Pea - Prosciutto Sauce

Again, one of my favorite recipes I've tried that didn't make the blog. Such a slacker.

This recipe I made for the August Sunday dinner. It was a small group, so making something like this was easy. 

Photo courtesy of FoodNetwork

Pea - Prosciutto Sauce
Recipe from Food Network
Serves: 4

• 4 ounces prosciutto, chopped
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1/4 c heavy cream
• 1 pound ravioli
• 1 c frozen peas
• Handful chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese

Cook prosciutto in a skillet with olive oil over medium heat until crisp, 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and 1 T tomato paste; cook 1 minute.

Ladle in 1 cup pasta cooking water and simmer until reduced by half, 4 minutes. Add heavy cream and simmer until thickened, 3 minutes. 

Toss with cooked ravioli, frozen peas, parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Beef Stew with Noodles

I noticed there are a couple of recipes that I've tried this year that didn't make it to the blog. Tisk Tisk. This particular recipe was one of my favorites and I thought it would be in bad blog taste to not post it.

Super easy, and super flavorful.  Great for leftovers - which says a lot considering I am not a fan of leftovers.

Beef Stew with Noodles

Photo by Everyday Food

Recipe from Every Day Food
Serves 4

• 1 T vegetable oil
• 2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise
• 2 T flour
• 3 cans reduced sodium chicken broth (14.5 ea)
• 1/2 pound carrot, cut 1" chunks
• 2 medium russet potato, peeled and cut into 1" dice
• 2 c egg noodles
• 3 T finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over high. Add beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until seared and brown, about 6 minutes. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion begins to soften (reducing heat if necessary), about 5 minutes. Stir in flour until beef and onion are coated and cook 1 to 2 minutes (do not burn). Add broth and 3 cups water, stirring and scraping up browned bits. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until beef is tender, about 25 minutes.

Add carrots and potatoes and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, stir in parsley and vinegar.

Hard Rock Cafe Twisted Mac & Cheese

Its rare that I can make mac&cheese from scratch and have it turn out creamy. For whatever reason the cheese sauce always has a gritty texture to it and it's just not good that way.  I read in a Food Network article that the way to avoid this is to slowly add the cheese to the rue. 

This recipe doesn't call for a rue, but I slowly added and melted the cheese to the milk. Turned out creamy!  This particular version of mac&cheese is delicious. I avoided the red peppers which I'm sure would add an extra excellent element to it, but not a fan of peppers.

Super easy recipe and super delicious. I mean it has Velveeta in it, what's not to like?

Hard Rock Cafe Twisted Mac & Cheese
Serves 4 (as a side dish)

• 2 c uncooked cavatappi pasta or elbow macaroni
• 1/3 c whole milk
• 4 Ounces Velveeta (which is 1/2 a cup in case you know your measurements)
• 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 c shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 c diced roasted red bell pepper

Parmesan Breadcrumbs

• 2  tsp seasoned breadcrumbs (Italian style)
• 2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp finely minced parsley.

Cook pasta following the directions on package. Drain.

Combine milk, Velveeta, cheddar cheese, Jack cheese, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in saucepan. Cook over low heat until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Add pasta and roasted pepper to the pan, and then toss to coat the pasta.

Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and parsley in a small bowl. Pour pasta into a serving bowl, and then sprinkle Parmesan breadcrumbs over the top.

Paella

My history with Paella goes way back to 1986 when Mom, Dad and I spent some time in Spain.  I had been studying Spanish for about 3 years by this time and Dad thought it would do me some good to practice while in Spain. Fine.

So the first or second night in Spain - I can't even remember what town we were in I was too scarred - we were out having dinner. We decided to have paella and dad asked me to ask the waitress if the paella had fish in it.

Side not: looking back now that was a ridiculous question to ask. Every paella had fish in it.

