw it in the fridge to speed up the process.

Combine ground turkey, panko, and eggs.

Combine the two mixtures, then form into meatballs.

I am terrible at math, and Costco packages their meat in irregular portions.  I filled an entire baking sheet with meatballs only to realize I still had half the meat mixture left!  I also forgot we own several baking sheets, and instead grabbed a mini muffin tin, thinking, "Wow, this will be fantastic for meatballs!"  It was not.  The meatballs took longer to cook in the muffin tin, and got a weird char on the bottom.  Anyway, I ended up making a gazillion meatballs AND had meat leftover.  Stay tuned this week for a recipe (hint: homemade dumplings!) to use up any extra meat.  If you follow the recipe below and use the proper amount of turkey, you'll make about 40 meatballs.

Bake and enjoy!

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground turkey
2 large eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs (you may use more or less, depending on how sticky your mixture is)
4 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 bags spinach, 8 ounces each

Chop spinach and set aside.  Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Stir in salt, pepper, oregano and crushed red pepper.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.  Add a splash of Worcestershire if the mixture seems dry.  Add spinach by handfuls, stirring to wilt.  Cook until most liquid has evaporated from mixture, then set aside to cool.
Combine turkey, eggs, breadcrumbs and Worcestershire in large bowl.  Mix until well blended.  Add more breadcrumbs if mixture seems overly sticky.  Refrigerate 30-60 minutes to prepare the meat for handling, if necessary.  Combine meat and spinach mixture.  Prepare two baking sheets with Pam sprayed foil.  Form turkey into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.  Place on prepared baking sheets.  You should have about 40 meatballs.  Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked through. 

SPINACH ARTICHOKE CHICKEN PASTA BAKE

Have you ever been in the middle of making a recipe, then decided to completely change it?  That's how this meal came to be.  The original recipe was for simple and delicious spinach artichoke chicken, which we've had several times.  You place chicken breasts or tenders in a baking dish, then mix together spinach, artichokes, parmesan cheese and mayo, then spread it over chicken and bake. Easy.

BUT, as I was spreading the mixture over the chicken it suddenly became very obvious that the spinach dominated the dish and the chicken was basically invisible.  It wasn't a lot of chicken, and who wants to eat just forkfuls of spinach for dinner?  Usually in cases like these, I turn to my best friend: pasta.  And what do all delicious pasta dishes need?  That's right, a creamy dreamy cheese sauce.  Mozzarella seemed like a perfect match for spinach, and there just so happened to be half a block sitting in the fridge.  You guys, it was like fate.  Word of warning: this completely filled a 13x9 baking dish, so if you're not feeding a crowd, halve the recipe.

Boil about 3/4 a pound of pasta with kosher salt, reserving a cup or so of starchy, salty pasta water.  Mozzarella is a sturdy cheese, and when it's melted it still manages to keep its consistency pretty well.  Adding pasta water really helps to smoothly mix the ingredients together.

Make an easy roux with butter and flour, add milk, remove from heat and whisk in cheese.  Throw in some salt, pepper and crushed red pepper for flavor.

When chicken is done baking with spinach mixture, cut it apart in the baking dish and mix it all up.  Pour cooked pasta on top, then cheese sauce, and finally the pasta water.  Stir until combined, then sprinkle on some parmesan before the final bake.

Ingredients

1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenders or breasts
2 bags frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
2 cans artichoke hearts in water, drained rinsed and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise (or nonfat Greek yogurt)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for topping
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 pound rotini pasta

Cheese sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella
salt
freshly ground black pepper
crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray, then lay chicken flat without overlapping in dish.  Season with salt and pepper.  In large bowl, combine spinach, artichokes, mayonnaise, parmesan and garlic together.  Taste, add salt and pepper if needed.  Spread mixture over chicken.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, until chicken is done.  Remove from oven, cut apart chicken and mix with spinach.
Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente (it will cook a little more in the oven) and scoop out a cup of pasta water before draining.
For the cheese sauce: melt butter in saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in flour.  Keep whisking until thick and light brown/caramel colored, about 3-4 minutes.  Slowly pour in milk while whisking.  Keep stirring until it thickens and reaches a boil, about 5-7 minutes.  Remove from heat, then stir in cheese.  Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Pour pasta on top of chicken spinach mixture, then pour cheese sauce all over.  Pour in hot pasta water and mix well.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup parmesan on top, then bake for 10 minutes.  Switch oven to high broil, then keep a close eye on it until it's slightly browned, about 5 more minutes. 

Note:  This recipe is super versatile.  I used what I had on hand.  If you love chicken, use more than a pound.  If you're not obsessed with pasta, use less.  Switch up the cheese.  If you're not a mayo fan, sub nonfat Greek yogurt.  Go wild!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE FRITTATA

I bought ingredients to make some kind of Italian inspired pasta and was very excited about it!  Then, my other half reminded me about the dozen eggs sitting in the fridge that were about to expire.  He also declared his love for frittatas, so this dinner was born.  Mild Italian sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, aged Italian cheeses and of course, eggs.  Easy, filling, delicious and perfect to pack for lunch the next day.  Fresh tomatoes would be delicious, but there were only 6 grape tomatoes leftover from salad night.  I used those in addition to the can of tomatoes.  I may double the tomatoes next time I make this.  I had 3 packages of mushrooms and the jumbo bag of spinach, so this frittata is huge.  It fit in a 9x13 dish and would be perfect for a crowd.  If you're not planning to feed an army, just halve the recipe to fit in a pie dish!

