Jessie's Full Fat Lasagna

Equipment:
-1 big skillet, preferably non
-stick-1 large bowl
-1 large/medium bowl
-1 wooden spoon
-1 9x13 glass baking dish
-aluminum foil
-your fingers

Ingredients:
-1 Lb. ground turkey (not white)
-1 Lb. Italian Style turkey sausage
-coarse sea salt to taste (a three fingered pinch)
-pepper to taste
-garlic powder to taste (about an 1/8 tsp.)
-8 oz. full fat give you a heart attack but you have a smile on your face Philadelphia cream cheese (this is the secret ingredient) at room temperature (or close)
-8 - 12 oz. full fat ricotta cheese
-2 C. shredded mozzi cheese (better if you get a round and shred it yourself)
-1 - 1 1/2 C. shredded parmeggiano reggiano cheese (yes, you should use the expensive kind, not the kraft shredded parmesian)
-2 jars Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic marinara sauce
-1 package no-boil lasagna noodles
-dried basil or 1 C. loosely packed fresh basil leaves
-cooking spray

1. Heat oven to 375. Lightly spray baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In cold skillet, dump ground turkey. Break apart with wooden spoon. Squeeze sausage out of casings into skillet, mix well with ground turkey. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook thoroughly, stirring occasionally, about 12-15 minutes. Don't worry about draining it.
3. While meat is cooking, combine cream cheese, ricotta, shredded mozzerella, and shredded parmeggiano reggiano in medium bowl. Mix it with your fingers until well blended and you've got mush under your nails.
4. When meat is done, pour it into large bowl. Pour two bottles of sauce over meat and mix well.
5. Pour 2-3 C. of meat sauce into glass pan. (Pour just enough to cover the bottom well.) Add a layer of pasta, overlapping the sheets slightly. Add another 1-3 C. meat sauce. Spread over pasta.
6. Take handfulls of the cheese mixture, mash them flat with your palms, and spread loosely over meat sauce. They don't need to cover the whole thing totally, or overlap. They'll melt and join together.
7. Sprinkle a good dose of basil over the top. You want lots, but you still want to see the cheese beneath!
8. Add another layer of meat, pasta, meat, and remaining cheese. Sprinkle just a little with basil for looks.
9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes.
10. Uncover pan and cook an additional 15 minutes.
11. If top is not yet brown, put under the broiler for 3-5 minutes.
12. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving. Even better if you make this 24 hours or more ahead of time and then reheat/serve. The flavors mingle even more.

Jessie's Chunky Antipasto Salad

Salad:
-sausage or cheese stuffed tortellini (cooked)
-mozzie cheese (cow or buffalo) cubed
-thick sliced salami, quartered (whatever variety you like, but get it from a deli so it is sliced fresh)
-1 tall jar roasted red bell peppers, oil drained
-2 tall jars pickled mixed vegetables, Italian style, drained
-3 cans artichoke hearts in brine, NOT marinated, drained and rinsed
-1 jar mushrooms, 1/2 oil or water reserved
-1 can medium black olives, drained and rinsed
-1 jar sundried tomatoes, drained or 1/2 oil reserved (I didn't use these in mine but they would give a nice taste)
-fresh garlic, diced, to taste

Dressing:
-reserved mushroom liquid-oregano--however much you like (I used about 2 Tbls worth)-pinch sea salt-marjoram--about 2 Tbls worth
-choice Italian herbs; (a "sprinkle" or about 1/2-1 Tbls) these could include garlic powder, onion powder, basil, thyme, etc.)
-reserved tomato liquid (optional)
-1/4 C. to 1/2 C. red wine vinegar
-mashed garlic to taste (I use 2 cloves worth)
-1 C. olive oil (approximately--use more or less to taste)

1. Cook pasta al dente, erring on the side of underdone. Drain, rinse. Dump in really big bowl.
2. While pasta is cooking, mix together all dressing ingredients in medium bowl, save the oil. You want a medium sized bowl so you can whisk wildly without spilling. Whisk in oil, bit by bit, until blended. Set aside.
3. Add cubed cheese, quartered salami, peppers, vegetables, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, and garlic to the pasta. Stir it all up until evenly distributed.
4. Get really crazy with the whisk again and blend the dressing. Let rest for 2-3 minutes, then whisk like mad again.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad. Stir it up really, really well.
6. Refridgerate at least 8 hours before serving. Ideally, you'd make this 24 hours before serving.

***The ingredients are all approximate. Don't hesitate to taste at various stages along the way (with a clean spoon) and adjust accordingly.
***The pasta salad ingredients are totally dependent on what you like. Adjust quantities to your taste and don't be afraid to add. Chickpeas, rotini pasta, and/or sauteed diced onion would be good ingredients too.
***This salad, because it's all approximate, will taste different every time you make it. That's fine. As you make it more and more, you'll get a feel for what makes it really, really good, and yours.