Stuffing & Stuffed Mushrooms or Stuffed Mushroom with shrimp

       


STUFFING:
3 bags of Arnold Seasoned Stuffing.
1 Large 48oz Can Chicken Broth. Less Salt .
1 onion finely chopped 
Italian Sausages -  4 Links
2 Pieces of Celery and their leaves
1 large apple.  Macintosh
6 pieces of Sundried Tomatoes - chopped 
1 small Zucchini- Peeled and diced small
3 jumbo Portabella Mushrooms- diced 
4 piece finely chopped garlic.
Paprika
Olive Oil
Seasoning: Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder

Preparing Seasoned Stuffing

Use the cooking instructions from Seasoned Stuffing bags but replace the water for Chicken Broth. but 1st read below.

•  Place chicken broth in pot. Add finely chopped Celery, 1/4 cup of celery leaves, 2 TBS butter and 1/2  finely chopped onion.  Bring to Boil for 4 minutes 
• Then place Seasoned Stuffing in pot and stir, remove from heat and cover.

                

Prepping Sausage

• In a frying pan, Cut Sausage out of casing and Saute Sausages. When half way done, take out and chop them up then finish cooking with 1/2 finely chopped onion, garlic and Sliced mushrooms.
• Set aside.

          

        

 
Prep Apple:

• Peel and Chop an apple into small pieces.
• Place in frying pan and Saute in 2 Tbs of butter until golden.
• Set Aside

Prepping Zucchini and Sundried Tomatoes

• In frying pan add 1/4 cup Olive Oil and heat. 
• Add Chopped Zucchini
• Add Seasoning: Salt, pepper and garlic powder
• When Zucchini is 1/2 way done
•  Add chopped garlic
• Tbs of Butter
• Once cooked then Add Chopped Sundried Tomatoes
• sautee for about 1 min.
• Mix sausage, apple mix and zucchini mix together.

In large baking pan:

Place Stuffing in large baking pan and add Sausage mix, apple mix. Zucchini mix.  Mix everything in evenly. Sprinkle top with Paprika and bake on 375 degrees for 15 minutes. 
Broil for 1 - 2 minutes.

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Stuffed Button Mushrooms:
Recipe #1: Stuffed Mushroom with Stuffing  and Sausages
Recipe #2: Stuffed with shrimp scampi
Recipe #3: Look under Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Pizza Caps                                                      (you can make a few of them and then they can be cut up into 1/4 and served. Fast and easier to make)

Stuffed Mushroom with Stuffing and Sausages

Use the cooking instructions from Seasoned Stuffing bags but replace the water for Chicken Broth. but 1st read below.

•  Place chicken broth in pot. Add finely chopped Celery, 1/4 cup of celery leaves, 2 TBS butter and 1/2  finely chopped onion.  Bring to Boil for 4 minutes 
• Then place Seasoned Stuffing in pot and stir, remove from heat and cover.
• Wash and dry mushroom caps
• Cut tops off as shown below

       


Cook Sausage and place in stuffing. Stuff Mushroooms

Recipe #2: Stuffed Mushrooms with Shrimp

Ingredients:

Prepare Shrimp Scampi  (from this site.)

Fresh Mozzarella

Bread Crumbs,

Grated Cheese

1. Clean and Cut mushrooms as stated above in Recipe #1
2. Go to Shrimp Scampi recipe on this site .
3.  Prepare shrimp as suggested but add in small diced 1/4  Red Pepper.
4. Take shrimp out of Scampi wine sauce (set aside wine sauce) and Chop shrimp into small pieces. 
5. Place shrimp into mushroom caps. 
6. In small bowl place 1 cup bread crumbs homemade or 4C . Add 1 TBS grated cheese 
7. Pour in small amount of the scampi sauce to moisten the breadcrumbs, fluffy with fork. (don't press down.)
8. Sprinkle breadcrumb mix on top of shrimps that are in mushrooms caps. (you are not filling the mushroom cap with a lot of breadcrumb, just a covering)
9.  In baking pan: Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth to bottom of pan. Just enough to cover bottom. Not a lot. 
10. Place stuffed mushrooms in baking dish. 
11. Place small sliced piece of fresh mozzarella on top
12. Bake Covered on 350 degrees until mushrooms are cooked about 20 min.
13. Uncover and broil for 1-2 min. until crispy.  Watch it on broil.  Cooks fast!

