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The Best Ever Lasagna with Ground Beef, Red Pepper, Fresh Spinach & Basil

Make This Tonight & Settle In for the Post-Holiday Blur
December 26, 2016
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > Everyday Dinner

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It’s time to get extra cozy in our post-Christmas coma (and hello, it’s freezing outside).  For us, that means fixing a dish of the best ever lasagna for dinner tonight.  Since nobody is really working today (right?!), it’s the perfect day to make this crowd-pleasing meal.  And as it’s cooking in the oven, settle in for some online shopping for all the things Santa missed!

Like any pasta, the best ever lasagna is even better the next day.  It soaks up all the layers of goodness and seasonings galore. My lasagna involves a little different of a filling than you may have grown up making: ground beef, onion, garlic, red pepper, fresh basil and fresh spinach.  And to compliment the filling, I whip together a thick, spicy (if that’s your thing) tomato sauce that just cannot be beat.  In this dish, I also used my DIY herb infused olive oil that I shared last week; it’s simply a difference you can taste!  

I’ve made this lasagna several times to find my groove with cook times and the layering process, plus experimenting with different types of cheese (ricotta and fresh mozzarella is my go-to).  And I usually get overwhelmed with cooking the lasagna noodles just right, so I like to make the ground beef filling in my dutch oven ahead of time, setting it aside until the lasagna dish is ready to be stacked and layered.  This way I don’t get frazzled or risk skipping a few steps!  Anyway, I’d love to know if lasagna is one of your favorite cozy dishes like it is mine?!  Enjoy!  Truly, MKR

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The Best Ever Lasagna
Serves 6
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Ingredients
  1. 1.5 lbs ground beef (you can use faux-beef too)
  2. 1 onion
  3. 4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  4. 1 large red bell pepper, diced
  5. A couple sprigs fresh basil
  6. 1 bag fresh spinach, finely chopped
  7. 1 small can tomato paste
  8. 1 can diced tomatoes
  9. 1 1/2-2 large can spaghetti marinera sauce (I like mine with a little spice). You want to choose a thicker sauce, not with a soupy consistency
  10. 10-12 lasagna noodles
  11. 15 oz. ricotta cheese
  12. 2 8-oz. tubs fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
  13. salt and pepper, to taste
  14. 1/2 tablespoon sugar
  15. cayenne, if preferred
  16. + olive oil (I use my herb infused olive oil for extra flavor)
For the filling
  1. In a large dutch oven, add olive oil, garlic and onions. Sautee until they turn translucent.
  2. Next, add your red pepper. Cook until soft (about 2 minutes).
  3. Add ground beef, canned tomatoes and tomato paste (this thickens the sauce), tomato sauce, fresh basil and about a tablespoon of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of fresh ground pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.
  4. If you want spice like I always do, add a sprinkle of cayenne.
  5. Add olive oil (I use my rosemary olive oil and basil olive oil for additional flavor).
  6. Stir it all together, letting it mix well.
  7. Bring sauce to a boil, and then simmer for 10-15 minutes to really bring out the flavor.
  8. During the last 5 minutes, add your spinach.
  9. Taste as you go; does it need more sauce, more beef, more salt, etc.?
For the lasagna
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Cook lasagna noodles per package directions.
  3. Spray your pan, apply a very thin layer of marinera sauce with a few spoonfulls (I reserve half of the jar to add throughout the layers because I feel like lasagna gets really dry).
  4. Lay down the cooked lasagna noodles. Mine actually laid perfectly vertical in my pan (depends on size and shape of pan).
  5. Add your ricotta cheese, spreading evenly with a spatula or your fingers.
  6. Add ground beef filling mixture.
  7. Repeat 1-2 times for additional layers per size of your dish.
  8. Cover dish with tin foil, and cook for 15 minutes.
  9. After 15 minutes, check the dish and remove tin foil. If edges are coming away from pan, then you'll know it's ready to cook the final step, uncovered.
  10. Remove tin foil, lay a final layer of mozzarella and cook until it completely melts (about 10 mins)
  11. Switch to broiler to brown the top of the dish and watch closely (you don't want the mozzarella to burn). It should take about 2 minutes on broil.
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Photography, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha

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Sautéed Shishito Peppers, Grilled Okra & Fresh Corn Salad

Simple Summer Sides for Clean Eating
July 14, 2016
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > Appetizers & Sides

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Grilled shishito peppers, grilled okra and corn salad, recipe by @waitingonmartha
Fresh summer corn side dish, Waiting On Martha

Summer tabletops that look like this make seasonal eating easy (emphasis on the EASY).  And for those of you following along on Snapchat (username Waiting On Martha), you’ll know I’m trying to eat cleaner and put the focus back on fresh, in season, local ingredients.  This focus on eating “clean” has in turn also highlighted my love of simple ingredients and flavors.  Case in point: grilled fresh vegetables from the garden seasoned simply with a little oil, salt and pepper.

First up: shishito peppers.  If you haven’t tried these, stop what you’re doing and go out and find some at your nearest Asian grocery market (if you’re in Atlanta you can find them at the Buford Farmers Market).  They’re a milder pepper, but be warned about 1 in 5 will be on the spicy side so be prepared for a little game of pepper roulette. You can of course grill them, though I usually throw them into a sautee pan or even a wok.  They are SO simple to make; simply drizzle organic olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper to taste.  You’ll cook them until they char and start to shrivel up about 5-7 minutes and then just eat ’em up.  

