The Real Deal

So when you go shopping, you find a pair of tennis shoes, you try them on and they're the best shoes you've ever tried on in your life. You buy them and after a couple days you just say to yourself, man, I wish I would have found these shoes a long time ago, my feet have never been more comfortable in their life! Well, that just happened with dinner tonight!! Why have I ever in my life, made lasagna with pasta? One will never know!!



Cheese Noodle Lasagna 
(Serves 4)

Noodles:
2 large Eggs
4 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Onion Powder


Filling
1 lb Ground Beef, 85% lean
1 1/2 cups Rao Marinara Sauce
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Basil
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded

Noodles:
1) Preheat the oven to 375F and line a 9"x13" (or larger) baking dish with parchment paper. Using a mixer, blend together the eggs and cream cheese until nice and smooth. Add the Parmesan and spices and blend until combined. Add the mozzarella to the mixture and fold it in with a wooden spoon or spatula, don't use the mixer.
2) Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before cutting in half.

Filling & Assembly:
1) In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Add spices and marinara sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes.
2) Put 1/3 of the beef mixture in the bottom of an 8"x8" baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the noodle sheet. Layer another third of the sauce on the noodle. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and the Parmesan over sauce. Top with second 1/2 of the noodle. Use the remaining meat sauce to cover the noodle and sprinkle remaining mozzarella on the meat sauce. Sprinkle with parsley for added color if desired.
3) Bake at 350F for 20 minutes until bubbly and hot.  Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Calories: 540
Fat: 38g
Carb: 5  Net Carb: 4
Protein: 39

This lasagna is seriously the best lasagna you will ever eat! The texture is amazing, the flavors are spot on and the cheese noodles stand up to the test! Italian eating is no longer off the menu, in fact, it'll definitely be on there more often!

Winter Warmth

There's nothing better on a cold winter night than a nice hot bowl of soup to take away the chill.  When that bowl of soup is Zuppa Toscana and it's Weight Watcher friendly you get warm all the way to your toes!

Don't let that whole "Weight Watcher" thing fool you!  This soup is loaded with flavor and is probably the best I've ever tasted.  Now granted, I haven't been to Italy yet, but it is definitely the best I've ever tasted in an American Italian restaurant!  Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Zuppa Toscana

16 oz. Isernio's Chicken Italian Sausage

1/2 large onion, diced

6 slices bacon, diced

3 gloves garlic, minced

4 medium potatoes, diced

2 cups kale, chopped

2/3 cup heavy cream

6 cups chicken broth, fat free

2 cups water

~  In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage until no longer pink.  Set aside.

~  In the same skillet, over medium heat, cook onion and bacon until onions are clear.  Add minced garlic and cook until onions and garlic are soft and bacon has slightly crisped.

~  In a large soup pot or dutch oven, combine chicken broth, water, potatoes and onion mixture.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are slightly softened.

~  Add kale, sausage and heavy cream to pot.  Continue simmering until kale has wilted and potatoes are soft.

Not only is this soup is so warm and delicious, it's very fast and easy.  Of course you can add salt and pepper and maybe even some red chili flakes to the sausage while it's cooking but none of that is really necessary.  It's got great flavor from the sausage and your still able to taste the subtle flavor of the kale.

This pot will serve 8 and each serving is 1 1/2 cups.  The best part is that it's only 7 pts - amazing!  Add a bread stick for 3 points and you'll be completely satisfied!

Personal Challenge

For the past 3 years I have subscribed to the cooking magazine "Cuisine at home".  I've enjoyed cooking many meals and desserts from the beautiful, ad free pages with every single one of them being over-the-top amazing. Unfortunately, over the past year or two, it's become much easier to find recipes on the internet through Pinterest, as well as some of my favorite blogs, and I've forgotten my stacking-up gems.  

As I've cooked through the pages I've often thought I'd like to challenge myself to cook every single recipe.  To try new things, experiment with all the new and challenging foods they tempt me with and to learn the new techniques presented in each issue.  The magazines are quite pricey so if you'd rather come over to my blog for free, here's your chance to sample some true cuisine...  right in your own home!

Butternut Squash & Sausage Cannelloni
    with Sage Bechamel Sauce

8 flat, no-boil, dry lasagna sheets 
6 oz Isernio's Italian Sausage
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 cups diced butternut squash
1/4 cup diced red onion
3 tsp fresh minced garlic
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tsp sugar
4-5 cups fresh baby spinach
1 1/2 cup Fontina cheese, shredded
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1 tsp each ground sage and sage leaves
Pinch of nutmeg 

~  Cover a baking sheet with foil and coat with nonstick spray.  Blanch the sheets of lasagna in a pot of boiling salted water until pliable, 2-3 minutes.  Arrange sheets in a single layer on prepared baking sheets.

~  Brown sausage in half the oil over medium-high heat until no longer pink; transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.  Saute squash and onion in remaining olive oil in the same pan until onions soften, 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

~  Add broth and sugar; cover and steam until squash softens and liquid evaporates, 3-5 minutes.  Stir in spinach until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Add sausage and season with salt and pepper, cool briefly.

~  Combine 3/4 cup fontina, ricotta and 1/2 cup Parmesan in a bowl; stir in squash-sausage mixture.

~  Preheat oven to 425 F with rack 6 inches from element.  Coat a baking dish with nonstick spray.

~  For the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; whisk in flour and cook 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in milk, add sage, and increase heat to medium-high.  Bring sauce to a simmer, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened, 3-5 minutes.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg (taste please).

~  Coat bottom of baking dish with about a third of the sauce.

~  Fill and roll sheets with 1/2 cup filling (place filling on one end of pasta sheet and start rolling to other end); arrange in baking dish, seam sides down.

~  Top cannelloni with remaining sauce and remaining cheeses; cover loosely with foil poked with several holes.

~  Bake cannelloni 20 minutes; uncover and broil on high until golden and bubbly, about 3 minutes.

~  Serves 3-4

As with all recipes from "Cuisine At Home", this is full of flavor and texture! The recipes usually aren't simple and the ingredient lists are generally quite lengthy but in the end, every single step and ingredient is well worth it!  (I did make some minor modifications from the original recipe but left the bulk of it intact.)

Stay tuned for more "Cuisine At Home" cooking as I attempt my long awaited personal challenge!