Italian Wedding Soup



Italian Wedding Soup  Serving for 8.

3 Escarole bunches. Cut off end.  There is a lot of sand inbetween the leafs so you must wash each leaf. Then place in a pot of water with 1/4 tsp bleach to sterilize them for about 3 minutes.  Then rinse under running water.  I like to use the salad spinner. this way I can take out the spinner and drain out the water and run cool water in it and I repeat this a few times.

Chop the up the Escarole into small pieces.

3 - 48oz Cans of Chicken Broth.

8 baby Carrots- Cut up into small chunks.

1 pc Celery -  cut up into chunks.

2 Tbs grated Peccorino Romano cheese

1/4 tsp pepper and garlic

1/4 small onion. Finely Chopped.

1 box of Italiano Pasta cooked aldente.

3 lbs of chopmeat to make 120 baby meatballs. Look under Meatball recipe for what you need and make meatballs first. ( there will be 4 baby meatballs to one reg. size meatball) so, the same 3 lbs of reg meatball makes approx. 30 meatballs to 120 for the baby one.) 

While the Meatballs are cooking then start making the soup.



After  Escarole is washed and sterilized. Don't worry about the excess water on the Escarole it doesn't need to be wiped off.

1.   In large 14 quart Sauce Pot.  Pour in all the chicken broth and onions. Cook under high heat and bring to a boil.

2.  Place Escarole in pot.  Cook under Medium heat. When you first place in the Escarole, the chicken broth will not cover all of it at first. 

Cook for about 5 minutes. Then -

3. Add in the chopped Carrots and Celery.



Escarole cooking.  Still hard.   



Escarole cooked when transculent about 15 min.

5.  Add Cooked meatballs

6. Add Grated Cheese

7.  Cook for about 3 minutes.

8.  Add in cooked Pasta.  and simmer for about 2 minutes.

Bariatric Friendly.  No pasta add 1/4 white beans.

                                                            Soup is done.

                                                  "Buon Appetito"



This soup doesn't take to long to cook.  The most time you will spend on clean the Escarole Leaves.

Hint:  When I cook my meatballs for my sauce I would make a second batch of baby meatballs and freeze them so, in a few days to a week I cook this soup and it takes much less time.  I put the meatballs a day before in the fridge to defrost.

Lasagna

You will have 3 layers of Lasagna.
What you put Between each layer is described below.

Ingredients needed.
Prep all ingredients before you cook the Lasagna Noodles.

• 2  -  32 oz  Containers of Cooking Sauce.  (look under Sauce for recipe)

• 1/2 Can Small Peas  Optional - divide into 2 = portions.

• 2 Boxes of Lasagna. There are 20 per box. You will need 1 box PLUS 13 from the 2nd box.  Cook Lasagna in an x-tra large Deep pot with 1 Tbs salt and 1/3 cup oil.  (oil doesn't make the Lasagna stick to each other.) Cook Aldente (hard). (You will be baking the Lasagna so, you don't want it to become very soft)  Drain out and cool off. Lay it over the collander or pot so they won't stick together.
• 15 Meatballs. (look under Meatballs for recipe) Mashed up.
•   3 Cups Ricotta  mixed with a pinch of Black Pepper, Garlic Powder,                                                2 Tbs Grated Cheese, 2 eggs
• Fresh Mozzarella log - Sliced 
•  4 oz Grated Cheese Romano Peccorino
• 1 lb whole milk mozzarella.
• 1/2 lb shredded Provoloni
• 2 links Sausages. Squeeze out of casing and sauté until cooked then chop them up. 
• 11 x 17 pan 2 " high.  Must be at least 2" high otherwise lasagna won't fit.                                       If you can find 3"in height that would be better.

