Lasagna Bake

I love lasagna! It was one of my most requested foods. My Mom made it growing up, and the smell takes me back to my childhood. My Mom let us request what we wanted her to make for dinner. I usually requested lasagna and holiday ham . . . just not at the same time.

Some people are intimidated by making lasagna. There are many layers and some people have issues with cooking the lasagna noodles. My Mom's recipe has never given me any problems, but I wanted to make this a quick, easy lasagna. So, here's my ravioli lasagna bake.

Ravioli Lasagna Bake

1 Tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces mushrooms, washed and sliced

1/4 cup yellow onion, diced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic

8 ounces lean ground meat (I use 90/10% or 93/7%)

1 jar marinara (or you can make your own)

1 Tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cups 2% mozzarella

1 package cheese ravioli

1 Tablespoon parsley, minced

1 Tablespoon basil, chiffonade

Add olive oil and onions to a large pot. Add onions, and sauté until translucent. Add mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms until soft. Add salt, garlic, and pepper. Sauté 1 minute. Add marinara sauce, red pepper flakes, and sugar. If you don't like spice, you may omit the red pepper flakes. Let sauce simmer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300*F.

In a separate pot, simmer water and add pasta. Cook pasta 20% less than the directions advise. For example if your pasta directions say to cook for 10 minutes, only cook for 8 minutes. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven.

In an oven-safe 9x10 pan, put 1/2 cup marinara in the bottom of the pan. Layer 1/2 the pasta in the pan. Add 4 ounces or 1/2 of the browned ground beef. Add 1/2 the cheese (1 cup). Repeat layers. Layer half the marinara (~1 cup). Add the rest of the pasta. Add the remaining ground beef. Add remaining of marinara. Add the remainder of the cheese (1/2 cup).

Cook for 20-25 minutes until the lasagna is warm and bubbling. When the lasagna is baked, top with parsley and basil. Let the lasagna cool and set for at least 20 minutes. Enjoy! 

This recipe freezes well. So you can make a double batch. You can eat one now and save one for later. Or, share one with a friend!

I've had a lot of people ask me for more entrée recipes, so here's one! I've also had friends and followers ask for what to pair with an entrée to make a meal. If you have the lasagna bake for your entrée, I would pair this with steamed broccoli, roasted broccoli, green beans, roasted Brussels sprouts, steam carrots, or a salad. I also enjoy having garlic bread or garlic Texas toast with lasagna.

Let me know if you would like to see more recipe posts. What do you pair with your lasagna? Feel free to tag me on social media, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter, if you make any of my recipes. I'd love to see what you make!

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy:

RD's Top 5 Tips for Healthy Eating

3 Hummus Recipes

Chicken Marsala

State of My Goals Address: July Edition

As promised, I am sharing updates on my goals and 2016 resolutions in the state of my goals address. You can take a look at my 2016 goals and my thoughts on goals and resolutions. Sharing these goals is a way to keep me accountable and help me to improve, grow, and learn. People who share their goals tend to be more successful. So, I'm sharing the goals here to encourage you and to keep me accountable. You're welcome to comment with your goals and share your progress as well. Feel free to tag your goals with #RDTODgoals or #healthyRD on social media.

2016 Goals

Try 30 new recipes. 

In July, I tried a few new recipes including:

• Sprinkle Cake with browned butter 
• It was fun to practice some of the leveling and icing skills that I learned at my first cake decorating class. The sprinkle cake was more crumbly than the cake we used in class, but it was delicious!

• Sugar cookies

• Scallops with a lemon orange gastric 

• Royal Icing

• Cake balls 
• This was my first attempt at cake balls. They are a bit messy; I learned a lot. They are far from perfect, but they were delicious!

For those keeping track, this makes my new recipe count 26 out of 30.

Build endurance and strength.
I'm still loving my weight lifting class. I also restarted Zumba. I danced in high school and love to dance. I found an instructor that I like taking class from, so yay for cardio!

image from amazon.com

Read more.
I read Playing with Fire by Bianca Olthoff. You can read my review of Playing with Fire from my July favorites. The book is available for pre-order. Please note that I was able to get an early copy of the book, since I was a part of the book launch team.

For those keeping track, my book count is 5 in 2016.

Learn something new.
I took a break from cooking classes this month. Instead, I took a cookie decorating class. My first attempt at icing cookies with royal icing did not go smoothly. So, I was excited to learn some tips and tricks for cookie decorating and working with royal icing. Stay tuned for my class review.

