Texas Lasagna

Submitted By Melinda LeCheminant

½ c water

½ t garlic powder

12  lasagna noodles

1 t salt

1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese

1 egg

¾ lb mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

¾ c grated parmesan cheese

1 lb Italian sausage in casing

½ lb ground beef

½ c finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T sugar

1 t salt

1 T dried basil leaves

½ t fennel seeds (I only put 2 little seeds in)

½ t pepper

¼ c chopped parsley

1 can (35 oz) Italian style tomatoes

2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste

Remove sausage from casing and chop. In 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté sausage, beef, onion, and chopped garlic. Stir frequently and cook until well browned. Add sugar, salt, basil, fennel, pepper, and half of the parsley and mix well. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, and ½ c water, mashing tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover; simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add garlic powder and simmer 30 minutes longer. In an 8-qt kettle (I just use a regular 5-qt pan), bring 3 qts water and 1 tsp of salt to a boil. Add lasagna noodles 2-3 at a time. Return to boiling and boil uncovered until noodles are just tender. Drain and rinse in a colander under cold water. Dry noodles on paper towels. In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, remaining parsley, and salt. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Into a 9x13 baking dish, spoon 1 ½ cups of sauce. Place 6 noodles lengthwise and overlapping to cover sauce. Spread half of ricotta mixture over noodles and top with 1/3 of mozzarella. Spoon another 1 ½ c of sauce over cheese and sprinkle with ¼ c parmesan. Spread any remaining cheeses on top. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and bake uncovered another 25 minutes or until bubbly. Cool for 15 minutes and serve.

Yield: 8 servings

Orange Glazed, Stuffed Pork Chops

Submitted by Katie Griffin

p.s. Jared might kill me if he knew I posted this picture but I haven't made this recipe in a while and it's the only one I had. We won 1st place in a dutch oven contest with this recipe so that's why it's a funny picture :) I won't tell, if you won't ;)

 Orange Glazed Stuffed Pork Chops

-note that this was cooked in a dutch oven but it can just as easily be cooked in your kitchen oven.

Meat
(10) 8 oz. pork chops w/pockets cut (we cut the pockets on the small side so there was less to toothpick shut)

salt and pepper to taste

4 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup hot water

Stuffing
1 1/2 cup yellow onion; diced
1 cup celery; diced
12 Tbs. butter (we didn't use nearly this much!)
2 cups bread cubes; 1/2" cubes (I used wheat bread)
1 large apple; cored, peeled, and diced
1/4 cup slivered almonds (we used sliced instead and I just chopped them up a bit before adding them)

2 Tbs. parsley flakes

1 tsp. rosemary

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. allspice

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup water

Glaze
4 oranges; juice & zest
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. cornstarch
10 whole cloves (seemed like a bit much, taste the glaze as you cook it to make sure it's not too much)

Heat a 14" deep Dutch oven using 20-22 briquettes bottom heat. When oven is hot add butter, onions, and celery. Saute until tender. Return oven to the heat to stay hot.
In a large bowl combine bread cubes, apple, almonds, parsley, rosemary, and seasonings. Mix in the onions and celery. Add enough water to moisten the dressing.

Stuff the mixture into the pork chops. Seal the pockets with toothpicks and tie with butcher string (or just use toothpicks). Season both sides of the chops with salt and pepper.

Add olive oil to the 14" deep Dutch oven. Place chops in oven and brown both sides. Stand chops on end so they rest on the bone. Add HOT water to the oven. Cover and simmer using 14 briquettes bottom and 14 briquettes top for 45 to 60 minutes or until internal meat temperature reads 175° F.

In an 8" dutch oven add juice and zest from 4 oranges and the remainder of the glaze ingredients. Stir to mix. Heat using 12 briquettes bottom stirring frequently until mixture boils. Reduce briquettes on bottom to 4 and let simmer 15 minutes. ( We just used a cast iron skillet on top of the dutch oven coals).