Showing posts with label freezer cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freezer cooking. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Extra Large Lasagna

I'm pretty sure this isn't the last time I will make lasagna to feed a crowd so I want to jot down my proportions before I forget.   I don't use a recipe-  I just basically try to make it as close to my mom and sister's as I can. This would serve 18-20 people easily.

Meat Sauce:

1 onion
11/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 Italian Sausage
2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
1 large (12 oz?) can of tomato sauce
6 lb 6 oz can whole tomatoes (this is a huge Costco sized can)
{plus garlic and lots of seasonings}

Other Ingredients:

2   1 lb boxes of lasagna noodles

2   32 oz containers of ricotta mixed w/ 4 eggs (use a little less of this next time)

5     8 oz balls of fresh mozzerella, sliced

2 cups of parmesan-reggiano cheese, grated

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Making Pesto

I'm making pesto to stock my freezer for easy fall dinners. If you don't have basil in your garden, now is a great time to buy it at the farmers market. This recipe has never failed me. (I'll share a couple of dinner recipes using this pesto in the next couple of days)
Makes 1 3/4 cups
  • 1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 8 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts evenly on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, tossing once, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
  2. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil; add basil, and submerge with a spoon. Immediately drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water until cool, then pat basil completely dry in paper towels.
  3. In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Process until nuts are finely chopped. With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Use immediately, or freeze. To freeze, spoon pesto into an ice-cube tray (2 tablespoons per cube); cover with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight, then transfer cubes to a resealable plastic bag; keep up to 6 months. Defrost pesto at room temperature, about 20 minutes (or at 30-second intervals in the microwave). Mash with a fork before using in recipes.