Lifting the Curse of ‘Annie’: Sweet Potato Soup

Posted on March 2, 2013 by AnniesDishList

Annie The Musical

In 1978 for my something-something birthday (I was pretty young, so it was really more like my something birthday), my parents gave me tickets to see Annie. Are you serious!!! Amazing! I loved and still love a good broadway show. And, this particular one had my name. Brilliant.

andrea mcardle as annie daddy warbucks sweet potato soup

The Amazing Andrea McArdle

Kristy Mcnichol little darlings sweet potato soup

After ‘Family’ KM was in this teen flick

The show had debuted earlier that year and it’s tiny red-headed lead, Andrea McArdle, had rapidly become the toast of the great white way. I idolized her. She was really incredible. Eight shows a week, talk and morning show appearances. She was on Johnny Carson a bunch of times (too late for me to see) and sang a duet with my other hero, Kristy McNichol (who doesn’t love ‘Little Darlings’?), on The Mike Douglas Show.

So, you can imagine that when my parents told me we were going to see Annie on Broadway in the big city with Andrea McArdle, I was so so so excited….

The day of the show, I put on my best going to broadway frock and sat on the stairs waiting to get in the car and go. My mother drove into the city as my friend and I belted out the words to every song (except Easy Street, which I never really liked) in the back seat.

We enter the theatre and are ushered to our seats. I’m so excited at this point, I can barely contain myself. I open the program in hopes of learning everything I can about my broadway icon, Andrea McArdle…Then, it happened… An evil slip of white paper fell from the program….what? I read slowly as my dreams and hopes were shattered to pieces.

shelley bruce as annie sweet potato soup

NOT Andrea McArdle

‘In today’s performance‘ it read…

‘the role of Annie usually played by Andrea McArdle‘….

NO…

‘will be played by Shelley Bruce‘.

WHAT?!?!?!? Who the …is Shelley Bruce????

Shattered. And, I’ve been shattered ever since. Sure, I enjoyed the show (I mean, they sing a whole song about how great Annie is, duh) – but, certainly not as much.

You know I’m a little (read a lot) superstitious. So when a friend offered to give me tickets to Annie (now back on Broadway 35 years later), I wanted to do everything I could to send good ju-ju to the show. I mean, I couldn’t bear to experience the same disappointment again. So to honor Annie, Andrea McArdle, Lilla Crawford (current Annie) and red-headed orphans everywhere, I decided to eat only red, orange and orphan-affordable foods the entire day of the show.

Sweet Potato Soup (Serves 6)

Tiny Apartment Tip: Get a hand held immersion blender. It’s changed my life.

Ingredients:

2 TBSP butter
2 Carrots, peeled and diced small
2 Celery Stalks, peeled and diced small
1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and diced small
1 Sweet Onion, diced smallish
3/4 or so Cup Diced Cherry Tomatoes
1 TBSP all purpose flour
1/4 Cup Parsley chopped
1 TSP freshly grated ginger – remember, you have some in the freezer
1/4 TSP Ground Nutmeg
4 Cups of Chicken Stock – I actually for the first time used 2 Knorr Chicken Bouillon cubes and it was AOK
1/4 Cup of heavy cream (optional….)
Salt and Pepper

1. Bring 4 Cups of water to a boil and dissolve 2 Knorr’s Chicken Bouillon Cubes

sweet potato soup chicken bouillon cubes for stock

Just as good as stock in a box

2. In a separate pot, heat 2 TBSP of butter over med/low

3. Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute until very soft – about :15mins depending upon how small you diced

Saute Veggies

4. Add the tomatoes stir for about a minute

vegetarian soup dinner sweet potatoes annie musical

Add tomatoes, red like Annie’s Hair

5. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook :02 mins

Adding flour to help thicken soup

6. Sprinkle the Nutmeg and Ginger over the vegetables and stir

7. Add the diced sweet potatoes and stir just to combine

Super Sweet Potatoes – same color as Annie’s hair

8. Pour in the chicken stock and the parsley and BTB, RTS (bring to boil, reduce to simmer)

Soup A-Simmer

9. Simmer covered for :35 minutes – until the sweet potatoes are super soft

10. Remove from heat and using your brand new Cuisinart hand held immersion blender, blend the soup until very smooth….this takes a while because the tomatoes are pesky and escape the blades. Can’t blame ’em.

sweet potato soup puree hand held immersion blender

Pretty Pink Immersion Blender. Thank you Cuisinart!

