Pleasing My Man
This week, the Divas and Gents are covering the very important topic of Tips and Tricks You've Discovered for Keeping Your Man/Woman Happy. From the moment I saw this topic, I knew what I would post. You see, Prince Charming is like an army: he marches on his stomach. As such, it is important that I keep his tummy happy. Now, if given a choice, Prince Charming is happiest with a Steak or Ribs and some accompanying form of potato. However, seeing as how he usually does the grilling and this is about me pleasing him, so...I have recipes to share.
But first, a few notes about Prince Charming. First, he doesn't eat a lot of things. Chief among these are anything green and the vast majority of soft cheeses. As such, my recipe for lasagna (see below) features neither spinach, ricotta, nor even cottage cheese.
If I want to make my man happy, I make him my lasagna and my lemon cheesecake. He can live all week on the leftovers -- happily.
Easy & Fast Lasagna
1 lb. Ground beef ½ lb. Mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp. Garlic salt
¼ Cup onion, minced
1 Jar Barilla Pasta Baking Sauce or Prego Spaghetti Sauce flavored with meat
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 ½ tsp. oregano
1 pkg. Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles (flat – without ruffles)
Preheat oven to 375°. Brown hamburger and onion with garlic salt in olive oil until meat is well done. Stir in Baking Sauce, salt, pepper, and oregano. (If using the Prego, put in half a jar of additional water.) Simmer 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to marry. Place alternate layers of noodles, cheese, and sauce/meat mixture in a greased 3-quart casserole dish. End layers with the sauce/meat mixture and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If you prefer a meatier lasagna, use 2 pounds of ground beef and more sauce. It is very important that you use the Barilla no-boil noodles. That is what makes this recipe so fast and easy. You'll thank me later.
Lemon Cheese Cake: The Key to Prince Charming's Heart
2 Packages Cream Cheese (8 oz. size), softened
½ Cup Sugar
1 TB. Lemon Juice squeezed from a Lemon
½ tsp. Lemon Peel grated from a Lemon
½ tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 Graham Cracker Crust (store-bought is great)
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix softened cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, and vanilla on medium until well-blended. Add the eggs and mix until blended. Pour mixture into crust. Bake for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Refrigerate for three hours.
One note: If you need to serve more people, you can buy the larger Kiebler crust and simply make 1 ½ recipes of the cream cheese mixture. Works wonderfully! Or, if you prefer to use a springform pan and make your own graham cracker crust, double the recipe for a taller cheesecake. This recipe's secrets: do not attempt to work with cream cheese that is too cold or it won't turn out as creamy. Do not attempt to use lemon juice from a plastic or glass container - your cheesecake will have a whang to it. Splurge the 50 cents and buy a lemon. You don't have to add the lemon zest, but it adds a lot of flavor from the essential oils in the peel.
Now, there are other ways to please my man, in other more intimate arenas, but I'm not about to let that information out for public consumption. If I did, well...let's just say that for my job security's sake, that info is classified. And, you don't need to know.
For more tips and tricks, see what Silk, Theresa, Arielle, Mark, and Jamesyboy have to say.