Anyhow, I rambled off something to the waitress - absolutely sure I knew what I was doing - and her look was that of pure confusion.  I repeated my question again in what sounded like perfect Spanish me, "Hay pescador en el paella?"  She nodded, looked confused and walked away.

Concerned that I may have said something slightly off I grabbed the trusty Spanish dictionary to see what I had said. Turns out I had asked the waitress if the paella had fishermen in it.

I assure you this recipe does not have fishermen in it. 

The story I was told about paella is that the people of a small town in Spain heard news that her majesty the Queen would be passing their way.  They decided to fix a very special for her, but couldn't decide on the name. Time grew short and they decided to call the dish "For Her" (Para Ella). I bet her paella didn't have any fishermen either.

Paella
Serves 6

• 2 to 21/2 c diced cooked chicken
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 4-5 large stewed tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• dash of cayenne
• large pinch of powdered saffron
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 2/12 to 3 cups chicken broth 2 cups pre cooked long grain rice (I didn't understand this precooked rice thing, so I used regular old every day rice and cooked it in the paella)
• 1 c peas
• 1 c cooked shrimp; shelled and deveined
• 4 oz can of green chilies chopped
• parsley
• black olives

Stew a fryer chicken until tender and firm and save the broth.  Bone chicken and cut in to bite size pieces.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven add onions and saute. Add chopped stewed tomatoes and green peppers. Add all seasonings and mix.

To the chicken broth, add the crushed garlic clove and rice, then add this mixture to dutch oven and stir thoroughly.

Cook over medium heat in dutch oven, covered, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add peas, shrimp and green chilies last 10 minutes of cooking time.  Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and sliced black olives before serving.

Emeril's Ruby Red Rocket Cocktail

I love trying new cocktails...at home. I hate paying the prices of cocktails out in a bar so when a party opportunity comes up where I can try a new cocktail, I will.

Being the Annual Pumpkin Carving last night, coupled with the Sunday dinner, I opted to try something that had a more ghoulish look to it.

This is their photo of the cocktail.

This is my version. My glass is way cooler - and I have no idea what that line is going across the top. I'll have to fix that later.

The only modification I made to this was the sugar rim.  I couldn't find the brown sugar rimmer he suggested, and testing it with real brown sugar didn't work so well. So I went with a yellow sugar rimmer. Pretty, don't cha think?

Emeril's Ruby Red Rocket Cocktail

• 1 1/2 ounces citrus flavored vodka, or vodka
• 1/2 ounce triple sec
• 3 ounces red grapefruit juice blend
• 2 teaspoons creme de cassis or raspberry liqueur
• Coarse brown sugar crystals, optional garnish to coat rims of the glasses
• Candied orange slices, optional garnish - JW Note: I didn't have candied orange slices either. I used just regular old oranges.

If desired, wet the rim of a tall martini glass, then dip in the coarse brown sugar crystals. In a cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, triple sec, and juice with crushed ice. Shake well for 30 seconds, then strain into the prepared martini glass. Gently add the creme de cassis, allowing to fall to the bottom of the glass. Garnish with a candied orange slice, if desired, and serve.

JW Note: Turns out Creme de Cassis is a blueberry flavored.  It made the drink in my opinion.

Chicken Scaloppini with Wine, Mushroom and Green Olives

This recipe is the first recipe I made when I decided I wanted to really start cooking. It's a Rachael Ray recipe, and super easy to make. I've made it a handful of times over the years and have modified it to my taste.  The girls who were over for last night's pumpkin carving certainly didn't have any issues with my modifications. In fact, the general consensus was "YUM!"

I also made a new cocktail last night.  Emeril's Ruby Red Rocket Cocktail. It was so darn good.  It has a slight taste of a Cosmo, but not as sweet since it uses grapefruit.  I'll post that recipe separate and you can find it here.

Anyhow, here's the recipe with my notes of changes with it. Enjoy.

