This is one of those recipes I have been debating on whether or not I post for some time. I saw variations of lasagna soup on many sites and the idea most definitely caught my attention.

Making lasagna for two is rough. There is only so many days of lasagna for lunch and dinner that we can handle, and a large pan of lasagna is about three days more than we need. But soup. We can down some soup in this house. Could a quick soup really be as good as a serving of your grandmomas’s home made labor of love?

Well, as you make this, if you taste for seasoning as you go, or can’t just resist a sip here and there, you will be left worried. Sure, it will be soup, but will it be anything more than that?

Yes. Yes it will. Something magic happens between the moment you scoop that bit of ricotta into the bowl and enjoy your first real spoonful. Little lasagna ricotta fairies meet up and mingle in the bowl, creating a perfect harmony of texture, consistency and that perfect lasagna flavor.  It really is amazing.

So, why wouldn’t I share it, after all that’s what these food blogs are all about right? Because I like to think I’m the cool kid who doesn’t need to be in the club house. Then a few weeks later, I went and made this soup again, and that says a lot in a kitchen like mine that rarely sees a repeat meal out of a few staples we will never give up. I have a few magazines and several cookbooks devoted to soup recipes I want to try and share with you, so when I realized I was ‘wasting’ a perfectly good night to taste test a new one by making this again, I knew it would just be cruel not to.

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Go make that and try not sharing it with your friends. You’ll totally understand.

If you are still looking for some inspiration or last minute menus check out this round up of finger licking game day food:

Chive and Cheese Beer Bread

From BHG Special Interest: Tailgating

Ingredients:

• 3 cups AP flour
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 2 tbs fresh chives, chopped
• 1 teas salt
• 3/4 teas baking soda
• 1/2 cup shredded chaddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Monteray Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers
• 1 12-ounce can beer

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×4 loaf pan; set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour through the cheese. Slowly stir in the beer and mix until just combined. Don’t over mix. The batter will be very thick.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Serve with a coarse mustard. Can be stored, tightly wrapped in aluminium foil for up to 2 days or frozen up to one month.

Three-Cheese Beer Soup

From BHG Special Interest: Tailgating

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion, 1 medium onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot, 1 medium carrot
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions, about 2 whole scallions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1/2 teas dry mustard
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 12oz can beer
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups frozen diced hash brown potatoes
• 1 1/2 cup small broccoli florets, one head
• 10 slices bacon, crisp cooked, drained well and chopped
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (I knew you were doubting my three cheeses by now)
• A few dashes of botteled hot sauce
• 1/2 teas Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

Allow the cheddar cheeses to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add onion, carrot, green onions and garlic. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in flour and dry mustard. The mixture will thicken. Slowly add in the broth, whisking while you pour. We’re going for no lumps from the flour here. Cook and stir occasionally until bubbling. Add beer, cream, potatoes and broccoli. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

Gradually stir in the cheddar cheeses, stirring until cheese has melted into the soup. Stir in the bacon, Parmesan cheese, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for another five minutes before serving.

Because what’s dinner without dessert

Have a great weekend!

Tequila chicken sandwich. What about a name like that doesn’t make you want to shove a small child out of the way for a serving? Besides, it has tequila in it, a kid should clearly not be in that line. Gotta look out for the little guys, right? And if we are talking football food, which we have been, all week long (really, there’s a theme going and everything), this is got it going on.

Sweet and spicy peppers peppers, onions, quick pulled rotisserie chicken, melted gooey cheese, and liquor all on a soft bun. Grab a napkin, wrap it up and let yourself go bite after bite. When you are done the first sandwich, I won’t utter a word or even raise my eyebrows if you go back for seconds, because I’ll probably be right behind you.

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Hang in there because tomorrow we have one more Fat Kid Approved Super Bowl post before the big game!

Because I’m an awesome planner (or maybe I am just a freak about my magazines), I ripped out a page in Rachael Ray October 2011 – and wrote the date on it – to share with you. As I mentioned yesterday, I know nothing about football, but RR was kind enough to have an entire page summing up the game for me. The article covers everything from the quarterback being the person who throws the ball, to the value of the touchdowns. That being said I still have no clue what an H-back is, or who the why the linebacker is watching the center if it’s the rushers job to pick on the quarterback, but hey, baby steps.

Actually, the whole darned article was about hosting you own football game. Now, I may know nothing about sports, but even I think this sounds fun. Do you and your friends still gather around outside, get dirty and play games? I love playing outside, from volley ball in the mud, mountain biking, to wiffle ball – I don’t need a clear explanation of the rules, I just like to play! I need to find some friends who aren’t to tired at the end of the day to get out and play too. Handsome and I can ride our bikes together, but it takes more than two to have an awesome game of volley ball and I’m just not the badminton type.

