WFD: Cheesy Bread Bowl

I absolutely love olive oil, my favorite is groOrganic Italian blend. This all natural olive oil is grown, harvested and bottled in Central California. With studies suggesting that 2 tbsp of olive oil a day may reduce heart disease, I love it even more!!


This dish is a copycat recipe of the delicious cheesy bread bowl we had on Mother's Day, at the Auburn Ale House. Wonderful to serve with any meal, or as an appetizer.



Ingredients:

• bread bowl
• 4 tbsp butter
• garlic as desired 
• 1 cup mozzarella
• 1/2 cup cheddar

Preparation:

• Sauté butter and garlic until bubbly.
• Slice bread into squares, without cutting all the way through.

• Stuff the bread with garlic butter and cheese.  

• Wrap with foil and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees
• Splash your serving plate with groOrganic Italian blend olive and place bread on top, lightly drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve. 

WFD: Not Ya Mama's Lasagna

This is the perfect dinner for anyone trying to lose 10 lbs before her Sister's September wedding... okay not really, but I love this lasagna! The thing that sets this lasagna apart from traditional recipes is the absence of ricotta cheese (which I am not a fan of). You can prepare this dish and freeze it, or heat immediately.  I think everyone should have a lasagna in the freezer at all times!



Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup vegetable oil  
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 med. onions, chopped
• about 12 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1.5 lbs. ground turkey
• 1 (6 oz.) cans of tomato paste
• 1 (13 oz). can tomato sauce
• 1 (13 oz.) can tomatoes
• Seasoning to taste (salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, basil)
• 1 large box lasagna noodles
•  grated Mozzarella (I used half a block as pictured above)
• grated cheddar cheese (I use half a block as pictured above)

Preparation:

Meat Sauce:Heat oil and margarine.  Add onions and sauté until onions very soft.  Add garlic.  Sauté for a few more minutes.  

Add browned ground turnkey.   

Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil and add seasoning to taste.  Simmer, covered, for 1 hour.  After 1 hour, you may need to add more water to get the sauce to the right consistency. 

Noodles:
Cook lasagna noodles according to directions on box.  Drain.  
Assembling lasagna:
Begin assembling lasagna by covering bottom of pans with a layer of meat sauce.  Add extra water to this layer of sauce; it will help prevent sticking.  Layer noodles on the sauce, patching open areas with noodles that may have split during cooking.  Follow the noodles with more sauce and then sprinkle cheeses on top.  Repeat layers of noodles, sauce, and cheeses until you fill pan.  (Generally,  4 layers in a standard 13 x 9 pan.) 

Cooking: 
Place pan in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Let it sit for about 5 min before cutting.

Freezing: 
You can cover with aluminum foil to freeze.  To cook frozen pans, allow to partially thaw and bake covered at 350 degrees for one hour.  Uncover pan for last 10 minutes of cooking.

WFD: Carnitas

In California we have some of the best Mexican food North of the border. If you let my Husband pick, we would have it for every meal.

My Mom gave me this recipe for drool worthy Carnitas, that rival any we've ever had. One of the great many things about this recipe is 1.) You make it in the slow cooker and 2.) The meat will last for days in different forms (think breakfast burritos, Taco salads, sandwiches etc). I hope y'all enjoy this one as much as we do.

Ingredients:

• Pork shoulder
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 jar orange marmalade
• 8 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 onion

Preparation:

1. The night before place pork, soy sauce, orange marmalade, and garlic in a container to marinade.
2. In the morning chop onion and place at the bottom of your slow cooker, empty pork and marinade on top of the onions. *Do not add any water!

3. cook on low for about 6-8 hours, or until it's easy to shred.

4. Serve with all the fixings; warm tortillas, avacado, diced tomatoes, sour cream and cojita (mexican cheese). Now go enjoy that yummy goodness!!

What's For Dinner?

40 Garlic Clove Chicken

2 bulbs of garlic

4 chicken breasts boneless/skin less OR with bone and skin (I use boneless/skinless)

½ cup white wine

½-cup chicken broth

1-teaspoon tomato paste or tomato sauce (I use the paste)

1 sprig rosemary or use the power (I use fresh)

1 sprig thyme or use the power (I use fresh)

1 bay leaf

Cook chicken in a little bit of olive oil to brown transfer to plate

In pan, add

Wine

Chicken broth

Tomato sauce

Rosemary

Thyme

Bay leaf

Pull the garlic bulbs apart and you should have about 40 gloves

I do take off the paper however; the recipe says do not remove the paper.

Place chicken in a roasting pan single layer

Pour over the mix from the frying pan

Place the garlic over the chicken

Cover and cook at 375 for 1 ½ hours