Author Archives: cookingwithcandi

Chicken Piccata – simply done

Posted on May 19, 2012 | 2 comments

We went to the movies the other day in the late afternoon. We saw “Darling Companion” , cast was great and I’ll go see anything with Kevin Kline and Diane Keaton, directed by Lawrence Kasdan.  Didn’t feel like going back out to eat dinner, so looked what I had in the house. I happen to have 1 package (a little less than 1 lb. of thin chicken cutlets) , lemons, flour, chicken stock, capers, and I even had fresh parsley! ( which if you don’t have is no biggie) I had mushrooms in the fridge, so decided to cook them up as well, with rice pilaf we were good to go. What I couldn’t believe was how quickly this meal assembled and how beautiful and delicious it was. In about 45 minutes we were sitting and eating, the kitchen was a disaster but the meal was great! Originally inspired from Giada de Laurentis, thanks Giada.

Cooking Notes for Doubling Recipe:

This recipe served the 2 of us generously, I made this with about 1 lb. of thin sliced chicken cutlets, you’ll have to play with amounts if you double.When you do double don’t double capers, I would increase chicken broth , lemon juice, olive oil, and I would increase butter and olive oil but just as I needed, you’ll be able to tell when you cook up the first batch of chicken,  you’ll add butter and olive oil probably for the third batch of chicken . Add as needed, a little at a time.

Ingredients:

1 package of thin sliced chicken cutlets (as close to a pound as you can get)

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

All purpose flour, for dredging ( just put flour on a plate ,there is no set amount , if you need more add as you go) to dredge just place cutlet in flour on both sides, and shake off any excess

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup brined capers, drained and rinsed off (most capers are sold in brine or salt, buy the brined ones) and just put in a small strainer and rinse off before adding.

a sprinkling of fresh parsley , chopped

Directions:

Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off any excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle up, add chicken (as much as you can in pan with plenty of room around each piece) you can do it in as many batches as necessary. It took 2 batches for me. Make sure the chicken browns up nicely, so let it sit for at least 4 minutes on each side. If pan is hot enough this should be good, be careful not to burn oil. Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate when it is finished.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and rinsed off capers, and bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor.  Lower heat to a simmer and place chicken back in the pan, mine all fit because it was just 1 lb. If you need to you can do this in 2 steps for more chicken, you will do this for a few minutes on each side, just to get sauce on both sides and make sure chicken is cooked through.  I then plated chicken, gave the sauce in the pan a good whisk, and poured a little sauce over chicken and I garnished with very thin slices of lemon and fresh parsley. I served with rice and mushrooms, and would have been perfect with asparagus, but no time and didn’t have in house.

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Cacio E Pepe – Cheese and Pepper Pasta – Perfection in a Bowl-4 Ingredient Pasta

Posted on May 17, 2012 | 1 comment

This is restaurant worthy pasta, made in a saute pan, 12″ size would be perfect . This pasta has very few ingredients and you probably have all of them in the house . When I am not sure what to make and I really don’t feel like going out, this is up there with my “go to ” meals. It’s comforting and has a kick of heat from the black pepper. Original recipe is just black pepper and the fresher the better, start out with whole black peppercorns, I grind them right before I am using them. It’s an elegant adult version of mac and cheese and a simple standard all at the same time. I try and use 2 cheeses when I can, but if you only have 1 type of grated cheese, it’s fine. Hold on to about a cup of the pasta water, you may need it if sauce is too dry, add a little at a time, as you need it. This recipe is quick and will feed 2 people nicely. If you want to serve more, just double the recipe. If black pepper is your thing Cacio e Pepe is for you.

