Sloppy Lasagna

Sloppy Lasagna

I am an Italian-American. My father grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Boston. My mother is from a tiny Southern town in Florida. Those two cuisines can come together to make interesting dishes. Shrimp and Grits can become Shrimp and Polenta. Summer squash can be cooked along with zucchini. AND you can mix the fun sandwich Sloppy Joes with the Sunday favorite lasagna and have Sloppy Lasagna. This was so good.

All lasagna takes a great deal of work. This is made easier by using oven-ready pasta. You can also make the Sloppy Joes, through step three, the day before.

If you like this, try my other Sloppies: Sloppy Josés and Sloppy Guiseppes.

Servings: 10-12

Time:  Active time 25 minutes; Cook: 1 ½ hours, Sloppy Goodness in about 2 hours

Hardware: A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a large heavy bottomed skillet, a can opener, a wooden spoon, a mixing bowl, a whisk, a silicone spatula, a 13x9x3 glass baking dish and a baking sheet

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
• 1 small onion (½ cup) Save $
• 1 small bell pepper (½ cup) Save $
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar Save $
• ½ teaspoon salt Save $
• 1 cup ketchup Save $
• 1 tablespoon vinegar Save $
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Save $
• 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1-9 oz box oven ready lasagna (I used Barilla)
• 2 eggs
• 1-16 oz container ricotta cheese
• 2 teaspoons of your favorite steak seasoning (I used McCormick Grill mate Montreal)
• 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1.      Preheat oven to 375.

2.      Chop the onion and bell pepper. Set aside.

3.      Heat the skillet over medium high heat. Add the beef, onions and peppers. Cook and crumble until the meat is no longer pink. This should take 5-7 minutes. Stir in the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, tomato sauce and beef stock. Bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer until thickened. This should take about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4.      Combine the eggs, ricotta cheese, one cup of the cheddar and the steak seasoning. Set aside.

5.      Spread 1 cup of the sloppy joes on bottom of the glass pan.

6.      Now layer 4 uncooked noodles (it is okay if they overlap), ⅓ of the ricotta mixture, 1 cup of the cheese, ⅓ of the sauce. Use the spatula to spread the ricotta to the edges.  End with the Sloppy Joe and set aside 1 cup of the cheese. You should have 3 layers. Place the pan on the baking sheet in case the lasagna boils over. Cover with foil, place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 55 minutes.

7.      Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted. This should take 5 minutes.

8.      Allow the Sloppy Lasagna to rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Serve with Wilted Spinach.

Greek Rice Bowls

Rice bowls are fun to make for dinner. You cook up a few different elements and everyone can make his own bowl as if he were at a buffet. Therefore, rice bowls are great if say your husband is a picky eater (I’m looking at you, Jeff) and you are not. They are also lovely and that means you can serve them to company. Finally, if done properly, they are delicious.

Greek Rice Bowl

To do a rice bowl (or any dish for that matter) properly, you must have the correct balance of bitter, salty, sweet, sour and umami. Umami is the taste of protein. Spinach, cucumber salad, hummus and a beef mixture made with a perfect blend of herbs (including mint) creates the perfect bite.

At first glance this recipe probably appears overwhelming. There are many elements to this dish and you are making them all at once. To tackle this, you should 1. Make the cucumber salad. 2. Then slice and measure everything else. 3. Put the rice water onto boil and then begin to cook the meat. 4. Cook the rice while finishing the beef. 5. When you have about 4 minutes left on the rice cooking time, wilt the spinach. Read through the recipe completely before you get started. It took me 40 minutes to make this, but I am practiced. If you are a novice, I would guess this might take an hour, but it is so worth it.

Rice bowls are their own entrée, sides and salads. I served mine with Hummus and Creamy FetaDressing. You can make these yourself or buy your favorite brand at the grocers. Give all your guests a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the whole dish before eating.

