FOOTBALL FOOD

I've never made lasagna before, but I had to pull something together for the guys after golf (which I couldn't join because of my stupid sinuses-and...this is the day they see Dave Grohl....DAVE GROHL!!!!! on the golf course), and had a small window to actually make something before I had to go rest again because of, yes, my stupid sinuses. Anyway, I tried it, and it worked out pretty well. This is not a low fat, low cholesterol, power meal. This is football food. A regular gut bomb, comfort food in it's purest form. Won't even record the nutritionals because this is one of those things that well, you just don't want to know. I'm guesstimating on the ingredients because I don't typically measure, but I think they are pretty close. Next time I might try it with asparagus and morel mushrooms instead of sausage, and maybe sub out some of the cheese for something else like mashed cauliflower. Who knows, the possibilities here are endless.

I tried to balance it out with an arugula salad with dried sour cherries, a few pistachios, and a few shards of parmesan, dressed lightly with lemon/olive oil/sea salt.  But who are we kidding, it didn't offset anything.  This was fat and carb fest at it's worst.

-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1 onion, finely chopped
-8 cloves of garlic, minced to paste
-2 packages lean italian turkey sausage links
-red wine (for cooking, meaning it means to be good enough to drink but not out of the cellar)
- 1 package crimini mushrooms, chopped
- 2 packages shitake mushroom, chopped
1 can drained and diced san marzano tomatoes
1/4 cup parsley
italian seasoning
good balsamic
orange zest (1/8 tsp)
black pepper
red pepper flakes

1 16 oz container whole milk ricotta
1 cup 2% milk
1 container mascarpone
1 cup freshly grated aged parmesan
truffle oil (optional)
truffle salt (optional)
freshly thin sliced mozzarella and provolone

lasagna noodles, preferably no cook and whole wheat

Preheat oven to 375

In large saute pan, heat olive oil, saute onion and garlic.
Remove sausage from casing, break up in pan and cook through
Splash in some red wine, reduce
add mushrooms until cooked
add tomatoes
add parsley, pepper and pepper flakes, seasonings,
add 1/4 cup parmesan

Remove when cooked. Let cool slightly. Run through the cuisinart (unless you want it more of a rustic lasagna

In the meantime, heat ricotta, milk, mascarpone, and 1/2 cup parm in sauce pan. If you have truffle oil and salt, you can add them, just adds a little something extra.

I like to use an 8 x 10 pan, but you could use a smaller one or double the recipe. Depends how deep you like your lasagna. You will probably have some leftover sausage mixture, which can just be added to a red sauce or used for stuffed mushrooms later on.

However you can coat your noodles with the ricotta mixture, do it. I made a mess but I needed to work fast.

- layer a thin layer of the ricotta mixture on the bottom of the lasagna pan.
- coat noodles with ricotta mixture, layer.
- add another thin layer of ricotta mixture, sprinkle parm, add layer of sausage mixture.
Repeat until you are almost at the top.
- the last layer should be ricotta mixture, then mozzarella and provolone cheese, then finally another sprinkle of parm.

- let rest for at least two hours.

- bake for as long as it takes. Maybe 45 minutes or until bubbly ? You may have to at the end hit it with the broiler to get the really crusty look.

Enjoy.

SPICY OATS

I am convinced that oatmeal is a key factor in achieving optimum health. Read most any story about people who have recommitted to health, lost weight, improved their heart health, etc. Almost all of them talk about oatmeal for breakfast. My most recent inspiration was last year, reading about celebrity chef Art Smith, who dropped over 100 pounds. His quote ,“I eat steel-cut oatmeal, berries and lots of water every day". My husband, same deal. He switched from eggs to oatmeal, and boom! weight gone.

I've been eating oatmeal since last spring, but, it was the kind in the package, loaded with extra sugar and sodium. Great for when you are in a rush, but really not the best thing for you.

The other thing I have been reading about quite a bit is the benefits of cayenne pepper. Not in it's master cleanse state, but on it's own. My heart is healthy, and I want to keep it healthy, and any "power food" or natural food that I can integrate in to my diet to stay healthy, I will do.

http://www.cayennepepper.info/health-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper.html


So all that being said....

SPICY OATS
- 1/3 cup coaches oats or steel cut oats (you can buy the big bag at costco)
- 1 cup water
cook as per instructions on stovetop or in microwave. I find I need to cook them longer because I don't like soupy oats.

Add
- 3 tbsp organic unsweetened applesauce
- 1-2 tsp organic grade B maple syrup
- sprinkle or two of cayenne
- 1/2 banana sliced, or 1/2 cup blueberries, or both

278 calories/3 grams fat/42 g carbs/5 grams protein/7.1 grams fiber/