Thursday, October 1, 2015

October 1st means Fall is Here!

Today is October 1st. That means it is the first day of Write31 originally started by The Nester... I participated last year, but I wasn't 100% successful because Little Man got really sick. So this year I have 5 topics that I am going to write about with the common theme being simplicity. These are not topics that I am an expert at, but rather they are topics that I am interested in learning about. I am taking a journey of finding balance. Week 1 is about Simplicity in the kitchen-- making easy, family friendly recipes or any tricks that I have learned along the way.

Since it is now very fallish it is time to start eating fall things! I have a huge love affair with 1 pot meals, I find them to be really easy and they don't create a ton of dishes either. I am trying a new lasagna skillet recipe as my base from fivehearthome.com-- I don't have all of the ingredients but I can easily sub them for the same thing in a dried spice form.

Here is what you will need:
1 (28 oz can) petite diced tomatoes
water
1 (8 oz can) of tomato sauce
1 T olive oil
5 cloves of garlic minced or 1 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes
1 pound ground beef
8 oz of pasta or 6-8 uncooked lasagna noodles broken up
1 T each of basil, oregano, thyme, and parsley mixed
1/2 cup + 2 T of grated Parmesan
1 cup cottage cheese

Here are the directions:
Step 1 Pour the can of diced tomatoes into a 4 cup measuring cup--I'm using my very large pyrex measuring cup. Add enough water to measure it to 4 cups.

Step 2: Heat a large skillet with a lid over medium heat ( I have a deep stainless steel pan that I use), Pour 1 Tablespoon of olive oil into the pan. Swish it around by tilting your pan. Add your garlic, red pepper flakes and stir for 30 seconds. Add ground beef and brown. When done drain. Add in 3 Tablespoons of spice mixture.

Step 3: Add pasta to the meat. Pour your tomato mixture over the noodles and meat, without stirring. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to medium-low heat... Cover and stir every 5 minutes. Add more spices if are necessary. Cook time is 20-25 minutes. After to you get everything on the stove it would be a great time to help the kiddos in your world with homework! I would throw in some buttermilk biscuits or crescent rolls in the oven at this time!

Step 4: Remove from heat and add your cheese. Adjust any of the necessary spices. Before serving mix your cottage cheese. Allow to rest for five minutes. While your lasagna is resting get everyone to the table, that does take 5 minutes in of itself.


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