Scalloped Potatoes! Yum!

Lita's Scalloped Potatoes

1 brick of sharp cheddar cheese ½ a brick of horseradish cheese Grated Parmesan cheese for topping Cornstarch Milk Pinch of Italian Seasoning Black Pepper 10-12 potatoes, sliced thin

OR

2-3 handfuls of shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar ½ a brick of Pepper Jack ½ a brick of Horseradish Grated Parmesan cheese for topping Cornstarch Milk Pinch of Italian Seasoning Black Pepper 10-12 potatoes, sliced thin

Directions:

Slice up the brick cheeses into cubes. In a large saucepan, add two to three spoonfuls of cornstarch and add a small portion of milk. Turn on low heat and stir until cornstarch is well blended with milk (should be a different color tone and density). Then gradually add cheese cubes while still stirring (I normally grab a small handful at a time). Once all the cheese is added the sauce should be thick (if it’s too thick then add more milk until it’s the way you want it and easy for spread).

Spray a baking pan with olive oil cooking spray; then pour a small portion of the sauce into the bottom of the pan. Spread it so it evenly coats the bottom. Take your sliced potatoes and spread a thick layer in the pan. Pour some of the sauce then add more potatoes and sauce, alternating potatoes and sauce until sauce and potatoes are gone (If you notice that you have more potatoes than sauce, add a little more milk to the sauce before you run out). Once you are done filling in the pan with potatoes and sauce, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top for a crunchy topping. Preheat the oven at 375. Cover the pan with tin foil and put it in the oven for 40-45 minutes. At the last five minutes, turn the oven off while the scalloped potatoes finish cooking. Potatoes should be tender and you should be able to pierce a fork all the way through. Yield 8-12 servings.

Fiber Food tips!

Fiber is very important in maintaining a healthy digestive system! Here's an article from Yahoo! that suggestions 20 different foods that are good sources of fiber. I incorporate a lot of these foods in my recipes so here are the benefits!

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/nutrition/photos/20-best-foods-fiber#0

Lita's Delicious Salmon Recipe

 I love salmon! It's up there with chicken as one of my favorite foods. This recipe is so simple and I've been making it for years. It's another family favorite. I tried grilling the salmon instead of baking it and it wasn't quite the same but I won't discourage my readers from trying it!

 1 1/2 - 2 pounds of salmon

 Wish Bone Italian Dressing (24 oz)

 2 cups Chatham Village Cheese & Garlic croutons (crushed)

 In a large mixing bowl, place the salmon into the bowl and pour at least 1/2 of the bottle of Italian dressing over the salmon. Wrap in Saran Wrap and place in the refrigerator so it can marinate. (You can marinate it over night OR you can marinate it for at least 45 minutes before cooking. It depends on how long you have to cook or prep for your meal). 

 Once you are finished marinating your salmon, spray an 8 x 12 baking dish with cooking spray. Try not to use olive oil because the italian dressing already has oils in it so a thin layer of cooking spray is best :) Place the salmon in the pan and pour the dressing over the top of the salmon.

 Preheat oven at 375.

Take out a rolling pin and aluminum foil. Place croutons in the center of the tin foil. Fold tin foil like an envelope. Fold any edges where crumbs might escape. Make sure there are no open seams. Take your rolling pin and roll over the tin foiled croutons (pound on them if needed) until they are a fine crumbs. Once crushed, open the foil and spread your crumbs along the top of your salmon.

 Once done coating the salmon, wrap the baking dish in tin foil and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes. To check if the salmon is done, take a fork and see if the meat flakes easily. If it's still a little tough, put it in the oven for a little longer :)

 Tip: This dish goes well with garlic mashed potatoes or a big salad! Enjoy. 


 Fun Suggestion: Sometimes I like to break up the leftover salmon and put it on a large salad the next day. I definitely wouldn't keep the salmon any longer than a day or two after it's made.

Lita's Kickin' Breakfast Sandwich

I'm not much of a morning person so I normally don't make anything too expansive outside of a bagel and a bowl of cereal; however, one morning I decided to make breakfast (more like brunch) sandwiches for my boyfriend and I. They were fantastic! My boyfriend and I loved them so much I made them for us again in the same week (with his assistance of course because he's hard to kick out of the kitchen). The second time around my boyfriend added sriracha hot chili sauce just to give it that extra final kick (which I highly recommend if you love spicy food like we do). Without further ado, here's the recipe!


 Recipe for two:

 2 eggs

 1 cup of milk

 handful of Shredded cheese (add more if needed)

 Paprika or Cayenne Pepper

 Garlic Powder

 Onion Powder 

 Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

 2 slices of Pepper Jack Cheese

 2 Whole Wheat Bagels

 3-4 Bacon slices (optional)

 Get a plate and layer it with 2 paper towels. Set aside. Heat a medium size frying pan (spraying with cooking spray of course). Once
 heated, add bacon slices. After the bacon is fully cooked, place it between the two paper towels on the plate. Meanwhile the bacon is
 cooking, in a small bowl combine eggs, milk and shredded cheese. Add in spices. In a small frying pan over medium heat, pour in egg
 mixture. Once the bottom of the egg mixture begins to soildify, flip one side over onto the other then break it up into smaller chunks  (essentially...scrambled eggs). Before the eggs are fully cooked start toasting your bagel. After the bagel has been toasted, put a slice
 of cheese on the bottom half of the bagel; this will craddle the eggs so they don't go through the bagel during consumption. Add eggs
 then bacon and voila! You got yourself a sandwich!

