The Best Gourmet Frozen Lasagna!

Happy Freezer Friday!  We love Freezer meals and this is the ultimate freeze lasagna of all time in the history of forever. Well. If I had a dollar for every blog post that ever claimed it was the "best ever"------ whatever it is...I'd have a bazillion dollars. However, in the case of this lasagna, it's a recipe that I've used in catering large weddings as well as bottomless pit feeding-frenzied teenage boys.  Okay, I say boys, but Little Man just turned 18 and is just about finished with his college degree...so he's man--ish. As for the Lasagna recipes, this one is pretty legit. It's loaded with vegetables and flavor.  

If you notice, there's not a Cooking with Chef Tess video with this one, I've taken a step back from the network TV show for a while. My producer said that I'm welcome back anytime, so don't think this is forever y'all.  It's a long/short story mainly having to do with choosing between something "earthly important" and something "family eternal"...and I picked the eternal. I'd hope everyone would respect my privacy on this one and just know that I love you all dearly and will still be posting frequently here as well as keeping my family on track, together, and focused on keeping the main goal the main goal.  So, dinner together with this righteous lasagna is probably a fantastic idea! 

Homemade Gourmet Freezer Lasagna

This recipe makes 16 very large servings, so feel free to make 2-4 casseroles, depending on the size of your family. Today, we’re making 4

This recipe I have tweaked quite a few times to find just what I liked, nice tender pasta that is still a little firm with just a great amount of sauce and meat (or veggies) to hold the layers apart and keep its shape. I hope you enjoy it.

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 stocks celery, sliced thin
• 2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup minced garlic
• 2 lb lean turkey Italian Sausage
• ½ cup teff seed (optional)
• 4 quarts (16 cups) tomato puree 
• 3 Tbsp. Chef Tess Italian
• 1 Tbsp. Red Pepper Flakes

Directions: put the oil in a large dutch oven on the stove. Saute the vegetables and the meat until the meat is cooked and the vegetables are tender.  Add tomato puree. I used 4 quarts of my home canned tomatoes, but you can totally use the store cans. It take 4-28 0z cans of tomato puree, or if you like a chunky sauce, use two 28 oz can of tomato puree and 2-28 oz cans of diced tomatoes.

Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.

 Okay. Let’s talk about that sauce. If the sauce seems a little thin, keep in mind that I don't cook my noodles first, so there needs to be a little extra liquid for the noodles to cook properly. So, let’s get the cheese filling put together and build this awesome lasagna.

Cheese filling:

• 2 lbs ricotta cheese 
• 2 cups Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil, or 2 Tbsp dry basil
• 2 Tbsp. Chef Tess Romantic Italian Seasoning 
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon each)

Combine well in a large bowl. 

Noodles:

24 oven ready lasagna noodles (dry)

2 lbs mozzarella cheese, part skim is okay

1 cup Parmesan cheese

Decide the size casserole you will make:

• 8 inch by 8 inch yields 4 casseroles
• 9 by 13 inch yields 2 casseroles
• 16 by 11 inch yields 1 casserole

Be sure to use NON aluminum pans, as they will have a reaction to the tomato products. Just as a general rule, tomato products should not be stored in aluminum.

To assemble:

8 inch use: 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 3 dry noodles, 1/3 cup cheese filling per noodle.
9 by 13 use: 1 cup sauce, 4 dry noodles and 1/2 cup cheese filling per noodle.
16 by 11 use: 2 cups sauce, 8 dry noodles, and 3/4 cup cheese filling per noodle.

Spread the tomato sauce on the bottom of your pan, avoiding large chunks of meat, lay noodles down across the bottom of the pan on top of the tomato sauce.

Spread the cheese filling over the noodle.

Top the cheese layer with some tomato sauce

8-inch pan: 3/4 cup tomato sauce

For the third layer, top with noodles and then the remaining sauce. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. You know, I say three layers, but it just depends on how big the pan is. I always end up with more layers on the smaller pans than the large ones. Especially if I use a loaf pan instead of an 8 by 8-inch casserole. So... you know. 5 layers or so for the small pans. 

·       

      Freezer Precautions: Okay, we’ve made our casseroles, so now we’re ready to freeze them. Cover with plastic wrap and then foil, as we don't want any tomato to meet foil.