 

This recipe is so versatile: use spicy sausage for an extra kick, a variety of mushrooms, sub Egg Beaters for the eggs, add Italian seasoning or use a different blend of cheeses.  Frittatas are fab because you can suit them to your taste!  My first frittata was very breakfasty: potatoes, cheddar, onions, peppers and Jimmy Dean sausage.  This one has a dinner/Italian flavor.

You guys, it is AGED TO PERFECTION.

Ingredients

1 lb mild Italian sausage
3 containers sliced mushrooms, 8 ounces each
1 can petite diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces, drained of ALL liquid
1 clove chopped garlic
1 bag spinach, 9 ounces
9 eggs
1 container shredded Italian cheese blend, 6 ounces
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste*

Preheat oven to 350.  Brown and crumble sausage in nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Remove to large baking dish, 9x13.  In same skillet, saute mushrooms with salt and pepper until cooked down and all liquid has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes.  Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.  Add drained tomatoes and cook until most liquid has evaporated.  Add in spinach by the handful, stirring to wilt.  When liquid has significantly reduced, add sausage back to skillet.  Stir to combine ingredients.  Spray baking dish with nonstick spray.  Add meat mixture in an even layer to dish.  In a large bowl beat eggs with salt and pepper, then carefully pour over meat mixture in dish.  Sprinkle cheese evenly on top, then bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until eggs have set.  Slice and serve immediately.

Note:  Depending on the sausage and cheese you use, you will need to adjust your salt accordingly.  Eggs need lots of salt for flavor, but be familiar with the saltiness of your cheese. 

BAKED PESTO CHICKEN WITH SPINACH

Chicken.  Pesto.  Spinach.  Pasta.  Melty, broiled cheese.  Do I need to tell you more, or are you already convinced you need to make this meal?  Okay, one more important thing to tell you: remember this pasta?  I purchased Rao's sauce again, and it MADE this dish.

Layer sauce, spinach, seasoned chicken

The good stuff.

Spread pesto over chicken

After cooking, top with cheese!

Broiled cheese: beautiful.  Broiled spinach: woof.

Ingredients

1.5-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken tenders
1 jar pesto, or about 1 cup homemade
1 jar marinara sauce (or your favorite pasta sauce)
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
1 bag baby spinach, 9 oz.
Italian seasoning
Coarse kosher salt
pepper
1/2 lb pasta

Preheat oven to 375.  Start a large pot of water boiling for pasta.  Coat bottom of 9x13 baking dish with about 1/2 cup marinara sauce.  Lay spinach leaves on top.  Season both sides of chicken with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  Place on top of spinach, avoiding overlapping.  Spread pesto on top of chicken.  Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes, until chicken is almost done.  Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese on top, put the foil back on and bake for about 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.  Remove foil and broil for about 3 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly.  While chicken is baking, boil pasta in salted water according to package directions.    Drain pasta and mix with remaining marinara sauce.  Serve chicken over pasta.

SKILLET PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND SPINACH

This simple pasta dish has such fresh flavor.  It came together in about half an hour and only used one skillet.  Perfect for a weeknight dinner, then packing the leftovers for lunch the next day.  This was one of the first ever meals I cooked for my man.  That was way back in the days when I thought putting bagel bites in the toaster oven rather than the microwave made me a true cooking connoisseur.  Seriously.  If this meal was easy enough for that girl, it's easy enough for anybody.

Saute mushrooms until beautiful!

Cook your pasta in delicious, meaty broth

Gorgeous.  Time to add some cheese!

Eat up, buttercup!

Ingredients

1 lb sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
2 1/2 cups rotini (or any short pasta)
2 cups beef broth
2 cups water
6 oz baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup grated parmesan
crushed red pepper, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Add mushrooms to large skillet and cook over medium high heat.  Cook mushrooms until tender and cooked down a bit, 5-10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, then add 1 clove of garlic.  Stir until fragrant, about a minute.  Remove to plate.  Add sausage to skillet, crumble and brown until fully cooked.  Drain off fat.  Add remaining 2 cloves of garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.  Pour in pasta, broth and water.  Bring to a boil then simmer for about 15 minutes, until pasta is done and most liquid has evaporated.  Turn off heat.  Add spinach by handfuls, stirring until wilted.  Stir in mushrooms and parmesan.  Taste, then add necessary salt and pepper.

*Notes: feel free to use spicy sausage, chicken sausage, whatever floats your boat.  Sub sundried tomatoes or another veggie for the mushrooms if you'd like.  This meal can easily be suited to your tastes!

SAUSAGE POTATO FRITTATA

I really enjoy quiche, but I do not like pastry crust.  I eat it like a child, managing to only get bites of filling, then throw away the crust.  Imagine my surprise when I found out a frittata is simply a crustless quiche.  Am I the last person to be aware of this fact?

Frittatas are wonderful because they are so versatile.  You can go all veggie, meaty, dairy free, light or heavy.  I chose to use breakfast sausage, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, spinach, potatoes and a layer of cheese on top.  But really, go wild and use whatever you want!

Ingredients

7 eggs
1-2 containers sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 bag fresh baby spinach
1 roll Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, original flavor
1-2 cups cooked diced potatoes (I sauteed frozen diced hash browns to save myself from cooking/chopping potatoes)
1 cup shredded cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Saute onions, peppers and mushrooms in a large nonstick skillet until soft, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Brown and crumble sausage in same skillet, then add the cooked veggies back in.  Add spinach handfuls at a time, stirring to help it wilt.  Stir in the potatoes.  At this point you can taste the mixture and add salt/pepper accordingly.  Spray a glass dish (I used a pie dish) with Pam, then pour the meat mixture in the dish.  Beat eggs in separate bowl, then add salt and pepper.  Carefully pour eggs on top of meat mixture.  Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.  Bake, uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until eggs have set.