Cream Cheese Lasagna

This is my mother-in-law's recipe, and I've never had a better lasagna.  Hello, cream cheese.  The Mrs. Dash also adds such a lovely zip to the dish.  Everyone I have ever made this for loves it!

This is what my kids ask me to make for birthday dinners. I add a pint of Ricotta cheese instead of sour cream, and sometimes swap out hamburger for Italian sausage.  My sister-in-law Savanah taught me to add add two teaspoons of brown sugar to the tomato sauce and browned hamburger, which is also amazing. 

The birthday dinner was complemented by garlic bread and an incredible fresh salad from the garden.  The reason you don't see those other foods in this photo is because I made the lasagna in the morning before it got too hot (Truman's birthday is at the end of August).  So I had the above piece of lasagna for lunch while kids were at school and hubby was at work.  Then we all had lasagna for dinner.  It's that good.

Also, just my personal opinion, there is no such thing as "oven-ready" lasagna.  You have to boil the noodles, people.  There's no escaping it.

In the oven and ready to make my house smell like love . . .

Caesar Salad + Authentic Dressing + Homemade Croutons

Whenever I bring this salad to a party/potluck/function, I always get recipe requests.  It makes me feel extra good, because the dressing is my very own concoction!  I came up with it after sampling lots of Caesar dressings and poring over cooking websites, comparing different Caesar ingredients and adapting it to my taste.

If it grosses you out to use anchovy paste, then you have no business trying to make homemade Caesar dressing, because that's what makes it completely divine (sorry to my vegetarian friends).  I have made this once without anchovy paste, and it was still delicious, but lacking that totally over-the-top flavor.  You can usually find anchovy paste with the Asian foods or near the canned tuna, depending on your grocery store.  It comes in a tube, which comes in a box.  Like this:

You can whip up the dressing and store it in an airtight container the fridge for a while--I'd say about a week (and mind the lemon seeds when squeezing the juice!).


'Un croûton' is one of the ends of a loaf of bread in French. It probably didn't take people long to figure out that the crusty ends were good to use to dip in soups or as a garnish for other foods.  Homemade croutons are SO EASY that you'll never go back to those stale crusties that you get in a box.  They are also much easier on your teeth, and they don't explode in half when you try to stab one onto the end of your fork.  But, I digress . . .  

It doesn't matter if your French bread is fresh or older for croutons

I usually use the traditional Garlic & Herb
Mrs Dash blend for my herb-butter

Remove from the oven when the edges get brown.

I just use my butcher knife to cut each
slice into about 12 bite-size pieces

Mmmmm . . . so much better than crunchy, store-bought croutons.
Tip: save leftover croutons in a Ziploc bag, then toss 'em for a few
minutes over medium heat in a nonstick skillet to "re-crisp" them
before you serve them a second time.

Add some grilled chicken and make it even better

This salad is great as a side, but I've served it to my family as the main course with grilled chicken breasts and it's a great dinner.  My kids love having "tiny garlic bread" on their salad.  It's so delicious.

Basil & Feta Bruschetta

This is definitely one of my all-time favorite appetizers, from one of my all-time favorite people.  I raved about this bruschetta so much that Debbie made it just for me after I had my fourth baby.  Book club blessings, I tell you.

Toast your bread slices for about 6 min @ 350,
then spread with mixed cream cheese & feta

Saute the tomatoes (I used Romas), basil, & garlic for about 5 min

Spoon warm tomato mixture on each slice, then top each
with a small amount of torn, fresh mozzarella

Oh, my.  Yes, please.

Everything Debbie makes is divine.  She loves to cook and she is so good at it.  But really, can anything be betta than bruschetta?

Chicken Parmesan Magnifico

This is my new favorite food.  Ever.

I had some leftovers at Cori's (how did you have leftovers, anyway?)  two weeks ago, and have wanted to make it ever since. The best part is that it is so easy!  And flavorful.  And satisfying.  And makes you want to lick your plate, as Cori so aptly put it . . .

Cover the bottom of your pan with the olive oil, red pepper flakes,
and minced garlic, then top with the sliced chicken breasts

Top the chicken with fresh basil (yummy)

DelMonte is the best, people.  Make the
switch from Hunt's and you won't be sorry!
(I am not even getting paid for this endorsement--
It really is the best.  It's thicker and tastier
and I don't think Wal-Mart carries it anymore.
I buy mine at Winco)

Top chicken with spaghetti sauce and then bread
crumbs.  {Bread crumb tip: put the heels of your
loaves in your spice cupboard; they will go dry and
hard super fast without getting moldy.  Then blend
'em up with some herbs when you need them}

Top with torn, fresh mozzarella
and bop it in the oven for 30-35 minutes

Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving,
this is fabulous with spaghetti or angel hair, but
I bet it'd be good with penne or linguine, too.

The fresher you go, the tastier this dish will be: fresh garlic, mozzarella, and basil are gonna push it over the top.  But I have made it more than once, and it was amazing even with minced garlic from a jar, frozen/shredded mozzarella, and dried basil.

I am confident you will love it, too.

Spicy Chicken Romano Pasta

If my sister Hanna had a signature dish, this would be it.  It's a great dish for hostessing, because it's relatively simple, (especially if you take a shortcut and don't make the Alfredo from scratch) everyone raves about how tasty it is (hello, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes), and it makes a LOT.

This is what it looks like when you serve the "sauce" over the pasta.

And this is how it looks when you mix it all up and keep it warm in a crockpot for parties.

I added "grilled" to the chicken, because that's always how I like my chicken--it's healthier and tastier.  And you don't have to make it spicy.  I added a few dashes of red pepper flakes to a very small amount (about 1/4 teaspoon) of cayenne pepper last time I made this, and it was barely spicy--my kids still loved it.  You can make it with my delicious Alfredo Sauce recipe.

Italian Pasta & Bean Soup

I make this soup at least twice a month, and I never get tired of it. It's also my kids' favorite. In fact, it's one of the ONLY soups I make that inspires my most picky child to exclaim, "Yay! Bean and shell soup!" He likes it because the beans try to "hide" inside the shells, but there's no escaping a hungry six-year-old.  I served this soup with sweet cornbread last night.

One of the things that makes this soup good is to grill your chicken.  It makes the chicken pieces so tender and flavorful.

Also, I used to use canned chicken broth until I discovered chicken bouillon in bulk at Winco--it's just as flavorful and about one-tenth the cost.  (Thanks for the tip, Cori!) 

Alfredo Sauce

I don't know why anyone would buy Alfredo sauce in a jar.  This recipe is easy, about ten times more tasty, and probably less unhealthy (I'm not claiming that it's healthy, okay?) than that stuff in a jar, which is chock-full of trans fats and preservatives.

If you want authentic Alfredo, you can't go wrong with this recipe.  It goes perfectly with Spicy Chicken Romano Pasta.

Angel Hair Pasta With Shrimp & Basil

One of my favorite dinners ever. I don't think I've served this to anyone who didn't eat until they were stuffed.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce