Cheesy Short Rib and Sausage Lasagna Soup

By Paul Briand

Here’s another find via Flipboard, a well-used news and information app on my iPhone.

I’m a big fan of lasagna and have a few recipes here:
Mexican Lasagna
Skillet Lasagna
Unbelievable Lasagna
White House Turkey Lasagna with Spinach
Taco Lasagna

That said, I’m not a big soup guy, but the idea of lasagna as soup was intriguing.

So I followed the Flipboard link and found this recipe at SeriousEats.com.

It’s a little work intensive, given the need to cook down the pork, but it’s as hearty as you might imagine it would be and very tasty.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound boneless short ribs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 medium cloves of garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
6 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning mix
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
8 ounces dried ditalini or small fusilli pasta
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (About 5 ounces)
1 teaspoon grated zest from 1 lemon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, adjusting rack to accommodate your Dutch oven;
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, oven-safe stockpot or Dutch oven;
3. Generously season short ribs with salt and pepper;
4. When oil is shimmering, brown short ribs on all sides until golden brown, about 6 minutes total. Remove meat and transfer to a platter;
5. Add Italian sausage and brown, breaking up into little bits, until nearly cooked through, about 6 minutes;
6. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic to pan and sauté, stirring periodically, until softened, 6 to 7 minutes;
7. Return short ribs to pan. Add wine, tomatoes, chicken stock, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, bay leaves and thyme. Season with about 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and transfer to oven to cook until meat is fork tender, about 2 1/2 hours;
8. Remove from oven and transfer pot to stovetop. Shred short ribs using two forks. Remove and discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs;
9. Return to a boil over medium-high heat. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until still slightly firm;
10. Combine ricotta, Parmesan, Asiago, mozzarella, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste;
11. Remove soup from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. Spoon into individual bowls, top with a generous dollop of cheese mixture and serve immediately.

Click here for recipe card.

Potato Sausage Casserole

By Paul Briand

This recipe came about from an Internet search. We had some leftover sausage from a football game throwdown, I needed to use up the meat, and I was expecting a crowd for dinner.

The most appealing recipe that came up in my search was this Potato Sausage Casserole from TasteofHome.com.

As per my normal suggestion, look for the low-sodium canned ingredients where you can, such as the cream of mushroom soup in this recipe. Low-fat cheese is also an option, though I find it doesn’t get as creamy when melted as the full-fat.

Ingredients
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups sliced peeled potatoes
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley, optional

Directions
1. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink then drain and set aside;
2. Combine the soup, milk, onion, salt and pepper;
3. In a greased 2-quart baking dish, layer half of the potatoes, soup mixture and sausage. Repeat layers;
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until potatoes are tender;
5. Sprinkle with cheese; bake, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes more minutes or until cheese is melted;
6. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Click here for recipe card.

Ham, Potato & Egg Casserole

By Paul Briand

Every Easter it’s the same thing: What do we do with the leftover ham?

My mother normally gets the bone for a wonderful pea and ham soup that she makes. One of these days, I’ll get the recipe posted.

Last year, I made a Ham Casserole, using a can cream of celery soup as the base.

This year, a stumbled on a recipe TheKitchn.com by way of the Foodily app on my iPhone.

It caught my eye originally because of the bacon. But I decided to re-do the original recipe, substituting bacon with ham, upping the number of eggs and milk, using a little more cheese as a  topping and adding some panko bread crumbs to give it a bit of a crunchy crust.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked ham, diced
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, cleaned out and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
10 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon fresh-cracked black pepper
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 cups frozen diced potatoes, unthawed
½ cup panko bread crumbs

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a large baking dish with baking spray or olive oil;
2. In a teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat, cook the onion, yellow bell pepper, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes until all the vegetables are soft. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly;
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly and whisk in the milk and black pepper;
4. Stir in 2 cups of cheese, frozen potatoes, ham and vegetables from the skillet;
5. Pour the whole mixture into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes;
6. Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs;
7. Return to oven and bake another 20 minutes or until the eggs are firm;
8. Serve immediately.

This was originally cast as a breakfast casserole, but works perfectly fine as a brunch or dinner dish.

Click here for recipe card.

Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

By Paul Briand

My wife Jane put this recipe together -- not for her and me, but for her daughter Kelsey and son-in-law Jeremy who had our granddaughter Rylin a few weeks ago.

Kelsey and Jeremy are still very much in new-baby mode, trying to get Rylin on a schedule of eating, sleeping, being awake. In the meantime, the new mom and dad’s meals are a bit catch-as-catch-can.

So the other day Jane spent the day cooking and this Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas was one of the dishes, adapted from a recipe that was part of a Campbell’s soup ad in Relish magazine. Here it is online.

It received very high marks from Kelsey and Jeremy.