I practiced making pasta with my pasta KitchenAid attachment. My husband surprised me with the pasta roller as a half birthday present; so nice! I've practiced making pasta with friends. It's so nice to have friends help you make pasta. It's great to have two or more pairs of hands. And, it's nice to have people to visit when you make tortellini because it takes time to make homemade pasta.

Travel.

There was no big travel this month. But, we have some travel plans later this year. So, stay tuned!

These are my broad goals for 2016. What goals are you working on in 2016?
Comment below. I would love to hear your goals and progress.

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you liked this post, you might enjoy:

July Favorites

Let's Celebrate July

Thyme Blueberry Crisp

Goals: June

Reader Favorites: June

Thank you for all of the love this month! June is one of my favorite months; it's officially Summer! If you missed any of the posts this month, here are the top posts you visited in the month of June. Enjoy!

Becoming a Registered Dietitian: Undergraduate Degree

Becoming a Registered Dietitian: RD Exam

Homemade Granola Recipe


Cooking Class: Pasta

RDtipoftheday's Favorites: June Edition

Recipe for Fresh Summer Salad with Almonds

Let me know if there are any nutrition-related topics you would like me to cover. You can comment below or tag me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you liked this post, you may enjoy:

May Reader Favorites

April Reader Favorites

March Reader Favorites

Cooking Class: Pasta

I went to my first cooking class! I went to a homemade pasta class at Sur la Table, which might be my new favorite kitchen store. 

I was nervous, like first day of school nervous. Silly, right? But, it's true. Y'all, this class was so fun! The chef was knowledgeable and managed the class well. Chef D was a funny, entertaining teacher. 

I was selected to help demonstrate making the pasta dough, which was fun. It was a simple process, and here's the recipe for fresh pasta dough. My favorite part of the class was learning a new skill, making pasta! 

The class was 2 hours. It was very well organized. They gave us a printed packet with all three recipes we made: fresh pasta, Spring Paparadelle, and Ravioli al Uvo. We reviewed kitchen safety and hand washing. They also provided an apron to use during class. This was super helpful for the pasta class; it prevented the flour from getting everywhere. 

They provided light snacks, coffee, and water. I appreciate the light refreshments because it made the class feel more homey and hospitable. 

The class was very well organized. The recipe ingredients were on sheet pans ready for the students to complete the mis en place. The chef had two helpers who cleaned after each recipe was completed. That means no dish washing, which was another one of my favorite parts of the class. You were free and actually encouraged to make a mess in someone else's kitchen, dirty dishes and equipment, and the staff took care of all the cleaning. It was great!

During the class, we worked in teams of four. I was concerned that the class wouldn't be enough of a hands-on experience for me to learn pasta-making skills, but I was pleasantly surprised. The class was structured well, and everyone got hands-on experience with each dish. Students had the opportunity to work on each step of making the pasta. 

image via Surlatable.com

I also learned new cooking skills on different pieces of kitchen equipment. We used the hand crank pasta machine and the Kitchen Aide pasta attachment. It was important to have at least two people to roll out the pasta with the hand cracked machine. It was much easier to use the Kitchen Aide pasta attachment with one person. It was cool to get to work with these products before deciding to purchase them. I think that trying out different kitchen tools was another great experience of this class.

image via Surlatable.com

Pappardelle with Caramelized Onion, Sweet Peas, and Prosciutto


The first pasta dish we made was a Spring Pappardelle dish. This pasta looks like a wide fettuccine. This dough was had cut with a chef's knife. It was really simple to make. I can see myself preparing this recipe at home. It was simple to make, only required the pasta rolling tool, and it was super tasty! 

The pasta was paired with Spring peas, pancetta, caramelized onions, and tons of fresh herbs. It had an egg-base sauce similar to a carbonara. Delicious! The pasta was al dente and fresh. The pancetta provided a great salty bite. The onions were caramelized and slightly sweet. The sauce was rich but not heavy or overpowering. The peas and herbs were fresh, bright, and Springy. It was a well-balanced, satisfying dish. 

Raviolo al Uvo

The second pasta dish we made was a Ravioli al Uvo. This dish was a little more technical.  It was extremely rewarding and satisfying to make ravioli successfully. 

We made fresh pasta and rolled out the dough. We made the filling with ricotta cheese,  nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice, and fresh herbs. We separated eggs and used the yolk for the filling. 

