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Aunt Donna's Lasagna
Here’s a Lasagna story passed along to me by Aunt Donna (Wahlert) to include in the memory book that we’re making about mom (Jean Wahlert Stoltz). If she can make lasagna at a time like this, there is NO EXCUSE about us not making it ever...
I was in my ninth month of pregnancy with Kathy and I got a real surge of energy and decided to make a quadruple batch of lasagna to freeze ahead for the cold months to come. I made sauce from scratch in one pan. I had the lasagna noodles boiling in another pot. I had a huge bowl of the cheese filling in another bowl. I had set out pans to put them in -- planning to layer each ingredient with pride. I had not even started the layering process when I doubled up with a HUGE labor pain. I called Bob at the office and told him to hurry home; I needed the hospital right away. I called your mom (Jean Stoltz) to see if she could watch my two pre - schoolers until a scheduled sitter came -- and could she PLEASE finish my lasagna! As she walked down the street, Bob and I got in the car -- doubled up with another pain! We whisked off to the hospital and fifteen minutes later Kathy was born. That quick birth is unforgettable; so is the lasagna. I'm sure your MOTHER will never forget the mess I left her in! And here is the recipe!!!!
Italian Sauce*
2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
3 -- 31 oz. can tomatoes or pureed tomatoes
2 -- 6 oz cans tomato paste
4 -- 8 oz cans tomato sauce
2 tbl. chopped parsley
2 tbl. chopped basil
1 tbl. oregano
1 tbl. fennel seed
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic (smashed with knife blade)
Amounts of these ingredients can be changed to suit personal preferences, but this is a guide. Depending on the saltiness of the canned tomato items, the amount of salt can be increased or decreased. I always have a few extra cans of tomato sauce on hand in case the sauce is too thick before cooking. This is a good way to thin it down.
*See Cheese filling and lasagna recipes in the DIRECTIONS section.
Brown meat slowly. After it is browned, pour off fat, and whirl in food processor to smooth out large lumps. Add meat back to the stockpot. Add the remainder of the ingredients. Stir well and simmer slowly uncovered until sauce reduces and is thick. This may take several hours. This should be enough for two large pans of lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti, etc. It freezes beautifully. It should be made a day ahead so that the sauce can pick up the spices, but can be made the same day.
Cheese Filling Recipe
15oz. Ricotta cheese
1/4 lb. Mozzarella cheese, grated or finely chopped
1 tbl. finely chopped parsley
3 tbl. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tsp. sugar
1 lightly beaten egg
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all of the above ingredients, mixing well.
Lasagna
1 recipe Italian Sauce
Box or two of La Rosa Lasagna noodles (or another brand)
1 recipe Cheese Filling
To assemble and bake Lasagna:
Pour a little hot Italian sauce in bottom of baking dish or pan and arrange Lasagna noodles on top in a single layer, side by side. Spread part of the cheese mixture on top of noodles. Spread Italian sauce over cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Place in pre-heated oven at 375' and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Allow to cool for a few minutes after removing from oven. Serve with a wide Wahlert smile!
Ingredients
Directions
Cheese Puff Pork Chops
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 c. flour
2/3 c. milk
1 egg
1 small chopped onion
½ c. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
Blend and stir butter, flour and milk until thick. Add egg and cook until shiny. Stir in onion, cheese, salt and pepper. Bake 4 or 5 – 1” pork chops at 350º F for about 45 minutes. Then add a large spoonful of the above mixture on each pork chop. Return to oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until toppings are lightly browned and puffed.
Ingredients
Directions
Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
6 whole chicken breasts
3 or 4 packages frozen broccoli (not the ones in the bag, the ones in the paper boxes)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup Miracle Whip
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. curry powder
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Bread crumbs
Bake chicken breasts in oven at 350º F for 1 ½ hours.
Let cool and remove chicken from the bone.
Break into bite-sized or small pieces.
Cook broccoli according to the directions on the package.
Layer in a 9” x 13” glass dish – chicken, broccoli, chicken, broccoli, etc.
Cook the cream of chicken soup, Miracle Whip, lemon juice, curry powder, and shredded cheese in a sauce pan until well blended to create the sauce.
FINAL STEPS:
Pour sauce over chicken & broccoli. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Cover with foil and bake at 350º F for 1 hour.
Can be made ahead and put in the refrigerator – but then cook longer.
This could also be frozen.
Serves 6 to 8.
Ingredients
Directions
Chicken Wellington
(From San Francisco encore) My Mom was never one to shy away from fancy recipes and this proves that she was an amazing cook (her added notes are in parenthesis) – as Penny Clark often said, Jean was an “underestimated good cook”. (With the addition of cheese, this is a jaunty departure from the stately beef Wellington. Substituting chicken for tenderloin en croute makes this decorative dish affordable, less tricky – but just as impressive.)
2 cups chicken stock
½ c. dry white wine
4 split chicken breasts, boneless and skinned
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
4 slices ham
4 slices Gruyere cheese
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 thin slices truffle pate
(I didn’t use the pate, instead I made a mixture of Dijon mustard and mayo and spread that on the pastry before ham slice. I sautéed onion and mushrooms and put on chicken.)
Heat stock and wine to boiling. Add the chicken breasts and simmer, covered until tender. Remove the chicken and cool.
Divide the sheet of puff pastry into 4 pieces. Roll out on a floured board until large enough to wrap each chicken breast. In the center of each rolled-out square place a piece of ham. Slice a piece of cheese in half and lay it over the ham. Place the chicken breast on top of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the breast with the second half of the cheese. Place a slice of pate on top. Brush the edges of the dough with water. Fold each side over and wrap like an envelope. Place seam side down on a baking tray. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until nicely browned and puffed.
Ingredients
Directions
Cornish Hens
Serves 4
1C Bread Cubes
3T Celery
1/2C Onions
3T Parsley
1/4 t Salt & Pepper
1/2C Chopped Pecans
6T Butter Melted
Bake for 1 1/2 Hours at 350°
Ingredients
Directions
Fabulous Fettuccini
8 Tbsp. butter, softened
¼ c. heavy cream (½ and ½)
½ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
6 to 8 quarts water
1 Tbsp. salt
1 pound fettuccine
Cream ¼ pound butter by beating it against the sides of a heavy bowl with a wooden spoon until it is light and fluffy. Beat in the cream, a little at a time – then slowly add the Parmesan cheese. If the sauce is not to be used right away it should be covered and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature when ready to use. Bring water and salt to boiling and add fettuccine. Stir gently for a few minutes. Boil over high heat stirring occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes or until done. Drain the fettuccine and rinse with water – drain again. Transfer fettuccine to hot serving bowl – add the creamed butter and cheese mixture. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve at once. Pass extra grated cheese.
Serves 6 to 8.
Ingredients
Directions
Festive Pork Roast
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (5-pound) boneless rolled pork roast
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Combine first 10 ingredients in a large shallow dish or heavy-duty zip-top bag;
add pork. Cover or seal, and chill 8 hours, turning occasionally.Remove pork from marinade, reserving 2 1/2 cups marinade. Bring reserved marinade to a boil in a small sauce-pan; whisk in cornstarch, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutesor until thickened. CoolPat pork dry, and place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake port at 325 degrees for 2 hours or until meat thermometer inserted into
thickest portion registers 170 degrees, basting with 1/4 cup reserved sauce during the last 15 minutes. Allow roast to stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with reserved sauce. Prep: 30 minutes; Chill : 8 hours; Bake : 2 hours, 30minutes.
(NOTE: If you don't feel comfortable tying the roast, most butchers will be more than happy to do it for you.)
Serves 8-10.
Ingredients
Directions
Four Cheese Ravioli
15oz ricotta
2 cups provolone, grated in the food processor
16oz grated mozzarella
1-1/4 cups grated Romano cheese
8 eggs
5 tbsp parsley
5 tbsp basil
2-1/2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
1 tsp each salt and Pepper
ORIGINAL RECIPE QUANTITIES
6 oz ricotta
6 oz provolone, grated in the food processor
6 oz grated mozzarella
1/2 cups grated pecorino Romano cheese (or parmesan)
3 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp basil, finely chopped
1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper
Combine ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, Romano, eggs, parsley, basil and chives in a large bowl. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use. We used a FULL batch of Canepa dough (10 cups of flour) and had a little left over to make some fettuccini.'''
Makes about 120
Ingredients
Directions
Grandma Celeste’s Beef Short Ribs
"Best short ribs ever!"
- Testimony from Penny & Heather Clark
4 to 5 pounds beef short ribs cut into serving pieces
1 large onion, sliced
1 c. catsup
1 ½ c. water
4 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. brown sugar
In large casserole put meat, onions, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook 1 hour at 425º. Pour off grease. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and bake at 350º for 1 ½ hours. Baste occasionally. Great with noodles.
Ingredients
Directions
Hamburger Stroganoff
½ c. chopped onion
Garlic salt to taste
¼ c. butter
1 pound ground beef
2 T. flour
2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 can mushrooms
1 can cream chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
2 T. parsley, chopped
Hot boiled noodles
Sauté onion in butter over medium heat. Add meat and brown. Add garlic, flour, salt, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes. Add soup and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Heat, sprinkle with parsley. Serve over hot noodles.
Serves 4 persons
Ingredients
Directions
Jeannie's Chicken
4 Skinned and Boned Chicken Breast
4 Green Onions
3/4t Tarragon
2T Margarine
1/2C Dry Wine
1 Egg White
2/3C Mayo
Parmesan
Place Chicken, onions, tarragon, margarine and wine in dish. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
Beat egg white and mayo. Spread over chicken. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Ingredients
Directions
Jennie Boo’s Special Chili Recipe
1-1/2 pounds ground chuck or very lean ground beef
1 medium to large yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can (28 oz.) organic whole tomatoes
1 can (15 oz.) organic dark red kidney beans
1 bag frozen corn (I really like Trader Joe’s roasted corn)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Ingredients
Directions
Kathy's Lasagna That Might Be Mom's Recipe
Pasta sauce
10 oz. lasagna noodles
Two 15 oz. ricotta cheese
2 whole eggs, beaten
2 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 tsp parsley
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 pound mozzarella, sliced thin or grated
Cook noodles in boiling water until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water. Combine ricotta cheese with remaining ingredients except mozzarella. In 13x9 pan, pour a small amount of sauce to cover the bottom. Place ½ of the noodles in the pan. Spread ½ of ricotta cheese mixture. Cover with ½ of mozzarella and ½ of the remaining sauce. Repeat layers. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting.
Freezes well.
Ingredients
Directions
Lasagna
I’m not sure where this Lasagna recipe came from, I think it was Mom’s.
1 pound ground chuck
¼ c. salad oil
1 c. chopped onions
1–2 ½ pound can peeled tomatoes
2 – 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 ½ tsp. oregano
1 tsp. onion salt
Garlic salt to taste
Brown onions and meat in hot oil.
Add tomatoes and other ingredients to meat, cover and simmer for 2 to 2 ½ hours. ¾ pound ricotta cheese or carton cottage cheese ¾ c. Parmesan cheese1 package (8 oz.) lasagna noodles, cooked
½ pound Mozzarella cheese, grated
Put 1/3 tomatoes sauce into 12” x 12” baking dish. Place half of the cooked lasagna over sauce. Cover noodles with half of the tomato and meat mixture and then with half of the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese. Repeat ending with sauce on top. Bake (covered) at 350º for 40 to 60 minutes or until bubbly.
Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Directions
Macaroni and Cheese Deluxe
1 ½ c. elbow macaroni
¼ c. chopped onion
2 tbsp. margarine
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 ½ c. milk
4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. Worcestershire
½ tsp. dry mustard
½ c. parmesan cheese
2 large tomatoes, sliced
½ c. crumbled saltine crackers
2 tbsp. margarine, melted
Cook macaroni. Cook onion in margarine over medium heat – 5 minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper. Add milk gradually stirring until thickened. Mix in cheese, Worcestershire, mustard, and parmesan. Stir until boiling. Stir into macaroni. Pour half into ungreased 2 quart casserole. Top with tomato slices, other half of macaroni,
and tomato slices. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs that have been mixed with melted butter. Bake at 375º for 25 minutes.
Ingredients
Directions
Ratatouille Provencal
(From Kari Prunier) Aimee Stoltz considers this, her mom’s Ratatouille, to be one of her ultimate
comfort foods!
2 - 1 lb. eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/2” cubes
1 fresh zucchini, sliced thin
1 Vidalia/sweet onion, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 lg. sweet onion, to start
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
1 28 oz. diced tomatoes, canned
1 firm green pepper, seeded and sliced
Red wine to taste, 1/2 cup
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 tsp. Herbes de Provence (Bear in mind, I have seen this recipe using oregano, sweet basil, etc., but
have found Herbes de Provence to be the herb of choice)
(You can use black olives or green olives for zest)
Heat olive oil in 5 qt. Dutch Oven. Add cubed eggplant, onion, green pepper, and zucchini.
Turn until well coated with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tsp. of Herbes de Provence. Add diced tomatoes. Cover and simmer on low until eggplant is fork tender. If using olives, add now.
Can be served as a casserole with grated mozzarella, parmesan, or pecorino/romano cheese on top. Great as a casserole or as as a topping for the pasta of your choice. I like using mini penne -- less time involved. Leftovers can be frozen -- up to 3 months.
Ingredients
Directions
Scalloped Tomatoes
This is from Olivia Wahlert’s recipes. I’m not sure what the (Greer p - 20 refers to, maybe the
cookbook where she found the recipe).
Dated September 19, 1924
1 can or 1 quart tomatoes
1 tbsp. salt
Dash pepper
3 c. bread crumbs
3 tbsp. butter or substitute
*If fresh tomatoes are being used, put into boiling water, peel and cut into pieces.* Mix salt + pepper with tomatoes, pour into buttered baking dish, cover with butter crumbs, bake in slow over ½ hour or longer. Cover during first part of baking to prevent crumbs from browning rapidly.
Serve hot.
Ingredients
Directions
Turkey Florentine
4 oz fettuccini noodles (or your favorite pasta)
8 slices bacon, fried and crumbled; reserve drippings
1 cup chopped onion
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped pimiento
2 10-ounce cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 t. salt
4 cups cubed cooked turkey or chicken
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons melted butter
Slivered almonds
Cook noodles as directed on package. Drain. Cook onion in bacon drippings. Combine bacon pieces, onion, noodles, spinach, celery and pimiento. Combine soup with sour cream and salt; strip half into noodle mixture. Pour into a buttered 9x12 inch baking dish. Arrange turkey pieces on top and pour remaining soup mixture over turkey. Top with crumbs mixed with melted butter and almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
NOTE: Microwave cooking requires about 6 minutes covered with wax paper. Cook 3 minutes; rotate half a turn and cook 3 minutes more. Test.
Ingredients
Directions
Zesty (Greek) Chicken Oregano (Kotopoulo Riganato tis Skaras)
Used regularly by Jennie Boo, found in the 1980 Betty Crocker International Cookbook
2 ½ to 3 - pound broiler
Fryer chicken, cut up
½ cup olive (or vegetable) oil
¼ cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
Lemon slices
Place chicken in ungreased oblong pan, 13 x 9 x 2 inches. Mix remaining ingredients except lemon slices; pour over chicken. Cook uncovered in 375º F oven, spooning oil mixture over chicken occasionally, 30 minutes. Turn chicken; cook until thickest pieces are done, about 30 minutes. Garnish with lemon slices.
Ingredients
Directions
Zippy Turkey and Rice
Nutritional facts:
Serving size 1-1/4 cup, 294 calories, 9g fat (3g saturated fat), 55mg cholesterol, 593mg sodium, 35g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 20g protein
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 can (jar is better) 14-1/2oz diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
2/3 cup picante sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided
Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook turkey and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, picante sauce, chili powder, and cumin; heat through. Remove from the heat, stir in kidney beans, ½ cup cheese and cooked rice. Transfer to a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Ingredients
Directions
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