Baked Lasagna Pie

I wanted to make lasagna with wheat lasagna noodles but I was unable to find them. So I used Whole Wheat Egg Noodles instead and baked it into a pie form.

1 pound of ground beef
half an onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
dash of black pepper
spaghetti sauce
1 container of cottage cheese (16oz)
1 container of ricotta cheese (16oz)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 package of mozzerella cheese
1 package of whole wheat wide egg noodles

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef with onions, garlic, and black pepper, drain the fat.
2) Pour in spaghetti sauce to your liking (if you like it dryer or saucier)
3) In a separate bowl, combine the cottage, ricotta, and parmesan cheeeses with eggs.
4) In a greased round baking dish, thinly layer the meat sauce, then a layer of dry noodles, then the cheese/egg mixture, then mozzerella cheese, then meat sauce.
5) Continue the layer ending with the meat sauce.
6) sprinkle the last of mozzerella cheese covering the meat, cover pan with foil.
7) Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, uncover and bake for another 15 minutes.
8) Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

I didn't have any mozzerella cheese, so I replaced it with mexican blend, but it still turned out delicious! You can also add carrot and/or sweet potatoe puree into the meat sauce for some extra veggies! I have also mashed up some falafel chickpea balls from Veggie Patch into the meat sauce to add more nutrients in my pie. It was still delicious!!!

If you want to try the falafel chickpea balls and other products from Veggie patch, I am giving them out on my giveaway here!

Since today is Wednesday, I will be posting my lasagna lunch on "What's for Lunch Wednesday"















I have 3 2-cup Fit N Fresh containers worth of food! Fruit container has tangerine slices with grapes and slices of an apple. Lasagna container has a broccoli, with stir fry carrots, mushrooms, and asparagus. The top container has 2 slices of garlic bread (I know, and some bacon wrapped asparagus! They're all stacked up and ready for a lunch feast!!!

Five-Spiced Pork Chops

Lil P loves the pork chops served at Vietnamnese restaurants. Recently I picked up some five spice powder so I made some for Lil P to test and he approved!

3 pieces of pork chops
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs honey
1 tbs shoyu
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 slices of onion, diced
1/2 tsp black pepper

1) Place all ingredients in a ziplog bag along with the pork chops and let marinade for at least 30 minutes (the longer the better).
2) Drizzle oil on a large pan over medium heat and pan fry pork chops until center is no longer pink, about 3-4 minutes each side. (if your pork chops are thicker, you will need to cook it longer. But it's best to use thinner pork chops.)
3) Remove from heat and cut them up to serve.

It was juicy and delicious! I'll definitely make this again!

Here is another bento that I haven't had a chance to post.

Top tier contains soybeans, a small tangerine, and pineapples. Bottom tier contains Meatless Meatballs from Veggie Patch and spaghetti. Don't forget about the GIVEAWAY in support for the Japan Relief Efforts! It ends April 30th! You can try their Veggie Patch products yourself for FREE with the coupons! So far, I like the Meatless Meatballs and the Broccoli Bites, Lil P likes them too!

Mini Cheese Burger Manapua (bun)

I like to buy bulk or family size ground beef and divide them up into 1 pound portions, put into ziplog bags, flatten them and put them in the freezer (save freezer space and it actually defrost quicker) as I have mentioned here. When it's time to make spaghetti, I would pull one of the bags out the night before and let it defrost in the fridge. After cooking the ground beef with diced garlic, onions, and black pepper, I would use only half of the cooked ground beef for the spaghetti sauce and save the other half for another dish for another day. This time, the other dish was mini cheeseburger Manapua (buns) for a quick grab and go meal for lil P.

The Ultimate Sneak-Away Contest

I have been a big fan of Missy Lapine and her book "The Sneaky Chef" as I have previously mentioned here. I have gotten a copy of this book several years ago and it changed the way I served my veggies at home since. She has since published 3 more books. Who knew veggies can be mixed into normal everyday food? I have raved about this book since the day I got it and I still talk about it today. I have since venture to try hiding veggies in local dishes and I am loving it!