We brushed the pasta with an egg wash. Covered the filling with another piece of pasta. Then, cut the pasta into round ravioli. 

We boiled the pasta. And none of them burst!

I was the saucier for this dish. I made my first brown butter sauce, which was fun and tasty. Browning the butter reminded me of making a dark roux. It tastes time, patience, and pretty constant stirring. At one point, you might think you're burning the butter instead of browning the butter. It was a delicious sauce that I plan to make again.

This dish was creamy thanks to the brown butter sauce, ricotta cheese, and egg yolk. The rich, creaminess was balanced by the freshness of the lemon, mint, basil, and parsley in the filling. I thought this dish looked impressive and would be fun for entertaining. 

Another one of my favorite parts of the class was that we were able to taste each dish we made. By taste, I mean we all had a meal-size portion of the pasta dishes we made. 

I highly recommend taking a cooking class if you want to learn a new skill or try a new recipe. My favorite aspects of this cooking class were:

1) Hands-on experience learning a new skill.

2) Trying kitchen tools before buying them.

3) Recipe preparation and clean up completed by the staff. No dishes! 

4) Tasting and trying new recipes.

There are several businesses that offer cooking classes in my area. Check out the classes in your area! I have two more cooking classes scheduled this Summer. So, stay tuned for my review of those courses.

I hope you enjoyed this look into my life and cooking journey. I hope this series encourages you to try something new - try a new recipe, a new class, try something that interests you.  I would love to see how you are challenging yourself and what you are trying new. Feel free to use these hashtags for your with #NewRD, #RDTODGoals, #HealthyRD and use #easyentertaining for your hosting and entertaining pictures. You can also tag me @RDtipoftheday, so I can see what you do and maybe even feature you on the blog or social media. It is so important to continue to grow and learn. #NeverStopLearning

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you liked this post, you may enjoy:

Chicken Marsala

Homemade Granola

Shrimp Poboy

State of My Goals Address: May Edition

As promised, I am sharing updates on my goals and 2016 resolutions in the state of my goals address. You can take a look at my 2016 goals and my thoughts on goals and resolutions. Sharing these goals is a way to keep me accountable and help me to improve, grow, and learn. People who share their goals tend to be more successful. So, I'm sharing the goals here to encourage you and to keep me accountable. You're welcome to comment with your goals and share your progress as well. Feel free to tag your goals with #RDTODgoals or #healthyRD on social media.

2016 Goals

Try 30 new recipes.

In May, I tried a few new recipes including:

• Red and white manicotti

I took a pasta-making class, which was so fun! We learned to make homemade pasta. I'll be posting an entire blog post with my review of the class and tons of pictures.

• Spring Pappardelle pasta

• Ravioli con Uvo

I just realized that all of these pictures were pasta. I guess May was pasta month for me! For those keeping track, this makes my new recipe count 23 out of 30.

Build endurance and strength.
I'm continue to attend my favorite strength-training class. The fitness instructor does a variety of light weight, high rep circuit, and body weight exercises. She gives a great variety to all the classes.

I'm also loving the elliptical and stationary bike. It's hot here in Texas! So, I'm so thankful to have a climate controlled place to workout. I'm laughing to myself about how funny this is - a climate controlled place to sweat. Hahaha!

Let me know if you have favorite workout songs. You can leave recommendations in the comments below. I'd love to hear what you listen to and what motivate you. Comment below.

image from amazon.com

Read more.

In my free time, I've started reading more. I finished reading Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist this month. It is a book about taking the good with the bad. No life is perfect; we all have struggles. I like her perspective of  life being bitter sweet "The most bittersweet season of my life so far is still life, still beautiful, still sparkling with celebration. There is no one or the other, as desperately as I want that to be true. This season wasn't bittersweet. Life itself is bittersweet. There's always life and death, always beauty and blood." Shauna Niequist from Bittersweet page 248. Some parts were devastatingly sad and Shauna walks you though her life. But, it wasn't an entirely sad book. The author's writing style is beautiful. She paints pictures with her words. You feel like you are right beside her. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

For those keeping track, my book count is 4 in 2016.


Learn something new.
I took a cooking class as mentioned in goal #1. Cooking classes are a great way to learn a new skill. I foresee more classes in my future!

These are my broad goals for 2016. What goals are you working on in 2016?
Comment below.

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you liked this post, you might enjoy:

Fresh Summer Salad Recipe

Let's Celebrate May!

10 Simple Satisfying Salads

RDtipoftheday May Favorites



Goals: April