Mom’s Lasagna

I’m not a big fan of ricotta cheese.  I don’t know if it’s because the word “ricotta” sounds too much like “cottage” (I HATE cottage cheese) or what, but I’m not a fan.  Luckily, growing up my mom made a version of lasagna that did not include ricotta cheese.  Her lasagna is a big dish of meaty, cheesy goodness.  Served with a Caesar salad and some Sister Schubert rolls, Mom’s lasagna is what this Italian girl calls comfort food.

Mom’s Lasagna
1 package Barilla no cook noodles
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ham, cubed (You can get this at the deli, about 1/4″ thick, or use the prepackaged cubed meat in the deli meat section.)
2 packages mozzarella cheese
2 jars pasta sauce
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (more or less depending on taste)

In a saucepan, cook the ground beef.  You can break it up a little, but I like having some bigger pieces in the meat mixture.  Drain the meat and let cool so you can handle it.  Put the meat in a mixing bowl and add the ham and one package of the mozzarella cheese.  Mix to combine. 

Preheat oven to 375*.  Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray and add a little pasta sauce to the bottom of the dish to create a “bed” for the noodles (so they don’t stick).  Layer four noodles on the bottom.  They will most likely have to overlap a little, but they will expand during cooking. 

Layer the rest of the lasagna as follows:
Top of Dish
Cheeses (Mozzarella mixed with a little Parmesan)
Pasta Sauce (about 1/2 a jar)
Noodles (4)
Cheeses
Meat Mixture (about 1/2 the mixture)
Pasta Sauce
Noodles
Cheeses
Meat Mixture 
Pasta Sauce 
Noodles
Pasta Sauce (to prevent sticking)
Bottom of Dish

I like to press down on the last layer of noodles before adding the pasta sauce and the cheeses just to make sure everything is even and level.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Bake lasagna at 375* for 50-60 minutes, or until heated through and noodles are cooked.  Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.  This helps the lasagna firm up so you don’t lose all your layers on the first slice.  It also prevents tongue burning!

The Sister Schubert rolls (if you choose to have them) take about 15 minutes at 350*, so it’s the perfect thing to have on the side.  Just follow the package instructions.  You can also use this time to make your salad!

For some reason I don’t make lasagna very often.  Maybe because it takes a little more time than some other recipes.  Maybe because there are lots of ingredients.  Maybe because it’s not the healthiest thing for me.  I’m not sure what the reason, but I do know when I make lasagna it reminds me of my mama and it makes me smile.  It also freezes beautifully!  Mange!

Restaurant Review: City Barbeque

After several people asked me about places to eat around Dayton, I decided a new type of post on my blog might be beneficial.  I love eating at local joints.  I find that food with local flavor tends to taste better.  I like to think the reasoning behind this is that local restaurants make their food with more love and care than national chain restaurants.  If you ask me where I want to go to eat, 75% of the time I’ll pick a local place.  For this reason, I have decided to start suggesting places around the Dayton (and sometimes Cincinnati) area at which I like to eat.

My first pick is City Barbeque (cityqbbq.com).  I love barbeque.  I grew up in Tennessee and good ole Memphis barbeque holds a special place in my heart.  The location I visit most often is in downtown Centerville on the corner of 725 and 48.  I work less than five minutes from this location and have, on more than one occasion, treated myself to a beef brisket sandwich for lunch.

Just driving by the restaurant makes my mouth water as I can smell the meat cooking and see the smoke billowing out of their smokers.  They slow smoke all their meats, starting early in the morning, so even at breakfast time you can smell the wonderful aromas.

My favorite thing to get at City Barbeque is their beef brisket sandwich.  Jeff loves the North Carolina Pulled Pork, which is a pulled pork sandwich topped with cole slaw and vinegar.  The portions are good size here, so Jeff and I tend to each get a sandwich and then make one of them a platter (which just means we add two sides for $2.99).

We usually get their mac & cheese and their fries.  When the fries are fresh, they are really good, but if they aren’t fresh, they can get a bit soggy.  I have had their cornbread, corn pudding, and hush puppies and they are all really good.  Carolyn was visiting last week and she had the greens.  I believe she liked them.

