My favorite lasagna

(image from google images)

1 1/2 lb. ground beef, browned

28 oz. Prego Sauce-traditional (of course you can use any kind, but this is my favorite)

8 lasagna noodles, cooked

1 c. sour cream

3 heaping Tbs. ricotta cheese (I use way more than this, I love it so I just keep throwing more on!)

1 lb. grated Jack cheese

Layer-

sauce/meat (1/2 of it)

4 noodles

Sour cream and ricotta cheese

1/2 jack cheese

Repeat.

Bake at 350 for 48-50 minutes.

Chicken and Lemon/Capers

I kind of experimented and made this recipe up to copy a dish I loved from a restaurant. I served it with a simple side dish of pasta and steamed vegetables.

4 chicken breast tenderloins
parsley
capers
lemon juice
chicken stock

Season chicken with salt and pepper, and heat in oil in skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook chicken until done. Remove from skill, set aside and keep warm. Add 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, 1/3 c. chicken stock, lemon juice, and capers to skillet. Scrape the skilllet to loosen all chicken bits. Cook until it has reduced to about 1/4 cup (about 2 minutes). Stir in parsley, then pour sauce over chicken.

Ravioli with Pine Nut Sage-butter sauce

1 lb. ravioli with cheese
1 stick butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup pinenuts (could also use walnuts)
1 cup fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. chicken or vegetable broth
grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Cook ravioli in slightly salted water, drain. (Once they come to the top, they are pretty much done, about 3 min.)
In a large skillet, heat the butter over med. heat until golden brown. Add garlic and pinenuts. Saute for 1 minute. Stir in the sage leaves, salt, and broth. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Stir the ravioli in the sauce, and cook just long enough to heat through. Place on serving platter; sprinkle with cheese and serve at once.

Recipe came from Marguerite Henderson, Thanksgiving Point cooking class "When Company Comes"

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

1 box (16 oz) Ziti pasta1 jar spaghetti sauce

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb pork sausage

Salt, black pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes (all to taste)

12 oz cottage cheese (or ricotta if you prefer)

1/2 cup (4 oz) mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

8 slices provolone cheese

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 and grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season water with salt, boil pasta till al dente; drain and set aside.

- Meanwhile brown sausage and ground beef in skillet and season with desired amounts of salt, black pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes. Drain excess grease away from meats and return back to skillet. Add the jar of spaghetti sauce and let simmer until you are ready to assemble the dish.

- Place enough sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan so the noodles won't stick. Then assemble the rest of the dish- half of the cooked noodles, all of the cottage cheese, 4 slices of provolone cheese, 1/2 of the remaining sauce, remaining noodles, half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, remaining sauce, remaining cheese.

- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let set 10 minutes to cool before serving. Source of recipe and picture

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti (from Ali)

Chicken breasts
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken
1 can evaporated milk
fresh parmesan
spaghetti

Grill and cube chicken breasts with chopped onion. Add cans of cream of chicken and evaporated milk. Stir together, and add a couple of handfuls of fresh parmesan. Serve over spaghetti.

Chicken in Lemon Cream with Penne

Courtesy of Giada DeLaurentiis, from her new book, Everyday Pasta, with a few minor modifications from fromourkitchentoyours.blogspot.com

1 pound penne pasta

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, diced into 1-inch cubes

1 t. herbes de Provence

pinch of salt, plus 1/2 t.

pinch of pepper, plus 1/4 t.

1 c. chicken broth

2 c. heavy cream

zest of 1 lemon

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cook pasta until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the cubed chicken breast with herbes de Provence and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. (Here, I actually seasoned and baked the chicken ahead of time [to save time], and added the juices from the baked chicken to the finished sauce.)

Pour off any excess oil from the pan. Add the chicken broth to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, using a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the cream, lemon zest, and cayenne. (I let the lemon zest steep in the cream while I cooked the chicken.) Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the pasta, chicken, 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Toss to coat the pasta and chicken with the sauce and serve.