Upside Down Lasagna

This is a break from the typical lasagna and is 10 times easier to make. With the standard “right side up” lasagna it takes a good bit of effort to cook the lasagna noodles, the meat sauce and mix the cheeses, and then layer them all together before baking the meal. This recipe leaves out several of those steps and doesn’t use lasagna noodles at all. This Lasagna is made in two steps, first the noodles and cheese are baked, and then a meat sauce is made while the pasta & cheese are baking. Finally the meat is place over top of the baked noodles and cheese forming the “upside down” lasagna.

Lasagna
1 lb of Your Favorite Vermicelli or Fettuccine Pasta
1 lb Ricotta Cheese
1/2 lb Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 lb Provolone Cheese
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water. Meanwhile, mix the cheeses together in a large bowl. Add the cooked pasta, and mix well using your hands. Bake in a 350° F oven for 30 to 40 minutes until top is browned. We use an aluminum disposable baking pan because after baking the cheese and pasta a regular baking pan is hard to clean.

Lasagna right out of the oven

Prepared Upside down Pasta and Cheese In Pan

Meat Sauce
1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 15oz can tomato sauce
3 tbsp Spatini Seasoning
1/2 cup water

Cook the ground beef or turkey in a 3 quart sauce pan, mixing around and breaking up the ground meat into fine chunks. Add the chopped onion and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes. Then add tomato sauce, Spatini and water. Mix well. Lower heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Assemble the Upside Down Lasagna
Cut a 4″ x 3″ piece of the cooked pasta/cheese and place on serving plate. Top with 1/2 cup of meat sauce. Sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan Cheese. Serve with Garlic Bread.

Spicy Old Bay Seasoned Shrimp

This is an absolutely delicious recipe for shrimp. It’s among our “keeper recipes”. The picture shows the shrimp served over Cajun Dirty Rice.

2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup julienne onion
1 pound 26/6- shrimp, peeled, deveined
1/2 cup chili sauce
1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 cup chicken stock

Cook onion in oil until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add cleaned shrimp, chili sauce, chicken stock, and Old Bay Seasoning. Cook, turning often for 4 to 5 minutes (or until shrimp are cooked and pink.

Since we’re ALWAYS concerned about eating healthy, we have to add this part: Chicken wings are the fattiest part of a chicken so should be eaten in moderation. This recipe doesn’t add much fat to the wings (unlike buffalo wings which are often deep fried after being dipped in a fatty sauce.)

Ingredients
2 Pounds Chicken Wings, rinsed well
2 tbsp Durkee Lime Pepper Seasoning
1/2 cup Lime Juice
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions

1. Combine Lime Pepper, Lime Juice and Olive Oil in a Pyrex cup.
2. Place chicken wings in a large self closing (i.e. Ziploc®) bag.
3. Pour seasoning mixture over wings.
4. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more, turning over occasionally to allow flavor to permeate the wings.
5. Heat oven to 475° F.
6. Place Lime Pepper Seasoned Wings in a baking pan that has been covered with non-stick aluminum foil.
7. Cover pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil, and back another 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Here’s a recipe we cooked up the other day that (we feel) was unique, tasty and wholesome. We thought we’d experiment around with Italian Seasoning and ended up with something we’d never have thought of. The result was sensuous … Italian Seasoning mixed with Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper along with the citrus flavor from Lime Juice. Try this recipe. It’s a keeper.

1 Pound Chicken Parts (your favorite)
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper
1/2 cup Lime Juice

In a large skillet place 1 tbsp olive oil. Add chicken pieces. Season with Italian Seasoning and Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper. Add 1/2 of the lime juice. Simmer. Cover and cook. Turn occasionally to cook chicken thoroughly — about 20 minutes. Add the remaining lime juice and cook, turning often to season, for another 5 minutes.

Note: It’s important that the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of at least 165° F. Use a meat thermometer to verify the chicken is done.

If you’re looking for an easy to make meal for four, that has a Mediterranean taste, and flair of Greece then consider the following dish. It’s made with ground lamb, spinach, onion, egg noodles and is flavored with McCormick Greek Seasoning. Some Feta cheese adds the final taste of Greece to the dish.