Ingredients:

Kosher Salt

8 oz. of spaghetti like pasta ( bucatini, linguine, perciatelli) most boxes are 1 lb. boxes , so app. 1/2 box I used perciatelli ( I love the ropey pasta)

3 tblsp. unsalted butter , cube it and divide it into 3 seperate tablespoons

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup finely grated Grana Padano or Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino Cheese ( or just use Parmesan)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions. Make sure you throw a small handful of kosher salt into the pot of boiling water, before you drop in the pasta. The pasta absorbs water as it cooks, so you’re actually seasoning the pasta which would ordinarily be a rather bland starch. Cook pasta till al dente , follow package instructions.

Meanwhile melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet , add the freshly ground black pepper and swirl around till melded, app. 1 – 2 minutes. Then let it sit, and turn off heat. Wait for pasta to finish cooking, remove 1 cup of pasta water and set aside and then continue with the next step.

Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to skillet and bring butter, water and pepper to a simmer. Add cooked pasta and remaining tablespoon of butter. Reduce heat to low and add 3/4 cup Grana Padano or Parmesan Cheese, stirring and tossing with a pair of tongs, until cheese is melted. Remove pan from heat, add additional 1/4 cup of cheese and toss until the cheese melts and sauce fully coats the pasta. Add more pasta water if sauce seems too dry. Transfer pasta to nice large bowls and serve.

Perfection in a bowl

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Posted in Dairy, meatless, pasta, vegetarian

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Home from Vacation and Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on May 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

Just got back from vacation with our family,  Great Grandparents, Ourselves, Our Kids , Significant others,  and our 2 grandkids there were 12 of us.(rolling deep ) Needless to say it was wonderful being with whole family and challenging in many ways. Ages ranging from 2 – 86 . Alot of fun , a lot of tumult but it was wonderful waking up to all of their beautiful faces every day. Don’t know when or if I’ll ever have this opportunity again in my life.  So as crazy as it may have been I am happy for the blessing of our families, and wish my Mom , my Mother- in -Law and my Daughter a very very happy Mother’s Day. And to all of you who read my blog a very Happy Mother’s Day to you too.

*picture of 3 generations playing Mah Jongg

I will be back with some new and wonderful recipes this week. In the meantime thanks for reading Cooking with Candi. Keep on Cooking!

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Pasta with Chicken, Spinach and Tomatoes

Posted on May 4, 2012 | 1 comment

This is a delightful  “what’s in the house ” kind of dinner.  Most of the ingredients in this recipe you’ll have on hand and are easily obtainable.   Enjoy this delicious light pasta meal–it’s perfect for a nice lunch, dinner, or brunch dish. Prep time is quick , about 1/2 hour start to finish.  This is really a beautiful meal in one bowl– protein and veggies.

*I cut this recipe in 1/2 this evening for just the 2 of us. This dish should feed 5 – 6 This recipe is delicious at room temperature or hot or even cold the next day. Wonderful left-overs are always a good thing.

Ingredients:

1 pound small pasta ( penne, rigatoni, I used Fusilli Bucati ) I like a small macaroni as opposed to spaghetti in this recipe. Boxes vary and sometimes a box of pasta is 12 oz. — which is fine

4 whole boneless , skinless Chicken Breasts ( adjust to how many people you’re serving) app. 2 lbs.

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil or you can use 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil and 1 Tablespoon unsalted Butter — your call

4 Cloves Garlic , minced

3/4 cup Dry White Wine ( I use whatever is open) ( if no white wine or you don’t like cooking with wine just double up on chicken broth)

3/4 cups Chicken Broth ( you may need a bit more so have a  little extra on hand)

1 bag Baby Spinach

2 boxes of grape tomatoes (1 pint per box) sliced lengthwise , any larger ones cut in fours

Grated Parmesan Cheese for garnish

*crushed red pepper which we love but totally not necessary

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions . Drain and set aside. I try to keep a little of the pasta water in the event I may need it at the end of cooking, just take a measuring cup and scoop out a cup of water and set aside, if you don’t use it you haven’t lost anything. Sometimes towards the end I add it to finished pasta to  add a little liquid to the pasta, especially if you cook in advance.

