Vegetarian Lasagna

Holy Week begins tomorrow: for my friends who are clergy or lay leaders in their churches, it is one of their busiest weeks of the year. This week the Mouse House will feature easy, make-ahead meals that can be stored in individual or family sized portions and frozen.

My first choice is vegetarian lasagna. My first memory of eating lasagna was as a young adult. It was in the mid 1970s and my grandmother was making dinner for her extended family. She served lasagna: from a recipe which called for cottage cheese instead of ricotta. What did we know? With our Scottish/English/Irish/Swedish heritage our knowledge of Italian food was spaghetti and meatballs and pizza. We were a meat/vegetables/potatoes kind of family. And dessert. Always dessert.

A few years later, I was dating and later married a man whose grandparents had all been born in Italy. His mother was a fabulous cook. I learned how to make lasagna, and never again, did it include cottage cheese instead of ricotta.

Vegetarian Lasagna

1 pound lasagna noodles
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 (26 oz.) jars pasta sauce
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (or fresh)
1 cup shredded carrots
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
Chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350°.

1. Cook noodles as package directs.

2. In medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and eggs. Mix well.

3. Cook frozen or fresh spinach (chop into small pieces if using fresh); press all of the water out of the spinach. Add to cheese and egg mixture.

4. Grate carrots and add to cheese and egg mixture.

5. In a 14" by 11" by 2" pan, spread 1 cup pasta sauce. Layer with half each of the lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese mixture, pasta sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering. Top with parsley.

6. Bake lasagna, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Lasagne is even better the second day!

Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake

The Mouse House is back!

I took what was meant to be a short break this fall - which turned into a four month sabbatical. I’ve been cooking all along – and meaning to share (I have the pictures to prove it) – and instead got caught in a bout of ennui.

Today’s the beginning of a new year – 1.1.11 – the perfect day to break the cycle. I’m starting with an old favorite: apple sour cream coffee cake. It is a recipe I used to make regularly – it’s one of Allison’s favorites; after she left home for college I stopped making it.

I got the urge to make this at Thanksgiving; a perfect time to bake and share. So in honor of breaking my Mouse House sabbatical, I give you Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake

½ cup finely chopped walnuts

Sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Medium cooking apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

½ cup butter

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 teaspoon double acting baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

About 2 hours ahead or day before:

In small bowl, combine nuts, ½ cup sugar, and cinnamon; set aside.

Peel, core, and thinly slice apple. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 9” tube pan.

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat 1 cup sugar with butter until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat at low speed until blended, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula. At medium speed, beat 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.

Spread half of batter in pan. Top with 1/3 of the nut mixture, then add 1 medium cooking apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced, then 1/3 of the nut mixture. Spread with remaining batter and nut mixture. Bake 65 to 70 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Lemon Chicken

This is one of the simplest ways I know to cook chicken. I learned to make it many years ago when some friends and I rented a house on Martha's Vineyard. We took turns cooking; on my night to cook, my cooking partner showed me how to make this very simple and very delicious recipe.

Earlier this week, we were having dinner with family (a mixed grill of steak and chicken, roasted peppers and onions, and corn on the cob).  I was asked for a suggestion for cooking boneless chicken breasts. Wanting something easy and quick, and not having an outdoor grill or my recipe collection at hand, I was stumped until this recipe popped into my head. I hadn't made it in years, and found that it still is extremely simple, quick, and melt-in-your mouth delicious.

Ingredients

• One boneless chicken breast per person
• Lemon, sliced thin
• Mix of dried herbs (optional)
• Butter (I generally start with a tablespoon and then add as needed so that pan stays moist)
• Small amount of flour
• Wax paper 

Directions

• Place chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper on cutting board or other solid surface. Using the flat edge of a butcher's knife, or a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts to an even thinness.
• Melt butter in cast iron or other heavy frying pan. While butter is melting, lightly coat chicken breasts with flour. Add chicken to frying pan, turn heat to medium, and place lemon slices on top of chicken.  Add dried herb mix if desired.
• Let chicken cook for a minute or two before turning over. Keep lemon slices on top. Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through, adding butter as needed. The outside of the chicken should have a slight golden color.
• While chicken is cooking, take out a plate and then put a smaller plate, upside down, on the larger plate. When chicken is done, place the chicken on the smaller plate and cover with foil. Let sit for approximately two minutes; this helps seal the juices inside of the cooked chicken.

Cooking the perfect steak

The Mouse House is on vacation. In the past three days we slept in Arlington, window shopped in Mississippi, biked in the Providence Bridge Pedal, and had the perfect steak in Portland. Where are we?

