Experimented by making a Roasted Pepper Cilantro Lime Pesto. Dunked some shrimp in and cooked up the pasta. Tasty.
Finally did something I've never done before...I made lasagna! I've always figured it would be a time-consuming PITA. Turns out I was right. I used a recipe off allrecipes.com called "world's best lasagna" or something like that. It was well reviewed, so I went for it. I didn't get started early enough so it wasn't done until well after dinner time so I haven't even tried it yet, but it sure smelled good last night. Anyway, here's a pic from when I pulled it out of the oven. I'll let ya'll know how it turned out later today.
The Smokehouse threads tends to inspire one to try things you wouldn't normally do. Your lasagna looks good and I bet smelled good. When I make lasagna, I usually try to make two and freeze one. That way you only go through the process once. I also use oven ready noodles so I can skip the boiling noodle stage. Just have to make sure your sauce is a little juicier and your noodles are covered with the other ingredients. The only brand I can get here is called Catelli Express Oven-Ready.
Hi Woodwidow. You're right about being inspired by this forum. Lot's of good stuff and good advice to be found, that's for sure. You're tip about making two and freezing one makes perfect sense. Next time (and if this one tastes as good as it smelled last night, there will be a next time) I'll be doing that. How do you freeze lasagna by the way? As far as the noodles, not having to boil them first would be the ticket for sure, especially this time of year when it's hot as blazes and adding more heat to the house than is necessary is not ideal. Thanks for the tips.
When I make lasagna I assemble everything the night before then pull it out of the fridge and bake it the next night. At that point everything is cooked and all you really need to do is warm it up and melt the cheese.
Another great idea. Thanks lukem. Oh, and I should probably send Nate a PM to warn him not to look at this thread. He mentioned that his stomach doesn't handle cheese very well and I'm worried that even looking at that picture will send him into some kind of 'cheese shock'. Between the ricotta, mozzarella and asiago (I used asiago instead of parm), there's an insane amount of cheese in that 9x13 baking dish.
Before you put your ingredients into the pan, line it with parchment paper or foil. After it is cooked and cooled, put the pan in the freezer until it is hard. Take the lasagna out of the pan, wrap it well with saran and bag it. If you use a metal pan, it is easier to get the lasagna out after it is frozen. When you want it cooked, unwrap it, put it in the pan to thaw and then heat it up again. I found this link for info on freezing lasagna. It has some good ideas about what ingredients to use. http://www.wikihow.com/Freeze-Lasagna There is lots of info about freezing lasagna - my favorite website - Google Search
Lasagna is best after it sits in the fridge for a day after the initial bake, so by making it too late for dinner, IMO you made it much better for when you do enjoy it on another day!
Can't argue on this one. I've been snacking on this lasagna for the last day now and it's awesome, which I'm very thankful for given how long the process is. I figure I've got at least another three days worth in the fridge so I do believe the endeavor has been worth it.
GF made a buffalo chicken lasagna recipe a few months back - that was good. She initially told me I couldn't share the recipe...that someone shared with her She has no measurements but ingredients as follows: Butter, hot sauce, paprika, cayenne pepper , brown sugar, 1TB vinegar, 1 jar marinara sauce. Cottage cheese, eggs, BBQ rub to season a cooked rotisserie chicken(already cooked). Reserve a portion of the sauce for the base of the pan. Mix chopped chicken with marinara, butter, hot sauce, paprika, cayenne pepper, TB vinegar. - she has no idea how much of anything 1 layer sauce no cook noodles cottage cheese mixture of chicken from above layer shredded Colby & cheddar cheese Repeat until cheese is on top
Just put two ribeyes and a porterhouse steak in a Bourbon marinade that I made......... Already looking forward to dinner!!
X2 OR I will make it in a bread pan that is about the same size as the lasagna pasta and poof, you have a lasagna for 2 or 3 people