Use a large skillet or large frying pan

Cut chicken breasts into chunks and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper ( (I prefer small chunks) Be fairly generous with Salt and Pepper.

Heat  olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken in a single layer and don’t touch for a few minutes and let it brown up, turn over once it starts to brown and form a coating. When chicken is done, remove chicken from skillet. I prefer smaller chunks, do whatever you like, just keep them uniform for even cooking.

Turn heat down to low, add garlic and give it a quick stir, be careful not to burn garlic. Pour in wine and broth, stirring to deglaze the pan, raise the heat and allow the liquid to come to a boil. Allow the liquid to boil for a bit, I let it boil for about 5 minutes, reduce the cooking liquid by at least half. I then reduce to a simmer and add the tomatoes, I let them cook for about 5 minutes till they start to release their liquid a bit, and just start to soften.  I also add Salt and Pepper again here, then I add chicken to pan . stir it around, add the bag of spinach  it will start to wilt as you toss everything , then add the drained pasta, mix well and serve. So light and delicious.

Sprinkle Grated Parmesan or Parmesan shavings are good as well.

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Couscous Salad, Real Mediterranean Style

Posted on May 2, 2012 | 3 comments

It’s springtime so I am thinking of lighter food, and of course salads come to my mind. I make this recipe with couscous or quinoa. I have another recipe for quinoa on my website so I figured that I would make one with couscous this time, but feel free to use either one. The dressing has a definite Greek flavor. This dish is perfectly tasty and served with grilled fish or chicken you have a perfect meal. As far as salads go, this one is perfection. This is not an exact science; if you like a lot of tomatoes, add more. If there is another item here that you don’t like, feel free to substitute, and I’d love to hear what you did. I love to hear variations on my recipes. This is so quick and easy to assemble. Can definitely be made ahead of time.

Ingredients: 

Vinaigrette:

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 /2 teaspoon dried oregano (if you like to use fresh, use 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste – I started with a 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher Salt and a few grinds of the peppermill.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (use a good one)

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk in the olive oil slowly. Adjust the salt and pepper and set aside.

Ingredients for Couscous:

Prepare 1  box (usually 10 – 12 ounces) couscous (or quinoa) according to the directions but use 1/4 less water than it calls for. For example, the Near East Couscous calls for 2 cups of water or broth so I would reduce by 1/2 cup. After cooking, allow to cool for a bit then stick in the fridge for about an hour. I usually cook my couscous in either chicken broth or vegetable broth for extra added flavor.

1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half (I like a lot of tomatoes, so use more if you do too) I tend to like my tomatoes cut into smaller pieces but cut however you like just don’t leave whole

1 cup pitted black or Kalamata olives (I prefer Kalamata because they are saltier)

1 roasted red or orange pepper (you can use from jar) I just eyeballed from the jar, use as much as you’d like

1 cup garbanzo beans (drained from the can are fine)

6 ounces cubed feta cheese

1/4 cup sliced green onions or chopped red onion would work quite well here as well

* chopped cucumbers would be a nice addition as well, I didn’t use this time

In a large bowl, gently toss the couscous, tomato, pepper, olives, beans and feta. Add the dressing, transfer to a lovely serving bowl and there you go. This is so delicious and light, it’s a perfect side dish and a beautiful salad .

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Posted in Healthy Cooking with Candi, Raw, Salad, salad dressing, vegetables, vegetarian

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Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes – Bruschetta (With or Without Chicken)

Posted on April 30, 2012 | 2 comments

I love this Bruschetta. It’s delicious as an appetizer over toast, but I also love it with chicken. I usually make it ahead of time, put it in the fridge and let the flavors marinate. Then, I either use it on toasted baguette slices or on top of a simple, grilled piece of chicken or fish. It’s similar to my Salmon Done Simply in Foil recipe. This has  a delicious, fresh taste and will last at least a few days (probably three) in the fridge. Now that the weather is getting warmer, this is such a wonderful, light dish using tomatoes, which I love.This evening I used a grill pan on the stove with a little olive oil in pan, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on paper thin chicken breasts and just grilled a few minutes on each side and they were perfect with tomatoes on top.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 pints grape tomatoes (I like to mix yellow and red ) and of course you can use heirloom when they’re in season or any fresh tomatoes. I cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, or just into small pieces )I actually was able to obtain cherry heirloom tomatoes, and I cut them into small pieces.