 Substitutions: Not everyone likes or has the stomach for spicy food like I do, so here are some milder substitutions that I'd
 recommend.

 - Cheddar for Pepper Jack

 - Chili Powder for Paprika and Crushed Red Pepper

Lita and Ma's Lasagna

Tonight for dinner I made a well-loved favorite back home and my college housemates love it as well! Everyone who has tried it has had nothing but good things to say about it. Instead of using Ricotta Cheese like most people do, my mom and I like to use Cottage Cheese because it's less fattening AND it gives the lasagna a sweeter taste (which is always a bonus for me. I have a terrible sweet tooth)!

1/2 a box of Lasagna

1 pkg of Shredded Mozzarella

1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese grated (or you can use 1 pkg of shredded parm)

1/4 lb of ground beef (or you can use chicken)

1 (24 oz) container of Cottage Cheese

1 jar of Francesco Rinaldi's Tomato Sauce (they have a wide variety of flavors but my mom and I use either Original or Three Cheese)

Parsley

Black Pepper

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Thaw out any meat that you are using BEFORE you start cooking everything! Running frozen meat under hot water for 10 minutes usually helps speed up the process.

Fill a Soup/Stock Pot about halfway with water and bring to a hard boil. Then place Lasagna noodles into the pot (Add a little olive oil to help the noodles from sticking to each other).

In a large bowl, combine your three cheeses (use only ½ of the mozzarella pkg. You’ll need the rest for the topping) and spices. Stir so that everything is evenly distributed throughout the mix. Set aside.

While noodles are boiling, spray cooking spray onto a frying pan and place meat inside to start browning and breaking off into smaller chunks (so it can be spread out throughout the dish). You can add spices (black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, etc.) if you like but most of the time my mom and I just let the sauce flavor the meat while the lasagna bakes in the oven. The meat doesn’t have to be completely brown (if there is some pink in the middle that’s ok!) because it’ll cook more in the oven. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven at 375.

Once noodles are done drain with a colander. Spray with cooking spray an 8x12 glassware pan, (or you can spread a thin, even coat of olive oil). Using a spoon spread a thin layer of Rinaldi’s sauce in the bottom of the pan. Put three noodles in the bottom of the pan (long ways). Take a small amount of your cheese mixture and spread it along each noodle (doesn’t have to be even. The cheese mix is hard to work with so do the best you can. Add a small amount of sauce then cover with three more noodles. Press gently down onto the noodles. Add a thin layer of sauce. Then add your meat. Continue alternating the layers until you have three noodles left for the top.

For topping your lasagna, cover with leftover sauce (if you have more than ½ of the jar left just use enough to make sure the top is covered). Sprinkle with leftover mozzarella and shake some parmesan cheese on top as well. Then use leftover meat to spread over the top layer. Wrap with aluminum foil and Bake in the oven for about 35-45 minutes (keep an eye on it though just in case).

*Tip! If you have sensitive fingers like I do, when working with the lasagna noodles run them under cold water for about 10 seconds before adding a new layer. That way you don’t burn your fingers too badly. Enjoy and if you have any questions, feel free to ask! :) As always, feel free to share the recipe with other people that love cooking.

Greetings and the first recipe for you!

Greetings everyone! Thanks for taking interest in my cooking blog. For those who don't know me, my name is Lita and I do a lot of cooking for fun (when I'm  not tucked away and laboring in some dark theater).


Now to forewarn my readers, I use a lot of dairy and a lot of kickin' spice in my cooking, but adjustments can easily be made to suit your tastes. That's the fun part of cooking! I can honestly say that my food and favorite recipes are always a little different every time I make them (for some people this is scary but I find it fascinating). The first recipe I want to share with you is my own twist on my ma's homemade mac-n-cheese recipe.


 1/2 a brick of Horseradish Cheese (cubed)

 1/2 a brick of Pepper Jack Cheese (cubed)

 1/4 brick of Mild Cheddar Cheese (cubed)

 Parmesan Cheese

 1 tablespoon of cornstarch

 3-4 cups of milk

 3-4 cups of macaroni

 6 cups of water

 Dried Onions or Onion Powder

 Garlic Powder

 Paprika or Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

 Black Pepper (optional)

 Preheat oven for 350. Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add macaroni. Cook macaroni so it isn't too soft. Drain.

 Slice up the brick cheeses into cubes. In a large saucepan, add spoonfuls of cornstarch, milk and spices. Turn on low heat and stir until   cornstarch is well blended with milk (should be a different color tone and density). Gradually add cheese cubes while still stirring (I  normally grab a small handful at a time). Once all the cheese is added the sauce should be thick (if it’s too thick then add more milk until  it’s the way you want it and easy for spread).

 Stir cheese sauce into the cooked macaroni so it is evenly coated. Spray a baking pan with olive oil cooking spray. Pour macaroni into the pan. Sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the top then wrap the pan in aluminum foil and bake for about 30-45 minutes.

 This recipe is great with a side of broccoli and/or cauliflower! I hope you enjoy this new recipe for your home, family, and friends!