Recipe - Indonesian Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

This recipe was actually discovered by my mother-in-law and she made it for a big family gathering for the Fourth of July.  Everyone loved it and Travis insisted that I try to look up or figure out the recipe.  I found the version I use on allrecipes.com but since I never have plain tomato sauce on hand, I use tomato paste in mine.  It doesn't quite have the same taste as Laura's did that night, but is still delicious.  I usually serve it with a side of fried rice.  Also, instead of cubing my chicken breast, I sliced it thin into satay-style strips.

Indonesian Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch ground cumin
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup water
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
skewers

1 - In a bowl, mix soy sauce, tomato sauce, peanut oil, garlic, black pepper, and cumin. Place chicken into the mixture, and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, but not overnight. This will make the meat too dark.
2 - Preheat the grill for high heat.
3 - Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and saute onion and garlic until lightly browned. Mix in water, peanut butter, soy sauce, and sugar. Cook and stir until well blended. Remove from heat, mix in lemon juice, and set aside.
4 - Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill skewers about 5 minutes per side, until chicken juices run clear. Serve with the peanut sauce.

Recipe - White Veggie Lasagna

Travis was skeptical of this dish when he heard the name but was quickly won over when he saw the finished product.  Very tasty and lots of great leftovers.  Of course, since it's lasagna it reheats very well.  If you absolutely NEED to have some meat, I recommend using ground turkey with the veggies or some kind of chicken or turkey sausage.

White Veggie Lasagna

1 white onion
1 large carrot
1 large zucchini
2 yellow squash
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 pkg Lasagna noodles
1 15 oz. pkg of ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp oregano
1 egg
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar Alfredo pasta sauce, or your favorite homemade white sauce

1 - Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions (reserve 1 cup of pasta water for sauce), preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 - Grate or thinly slice your veggies.  In a large straight sided saute pan, cook the veggies and garlic over medium low heat with generous salt and pepper until the veggies loose most of their water.  Drain the excess water and add the Alfredo sauce.  Thin the sauce with pasta water or with milk, depending on your preference.  You want the sauce to be slightly thinner than you expect it to be after baking.

3 - Mix the ricotta, parmesan, 2 cups of mozzarella, egg, and oregano in a bowl.  Add some salt and pepper to taste.

4 - Assemble your lasagna: in a 9 x 13 rectangular pan, start with a very small amount of sauce so that the bottom noodles do not stick.  Layer the noodles, then half of the ricotta mix, and top with sauce.  Another layer of noodles, the rest of the ricotta, sauce.  For the very top, lay the noodles, the rest of the sauce, and the last cup of mozzarella.

5 - Bake the lasagna in the oven for 45-60 minutes, enough so the ricotta mix sets and the cheese on top is browned, but not burnt.  Let sit for 5 minutes then serve.