Photo courtesy of Food Network

Veal Scaloppini with Wine, Mushroom and Green Olives
Recipe by Rachael Ray
Serves 4
JW Note: My first change is I use chicken. I'm not a veal fan, so I substitute it with chicken.

• 3/4 pound linguini
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan, plus some for drizzling
• 3 slices pancetta or bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 16 crimini mushrooms or button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 pound veal scaloppini, cut into 1-inch strips [JW Notes: 1 lb chicken tenders or breasts, cut into bite size pieces]
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 16 pitted, large green olives, coarsely chopped
• A handful chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano, a couple of handfuls

JW Notes:

My additional ingredients

1/4c heavy cream

1 c chicken broth or stock

Place pasta water on to boil and cook linguini 8 minutes, to al dente in salted water. Drain and reserve. Keep warm.

Preheat a large, heavy skillet over medium to medium high heat. Add 1 turn of the pan or 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and the pancetta or bacon. Cook pancetta or bacon 1 to 2 minutes alone, then add onions and cook another 2 or 3 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan and cook together with the onions 3 to 5 minutes. [JW note: I add the garlic in here too. If I add it in the following step I ALWAYS burn it.]

Season veal strips with salt and pepper. [JW Note: I don't use a second skillet. I take the mushroom mix out and put it in a bowl and just use the same skillet. Mostly because I hate doing dishes.] In a second skillet preheated over medium high heat, add 1 1/2 turns of extra-virgin olive oil and 1 clove smashed garlic. [JW note: see note above about where I add the garlic.] Quick-fry half of the veal searing each side of the strips 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer cooked veal strips and garlic to a plate and repeat.

Add all of the cooked strips and garlic to the onions and mushrooms then add wine to the pan and lift up all of the drippings. [JW note: I add the mushroom mixture back to the pan where I was cooking my chicken.] Cook wine down to evaporate the alcohol about 2 to 3 minutes. [JW note: I add a cup of broth here and let that simmer down for about 10 minutes. I like more liquid with my pasta than this recipe allows.  Once the chicken broth cooks down, I add the olives and parsley to the mixture, then add the heavy cream.  I cook it until it thickens.]

Stir olives and parsley into veal and mushrooms. Serve portions of veal, mushrooms and green olives on a bed of hot linguini tossed with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, butter and grated cheese.

[JW notes: I usually mix the sauce with the pasta.  Last night I added the cheese in with the pasta instead of on top and OMG it was sooo good. Try it.]

Tuscan Chicken Stew

I didn't do very well this week with sticking to my planned menu.  I got lazy mid week and just grabbed something in the pantry to eat - like Mac N Cheese.

Tonight though, I decided to make Tuscan Chicken Stew - which was a selected recipe for this week.  I had, apparently, not shopped well enough last Sunday and was missing some ingredients. So I punted. Though I don't think my "changes" were all that significant to the overall flavor of the stew.

It's from a cookbook I bought a life time ago called "How To Boil Water". There used to be a show on the Food Network called the same thing and this was their cookbook.  The recipes in this cookbook are broken down so even a 5 YO could figure them out.  They're simple, tried and true recipes that do not disappoint.

Tuscan Chicken Stew
Recipe from How to Boil Water
Serves 4

• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
• 1 can cannellini beans (15.5oz), drained and rinsed
• 8 bone in skinless chicken thighs (I didn't have chicken so I used some beef stew meat I had)
• 3 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 large sprig rosemary or 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning (I didn't have the rosemary so I went for the Italian seasoning).
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1/2 c dry red wine
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (14oz can) - I used Fire roasted tomatoes...yum.
• 3/4 c chicken broth
• 1 head escarole or 4 cups baby spinach (yah not a fan of cooked escarole or spinach so I opted out of this ingredient. I did have a nice spinach salad to go along side it though.)
• 1/2 c freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Chop the onion, smash or mince the garlic and drain/rinse the beans. Set aside

Heat in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken down with paper towels. Add the oil to the Dutch oven. When the oil is hot, add chicken skin side down, and brown, in batches if necessary, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter. (I browned the beef in my version to get the yummy dark bits on the bottom of the pan for later.)

