Nana's Lasagna

We inherited this recipe from Carl's nana, and (from what I hear) it was favorite in Carl's family growing up, and it's now a favorite in our family.  We made a few changes to the original recipe, mostly adding more vegetables and seasonings.  The dash of paprika on top reminds us of Nana.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lasagna noodles
• 1.5 lbs. ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 (18oz) can tomato paste
• 1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes, thoroughly drained
• 16oz. ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 16oz fresh mozzarella, shredded (or pulled into small pieces:)
• 1/3lb. shredded parmesan (about 2/3 cups)
• fresh basil leaves
• dash of smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pot, boil the lasagna noodles according to package directions.  In a dutch oven brown the ground beef.  Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, mushrooms, and oregano, cooking until the onion is tender.  Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes.  In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta and egg.  In a greased lasagna pan, layer the lasagna noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella, parmesan, and basil leaves.  (We typically get about 3 layers.)  Sprinkle the paprika on top.  Bake for 30 minutes.  

Stud Muffin: Apple Oatmeal Muffins

What I like about these muffins is the texture.  The oatmeal, chopped apple, raisins, and walnuts all add different dimensions to the muffin, which makes it more interesting to eat.  I have used all different types of apples, Granny Smith, Fuji, Empire, and Gala, and I think they all worked well.  I probably wouldn't use a Golden Delicious, because I want chunks of apple in the finished muffin, and Golden Delicious mush too easily.  I'd worry that they would just completely dissolve during baking.  The original recipe, along with every muffin recipe I've ever seen, always calls for quick-cooking oats.  I have always used old-fashioned oats since that's what I have at home.  I don't think it makes much difference, but if you have a strong oat preference, go with your gut!  I originally go the recipe from here, but spruced it up a bit to add these additional elements.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1.5 cups oats
• 1.25 cups flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a stand mixer mix together the applesauce, oil, brown sugar, and egg.  In a separate bowl mix together the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and flour.  Add the oats to the applesauce mixture.  Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk.  Fold in the chopped apple, raisins, and walnuts.  Spoon into muffin cups until they are about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 17 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool at least 5-10 minutes before serving. Makes 12 muffins.

Stud Muffin: Blueberry

Blueberry muffins are one of my favorites.  I like my muffins to be heavily blueberried, and this recipe fits the bill.  It's another recipe that comes out great every time.  I tried something different this time, I used frozen blueberries, and put the blueberries in the batter frozen.  It didn't work out as well as using fresh blueberries.  It caused the blueberries to bleed a bit more than I like.  I'm not sure how they would to with frozen blueberries that had been thawed.  I'll update this post once I give that a shot.  But here's the original recipe with my alterations:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a stand mixer cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract.  In a separate bowl combine flour and baking powder.  Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk.  Fold in the blueberries.  Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake for about 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.  Makes 15(ish) muffins.

Stud Muffin: Banana Nut

I am a sucker for a good muffin, and I really enjoy making muffins.  So this next recipe series will be devoted to muffins.  When I was a little girl, my mom and I would make muffins from a mix.  I like how the mix muffins always come out perfectly, with little domes on top.  I like these banana nut muffins, because, like the mixes, they always come out perfectly.  Every.  Single.  Time.  If you have any consistently good muffin recipes, please share!  I go this banana nut recipe from here, and unlike many recipes, it needs very little alteration.  The original recipe says that it makes 6 muffins, but it makes 8 for me.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup mashed bananas, about 2 bananas
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (the original recipe called for walnuts, but I've also used pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a stand mixer cream butter and sugar.  Add egg, vanilla, and banana, and mix thoroughly.  In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Add flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix until just incorporated.  Fold in nuts.  Fill muffin cups to about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 24 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.