I adore Italian food.  It is one of my favorite things to eat.  I dream of pasta and a gorgeous sauce smothered in cheese all the time but for some reason can never get my hands around a decent bowl or plate of pasta.  I think of the simple ways I’ve enjoyed Italian sauce in the past with just garlic a little basil and Hunt’s tomato sauce….  I fantasized about eating lasagna then realize I will have to make it myself if I want it done as it is in my dreams.  Then my good friend Average Betty released her video of a crock pot lasagna. I thought “That’s it? I’ll make my version and let the Crock pot do all the work.”  I’ll take my stress level down a notch and enjoy lovely lasagna and life will be happy!  Next thing I know my Momma comes along and says she wants some lasagna as well.  Great!  Just so you know my Momma is a vegetarian, so I start building a meatless sauce in my head.  Nothing too fussy or complicated, just simple and delicious.  Plus I want my son to have a serving and he’s only 3 so I’m trying to be  mindful of his young palate.  I’ll definitely need Hunt’s chopped tomatoes, a few veggies, and a variety of yummy cheeses.  That was the hardest part about this recipe, making the sauce, the rest is a walk in the park.  I used raw noodles as I always do when making lasagna even in the oven, grated some cheese, assembled, put the lid on the crock pot, and set the timer to 2 1/2 hours on high.  Walked away a carefree Momma, knowing dinner was taking care of it’s self tonight.  My family was thrilled, and I will be using this method for lasagna making from here on out.

Ingredients for Vegetarian Lasagna:

• 1 – tablespoon olive oil
• 1 – whole onion (chopped into small cubes)
• 1 – whole yellow bell pepper (chopped into small cubes)
• 1 – tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 – teaspoon dried basil
• 1 – pinch dried oregano
• 2 – cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 – can (14.5 – ounce) Hunt’s diced tomatoes
• 1 – can (29 – ounce) Hunt’s tomato sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• a box of lasagna noodles ( I use Barilla)
• 1 1/4 – cups grated parmesan cheese
• 1 1/4 – cups grated cheddar cheese
• 2 1/2 – cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 15 – ounces ricotta cheese

Directions: 

1. In a pot over a medium flame add in olive oil and allow to get hot. Then add in onion and yellow bell pepper. Saute for 5 till 10 minutes.
2. Add in garlic, basil, oregano, and mushrooms. Mix well and continue to saute for another 5 to 10 minutes. 
3. Add in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove sauce from flame and set to the side. 
4. Pour a cup and half of sauce on the bottom of the Crock Pot.
5. Then break the lasagna noodles to fit the crock pot. Place them in snuggly. 
6. Then add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and 5 tablespoons ricotta cheese to the top of the lasagna noodles. 
7. Add another layer of lasagna noodles (this time going in the opposite direction). 
8.  Then add a cup and a half sauce, then the cheese (same measurements as before), then lasagna noodles and so forth until you end with the cheese layer on top. Place lid on top of Crock pot and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. 
9. Enjoy! Your lasagna will be deep dish and delicious.

This post is part of a campaign sponsored by ConAgra Foods, I received compensation for my participation. All opinions expressed are 100% my own. 

My son asks for potato chips every meal, that’s what our meal time has come to recently.  I try and bribe him, give him ultimatums, replace his chips with other food but it always comes down to “chips.”  Even his teacher is on to it, she says to me the other day “Max ate his sandwich during lunch” then she smiled real big and said with a wink “I gave him a chip every other bite.”  What?  Seriously?  The only way to get him to eat or try other foods is if the food is followed with a chip.  Thank the stars I have the cool Zyliss 2-in-1 Handheld Slicer, it’s like a mini mandoline.  It makes slicing my potatoes paper thin a fast task.  Instead of making chips this morning, I fooled my son and told him all the chips stuck together to make a potato chip hash brown.  He believed it and ate the hash brown. One point for me. 🙂

Ingredients for Potato Chip Hash Browns:

2 – medium sized Idaho Potatoes (peeled and cut paper thin)

3 – tablespoons vegetable oil

2 – teaspoons Lawry’s seasoning salt

1 – teaspoon black pepper

1/2 – teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Peel and slice potatoes then add them to a big bowl and mix in the spices and seasoning salt.  Set to the side.