Second: grilled okra.  I’m a firm believer that okra is one of the south’s best fruits of the earth (click here for Southern Living’s 10 best okra recipes to see for yourself).   I’ve eaten them all sorts of ways, but I really might prefer simple and grilled above all else!  All you need to do is halve them and put them on skewer sticks, drizzle with organic olive oil, salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne. Grill for about 10 minutes (or until charred) and pop the entire thing in your mouth!  I’ve found that grilling them as such will also take the slime out of them entirely.

Lastly, my corn salad is quite possibly the biggest crowd pleaser of them all.  It can be served cold, warm, room temperature…your call.  I’ve enjoyed it as a salsa, as a salad and straight out of the sautee pan too.  All you’ll do: dump the fresh corn kernels (stripped easily from the cob with one of these) or frozen corn if you must to a sautee pan with (plenty of) un slated butter and salt.  When in doubt, add more butter.  To serve, simply add chopped green onions, fresh cilantro and give it a quick stir…you don’t want any of these ingredients to get mushy so definitely save them until garnish at the end.  It is seriously so easy, so fresh and SO tasty.  Enjoy!  Truly, MKR

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Sauteed Shishito Peppers, Grilled Okra & Fresh Corn Salad
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For the Sauteed Shishito Peppers
  1. Shishito Peppers
  2. olive oil
  3. salt and pepper to taste
For the Grilled Okra
  1. Okra, halved
  2. olive oil
  3. salt and pepper to taste
  4. cayenne to taste
For the Fresh Corn Salad
  1. 2-3 ears of fresh corn, peeled or 1 can of canned corn
  2. butter to taste
  3. salt to taste
  4. Green onion, chopped, to garnish
  5. Fresh cilantro, chopped to garnish
  6. Lime, cut into wedges, to garnish
For the Shishito Peppers
  1. Drizzle olive oil and and a dash of salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Sautee, grill or cook in wok until peppers char and start to shrivel up.
For the Grilled Okra
  1. Halve the okra and put them on skewer sticks.
  2. Drizzle sticks with olive oil, salt and pepper and a dash of cayenne (to taste).
  3. Grill for 10 minutes (or until charred).
  4. Serve and enjoy whole.
For the Corn Salad
  1. Dump the corn kernels into a sautee pan with a generous amount of butter and salt.
  2. Add more butter and salt to taste.
  3. Chopped green onions, fresh cilantro and fresh lime wedges.
  4. Serve garnishes atop corn salad - cold, warm or at room temperature.
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Mushroom Caramelized Onion Flatbread Inspired by Seasons 52

April 23, 2014
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > 30 Minute Meals

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mushroom flatbreadmushroom flatbreadmushroom flatbreadmushroom flatbreadmushroom flatbreadmushroom flatbreadmushroom flatbread

A month or so ago I was invited by The Mushroom Council to enjoy an evening at Seasons 52 and try their mushroom centric dishes.  Being a lover of mushrooms and Seasons 52 I was game.  Seasons 52 is a restaurant the Mr. and I frequent quite often for their great wine list and fresh seasonal menu.  Plus they have a piano player, and a piano player makes every meal more enjoyable.   On this particular dining occasion I fell head over heels in love with their Black & Blue Mushroom flatbread (sans steak for me).  I loved it so much I scribbled down what I thought to be the ingredients and headed home determined to make my own version.  

My version is made on the Big Green Egg, piled high with cremeni mushrooms and topped off with fresh arugula.  I think almost any pizza or flatbread tastes better with fresh arugula.  Anyway, it was perfection on a plate so I had to share the recipe with all of you.  Plus I mastered the art of caramelizing onions so it was truly a win win.  So thank you Seasons 52 for the inspiration and Happy Hump Day Loves!  truly, MKR

This post was sponsored by The Mushroom Council, but all opinions and this recipe are my own.  ||  Images original to Waiting On Martha

Plates, One Kings Lane  ||  Cheese Board, Williams Sonoma  ||  Napkins, Sur la Table  ||  Dipping Dishes, Waiting On Martha

Mushroom, Caramelized Onion & Blue Cheese Flatbreads
Yields 6
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Total Time
1 hr 20 min
Total Time
1 hr 20 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 cups sliced cremeni mushrooms
  2. 2 cups crumbled blue cheese
  3. 4 Large white onions
  4. 2-3 cups arugula
  5. 2 large cloves garlic
  6. 1/2-3/4 cup olive oil
  7. Fresh pizza dough **If you have a Whole Foods or Trader Joes you can buy their fresh made dough right in house*
  8. 1/4 cup flour
  9. 1 tablespoon sugar
  10. 1 teaspoon salt
  11. Water
Instructions
  1. Caramelizing Onions
  2. Slice 4 large white onions to desired thickness
  3. Using a wide bottomed skillet add enough olive oil where it coats the entire pan and cook on medium/high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer add onions and stir to fully coat all the onions with oil. Cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
  4. Add salt and sugar, bring the heat down to medium/low. Cook an additional 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until your onions are completely caramelized. If your onions begin to dry out during this process add more olive oil or a little water.
  5. Set aside.
  6. Preheat your grill to 400 degrees, or oven to 400 degrees
  7. On a flat floured surface roll out the pizza dough making 6 small flat breads, about a 1/4 inch thick.
  8. Brush east side of the dough with olive oil and grill flatbreads on a pizza stone until just barley cooked, pull off and let cool 5 minutes.
  9. Once cooled rub half a garlic clove over each side of the flatbread and brush with olive oil.
  10. Add mushrooms, caramelized onions, and blue cheese.
  11. Grill each flatbread until cheese is melted, top with fresh arugula and enjoy!
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