Reduce the heat to medium, add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes and seasoning.  Cook, stirring until onions are slightly soft. Add tomato paste and cook until brick red, about 1 minute.

Add wine and deglaze the pan. Let it reduce until it's about a syrup consistency. Add beans, tomatoes, and chicken broth to the pan. Bring to a boil.  Nestle the chicken pieces back into the pan and any juices as well. Cook for 20 more minutes.

Trim the escarole and tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. (If you're using spinach there's no need to do this.) Wash the escarole or spinach and drain. Add greens to the stew, cooking only until wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve in shallow bowls.

Hearty Beef and Barley Stew

Once in a while I am taken back by a recipe...mostly because I planned ahead to make it but didn't read the recipe before. This was one of those recipes.

Turned out this was what I like to call a "round two" meal. Meaning you're using leftover meat or something to make another dish.  Had I read the recipe I would have known I needed to make a pot roast before making this stew. 

Regardless I made the stew. I adjusted it to be what I had purchased and left out all the parts about leftovers.  I've put the recipe how it appears in the cookbook and have also added the pot roast recipe this one builds from.  You'll see my notes here and there with my adjustments.

This was also the first time I've ever used barley. That was interesting. My first attempt I didn't pay attention and all the water evaporated and I had some burned barley. Luckily I had enough to make another batch.

Hearty Beef and Barley Stew
Serves 2

• 1 T vegetable oil
• 1/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms, re hydrated in 1/2 c water, then minced, re hydrating liquid strained and reserved. [Jenn note: I'm not a fan of porcini mushrooms so I used regular old button mushrooms]
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1/8 tsp dried thyme
• 2 1/4 c water [Jenn Note: I used just 2 cups of water and 2 cups beef broth because I didn't have the pot roast sauce.]
• 1 c pot roast sauce (see pot roast recipe below) [Jenn note: didn't use this see note above.]
• 3/4 c pot roast garnish (see pot roast recipe below)[Jenn note: didn't use this since the garnish wasn't that interesting to me.]
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 c instant barley (instant barley is also called quick barley)
• 10 oz cooked pot roast (see pot roast recipe below) [Jenn note: used 1 lb stew meat.]
• 1 T chopped fresh parsley

Combine oil, mushrooms, tomato paste and thyme in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in the reserved porcini liquid, water, pot roast sauce, pot roast garnish, carrots and barley. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the carrots and barley are tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the pot roast and cook until heated through. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Jenn's way:
I browned my meat first. Set it aside and then followed the mushrooms, carrots, tomato paste, and thyme from above. I deglazed with a cup of wine (the pot roast recipe calls for wine so I figured I'd add that flavor in). Once that had reduced, I put the meat back in and my beef broth and water. I let it simmer for about 30 minutes give or take.

I also couldn't find quick barley so had to cook my barley separately. I added it once it was cooked.

French Style Pot Roast Recipe
Serves 2

1 boneless chuck eye roast, pulled apart into 2 pieces, trimmed (about 3.5 to 4 lbs)

• Salt and pepper
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 onion, chopped medium
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 T flour
• 1 bottle dry red wine
• 2/3 c low sodium chicken broth
• 2/3 c low sodium beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1 1/2 inch thick

Garnish

• 2 c frozen pearl onions
• 1/2 c water
• 3 T butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 10 oz white mushrooms, stems trimmed and halved
• 1 T chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 300 F. Pat the roast dry and season with salt and pepper. Tie kitchen twine around each piece of meat so it won't fall apart. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the meat on all sides, reduce heat if pot starts to scorch.

Remove meat and set aside.

Pour off all the fat left in the pot, add the bacon and cook over medium-high heat until browned and crisp. About 10 minutes.  Stir in the onion and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until softened 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Slowly whisk in the wine, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. It should reduce to about 2 1/2 cups of liquid.