Some other things I have tried at City are their Texas Smoked Sausage (yum!) and the smoked chicken.  The chicken had good flavor, but it didn’t hold a candle to the pork or brisket.  I have also had the Texas Sheet Cake (chocolate cake with chocolate frosting).  Jeff and I had to wait a few minutes for fries one day and the manager didn’t like that Jeff was finished with his sandwich by the time the fries came out, so he gave us cake for free.  It was really, really good.  Moist and sweet, just like I like it.

I have yet to try the ribs.  Every time I go, I am craving the beef brisket!  I just found out they have $1 rib days on Tuesdays (at least at my location), so I’m thinking I’m gonna go on a Tuesday.  I also just found out they have a rewards card.  For each $1 you spend, you get a point on your card.  After you spend $100, you get a $5 coupon!  I love rewards programs.  One other thing…they have a lunch option.  You get a 1/4 pound sandwich and two sides for $6.59.  It’s a pretty great deal!  In fact, I think I’m gonna have to go there for lunch today…

I really can’t say anything bad about City Barbeque.  They have something for everyone, they have lots of locations, and their prices aren’t bad.  I also love the fact that my City is located right next to a Graeters (amazing ice cream)!  But that’s another blog…

City Barbeque on Urbanspoon

Cinnamon Raisin Bread (Bread Machine Recipe)

Don’t you love a nice, warm piece of cinnamon raisin toast in the morning?  I know I do.  It’s even better when you make it from scratch! 

Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1 cup water
2 tbsp butter, softened
3 cups bread flour
5 tbsp sugar (original recipe=3 tbsp)
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
2 cups raisins (original recipe=3/4 cup)

Put all ingredients in your bread machine in the order listed above, except for the raisins.  You will want to reserve the raisins until the warning signal on your bread machine sounds, then add them.  My machine takes a little over 3 hours to cycle completely through. 

The original recipe was not as sweet or as raisin-y as I wanted, so I adjusted accordingly.  

Just-As-Good-As-Starbucks Iced Coffee

Carolyn has been a fan of iced coffee for as long as I can remember and she has raved about it to me for years.  Only in the last year or two did I really start to appreciate the wonder that is iced coffee!  A couple weeks ago she wrote me and said she had tried a recipe she found online.  She made a base pitcher of iced coffee and keeps it in the fridge.  She thinks it’s just as good as Starbucks and cheaper!  I made some this morning and I have to agree it’s mighty tasty.  I thought I’d share with you guys!

Just-As-Good-As-Starbucks Iced Coffee

12 cups water
8 heaping tablespoons coffee
*Desired sweeteners and flavorings

Brew coffee with the amounts of coffee and water listed above.  Fill a glass with ice and pour the hot coffee over it.  Add any sweeteners and/or flavorings you’d like.

Carolyn’s Favorite:  1/2 cup skim or almond milk with either sugar free vanilla syrup or skinny caramel macchiato creamer

My Favorite:  1 tablespoon Fat Free Hazelnut Coffeemate, 1 packet Sweet N Low, drizzle of caramel syrup (available at Starbucks)  *the best part about the caramel syrup is when it hardens in the icy liquid and you suck up bits of caramel through your straw!

I can already tell this is going to be a staple in my fridge!

Sweet Sunday Morning Waffles

I rarely get cravings for sweets in the morning.  Usually the thought of something sweet and bready makes me feel ill.  Except for on the weekend…  I don’t know what it is about Saturdays and Sundays that make me want doughnuts, waffles, and french toast!  I also rarely order waffles in restaurants because they are normally at least $5 and I always want something savory in addition to the sweet.  (They should start putting 1/2 waffles on menus as add ons and charging $2-3 for them!)  So, if I ever want waffles, I have to make them!  Here’s the one I like best:

Sweet Sunday Morning Waffles

2 eggs, beated
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 canola oil
2 tbsp granulated sugar*
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together until just combined.  Batter will be a little lumpy.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  Preheat a waffle iron and put about 3/4 cup** of batter in the iron.  Let cook until golden brown and crispy. 

*I like my waffles to be very sweet.  I typically eat them without syrup.  If you prefer your sweetness to come from your syrup, only use 1 tbsp of granulated sugar and omit the brown sugar, though I think the brown sugar gives the waffle an extra yummy flavor.