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

fresh basil (about 16 leaves), cut up in chiffonade style (just roll basil and take a kitchen scissor and cut it up; you can also just chop it up) * I actually forgot to buy the basil this time but usually I do put it in, it adds a great deal of flavor.

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

*chopped red onion ( app. 1/2 cup) I didn’t use this time out but it adds a little crunch and another flavor

Directions:

In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and lightly stir it around for a minute or so. Don’t brown the garlic–just warm it up to a golden color, what I actually do is heat the olive oil and when it’s hot remove from stove then put the chopped garlic in and let it turn a golden color off the heat. Pour into a bowl and allow it to cool down. Add the tomatoes, balsamic, salt and pepper (to taste). Be careful not to over-salt–just put a little in and stir it; you’ll be able to check salt and pepper again later. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Obviously the longer it sits, the better it will taste.

When you take the mixture out of the fridge, stir the tomatoes and now taste again for salt and pepper. Spoon bruschetta over the sliced bread, and serve on a large platter. This is a perfect substitution for a salad. If you’re serving over chicken or fish it’s just simply divine. I simply put a little olive oil on chicken cutlets sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and use a grill pan on stove or throw on the grill outside.

If I am serving over bread, I slice the baguette on the diagonal. Take a little softened butter ( melted butter) and brush on top of bread, then put in oven on a baking sheet to toast until golden and then repeat on the other side. You can also brush with a little olive oil (you just don’t want the toast too dry). If you’d like, you can also put toast on outdoor grill to get grill marks.

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Posted in appetizers, Salad, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

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Springtime in a Bowl – Shrimp, Asparagus and Tomato Pasta

Posted on April 24, 2012 | 1 comment

It is really Springtime now and it just makes you want to lighten up the menu a bit, and my mind immediately goes to asparagus!  This recipe is a variation on my Summertime Tomato Pasta. I wanted to use some of those beautiful asparagus out there. Even though I knew Joel would pick them out , I still made this dish. The asparagus are large enough for him to easily pick out and put on my plate. This dish is light and delicious and pretty quick to prepare. It is like springtime in a bowl!  There are so very many things to do with asparagus but this just appealed to me tonite and if you leave the shrimp out you have a lovely vegetarian pasta dish. I used the shrimp.  I also used linguine in this , it just seems to hold on to the flavors nicely. Happy Spring and Enjoy. This recipe was inspired by Giada de Laurentis .

Ingredients:

1 lb. box linguine ( I used Fini Linguine , it was lighter than regular linguine and was just perfect)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 containers of little grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or any small tomato ( app. 20 oz. of tomatoes)  I cut tomatoes in 1/2.

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

* crushed red pepper ( we like the heat) use your own discretion depending on how you like it, totally optional

3 large cloves of garlic, chopped finely

1/2 cup dry white wine ( I use whatever I have open)

1 lb. Asparagus , trimmed, stalks cut on a diagonal into app. 1 1/2 inch pieces

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

fresh basil chopped ( app. 1/2 cup)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to box directions.( Fini Linguine cooks in 6 minutes perfectly)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the tomatoes, app.  1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and app. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are soft , it takes about 5 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and garlic. Cook for another few minutes ( don’t burn the garlic)keep on low heat and stir around. Add the wine and the asparagus. Bring to a low boil and simmer for at least 5 minutes . Taste for Salt and Pepper, if it needs more this is when I would add it, and I did. I added a bit more salt here, pepper was fine. You need to use your own discretion about the salt .