First start this dish by browning the ground lamb. At the same time heat 2 quarts of water to boiling in a 3 quart pan. For the ground lamb, I used store bought lamb from Safeway and there was a bit of fat in the pan after cooking. So what I do is soak up the fat with Viva paper towels, they’re really absorbent. Just swish them around in the pan with the spatula. I had to use several towels and must have been unlucky in the package of ground lamb I choose.

When the lamb has browned:
Add 1 1/2 cups of egg noodles to the boiling water; these will cook for 7 to 8 minutes.

Then add the following to the skillet:
1/2 cup chopped onion
2-3 tsp McCormick Greek Seasoning

Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the pan so the meat is flavored equally. Cook until the onion is clear.

Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups frozen chopped spinach leaves to the skillet, stir often to cook the spinach evenly.

After 2 to 3 minutes the spinach should be cooked, and if the timing is right your egg noodles will be ready to drain. Test by tasting one, and if done drain, add to the skillet and stir in well.

To serve, scoop out some of the mixture into a bowl or plate and top with some crumbled Feta cheese. If you like Greek cooking, you should be happy with this simple noodle dish. Cooking time is about 20 minutes total.

For years, we’ve been on the search for finding that tender cut of meat that we get at the restaurant and from specialty steak suppliers. We’ve bought steaks from gourmet shops, organic farmers, organic grocers, high end grocers, and so on. Yet, we never seemed to get a tender steak. We tried USDA Choice and USDA Prime cuts, which made no difference either. We almost gave up on the idea believing that that restaurants had a specialty supply of select meats. Then one day recently, the light came on and we discovered the secret.

We’ll tell you in just a second what the secret is and when we do, you’re going to say, duh! And it’s a big duh, something we all should know and in fact do know about. The secret is, (ready?) Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer. See, it’s something you know about, probably have in your kitchen cabinet and most likely don’t use very often. But you should use Adolph’s often and on every steak you barbecue this summer. Oh, one more question. Ever wonder how that barbecue joint makes tender baby back ribs and beef brisket? The answer to that question is that they use Adolph’s Tenderizer. That’s it.

So break out that bottle of Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer this weekend, sprinkle a little on both sides of the steaks. Use about 1 tsp of Adolph’s per pound of meat. If you have one, prick them with a corn on the cob holder, otherwise use a fork. Then season as you desire, and they’re ready to grill immediately. You may cover and refrigerate for 2 – 3 hours for more tenderizing but that’s usually not necessary.

Adolph’s is made from the Papaya, is all natural and contains no MSG. It’s a little bit of magic in a bottle. What are you waiting for? Light that grill and be surprised with how you can now make those tender steaks like you get when you eat out at that expensive restaurant and without paying $20.00 a pound for them. Try it! You are certain to be amazed.

Tags: Barbecue, Steaks, Tender, BBQ

McCormick’s Big and Bold Monterey Style Seasoning has become a favorite seasoning of ours. It’s a mix of coarsely ground garlic, red bell pepper, roasted garlic, red pepper, and contains tumeric and annatto for adding a yellow color to foods. We find that the yellow color adds a pleasing and appealing look to chicken. So today we’re going to share our recipe for making a barbecued whole chicken seasoned with McCormick’s Monterey Style Seasoning along with a little bit of chili powder.

Monterey Seasoned Chicken Recipe
a 4 pound whole chicken
2 tbsp McCormick Monterey Style Seasoning
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup water

1. Wash the chicken under cold water and set on a plate to allow excess water to drain off.
2. Place the Monterey Style Seasoning and Chili Powder in a cup. Add sugar, water and vinegar. Stir to mix well.
3. Put the whole chicken in a one gallon size freezer zip-loc storage bag.
4. Dump the seasonings over top of the chicken, seal the bag, and flip over a few times to distribute the seasonings. Place the chicken in the refrigerator and marinate for about 2 hours turning over every 1/2 hour so the seasonings evenly infuse the chicken.
5. Since this is a whole chicken, it needs to be cooked indirectly so it cooks slowly and completely. So place the charcoal on only one side of the grill. Light grill.
6. Remove the chicken from the zip-loc bag, and place into a disposable heavy-duty aluminum pan that has the bottom lined with non-stick aluminum foil. We use the disposable pans because the smoke from cooking will permanently mark a real roasting pan.
7. When the grill is ready, place the chicken on the side away from the heat, cover and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature of the chicken is about 170° F. For proper food safety, it’s very important that a meat thermometer is used to make sure the chicken it cooked thoroughly to prevent illness from under cooked chicken.
8. Let the cooked chicken sit for 10 minutes before carving or else you’ll find you have shredded chicken (instead of sliced chicken).

