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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Lasagna w/ Grain-free Noodles

This evening we had Lasagna w/ Grain-free Noodles for dinner. The lasagna was actually lasagna I made this past Christmas. I had frozen four pieces and wrapped them to make 2 meals for hubby and I to enjoy at a later time. Well, tonight was that "later time"! I took 2 pieces out of the freezer a couple of nights ago and placed them in the fridge to thaw. I got home a little late from work tonight and simply reheated them along with some leftover spicy arabbiatta sauce (DeLallo) I had left in the fridge. I topped the lasagna with the sauce and sprinkled a little fresh Italian parsley on top and "Voila"...we were dining at our own private little trattoria! LOL I actually enjoyed it more this evening than I did when I made it on Christmas...all the enjoyment with none of the work. The recipe I use to make the grain-free "noodles" is my basic tortilla recipe that I simply thin with a little bit of water to make thinner "noodles". It work great. The most important tip is to use less sauce than you think you need inside the lasagna (about 1/2 to 3/4 of what you would normally use) and to add additional sauce on top of or puddled onto your plate if you like more sauce with your lasagna. This will ensure a more beautiful, non-sloppy piece of lasagna. This lasagna that I had tonight had browned ground sirloin and chicken Italian sausage and was layered with fresh mozzarella, sliced regular mozzarella, sliced provolone, shredded Parmigiano Reggiano, ricotta and spicy arabbiatta sauce. You layer it the same way you would your favorite lasagna recipe. The only difference is you use less sauce because these noodles don't absorb as much as regular wheat noodles do. I was very curious to see how the noodles would hold up after being frozen for 6 weeks, thawed and then reheated. They held up beautifully and were just as good today as they were at Christmas time. I snapped a few photos of tonight's "leftover lasagna" for you to see. Here is the link to another similar grain-free lasagna I made last November (a round one) ----> Grain-free Lasagna. I included my recipe for the "noodles" below. Enjoy!





Grain-free Lasagna Noodles/Tortillas
Makes approximately eight 8-inch noodles/tortillas

Ingredients:


For the noodles/tortillas:
1 cup egg whites or Egg Beaters
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons ground golden flax
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons finely grated Parmesan (powdery style)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Dash of onion powder or garlic powder, optional

Directions:

To make the tortillas/noodles:
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl to form a smooth, thin batter (makes approximately 1-1/2 cups batter). Lightly spray a 10-inch non-stick skillet with olive oil spray and heat over medium-high heat. Pour a few tablespoons batter into hot skillet, tilting the pan and using a circular motion to evenly distribute the batter in the bottom to make an approximate 8-inch tortilla/noodle. Cook approximately 1 to 2 minutes, until very lightly browned and cooked around edges. Carefully loosen and flip using a rubber spatula; cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat for remaining noodle/tortillas (lightly re-spraying pan for each). Makes approximately eight 8-inch tortillas. 

   

18 comments:

  1. I eat frozen lasagna using your noodles at least once a week, and I think it even tastes better once frozen :-)

    Your grain free tortillas have revolutionized my Low carbs lifestyle.

    I have friends and family coming over to try new recipes I steal from your site.

    I can't thank you enough for letting us share your discoveries.

    It's good you live in another country, my wife worries I would invite myself over :-)

    Luc

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  2. Hi Luc! LOL...I can't stop laughing about you inviting yourself over. No worries...I would invite your wife, too! :-) I'm so glad you are enjoying the grain free tortillas/noodles. They do help open up lots of low carb possibilities, don't they. So happy you and your family and friends are enjoying the recipes. Thank you! :-)

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  3. I discovered you this week. and made a shopping list based on your recepies. I made the lasagna. It tasted very close to the real thing but the next day....it tasted like the "real thing". Like Luc I agree your grain free tortillas have been a big life saver for me. I made a breakfast wrap this morning and a pizza last night. I have stack in the fridge ready to go. Tonights dinner is your Grilled smokey chicken with "pasta". Please keep sharing. Thank you!!!Ness

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  4. Hi GGC,

    Good to know that the noodles freeze and reheat well. Have you tried freezing and defrosting other baked goods, such as cookies, mini muffins, bagels, etc.? I didn't get around to baking "goodie bags" this year, but next Christmas I'd like to try baking and freezing well ahead of the holiday rush.

    Hope your weather has been more cooperative lately. We'll be back in the deep-freeze again for several days. Right now it's 2 degrees, but at least it's *above* zero ... for now. Expecting more snow tomorrow after having dug ourselves out of 2-foot snowdrifts a couple days ago. OK ... Uncle! Now that I've cried "uncle" do you think it'll do any good? :-)

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  5. Hi Ness -- Thanks so much. I'm happy you are enjoying the tortillas and using them for a variety of different things. Sometimes it really is the "little things" that make thing so much easier for us, isn't it! :-)

