Lexi and Leif play in the leaves

Home Cookin'

When the weather turns colder, I turn to the kitchen to fill up! I have a couple of recipes that are perfect for cool autumn Sundays at the stove.

Homemade Tortellini in a Cream Proscuitto Sauce

Pasta
3 cups flour
3/4 cup of water
tsp salt

Filling
ricotta cheese (entire container)
shreaded parmesean
shreded romano
fresh sliced mozarella
egg
tsp of breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp of oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Mix dough, kneed and let sit under cloth for 20 minutes. Take a handful of dough, work it through pasta maker, until you've reached the desired thickness. (Ususally a 2 or 3 on your pasta maker). Lay out dough, use cup to make circle cutouts. Mix filling, and put quarter size amount in middle of tortellini. Fold, to moon shape, place pointer finger in the middle of the moon shape fold one edge then another and press together.

Sauce:
tablespoon of olive oil

small container of cream

1/4 stick of butter
proscuitto
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp fresh parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter, pour in cream and stir. Stir in seasonings and thinly cut proscuitto. Continue to stir until sauce reaches desired thickness.

World's Best Lasagna (allrecipes.com)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Worlds-Best-Lasagna/Detail.aspx

Yum! You have to try this recipe! I didn't have a dutch oven, but I just used a big pot and kept the lid on it. This was sooo good and there is left over sauce that you can use for spaghetti.

Ingredients
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla soup (allrecipes.com)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Tortilla-Soup/Detail.aspx

Another great find! Perfect for a chilly football day and it's very easy to make.

Ingredients
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil

Directions
Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.