Recipe - Lasagna Fried In Olive Oil

Growing up as a child in a low to middle income Italian household, pasta was a staple part of the diet. We had it two times a week with homemade sauce as my mother would have jumped off a building before opening a jar of Ragu! I don't know if any of you remember the Ragu spaghetti sauce commercials from those days, but they had an obviously stereotyped Italian guy taking a taste of pasta with Ragu on it and loudly proclaiming "That's Italian!". My mom said he was a traitor to all Italians because the sauce tasted nothing like her homemade version!

Speaking of 'The Sauce', my mom would make the sauce early Sunday morning, we'd have pasta promptly at 1 PM and the remaining sauce would go in the fridge until Thursday evening. More pasta would be made and the sauce remaining from Sunday heated up. There was always salad with oil and vinegar dressing, and Italian bread and butter as accompaniments.

The sauce was always flavored with some kind of meat, anything from sausage, pepperoni, pork, beef, meatballs, whatever, and each type of meat or combination of meats gave each batch of sauce a unique flavor.

Sometimes we had pasta three or four times in a week as leftovers if too much pasta was made Sunday or Thursday. That leftover pasta, which was put away coated with whatever leftover sauce there was, was then placed into a frying pan with hot olive oil and some spices and fried. As soon as it was taken out of the pan it was served with freshly grated cheese on top of it. Delicious! If you have never tried fried pasta like this, you really should.

So, today I wondered if leftover lasagna could be treated this way, and the answer is a resounding Yes. YES!! For those of you who do not make their own lasagna, I see no reason that you couldn't do this with some store bought frozen lasagna which would certainly improve its taste tenfold at least, in my humble opinion.

Ingredients:
Leftover or heated frozen lasagna, two to three servings
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded four cheese blend (I use Asiago, Fontina, Parmesan, & Provolone)
4 tbs Olive Oil

Preparation:
Heat leftover lasagna in microwave until warm, for frozen lasagna heat according package directions. Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat. Slice the lasagna in 1 inch wide pieces and add on side to frying pan after oil is hot. Sprinkle with garlic, basil, and oregano. Cook covered three minutes, turn pieces over, and cook and additional three minutes. Turn off heat and top with shredded cheese blend and let sit covered until cheese is melted.

Serve and enjoy!

Chicken, Broccoli, and Pasta with Italian Style Lemon Herb Sauce

This is a rare case where dried herbs are called for to provide the unique flavor, plus the fresh lemon juice and garlic combine to make an excellent sauce.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced or cubed

4-8 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 cup + 2 tbs olive oil (Thanks again Steve, I used the oil you sent me)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
14 ounce bag frozen broccoli thawed and drained
Juice from one large lemon
8 Ounces Dreamfileds Rotini Pasta

Freshly grated Romano cheese

Preparation:
Put water for pasta to boil and add pasta when boiling; pasta should cook for about 9 minutes and should be added to water when broccoli is introduced below.

In a large shallow sauce pan or frying pan add 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic, oregano, and basil. Heat on medium until garlic begins to sizzle, reduce heat to low, and let cook covered for two minutes and then add the chicken, stirring well to coat with olive oil and spices.

Cover and simmer for three minutes. Stir again and add broccoli tossing to coat with olive oil mixture. Cover and simmer an additional three minutes. Add juice from lemon, stir well to coat chicken and broccoli, and cook covered an additional three minutes, stir/toss again and add black pepper and let cook covered until pasta is ready to be drained (about three minutes).

Drain pasta, return to pot and toss with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Add pasta to chicken, broccoli and sauce, toss, and let stand covered for five minutes stirring once after two and a half minutes. (This will allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce and thicken it a bit) If sauce is still too thin after this you can return to a low heat for an additional three to five minutes, stirring every minute.

Serve topped with freshly grated Romono cheese. Serves 2 to 4 people depending on how hungry they are. Another healthy low fat dish that is delicious.