Mushroom and Kale Lasagna

I'm loving this recipe even though I made it a tad unhealthy with the addition of more cheese. Mr. Lawyer's only complaint was the texture, evidently I was a bit overzealous with the "chopped fine" bit. He also likes his veggies to be on the crunchy side whether they are steamed, baked, or stir-fried. So next time I won't mince them so well.

Veggies! I loved the hidden veggies in this dish, you couldn't even taste the kale (actually I used red chard but very similar) it was all about the mushrooms. 

Technique! My rolling technique could use a little help. Looking at the other pictures it appears that the filling was spread evenly over the noodle and then rolled. I put a dollop in the center and wrapped it around so I found that the rolls expanded a little when they cooked and became more oval in shape.

I had some extra ricotta mixture so I stuffed it in between the rolls.

Cheese! This recipe was from a yummy healthy website that I love but I refuse to compromise on cheese (also what else was I going to do with all that leftover mozzarella?!). So I added a little bit to the ricotta mixture and then smothered the top in a more traditional lasagna type way. It was amazing.

Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Rolls

(adapted from skinnytaste.com)

Ingredients:
10 (9 oz dry) lasagna noodles, cooked
2 1/2 cups marinara sauce
5 cups kale, stems removed, chopped fine
8 oz mushrooms, chopped fine
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
15 oz part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, whisked
salt and fresh pepper
3 oz (10 tbsp) part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded....or a lot more.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.
2. Place kale in a food processor and pulse a few times until chopped.
3. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about a minute. Add kale, salt and pepper and sauté about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan, cook until soft, an additional 5-6 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper.
4. Combine cooked kale, mushrooms, ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out cooked lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of mushroom kale mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
5. Ladle 1 cup of sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, until cheese melts.

Luckiest Girl Ever

I'm almost over my cold and have some late school nights this week so Mr. Lawyer made some of his famous lasagna. This time he made it spicy! A little bit of red pepper flakes made it a zinger.

I'm one lucky girl.

Lasagna Architect

Mr. Lawyer is my Lasagna Architect because I have no patience for putting it together. I think I shall put that on his business cards. I planned and did all the prep work and then he swooped in to build it. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

Another use for our 9.3 pounds of chicken (yes, there's still more in the fridge. I'm SO sick of chicken) that worked out well because Ms. Boo is here visiting and a big one dish meal is what we needed! Chicken lasagna! Not quite what I was hoping for but it worked. I added mushrooms to the spinach and made a straight up bechamel sauce from my mushroom lasagana. Overall the dish didn't have a ton of flavor, there were no spices or anything that jumped out. It was light and creamy. When I took my first bite I thought there would be seafood in it (it had that kind of creamy taste). You don't really taste the chicken.

White Cheese Chicken Lasagna

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

Cheese + Pasta = Love!

Sometimes simple is the way to go. Especially when we're both fighting off some gross sickness. This recipe is no frills but amazing in it's simplicity. Mr. Lawyer was in charge of this dish. He decided to use turkey instead of beef and he add some red pepper flakes and oregano to the ricotta mixture (and then sprinkled some on top). He also claims that the "meat flavored" Francesco Rinaldi sauce made a difference. Whether it was the turkey or the sauce this time it was much better than the first time he made it.

Barilla No-Boil Lasagna 

(from the back of the box!)

Ingredients:
1 (9 ounce) box of barilla no-boil lasagna noodles
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef or sausage (we used ground turkey)
1 to 2 jars spaghetti sauce (we used 1.5 jars)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In bowl, combine beaten eggs, ricotta cheese and TWO cups of the mozzarella cheese and parmesan.
3. In a 13x9 pan, spread 1 cup of sauce on bottom of pan.
4. Layer in the order, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles (they will overlap), then 1/3 part of the ricotta cheese mixture, half the browned meat, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup of spaghetti sauce.
5. Next layer, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, 1/3 part of the ricotta cheese mixture, and 1 1/2 Cups sauce.
6. Next layer, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, remaining ricotta mixture and remained meat, 1 cup of sauce.
7. For top layer, 4 uncooked lasagna noodles, remaining sauce, and remaining 1 cup mozzarella.
8. Bake covered with foil for 50-60 minutes.
9. Uncover and continue cooking until all the cheese is melted on the top (about 5 minutes).
10. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

mmmmm cheese!

I can feed manly men just fine thanks.

I caught a lot of flack from a certain someone for wanting to make this dish for the mini college reunion that occurred this weekend. First the dish was too fancy for a bunch of manly men and then there was drama about it being a white sauce not a red sauce. However, there was very little remaining after dinner on Friday and when I woke up Saturday morning there wasn't any left (evidently mushroom lasagna is a wonderful 3 am snack for manly men). So who wins this one? This girl obviously. 

We got the pancetta from Di Bruno Brothers so it was sliced nice and thick which was perfect for the recipe, thinly sliced would not have worked well. The amount was also upped to 8 ounces by Mr. Lawyer due to manliness concerns. I did the full 4 portobello caps but was a little light on the 1.5 pounds of baby bellas because that's a ton of mushrooms. Next time I would try to get a little closer to the 1.5 pounds but by no means was the dish lacking because I reduced the amount. I realize that the béchamel recipe is only for 3.5 cups and not the 4.5 cups required in the lasagna recipe but it worked out fine and it was not dry at all. But if I used the full amount of mushrooms an extra cup of sauce might have come in handy. 

Official Review: Amazing. I loved it and obviously the mostly boy crowd did as well. Definitely a keeper.

Portobello and Pancetta with Parmesan Lasagna

(from For the Love of Lasagna by Sorrento)

Ingredients:
16 oz mozzarella, shredded
6 oz pancetta, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 large portobello caps, ribs removed, 1/2 inch dice
1.5 pounds baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, 1/4 inch slices
3 medium shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 bunch chives, chopped (reserve small amount for garnish)
4.5 cup bechamel sauce (recipe follows)
12 sheets no boil lasagna noodles
2 eggs
1.5 cups parmesan
Directions:
1. Cook pancetta in large saute pan on medium in 2 tablespoons oil until rendered and crispy. Remove the pancetta and keep the oil in the pan.
2. Saute the portobello and baby bella mushrooms in the pancetta oil (in batches) until caramelized on medium-high heat. Set cooked mushrooms aside.
3. Saute shallots and garlic in the saute pan on medium heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil for 4 minutes. Add the cooked mushrooms and 1 cup white wine. Cooke on medium-high until the liquid has evaporated. Toss in chives and pancetta. Season with salt and pepper.
4. To assemble, spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1.5 cups béchamel sauce on the bottom of the pan and top with 4 lasagna noodles.
5. Mix remaining béchamel with 2 eggs. Layer 1/2 of the mushroom mixture, 1/3 of the béchamel egg sauce, 1/2 cup parmesan, and 1/4 of the mozzarella.
6. Top with 4 noodles, remaining mushroom mixture, 1/3 more of béchamel sauce, 1/2 cup parmesan, and 1/4 mozzarella.
7. Finish with a layer of 4 noodles, and the remaining 1/3 béchamel sauce, 1/2 cup parmesan and mozzarella.
8. Cover with parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes, remove foil and parchment and bake for 10 more minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and garnish with reserved chives.

Bechamel Sauce
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 shallots (or 1 medium yellow onion), minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
3.5 cups whole milk
3/4 tsp nutmeg
Directions:
1. Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium heat until foaming.
2. Add shallots and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes.
3. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes taking care not to brown.
4. Whisk in milk slowly and bring mixture to a boil. Stir in nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.