Tags: food, recipe, barbecued whole chicken

Several years ago we had lunch from a Mexican chicken restaurant near us called El Pollo Primo. They cook the chicken on a couple large griddles, and then serve a few pieces of whole cooked chicken on a plate along with some corn tortillas, salsa, and Spanish rice. Then at the table, the chicken is shredded by customer, placed on the corn tortilla, mixed with some Spanish rice and some salsa. Then the tortilla is rolled up, and eaten. We found this to be a delicious and unique way of serving chicken.

So over the years we’ve tried to replicate their seasoning on the chicken and we think we finally hit it.

El Pollo Primo Grilled Chicken

1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground corriender
1/2 tsp annatto seed (from a Latin American grocer)

The annatto in this recipe adds the lovely yellow coloring to the chicken that you see in the photograph above.

Place the canola oil, water, vinegar, garlic, cumin, corriender, and annatto seed in a blender. Blend on medium high speed for 1 – 2 minutes to allow the annatto seed to be chopped up by the tines on the blender. Alternately use ground annatto, and whip up well with a wisk.

Wash, and place 5 – 6 chicken breasts and thighs in a large, freezer duty ziplock bag. Pour the seasonings over top of the chicken and seal the bag. Turn the bag over a few times to coat the chicken well, then place in the refrigerator. Let marinate for 4 to 6 hours, turning over ever hour or so.

Cook the chicken on a griddle or large iron frying pan until done, about 15 – 20 minutes to a side.

Serve with warmed corn tortillas, Spanish Rice, and your favorite salsa. You may optionally add sour cream, and cheese.

Tags: food, grilled chicken recipe

Recipe for Greek Seasoned Lamb Sausages with Tomato Sauce
1 pound ground lamb
1/4 cup Basmati Rice
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 tsp McCormick Greek Seasoning
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp grated orange peel

1/2 cup diced onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp McCormick Greek Seasoning

Combine the ground lamb, rice, diced onion, egg, and 1 1/2 tbsps orange peel in a small bowl. Mix well with hands to distribute rice and seasoning throughout the meat. Form into miniature sausage shapes about 3/4″ in diameter and 2 inches long. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil in a non-stick skillet, then add the sausages. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes, then turn and repeat until all sides are lightly browned.

When turning the last time, add 1/2 cup diced onion. Cook the onion for 3 or 4 minutes, then add canned diced tomatoes, 1 cup chicken broth, and 1/2 tsp Greek Seasoning. Gently mix to blend the tomatoes with the broth but not break up the lamb sausages. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 10 minutes to boil off some of the liquid and thicken the sauce. Stir and cover sausages with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes more. Use remaining orange peel as a garnish for each serving. Serve Greek Seasoned Lamb Sausages with a piece of toasted Italian roll to dip into and mop up the sauce. Makes 4 servings.

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 onion, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 tbsp McCormick Greek Seasoning
• 1 tbsp dried Parsley Flakes

1. Prepare a place for setting meatballs on by placing wax paper on the plate.
2. Place the ground lamb in a large bowl.
3. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and chopped onions over top of the lamb.
4. Scramble egg and mix in the Greek seasoning and parsley flakes.
5. Pour the eggs over the lamb, and using your hands mix the lamb, bread crumbs, onion, and seasonings together for about a half a minute.
6. Take a bit of the lamb mixture, and form into 3/4 – 1″ meatballs by rubbing in the palms of your hands. Place formed meatballs on the plate. Repeat for all meatballs.
7. Place 1 tbsp canola oil in a 12″ skillet, and heat. Add meatballs.
8. Cover and cook meatballs for about five minutes, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes.
9. Remove cover, and flip meatballs to another side and cook until brown.
10. Continue to flip and cook until meatballs are cooked though and are brown.

Makes about 20 Greek Seasoned Meatballs. Serve wits Couscous or Greek Tomato-Potatoes.