11. Optional: Stir in the cream

Pureed and creamed and ready to serve

12. Serve with a garnish of parsley and a lovely dollop of sour cream

sweet potato soup vegetarian dinner recipe

Love a little dollop of sour cream…

The Exceptional Lilla Crawford

It may have been a silly and superstitious exercise, but I do think making the auburn colored soup helped.

Last night. 6:45pm.

I arrive at the theatre, wind my way through 45,000 or so 8-10 year old girls seeing their first show. I’m greeted by the first usher, she is holding the program, but doesn’t give us one. Instead, she directs us to a second usher….I’m anxious fearing the worst. I finally receive the program and in an attempt to delay the potential despair, hold onto it, clutched in my hand, closed until I reach my seat.

Then….I don’t open the program. Instead, I just flip it over and shake it, hoping no evil paper falls…..AND NONE DID!

The role of Annie would, indeed, be played by the exceptional Lilla Crawford!

OK, I can’t be sure that the soup had anything to do with it…but, 35 Years later….The sun DID come out and the curse of an understudy Annie is lifted!

Killer Griller: Smoked & Barbecued Baby Back Ribs

Posted on February 28, 2013 by AnniesDishList

baby back ribs smoking ribs city barbeque sauce

Finished Ribs with Smoke Ring (that’s the pink edge) and Sweet BBQ Sauce

New York is one of the biggest cities in the world…OK, like 38th, but that’s pretty big. Still, there are things you just can’t do here.

Like big meat grilling…I mean unless you have a big terrace, deck, back yard (ha!)…you just can’t outdoor grill. And, then there are those pesky laws about transporting gas tanks – like for a gas grill – through any of the tunnels or over any of the bridges. Uhm, this is an island, how am I supposed to transport my off-island bought gas tanks?

No worries…With any luck, we have all found friends and relatives with places outside of the city. In a perfect world, these generous people who open up their homes to us, have a grill. While I prefer a gas grill, no need to be picky…In many cases a charcoal grill is actually better.

On a recent trip to Cincinnati – remember, where my people live and cheerleaders date minors – I marveled as the grill master (aka, my brother) made some unbelievably good smoked and bbq baby back ribs using his old school charcoal Weber grill.

Tiny Apartment Tip: Make friends with homes off the island….

Hickory and Applewood Smoked Baby Back Ribs (serves 6)

Warning: This is an all day event….but, you’re in the country or at least out of the city, what else would you be doing?

Ingredients:

Kroger Baby Back Ribs – I think these were each over 3.25lbs – and very moist and tender

2 giant packages of pork baby back ribs – 3.25 – 3.5 lbs each
City Barbeque Original Sauce

1 – 2 cups City Barbeque Original Barbeque Sauce
2 TBSP Sea Salt
2 TBSP Garlic Salt
2 TBSP Garlic Powder
2 TBSP Onion Powder
1 TBSP Paprika
2 Meat Injectors worth of Bacon Grease – just go with it
A Bunch of Hickory Chips
A Bunch of Applewood Chips

1. In a large bucket or pot or bowl or whatever, combine the wood chips, cover with water and soak for at least 2 hours…

The Bucket Method for wood chip soaking

2. Remove the ribs from packaging and peel the membrane from the back side. This was a bit tricky because the membrane is slimy and tough to pull off…but, you can lift the edge of the membrane with a butter knife and then use a paper towel or rubber tongs to pull back the membrane

Paper Towel Pull Back Method

3. In a bowl, combine the Sea Salt, Garlic Salt, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Onion Powder. We also threw in some Hickory Flavor Rub…

4. Rub the meat on both sides generously with the spicy mixture – my anal retentive brother puts his hands in plastic baggies and then rubs…but you can also just use your bare hands and, omg, wash them after – your call

Generously Season both sides…

5. And, this is pretty OTT…but, whatever…Using your meat injector (a tool only found in Sweeney Todd’s or Hannibal Lector’s collection…or the home of teenage boys who like science and bacon) Inject each rib with a good squirt of bacon fat…Yeah, that’s right, we injected pork fat into pork ribs…

OTT Meat Injection: Bacon Fat into Pork. Yeah, we did that.

