Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are. – Bertolt Brecht

As with any recipe, there are changes over time. Either you want to try some new twist or you are out of an ingredient, you sub something in and never look back. They are ever changing and, as such, some of the recipes from earlier posts aren’t made the same way anymore. This can only mean one thing……..

RECIPE REVAMP!!!!

First up we have the Lasagna Cupcakes, which have become a big hit in this house. As I mentioned with that recipe, Josh Lyons (@JoshLyonsPhotos) suggested a game changer. He suggested folding the corners in on top of it and making it a parcel almost. We went a step further and decided to add in another layer entirely. Start with the wonton wrapper, meat, sauce, cheese method same as always. then put another wonton wrapper on top and press down the middle. This gets meat and sauce, then fold the four corners in and stick them to the sauce. This keeps them in place and allows the cheese to cover the top. We tried it once and haven’t looked back, it kicked the recipe up to a whole new level. Also, even though I haven’t tried it yet, you can also switch out the meat for pan fried veggies just as easily and make this a vegetarian dish. I would suggest zucchini, mushroom, and peppers as they are what I use when making meat free lasagna.

This is what I love about cooking, there’s always a new way to do it, and it brings people together.

For those visual learners, this is what you’ll end up with

Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App

Yes, the cheese looks different than yours, I use Daiya Dairy Free Cheese. Honestly, even if dairy was tolerable, I think I’d still use it. I love the stuff.

Next on the docket is the Make Ahead Potatoes and that is as simple as taking the risk and leaving it in for a bit longer, or turning up the heat to 375. This does require a bit of a close eye, but the results are well worth it. We also added green onion and mixed it throughout. But, unlike the rest of the veggies, the green onion went in raw, which I believe yields a better and sharper flavor.

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When I first made the Any Meal CasSurreal I said that it you can really put anything in it. It’s a culinary building block and a lot of fun to experiment with. My favorite tweak to date was when we have some of the Loaded Chicken Burgers in the fridge, so we broke them down and fried them up and used it as the base for the CasSurreal. Since all of the veggies we normally put in are already a part of the burgers it cut down on prep time. Everything else is done the same. We also made one with the shrimp that is in the same entry as the burgers, its a long entry, which turned out quite good too. My houseguests at the time preferred the shrimp version, whereas I really liked the chicken burger base, so enjoy experimenting with it!

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To date, these are the tweaks and modifications that have been made to the recipes within the blog. As I make changes, I’ll post them here. As well as new recipes.

Also, there seems to be a small but loyal group of readers, so I thank you immensely as I would be the only one reading these otherwise & I already know what I do, I don’t need updates.

I would also like to ask you all to take a look at this blog and send me any questions/complaints/criticisms/suggestions that you may have.

Either e-mail me  iam@tonylantz.com or simply leave a comment below.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Also, tattoo is fully healed.

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A tattoo is something permanent when you’ve made a self-discovery, or something you’ve come to a conclusion about. – Angelina Jolie

Going to do a few entries today, bring everything up to date. I’ve had houseguests and a change of employment status so my updating has been slack, but rest assured, I am back in the command chair and ready to blog!

As you can gather by the title of this entry (Don’t worry, there will probably never be another one from Angelina), if they ever had any relation to the post, it has to do with a tattoo. I got my 4th two weeks ago today and it has almost healed.

This is the quickest turn around time from getting the idea to getting it in ink. I’ll post all the pics then explain the meaning behind it.

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Design.

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The last time this arm will ever be bare.

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Stencil.

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Outline.

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Finished Product.

Explanation.

When talking with Marc Wright, my amazing artist, it started out as an owl with a frying pan, then became an owl sitting on a rack of pots and pans, like you would see over an island in a kitchen. The pots and pans were then switched out for forks and spoons. Then Marc came up with the final suggestion that was perfect.

My dad’s favorite animal is an owl, my mom is/was always in the kitchen cooking and has all these wooden utensils. Owls also symbolize knowledge and they both taught me how to cook, and so many other things about life and family….they’re also occasionally perched looking over my shoulder =P

To avoid crazy long posts, I’m going to keep this one tattoo centric and keep the food posts to the following two.