**I just eyeball the amount of batter I pour into my waffle iron.  I use a one cup measure and fill it about 3/4 of the way up.  Your waffle iron might need less or more depending. 

Throwback Ribs

Everyone has their own favorite rib style.  There are St. Louis style ribs, baby back ribs, Texas style, Memphis style.  Some like them swimming in sauce while others like to eat them dry.  My personal favorite is a sort of mixture of a lot of different types of ribs.  No matter what way you like, you must give these ribs a try.

My dad makes the best ribs in the world, in my opinion.  I’m not a huge fan of tons of BBQ sauce.  It’s usually too sweet (though Dorothy Lane Market here in Dayton, OH makes a killer sauce that’s just right).  So growing up my dad would make his own basting sauce that would act like a BBQ sauce.  His ribs involve two parts:  a rub and a baste.  The longer you let the rub sit on the ribs, the more flavorful they’ll be.  I always make baby back ribs because that’s what I was raised on, but you can make whatever type of ribs you like.

Dry Rub
5 T Salt
6 T Sugar
2 1/2 T Black Pepper
2 T MSG  (Yes I know MSG isn’t a good thing, but that’s just what this recipe calls for.  You could probably just leave it out, though it may alter the flavor a little.)
1 T dried lemon powder (I had a hard time finding this so I used lemon pepper instead and just back a little on the black pepper)
1 T paprika

Combine all the ingredients together and mix WELL.  You want everything to be evenly distributed.  Put your baby backs on a cookie sheet and sprinkle the mixture liberally over them.  Massage the mixture into the ribs.  You want to make sure every inch of the ribs gets a little bit of the rub on it.  Let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.  As I said, the longer it sits, the more flavor it has!

“Mop” Barbeque Sauce
I’m not real sure why it’s called a “Mop” BBQ sauce. I personally believe it’s because the creator of this recipe used to use a “mop” baster to put the sauce on the ribs.  It is an extremely thin sauce that would benefit from a mop baster.  At any rate, it smells amazing when it’s cooking and gives great flavor to the ribs!

4 cups beef stock
1 cup worchestershire sauce
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
1 T Tabasco sauce
1 T salt
1 T dry mustard
1 T paprika
1 T MSG (I left this out the last time I made it and it seemed fine)
1 T garlic powder
1 T chili powder
1 T ground bay leaf (I didn’t read the “ground” part of this until I was home the first time so I just threw in four small bay leaves.  It seemed to do the trick.)

Combine the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a rolling boil.  Shut off the heat and let it cool on the stove.  When storing, put the entire batch in a tupperware container and store in the fridge.  It keeps for a pretty long time (like a year or so).  When reheating the sauce, put the entire contents into a pot to reheat as many of the spices will settle to the bottom of the container.

Ribs
As I said before, the first step is to liberally coat the ribs with the dry rub and massage in.  Let sit for at least an hour or overnight in the fridge.  Pull out the ribs about a half hour before cooking to raise the temperature of the meat.  Preheat your oven to 300*.  Place the ribs in heavy duty aluminum foil and return to baking sheet.  Pour 1/2 cup of the mop bbq sauce over the ribs in the foil.  Gather the sides of the foil at the top and crimp them down, then crimp in the ends to make a somewhat tight package.  You want to leave a little room around the ribs so they can “breathe” in the liquid. Place in the 300* oven for 2.5 hours.

After the ribs cook for 2.5 hours, move them to the grill to get a little color on them.  Baste each side frequently with the mop bbq sauce and cook until desired color is achieved.  I believe I cooked mine for about 15 minutes total.  This step is optional.  You can remove the ribs from the foil and put them back in the oven to achieve a similar outcome, though there’s nothing like cooking meat on a grill.

**Originally my dad would cook the ribs on the grill at a very low heat the entire time, but it sometimes resulted in overcooked meat.  Cooking the meat in a little bit of the bbq sauce in the oven allows it to essentially boil, thus retaining some of the liquid.  Either way you go, these ribs are sure to be a hit!  If you MUST, you can serve regular BBQ sauce alongside for dipping, though that’s blasphemy in my book.