In a large frying pan over a medium high flame add vegetable oil. Allow oil to heat for about 3 minutes before adding in potatoes on a single layer.  Then with the extra potatoes add a top layer.

Let fry on the first side for 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Then carefully flip the potato chip hash brown, and cook the other side for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Are you lucky enough to have had a Mexican Corn on the Cob? This addicting treat is a favorite in my house. We make it often or buy it from the street vendor who frequents my neighborhood everyday. Next time you are craving a spicy cheesy treat, give Mexican Corn on the cob a try, it’s the caramel apple of corns.

To watch my video on how to prepare this delicious kernel treat, click here.

Ingredients for Mexican Corn on the Cob:

• 1 – cooked corn on the cob (grilled, boiled or steamed)
• The juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1 – tablespoon butter
• 1 – tablespoon mayo
• 1 – tablespoon cotija cheese crumbled
• cayenne pepper to your liking

Directions:

1. Squeeze lime juice onto hot cooked corn on the cob.
2.  Spread butter on corn.
3. Slather it in Mayo.
4. Sprinkle the cotija cheese on top.
5. Last spice with cayenne pepper.

If you’re anything like me then you need some spice to bring the Thanksgiving table to life. This stuffing will do that and then some. The chorizo works well with the pistachios and pears, adding a subtle taste of sweet to the potent taste of spice. It’s seriously perfect for turkey and will be a real treat if sitting next to a batch of sweet potatoes or cranberry sauce. I posted my recipe over on the Babble site, click here for the recipe. You’ll be happy you did.

The Ooooie Goooie chocolate will draw you in.  The worms will tickle your tongue. This Halloween cake will be the slime of the party.  I made this dessert with rats banging at my back door to get a bite of my worm cake.  I didn’t answer but one managed to get in just in time for cake cutting. Let the festivities begin.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN…….

Ingredients for worm cake:

2 – boxes of Devil’s food chocolate cake mix

eggs, water and vegetable oil

2 – can of milk chocolate frosting

1 – bag of gummy worms

chocolate cookie crumbs

Bake cakes according to instruction on the box for a total of four 8 inch cakes. Allow to cool completely.

Place first layer on a cake stand and frost with 1/2 of can of milk chocolate frosting, then add second layer and repeat till done with all cake layers and both cans of frosting.

Then poke holes into cake with a straw and insert gummy worms into holes so they can pop out. Then dust entire cake with cookie crumbs.

SCARY HALLOWEEN CAKE …. made easy.

“Stop acting like a hungry little monkey”, those words came spilling out of my mouth faster than I could catch them.  I didn’t say it in a mean way,  I just said it as a matter of fact.  You see my friend Karla was over and I had just come from buying a bunch of fruit to curb this Bionico craving that had been hankering at the back of my tongue for the last couple of days. When I mentioned in passing I was going to start working on a dish of bionico, she turned into a hyper, nagging, relentless little infected blister.  Saying to me every other minute “Are you going to make that bionico?”, “What time are you going to make the bionico?”, “How much bionico are you going to make?”,  “Can I take some home?”  I felt like her energy turned into a nervous twitch and if she could scratch the side of her ribcage and make ooooh and ahhhh sounds she would.  Don’t get me wrong, I understand the power of the bionico, but she was acting straight out grubby. I started to feel uneasy and wanted to protect and hover over my now sacred bionico…. thats when I just blurted it out,  “Stop acting like a hungry little monkey.” Her eyes grew wide, I don’t know if she was embarrassed or if she was just stunned by the reality of my words. It was too late, the truth was on the table.  I tried to glaze over what had just happened by abruptly shifting gears with a long,  sincere explanation of how September is National Organics Month, and Whole Foods Market is celebrating with an abundance of fresh, organic grapes in stores all month long.  This eased the blow, then I whipped up a big bowl of  bionico and forced myself to share half with her.