    Label clearly with cooking directions:  Defrost in fridge 24 hours, or microwave defrost. This is the best way to cook frozen lasagna. By far. I've tried straight from the freezer to the oven and I don't like how uneven it cooks, even with the store purchased lasagna. I'm weird that way. I'm okay with that. 

      Slow Cooker Lasagna?  One more thing. If you measure the inside of your crock pot and can find a plastic container that fits it and goes about 4 inches up the sides, you can put all these layers of cheese, sauce and noodles in the container and freeze it. When you want lasagna, you simply invert the container under hot running water until the lasagna cube comes out. Place it in your crock pot on low 6-8 hours OR on high 4-5 hours.

·

To Serve: Adjust oven rack to middle of the oven. Remove foil, remove plastic. Spray side of foil that meets cheese with a non-stick coating of your choice. Replace foil tightly sealing edges. Place on oven rack (Usually put it on a sheet pan on the oven rack).

Bake times 400 degrees:

8 inch: 25-30 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until hot throughout and the cheese is browned in spots. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

9 inch by 11: 30-40 minutes, remove foil and bake additional 25-30 minutes until hot throughout and the cheese is browned in spots. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

11 by 16 inch: 40-45 minutes, remove foil and bake additional 30-35 minutes until hot throughout and cheese is browned in spots. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

There you go. Make frozen lasagna.

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

Yum

Freezer Friday! Video: Twice Baked Potatoes 4 Different Ways

Episode 4, Season 2 Cooking with Chef Tess

Twice Baked Potatoes 4 Ways

Baking the Potatoes and Gathering the Variations

12 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed, baked 1 hour and cooled (microwave 3 potatoes ,5-7 minutes works too.)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
8 oz tub low fat cottage cheese
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (I used Jack)
2 T garlic powder

2T Organic Grains white chia seed
fresh chopped parsley
Chef Tess AP Seasoning

Directions:
Cut potatoes in half, lengthwise and remove pulp leaving ¼ inch in shell, put potato pulp and all remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well blended.

Open 6 halves into 4 freezer safe dishes. 3 potatoes each.

Gathering the Flavors

Buffalo chicken

1 cup cooked diced chicken

Buffalo sauce

Ham and Cheese

Diced Ham

Cheddar Cheese

Dill

Fajita Chicken

Grilled chicken

Bell peppers

Onion

Cheese

Chili Cheese

Prepared Turkey Chili

Cheese

Episode 3, Season 2 Cooking with Chef Tess

 How to Freeze
When frozen, transfer individual potatoes into gallon size freezer bags. Label with date and these directions “ 2-3 minutes in the microwave for 2 single servings, or bake 400° on a sheet pan 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Heating and Serving. Wrap-up

2-3 minutes in the microwave for 2 single servings, or bake 400° on a sheet pan 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Freezer Friday! Video 3 Ways to use Sprouted Wheat dough: Cinnamon rolls, Dinner Rolls and Sticky Buns

Episode 3 Season 2 Cooking with Chef Tess as seen on the Heartland TV Network in Las Vegas! Here's last week's episode and recipes. 

Freezer to Oven Sprouted Grain Cinnamon Rolls, Dinner Rolls and Sticky Buns

Make the Dough

·       3 cups water (no hotter than 110 degrees)

·       2 Tbsp. active dry yeast

·       ½ cups Organic coconut sugar

·       4 ½ cups Organic Grains bread flour

·       4 ½ cup  Organic Grains sprouted white wheat flour 

·       1 Tbsp. salt

·       ¾ cup coconut oil or Ahuacatlan Avocado Oil 

·       2 egg

Combine everything in one large bowl or mixer. I like that. Knead 5 minutes by hand or 3 minutes in a mixer on medium setting. This is a less developed dough as far as gluten is concerned. Form into a ball and place in a bowl covered with plastic or a lid for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Punch down dough and divide into 3 equal pieces.

Cinnamon Rolls

Roll out in rectangle on a lightly floured surface. 

Smear:

½ cup sugar

½ cup butter

2 Tbsp cinnamon or Chef Tess  Wise Woman of the East Spice blend

Cut into 8 rolls. Place 4 roll per 8 inch pan. Raise 45 minutes. Freeze.