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  6. Hi CyberSis! Wow...sounds like you have really had your share of winter already! I can't even imagine your winters. The "noodles" were actually frozen IN my already made lasagna and they did hold together perfectly (they didn't get soggy or fall apart, etc.). I have not tried freezing the tortilla/noodles by themselves and then thawing. I really need to make a few extra next time just to put them in the freezer and see how they handle the thawing. I think they would hold up fine, I'm just wondering how to separate them (maybe wax paper, etc.) or maybe just stack a few together and see how they handle the thaw and come apart, etc. I am trying to intentionally freeze some of my leftovers to use as "convenience" food on occasion. I had one huge FAIL recently -- I froze 6 cups of chicken stock and wanted to see how it would freeze in a Ziploc freezer bag...LOL. I haven't used it yet but when I went to move it around, it sort of poked through my wire shelving in the freezer before freezing. I did not think I would EVER get that bag out of there and ripped it in the process. I've since placed it in another bag but for SURE will place it in a bowl when I go to thaw and use it. I don't know why I didn't put it in a container to freeze! "Face palm smack" to my head! LOL I have successfully frozen biscuits, bagels...but have yet to freeze mini-muffins. I can't remember if I tried the cookies...they usually don't hang around long enough to freeze, but I should try that. I know others that freeze my cookies successfully and just remove them as they eat them. Stay warm! :-)

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  7. Hi GGC,

    Hee, hee ... how did I miss that it wasn't just the noodles that came out of the freezer? I was definitely up way too late!

    Wow, you were really lucky that the broth was completely frozen before the bag ripped. What a mess when you get liquid spilled in the freezer ... ask me how I know! :-)

    I've been using glass canning or spaghetti sauce jars to store stuff in the fridge & freezer. For defrosting I first remove the cap and place the frozen jar of stuff in the microwave on *LOW* for a few minutes (you don't want to break the jar) till it's slushy enough to remove into a saucepan. It takes up more storage space that way, but I prefer to limit my exposure to plastic as much as possible. I know, I know ... it's a losing battle!

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  8. Hi CyberSis -- I never thought about freezing in glass before! I will have to save some of my jars and try it -- do you leave an inch or so of space for expansion? I'm not crazy about plastic either. But it seems its everywhere, doesn't it! I do want to check out freezing the tortillas and noodles one day soon though! :-)

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  9. Yes, I too am using glass more and more for storage! In addition to my regular storage containers, I always save the glass jars that have a fairly wide mouth. I discovered by accident that the Spectrum coconut oil jar lids fit the regular Ball or Mason canning jars, which is nice. I try to make chicken broth occasionally and freeze it in the jars, leaving about an inch for expansion. (I too had one break in the freezer, yuck!)

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  10. Hi GGC,

    Yes, I do leave "expansion space" at the top of the jar. As for baked goods, it seems you'd have to wrap them air-tight to keep frost from forming inside the package (thus stealing moisture from the baked goods.) When I've frozen bread before I've stacked slices with wax paper in between and then wrapped the whole thing tightly in plastic and put it in a freezer bag. Maybe one could substitute heavy duty foil for the plastic wrap. Even with tight wrapping it seems that you can't really keep it *that* long ... air and moisture find their way in after a while no matter what and you end up with a bag full of frost. For Christmas, I'm thinking that up to 4 weeks in advance would be fine for cookies.

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  11. Hi Darlene -- that's good to know! I am going to start saving my jars, too! :-)

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  12. Hi CyberSis -- I know, it's hard to believe -- no matter what I have wrapped and frozen (meats, etc.) moisture does find its way in eventually, doesn't it! I actually took a chuck roast out a couple days ago and rewrapped it (that I had bought in a package of 2 at Costco) because I saw ice crystals sneaking in. I'm going to start saving jars, too! :-)

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  13. Hi everybody! Just come over to my house! I have a huge card box filled with jars of every size and shape. I have been using them for years! I told GG, I like to be prepared !
    Our Costco here has a wonderful box of COUNTERFOLD WAXED PAPER., 500SHEETS ( 10X10 3/4 ). Very inexpensive, it also comes in foil, I could not do without it! Ideal for tortillas when one wants to store them in the freezer.(To put in-between each tortilla)
    Costco has had this for many years.
    I use the waxed paper sheets for the microwave oven too!
    By the way GG, when I saw the photo of your very colorful lasagne , I wanted a piece of it so badly! You see what you do to us ! Torture -- that is what I call it! LOL!
    Stay warm, Barbara.

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  14. Hi Barbara...once again I am sitting here laughing (about torturing you with my lasagna). LOL I don't know why I've never paid attention to the wax paper squares at Costco -- after all, I buy their jumbo rolls of parchment paper and plastic wrap which must be right beside the wax paper. Great that it's already cut, too (because that's a pain to cut each piece). That really would be perfect to place between tortillas and wrap individual smaller items like biscuits, cookies, etc. I will look for it when I go next week. Oh, and yes, you did tell me you like to be prepared...and I believe it! Thanks for the great tip/idea -- I will get the wax paper next time I go. :-)

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  15. I was wondering to limit exposure to plastic but keep the properties of vacuum sealing would it make since to wrap food in parchment them vacuum or would the plastic properties seep thru

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  16. Hi Cindy -- That's a good question. I would think the parchment would limit or reduce contact with the plastic, but I'm not really sure to be honest. I know I try to limit exposure as much as possible, but sometimes it's hard to do. :-)

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  17. Do you think the whole egg could be used instead of just the whites.

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  18. Hi Anonymous,

    You could try the whole egg but don't make a big batch the first time. I found that using the whole egg made a more fragile tortilla that cracked. I'm not sure why. I usually will pick up a carton of egg beaters to use when I make these so I don't have to waste my more expensive organic cage free eggs. You might have better luck with yours. Let me know. :-)

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