6. Wrap the ribs tightly in tin foil and put in the fridge – ideally overnight – but, at least 3 hours

Wrap the Ribs tightly in Reynold’s Wrap

7. After the overnight dry rub fridging….Prepare your grill – this is a charcoal grill only event:

Indirect Heat…And, snow. Grilling knows no season (see no charcoal or wood chips in the middle)

Set the grill for indirect heat – that means the center of the grill basin doesn’t have any charcoal in it…but, instead, the charcoal is in two piles – one on either side of the grill basin. My brother used bricks to keep the charcoal piles contained to the side of the grill – he’s smart like that.
Get the charcoal going, then cover the charcoal with the wood chips and replace the grate
Cover the grill…and, yes, it’s going to smoke…a lot…that’s the point

8. Prepare your ribs for the smoking process…In my brother’s case this meant:

Murderously Fabulous Grill Gloves and Rib Rack

Don some murderous looking grill gloves….these are like totally jacked up kitchen gloves – specifically designed to withstand great heat
Spray a rib rack (again, not a city accoutrement, but apparently quite the rage off the island) with non stick cooking spray
Place each rib in its own rack slot
Using a large skewer (preferably a wooden one that you’ve soaked for at least :30mins) pierce through the ends of each rack to elevate them

Racked and Elevated Baby Back Ribs Smoker Ready (not murderous gloves)

9. Place the racked ribs on the grill and cover. Cook for 2 – 2.5 hours

Smoker in the Snow…Ribs Racked and inside

10. Remove the ribs from the rib rack and place in a large, high sided pan. Preferably a tin foil one you can pitch afterwards…

11. Generously cover the ribs with Barbeque/Barbecue sauce – we used City Barbeque Original Sauce…pretty good

City Barbeque original sauce baby back ribs

BBQ Saucification of the Ribs. A family affair.

12. Preheat oven to 250 degrees

13. Cover the ribs with tin foil and put in the oven for 2 hours

14. After the low baking process…remove the ribs from the oven and from the pan…BUT, don’t eat yet! Nope, put the ribs on a cutting board and cover with tin foil for up to an hour to give the meat a chance to rest and re-juicify

15. Slice and serve

At Last….Slicified and Ready to Serve

The ribs were fall off the bone amazingly smoky, sweet and fabulous. Took all day…but, more than well worth it.

If you’re lucky enough to guest at the home of a Killer Griller…try this.

My brother and I have always been pretty competitive with one another – it’s a gene, I think. And, let’s just be honest, I’m the much better cook. That said…my brother is a Killer Griller.

Pan Abuse: And the Schtick on Non-Stick

Posted on February 22, 2013 by AnniesDishList

Not so sticky

So….I’ve been guest cooking a bunch lately. (Read, cleverly escaping the cold and inviting myself to friends’ homes located in warmer climates – trading off home cooked meals and kitchen tips as currency).

On one such recent stay, I was at the home of a friend who had lost pretty much everything in a dryer fire – v dangerous those dryer fires, fyi. She and her husband had culled through their belongings and tossed what they deemed ‘unsalvagable’. Sux.

Dinner

They don’t cook with any regularity. OK, they don’t cook at all. Not their thing. They both work full time, they have three kids (fab boys), 4,500 baseball games per week and then more on the weekends….yada yada yada. There’s a lot of pizza, pasta, mac & cheese, take out, slurpees, bagel bites (huh?), refrying, reheating, microwaving. You get it.

When it came time to assess their kitchen stuff post fire…well, most of what they had in their culinary arsenal, was as old as their marriage…but, had not fared as well, I’m afraid.

Some of the damage everything in their kitchen suffered was due to the fire. But, maybe more of it was due to years of use and abuse.

8-yr old sous chef!

Which brings me to their current frying pan situation. I was gearing up to make chicken milanese for them and their brood of boys – 8, 12 and 14, so grown up…seems like just yesterday I was teaching them the diarrhea song.

Anyway…When I asked for a large fry pan, my choices were limited. If there were larger fry pans at one point in their world, those have long since been tossed or lost. My hostess with the mostest handed me two options:

a 10-inch non-coated fry pan
a 10-inch coated fry pan…whose coating was tattered, flaking and torn

Abused Pan: So So Sad

So, I got to thinking about the care and feeding of non-stick pans and did some research on the Internets.

My my! People are passionate about Teflon. Seriously, very emotionally heated debates online. I found one woman who wrote an entire article about how the fumes emmitted from her teflon pans had killed her canaries. OK, if she says so.

Others cited sources from Wikipedia to NASA and research studies from Harvard to Stanford. There are usage guidelines, recommendations on what temperatures to cook at or below, how to store, how to recycle, which tools are OK to use on teflon pans, which are not, how to clean. There are literally thousands of blogposts, studies and articles with millions of tips, tirades and touts.

