What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

I can’t believe that I haven’t posted my traditional recipe for lasagna before now!  This is the one I’ve been making for at least 25 years.  It’s meaty, has a great tomato sauce, and plenty of cheese, making it the perfect lasagna.  

Lasagna can take little while to put together, but it’s a great dish for the freezer.  I made mine up on Thursday and froze it until Saturday night when I set in the fridge to thaw overnight.  Then I set it in the oven before church, set the timer to come on, and we came home to a hot, bubbly dish!

My recipe has been updated in one way.  My sister just recently told me about a new way to “cook” the noodles (directions in the recipe to follow).  This is so much easier and they’re a perfect consistency.  One thing I might also add, is, I think it would also help to  leave them in the water and take them out, as you need each noodle, drain it on a piece of paper towel and then lay it in the casserole dish.  I think this may solve the problem of them sticking together after being drained.  That can be a bit frustrating.

I added a new salad to our meal on Sunday. This is another Pinterest recipe!  I made a Strawberry salad with avocados and a homemade poppy seed dressing.  Yum.  It was great.

1 lb box Lasagna noodles
2 lbs ground beef
1/2 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1- 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1/2 cup water
2 tsp salt
2 cups (1 lb.) large curd cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 lb sliced mozzarella cheese

Place noodles in a 9×13 dish.  Cover with 8 cups of boiling water and 1 tbl olive oil.  Cover dish with foil and let set for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook ground beef, garlic and onion in a large pan for 10 minutes.  Add tomato paste, water and salt and mix well.

Combine cottage cheese and beaten eggs in a separate dish. In greased casserole dish arrange first a layer of drained noodles, and then meat, cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese.  Alternate until finished, ending with mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Makes 10-12 servings

More than beautiful, it’s delicious!  Now that Florida strawberries are in, it’s the perfect time to try this recipe!  Your mouth and your eyes will thank you!

Strawberry Salad with Avocados and Poppy Seed Dressing
6 cups fresh baby spinach
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 avocado, diced (or you can double this to 2 avocados!)
4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
half a small red onion, thinly sliced

Poppyseed Dressing Ingredients
1/2 cup avocado oil (or any oil, such as olive oil)
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
pinch of ground dry mustard (optional)
Himalayan salt and pepper

To Make The Salad:
Toss all ingredients together with your desired amount of dressing until combined. Serve immediately.

To Make The Poppyseed Dressing:
Whisk all ingredients together until combined.

That’s what we had for dinner yesterday.  How about you?!  I’d love to hear what you’ve been cooking!

With love from my country kitchen,