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Decadent Shrimp Lasagna
I tripped across this yesterday... it's one of those delicious things I couldn't pass up trying. Hopefully someone will test it out and tell me I am not crazy, and it really is good!
You will need:
1 lb small precooked shrimp, minus tails and veins, cut in half 2 alfredo sauce jars (or about 4 cups homemade alfredo sauce) 1 and 1/2 cups cottage cheese 2 eggs 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 1 8oz block of softened cream cheese (low fat works fine) 16 oz oven ready lasagna noodles 1 can diced tomato or 1 fresh diced tomato 2/3 cup diced bell pepper - red or yellow for awesome flavor 1/3 cup chopped spinach leaf 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend 1 tsp minced garlic
1. Set oven at *350.
2. Mix parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, minced garlic and diced tomato together. (Make sure there aren't any clumps of parmesan cheese.) Set aside.
3. Mix shrimp, half the bell peppers, cream cheese, and 1/2 jar (or 1 cup) of alfredo sauce together. Set aside.
4. Now mix 1/2 jar (1 cup) of the alfredo sauce with the rest of the bell peppers; blend in the spinach leaves and Italian seasoning. You guessed it, set aside.
5. Pour about 1/2 jar (or 1 cup) alfredo sauce into baking pan, spread evenly. Place lasagna noodles with sides touching atop sauce. Spread about half the parmesan mix next. Place noodles, then the entire bowl of the shrimp mixture (evenly spread), and more noodles. Pour the last of the alfredo sauce atop that layer along with the rest of the parmesan mixture. Place noodles, and top with the spinach-y sauce. (If the sauce looks a little thin on top, don't be alarmed- the noodles shouldn't get dry with a nice tight seal of aluminum foil.)
6. Bake for an hour, then allow to cool for ten minutes before removing the aluminum foil to serve. Enjoy!
Suggestions from the originator: Adding a light coat of olive oil to the pan can help keep the noodles from adhering to the bottom... to save time, use a blender to chop the shrimp and the bell peppers... if you can find it, ricotta cheese is a superior replacement for cottage cheese... put a rectangular cookie pan on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any potential drips, because it will probably overflow a bit... DON'T poke steam holes in the aluminum foil! =D
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Disaster Relief Chocolate Cake
This is the most incredible home-made chocolate cake I have ever tasted. The only thing that could possibly make this better is catching it while it's still slightly juicy in the middle (timing is somewhat off on the recipe). I wanted to share this guilty pleasure with anyone and everyone.
PS: Hope you have better luck resisting deep dark velvety chocolate than I did! *pats stomach*
Oven temp @ 350* Grease cake pan with butter or Crisco, then coat very lightly with flour. Tap excess flour out of the pan. Sift these DRY ingredients into a large mixing bowl with a fork:
2 cups All purpose flour 3/4 cup Cocoa powder (unsweetened) 1 tsp Salt 1 & 1/2 tsp Baking powder 1 & 1/2 tsp Baking soda 2 cups Granulated sugar
In another large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the following WET ingredients:
1/2 cup Vegetable oil or melted butter 2 tsp Vanilla extract 3 Medium eggs, or 2 Large + 2 tsp mayonnaise 1 cup Milk 1 cup Black brewed coffee
Add the DRY mix into the WET stuff about 1/3 of the bowl at a time to avoid excessive clumping. Stir together until completely moistened, tiny lumps are ok. Pour into prepared pan. Now, if you want, is the time to sprinkle a few chocolate chips across the top; make sure they sink so they don't burn.
Bake time is approximate, check at 30-35 minutes. (Stick a toothpick or butter knife in the middle; if it's totally done, they'll come out clean.) You may need to let the cake go back in for an extra few minutes.
Let it cool completely if you decide to put icing on it, but frankly, this cake is so delicious it needs no further embellishment!
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