Oven-Ready Stuffed Sticky Buns

Caramel Topping:

1 c brown sugar

1/2 chopped real bacon bits

 1/3 c maple syrup

¼ c butter, melted

Cream Filling:

1/2 package (4 oz) cream cheese, softened

¼  c shredded coconut (okay...how evil is that?!)

 2 Tbsp.  powdered sugar

 1 Tbsp.  butter, softened

 1 tsp vanilla

 Spread topping in the bottom of each pan.

Combine all cream filling ingredients and beat until well mixed; set aside.

Punch dough down and divide into 6 equal pieces. Flatten each piece of dough into a small circle, about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Place a scant T of cream filling in the center. Pinch edges of dough together and form into a ball; It looks like a little cheese tortellini. Place in prepared pans, pinched side down. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 to 45 minutes. Yes, let them raise before freezing! That is the secret! (if freezing, put in freezer at this point. To prepare pull from freezer straight to the oven and add 20 min to bake time for room temp dough) Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown (45-50 minutes from frozen). Cool on rack for only 1 minute; invert onto serving platters. Remember, allow to cool only one minute before inverting onto a platter. Be careful, it's hot and that goo is delicious...but not in a molten mass attached to your arm. Oh my stars!

 Making Dinner Rolls

 I kind of put them in a log form. this helps to keep things pretty even. You can get science-like and weigh the dough and then divide it into 12 equal portions, but on most given days, I just eyeball it. I may go to baker's heck for saying that.

Now, lightly (I do mean lightly) dust the counter top with a little flour...just a little. We don't want the rolls sticking too much. On the other hand, we don't want so much flour that they just roll all over the place. The point is, we want a little tacky stuff so they form correctly. Take the dough piece and pinch the sides together...

Then turn it over so the pinched side is down.

You don't want it to look loose like this...

You want the dough balls to look like they have a skin holding them together. Like this picture below. Place the rolls on a pan lined with parchment paper (or a freezer friendly pan for easy make and bake). If you use metal pans, you don't have to worry about the glass shattering going from the freezer to the oven. I may mention that again.

Allow to raise at room temperature, uncovered for 35-40 minutes, until the rolls are touching if originally placed 1/2 an inch apart. Cover with foil and place in the freezer. Keep frozen up to one month. Removing them from a pan once frozen and placing directly in a freezer bag will save space in your freezer...big time!

 Bake, Serve. Wrap Up

When you want fresh rolls, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove pan from the freezer. Important note...don't place glass pans directly from the freezer to the oven, they will shatter. If you keep rolls frozen in freezer bags, place frozen rolls on pan and then place in the oven.

Bake 375 degrees 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Try not to eat them all in one sitting...alone. 

Special thanks to Organic Grains for sponsoring this episode!

 There you go! Make some awesome buns!

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess

Cooking with Chef Tess Video Meatloaf Turkey Cups 3 Ways

Here you go everyone! Episode One of Season Two! Each cup is around 50 calories and 2 net carbs and loaded with veggies! We love them. A lot.

Please feel free to share this video with your friends and family. We really want to get the word out that it is now available. 


Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

Meatloaf Turkey Muffin Cups Three Ways--Freezer Meals from Cooking With Chef Tess

Season TWO of my show will be airing on Heartland TV  in Las Vegas on channels 34.2 and on Cox cable channel 97 every Saturday at 1:30 pm starting June 24th! YES!!!!

There are several Heartland TV Affiliate Stations Nationally and we are hoping that we'll soon be on the network across the country We also filmed several one minute tutorial videos that will be airing on cox cable across the southwest starting in July. We'll keep everyone posted as those details are made public.

As for Saturday, here's the recipe:

Time-Saving Meatloaf Turkey Cups Made 3 Ways!

 Pepperoni Pizza Meatloaf Muffin Cup 

 French Onion Meatloaf Muffin Cup

Chimichurri Meatloaf Muffin Cup

Chef Tess Meatloaf Muffins

2 pounds ground lean turkey sausage

1 medium onion, cut into chunks

1 green pepper, chopped

2 large egg

1 cup Organic Grains 7 grain rolled cereal ---here

1 Tbsp. Chef Tess All Purpose Seasoning

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Put ground beef into a big bowl. Put onion and green pepper in blender. Pulse the blender to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then add them to the meat bowl. Add egg, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl. Next, mix together the smoky barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix. Mix the meatloaf together with your hands. Wash up.