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Next weekend is the Super Bowl, where even people like myself who know little about sports, and less about football, gather around the television and are suddenly avid fans. Every year I pick a team, usually based on colors, ‘outfits’, hairstyles (I like the dudes with big bushy long hair that poofs out of the helmet), or something else as equally meaningless, and I root for them, until I get distracted and forget football is even on. Usually socializing or jamming more food in my pie hole, because the other great part to the Super Bowl, besides the commercials, is the food.

Super Bowl food is glorious, melty, gooey, so bad for you you have to eat lettuce with chopsticks for the next month and half. And yet, every year, I over indulge. From dips to wings, bites to bars and cheese, standing in its own power category ruling as the supreme binder of football food overlord. Lot’s and lots of cheese.

Our entire menu this week for PtS is based on football foods, tailgating, and partying hard with my inner fat kid. So let’s kick things off right with these super quick and all ages approved pizza nachos.

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Let’s talk Pinterest. I know I am late to the game with this post, but I am running on empty and Pinterest is an easy topic. Before I was addicted to it, pinning delicious meals and treats that peeked my eye, but recently I discovered all the other wonderful uses of Pinterest.

Like getting dressed. Pinterest makes this handicapable girl get dressed in moments by showing me color organized outfits. Now I don’t have to walk into my comic shop filled with guys and ask if I look like a tool. Clearly if someone planned it, wore it and pinned it first, I’m safe. Right? >.> Otherwise, I would have never known plaid went with that green cardigan and my spiffy boots. And all the shoes on Pinterest… oh, the shoes. (Which is also good because it is a guilt free virtual retail therapy outlet)

And decorating inspiration. Oh I am loving that. I have been determined to make our bedroom more than just a bed and where we store our clothes. It started there, and not I’ll be damned if I don’t have tid bits of inspiration for the entire house. But first, I will conquer that bed room. (Etsy has been pretty handy for that as well).

The best thing though, is the inspiration from other bloggers. Organization for the house, tips on storing things, the blogs I discover when I click around. I am addicted to Pinterest. Why didn’t someone think of this sooner? Google, you’re slacking.

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Today I am bringing you some Lashgasim mascara. Two Faced is one of the only brands I know as far as the fancy make up goes. Fancy being anything you can’t buy one get one 50% off at the local drug store. I love Two Face’s make up primer and ration a tiny bit here and there as if it is the last make up primer I will ever be able to purchase. (Don’t ask, years of conditioning).

I’ve been itching to play with matcha since those cupcakes I made last year. This cake came out wonderfully except for my lack of marbling skills. I found the flavors to be wonderful and not overly sweet. Perfect sliced for breakfast or as a snack without being overly sweet.

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Matcha and Chocolate Marble Cake

Discovered on Life’s a Feast, adapted from Chef Marcy Goldman, Food & Wine.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 teas baking powder
• 1/4 teas salt
• 12 tbs unsalted butter, softened to room temperature + 3 tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teas vanilla
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teas Matcha tea powder

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8×4 loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the 12 tbs butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides as needed. Mix in the vanilla.

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk until blended.

In another small bowl, whisk the melted butter into the cocoa powder in a small bowl until completely blended and smooth. Remove one cup of the batter from the mixing bowl and stir into the chocolate mixture until well blended.

Stir the Matcha tea powder into the remaining batter in the mixing bowl. When mixed, spoon half of the matcha batter into the prepared loaf pan, making sure to smooth out to all corners and tap down any lumps. With a spoon or spatula, plop the chocolate batter onto the matcha batter ( I did not need to use all of my chocolate batter). Then cover the chocolate layer with the remaining matcha batter, using the back of a spoon, or spatula to smooth out while trying to mix the chocolate layer. With a butter knife, create a few swirls in the batter.

Bake for 25 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Ten with aluminum foil to prevent any further browning and bake for  10 to 15 minutes  more or until just set in the center and a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.

 

I hope you didn’t think our Chinese New Year celebration was over when these savory little pockets of love and pancakes of tastiness were left unaddressed. I know you already saw this set of photographs yesterday, but I wanted to give you all of the recipes I used and not just the meatballs.

Potstickers are a must in this house hold. I spend all afternoon making them in large batches and freezing small batches for later use. Handsome loves them and I am always looking for new ways to change them up. His mother’s will always hold a place in his stomach, but I know better than to try to one up those, so variations it is.

Be warned, before you dive into either of these, know that these are not ‘quick fixes.’ You will be in the kitchen for a while, so wear your comfortable shoes and put on some music. It would also help to have a sous chef ready to give you on hand. It is much easier to have one person handling the filling and another set of hands for pinching these shut.

So, roll up your sleeves and let’s get cooking!

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It’s Chinese New Year today and we are going to bust open our fortune cookies and have a great celebration of Chinese food today.

I’ve always been told that American Chinese food isn’t really Chinese food at all. I believe this to be 99% true, in the way that Olive Garden isn’t Italian. Sure it’s still pasta and sauce, but the delivery probably isn’t anywhere near close to traditional.

But lucky me (or unlucky) my family didn’t do Chinese takeout growing up. I don’t remember having it. Ever. It was late into my teen years before I ever bit into a carry out stale and soggy crab rangoon, and not long there after that a great friend of mine took me for dumplings in China town, NYC.

Now, I am ignorant on the subject of what makes a dish traditional and what makes it American “Chinese food” so I am not even going to begin to pretend that this post is in any way authentic, however, it was a blast to make and fun to share my weird blogging-ness with family for this Chinese New Year’s themed spread.

 I am kicking things off with Lion’s Head Meatballs, a recipe I have wanted to try for years. The idea of giant pork meatballs packed with crisp Asian flavors and simmered in a coconut bath had me salivating. I bookmarked it and would occasional revisit the idea. It took this wonderful occasion as the reason for me to finally give a trial run for these bad boys.

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I kept the overall meal relatively mild as far as pepper and spice goes. When I make these again, I will add some red curry paste to the coconut milk, and more pepper to the meatballs. Once again, I am not educated in Chinese cuisine, but I feel that with a name like Lion’s head, it should have bark and bite.

About two summers ago, Handsome’s parents told us we had to try a little pizza place in Port Deposit Maryland. A one road town built low into a cliff on the Chesapeake. The buildings are old and have wonderful charm, nestled in along the large rocks across from the wide river. During the day its nice to walk along the road peeking in at all the hidden nooks and crannies. While you’re walking your stomach is going to be pulled in all directions, because on top of all of its charm, Port Deposit is packed with great restaurants. I have talked about Joe’s Grog house once before on here in a brief ‘trial review’, but I’ll be honest, I haven’t been back. His parents were right.

Late one Friday night we decided to give it a whirl. We drove 25 minutes for pizza. D’Lorenzo’s was a tiny place with only 5 or 6 tables. We ordered the ‘meat lovers’ pizza and promised his parents we’d save room for dessert.

Then the pizza came.

I’m not normally one to say this, but….

Oh my God.

I have had pizza in many places across the US, including New York and St. Louis, and where this is not the traditional style that either city boasts, this pizza is hands down the best pizza I have ever had. The sauce was speckled with fresh flavors of oregano and basil, it wasn’t soaked in too much cheese, and the meat. Quote me on this one, best meat ever. It was a candy coated explosion of all savory flavors from ham, to the pop of fennel in the sausage to the crisp texture of bacon. This my friends, is a slice of heaven. A chorus of angels came down and sang around me.

Since that first bite, two years ago, we have only had pizza elsewhere maybe twice. We used to be a pizza from the quick grab and go place once a week kinda household. Now when we get a craving, its the painfully long drive to  Port Deposit before waiting in anticipation for that mouthwatering first slice. It was so good, we have never tried anything else on the menu. So I started taking family, friends, co-workers along in an attempt to get them to order something new and be forced to share it with me.

And I have to admit, his parents were right on dessert to. D’Lorenzo’s makes an award worthy cannoli like no other. Warm dough, rolled in sugar and sliced with fresh cannoli cream down the center. Forget the dry hard shells of traditional cannolis and think of the warmth and flavor of a churro. There were those angels again. Shame they couldn’t undo the 5 pounds I inevitably gained that night. But each one of those pounds was earned and savored.

I will exercise all week long if it means I can splurge on a dinner like this. So, the next time you are craving pizza or just want a nice drive, check out Port Deposit, and you won’t miss D’Lorenzos, which is now doubled in size and has at least 20 tables and a deck with additional outdoor dining in good weather, with a scenic view of the river. If its a weekend during with nice weather, you’ll most likely find us there, dirty from a bike ride, using it as an excuse for the carb load.

See you there soon!

D’Lorenzo’s Pizza and Grill 15 S. Main St, Port Deposit, MD 21904 410-378-2800 

Sorry about the bad picture quality. I didn’t work on that whole ‘bringing my camera out in public’ though, and will next time. I promise.