All that and still, I couldn’t really figure out if Teflon in and of itself kills canaries…

Here’s the Schtick on caring for Non-Stick.

Throw out your coated teflon pans that have suffered scuffs and scrapes from years of abuse. We don’t really know if you (or your canaries) will DIE if you accidentally injest a flake or two of teflon. But, do you really want to find out?

More importantly, once the teflon coating is compromised, the non-stick aspect of the pan is ruined. RUINED, I say. So, pitch the pan for this reason alone.

Do not use a metal spatula, but rather a rubber or silicone one – OK, I’ve used my fish spatula with a non-stick pan, but very very gently!
Do not put coated pans under the broiler or on a stove top set higher than medium..especially if you own small birds or other tiny pets that might inhale air contaminated with teflon particles – this is cited as the danger in exposing teflon to extreme heat
Do not put coated pans in the dishwasher…apparently, that too is bad bad bad for them
Put some paper towel or cloth between your pans if you stack and store like I do…it will keep them from scraping AND from making that clanking noise when you put them away or take them out.
Bear in mind that everything has a shelf life – sadly, even your pots and pans. So, evaluate the condition of the pots, pans, Santa Christmas lawn ornaments, giant salt and pepper shakers and whatever else you might have received as a gift from your first wedding. It may be time to toss these.

Toss and replace…but how?

The 4-day 1-day sale is upon us!

Today I spent some time in Macy’s home section. It’s the preview to the preview of the 1-day sale that starts Friday and ends Sunday night. Plus, I had a 20% discount card and a $20 off card. AND, I went to the ‘closeouts’ room…a lovely woman told me about this secret and fabulous place.

Gentle Spatulas

Inside the secret ‘closeout’ room, I found a two-frying pan, 10″ and 12″, non-stick, oven safe set. As a thank you for last weekend and a pre-thanks for this coming weekend…I’ll be hand delivering these to my pan abusing pals tomorrow. And, to be sure that these shiny new non-stick pans don’t meet the same tragic abuse as their predecessors, I’m also bringing my hosts a silicone spatula and the schtick on caring for non-stick.

Oh! Goody Goody! Mulligatawny Soup

Posted on February 11, 2013 by AnniesDishList

Mulligatawny Soup – The Happiest of all Soups

Almost exactly a year ago, Reuters published a study that found Indians – from India – to be among the happiest people in the world. This in spite of countless natural disasters, over crowding, extreme poverty etc.

Happy Even When Protesting

But…The happiness of Indians doesn’t surprise me. I’ve encountered this phenomenon before.

London has an enormous population of Indian, from India, people – though they are called Asians over there. I know this because for a time I worked for a cosmetics collection sold only in England and we had a line specifically formulated for Asian (Indian-Asian) skin tones that did very well.

One of my BFFs, Alex, lived in London for a couple of years in the mid ’90s. As Alex was moving into her flat (apartment), one of her neighbors came out to greet her. No surprise that the neighbors would be curious. Alex is a majestically tall, beautiful, blond woman who gets attention wherever she goes. Her neighbor was similarly tall – but the similarities ended there. He was an Indian gentleman dressed in traditional Indian garb.

In New York, the sight of a new neighbor’s belonging clogging the hallways and tying up the elevators can send residents into a rampage. We might bombard concierges and doormen with calls demanding to know when the eyesore and inconvenience will be over. We’re not really a ‘welcome, here’s a bundt cake‘ kind of people.

So, having moved from New York, Alex was getting ready to apologize for moving in, crowding the hallway, using the elevator, making any unnecessary noise…really, for anything at all.

But, no need. The Indian neighbor came out, took a look at Alex and her belongings that cluttered the hallway, smiled broadly, clapped his hands together as he announced joyously: ‘Oh! Goody Goody, my new neighbor!’. He was so happy to welcome her.

Since the goody goody greeting, we have tried to follow his lead, soak in some of his glee. And we have used his words whenever we greet new neighbors, new adventures or new anything.

To try to infuse his joy into my cooking, every time I make Indian food, I whisper his words over and over in my head.