Sprinkle shrimp in a bowl with a little salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the pan and continue to simmer until the shrimp is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Shrimp needs to be firm to the touch, and opaque if cut into. Stir in the chopped basil and the oregano.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss well to combine.  You can always add more crushed red pepper when finished.

This was really delicious and light. Joel of course picked out every piece of asparagus, and put them in my bowl. That was fine with me because I love asparagus.

*this dish will easily serve 4, if you like you can always add another 1/2 lb. of shrimp for 4 people.

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Ellen’s Challenge to Great Aunt Selma’s Banana Cake

Posted on April 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

g’morning-  i’d like to challenge Great Aunt Selma with  my MOTHER’S CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA CAKE.  here’s my recipe, similar,  just a little different. (my secret is mixing the sour crm and bicarbonate (baking soda) together so they rise and that makes a fluffy, moist cake)

I received this after I published my Great Aunt’s recipe, I love that Ellen sent this to me and welcome any and all feedback, especially when you believe it to be so very good like Ellen obviously does! I am going to try this recipe as soon as I have some more rotten bananas to use. It certainly sounds great! Thanks so much Ellen for all your input and support!

preheat oven to 375

1 stick butter

2 cups all-purpose flour sifted

1/2 cup crisco oil

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp sour crm

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 teasp salt

2 eggs

2 overripe bananas- mashed well

cup mini choc chips (if you flour chips lightly they will not sink to bottom)

1.  mix sour crm and baking soda together in a small bowl and set aside

2.  crm butter and sugar

3.  add sour crm mixture and rest of ingredients

4.  pour into buttered loaf pan

5.  bake 375 for 15 minutes

6.  REDUCE heat to 350 and bake for 50- 60  minutes (testing, last 10 minutes)

kisses, El

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Great Aunt Selma’s Banana Coffee Cake – More Rotten Banana Tales/ Banana Bread

Posted on April 20, 2012 | 1 comment

A while back my Mom (G’ma Millie) gave me a bunch of recipes, and since then I’ve had some time to sift through them. I came across this one on type-written paper, which in and of itself was sort of amazing from my Great Aunt Selma. Selma was my grandfather’s sister and known to be a  very good cook, Hungarian Czech background. I scanned in recipe so you can see what the original looks like, I have been trying to scan all of my old recipes in so that I don’t lose them.  So I figured I’d try out the recipe, because it was different from mine and contained sour cream. How bad can it be? And since there is always the matter of rotting bananas in the house, this is a perfect use for them.  I guess what to do with those rotten bananas isn’t exactly a new problem!

*a few little notes on this recipe. If you are using a loaf pan and you find that in the past your breads are uncooked in the center, and you don’t want to burn entire cake to get the middle cooked, use an 8 x 8 pan and treat it more like a coffee cake! or if you’ve used a glass loaf pan, and you’ve tested center with a long cake tester ( which is a must for loaf type breads) you can try turning heat down 10 degrees and cook for another 10 minutes, or just put in microwave for a quick 1 – 2 minute zap after you remove from oven. If you leave in the oven too long the outside will burn and the inside may still be raw, so this can work.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine softened ( if you haven’t taken out of fridge, put in microwave for a few seconds just to soften not melt)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs ( room temp. always best) or cheat and let eggs sit in warm water for 15 minutes while you get all the ingredients together

1/2 cup mashed ripe (very) bananas ( between 1 and 1 1/2 bananas)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup Sour Cream ( Lite is fine , no fat-free)

2 cups sifted Flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

topping:

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Using Electric Mixer cream butter, gradually add sugar, beat in 2 eggs one at a time, add mashed bananas, vanilla and sour cream. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Fold the dry ingredients into cream mixture just to blend in a bowl. ( don’t overmix)

Grease a loaf pan or an 8 x 8 cake pan and sprinkle 1/2 of the topping mixture in bottom of greased pan ( I used loaf pan)  spoon in the batter, sprinkle remaining topping on top. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Check with cake tester, after 40 minutes. Let cake cool at least 10 minutes in pan. I usually just let it sit for as long as possible, till completely cool. I bake in a loaf pan. This is like a banana bread. Use a long cake tester, which is an inexpensive wonderful tool for loaf type breads/cakes.

