Stenciling cookies....why?

 Not stenciled - both colors done with an airbrush. It is necessary to do the one color with an airbrush so that the stencil is able to lay flat.

Stenciled - the yellow is still airbrushed, but the black here is stenciled with royal icing, so much prettier!

Here the two lighter colors are airbrushed and the navy is done with royal icing.

Lasagna

Gather all your ingredients together (all will be cold or at room temp for easy handling)-

1box lasagna noodles - cooked until not quite done, then cover in cold water so they stop cooking and can be easily handled - a 16oz. box has 20 noodles

10cups (at least) homemade meat sauce - make several days earlier and have spaghetti that nite :)

  Tone's (from Sam's) makes for a nice sauce - we like to add an equal amount of spice & sugar substitute

1 block 8oz. softened cream cheese mixed with 2 eggs (this is in lieu of ricotta or cottage cheese)

  this makes a nice creamy lasagna and you won't notice it like you would ricotta or cottage cheese

Italian sausage browned - 2 links, approx. 1/2 lb.

2 lb. (or more) shredded mozzarella

 

Spread a light layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan and then start making layers.

Each layer consists of - 4 noodles, meat sauce, Italian sausage, 1/3 cream cheese mix, mozzarella cheese

A 'regular' pan holds 3 layers topped off with a final layer of noodles covered w/a bit of sauce&cheese

A 'deep' pan will hold 4 layers. 

At this point, bake to an internal temp off 165, cover with foil if the cheese is getting too brown. Let sit for a few minutes to make it easier to serve a pretty slice.

You could also put in fridge or freezer to bake later. If baking cold or frozen, add extra time and start the baking with the pan covered with foil. Remove after an hour.

Some people swear by ricotta or cottage cheese...IMO these stick out taste wise, while the cream cheese just makes a lovely creamy texture. I did read a post recently where the ricotta was mixed with sour cream to make it a bit creamier, sounded interesting.

This makes enough lasagna to feed 10-12. If you don't want to have too much leftover, make a couple smaller pans and cut noodles to fit. Cook both and freeze the extra in serving-size portions, or just freeze the extra pan. If you're going to the trouble to make one lasagna, it's not much harder to make an extra to throw in the freezer.

Cookie Dough Roller

 Click the link below to see how my Bailey Clay Roller helps me roll out cookies.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cntR69gucEjLkoXbe0pXCuT6xy0XuwfK/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ICR5-Up9MWKkYfp4S8E1CW9Gfg1pl63A/view?usp=sharing

 Cajun Red Beans and Rice Soup (written before the Instant Pot)

To use an IP, (cook rice first & remove to a separate container) just put veggies/sausage in and SAUTE in a bit of olive oil (won't need much as the sausage will render a bit), then add beans/tomatoes and change to Slow Cook (cook on HI for 0minutes) then add rice

- don't add rice til closer to serving so it doesn't get mushy

Keep in mind that the amount of each ingredient is adjustable to taste. If you like it a lot, double it, if not, well....14oz. Cajun Smoked Sausage/3 stalks celery-if you have leafy stalks, cut up and add all the tops/1 medium onion/3 to 4 cans chili beans in hot sauce-any old brand will do/2 cans tomatoes-can be cut up further/2 to 3 Tbsp. Cajun or creole spice/optional dash or two of Hot Sauce/2 to 3 cans water-depending on how thick you like your soup/1 c. rice (pre-cooked measurement)

Cut up the sausage, onion, celery, cook up a bit and then transfer to a crockpot. Doesn't need to be precooked - you could just throw it all in the crockpot - add all but rice                                 Cook on low for a few hours, add cooked rice just before eating                                                  You could remove half the soup, let it cool and freeze (without rice)it for future use

SOUP 101 - Prepared for the ladies group at St. Clement

With the chilly weather setting in, it's so nice to have a pot of soup on...and it's easier than you'd think!

If you have an instant pot, you'll only have one dirty dish.

First step is to decide what kind of soup you want - broth type, protein type, veggies, beans, flavors, etc.

Gather your ingredients and start chopping.

Most soup recipes start with the same veggies - onion, carrot, and celery 

You can build from there with other fresh or canned veggies.

First step - sauté your veggies in a bit of olive oil (higher heat will give you an extra level of flavor)

Add a protein - could be rotisserie chicken, canned or fresh, browned ground beef (pre brown so you can remove the fat)

Add broth - these are great to keep in the fridge (from Sam's)  

along with garlic in a jar

Then add the remaining ingredients in order of how short their cook time is.

Cook in pot on stove, or crock pot for 3 to 4 hours or in an Instant Pot for 0 minutes, yes, zero!

Let's start simple with Chicken Noodle Soup

See 11/3/12 post for a tutorial complete with pictures. This post starts with raw chicken (the day before) and thick homemade noodles. 

This is not a soup which needs to cook for a long time-especially after you add the noodles, otherwise they'll be soggy.

Not all recipes will have measurements, more ingredients = more soup!

Chop carrots, celery, and onions (I like bigger chunks, but this is your soup, so cut the size you want to eat) Same goes for the ratio - more carrots, more celery...up to you

In a large pot over medium heat, add a couple Tbsp. of olive oil - I don't even dirty a spoon, just pour some in...add garlic from the jar and your cut up veggies - sauté til they start to soften, maybe 10minutes

If they're getting too crispy, add a bit more olive oil.

If you are using uncooked chicken, cook it in with the veggies.

Add water and chicken soup base - could be canned stock, homemade stock, bullion cubes, etc. At minimum, the broth should cover all the veggies. Again, more water/broth...more soup!

Keep in mind this all contains salt, so there's really no need to add any more. Season to taste, pepper, oregano, rosemary, whatever sounds good to you.

If you haven't already, add cooked chicken, could be leftover rotisserie, or even canned will work.

If you add raw chicken in with the broth, you'll get a cloudy looking soup, but it'll still be good.

Decide on your noodle type - box noodles should be added 10 minutes prior to serving time or you'll end up with mushy noodles.

I'm a big fan of the homemade noodles (think Reames from the freezer section at Schnucks) they're more like dumplings.

Bonus tip-To make this a quicker meal, cut up your veggies (you could even pre-saute them) ahead of time, use leftover chicken and a bag of pasta.

If you have vegetables that are about to go bad and you're not ready to make soup, dice them up and throw them in the freezer. Throw them in your soup straight from the freezer. This is great to do when you're heading out of town so it cuts down on waste.

Bonus recipe - 5 minute soup - click the soup tab to the right to see this recipe.

This could be even faster if you cook the rice ahead of time in your Instant Pot

(not recommended for quick-cook rice)

Making Royal Icing Layons-Step by step

 

 

Golf Bag Cake