Stir in the broths and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Nestle the meat back in, along with any accumulated juices, and return to a simmer. Cover and transfer to oven.  cook for 2 hours, flipping the meat halfway through cooking.

Stir in the carrots and continue to cook in the oven, covered until the meat is tender for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, flipping the meat once.

For the garnish: meanwhile combine the frozen pearl onions, water, butter, sugar and salt in a 12 inch nonstick skillet.  Cover and cook over medium high heat stirring often until onions are fully thawed and tender, about 10 minutes.  Uncover, and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 4 minutes.  Stir in mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are dark brown and well glazed, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the pot from the oven. Transfer the meat to a carving board and tent loosely with foil. Transfer the carrots to a bowl and set aside. Using a wide spoon, skim off any fat that rises to the surface of the sauce.  Bring to a simmer over med-high heat and cook until thickened and reduced to 3 cups, 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove twine from meat, cut the meat against the grain into 1/4 inch slices and transfer to a serving platter. Stir the carrots and garnish into the sauce and rewarm over medium heat. Spoon the sauce and vegetables over the meat, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Phew! That's a lot of work.

Grilled Beef and Vegetable Kebabs

Kebabs are standard grill fare.  And are one of my favorite things to make with beef and chicken.  When I have a marinade recipe, I'll often cube the meat and marinade it that way. More meat surface gets the marinade, then I put them on skewers and grill. Yum.

This recipe was super, SUPER easy and flavorful. The marinade is a very common marinade and is used a lot in grilling recipes.

I adjusted the vegetables of this recipe since I'm not a fan of bell peppers. I used zucchini instead. Just as colorful and just as tasty - in my opinion.

Grilled Beef and Vegetable Kebabs

Serves 2

• 1/3 c olive oil
• 1/4 c soy sauce (I use low sodium soy sauce for cooking. It allows me to control the sodium.)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 lb steak tips, poked all over with a fork and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks (I used zucchini here)
• 1 small red onion, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 5 ounces white mushrooms, stemmed

Mix oil, soy, garlic and pepper together in a large microwave safe bowl. Measure 1/4 c of the soy sauce mixture and transfer to a large zip loc bag.  Add steak tips to the marinade, turn to coat.  Marinade steak tips in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.

Add bell pepper, onion and mushrooms to the bowl with the remaining marinade and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate at room temp for 30 minutes.

Microwave the vegetables on high until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent at the edges, 3-5 minutes, stirring half way through.  Remove the plastic wrap from the bowl (be careful of steam) and set aside until the meat is finished marinating.

Jenn Note: Needless to say I did not cook my vegetables in a microwave.  I did marinate them, but I didn't want to precook them and I just grilled them with the meat. Turned out fine.

Thread the meat and vegetables onto skewers, starting and ending with meat.  It makes about 4 12 inch skewers. Grill to your desired doneness.

Chicken Vesuvio

I debate every time I come across a recipe I didn't particularly like as to whether I should or shouldn't post it. And almost every time I decide to post it in case one of my few readers will like it.

This was one of those recipes. It was good, but not great! At least to me.

Chicken Vesuvio
Serves 2

• 1/4 c flour
• 2 (6-8oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 5 tsp olive oil
• 12 oz red potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp minced fresh oregano, or 1/4tsp dried
• 1 tsp minced rosemary, or 1/4 tsp dried
• 1 c low sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 c dry white wine
• 1/2 c frozen peas, thawed
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Place the flour in a shallow dish. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Working with 1 breast at a time, dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a 10 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Carefully lay the chicken in the skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides, 6-8 minutes, flipping the breasts halfway through. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Wipe out the skillet with a wad of paper towels. Heat the remaining 2 tsp in skillet until shimmering. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 7 minutes.  Stir in the garlic, oregano, rosemary and 1/8 tsp salt and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add broth and wine, scraping the bottom of the pan of the little brown bits. Nestle the chicken along with any accumulated juice, into the potatoes and bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the chicken registers 160 to 165, 12 to 18 minutes, flipping the chicken half way through.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and tent with foil to keep warm.  Increase the heat to medium and continue to cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender and the sauce is thickened slightly, 5-7 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to the platter with the chicken. Off heat, stir in the peas, butter and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Pour sauce over the chicken and potatoes and serve.

Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto

Every year, the Thursday before the Breast Cancer 3 day, I do a "carb loading" dinner for my team.  Truth be told, I "carb load" all year for them. As a former walker changed into Walker Stalker, I need my energy.

This year I chose to make Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto. Its simple and delicious. Just like I like it.

Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto

Serves 4

• 1 lb meat filled tortellini (I couldn't find any meat filled so I used 3 cheese)
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 4 oz prosciutto or pancetta, finely chopped (I used pancetta for this recipe because it's what I had on hand. You could even use bacon if that's what you have on hand.)
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1/4 c heavy cream
• 1 c Frozen peas
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley
• 1 c Parmesan cheese, grated

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook as the label directs.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and prosciutto and cook until crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Ladle in about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and simmer until reduced by about half, 3-4 minutes. Add the cream and simmer until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes.

About 2 minutes before the tortellini are done add the peas to the boiling water and cook until just tender. Drain the tortellini and peas and add to the skillet, tossing to coat with the sauce. Stir in the parsley and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Baked Lasagna with Bechamel Sauce

I've been very lax at getting recipes up on this site. So pardon me while I get caught up.

The Not Quite Newlyweds had child #2, Baby B.  I offered to bring them dinner and meet Baby B and they hopped on that offer. 

I wanted to make something Baby B's big brother would eat and was simple, but scrumptious. Lasagna came to mind. I have a few recipes, some take almost all day, and I wanted to try a new one. I rummaged through my recipes and found this one. It was quite tasty and super easy.

I'm not a fan of ricotta cheese so this was the perfect lasagna for me.

Baked Lasagna with béchamel Sauce
Serves 8-10

bolognas sauce (I used my favorite Bolognese sauce that you can find here. I had made some over the weekend so I had some left over for the lasagna.)

• 12-16 fresh egg lasagna sheets or dried lasagna (I can never find fresh lasagna sheets so I used the no cook sheets that are now available).
• 1 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 T butter

For the béchamel sauce:

• 3 c milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp nutmeg (the recipe actually calls for mace blades. I had no idea what those were, but Google helped me determine they are part of the nutmeg plant.  I couldn't find mace blades so went for just nutmeg.)
• 1/2 c butter
• 3/4 c flour
• salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the Bolognese sauce per that recipe. Butter a large lasagna pan. 

To make the béchamel sauce:
Gently heat the milk with the bay leave and nutmeg in a saucepan. Melt the butter in a medium heave based saucepan. Add the flour and mix well with a wire whisk. Cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove the bay leaf from the milk. Slowly pour the milk into the flour mixture and whisk constantly. Bring the sauce to a boil and let it thicken. Cook for another 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Lasagna prep:
Depending on the type of noodles you use, you may need to cook your pasta. I used no-cook noodles so I hopped right into putting the lasagna together.

To assemble:
Spread a large spoonful of Bolognese to bottom of the pan. Spread it evenly.  You may need a second spoon full depending on the size of pan you're using. You're looking for a nice even layer of sauce for the first noodles to rest on.

Arrange a layer of pasta, overlaying the edges.
Spoon over the béchamel sauce over the layer of noodles. Evenly spread the sauce.
Spoon over Bolognese; evenly spread the sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Repeat that another layer or two, depending, again, on the size of your dish. END with Bolognese and Parmesan on the top of the lasagna.

Bake at 400for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it's bubbly. Put it on a cookie sheet though, learn from my mistakes.  Take it out and let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

Sit back and enjoy.