Sunday Dinner

Happy Monday All!!

I didn't anticipate my entry being about food today because this blog is going to house all sorts of my favorite things. Feels like i've been posting all about food even though i don't have many posts just yet. I posted my dinner on my personal Facebook page last night and received quite a few inquiries on how to make the White Cheese Chicken Lasagna and the Tres Leche cake.



Let me first start off by saying that growing up in a household where my parents background & culture is predominately southern {Mom born and raised in Georgia and my Dad's family is from South Carolina} Sunday dinner was ALWAYS the most amazing meal on the planet. From September to May it was my mothers hands that prepared mac and cheese, collard greens, fried cabbage, corn bread so moist and thick that my nephew calls it "cake", and of course fried chicken, meat loaf {you get the picture don't you}. But from June to August it was my father's turn to lite his Weber grill {the smoker} and throw all types of chicken, ribs, fish, corn etc on it. Sunday's for my family were all about gathering around the table and enjoying a meal together that was more than what we'd get on a weekday. It was about family, there was no such thing as watching TV while you ate, we sat at the table TOGETHER as a family of 2 parents, 2 boys and 2 girls and even though our table only sat 4 it was nothing for chairs to be pulled up to the table so we could all fit.

With that being said, I have a personal connection to what Sundays mean especially in the winter...COMFORT FOOD.

So I pulled up my AllRecipes app on my iPhone and found the recipe for this White Cheese Chicken Lasagna and it was a HIT. I was a little worried about making the beschamel also known as white sauce but it was so creamy and yummy. So here is the recipe which I borrowed. This is not an original creation so I cannot take credit for it. I might not have followed it precisely to a "T" with my layering method. I also used fresh chopped spinach {uncooked} as it's own layer. With the pasta and the white sauce I needed to inject a heavy dose of greens into this meal to balance it all out.

Ingredients

9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

DESSERT

We're trying not to have so many sweets in the house. No ice cream, no cookies, no sugary snacks or salty for that matter. It's SO easy to watch TV and just indulge and we're trying to steer clear of high blood pressure and diabetes which really doesn't make what I am about to show you seem fitting but anywho....I wanted cake...BAD. And a very good friend of mine made this cake one night and we both fell in love with it so I gave it a try.



The recipe is pretty insanely simple, a child could make it {minus the alcohol}

1 box of golden vanilla cake mix {prepare and bake as per package directions}
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
1 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup of coconut creme tequila {hecho in mexico} {{if you don't have this you can use coconut rum i think parrot bay and malibu sells it}

Bake the cake in a pan and let it cool COMPLETELY {do not rush this process}
Mix all of the liquid milk and alcohol together
With a fork poke holes all over the cake and do not forget to do the corners
Pour the liquid all over {you will see the liquid seep into the holes and you can Gently poke more holes to make more room for the cake to be soaked}

I waited about 1/2 hour to let the cake really absorb all of the liquid. Then I took the whipped topping {otherwise known as cool whip} and spread it on top to create a semi thick layer. I refrigerated it for 20 minutes because I like the coolness of the cake paired with the moisture in texture.

Voila ~ Tres Leche cake!

I hope you enjoy this meal, if you make it please post your comments below about your thoughts and if you altered it a bit.