Butternut Squash Lasagne

Vegetarian entrées are not my forte but I had to get busy with something special for my beautiful daughter in law.  She really is a great gourmet vegetarian cook...and that has always been my short suit!   It was such a pleasure to have her, my son and grandson visit from Holland, Michigan for the Christmas Holidays.  

My first source will always be Fine Cooking.  They never let me down and this years Holiday Edition (Dec11/Jan12 No.114)  was no exception. 

I boil my lasagne noodles in my buffet steamer pan...the only pan I have that is long enough. 

The Creamy Goat Cheese Béchamel Sauce

 

This is such an easy to prepare

ahead of time dish.  I made the day before

and baked the next day.

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Butternut Squash Lasagne

Holiday Recipes, Main Dish, Vegetarian

1 lg butternut squash; halved & seeded
2  garlic cloves; unpeeled
2 ts thyme; to taste
2 ts olive oil
  salt & pepper; to taste
5 tb butter
2  sage sprigs
1/4 c flour
3 c milk
4 oz goat cheese; crumbled
2 oz Romano; grated
1/4 ts nutmeg; grated
1/4 c panko crumbs
1 box lasagna noodles, cooked al dente and cooled

Preheat oven to 450F.  Place squash cut side up on a large baking sheet.  Put 1 clove and 1 sprig of thyme in each cavity.  Drizzle each half with olive oil,  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Roast for 50 minutes or until tender.  Remove from oven and cool completely.   Refrigerate until needed.


Place cooled squash and peeled garlic cloves in bowl.  Mash with fork until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in saucepan.  Add the sage and cook 2-3 minutes.  Reserve the sage.  Add flour and whisk until golden, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the milk and cook until thickened, about 15 minutes.  Stir in goat cheese, Romano cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Set 1 1/2 c sauce aside and mix the rest in the mashed squash.

Melt remaining butter in a small skillet over medium heat.  Mix panko with cooked sage and thyme sprigs if used.

Spread 1/2 cup of reserved cheese over bottom of 9 x 13 pan.  Layer cooked noodles.  Add 1 cup squash mixture evenly.  Add another layer of noodles topped with more squash.  Repeat until you have 4 squash layers and 5 pastry layers.  Spread the remaining 1 cup cheese sauce over top.  Sprinikle with panko mixture.

Cover the baking dish with foil.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake until the top is browned about 15 more minutes.  Cool 10 minutes before serving.


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An Ice Cream Scoop aids in distributing the squash filling. 

Panko sprinkled over top of final Béchamel Sauce

Bon Appétit

and 

Enjoy YOUR Wonderful World!

Jackson just loves his daddy's new iPad! 

Tomato Tuna Tart

Tomatoes abound this time of year..and this has to be one of my favorite summer main dish creations.  The basic recipe is a savory cheesecake batter so adding your choice of tuna, shrimp, chicken, crab or lobster works nicely.   This recipe also works for a chilled appetizer.  After baking, cool to room temperature then place in refrigerator until ready for serving.  

Topped with plum tomatoes and ready for oven

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Tomato Tuna Tart

Appetizers, Quiche

1 9 inch pastry; for deep dish pan

8 oz cream cheese; room temperature

1/2 c ricotta cheese; room temperature

1 lg egg

1/4 c heavy cream

1 handful fresh basil; fine chop

1/4 ts cayenne pepper; or to taste

12 oz albacore tuna; drained

10-15  plum tomatoes; sliced, drained

1/2 ts sugar

Lawry's Season Salt; to taste

Preheat oven to 425F.

Line 9" deep dish pie pan with prepared pastry.  Chill until ready for use.

Combine cream cheese, ricotta cheese in bowl.  Stir in egg and heavy cream to combine.  Stir in basil or your choice of herb.  I find tarragon also wonderful.  Add cayenne pepper to taste.

Stir in drained albacore tuna.   Transfer mixture to prepared pastry shell.

Top with sliced, drained plum tomatoes.   Sprinkle sugar over tomatoes. Sprinkle seasoned salt, if desired.

Bake for 40 minutes or until puffed.  This will have a cheesecake texture.  Allow to cool for twenty minutes.  Serve warm or chilled as an appetizer.

Notes:  ©WHStoneman

Yield: 4 servings

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Ready for serving with spring mix, cantaloupe and toast points. 

Don't forget...today is 
National Champagne Day  
That will go nicely with this plate

Bon Appétit

and 

Enjoy YOUR Wonderful World!

Enchilada Lasagna

Probably everyone on "that cable channel" has done this one...but I needed something easy.   So..I am not spending hours making enchilada sauce...cooking chicken and all that.  Everything is tasty and I used left over chicken from the refrigerator.  

 I have layered my deep dish Pyrex pie plate with  

mild Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce, flour tortillas, shredded chicken 

and shredded Monterey Jack cheese 

Topped with chopped roasted red peppers

This entire preparation took under 15 minutes....with shredding the chicken taking up the most time.  Into the oven at 350F. for twenty minutes or until bubbly.   

My mixed green salad was dressed with Ranch dressing mixed with a couple of tablespoon of salsa.  Makes a very good tasting dressing with a kick.  Chopped Jalapeño peppers raised the bar on flavors!  

Bon Appétit

and 

Enjoy YOUR Wonderful World!

Cheeseburger Pie and Other Variations!

I stumbled upon Simply Suppers by  Jennifer Chandler while reading a few of my favorite blogs.  Then I discovered that I can acquire eCookbooks on Amazon and have them delivered to my PC rather than buying one of those Kindle devices.  Also, I am able to download to my laptop and leave that on the kitchen counter for my electronic cookbook!   Isn't life grande in this modern world?  She was the inspiration of my Mexican interpretation of a great tasting and quick supper!

Hot from the Oven!! 

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Cheeseburger Pie

Casserole

1 9 inch pie crust; unbaked
1 tb oil
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c onion; fine dice
2 tb flour
1 tb Worcestershire sauce
  salt and pepper; to taste
2 lg eggs
1 c cottage cheese
2 md tomatoes, thin slice
1 c cheddar cheese; shredded
  Tabasco sauce; to taste
  ground cumin; to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place the pie crust in deep dish pan. Flute edges, if desired. Chill until ready for use.

In large skillet, add oil, brown beef and onion. Cook until browned, about five minutes. Drain excess fat and discard.

In bowl, combine meat/onion mixture with flour, Worcestershire Sauce.   Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into the prepared pie crust.

In small bowl, stir together the eggs and cottage cheese. Spoon over the beef mixture. Arrange tomato slices on top of the cottage cheese and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Bake until set and cheese has melted, about 30 minutes.


My personal addition to this good dish. If fresh tomatoes are not available, I have taken a can of Rotel Mexican style tomatoes, thoroughly drained and used in place of the fresh tomatoes. Adds a nice Mexican kick also.

For more of a kick....a good splash of Tabasco on top of the cottage cheese mixture followed with a generous sprinkle of ground cumin.

Notes:  ©Simply Suppers/Jennifer Chandler

Yield: 4 servings


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Prepared Beef in Crust

Topped with Rotel drained tomatoes

Topped with Cheddar Cheese and ready for the oven in 30 minutes!

Bon Appétit!!