Divide between 24 muffin tins sprayed with non-stick spray Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into each tin. Bake 350° 20-25 minutes. Over 165 degrees internal temperature. When fully baked, top 8 of each of the meatloaf muffins with a spoonful of a flavor variation. 

Flavor Variations  

French onion

1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp lemon zest

½ cup beef broth

Saute onions in olive oil until golden brown. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until thick. 

Pepperoni Pizza

Spaghetti sauce

Pepperoni

Mozzarella

Italian Seasoning

As needed. Top each meatloaf with sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. 

 Chimichurri

If you're not familiar with it...Chimichurri is a sauce that is traditionally used as a marinade for meat in Central and South America. I almost want to call it a vinaigrette based pesto if I over simplify what it is.  I fell in love with it the first time it's flavors were unleashed on my pallet! It really lends a powerful punch of flavor and there are hundreds of variations on the internet.  This one is special because it is what I use for meat, but also for vegetarian dishes like this cheesy grain casserole.  I simply stir 1 cup of the prepared sauce into the base recipe and top it with roasted garlic.  Suddenly, everyone can't stop eating the meatloaf!

Chef Tess' Chimichurri Sauce1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2T fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4-5 cloves garlic
1 shallot
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
1 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Combine all ingredients in a covered food processor and pulse until smooth.

Freezing Instructions:
Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet or plate and freeze until solid. Transfer to a gallon sized freezer bag. Label well. with cooking instructions.

Heating and Serving:
Reheat in microwave from frozen, about 2 minutes each muffin. Or, bake in oven 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Today we are going to serve  them over mashed potatoes with plenty of fresh micro-greens. 

My Fitness Pal Recipe Nutritional information Yield 24 servings, 57 calories each, 2 carbs, 2 gram of fat, 10 grams protein, 


Special thanks to our friends at Organic Grains.com for ingredients and financial support to help make this show possible. We are so very thankful for all you've done for our family here at Chef Tess Bakeresse.

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

Filming Days! Season 2 of Cooking With Chef Tess!

 

This has been a very productive week! We filmed six episodes of Season Two of Cooking With Chef Tess for Heartland TV Network in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was amazing once again working with my producer and friend Theresa Goss.  My best friend Gena let me use her gorgeous kitchen to film. 

 It is the prefect space for what we wanted to capture. 

The premise of the show has been well defined. We're focusing on whole foods on a budget and making 3-4 different meals from one base in a 30 minutes show! 

Here's a sneak peek at a few of the episodes:

The Best Homemade Freezer Lasagna! 4 casseroles the easy way...

Convenient  Meatloaf Cups 3 ways...

Summer Quinoa Salad, 3 flavor profiles (recipe courtesy of OrganicGrains.com) 

Plus 3 more episodes!

There will be tips on:

• Cooking from scratch
• Secrets for saving money on healthy meals
• whole grain nutrition hacks
• freezer meal safety
• slow cooker variations
• lowering the impact carbohydrates of food

It will all be whole food healthy meals.

Special thanks too my assistant Sonya for coming to the set and helping with setting things up and helping clean up after the mayhem!  

It takes about 4 hours behind the scenes to get the ingredients together, and cook for each show. Keeping in mind that it will be much less time for you to cook this way, we just have to make things several times. 

The new season will start to air in a few days! I'll keep you posted with new episodes and full recipes here on the website. 


There you go!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

2 Chicken Dinners and Easy Homemade Stuffing (Full Video)

Cooking like a Chef-Boss has never been so easy! This is 2 chicken dinners, homemade stove-cook stuffing and the secrets to freezer-friendly potatoes all in one episode. That’s right! Today I'm back with incredibly delicious homemade convenience meals that will save you time, money and energy. Strap on your oven mitts and let’s get rockin’!


I am frequently asked how I make so many freezer meals so quickly. Here is the big secret. Sit down, it may be too much AWESOMENESS at once... It's called Dove tailing. You see it a lot in restaurants. One kind of meat 12 different sauces. This is basically how a lot of them do it. I think it's quite remarkable. I'm only using 2 sauces here today, but you will get the main idea. Don't worry, I will add a lot of sauce recipes along the way. This is the start.