Ingredients
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup picante sauce or salsa
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (6-inch), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl;
2. Stir 1 cup soup mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl;
3. Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas;
4. Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side down in an 11 x 7 x 2-inch baking dish;
5. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the filled tortillas and cover the baking dish;
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling;
7. Top with the tomato and onion and serve.

Click here for recipe card.

Mac and Cheese with Scallops and Bacon

By Paul Briand

In last week's post, I wrote of how great it was to eat a variety of great seafood at a local seafood festival my wife and I attended. In particular, I had the chance to munch scallops and bacon on a stick.

I confess to a passionate love for scallops and bacon. It is my favorite appetizer. Any cocktail party that serves scallops and bacon is a hit in my book. I'm the guy with the toothpick chasing after the server with the scallops and bacon tray, knocking aside whoever and whatever is necessary to get to them.

In that vein, I was moved last week to cook my own scallops and bacon but with a twist -- combined with homemade macaroni and cheese.

Ingredients

1 pound sea scallops -- numbers about 12

1 pound package of thick cut bacon

2 cups elbow macaroni

2 cups milk

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Italian fontina cheese

1/4 cup minced onions

Dash Tabasco sauce

Pepper to taste

Splash of white wine

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

1) Start by cooking the bacon in a large skillet, set aside on paper towels to drain (break into pieces once cool enough);

2) Retain some of the bacon fat and in the same skillet sear the scallops, browning on all sides;

3) Add a dash of white wine to deglaze the pan, set scallops aside and cut in half;

4) Cook elbow macaroni in 4-5 quart pot of boiling water about 6-8 minutes or until just tender (macaroni will cook more when it's baked);

5) While the macaroni cooks, prepare the cheese sauce in saucepan by first heating milk but not letting it boil;

6) Melt butter in large saucepan and stir in flour;

7) Gradually stir in heated milk, stirring constantly until sauce thickens;

8) Add onion and cheddar cheese, stirring until cheese melts;

9) Add dash of hot sauce and pepper, stir;

10) Combine cheese sauce with cooked macaroni;

11) Stir fontina cheese into mixture;

11) Combine halved scallops and crumbled bacon into mac and cheese;

12) Spoon entire mixture into large greased baking dish;

13) Top with bread crumbs;

14) Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

This dish feeds 6-8. I like the fontina cheese as an addition because it combines a complimentary taste to the cheddar and has the stringy, cheesy quality of mozzarella.

Easy spinach and artichoke dip

By Paul Briand

Many years ago, newly single from divorce, a family event required me to bring something either as an appetizer, side dish or dessert. I could have taken a pass, but I was intent on holding my own in the contribution department. So I chose an appetizer, having no idea however what I would make.

What I hit upon after some research, primarily through the Epicurean.com web site, was a recipe for a dip that involved spinach, artichoke, various cheeses and garlic.

While my epicurean curiosity was pretty high at that time, it wasn't high enough nor was it well funded enough to seek out and buy all the different types of cheeses that the recipe called for. So I substituted the various fresh cheeses for the bagged shredded cheese. And rather than the water crackers (that I always thought were pretty bland) I opted for Triscuits.

I came away having learned two things: That I could hold my own in terms of contributing to the family table and that fresh garlic in the kitchen is a wonderful thing. I ended up peeling and pressing into the mixture more garlic than was necessary, but I discovered by happenstance that a lot of garlic -- and I mean a lot of garlic -- works well in this particular combination, especially against the saltiness of the Triscuit crackers.

Ingredients:
1 can of artichokes in water (do not use artichokes in oil)
1 package frozen shredded spinach
Head of fresh garlic
1 package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 package shredded Italian blend cheese
8 ounces mayonnaise
Crackers

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Drain artichoke hearts and dice into small pieces
3. Thaw the spinach in microwave
4. Combine diced artichoke and thawed spinach in mixing bowl
5. Remove husks from garlic cloves and use a garlic press to add garlic to artichoke/spinach mixture (use as much garlic as you dare ... the more the merrier, I say)
6. Stir mayonnaise into mixture
7. Fold package of Italian blend cheese into mixture
8. Fold Monterey Jack cheese into mixture, holding back about a cup
9. Hand mix thoroughly and transfer mixture into a 2-qt glass baking dish (preferably one that has a cover)
10. Use remaining Monterey Jack as topping over mixture
11. Cover and bake until the mixture is bubbling hot, about 20 minutes
12. To add some color and texture to the cheese topping, uncover and continue to bake another 10 minutes
13. Serve hot with Triscuits
Note: This dish is easily reheatable in the microwave in your glass baking dish, and (by the way) I use my baking dish as the mixing bowl ... less to clean up.

It's become a favorite among the family and friends for whom I've made it. It's The Dip, The Biggest Dip at the party. It's a warming dish, tremendously suitable for those chilly and cold evenings of fall and winter, but I brought it as recently as Fourth of July to a family party. It's also very filling; it can almost stand alone as a meal. It holds up very well to reheating and every time you get that blast aroma of the garlic it's well worth it.