{From My Kitchen} Mini Lasagna Cups and More!!

I love making new foods and trying new things in the kitchen! I think it keeps things interesting and is a positive thing to challenge ourselves and our children to try new things. 

First up-I made some miniature Lasagna cups! They were really popular here:)

 I used some ricotta, parmesan and shredded mozzarella cheeses, along with an egg and some italian seasoning to make the "filling". I then made some spaghetti sauce with ground turkey, sauteed onions, a touch of sugar and a touch of baking soda (trust me, it makes all the difference:)!

Instead of pasta noodles, I used wonton wrappers.  I used a glass to make them round. You can cut through 3 at a time if you press hard enough:)

 Then, I simply sprayed my mini muffin tin with Canola oil spray and layered the wontons on the bottom, put some of the cheese filling, some of the sauce and continued in this fashion, topping it with some shredded mozzarella cheese at the end.

 Baked them on 350 for 15-20 minutes.....and, VOILA!

 Oh, my----so, so cute and so, so good! They were even better the next day! They were a bit crunchy on the parts that were not covered with sauce on day one, but when reheated, they softened up a bit more and were more of my liking.

 Em just loved having her apple slices with stars in the middle, lol.


One of the other things we love to do is make fresh juice with our electric juicer.

 I cut up all the fruits and veggies and the bigger girls help make the juice.
This time, I used carrots, black grapes and apples.

It is always a snack-fest as well. The girls love to eat the fruit before I can even get it into the juicer! I guess I shouldn't complain, LOL:0

All of the juice was gone in seconds! I dilute it down with water because it is too sweet to us. We don't buy bottled juice, so our taste buds just are used to drinking water or rice milk.

Here's my glass of fresh juice--yummy!

We usually do this in the fall to stave off all of the cold germs, too!

 Even the baby LOVED the watered down juice:)
Gotta teach them young how to enjoy healthy foods!

 Here is a look at some of the produce I bought this week. I love it when summer fruits and veggies are readily available. I am not looking forward to fall/winter when our supply is so limited;(

 The next thing I would like to share is a TREAT, for sure! I made these little ditties as appetizers for our "Taco Tuesday" night. They are considered a treat because I rarely fry anything in this house. So, the girls and my hubby really looked forward to it and enjoyed them.

 I used the wonton wrappers and filled them with lean ground turkey that I seasoned with taco seasoning and some shredded cheese.

 Our little helpers:)

 They always are eager to help and I love teaching them the art of cooking!

 I folded them up and lightly fried them in a little canola oil
They were gone in no time!!!

 They couldn't even wait to sit down for these:)

Now, I would like to share how to make the most delicious roasted chicken.
We usually buy 1 or 2 whole chickens per week. I like to roast them up and use them in a variety of ways. If I am using them in a secondary preparation, I will use less seasoning. In this case, this chicken was going to be eaten for Sunday dinner, so it has all of the bells and whistles.

You can use whatever seasonings you like, but I HIGHLY recommend using a fresh lemon, fresh herbs (I use thyme and rosemary) and a chopped onion!!!!

 Wash and pat dry your bird. Make sure there is nothing in the cavity. Chop up your onion and put it around the pan and inside of the chicken. Also put half of the lemon inside of the chicken along with your fresh herbs. Lightly drizzle some extra virgin olive oil  around the chicken and on the onions. Add a tiny bit of water to the bottom of the pan-maybe 1/2 cup or less. Season the chicken and onions all around. Bake on 325 for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the size of your bird.

*The key to an amazing roasted chicken is to cook it breast-side DOWN! I also do this with my Thanksgiving turkey, and it just is so tender and juicy, it literally falls apart. The 2nd critical piece is to cover the chicken. I use a roasting pan with a lid. The 3rd key is to cook it "slow and low."

 See how the wing is starting to pull away and the onions have caramelized? Oh, yeah----your family will LOVE you for this:)

 Look at the juice on the plate. No dry birds here!

 Serve it up and get ready to serve up seconds and thirds, lol.
Enjoy!
Blessings,
Aria:)