Goody Goody Mulligatawny Soup (Serves 8)

Tiny Apartment Tips:

Kitchen Utensil Cleaning Station

Creating this soup uses a lot of kitchen tools…so clean as you go.
The fragrance of the soup will be strong depending upon how much curry you decide to include…So, close the doors to your bathroom, bedroom to keep the aroma from permeating your linens
Make an effort to welcome new neighbors who move into your building

Ingredients:

3 TBSP Butter
Goody Goody Mise En Place

1 medium onion, diced small PLUS 1 whole onion cut in half
2 Carrots, diced small PLUS 1 whole carrot
2 – 3 Stalks of Celery, diced small PLUS 1 whole stalk of celery
1 Bay Leaf
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced small
1/4 Cup Flour
1 TBSP Curry – I use a little less – but maybe that’s why I’m not as happy as people from India
1/4 TBSP ground nutmeg
3 Whole Cloves – whole cloves are really expensive…but, if they mis-charge you at the Food Emporium, and you find the mistake, they will refund you the entire amount! There’s a reason to be happy!
3 Sprigs of Parsley – flat leaf
1 12-14oz can of chopped tomatoes
32oz of Chicken Stock or Broth
2 Bone In Chicken Breasts with rib meat
2 Cups cooked rice – I used long grain American Basmati…but, would probably recommend plain white rice instead
1/4 Cup of heavy cream
Salt and Pepper

1. Poach the chicken breasts:

Poaching Chicken

Remove the skin from both breasts
In a pot large enough to hold both breasts, cover the breasts completely with water
Throw in 1 onion cut in half, a bay leaf, a whole carrot chopped in half, a celery stalk chopped in half, 1 TBSP salt, 1 TSP freshly ground pepper
Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil
Reduce to a simmer
Simmer :15 mins or until the chicken is cooked through
Remove from the poaching water and set breasts aside to cool
Strain the poaching liquid and reserve liquid to cook the rice

2. Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat

Goody Goody I love butter!

3. Add the diced onion, carrots, celery and red pepper

Goody Goody Vegetables

4. Saute the vegetables until very soft – about :15 mins depending upon how small you dice

5. Add the flour, curry and nutmeg and stir to combine. Cook about 2 mins

Goody Good Stir In Curry

6. Add the whole cloves, salt and pepper, chicken broth, parsley and tomatoes

7. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer (BTB/RTS) and simmer covered for 1 hour

bring to boil, reduce to simmer mulligatawny soup

Goody Good BTB/RTS

8. While the soup is simmering and IF the chicken breasts are cool enough to touch, shred the chicken with your hands

Goody Goody Shredded Chicken

9. Cook the rice in the poaching liquid according to the ingredients on the rice packaging

10. After the soup has simmered for one hour, remove from the heat.

11. Puree using an immersion blender – I have a new pink one from Cuisinart!

cuisinart immersion blender mulligatawny soup

Goody Goody Easy Puree – Thank you Cuisinart!

NOTE: if you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender…Allow the soup to cool! Then, transfer a couple of ladles at a time to the blender and puree. Transfer the pureed portion to a second pot. Repeat until all of the soup is smooth and creamy

12. Stir in the heavy cream – you can skip this…the soup is tasty and creamy without…

But, it’s really Goody Goody with the cream

13. Add in the shredded chicken and rice and heat through

Goody Goody Rice and Chicken

14. Serve with a garnish of chopped parsley, sour cream and…if you want to spice it up – a little dash of Gindo’s Spice of Life

mulligatawny soup recipe shredded chicken

So So Goody Goody

Welcoming committees may be going the way of the dinosaur. And, the ‘no bundt cake’ approach isn’t exclusive to New York City. I lived for a bit in CT and never received a bundt cake out there either.

I’m not saying we should all be baking every time an apartment on our floor changes hands…But, would it be so bad to welcome a new neighbor?

Those simple happy words from Alex’s Indian neighbor still make me smile fifteen years later

I’m not really sure why the people of India are so happy. Maybe it’s the food? After making and eating this soup, I could see that. It really is another reason to smile and announce joyously: Goody Goody!

I’m Keeping the Table: Two Meat Lasagna

Posted on February 9, 2013 by AnniesDishList

Dinner Table Set and Ready. And yes, that’s my recycling in the background.

When I first moved to NYC, people had dinner parties. Sure, we were young and couldn’t really cook so the food fare was far from fabulous. Sometimes it was even sorta gross. But, we had dinner parties anyway. It was a big deal…acting all grown up and stuff.

I love a good dinner party…but, no one seems to have them any more. Much more a rarity than the norm. Maybe it’s because our apartments are small and a lot of us just don’t have the space for a sit down dinner.

