Mexican Lasagna

It's been too long!! I'm so sorry, I have been traveling and just really busy with everything that's happening. I bring this apology with an awesome recipe!!! You will forgive me after you make this Mexican Lasagna, it's so good!! I made it for some company we had the other night. I always tend to make casseroles when we have company, it's just so much easier and there's always enough food for everyone.

This Mexican Lasagna comes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I love her recipes and if she likes a recipe, I know I will too!! The sauce comes together really quickly and it's made with pretty much everything you have in your pantry and fridge already. The added sour cream and cream cheese adds a bit of indulgence to this lasagna. I didn't use as much cheese as the original recipe, and I didn't think the lasagna suffered. This makes a hefty lasagna so be sure to invite some friends over!! Enjoy!!

Mexican Lasagna
adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
dash of ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, white or yellow
9-12 no-boil lasagna noodles (or cooked regular lasagna noodles)
2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (see note)
1 cup sour cream, light or regular
8 ounces cream cheese, light or regular

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan and set aside.

2. In a large 12-inch skillet, brown the ground beef or turkey and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the grease. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste. Stir to combine well and cook for about a minute. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, cayenne, oregano and salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Add the black beans, and corn. Mix well and heat through, about 5 minutes.

3. Remove the skillet from the heat. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer three (or four, depending on the brand of noodles you use) noodles over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles. Dollop 1/3 of the sour cream and 1/3 of the cream cheese (just pinch off chunks and toss them on top) across the sauce. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheeses. Repeat the layers two more times until all the ingredients are used.

4. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes more, until the lasagna is hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into and serving.

Notes:

• * Original recipe uses one six ounce can of olives.  I don't like olives, so I left it out.  
• * Original recipe uses 2 cups of mozzarella and 1 cup of cheddar cheese.  I only used 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese. 

Kaddo Bowrani (Afghani Pumpkin)

My first time to San Francisco, I went to this restaurant called Helmand. It was my first time eating Afghani food and it was very exciting. I remembered having this pumpkin dish that was so good. The textures and flavors were so beautiful and wonderful that it still brings back memories.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a recipe for this wonderful pumpkin at Chowhound.I knew I had to try it!! I made this last night for dinner and it came out pretty well. The creaminess and slight tartness of the yogurt marries beautifully with the sweet pumpkin and spicy beef. Here's the recipe with some changes from me.

Kaddo Bowrani (Afghani Pumpkin)
adapted from Chowhound

One 2 to 2.5 pound sugar pumpkin
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup plain yogurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt & pepper to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp of garam masala
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin

1. Set the oven at 350.

2. Cut the pumpkin into quarters. Remove seeds and strings, peel the skin with a vegetable peeler, and cut down into about 2-inch chunks.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet or dutch oven. Brown the pumpkin pieces, turning frequently, until golden brown (about 5 minutes.) [Brown the pumpkin pretty aggressively in this step, while taking care not to scorch it.]

4. Transfer pumpkin to a roasting pan. [If using a dutch oven, leave pumpkin in the dutch oven] Mix sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over pumpkin. Cover with foil if using a roasting pan or cover with the lid of your dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender. (see note)

5. While the pumpkin is baking, make the yogurt sauce and the meat sauce.

6. Yogurt sauce: mix together yogurt with one clove of crushed garlic in a bowl; season to taste with salt & pepper.

7. Meat sauce: in a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and cook the onions until lightly browned. Add ground beef, the second clove of crushed garlic, and salt & pepper. Mix well and cook until beef is browned. Add tomato sauce and water, mix thoroughly and bring to a simmer, lower heat, and cook about 20 minutes until it cooks down to a thick sauce. Add garam masala, coriander, and cumin to taste. (see note)

8. To serve: spoon yogurt sauce onto dinner plates, add a portion of the cooked pumpkin, and top with meat sauce.

Notes:

• *Don't cut down on the sugar, it seems like a lot, but it's necessary. Make sure the pumpkin is cooked until very tender and soft.
• *The original recipe doesn't call for the garam masala, coriander and cumin, I added it for additional flavor.

Hamburger kebab pita sandwiches

I confess that I'm not a big fan of beef. Don't give me a good piece of steak, because it will be completely wasted on me. I'm the kind of girl that will go to Ruth Chris and order chicken (gasp!!)...I just don't like the taste of beef.

The only way I will eat beef is when it doesn't taste like beef. That is why this hamburger kebab is right down my alley! I've made a similar recipe before from Cook's Illustrated, but that was way too beefy. This one has more spices, making it incredibly delicious!! Here's the recipe.

Hamburger kebab pita sandwiches
adapted from Quick and Easy Indian cooking

1 1/2 lb finely ground beef or lamb
6 to 7 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 fresh, hot green chilies, cut into fine rounds and chopped
1/4 of a onion, finely chopped (see note)
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 lightly beaten egg (see note)
3 to 4 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Put the ground beef into a medium sized bowl. Add all other ingredients except the oil and mix well. Form ten 2 inch balls. Flatten the balls to make ten 3 1/2 inch hamburgerlike patties.

2. Just before eating, put 2 tbsp of the oil into a large nonstick frying pan and set over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, put as many kebabs as the pan will hold in a single layer. Turning them over every 20 seconds or so, cook the kebabs for about 2 1/2 minutes or until they have browned on both sides. Remove to a warm plate. Using the remaining oil to cook a second batch the same way.

3. Serve on pita bread with tomatoes and yogurt sauce (recipe to follow).

Yogurt sauce

1 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
small bunch of cilantro, chopped fine
small bunch of mint leaves, chopped fine
salt

1. Combine all ingredients.

Notes:

• *The original recipe calls for 1 tbsp of chickpea flour. You are to heat the chickpea flour in a small cast iron frying pan and stir around over medium heat until the flour has turned a light brown color. I didn't know where to find chickpea flour, so I omitted it.
  
• *The original recipe did not include onions, I just added it because I needed to get rid of some left over onions. It was a nice addition.
• *The original recipe calls for 1/2 of an egg. I used a whole egg because my meat needed more "glue".
  

Black Peppered beef

Here's what was for dinner tonight...my contribution at least. I was kinda nervous making this dish because so many people were at our house for dinner tonight. Normally, I'm more of a dessert person than a main course person. But actually, this came out pretty well. I will try it with chicken next time. This is the recipe.

Black peppered beef
adapted from the recipe from Angie’s kitchen

Ingredients

200 g steak 100 g Onion, shredded 2 cloves Garlic, minced 40 ml Stock oil Marinade: ½ tbsp Light soy sauce 1 tbsp wine ¼ tsp Baking soda ½ tbsp Cornstarch ½ pc Egg white Pepper Sauce: 1 tsp Black pepper powder 1 tbsp Oyster sauce ¼ tsp Sugar ½ tbsp Light soy sauce

1. Cut the beef into small strips or slices. Mix in the marinade and let stand for at least 30 minutes. Mix the pepper sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. 2. Heat up a skillet with some oil. Add in marinated beef and cook until almost cooked. Remove the beef. Then cook the onions and garlic with some oil until soft. Remove the onions and garlic. 3. Pour in the prepared sauce and the stock. Bring to a boil. Return the beef and onion to the skillet. Stir for about 1 minute until cooked.