 

Put everything in its own bowl and divide into portions I have listed.  This way you can make sure you have enough for each row.

 1.   Ricotta mix.  In 3 = portions

 2.   Mashed up Meatballs.  in 2 = portions                                     

 3.   Sausages 2 = portions.

 4.   Grated Cheese. You will just be sprinkling a 
       small amt ea. time. Approx. 2 Tbs.

 5.   Mozzarella Cheese in 3 = portions.

6.    Fresh Mozzarella

7.    Provolone
 8.   Sauce.  1 bowl. Large ladle full each time.

                       



A. 1st Row.

1.  Pour 2 Cups Sauce in bottom of pan. (you need a lot of sauce on the bottom of the pan, so it won't burn when you cook it. and only a little bit in between the layers.)

2.  Lay out Lasagna 8 horizontally.
     2 vertically.  Lay overlapping 1/2 way on top of each other.

3.  1st Portion:  1 Tbs Ricotta mix and fresh mozzarella in rows across the whole pan.

4.  Add in this order: Grated Cheese, Meatballs, Sausages, and Mozzerella. 



Ricotta, Fresh Mozzarella, Grated Cheese, Meatballs, Sausages, Mozzarella.



5.  Pour a little bit of Sauce.  As shown above.
Wave the ladle across the pan. Don't need to much.





B.

6.  Add another layer of Lasagna.

7.  With your palm, push down slightly on top of the Lasagna.



8.  Lay down Ricotta and Fresh Mozzarella as you did in Step A.

                  Next, in this order:  Grated Cheese 1 Tbs, Meatballs, Sausages, Sauce then Mozzarella. 

This is your last layer.

  9.  Add another layer of Lasagna.  

 10. With your palm, push down slightly on top of the Lasagna. 

11. Add Sauce. Smooth Sauce over lasagna completely.  Any 

      uncovered spots will burn.          

12.  Add Tsp full of Ricotta and pieces of fresh Mozzarella.  As shown above.

13.  1 tsp grated cheese.

14.  Add Mozzarella and Your done.

1.   Place aluminum foil over top. Making sure it doesn't touch the cheese.

2.  If cooking the next day place in fridge and take out 1 hour before cooking.  When Lasagna is from fridge it take approx. 50 - 60 mins to cook.

If cooking now.  Put oven on 400 degrees. Keep Lasagna covered.

Cooking time will vary 30 - 45 minutes.

When cheese is melted lasagna is done.  Nothing is raw.  So, all you have to worry about is to make sure the Middle part of the Lasagna is hot.

 

Yup!  That's right! to find out if it is hot, the Italian way is to Stick a knife in it and make a small opening then stick your finger in it. ha! ha! But, watch out you can burn your finger!  If it is hot it is Ready.  A better way is to use a food thermometer to check the temperature.  Once you determined it is hot then take the cover off and bake until cheese is lightly golden brown or to your liking.

LASAGNA MUST SIT FOR 5 - 10 MIN.

TO SETTLE BEFORE SERVING.

Enjoy!! 

FYI:  Lasagna is a big project and timely.
You can cook the Sauce and Meatballs up to 3 days before. Keep it in the fridge. Grate the mozzarella, slice the fresh mozzarella and put it into a ziploc bag to keep it from drying out place in the fridge.
I cook my Sauce one day then the Meatballs another day so, it doesn't take up too much of my time.
Better yet!!  Always keep a few containers of Cooking Sauce in the freezer so, you can always have it ready when needed.  I freeze 6 containers of sauce at a time.  Sauce can stay frozen up to a year.  Mine never last that long.