Menu Monday #15

Lasagna-I'm doing one for tonight and one for the freezer-here's how-

1 pound of Italian sausage, browned
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Oven ready lasagna noodles
32 oz part-skim ricotta
1 and 1/2 cups freshly grated mozzarella, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 egg
1 Tablespoon dried parsley

Brown Sausage in a large skillet, add sauce and let simmer. Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all other ingredients except 1/2 cup mozzarella in a mixing bowl.

Here are the pans I use.

They are available on amazon here. Free Shipping with Amazon Prime.

I highly recommend getting 3 or 4 if you want to start freezing meals. These have been the one thing (okay 4 things) that have enabled me to do this. Before, I never felt like I had the right "equipment" these are literally all you need.

Line one with two sheets of foil with plenty of overhang....

Now, assemble your lasagna by spooning a bit of sauce into the bottom of each pan and spread it around.

Then layer noodles, sauce, cheese mixture. Noodles sauce, cheese mixture.

 Noodles sauce cheese mixture. Top with reserved mozzarella.
Pop one in the oven and cover the other with foil.

Place in the freezer in the Pyrex. Tomorrow remove the foil wrapped frozen lasagna from the pan, slide into a labeled, gallon size freezer bag. You just spent about two extra minutes making a whole dinner for another night down the road!

Pork Chops and Roasted Cabbage- I'm bringing these back this week. I know y'all liked them too based on the texts and comments I got from some of you! I'm so happy y'all liked them and shared them with the Pinterest world!! Here they are again this week for us to enjoy! Welcome Pinterest Pork Chop People!!

Pork Chops and Oven Roasted Cabbage- if you've all but given up on pork chops, I urge you to try cooking them this way. Over the past 7 years I have prepared many mediocre pork chops...until I discovered this magical method. Its super simple too--

You'll need:

3-4 boneless center cut pork chops

1 head of cabbage

1 medium onion (I use Spanish, but whatever)

olive oil

salt and pepper

Creole Seasoning (I use Tony Chachere)

Preheat to 350, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil with plenty of overhang. Sprinkle Creole Seasoning over both sides of pork chops, set aside. Chop Cabbage into 6-8 chunks or wedges, discard outer leaves and core. Coarsely chop onion. Place cabbage, onion and pork on aluminum foil in center of pan, tucking pork in among cabbage chunks. drizzle all with olive oil, add salt, pepper and more creole seasoning over the top. Place a second sheet of aluminum foil loosely over top and seal edges all the way around. You will have a foil packet that should allow for some airspace. 

Pop in the oven for 1 hour, let rest for 5 minutes before opening foil then serve. I make macaroni and cheese with this and its just perfect. 

So easy and yummy, you'll find yourself loving pork chops from now on. 

Simple Meatloaf- this is the quickest, easiest meal in my arsenal. With the hectic Christmas schedule, I need quick and easy one night this week.

1 pound ground beef, or a mix package of 1/3 pound pork, 2/3 ground beef, one egg, envelope of Lipton Onion Soup mix, pepper. Mix it up, spread it in a casserole and bake at 350 for an hour. 15 minutes before its done open a small can of tomato sauce, stir in a few shakes of Worcestershire and garlic salt and coat top of meatloaf. Ta-dah! And leftovers for lunch!!!

Frontier Casserole (courtesy of Kate at 2 Kids, a Minivan and  a Mortgage) Kate first shared this recipe and I've made it several times. Its also an easy-peasy crowd pleaser. With Chicken, Sausage and Yellow Rice as the main ingredients this is great for a pot-luck, tailgate or anytime year-round. I'm so glad she shared this!

3 chicken breasts cooked and chopped

1 pound browned breakfast sausage

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 small can of mushrooms (optional)

1 package yellow (saffron) rice prepared per package directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, place in a greased 9x13 baking dish, bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

Spaghetti and Meatballs- I make my meatballs by combining equal parts ground beef and pork, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and just about 1/2 cup of Japanese breadcrumbs for 2 pounds of meat. I brown mine in a skillet with a little olive oil and add sauce when they are cooked through.

If its easier for you to open a bag of frozen, that is okay with me. They are also delish. :)

That rounds out or 5 days of dinner this week.

I'll be in the kitchen aplenty this week making some Christmas cookies and making the most of the holiday season!