Click here to learn how to cook a perfect steak in a cast iron pan.

Black Bean Salsa/Salad

This is one of my favorite summer recipes. I often make it to take to summer parties as it is easy and it gets better (spicier) the longer it sits.

The recipe evolved from two sources: a Goya ad in a magazine and a recipe in a cookbook I use frequently. The cookbook version recommended sauteing the frozen corn and the spices before mixing with other ingredients; what I learned after discovering the Goya recipe is that sauteing didn't enhance the flavor all that much. So, in the interest of simplicity (and keeping the stove off on a hot day), I eliminated that step from my version of this recipe.

What I like about this recipe is the seasoning; the chili powder and cumin give it a nice heat, which increases the longer the salsa sits. I’m known in my family as the one who makes the ‘spicy’ dishes, even thought I cut back on the cumin and chili powder when I bring this to a family gathering…    

In a large bowl combine:

2 can (about 15 oz) black beans, rinsed

3 tbsp chopped jalapeno slices

2 tsp minced garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Adobo with pepper

1 pkg (10 oz) frozen corn, thawed

1 cup diced onion

½ cup diced red bell pepper

1 large tomato, diced

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

Serve with tortilla chips or as a side dish.

Easy Chicken Salad

Chicken salad brings memories of graduation parties and bridal showers; I remember trays of egg, pickled ham, and chicken salad sandwiches on tiny rolls.  Not being a pickled ham fan, I always wondered who ate those sandwiches.....

Having cooked chicken on hand provides a base for a number of easy summer meals. When it is too hot to even think about cooking on the grill, let alone in the oven, I cook my chicken in my crock pot. The recipe book that came with my Rival Crock-Pot (which may have been a gift at a bridal shower where chicken salad sandwiches were served....) has the following recipe for roast chicken :

Roast Chicken or Hen
3-4 pound roasting chicken (I often use chicken breasts, either with the bone or boneless, of various weights)
Salt and pepper
Parsley
Basil or tarragon (optional)
Butter

Thoroughly wash chicken and pat dry (patting dry assures good browning). Sprinkle cavity (or pieces) generously with salt, butter, pepper, and parsley. Place in crockpot; dot chicken breast with butter. Sprinkle with parsley and basil or tarragon if using. Cover and cook on High 1 hour then turn to Low for 8-10 hours.


Let chicken cool. Cut into slices (for chicken sandwiches) or chunks (for chicken salad). Store in refrigerator. Chunked chicken can be frozen for use in salad.

Easy Chicken Salad
Mix chicken chunks with mayonaise, using the amount your family prefers. (I prefer my chicken salad with only enough mayo to hold everything together.) If desired, mix in:

• celery
• grapes
• walnuts
• dried cranberries
• onion

It’s too hot to cook…. Davidge Fruit Frappe

When it is hot and humid I don’t want to move, let alone prepare food. Yet, I get grouchy if I don’t eat – and even more grouchy when I am hot and hungry.  My hot weather strategy?  Easy, prepare ahead items that can be stored in the refrigerator and eaten cold. With another hot week ahead of us, over the next few days The Mouse House will feature several ‘it’s too hot to cook’ recipes.

This first recipe is from my husband. When we first met, he made this protein shake weekly; all I needed to do was grab a glass and pour. Since we’ve been married, I've become the shake maker.  In the summer I use whatever local fruit I find in my weekly CSA share (community supported agriculture) or at the local farmers’ market. Other seasons, I reach for the fruit I’ve cut up and frozen during the local growing season, frozen berries, or the apples, pears, and bananas from the local grocery store.

The best thing about this recipe? You can add or subtract ingredients based on what you have in the house. No banana? Skip it. A pineapple that needs to be used today? Toss it in. Experiment until you find the combinations that you and your family prefer. (I always add cranberries: fresh in the fall and the ones I freeze to have on hand all year.)

Davidge Fruit Frappe

Mix in blender (in order shown)

Banana

3-4 Tbsp. yogurt, any flavor, or plain

2 scoops protein powder

1 small container yogurt, different flavor or plain

Assorted fruit (handful of each – fresh or frozen)

Pear (peeled)

Apple (peeled)

Peach (peeled)

Blueberries

Raspberries

Strawberries

Cranberries

Kiwi

  Watermelon or other melon

Or your choice

¼ cup flaxseed oil

¼ cup wheat germ

Sprinkle of Quaker Oats oatmeal flakes (regular, not instant)

Orange and/or cranberry juice to fill container

Keeps for up to one week in refrigerator.