It’s true…space is at a premium in NYC and sometimes difficult decisions must be made when choosing how best to maximize the limited space. I mean, when I moved from my house to this apartment…I gave away, yes gave away, about 2/3 of my kitchen stuff…When confronted with the choice between giving up some of my shoes or storing a second Le Creuset 6 qt pot…You know what won out.

Everyone told me my dining room table would be too big for this apartment. It’s true. The table is enormous. Even without the extensions that live in a lovely climate controlled storage space in CT, I can easily seat 8.

Nemo!

So, because I cook AND I have a proper dining table in the ‘dining area’ of my apartment, I host dinner parties. And, there’s no better excuse for a dinner party than a good old fashioned snowstorm.

Last night the posse rallied chez moi to ride out Nemo – the Blizzard of 2013. For storms, I tend to make comfort food. Good, crowd pleasing, stick to your ribs, comfort food. And, last night was no exception.

Lasagna (Serves 8)

Small apartment tip: If at all possible, have a dining area in your tiny space.

Ingredients:

1 box Barilla brand no-cook lasagna sheets – you only need 1 box, but get two as you’re bound to break at least one of the sheets. Trust me.
1 – 1.25lbs of ground beef – I used 93/7 because it was on sale at Whole Foods
2 sweet Italian pork sausages…OK, they didn’t have any yesterday, so I bought some awesome Pork Broccoli Rabe sausages
365 Brand

1 1/2 Cups of whole milk ricotta cheese…normally I am a Poly-O loyalist…but, WF has its own brand and I was trying to avoid a 2 grocery store day.
1/2 Cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
3 24oz jars of Sauce…I use a combination of 2 parts marinara sauce + 1 part vodka sauce. Note the 365 Organic Marinara sauce is a 25oz jar…that was AOK. And, you don’t really need all three jars…but you need more than 1 jar of the marinara. And extra sauce for leftovers is good.
1 1/2 cups of shredded or grated good mozzarella cheese
McCormick’s or similar Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

1. In a large saute pan (mine is a 3 qt non-stick All-Clad one) heat about 2 TBSP of olive oil over medium heat

2. Remove the sausage from casing and break into pieces and drop into the heated olive oil

Brown don’t burn the sausage

3. Cook the sausage completely….Then remove from the saute pan and set aside

4. Add the ground beef to the pan and brown

Use a wooden spoon to break up the beef

5. Drain the excess oil from the pan and then re-add the browned sausage to the browned beef

Because 2 meats are better than 1

6. Sprinkle about 1 TBSP of Italian Seasoning over the meat/sausage. If you don’t have Italian spice (horrors!) just use a combination of dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, basil. Whatever feels Italian-y.

7. Pour in 1 complete jar of marinara sauce and about 1/2 C of the vodka sauce over the meat

Dump in and Stir to Combine

8. Stir to combine and then simmer on low for 5 minutes

9. In a small sauce pan, heat 2 cups of marinara sauce over low heat

10. In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with the parmesan

365 brand ricotta and freshly grated parm

11. Layer up the Lasagna:

Coat the bottom of the lasagna pan with a layer of the marinara sauce heating in the small sauce pan
No Fuss

Using a small spatula, spread the ricotta cheese-parm mixture on one side of 4 Barilla no cook lasagna sheets…Some cooks will tell you to soak the no cook sheets in warm water before using them, but you really don’t need to. So, don’t.
Place the cheesed lasagna sheets cheese side up onto the sauce layer
365 Ricotta Schmear on Lasagna Sheets
Sprinkle about 1/4 Cup of mozzarella over the ricotta/parm lasagna sheets
Cover the cheese with 1/3 of the meaty sausage-y sauce
Cover with 1/3 of the Meaty Goodness
Repeat 2 more times
Cover the final meat layer with a layer of the no cook lasagna sheets
Using the remaining non-meat sauce, cover the entire lasagna – be generous. It’s the sauce that will heat and steam to cook the no-cook lasagna sheets.
Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese and about 2 TBSP of grated parm over the lasagna

11. Cover the lasagna with tin foil and put into the oven for :45mins

12. Remove the tin foil and bake an additional :05 – :10 mins

13. Remove from the oven and let stand for :15mins. This is important….It will make the lasagna easier to cut into free standing servings

Let stand for :15mins before serving

Eat.

My table is too big for the apartment. I know that, I do. But, as long as people will still come to dinner, I’m keeping it. I might even go out and get two more chairs.

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