*see notes above

Thanks Aunt Selma. xoxoxoo

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Lasagna Two Ways – Turkey Sausage or Spinach Filling (or Use Both)

Posted on April 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

photo 2 (15) photo 1 (19)My friend Susan and I made this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa many moons ago, it has since been my go-to lasagna. I love the goat cheese in it and I love the turkey. In the years since, I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe, including substituting spinach for turkey, which makes it a perfectly delightful vegetarian (not vegan) lasagna, and you all know by now that I am always looking for vegetarian ways of doing things for my daughter. I do use frozen spinach and the only thing I will say is that you really, really need to get all the water out of that frozen spinach, so let it drain well and then actually wring it out with your hands–really wring it out till there is no more water, it may take a while to do this and you can actually do all the other steps while you are doing that. Lasagna is always a lot of work, but well worth it. It can be made a few days ahead; I like to cook it almost all the way and then wrap it and leave it in the fridge until I ‘m ready for to eat it. It can also be frozen in portion size pieces which is really the best, and it will stay frozen for a while. I’ve actually frozen it in one season, come back to Colorado the next season and defrosted it and reheated it, and it tasted awesome! So here you go, my go-to lasagna. If you’d like to use both spinach and turkey go right ahead!!! I always say that I have never met a lasagna I didn’t like but this is one you’ll love. The secret ingredient is the goat cheese for sure.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 lbs. sweet (or if available, I do 1/2 sweet and 1/2 spicy) Italian turkey sausage, removed from casing (you can actually buy it this way) if you’d like you can use all pork sausage as well

If you are substituting spinach for turkey you’ll need about 4 boxes of frozen spinach, well-drained (read above) or use both the turkey  and spinach and then about 2 boxes of spinach

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

lasagna noodles (I use pre-cooked noodles…I love them)or use the regular boxed ones whichever you prefer (both are shown on photos) I really am loving those pre cooked ones though

15 ounces ricotta cheese (skim is fine but don’t use fat-free)

6 ounces creamy goat cheese (crumbled) this is what makes it so unique

1 cup grated parmesan, plus you may need a bit more for sprinkling on top

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 pound shredded mozzarella (However you can get this is fine; fresh is always delicious but the packaged ones aren’t bad for this purpose. I use skim here but never use fat-free cheese please.), but nice touch)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium low heat, until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so (don’t burn it.) Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, about 10 minutes or until it is no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and if you’d like add some of the fresh basil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until sauce thickens. Taste for additional salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of parmesan cheese, the egg, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside. Now if you were adding the spinach this would be the time, in with the cheeses.

In a nice lasagna baking dish or Pyrex–whatever pan comes closest to 9 x 12. Ladle some of the sauce over bottom of the pan, then add layers of noodles over. With the pre-cooked I usually use 3 or 4 depending on the size of the dish but you do not have to overlap as they cook up nicely. (I never use the other noodles anymore.) Next, layer mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one-third of the sauce. Add more pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of parmesan on top. Bake for 45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling. I usually cook my lasagna covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15. If I am cooking it ahead of time, I only cook for 45 minutes covered and then I will brown it up when I reheat it. Also if you are reheating it, please take it out and let it sit at room temperature before putting it in the oven.

Obviously if you are using the spinach, that will be in your cheese layer, and your sauce will be without turkey. I mean…turkey and spinach would be pretty awesome, as well.

Good Luck! Have fun with this. Everyone loves lasagna.

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