Alfredo Topped Lasagna

I do a meal swap with a friend of mine each week. I take her a meal one night and she brings our family a meal another night. It is so wonderful. I find it so easy to just double a meal and take half to them. And, it's a great way to get to try new recipes that my friend shares with me. She is a great cook and I always look forward to what she brings.
This week, she brought us Alfredo Topped Lasagna. It was AMAZING!
She brought in the dish, we chatted and she then left. I took off the lid and the first thing I saw was a golden brown layer of cheesy goodness. It was love at first sight. And oh my word, every bite was better than the one before.

This recipe is made with a turkey sausage, which was very tasty. It also has spinach and is topped with Alfredo and plenty of cheese.
I let my friend type the recipe and I will post it as she typed it. I can edit it if needed when I make it myself.

Ingredients
 12 Lasagna noodles
1 (15-ounce) container Ricotta cheese
1 bundle of spinach cooked. (Remember that spinach shrinks a lot after cooked!)
4 cups (8-ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese divided
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
Turkey Italian Sausage
4 cups marinara sauce (I usually make my sauce from scratch by blending tomatoes and fresh herbs, but a big 28 ounce jar of your choice will do the trick.)
16 oz. Alfredo sauce (A jar for this works just fine as well, but a good white sauce recipe tastes so much better!)

Directions
-Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain.
-Preheat oven 350F.
-In large a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and eggs; mix well.
-In a 13x9-inch baking dish, ( I like to use my dutch oven and just cut the noodles to fit) spread 1 cup marinara sauce.
-Layer 4 lasagna noodles over sauce.
-Top with half cheese mixture, 1 cup marinara sauce, and all the cooked sausage.
-Layer 4 more lasagna noodles, remaining cheese mixture, and remaining marinara sauce.
-Top with 4 remaining lasagna noodles.
-Spread Alfredo sauce evenly on top; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
-Cover and bake for 40 minutes.
-Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
-Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

This came hot and ready to my house with a delicious loaf of garlic bread.

ENJOY!



Blessings,
Joyful Momma

I Love Sushi

Do you all like sushi?  My twin sister first introduced me to it, and then I took my husband.  It is now something I crave!! 

My husband and I also love the show Big Bang Theory.  Nothing is more fun for a night in than a few episodes on DVD and a full platter of sushi take-out.  YUM YUM!!

Traditional Beef Stew

I have known for 6 years that my husband likes stew.  Fall would start to set in and he would say, “I just want a big bowl of meaty, hearty, stew.”  Unitl now, I have never made it for him.  Wife of the year (or past 6 years), I know.  But, we had stew meat and I figured I should show the guy some love. 
I was actually very very surprised.  It was so so good.  So good, in fact, that I will be eating leftovers for lunch today.  That says a lot.  First, I don’t usually eat lunch, and there are very few things that I like enough to have the next day for lunch.  (I do however, eat leftovers for dinner regularly….is that weird)
I got this recipe from my Taste of Home slow cooker book.  It is a real gem.  (naturally, I made a few changes)
Traditional Beef Stew
1 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb carrots, cut
2 medium baking potatoes, cubed with skin on
1 medium onion, cut in to small wedges
1 15 oz can, stew tomatoes.  Do not drain. 
1 cup beef broth
1 celery rib, chopped
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. Combing all ingredients in a 3 to 5 qt slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until meat and veggies are tender.
Enjoy!

Dinner This Week

Our family had a great weekend. My dad was in town with my stepmom and two sisters for a basketball tournament. We got to cheer on their small town team to the state B victory.

Today, we had a quiet day at home and then went as a noisy family of 4 to the grocery store. We successfully made it home with all the groceries for 5 delicious meals and cookies.

This week I will be making chicken caesar wraps, tacos, beef stew, chicken spinach lasagna, and no peek chicken. I am making an extra large batch of cranberry - white chocolate oatmeal cookies.
Stay tuned, new recipes are a comin'


Blessings,
Joyful Momma