Daniel's birthday dinner & dessert Lasagna & Red Velet Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Icing

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_lasagn/

Since I decided this is more of a successful recipe for me website, I decided to go ahead and put a lasagna recipe that I made for my boyfriends birthday!

I didn't make this at all, I put the website I got it from at the top. definitely not my recipe, thanks pioneer woman! :)

Ingredients

* 1-½ pound Ground Beef
* 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
* 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
* 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
* 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
* 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
* 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
* 2 whole Beaten Eggs
* ½ cups Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
* 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
* 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
* (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

To assemble:
Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.

Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9cxBhTj9Nw
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/philadelphia-cream-cheese-frosting-50972.aspx

Chicken Cacciatore

So... I basically never post on this website.
I thought that I would have time to write on a blog for other college students so they could save time, I guess I forgot that I too am I college student with a job, school, organization requirements, friends, and family, so I too, do not have time to write on a blog.
I guess this is going to turn into more recipes that I've tried that turned out successfully! :)

Here we go!

Chicken Cacciatore (this is not my recipe at all!) I got it from http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/02/chicken-cacciatore.html Check them out, they're great :)

Here are the directions

Chicken Cacciatore
Recipe by OurBestBites.com

1 lb. chicken breasts or chicken breasts and thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 c. white flour
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, peeled and either crushed or halved
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 c. white wine, white cooking wine, or apple or white grape juice. I'll be honest with y'all, it tastes a whole lot better with wine. Just sayin'.
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using cooking wine; you may shrivel up and die if you add the salt in addition to cooking wine because cooking wine is treated with salt to make it undrinkable)
1 bay leaf
1 c. sliced mushrooms (or more if you love them. Mushrooms are divine in this dish!)
1 green bell pepper, chopped

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onions and garlic and stir frequently until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon (this is why you need to keep the onion and garlic pieces big), shake off excess oil (you don't have to go crazy here, a little olive oil never killed anyone!), and transfer to your blender. Increase heat to medium-high.

In a large Ziploc bag, combine flour, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. black pepper. Add chicken pieces, seal bag, and shake to coat pieces with flour. Dump the entire bag into the hot pan and stir quickly to prevent pieces from sticking together. Saute until chicken is golden. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Turn off the heat under the oil, lest you start a grease fire. I am NOT speaking from ANY kind of firsthand experience here... ;) 
Edit: Lately, I've been skipping this step. After coating the chicken with flour, I just put it straight the crock pot, and it tastes exactly the same! Save time! Skip this step! :)

While chicken is draining, add wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 3.5-4 hours. When you have about 1/2 hour to go, add the mushrooms and the chopped green pepper. Cook until mushrooms and pepper are tender. Remove bay leaf and serve over pasta.
Serves 6-8.

I of course, made modifications!
-Obviously, used gluten free all purpose flour
-I didn't have a bay leaf so i substituted with an extra 1/4 teaspoon of thyme
-served over gluten free pasta
-used really cheap wine...I'm not sure if that is a modification, but I felt like it needed to be said..
-left out the green bell pepper at the end

My boyfriend said this is his new favorite food, so I'll count this one as a success!