Melt-In-Your-Mouth Crockpot Lasagna

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At Passanante’s Home Food Service we know you don’t always have time after a long day of work to prepare a homemade meal for your family – which is why we are always on the prowl for delicious crockpot recipes you can prepare the day before, or even the morning of, and serve up hot right at dinner time! This simple slow-cooker lasagna recipe is always a crowd pleaser and it couldn’t be any easier to prepare. Remember, the best part of this recipe and just about every recipe is you can order all of the groceries you need and have them delivered right to your door.

What You Need:

  • 1 pound ground beef chuck
  • 1 teaspoon dried italian seasoning
  • 1 28 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
  • 1/3 cup of water
  • 8 Lasagna noodles, uncooked
  • 1 15 ounce carton of ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided use)

How To:

  1. Mix uncooked ground chuck, 1 teaspoon of dried italian seasoning, spaghetti sauce and 1/3 cup of water in separate bowl
  2. Ladle meat sauce into the crock pot to cover the bottom and create the first layer
  3. Cover with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese
  4. Place 4 uncooked lasagna noodles over the top
  5. Pour ricotta cheese over uncooked lasagna noodles
  6. Ladle more of the meat sauce over ricotta cheese
  7. Cover with the remaining uncooked lasagna noodles.
  8. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or until all liquid is absorbed
  9. 15 minutes before serving cover with the remaining cup of mozzarella cheese until melted
  10. Serve with warm garlic bread and ENJOY!

Feel free to customize your version by adding in other ingredients including mushrooms, garlic or even italian sausage!

George’s Corner: Support Our Veterans!

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Passanante’s Presents GEORGE’S CORNER, a special column written by 10 year veteran of Passanante’s Home Food Service, George Flasinski.

PENNSYLVANIA AMERICAN LEGION HOUSING FOR HOMELESS VETERANS CORP

Did you know that one-third of the adult homeless population is veterans? In my opinion we have an obligation to ensure they have the support necessary to live a productive life after their military service. About 1.5 million other veterans are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

Why are veterans homeless? In addition to the factors influencing all homelessness – extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income and access to health care – a large number of displaced and at-risk veterans are living with the lingering effects of post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse. These factors are often times compounded by a lack of family and social support networks. Our homeless veterans need access to secure, safe, and clean housing that offers a supportive environment free of drugs and alcohol.

What seems to work best? According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the programs that seem to work best feature structured, transitional housing that are substance-free and populated with fellow veterans who share the common goal of bettering themselves.

What can I do? Support programs like The Pennsylvania American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans program. We are a nonprofit ‘veterans helping veterans’ organization that partners with the VA’s program for homeless veterans. Our program is designed to enhance the quality of life for the veteran and their families by providing clean transitional housing. It will also help them to become productive taxpaying citizens by securing a decent job. Our homes are located in Moon Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Our vision is to give homeless veterans a second chance at the American dream.

The remodeling and upkeep of these homes is the responsibility of The American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans, Inc. We need your support! Thank you in advance for your consideration and support.

In order for The American Legion to finance this program, we are asking for your support. Please make checks payable to: PA American Legion Housing for Homeless, Inc.  Mail to: Ron Conley, President, 709 Hope Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15220.

For additional information please call: The Pennsylvania American Legion at 717-730-9100.

George Flasinski

Legislative Committee Chairman — Sons of the American Legion — Detachment of Pennsylvania

*The views or opinions expressed in “George’s Corner” blogs do not necessarily reflect those of Passanante’s Home Food Service.

“Pink Slime”

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“Pink slime”.  You may have heard the buzz about the use of this ammonia treated meat filler and the recent rejection of this product by major fast food chains including McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Burger King. We, for one, are happy to hear that this bubble gum colored meat paste of animal waste trimmings, connective tissues and fat will no longer grace the buns of drive-through burgers.

Pink SLIME

Photo Credit: Michael Kindt

Once collected, the meat trimmings are sprayed with ammonium hydroxide to kill pathogens like salmonella and E. coli. According to MSNBC, ammonium hydroxide is a powerful chemical with the potential to turn into ammonium nitrate—a common component in household cleaners, fertilizers and homemade bombs. Sounds healthy?

Many members of the health and food community including microbiologists and food safety inspectors agree these “lean beef trimmings”, originally called “soylent pink”, are a high risk product and should not be confused with real meat. Fortunately, an ABC News investigation discovered just how much pink slime has infiltrated America’s meat industry.

Shockingly, up to 70% of the ground beef found in supermarkets across America contain the less than appetizing pink paste. And it doesn’t stop there. The USDA is purchasing 7 million pounds of the slime for school lunches as reported by The Daily.

Naturally, the USDA insists this unnatural and chemically treated tissue paste meets the highest standard for food safety and even argues its nutritional equivalence to ground beef. Fortunately, the public outcry against pink slime is bringing this problem into the forefront of the meat industry conversations, and hopefully our grocery stores and school cafeterias will safe from “pink slime” in the future.

Passanante’s is committed to providing our customers with natural, hormone-free, chemical-free, safe and delicious meats. Treat your family to the real deal, not pink slime. Give us a call today at 1-800-772-7786 to speak to a member of our team about eating better!

Choosing Organic Fruits & Veggies

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Eating organic has certainly become a trend over the past 10 years. If you look hard enough you can find organic veggies at nearly any grocery store or neighborhood market in the US.  Millions of adults are choosing to change their ways after decades of fast food, take out and over processed treats. Let’s face it, we’re all trying to take better care of ourselves now that we know better. Perhaps one of the greatest responsibilities of this new community of organic eating, recyclable grocery bag toting, health conscious parents is the necessity to pass along these habits to generations to come.

Don’t just serve organic foods to your children; explain why you’re serving them.  Do a little science project with your family and look at the difference between organic and non-organic fruits and vegetables. You’ll be amazed at what you find!

You may have seen this video circulating on the web, but we thought there was a lot to learn from this simple experiment and wanted to share. Tell us how you explain organic foods to your children, we’d love to hear your stories!

Count on Passanante’s Home Food Service to deliver delicious, pesticide-free, organic fruits and veggies right to your door! If you haven’t yet made the switch to organic and would like to learn more about the benefits of this healthier lifestyle give us a call at 1-800-772-7786 to chat with a member of our team.

Simple Chicken Divan To Die For!

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Your friends at Passanante’s Home Food Service know you’re always looking for simple and delicious meals to prepare for your family. This fantastic Chicken Divan recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser, and with the goodness of hormone-free chicken and organic broccoli it’s a meal you can be proud to serve!

Simple Chicken Divan

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 boiled hormone-free chicken breasts
  • 1 head organic broccoli crowns
  • 1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
  • 2 cans cream of chicken soup
  • Fresh squeezed juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 package of shredded cheese
  • 1 small jar of pimentos

How To Make It:

  1. Lightly steam organic broccoli until bright green and line the bottom of the casserole dish with broccoli crowns.
  2. Tear boiled hormone-free chicken into bite-sized pieces and place over broccoli
  3. Mix other ingredients together in a bowl (mayo, cream of chicken soup, lemon juice)
  4. Spread mixture over broccoli and chicken
  5. Cover with shredded cheese and pimentos for color (pimentos are optional)
  6. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees until hot and bubbly
  7. Serve with yummy warm rolls

Gather Your Family Around The Table And Enjoy!