Italian Night

My family will have one night a week that we call "Italian Night." This week we made lasagna.

Ingredients:
12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 pound lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano, or to taste
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (16 ounce) package cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 (25 ounce) jars tomato-basil pasta sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the lasagna noodles a few at a time, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Remove the noodles to a plate.
3. Place the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat, add the garlic, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper to the skillet. Cook the meat, chopping it into small chunks as it cooks, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease.
4. In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, eggs, and Parmesan cheese until thoroughly combined.
5. Place 4 noodles side by side into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan; top with a layer of the tomato-basil sauce, a layer of ground beef mixture, and a layer of the cottage cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice more, ending with a layer of sauce; sprinkle top with the mozzarella cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese has begun to brown, about 10 more minutes. Allow to stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Francese

The other day, my family had a variety of food for a large party and a few of them I enjoyed. The chicken francese was the best dish in my opinion. The dish was gone in just a few minutes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup butter
2 lemons, juiced
1 teaspoon cornstarch


Steps:

Coat chicken with flour, then egg beat, then saute in a large skillet until almost cooked through. Drain on paper toweling.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
In a medium saucepan combine the wine, broth, parsley, salt and pepper to taste, butter or margarine and lemon juice over medium low heat. Stir together while heating slowly. When butter or margarine has melted, slowly stir in cornstarch until sauce thickens slightly. Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish and pour sauce over all.
Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Super Bowl Contest

My family does a contest during the Super Bowl. We go to my Aunt's house and participate in a chili contest. Half of the people are to make the chili and the other half taste and rate all the chilis. The winning chili will get bragging rights till the following year.

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef chuck
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
3 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 green chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon bacon bits
4 cubes beef bouillon
1/2 cup beer
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

Steps:

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
2. Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, chile peppers, bacon bits, bouillon, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
4. To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese.