tasty beef lasagna

mood: tempestuous
listening to: meat beat manifesto :: hellfire/less
slacker, slacker, slacker... can you blame me? the weather is always gorgeous, so of course i'm outside enjoying myself. with the fall approaching, it was time to get back to some basics and what better way to bring in the colder weather with hearty lasagna. i'm biased, but this is the best thing that i've made to date. this is one my all-time favorites and so i've had to some time to practice and perfect this, but my roommate just confirmed my bias by stating, "it's good and really hearty!"

Ingredients: 1.25 lb lean ground beef 4 garlic cloves, minced ginger, minced fennel ground coriander salt red pepper, sliced green pepper, sliced 1/2 yellow onion, sliced italian parsley balsamic vinegar	louisiana hot sauce chili powder oregano basil 2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce no-boil lasagna noodles 2 eggs (or egg substitute) 1 15 oz. can of ricotta cheese 9 oz. shredded cheddar cheese 6 oz. shredded parmesan cheese

Preparation:
- preheat oven to 350°
- in a pan, brown and drain ground beef
- add in garlic, ginger, parsley, onion, peppers, oregano, basil and fennel on medium-high heat
- stir in tomato sauce, salt, ground cardamom, balsamic vinegar, tapatio and chili powder; reduce heat to medium-low
- in a separate bowl, mix ricotta cheese, 2 eggs and 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- grease a 9x17 pan and put a thin layer of meat mixture to coat bottom
- layer lasagna shells on top
- pour thin layer of ricotta cheese mixture
- cover with 1/2 of cheddar cheese and 1/2 of remaining parmesan cheese
- repeat meat, lasagna shells, ricotta and cheeses
- add oregano and basil on top
- cover with foil and place in oven for 35 mins or until desired readiness.

turkey infused sloppy joe's

mood: encouraged
listening to: snoop dogg :: sexual eruption

i decided to try my hand at an old school favorite and an american past-time. think back to your childhood and remember when you had a bad day and mom had sloppy joe's waiting for you. those messy little manifestos made my day... and of course, they were a million times better than the crap that the lunch lady used to serve in the cafeteria (see adam sandler's "lunchlady land" for further analysis). instead of going the normal route and using ground beef and mix like manwich, i wanted to see if i could concoct something just as potent and even tastier. the jury is still out, but initial results are proving positive.

Ingredients: 1 lb. ground turkey 1 red pepper, diced 1/2 yellow onion, diced 2 large garlic cloves, minced 2 in. of ginger, minced canola oil lemon juice 2 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce

1/3 bottle of barbeque sauce chili powder garam masala cajun seasoning worcestershire sauce hot sauce crushed red pepper flakes salt

Preparation:
- in small sauce pan, heat canola oil on medium heat
- add ginger and garlic and cook till slightly brown
- add onion and red pepper and cook on medium heat, sprinkle lemon juice over mixture
- in separate large pan, begin to brown turkey
- when turkey begins to brown, add in mixture from other pan and heat on medium heat
- add tomato and barbeque sauce, mix thoroughly
- add chili powder, garam masala, crushed red pepper, and worcestershire and hot sauce
- add in cajun seasoning and salt to desire and mix
- when ready, serve on hamburger bun

enjoy those childhood memories or give your children new memories to enjoy.

grilled chicken with jalapeno and cilantro sauce

so it's been a while and i've slacked once again, but i've found a good one where the basis actually comes from a site that i have some familiarity with. meals.com had a dish that really caught my attention, but as usual, i kicked things up a notch. the original recipe called for 5 ingredients... i added in a bunch more. enjoy!

Ingredients: 3 boneless chicken breasts yellow pepper, sliced red pepper, sliced 5 green onions, chopped lemon juice tabasco sauce 1 tbsp. of canola oil 3 cups of brown rice pinch of salt Marinade: 2 tbsp. of white vinegar 2 tbsp. of soy sauce 2 tbsp. of worcestershire sauce sriracha sauce lemon juice chili powder cumin powder olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing

Jalapeno/Cilantro Sauce: 2 tbsp. of white vinegar 4 green onions 2 large cloves of garlic 1 in. of ginger 2/3 cup of cilantro, chopped 4 jalapenos, sliced 2 tbsp. of lemon juice 2 tbsp. of worcestershire sauce tabasco sauce peppercorns fennel seed coriander seed

Preparation:
- place chicken breasts in marinade (if possible, marinate for a few hours)
- when ready, place chicken pieces on grill; grill until chicken is ready, set aside
- in blender, combine all ingredients for jalapeno and cilantro sauce
- make 3 cups of brown rice
- in a sauce pan, heat canola oil until ready; add chopped green onions and peppers
- heat on medium heat and add lemon juice, tabasco sauce and a pinch of salt
- when ready, serve chicken, onions and peppers over rice
- pour jalapeno/cilantro sauce over top

that's all... enjoy!

shepherd's pie

this is an old favorite, but i added some fixins that haven't used in the past. it's perfect cause it contains all of the major food groups, i think: meat, dairy, vegetable and grain group. well, wait... there's no grain group, but if you throw in a dinner roll, then you have all four. anyways, here we go.

Ingredients: 6-8 small yukon gold potatoes 4 carrots, chopped 1 can of peas, drained 1 can of corn, drained cheddar cheese sour cream margarine 1 medium onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 in. ginger, finely chopped	1 lb ground beef canola oil salt pepper cumin fennel seed tabasco sauce lemon juice bbq sauce worcestershire sauce

Preparation:
- bring large pot of salted water to a boil and add potatoes; cook for about 15 minutes or under potatoes are slightly tender
- drain pot and mash; add in margarine, sour cream, 1 cup of cheddar cheese and salt; set aside when done
- pour canola oil into a pan and heat; add garlic, ginger and fennel, cook on medium heat
- preheat oven to 375°
- add onion to pan and cook until slightly brown
- add beef and cook through, remove excess fat
- add in cumin, lemon, worcestershire, tabasco and bbq sauce and mix thoroughly
- drain peas and corn and add carrots into mixture
- coat casserole pan with cooking grease and spread meat mixture onto bottom of the pan
- cover with 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and put mashed potatoes on top
- bake in oven for 20 minutes or until lightly brown

like i said, if you add a dinner roll to this, then you've got all 4 four groups.

shrimp fajitas

so i know it's been a while, but i've been dealing with some issues... nonetheless, i have conjured up some new recipes which i will be posting very shortly. this first one is an old favorite with a twist. i've made steak and chicken fajitas before, but i decided to try out using shrimp instead to see how it would work out. here are the results:

Ingredients: canola oil 4 garlic cloves ginger green pepper, cut in strips red pepper, cut in strips 5 green onions 3 jalapenos, sliced 1 lb, medium cooked shimp worcestershire sauce white vinegar soy sauce	louisiana hot sauce lemon juice cumin powder chili powder fennel seed ground coriander taco seasoning whole wheat tortillas fat-free sour cream salsa mild cheddar cheese

Preparation:
- heat 1 tbsp canola oil in large panon medium and add minced garlic and ginger
- add green pepper, red pepper, green onions, jalapenos and cook for 5-10 minutes
- add cumin, chili powder, vinegar, fennel seed, coriander, worcestershire sauce and mix
- reduce heat to medium-low and add in shrimp; stir in taco seasoning, lemon juice, hot sauce; cook for 5 minutes
- when ready, serve on whole wheat tortilla and add sour cream, cheddar cheese and salsa.

roll up and enjoy!

m'egg'xican pizza

again, i'm quite slack and i realize that i've been talking about this creation of mine from chicago... well, here it is. i call it the m'egg'exican pizza. i was visiting my sister in chicago and trying to be a good guest and make her breakfast. i poured a bit too much egg mixture into a 7" pan and what happened next is sheer brilliance. i think i'm gonna find a way to patent this and sell it to taco bell, ha ha.

enjoy... this one really is worth a try. if you add/change anything, i'd be curious how you m'egg'xified this dish.

Ingredients: 3 eggs or egg-substitute tostadas refried beans guacamole black pepper chili powder	1/2 white onion, chopped green pepper 1/2 ham steak, cubed tomatoes shredded cheddar cheese light sour cream green onions

Preparation:
- crack eggs or pour equal portion egg substitute in bowl
- add black pepper, chili powder, green pepper, white onion and ham steak; mix
- grease 7" pan, add mixture and cook on medium-high heat
- in separate pot, add beans, 2 spoons of sour cream and handful of cheese; mix until warm
- when egg mixture turns light brown underneath, flip over and cook
- cover tostada with layer of beans and egg "pancake"; if pancake is too large for tostada, cut off the edges
- add layer of guacamole on top of egg
- put cheddar cheese on top of second tostada and heat in microwave for 15-20 seconds (or till you want), then put on top of guacamole
- add tomatoes and green onions

you can eat this with a fork, slice into pieces or eat the whole slab. whatever you wish.

turkey enchiladas with tomato sauce

happy décimo de mayo! i planned to post this earlier this week to celebrate what most people in the US think is mexican independance day, but in fact a day that only holds significance as a victory for the mexican army over the french in 1862.

but i digress... i was so inspired that i didn't make one round of enchiladas, i made two! the first one used tomato sauce and i decided to change things up as well and try using ground turkey instead of chicken or beef and from the few reviews by others, it was an appropriate choice. here are the results for round 1 (as you can tell, i was too hungry to wait for the photo to get taken).

Ingredients: canola oil pinch, mustard seed pinch, peppercorns 1/2 medium white onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 lb. taco-seasoned ground turkey ginger, minced chili powder lemon juice salt	3 cans, tomato sauce 2 cans, diced green chilis worcestershire sauce sriracha sauce 6 large wheat tortillas 3 green onions 1 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded sour cream salsa

Preparation:
- pour canola oil in pan and put mustard seed and peppercorns in on medium heat
- add white onion, garlic and ginger and saute on medium heat
- add turkey and cook till lightly browned
- preheat oven to 350°
- on medium-low heat, add in green chilis, chili powder, worcestershire, sriracha, lemon juice and salt
- add 1 1/2 cans of tomato sauce to pan, stir thoroughly then put on low heat
- spoon mixture into large tortilla, add spoonful of salsa; sprinkle cheese on top, roll flour tortilla up and place in a large, greased casserole pan; repeat process 5 more times
- put sour cream on top of enchiladas to your desire, pour rest of the tomato sauce and remainder of cheddar cheese; add chopped green onions on top
- cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes in oven