Pizza Lasagna

8 Lasagna Noodles
** Cook noodles according to package directions; drain; set aside. (I use oven ready noddles and skip this step entirely)

3 T butter
4 C sliced fresh mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T all-purpose flour
2 C milk
salt and pepper
** Melt butter in medium fry pan. Saute mushrooms and garlic until tender and any liquid has evaporated. Blend in flour. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

1 C ricotta cheese
1 egg
2T fresh parsley
** Combine ricotta cheese, egg and parsley. Set aside.

1 can (14oz) pizza sauce
8oz thinly sliced pepperoni
10 oz thinly sliced (or grated) mozzarella cheese.

Assembly:
Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on the bottom of an 8cup shallow rectangular baking dish.
Layer half the noddles, half the remaining pizza sauce, half the ricotta cheese mixture, half the mushroom sauce, half the pepperoni and half the mozza cheese.
Repeat layering.

Bake in a preheated 375 F oven 40-45 min until hot and bubbly.

Source: Best of the Milk Calendar Recipes: Pasta Dishes.

YUM YUM YUM. I double it and put it in a 9x13 pan.

::Fig & Cherry::

I made *THIS* last night from *THIS* yummy food blog.

Crunchy Delicious Macaroni & Cheese

INGREDIENT INTENSIVE, BUT WORTH IT. THE YUMMIEST MACARONI AND CHEESE I HAVE EVER HAD. I LOVE THAT THE PASTA DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PRE-COOKED. NEXT TIME CHEESE GOES ON SALE I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE SPLURGE.
{Picture and Recipe via SmittenKitchen}

Ingredients:
{for a 9x13}

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  
• 2 cups whole milk cottage cheese
• 4 cups milk (not skim)
• 2 teaspoon dry mustard
• Pinch cayenne
• Pinch nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large block (540g) of sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 pound (450g) elbow pasta or rotini, uncooked.
• 1 cup of bread crumbs
• 1 cup extra grated cheese
• 2 T melted butter
  

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 2 tablespoon butter to butter a 9x13 baking pan.

2. In a blender, puree cottage cheese. When consistency is extremely smooth, add milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. In a large bowl, combine grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with extra cheese and breadcrumbs, held together with 2 T melted butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

NOTE: I also added: 3 strips of chopped bacon & half an onion sauteed, plus 1 cup parmesan. And DO serve this with a BIG GREEN SALAD. You will feel less guilty about the fat content of this stuff.

Baked Pasta and Ricotta Casserole

Here is another casserole recipe that I have made lots of times and everyone loves it. (except Josh, who doesn't like ricotta cheese! ) This one also freezes well - so double the recipe and put one in the freezer for another time, or to give away. This recipe comes from a Milk Calendar recipe book that my mom gave me.

8 oz pasta (eg. penne, ziti, rotini, etc.)
** Cook Pasta. Rinse with cold water. Drain well. Reserve.

1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cayenne
** Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic and onion and cook 3-4 min.
Add flour and cook 3 min. stirring often.
Add milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cook gently 5 min.

** Combine:
pasta
sauce
8 oz ricotta
2 cups grated mozzarella
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

**Pour into a 13x9 inch baking dish.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 25-30 min. until bubbling and brown

Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce

Here is another recipe from that same 'quick from scratch one-dish meals' (although this one takes 3 different pans to prepare in my opinion! But it is still fairly easy to prepare)

1 T cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
2 cups canned chopped tomatoes, drained (from one 28-ounce can)
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 cup pesto
3/4 pound medium pasta shells
1 1/2 cups mozzarella, grated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Grease a large baking dish (9x13)
2. In a large stainless-steel frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until the meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Drain off any excess fat.
3. Add the tomatoes and salt to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pesto.
4. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the shells until just done, about 10 minutes. Drain and toss with the sauce. Put half the pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half the mozzarella and 2 T of the Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining pasta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

The nice thing about this recipe is that it freezes well, so you can double it and make it up one night and then another night when you are running behind, you can just pull it out of the freezer and reheat.

Smoked Salmon & Dill Pasta

6 green onions
4 T butter
6 T dry white wine
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
nutmeg
8oz smoked salmon
2 T fresh dill (or 1 T dry dill)
fresh lemon juice
4 cups pasta
salt and pepper

1. Put water on to boil for pasta.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. (I use a wok). Chop onions into butter and simmer gently for one minute.
3. Add wine and boil hard to reduce. Then add cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg. Simmer until slightly thick.
4. Chop salmon. Add to sauce along with dill and lemon juice.
5. Combine and serve

NOTES: Really rich. A little goes a long way. A mild flavour so don't eat anything with it that will overpower it. Really good with a nice white wine and a baguette.