Servings: 4-6

Time:  Active time 40 minutes; Cook: 30 Minutes, Rice bowls in about 40 minutes (maybe longer)

Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a vegetable peeler, a large storage container with a lid, a large microwave safe bowl covered by a plate, a large sauce pot, a deep skillet, a strainer, a wooden spoon, small bowls for pre-measuring, a serving bowl for the rice and a slotted spoon for the salad 

Ingredients:

• 1 large Spanish onion (8 oz)
• 2 large tomatoes (1 lb.)
• 2 large cucumbers (1 1b.)
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• Cold water
• 1 + 1 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1 + 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 ½ cups rice
• 1-8-ounce bag of baby spinach
• Olive oil to cover pan
• 1 ½ pounds ground beef
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 small yellow onion (4oz)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 8 mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 + ¼ teaspoon salt
• Hummus, toasted pita or naan bread, Creamy Feta Dressing, lemon wedges, sliced olives

Garlic, dill, parsley, mint, oregano and cinnamon make this delicious

1. Slice the Spanish onion into rings. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Peel and slice the cucumbers. Place these veggies, 1 tablespoon dill, 1 tablespoon parsley, ¼ teaspoon salt and the apple cider vinegar into the storage container. Add enough cold water to cover the veggies. Stir and put the salad into the fridge until dinner.
2. Chop the yellow onion and garlic. Measure and roughly chop the herbs (you can mix them and the spices together in a small bowl until you need them.) Measure the rice. Set everything aside.
3. Fill the sauce pot with salted water and place it over high heat. When it comes to a boil, stir in the rice. Boil for 20 minutes, stirring only often enough to keep it from sticking. Strain the rice and place it in a serving bowl. Adjust the salt.
4. As soon as you put the water on to boil, begin cooking the meat. Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan over medium high heat.
5. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.
6. Add the herbs and cook for a minute or two more. Stir in the ground beef and salt. Cook and crumble until the meat is no longer pink.
7. Add the beef broth and allow everything to come to a boil. Turn the heat down to a low simmer. Simmer until you are ready to serve, stirring only often enough to keep the beef from sticking.
8. When the rice is almost finished, place the spinach in the large bowl. It doesn’t matter if you need to smash it down a little to fit it all in. Sprinkle to with a tiny bit of water and a tiny bit of salt. Cover the bowl with a plate. Microwave the spinach on high and leave it under the plate until you are ready to serve. When you begin to wilt the spinach, you can also toast bread if you are serving it.
9. To plate (bowl?), fill each bowl with rice. Then visually divide the bowl into quarters. Fill one quarter with drained cucumber salad, one with spinach, the 3^rd with Hummus and the 4^th with meat. Place a tablespoon of Creamy Feta Dressing on the meat. Give each guest a quarter of a lemon to squeeze over their entire bowl right before eating.

Instant Pot Black Beans

Instant Pot Black Beans

I promise that every recipe isn’t going to be in my Instant Pot®. Still, it is so easy to use. So very easy.

We just returned from Las Vegas. We had so much fun. We ate at Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen and Blossom. (We did other stuff, but that stays in Vegas.) But now we are home, my husband has a terrible cold and my students’ Advance Placement Psychology exam is in less than a month. So busy, so tired.

I MacGyvered this from a few pantry items and the veggie drawer. It was so delicious and took no effort.

I didn’t soak the beans before cooking them. Remember the plan here is less effort. Allow the beans to naturally release for at least 10 minutes, they continue to cook. You can find Goya Sazón in the the Hispanic food section at your grocery store. I use the Coriander & Annatto flavors. You can control the heat with the type of Ro-Tel you use. If you do not like spice, chose Ro-Tel mild. Original is spicier than mild. Ro-Tel hot is Very spicy. Of course, that is what I used.

Servings: 6-8

Hardware: A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, an Instant Pot®, a can opener, a wooden spoon, a silicone oven mitt

Time: Active time: 10 minutes; Cook: 40 minutes; Beans in about an hour

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of dried black beans, rinsed and picked through
• 1 large onion (8 ounces)
• 1 bell pepper (8 ounces)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes
• 6 cups veggie stock
• 2 packets Goya Sazón
• Salt
• 4 cups of hot, cooked white rice, diced Spanish onion, cilantro and hot sauce

1. Roughly chop the onions, peppers and garlic. Open the Ro-Tel.
2. Pick over the beans and place them in the Instant Pot. Pour in the veggie stock. Stir in the chopped veggies and tomatoes.
3. Make sure the lid is in the sealing position. Seal and pressure cook on high for 40 minutes. Allow the steam to naturally release for at least 10 minutes. That means that you just leave it alone. After 10 minutes, you can put on the mitt and change the valve to release. Wait until the float drops. Carefully, with the opening facing away, open the lid. Turn the IP off (cancel.) Stir in the Sazón and use the sauté feature to bring the beans back to a boil. Salt to taste. Turn the IP off.
4. Serve right away over rice, garnished with diced onion and a little cilantro. Offer hot sauce to your guests.