Mixed Fruit Lasagne

For Sunday dinner, I had intended to bake an old favorite, Peach Lasagne, using leftover Italian bread and some beautiful peaches from the farm market. Unfortunately, the peaches I had bought most recently weren’t ripe enough and the three peaches leftover from the previous week didn’t equal the four cups I needed for the recipe. I decided to add some leftover strawberries and drained, canned pineapple tidbits. I also substituted toasted pecans for the almonds in my original recipe and the dessert was delicious. My daughters loved it.

This is the original recipe: https://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/peach-lasagne/

• Servings: 6
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Fruit Layer:
4 cups mixed fruit (I used equal amounts of strawberries, peaches and pineapple)
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Bread Layer:
6 Tblsp. butter
8 slices hearty bread, sliced fairly thin
1-1/2 Tblsp. granulated sugar

Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tblsp. dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
4 Tblsp. butter
3 Tblsp. toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven @ 350 degrees F

Cut fruit into bite-sized pieces, add granulated sugar, mix and set aside.
Spread butter on both sides of 8 slices of bread. Place slices in a large skillet over medium heat and brown on each side.

Line the bottom of a 9 inch baking dish with half of the browned buttered slices – just cover the bottom without overlapping. OK to break the bread into smaller pieces to fit them in. Sprinkle ¾ Tblp. sugar over the slices. Spoon half of fruit mixture on top of bread slices, spreading to cover.

Repeat with another layer of bread slices sprinkled with sugar and the remaining half of the fruit mixture.

Crumb Topping: Mix together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt and cut in butter. Sprinkle the topping over the last fruit layer and top with chopped pecans.

Cover and bake @ 350 degrees F for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more.

Serve warm.

 

Chicken and Spinach Lasagne

This dish was inspired by one on Allrecipes.com, but changed quite a bit.  My daughters and I enjoyed this for lunch on Sunday and were able to enjoy it again for Monday night supper.  It’s very tasty and filling, and reheats well in the microwave.

• Servings: 6
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5 dry lasagne noodles

¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup cold milk
1 cup hot chicken broth
8 oz. shredded mozzarella (2 cups), divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tsp. fresh basil, chopped (½ tsp. dried basil)
2 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped (½ tsp. dried oregano)
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
Dash nutmeg
2 Tblsp. dried minced onions

1 cup ricotta cheese, divided in thirds
1 cup cubed, cooked chicken breast
10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained*

2 Tblsp. grated Parmesan for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Grease a 9-inch casserole dish

*Squeeze water out of the spinach after draining so that it is as dry as possible.

Cook lasagne noodles in boiling, salted water for 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.  Pat dry with a paper towel before adding to dish.

In a saucepan, whisk together the flour, salt and cold milk until smooth.  Add hot broth and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to bubble.  Lower heat and continue cooking for two more minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add 1 cup of mozzarella, 2 Tblsp. Parmesan, basil, oregano, black pepper, nutmeg and dried onions, stirring to blend until cheese is melted.

To Assemble:

Spread 1/3 of sauce mixture in the bottom of baking dish.  Layer with 1/3 of the noodles and all of the chicken.  Using 1/3 of ricotta, place in dollops on top.

Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, all of the spinach, the remainione cup of mozzarella and 2 Tblsp. Parmesan.  Place 1/3 of ricotta in dollops on top.

Arrange remaining noodles over cheese and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles.  Add remaining 1/3 of ricotta in dollops over top and sprinkle with 2 Tblsp. Parmesan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes until top is light brown.

Let dish stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

6 servings. 

Basil,oregano, rosemary, lemon thyme, peppermint (and marigolds)

Peach Lasagne

I just discovered this recipe last summer and used it several times when peaches were at their best.  I watched a TV demo on Lidia’s Italian Cooking and thought it sounded wonderful.  It’s a good way to use leftover Italian or French bread.  I would recommend using a hearty bread rather than your favorite supermarket white loaf.

• Servings: 6
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Fruit Layer:

• 3 lbs. ripe peaches
• Juice and grated peel of one lemon
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

Bread Layer:

• 6 Tblsp. butter
• 8 slices hearty bread, sliced fairly thin
• 1-1/2 Tblsp. sugar

Crumb Topping:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tblsp. dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 4 Tblsp. butter
• 3 Tblsp. slivered almonds

Preheat oven @ 350 degrees F

Peel peaches and cut into 1/4″ thick wedges.  Place peach slices in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, lemon peel and 3/4 cup granulated sugar.  Set aside.

Slice bread into the equivalent of 8 thin slices.  In this case, I used some leftover Italian bread.

Melt 3 Tblsp. butter in large skillet and lay in half of bread slices.   Brown on each side.  Repeat with remaining butter and bread slices.  Sprinkle slices with 1-1/2 Tblsp. granulated sugar.

Line the bottom of a 9″ baking dish with half of the browned bread slices – should just cover the bottom without overlapping.  Spoon half of peaches/juices on top, arrange a second layer of bread over surface and a final layer of peaches.

Mix together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt and cut in butter.  Mix in slivered almonds.  Crumble over the top of the peach lasagne and bake covered for 50 minutes and uncovered for 10 minutes longer.

Serve warm.