First...I season and bake 5 lb of Chicken. Salt, Pepper, Garlic...you can use any "all purpose seasoning" out there. 5 lbs of legs and thighs is about $4 at my local Wal-mart. Gotta love that. It will make us 4 dinners. My kids eat a leg each, I eat a thigh, and my husband has all the side dishes because he thinks any cooked meat is just nasty. Ace is out of town this week. I am cooking FISH and CHICKEN and all kinds of animal stuff. Hint: side dishes .

Chicken Legs and Thighs

4-5 lbs leg and thigh meat (about 12 thighs)
2 T all purpose seasoning blend
Place legs and thighs on a large cookie sheet and season generously with seasoning blend. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes (until juices run clear when pricked with a fork or temperature reads 170 degrees when inserted with a meat thermometer). Divide meat between three plates, 4 thighs each and season with three different sauces...today I did two.

Mustard Glaze: 

2T whole grain mustard

2T molasses. Mix and wipe all over the chicken....

Put in a freezer bag clearly labeled. Put in the fridge immediately. Once cooled transfer to the freezer. (I do this cool, then freeze thing so that I don't have a lot of medium temperature meat sitting in my freezer making germs grow...the quicker the meat gets cold, the less chance my family has of getting a food born illness...which is good.)

Pesto sauce: 

3T prepared Pesto sauce. I also added 2T chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

and 1T fresh rosemary leaves....

Put Pesto Chicken in a freezer bag and label clearly. Transfer to the fridge immediately and then once cool, to the freezer.

Now I have 2 of each of these dinners in my freezer. I will be doing a lot more of these so don't feel like you are being left out of any secrets.

Oh. To reheat the chicken, DEFROST and then heat in the microwave 5-7 minutes on a microwave safe dish, or heat in the oven (covered casserole) 350 degrees 20-25 minutes until internal temperature is over 150. Simple stuff.

There you go darlings!

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess

Cooking with Chef Tess Wicked Enchilada Skillet Casserole (full video)

This week's episode was was amazing! Here are the recipes. First the Enchilada Skillet Casserole, and then the Homemade taco seasoning!

Enchilada Tortilla Skillet Casserole

• 1 poblano* pepper, (or bell pepper works too.)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 lb hamburger, very lean (or well seasoned ground turkey or chicken)
• 2 tbsp Homemade Taco Seasoning
• 1 can organic(15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups organic thick and chunky salsa, (roasted variety has more flavor)
• 4 cups broken baked organic tortilla chips 1 cup
• (4 oz) organic shredded cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese blend (for a lower fat version, try using only a 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar!)
• Snipped fresh cilantro (optional)
• Taco toppings like: fat free Sour cream, chopped avocados, fresh tomatoes and black olives (optional--but a must have around my house!)

1. Remove stem and seeds from poblano pepper, chop. Combine hamburger, onion, peppers and seasoning mix in a large skillet (12 inch or larger with a lid). Cook over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes until peppers are soft and meat is no longer pink. 2. Drain and rinse black beans. 3. Stir beans and salsa into hamburger mixture. Gently stir in tortilla chips. Grate cheese over casserole. Cover 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted everything is hot. If desired, snip cilantro; sprinkle over casserole. Yield: 6 servings *Poblano peppers are dark green chilies with a rich flavor that varies from mild to slightly spicy. Poblanos are about 2 1/2 in. wide and 4-5 in. long, forming a triangular shape.

For a freezer meal: Put in a freezer safe casserole dish. Combine all ingredients according to recipe until you get to the last cooking time. Don't cook. Cover, label, and freeze. To cook, heat in microwave 15-20 minutes from frozen or 5-7 minutes if defrosted. For solar oven/conventional oven baking: Bake 1 hour from frozen, or 30 minutes if defrosted. Allow an extra 15 minutes of baking for every time you open a solar oven.

Chef Tess Taco Seasoning

For one packet (I usually store in a snack size zipper bag):
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground black pepper (and 1/2 tsp salt optional)
2 tsp ground oregano
2tsp onion powder
2tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp coriander (ground)


Combine and mix with 1 lb cooked ground beef with 1/4 c water for taco meat.

There you go darlings!

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess