World's Best Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Herb Roasted Chicken

Herb Roasted Chicken 



INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken, medium-sized (I used a 6 1/2 pound one)
1 cup margarine or butter (either softened or melted)
1/2 lemon
1/2 medium-sizen sweet Spanish or Vidalia onion
5 or 6 cloves of garlic or a tablespoon of powdered garlic parsley to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Rinse chicken inside and out and remove the guts. Tuck the wing ends under (under the underarms). Place on a roasting rack or triangle in a metal roasting pan. 
Take the seeds out of the lemon half and stuff it into the bird. 
Take the skin off the onion half and stuff it into the bird.
Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and, you guessed it, stuff into the bir d 
(if you're using garlic powder, just spoon it right into the cavity).
Mix the margarine or butter with the parsley. 
If the butter (or margarine) is soft, use a butter spreader. If it's melted, use a pastry brush. Either way, you want to coat the top of the bird with the mixture. Be sure to get under the wings and on the sides. You don't need to flip the bird over to get the bottom.
Place in the oven.
Cook at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and cook 15 - 20 minutes per pound. I cooked the 6 1/2 pound bird for about 2 hours at this temperature. When one hour of cooking time remains, rotate the roasting pan 180 degrees for more even cooking. 
For the last hour or so, check the bird every fifteen minutes. If it has a self-timer, use that as your gauge for when the chicken is done. If not, use an instant-read thermometer or do the 'handshake' test (e. g. try to 'shake hands' with one of the legs. The leg should pull away freely if the bird is cooked). Also, cut deeply into the breast and make sure the meat is white all the way through. If it's pink anywhere, keep the bird in for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and wait about 10 minutes before carving.
Side dishes can be anything; usually potatoes or rice plus some sort of green vegetable.
The pan drippings, mixed with flour, make an excellent (although fatty) gravy.
Vary the spices if you wish. I didn't use any salt and pepper (the margarine I use has a little salt, as do many brands of butter). The original recipe calls for fresh thyme and parsley to be stuffed into the bird. You could also vary the citrus and instead go with an orange (probably an orange quarter, given the standard size of this fruit) if you want a sweeter meal. I suppose you could also use shallots instead of onion.

Crispy Parmesan Chicken

These baked-not-fried chicken fingers have a healthy crunch. Serve with tomato, salsa or add to salads or sandwiches.

Servings: 4

1 lb (500 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg white
1/3 cup (75 mL) grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup (75 mL) crumbled cornflakes
1/2 tsp (2 mL) paprika
Pinch each salt and pepper

Cut chicken breasts crosswise into 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick strips.

In pie plate or shallow dish, whisk together egg white and 2 tsp (10 mL) water. In another pie plate, stir together Parmesan cheese, cornflake crumbs, paprika, salt and pepper.

Dip each chicken strip into egg white mixture, roll in crumb mixture and place on greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp, golden and no longer pink inside.

Absolutely Best Brownies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, and mix well. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the vanilla and stir in walnuts if desired. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are firm. Cool before cutting into squares.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

• 6 ounce package of semi-sweet chocolatemorsels
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

How to make it

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• Melt the semi-sweet chocolate morsels over hot (not boiling) water.
• Remove from heat.
• Add the egg yolks, one at a time.
• Beat well after each addition.
• Add water and beat until smooth.
• In a bowl, combine egg whites and salt.
• Beat until soft peaks form.
• Gradually beat in brown sugar and continue beating until stiff. peaks form.
• Gently fold in chocolate mixture.
• Chill in the refrigerator a couple of hours or until ready to serve.
• Makes 4 servings

Chicken Parmigiana

1 large egg1 tablespoon water1/3 cup dried Italian bread crumbs3 tablespoons parmesan cheeseGarlic powder to taste1/8 teaspoon black pepper1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast (4 breasts, 1/4 pound each)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a 1-quart shallow baking dish with nonstick spray.

Beat the egg with the water in a shallow bowl.

Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic powder, and pepper in a bowl. Pour onto a sheet of wax paper.

Dip the chicken breasts first in the egg mixture and then lightly coat on both sides with the breadcrumb mixture. Shake off the excess. Place chicken pieces in the baking dish.

Bake until cooked through, golden, and crisp-edged, about 30 minutes. Check to make sure it doesn’t overcook.

One breast per serving.

Serve with marinara sauce.

Baked Potato

Ingredients

• 1 baking potato

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Scrub the potato and prick it with a fork to prevent steam from building up and causing the potato to explode in your oven.
3. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.