A Winter Sunday ~ Turkey Mushroom Lasagna & Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie

On Sundays we usually relax and take it easy ~ read the paper while eating breakfast.

Go for a walk or hike in the woods.

Prepare dinner, most of the time just for the two of us; my husband & me.

Bake some delicious dessert, and then to top off the day, watch a movie. Nice way to spend the day!

This past sunday, we did just that. I love trying out new recipes and found a recipe for an amazing looking pie in Cooking Light Magazine; Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie. My challenge is always to make the recipe gluten-free. Reading through the recipe, I came to think of the frozen mud pie they serve at Joe's American Bar & Grill, which is one of my husband's favorite desserts. I've never made one, so I decided to adapt the Cooking Light recipe and make it into a Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie. I was up to the task. It was not that hard, but it did take several steps before we could dig in; bake the crust, make the filling, freeze, fill with ice-cream, freeze, fill with whipped cream, and freeze again. With dessert all set, what then, to make for dinner?? After looking through some cookbooks, I decided on Turkey Mushroom Lasagna. A combo between the recipes I found in Barefoot Contessa @ Home, and Every Day Italian by Giada De Laurentiis. Yes, it was a great dinner. The lasagna turned out fabulous, if I do say so myself, and OMG, the pie was so worth the time. Totally delicious!

Turkey Mushroom Lasagna

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

10 oz dry gluten-free lasagna noodles, I used BiAglut PastaMia Lasagna Noodles

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/4 lb. ground turkey breast

3 cups Marinara sauce, make your own, or store-bought (I used 1 jar, 25 oz)

4 tbsp red wine

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp gluten-free ketchup

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1 pound portobello mushrooms

3 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tomatoes, sliced and coarsely shopped

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, or use your favorite cheese topping

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt. Add the lasagna noodles and cook according to package (BiAglut Noodles took 4 minutes). Make sure the noodles are al dente; the center of the pasta should remain somewhat hard so that it won't overcook and become soggy when baked). Drain, then rinse the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking. Cover lightly with a damp towel to prevent the pasta from drying out. Set aside.

Slice and chop the mushrooms to 1/4-inch thickness. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan. When the butter melts, add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Set aside.

In a large saute pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground pepper, and sauté until turkey is lightly brown, breaking up any large clumps. Add the marinara sauce, tomato paste, garlic, wine, ketchup, and ground red pepper. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes. Taste for extra salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.

Spread 2 tbsp butter over a 13x9-inch baking dish.

To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the turkey-marinara sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then some of the mushrooms and some chopped tomatoes, then another layer of noodles. Repeat a layer of sauce, noodles, mushrooms and tomatoes. Top with a final layer of noodles and a thin layer of sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Bake the lasagna for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mud Pie

Adapted from The Best of Cooking Light 13: Special Edition

Crust:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free graham crackers crumbs, store-bought or make your own*

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp egg white

2 tbsp butter, melted

Canola Cooking Spray

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp fresh orange juice

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 3/4 cups 1% or 2% reduced-fat milk

3 oz dark chocolate, chopped, plus 1 oz for decoration

14 oz gluten-free coffee ice cream

Whipped Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped

1 tbsp confectioner's sugar

pinch of kosher salt

Gluten-Free Chocolate Syrup, or Fudge Sauce; store-bought, or your own

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To prepare crust: Add graham crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, salt to the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse to blend the dry ingredients in the food processor. Add the eggs and melted butter. Pulse to blend into sticky dough. Press the crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with canola cooking spray.

Bake the pie shell for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted; cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling; combine sugar and next 7 ingredients (through egg yolks) in the bowl of a stand mixer, like a Cuisinart, stirring well with the whisk attachment.

Place milk in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until milk reaches 180 degrees or until tiny bubbles form around edge. Make sure not to boil the milk. Gradually add hot milk to egg mixture, whisking constantly in the mixer. Return milk mixture to the pan; cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 3 oz of the dark chocolate; stir until smooth.

Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 10 minutes or until chocolate mixture cools, stirring occasionally.

Spoon filling into crust, and cover surface of filling with plastic warp. Freeze for 3 hours, or until set.

Remove the ice cream from freezer and soften in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Spread the ice-cream over the frozen filling. Return to freezer for 1 1/2 hours, or until set.

Spread the whipped cream over the frozen pie. Return to freezer for 1 hour, or until set.

Drizzle the pie with chocolate syrup or fudge sauce. For decoration, grate 1 oz of the dark chocolate over the pie. Return to freezer for 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Smaklig Måltid ~

Bon Appetit!

*Graham Crackers

1 cup Anna’s GF Cake Flour Mix, or your own favorite blend*
1 cup brown rice flour
¼ cup quinoa flour
1 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
½ cup light brown sugar
1 ¾ tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor.

Add 10 tbsp chilled butter

Add to food processor until crumble like texture.

Add 4 tbsp honey, and 1 tsp vanilla extract, and blend.


Add 6 tbsp water, blend until forming dough. Gather the dough ball and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or overnight), covered.

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Using 1/4 of the dough, work in more corn starch/ flour if necessary. Roll out on a piece of parchment paper, about 1/3-inche thickness. Cut out squares (2-3”), prick lightly with fork, and sprinkle with some sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until golden.

Makes 4 trays of cracker. Remove from oven, cool slightly before placing on racks. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

*Anna's GF Cake Flour Blend

2 cups brown rice flour

2 cups white rice flour

1 cup potato/or corn starch

1 1/4 cups tapioca starch