An Old Favorite Gets a New Look- Philly Cheesesteak Lasagna

It's a million degrees in Iowa today. Normally on such a hot day I'm not big on making something like lasagna, a dish that needs to spend an hour in the oven. I'm hot, crabby, just went through road rage on the commute back to the peaceful lake, and now I'm going to fire up the oven? I must be nuts.

Actually I am a little sad that it's blazing hot out there. This weekend downtown Des Moines is home to the annual Italian American Heritage Festival and as much as I'd love to go I just can't deal with the heat and humidity. Growing up on the south side of Des Moines this annual festival was one of my favorite things. Back in the early days the festival was held in Columbus Park. Carnival rides arrived, food stands were built, bocce ball courts set up, and crowds of hungry folks eating pasta and enjoying music and activities filled the park the entire weekend. As a junior high girl, this was THE spot to see and be seen, the place to meet guys, the reason for spending 2 hours in front of the mirror with a curling iron, only to have the humidity turn those curls into nothing. In those days my best friend Liz and I hung out at the festival- all three days- and rode The Scrambler, ate cavatelli usually catered by Guido's or maybe a group of Italian ladies from one of the Catholic churches, played carnival games (I never won anything) and tried to catch the eye of the guys from the other junior high school. Risque times, for sure.

These days the festival is held downtown in Western Gateway Park. The event had grown tremendously and has moved several times. The rides are no longer around but plenty of activities keep festival goers entertained. Old guys still play bocce and lots of live music still entertains the crowd. The food has improved, with lots more food options and some very upscale vendors are really bringing the goods.

Learn more about the Italian American Heritage Festival by clicking HERE. 

In the spirit of that great Italian classic, lasagna, we are also having a little bit of pasta at the Little Lake House tonight but we are switching things up and bringing a whole new look to an old friend. Instead of the usual meat and red sauce and ricotta cheese lasagna we're having an All-American version- straight from Philadelphia. Yep, you got it- Philly Cheesesteak Lasagna. It's super easy to put together- savory ground beef with grilled peppers, onions and mushrooms layered with melty cheese, tender noodles and Alfredo sauce. Use your favorite brand of sauce in this dish- we're cheating a little with bottled sauce and you'll never know! Definitely not your Nona's lasagna, but it's gooooood.

Philly Cheesesteak Lasagna

1 package no boil lasagna noodles

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 large onion

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 medium green bell peppers

salt, pepper or favorite meat seasoning

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon beef soup base

2 jars Alfredo sauce

1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

cooking oil

Prepare the vegetables: I use a very large onion. Cut the onion into small julienne strips. Remove the seeds from the peppers, cut into similar sized pieces. 

Heat a couple tablespoons of cooking oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to brown. Don't let them get too soft. Season the veggies with the meat seasoning. Remove to a large bowl and set aside.

Crumble the ground beef into the same skillet; break up with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle with the Worcestershire sauce, some of the meat seasoning and add the beef base, mixing it into the meat drippings. Cook meat until browned and cooked through. Add to vegetables in the bowl and mix.

Using a large baking pan spoon about 1/2 cup of the Alfredo sauce in the bottom and spread it around. Arrange 4 noodles on top, breaking them to fit. Spoon half of the meat mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese. Pour the remaining Alfredo sauce in the first jar over evenly. Top with another four noodles. Spread the remaining meat mixture over, including any juices in the bowl, another 1/3 of the cheese. Layer another 4 noodles on top and pour the second jar of sauce over all.

Add about 1/2 cup of water to the jar, cover, shake, and add water to the pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cheese, bake another 15-25 minutes until hot and bubbly, noddles are tender, and cheese is starting to brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Yes, I did use some pre-made sauce in this recipe because, let's be honest, who wants to make homemade Alfredo sauce just to turn around and make lasagna? Not me! Probably not a lot of busy families either, when kids are hungry, laundry needs to be done, the dog needs a walk and you just want to get something on the table with a minimum of fuss. Toss together some crispy salad greens and pop some garlic bread in the oven, or breadsticks, and you have a whole new take on lasagna.

A night out on the (small) town

How do two former city dwellers find a way to have the perfect date night in a rural Iowa town? It's not easy! We have very limited options- a movie theater, a bowling alley, a handful of restaurants and a couple bars. Not the most romantic of possibilities, but with the right person and a good imagination you can have an awesome night out!

Sometimes we have to drive to a nearby town for something different. We don't mind at all. The countryside is very lovely out here in West Central Iowa and the small towns in the distance, with their water towers dotting the landscape, add to the charm. On this Friday afternoon we decided to visit the town of Adel, in Dallas County. Adel has several really good places to eat, we just had to choose which one we wanted.

They have a pretty popular Mexican restaurant, but we passed on that. We have a really good Mexican place near the lake that we eat at often enough. China Village? The Chef was not really "feeling" Chinese tonight. So I suggested The Italian Villages. I could have a nice quiet Italian dinner (usually a safe bet) and a glass of wine. Sounds perfect to me, so that's where we went!

Walking in the restaurant my first impression was "a typical small town family owned" restaurant. Murals of Italian street scenes, canals, sidewalk cafes, line the wall on one side. Neat rows of tables with plastic tablecloths fill the dining room. They do a substantial pizza and takeout business and near the front door is a big pizza oven and the cashier, making it easy for people to pop in and pickup an order to go.

Jacqui was our server and she was a hoot! She took lots of time answering our questions, not just about the food and wine, but about the restaurant, their history, the town, pretty much anything we threw at her. She had great stories about the restaurant over the years and recommended some of her favorites.

The specials were baked cavatelli and steak and shrimp- we both went with the cavatelli. I did get my glass of wine with dinner. No wine list in this little place, but that's ok. I asked for red and got a nice glass of a fairly sweet red wine, which was fine. It was a little bit on the bubbly side, reminded me of Stella Rosa, a very mild wine I used to recommend to "new" wine drinkers.

Nothing fancy....... just really nice

When in Rome, do as the Romans, right? So in Iowa, do as the Iowans- always order the onion rings, and we sure did. The onion rings were great- thinly sliced and perfectly battered and fried. The chef was very friendly and came out to chit chat with us, and he shared his trick to such great o rings- a very very fine cracker meal, packaged shrimp tempura batter mix and seasonings like garlic and parsley. You could see parsley flakes in the breading and they were light and crispy. 

There is a salad bar in the dining room, nothing spectacular, just a giant chilled bowl of salad greens, a few toppings and dressings and a couple pasta salads. It was clean, fresh and well stocked but just the basics, not that it's a bad thing at all. There also was a large heated tureen with the soup of the day. 

It wasn't long before the cavatelli arrived, and it was delicious. The sauce reminded my of The Chef's pasta sauce, with chunky tomatoes and mushrooms. Iowa's famous Graziano's sausage and loads of pasta filled the dish, which was covered in melted mozzarella. It was so so so good. I didn't even eat half of it!

We finally headed home, full and looking forward to lounging on the couch for a bit. Would we go back the The Italian Villages for dinner? Heck yes! It was a thoroughly enjoyable, peaceful meal, at good prices, generous portions and great staff. Next time I want to try the pizza!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Canning Cookbook- Pizza Sauce

Breaking out the big roaster! It's time to make pizza sauce!

Our first trip to the Amish farm was a pretty good trip. About 10 pounds of gypsy peppers and 40 pounds of tomatoes makes a nice start to the busiest time in my canning season. The majority of those gypsy peppers was diced up and put in the dehydrator to save for cooking throughout the cold winter months. I had other plans for those tomatoes.

Just a couple hours of prep time- quarter the tomatoes, squoosh out the seeds, cut out any bad spots- buzz in the food processor until smooth (yes, skin and all. Save that fiber and vitamin-rich skin) and pour into the roaster.

We make a few pizzas every once in a while at the Little Lake House, and a while back we got to sample some Habanero Pizza Sauce from a company called FireFood. I have been wracking my brain ever since trying to duplicate this recipe. I know enough about hot peppers to know to use caution. But I figure 40 pounds of tomatoes and 3 Habaneros should be a balanced mixture. So....with that in mind, let's start to work on a recipe. So far I have used-

40 lbs tomatoes (unpeeled)
1 medium onion
4 bell peppers (any color)
10 cloves garlic
3 fresh Habanero peppers IF DESIRED (We will talk about alternatives later)

Wash, core and quarter the tomatoes. Use your fingers to remove as many seeds as possible and place in large bowl. Clean and quarter the onion and bell peppers. Remove stems from Habanero peppers (and as many seeds as you desire). Process vegetables in food processor in small batches and pour into large electric roaster. Note: I did not peel my tomatoes. Buzzing in the food processor very finely chops the skin and makes them barely noticeable. You CAN blanch and remove the skins if you desire.

Pour all the pureed veggies into a large roaster and set on 300 degrees.

Cook, stirring often, until reduced by half. Add a couple tablespoons salt, a few grinds of black pepper and anywhere from 1/2 cup to 1 cup sugar during cooking. Taste often. 

About the peppers- if you didn't use fresh Habaneros you can add crushed dried hot peppers such as cayenne to taste. USE CAUTION. Mixture will probably reduce by half so the heat may intensify!! Remember, you can always add Tabasco sauce at the end if you need to.

I am letting mine cook overnight but will turn it way down for the sleeping hours and turn it back up in the morning. Cooking tomato puree in a roaster is a very easy way to get perfect results without worrying about watching a pot on the stove or scorching the bottom if you don't stir often enough. 

The next morning I turn the heat back up to about 275-300 and let it keep cooking. I check it every hour or so and give it a stir to make sure nothing is sticking and it's cooking down evenly. At this point there is nothing in the roaster but the vegetables- no herbs at all. It would be pointless right now to add a bunch of herbs and cook it down so much you've cooked the herb flavors right out.

By early evening the sauce has cooked down to half it's original volume. I don't need this giant roaster anymore (it takes up a lot of counter space) so I shut it down and let it cool off for half an hour or so, then bring out my big crock pot. I recommend transferring the tomato sauce with a ladle. Not the quickest way but it's much less messy and you don't splash hot tomato sauce everywhere.

NOW is the time I start adding my seasonings. I grow all my own herbs so I make my own Italian blend containing basil, parsley, thyme and marjoram. You can use a store bought blend like Italian Seasoning- that will work just fine. You're going to need up to one cup of dried seasoning by the time you're done. Stir about 1/3 cup or so of the dried seasoning into the tomatoes in the crock pot and continue to let it just cook and do it's thing.Why dried seasoning? Fresh herbs are very delicate and they lend a fresh herbal flavor at the END of cooking. Since this is a canning recipe you want to avoid adding fresh herbs because they may interfere with the acid balance and make the recipe possibly unsafe, and processing in a canner will just wipe out their freshness. Always go with dry herbs in a canning recipe.

So after another night of slowly cooking and reducing, we now have a rich and thick tomatoey pizza sauce. It's time to add the rest of the herbs and let that simmer for about an hour, while I get my canner and jars ready to go. Right before adding to jars, add 1/4 cup lemon juice to the sauce (you MUST acidify tomatoes when canning) and stir well. Pour the sauce into pint jars, wipe the rims, fix lids and rings and place in a boiling water canner. Process for 35 minutes, remove jars and let rest for 24 hours before checking seal and removing rings. My crock pot full of delish yielded 7 1/2 pints spicy pizza sauce.

Next step- make pizza !!!

Dinner from the garden

What a terrible thing it is- to be able to step out in the yard, pick an armful of fresh veggies and make dinner happen. Just terrible. Especially right now, with all the tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, onions, garlic...... just awful.

Tonight we're having dinner from our garden! Fresh yellow summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, onions- the only thing we didn't grow was the hamburger and Parmesan cheese. This is a quick to put together dish, pop it in the oven and relax for 20 minutes or so, then get some pasta water going, toss in some pasta to go alongside and voila! Dinner is served.

Italian Stuffed Summer Squash

• 1 medium yellow summer squash or zucchini
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• big pinch crushed red pepper
• 2-3 tb minced fresh marjoram, basil, oregano or a combo
• oil
• 1 lb hamburger
• 2 cups tomato sauce or puree

Wash squash well and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Also scoop out some of the flesh leaving a half inch shell. Chop squash flesh.

In large oven-safe skillet heat a couple TB oil. Add onion, garlic and chopped squash. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Crumble ground beef into skillet. Cook and stir until beef is cooked. Add herbs and pepper. Add half the tomato sauce to skillet, then stuff the squash halves with mixture. Add all remaining sauce to skillet, stir, and nestle the squash in the mixture. Sprinkle with topping mixture (see below). Place in 425 degree oven about 20-30 minutes until squash is tender but not mushy.

Remove carefully to plates, cut in half if you like, and serve with pasta and extra sauce.

Topping-

• 1/4 cup panko
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• pinch of herbs used in dish

Combine in small bowl. Sprinkle over squash. Drizzle with a tiny touch of oil. The topping bakes up crunchy from the panko and salty from the Parmesan cheese and makes the perfect textural element. 

You'll notice I did not precook my squash before stuffing. I prefer mine to still have some hint of crisp to it, but you can certainly precook yours if you like it softer. Put on a microwave safe plate,sprinkle with a few drops of water and cover tightly with plastic wrap- cook for a minute or two until barely tender.

All you need now is a hunk of crusty bread and a breezy spot on the patio to enjoy a perfect summertime dinner!

Italian tomato and herb beer bread

I'm having a Monday. On Wednesday. Irritated. Crabby. Overall not happy. Why?  MORE SNOW in the forecast!! Enough is enough already! So to ease my frustration and get me through the winter weather advisory that starts NOW I am already thinking ahead to dinner. 

I know it's going to be leftovers. We had the best roast last night- so delicious. Nice big chunk of Angus beef seasoned with lots of awesome spices and herbs, lots of vegetables including Asian long beans, carrots, sun dried tomatoes and potatoes and a couple secret ingredients The Chef would kill me for revealing, it was delicious. And BIG. Lots of leftovers for tonight.

But since it's going to be another lovely Iowa below-zero, wind-howling, snow-drifting night it's time to heat up the oven and bake something. I might bake a cake just because I can, but for sure I am going to whip up a quick loaf of bread. 

Now I have a lot of experience with breadmaking. I love making yeast breads and kneading the dough, punching it down, watching it rise again. But it takes a long time, and not so easy to do on a weeknight. Beer breads are the perfect solution. You can mix them up and get them in the oven as fast as a cake mix or brownie mix. The best part about this recipe is you can FORGET the expensive, purchased beer bread mixes which are nothing more than flour and a leavening agent, flavors and a few assorted chemicals and make your own from your choice of flour, baking soda, sugar or honey, and beer. Plus you can season it however you want. I am going with sun dried tomatoes and Italian herbs, but you can flavor yours any way you want, to match your meal or just for fun. Lots of garlic and cheddar for a whole loaf of that awesome Red Lobster biscuit- imagine it! 

So let's get to making our loaf of bread. I hope I have a can of beer in the fridge!

Italian Tomato and Herb Beer Bread

3 c. flour (either all purpose or self-rising)
3 tsp. baking soda (omit this if you use self-rising flour)

1 tsp salt

1/4 c. sugar
12 oz can or bottle of beer
1/4 c. melted butter (NOT margarine)
palmful dried herbs of choice- I used a mixture of thyme, basil and marjoram
1/4 c. finely chopped/diced sun dried or dehydrated tomatoes
1/4 c. shredded cheese- parmesan, cheddar, whatever you like

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in bowl. Slowly pour in beer. Mix just enough to moisten, don't overmix. Spread batter into greased loaf pan. Pour melted butter over top. Bake approximately one hour. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from pan.