Budget Friendly: Lasagna Soup

Everyone loves lasagna right?!?  It's not too difficult to assemble either, and that's a plus.  What if it was even easier to make?  That would make it the perfect meal!  This wonderful thick, creamy soup is packed with all the classic flavors of a good slice of lasagna in each spoonful.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound ground turkey
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella 
• pinch or two of shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
•  4 baby carrots
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon jarred garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 lasagna noodles
• 8 ounces ricotta cheese

Steps:

Put the turkey into a skillet and mix in the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Also mix in 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and the fennel seeds.

Brown and crumble the turkey.

While the turkey is browning, pour 1 can of diced tomatoes into the blender.

Add the old bay seasoning, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Steam the baby carrots.

Add them to the blender, and blend until smooth.

This makes tomato soup.

To the slow cooker, add the soup that you just blended up, the additional diced tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt, the minced onion, dried oregano, dried basil, dried parsley, garlic, pepper, and ground turkey.

Break the lasagna noodles into pieces and add it to the soup.

Mix and cook on low for 5 hours.

30 minutes before serving time, mix in the ricotta cheese.

Serve with some warm, soft french bread.  Savor the flavor of delicious lasagna in a soup!

Italian Favorites: Double Battered Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant parmesan is one of Chef Matt's absolute favorite Italian dishes; he's crazy about it!  He was the first one to introduce me to eggplant parmesan at the age of about 20.  Before I met him, I had never even tried this tasty dish.  When I first had it, truth be told, I couldn't see (or taste that is) what all the fuss was about.  There was something about it that I wasn't crazy about.  After thinking about it, I figured it out; too much eggplant, and not enough breading.  So, I decided that I needed to make this dish for myself, and see if I could make it in a way I would like.  After some experimenting, I realized that double battering the eggplant slices was exactly the taste combo that I was looking for.  Eggplant that is extra crunchy and packed with flavor, who could ask for anything better?

The Secret To Making The Best Lasagna And Home Made Turkey Meat Sauce

When it comes to Italian food, lasagna definitely tops my list.  What's not to love?  Gooey cheese sandwiched between layers of pasta noodles, all smothered in delicious sauce.  I made this recipe a tad healthier by using ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Read on for how to recreate this classic meal, homemade sauce and all!

An Extraordinary Appetizer: Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan

Sometimes, I like to step out of the box and create a new recipe that is unique and that I don't think anybody has done, at least not that I know of. Yes, I had to venture into unknown culinary territory.... I didn't know where I was headed but I like where I ended up. I ended up at a very fine gourmet appetizer of a meal that utilizes one of my favorite meals, Eggplant Parmesan. Although, it does make me want to call it Eggplant Parmesan Sushi for it's obvious resemblance to the real kind of sushi and because I love sushi but I digress.

No it's not sushi but what it is though is something extraordinary and delicious in every sense of the word. What else could that be than tender chicken pieces cooked to perfection, then combined with fresh mozzarella and then wrapped up in panko breaded eggplant and fried.

Let's Grab Lunch: Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich With Fresh Mozzarella & Tomato

Many of you might know this sandwich exists but have never ventured to try it. If you fall into that category, then you're missing out on an incredibly tasty sandwich. I'm here to correct that wrong and get you on the right track to making your own delicious eggplant parmesan sandwich.

I'm crazy about eggplant parmesan so while I was making it for dinner last night, an idea struck me. The idea was that I had plenty of fried pieces of eggplant left so why not make it into a classic eggplant sandwich. Before, I go any further though, here is how prepare and cook the eggplant.

A Twist on a Classic: Shrimp Alfredo

There's a reason Shrimp Alfredo is an Italian classic.  The twist on this classic is that I use greek yogurt as appose to cream cheese as the main ingredient in the alfredo sauce.  I have never been huge on alfredo sauce; I find it a bit too rich.  Greek yogurt not only gives the sauce a much lighter taste, it is also much healthier.  This dish is well worth the time and effort that it takes to make it.

A Twist on a Classic & Gluten Free: Eggplant Lasagna

Everyone likes lasagna; its so cheesy and delicious.  Eggplant parmesan is another Italian favorite.  Combine the two, and you have one amazing explosion of flavors.  This dish has all the traditional ingredients of lasagna, but thinly sliced eggplant is substituted for the noodles.  If you're having guests over for dinner who eat gluten free (or if you have to eat gluten free,) eggplant lasagna is a great alternative.

The Secret To Making Amazing Gluten Free Pizza Crust!

It's true: Chef Matt has gone gluten free, so I am learning how to cook and bake gluten free to make his taste buds happy.  The first recipe that I am going to share is my pizza crust.  Its so good, Matt says that its similar to my original pizza crust, and he's thrilled that we don't have to cut pizza night from our menu.

Project Food Challenge: Shrimp Ravioli With Creamy Tomato Goat Cheese Sauce

What a treat this meal was!  Great to impress that special someone or to celebrate a special occasion.  Similar to going to a fancy Italian restaurant without having to deal with waitstaff, tips, reservations, or other diners.  This classic cheese ravioli dish has a slight twist when shrimp is added to the filling, then topped with a delicious and creamy tomato sauce that has been blended with parmesan, goat cheese, and herbs.  I'm not going to lie, this is a tedious meal, but the pay off is worth it.

Secret Family Recipes: Breaded Italian Steak

Back in the good ol' days this used to be the go to meal in my family to celebrate a special occasion. It's not a very known recipe because it's very similar to chicken fried steak but more Italian and delicious. Now, I'm going to pass it on to your family because nothing says "Italian" comfort food like meat, potatoes, and warm garlic bread.

Secret Family Recipes: Manicotti

Manicotti has always been one of my absolute favorites!  Whenever my birthday rolled around, and my mom asked me what I wanted for my special dinner, I always picked manicotti.  Manicotti is such a classic Italian dish; pasta tubes filled with a savory cheese blend, smothered with rich, delicious tomato sauce.

Project Food Challenge: Margherita Pizza

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Off The Menu is very proud to present to you, our very finest culinary creation to date! The pizza pictured above is not any ordinary pizza, it's a very sastifying to the tenth degree Marghertia Pizza. Some of you may have adventured to try a Margherita Pizza and know that the texture and indgredients can surpass an ordinary pizza, no matter how good that pie may be. To be honest with you, we did not know if our special recipe would accomplish that but now it's safe to say, that it went above and beyond in doing that. It's definitely on our lunch or dinner menu for good and we feel like it will be on yours too. With that being said, we at Off The Menu would like to outline step by step and ingredient for ingredient, how you can make this exceptional Margherita pizza at home.

Chicken Juliette

Recently, I went to a Italian restaurant, and got this amazing dish consisting of a delicious ragout on top of grilled chicken and goat cheese mashed potatoes.  I loved this dish so much, that I did something that I normally am not able to do, I completely cleaned my plate.   In the following weeks, I literally was dreaming about having this meal again.  That was not a very realistic dream seeing as this dish was 1) on the pricier side, 2) only available for a limited time.  So, I headed on over to my local Whole Foods and got everything that needed.  I made this yumminess on a plate for Chef Matt's Birthday, and at the end of the day, he told me that my dinner was the highlight of his day; that's quite a compliment!

Project Food Challenge: New York Style Pizza

I know that there's nothing quite like a pizza in New York, but this hot and bubbly version of a New York style pizza that is topped with homemade sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice (I'm a fan of just pepperoni) is sure to satisfy your taste buds.  This pizza takes quite a bit more effort than my quick and easy pizza night recipe, but the extra effort is well worth it!

On a side note, because this pizza is a real challenge and takes a bit more effort than regular pizza like I said above, I'm starting a new category of posts called Project Food Challenge where we showcase nothing less than the most challenging recipes to master. This New York Style Pizza would fit right in. So in other words if you're up to the challenge of making a difficult recipe, look for this category of posts...more coming soon.

Healthier Alternatives: Turkey Meatballs With Angel Hair Pasta

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A simple, yet delicious and satisfying meal: good 'ol angel hair and meatballs.  In this recipe, the meatballs have been made a bit healthier by using ground turkey as opposed to ground beef.  These mouthwatering meatballs are set on top of angel hair pasta, and topped with my homemade sauce.

A Twist On A Classic: Italian Style Chicken Tacos

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All of us have been in one of those moments where we end up in the kitchen going over everything that we have in the pantry and trying to figure out how we're going to put a meal together. This is exactly how this post came to be. The result? Nothing but extraordinary! Literally putting our creative juices to work, we managed to invent something on the fly that we know we'll be eating again in the very near future.
You read the title right, these are Italian Style Chicken Tacos. For anyone, that loves something a little gourmet now and then, you're going to want to try these out. Also, we can't forget to tell you that it took only about 30 minutes to throw this meal together. You might be asking yourself, what makes these Italian and easy? We'll explain in the recipe.

Secret Family Recipes: It's Pizza Night!

There is nothing better than a cheesy, delicious pizza pie!  This recipe is neither too time consuming, or difficult, so you can make any night pizza night.  We love this recipe so much, we have to share it with you even though it's a secret family recipe. Shh... don't tell my family. 

Italian Meatloaf: This Is Actual Food For Thought...

This picture looks good enough to eat. Well, break out the pots and pans, and you too can make this delicious Italian Meatloaf.