An original recipe! Hooray! Ok, it may not be famous, but it’s mine and it is consistently delicious. This came about because every single time I went to make a sauce, I would scan about 6 different recipes and just improvise. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it was just MEH. The last time I had an awesome batch, I decided to write it down. So here you go:

Leah’s Famous Meat Sauce

-       1 sweet onion

-       couple cloves of garlic, chopped

-       1 carrot, shredded

-       olive oil

-       1 package of ground beef

-       2 cans san marzano whole peeled tomatoes (the BEST tomatoes out there)

-       1 can tomato paste

-       a dollop of red wine

-       salt

-       pepper

-       dried oregano

-       dried basil

-       bay leaf

-       thyme (I throw in a couple of fresh sprigs)

-       some chopped fresh basil

-       a dollop of marinated hot peppers (or however you like to add some heat)

-       some grated parm

Directions:

1.     sauté onions in olive oil on low heat until soft

2.     add garlic and carrots and season with salt and pep

3.     when mixture is soft and delicious, add beef

4.     when beef is brown, add 2 cans of tomatoes, tomato paste and all of the seasoning

5.     add more salt for good measure

6.     add wine and a bit of cheese

7.     let is cook for a couple of hours

Lasagna Cupcakes

• One cup of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1 lb hamburger meat
• 18 wonton wrappers
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese , grated
• 3 ounces parmesan cheese , grated
• 4 ounces ricotta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray 6 serving muffin tin with Pam
2. Cook hamburger meat, season to taste, drain.
3. Reserve 8 tablespoons of Parmesan and 8 tablespoons of mozzarella—this will be the topping. The remaining cheese will be used in the lasagnas (note you can vary the amount of cheese to taste keeping in mind that the parmesan is salty, the mozzarella is sweet as well as salty and helps to hold the lasagnas together, and the ricotta is sweet and creamy).
4. Start assembling the lasagnas. Line each cupcake mold with a round wonton wrapper. Put a little Parmesan, a little mozzarella, and a little ricotta into each mold. Top with a little meat and a spoonful of sauce. Repeat layers of wonton wrappers, cheeses, meat and sauce, creating 3 layers in all, and ending with sauce. Sprinkle each lasagna with reserved Parmesan and mozzarella.
5. Bake until the lasagnas are nicely browned, about 20 minutes.
6. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and remove from pan.

Cherry Tomato Bites 

cherry tomatoes - as many as you like

olive oil

salt, pepper

fresh mozerella, cubed into small pieces

basil, sliced

1 Cut a small slice off the end of each cherry tomato. This is so that the tomatoes will sit level when standing upright. (Make sure not to cut too big of a slice or else the cup wont have a bottom.)
2 Make another slice  on the opposite side of the tomato and scoop out the pulp inside using a mellon baller or small spoon. Be careful not to puncture the skin on the bottom. Don’t worry about what it looks like because it will be stuffed.3 Arrange tomatoes on aluminum foil, all standing upright and hollow. Sprinkle all the cups with kosher salt and pepper.
4 Place cubed mozerella in each cup.You can experiment with the size of the mozerella but I prefer the tomatoes to be really stuffed!5 Drizzle olive oil over all the stuffed cups.
6 Garnish each tomato bite with a basil slice 7 Transfer the bites onto a serving platter and chill until ready to serve.
courtesy of: http://thezoeblog.blogspot.com

love pesto. this recipe is from 101cookbooks.com. here’s what you need:

• 1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried

• 3 medium cloves of garlic

• one small handful of raw pine nuts

• roughly 3/4 cup parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED

• a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

click pic for more deets

smoked mozzarella!

so i needed some cheese. when i went to the store, this caught my eye…after all, when is smoked not better?? first i used it to make chicken parmigiana and then i used some to make pizza. it melts almost as well as fresh mozzarella, but adds a rich, complex flavour. i dig it.