Ingredients for Bionico: 

1 1/2- cups organic red grapes (sliced in half)

1/2 – cup organic green grapes (sliced in half)

2 – sliced bananas

1 1/2 – cups peeled and chopped mango

1 1/2 – cups watermelon (cubed)

1 – cup green apple (cubed)

1 – cup pineapple (cubed)

1 – cup strawberries (sliced)

1/2 – cup sugar

3/4 – cup sour cream

1/2 – cup raisins

1/2 – cup chopped almonds

Mix all fruit in a big bowl.

Then in a small bowl mix sugar, and sour cream together until smooth. Then pour over mixed fruit and mix well.

Serve in a serving bowl and sprinkle with raisins and almonds. Enjoy!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Whole Foods Market, but the recipe and opinions are my own. 

My english teacher in high school asked the class to write an essay describing what type of animal best describes each of our own personalities.  Based on the mere fact that I love cheese, I quickly knew I would be a mouse and could have written an encyclopedia on it.

Since then nothing has changed in the love for cheese department, except now I am familiar with many varieties and at that time I was limited to a few.  I bring my cheese love forward when it comes to pizza-making….. and let me tell you, I’ve been to many of the pizza capitals of the world, Chicago, New York,  and all over Europe to name a few, and mine (imagine me honking my own BIG OBNOXIOUS HORN here) is SUPER FRICKEN DELICIOUS!  I enjoy mixing different types of cheese together and usually the results are FAB-TACULAR!

Ingredients for pizza:

1 – batch of dough,  click here for recipe.

8 – tablespoons olive oil

corn meal

1 1/2 – cups pizza sauce (recipe below)

1 1/2 – cups grated mozzarella cheese

1 – cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 – cup grated cotija cheese

dried salami

sliced onion

basil

sliced black olives

An hour and a half prior to making your pizza,  rub a baking sheet lightly with olive oil.  Then pull dough out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature.  You will need to punch down dough and smooth into balls.  Then cover with plastic wrap while you wait for dough to come to room temp.

About 45 minutes before ready to bake, place a pizza stone on rack 3/4 of the way down from top of oven.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees fahrenheit.

Time to work the dough…  Take one of your dough balls and place on a lightly floured surfaced and shape into a disk.  Then continue to pull out into the desired size of your pie by draping it over the back of your hands, and continue to rotate dough with the back of your hands in a clockwise motion with the aid of your thumbs.

Then take your lightly olive oiled baking sheet and sprinkle it with cornmeal then place pizza dough directly on top.  Continue to go around the edges forming a slightly raised rim with the tips of your fingers by pinching and gathering the dough.

Once the dough is ready.  Place a tablespoon of olive oil on the inside of the dough and then spread it around the inside circle avoiding the rim.

Then take 1/3 cup of pizza sauce and spread on inside of dough.

Then top with 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese,  1/4 cup cheddar cheese, and 1 tablespoon of cotija cheese.

Then top with salami, onion, basil and olives.

Then sprinkle a pinch of cheese over the top salami and veggies.

Place in oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until crust is golden!  Cook each pizza one at a time.

You could always make a vegetarian option and swap out the salami for fresh sliced tomatoes instead.  Its just as delizioso!

Enjoy!

Ingredients for pizza sauce:

1 – 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 – 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

2 – teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/2 – teaspoon garlic powder

1 – teaspoon dried basil

1/2 – teaspoon oregano

1/4 – teaspoon black pepper

1/2 – teaspoon salt

1/3 – cup water

How to make the pizza sauce: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  There will be a little left over for those who love extra sauce or for future pizzas. 🙂

PIZZA PIE!  PIZZA PIE!

 All photos taken by: Mando Lopez and Nicole Presley