march 5, company

We had some of our best friends over for dinner tonight. Its really the first time we have had people over (other than my wonderful parents) since I started this project. Our friends Alicia and Jason had a baby a few months ago. Since he was born early and then we went to Mexico this was our first time to see him. Alicia called me and wanted to know if she could bring dinner to us. I reminded her that I had to cook. So I made dinner! We all really liked it. Dave gave it a 9...so we are moving on up, like the Jeffersons!

68. Garlic Bread

*1 3/8 cups water
*3 tablespoons olive oil
*1 teaspoon minced garlic
*4 cups bread flour
*3 tablespoons white sugar
*2 teaspoons salt
*1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
*1 teaspoon dried basil
*1 teaspoon garlic powder
*3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
*1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
*2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Put it into a Bread Machine and set to 2 lb.

This is such good bread. We all really like it and its so easy. I did not have chives so I left them out.

69. Spicy Turkey Lasagna

*1 lb ground turkey
*1tsp dried oregano
*1 tsp salt
*1 tsp red pepper flakes
*15 onces ricotta cheese
*2 cups Italian-blend cheese
*10 onces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
*12 lasagna noodles broken in half
*26 onces chunky pasta sauce (or you can make your own) with mushrooms and peppers
*1/2 cup water

Now I did not catch on that this was for the slow cooker until around 4:30 this afternoon. As you can guess the Loopers were coming at 6, so I put it in the oven

Brown the turkey over medium high heat until no longer pink
Season with salt, oregano and red pepper flakes
In a medium bowl mix together ricotta, cheese-blend and spinach
In a slow cooker layer the half the noodles
Spoon half the Turkey mixture
Pour on half the sauce and half the water
Spread half the cheese and repeat the layering
Cover and cook in slow cooker for 4 hours on low.

now, this is what I did.

I mixed the pasta sauce with turkey mixture
I layered the noodles and the the turkey with sauce and the then the cheese.
I cooked it for an hour on 350. I also topped with some parmesan cheese.

For dessert we had strawberry shortcake that I have made many times. Its the best and I would post it if anyone wants to see it.