Skillet Lasagna

I first tried this recipe because it was a quick alternative to traditional lasagna. While it isn’t a replacement for traditional lasagna this recipe is delicious in a pinch.

Ingredients:

1 jar (24-26 oz) marinara sauce

3 cups water

8 oz lasagna noodles

1 lb bulk hot Italian turkey sausage or sausage links, casings removed

2 garlic cloves, pressed

2 oz Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, divided

1 cup fresh whole milk ricotta cheese

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Additional grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine the sauce and water in large skillet. Cover; bring to boil.

*Note if you use the full amount of water the end product will be slightly soupy, so I would suggest using about a half cup less.

2. Meanwhile, wrap the noodles in a clean kitchen towel and break crosswise into quarters. Stir the noodles into sauce. Cover; reduce heat and simmer 16-18 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.

*Note if you try to break more than on noodle at a time they will splinter and ruin the look of the dish so carefully break one at a time.

3. As noodles cook, place sausage into another skillet, cook and stir over medium-high heat 6-8 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles as it cooks. Add pressed garlic; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir sausage into noodles and sauce.

*Note the very best garlic press I have found is the one made by pampered chef it works great every time.

4. Mean while grate the Parmesan cheese. Chop parsley; set aside 1 tbsp parsley for garnish. Combine cheeses, remaining parsley and black pepper in bowl. Scoop cheese mixture over noodles. Cover skillet and simmer gently 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and ricotta mixture is heated through.

*Note to save even more time you can buy the Parmesan cheese already grated. Also if you use the same scoop that was suggested in the cookie recipe it will improve your final presentation.

5. To serve, sprinkle lasagna with reserve parsley and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Picture Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

I used wonder why everyone seemed to enjoy (and request) my chocolate chip cookies. I didn't use a fancy recipe or some secret ingredient. It was through this that I learned how important the preparation and execution are and also how having the right tools for the job makes all the difference when you're baking .

I start out with the standard recipe found on the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie package which appears as followed.

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

Now here is the first step in your preparation, you are going to need to plan ahead and set out your butter a few hours before you plan to make your cookies. You can try to soften the butter in the microwave but a word of caution, if you end up microwaving it too long and the butter become partially melted your cookies will not turn out the same.

Once your butter is soft (about room temperature) you are ready to start. Here is where your first tool comes in very handy. I use my KitchenAid Standing Mixer to mix all my ingredient, I use to use a food processor but the KitchenAid is much better. Place the butter and the sugars in the bowl and cream them using the flat beater attachment (it will become very smooth once the butter and sugars have throughly combined).

Next you will add the egg and vanilla extract to the bowl and once again mix until well combined.

At this point you can add all of your dry ingredients to the bowl (you don't need to sift them together like the recipe calls for). Keep the mixer on to the lowest setting until the dry ingredients have partially incorporated in to the cream mixture otherwise you will have flour fly out of the bowl. Once it's incorporated you can turn up the speed and mix until it is smooth and completely combined.

To add the chocolate chips use a large rubber spatula to fold them into the dough. This will also allow you to mix in any ingredients the might have been stuck on the bottom or sides of the bowl.

If you are going to add any nuts you will want to make sure that you have chopped them into small uniform 1/4 inch chunks. Any smaller and they will only add texture not a lot of flavor but too much bigger and they will ruin the look of your cookies.

You are going to want to preheat your oven to 375 degrees F, make sure it has reached this temperature before you put in the first batch otherwise it will change your bake time.

Here's another tool tip for forming the cookie dough. I use a tablespoon sided ice cream scoop (you can get them at any kitchen store). It makes each cookie the perfect size and shape and decreases the mess of getting the dough from the bowl to the baking sheet.

I put ten cookies on a sheet at a time. I start with a row of three then the next row I only put two and space them between the ones above them then repeat. This prevents the cookies from touching getting ugly straight lines.

Bake for ten minutes, or until they start to brown, in your preheated oven.

When you take them out of the oven they should still be slightly soft in the middle. Now don't rush to take them off the baking sheet, you have to let them set for a full minute before you touch them. This allows them to set-up and they will also continue to bake some on the sheet. There is one exception, if your spacing was off and some of your cookies are touching then right when they come out of the oven separate them with your spatula, which is your next helpful tool.

If I had any secret weapon when I'm baking cookies this is it. At a kitchen specialty store called Kitchen Kaboodle I found a cookie spatula. It's a small metal spatula that has a very thin edge which allows you to remove the cookies from the baking sheet and place them on the cooling rack without wrinkling them and keep that picture perfect shape.

By the time your next batch is done your first batch should be completely cooled and can be moved to a plate or enjoyed right off the rack.