Alfredo Lasagna

Ingredients for Sauce (Tutorial)
1/2 C. Butter (aka: 1 stick)
2 Cloves Garlic (I use about 8)
2 C. Heavy Cream (16 ounces)
1/4 t. Pepper
1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
3/4 C. Mozzarella Cheese (I use the fine shred variety for quicker melting!)

To Prepare:
Melt butter on medium heat. Add garlic, cream and pepper- simmer (5 min.). Stir often. Add Parmesan cheese and simmer 10 minutes. When sauce seems thick, slowly add Mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth.

Ingredients for the lasagna:
3-4 chicken breasts worth of shredded chicken
1 (16 oz) container of cottage cheese
1 (2c.) package of shredded mozzarella
9 cooked lasagna noodles
1 small package of fresh spinach leaves
1 batch of homemade Alfredo sauce (I actually use 1/2 a batch).

For the layering:
I spread a little bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan, then I layer lasagna noodles (cooked), then I mix 1/3 of the Alfredo sauce with 1/3 the container of cottage cheese, and I spread that over the noodles.

Next I spread a layer of shredded chicken across the Alfredo/cottage cheese mix. Then I place a thin layer of fresh spinach leaves on top of the chicken.

I finish out the layer but sprinkling 1/3 of the package of mozzarella cheese. Triple the layers and add Italian bread crumbs on top of the final layer.

Bake at 350* for 45 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving! Enjoy!

Muffins

This is a simple and versatile recipe with ingredients that are most likely right in your cupboards! Flour, milk, sugar (in the lidded container), vegetable oil, baking powder, salt, an egg and something yummy to mix into the batter... I chose strawberries!

My son and I picked these strawberries last summer on a vacation up north...Mmmm, so yummy and special! Still frozen, I placed the berries in my food chopper.

I chopped enough for a cup's worth. The recipe that I am using (modified from Recipeczar.com) calls for just half a cup... but I prefer more yummy stuff!!!

***Keep in mind that you could use other mix- ins like blueberries, banana's or chocolate chips!

I wanted my muffins to have more of a breakfasty healthy-ness to them, so I added 1 1/2 cups of white flour and 1/2 cup of wheat flour... I'd just use while flour for more of a 'treat' type of muffin!!!

... and in goes the baking powder and the salt!

In a separate "wet ingredient bowl," I combined the milk, the egg and the oil.

Slowly, I added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

Lastly, I added the strawberries- they looked so beautiful in my mix!

Since I was primarily baking these muffins for my son (he just turned two), I used my mini muffin pans- but otherwise I would have used a 12 sectioned regular sized pan for this recipe.

After baking for just 18 minutes... they were perfect!

I LOVED the pink hue of the strawberries!

And yes, my son enjoyed them... especially with butter!

Recipe Recap:

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of sugar

1 Tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon of salt

1 Egg

3/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1 cup of fruit or chocolate

Serving size, 12 muffins

Bake at 400* for 18-20 minutes!

Cranberry Relish

This easy and delicious recipe takes about 10 minutes start to finish, but the best results (tastily speaking) are when these ingredients have been combined at least 12 hours before serving!

Ingredients: fresh cranberries, orangy- citrus fruit and sugar.

Begin by rinsing your berries.

While you are rinsing your berries, look for odd-ball squishable (past their prime) cranberries and toss them aside. Berries that are wrinkly, yet firm are still good to use, but the smushy ones need to go!

Fill your food chopper with berries.

NOTE: Do not fill to capacity, the berries need room to move around to get thoroughly chopped.

Just for the record... I LOVE the smell of cranberries! This step is heavily scented!

The two bags that I had purchased yielded about 8 cups of chopped cranberries.

One cup of sugar needs to be added to each bag of chopped berries.Here are my two cups!

NOTE: This is a once a year side dish... live it up and ENJOY the sugary goodness!

Next it is time to prepare the citrus fruit. This year I am using twoclementines (we're totally addicted!) instead of the typical single orange. You may choose your own preference!

I warmed my clementines in the microwave (20 seconds) to provoke their juiciness!

Then, while the fruit is still warm, roll it between the palm of your hand and the counter to really get the juices flowing!

The original recipe calls for zesting of the citrus peel. I have zested and lacked in zest over the years- and have found that this step isn't essential.

Clementines, in fact, cannot be zested... FYI!

NOTE: I have even substituted straight up orange juice when I have forgotten to bring an orange home from the grocery store... don't worry, this recipe is very forgiving!!!

Slice your fruit in half...

And squeeze all of the juiciness out!

Its OK if a few plump pieces of pulp fall into your dish... they'll be yummy!

Next add your sugar and mix thoroughly! (It *could* be tempting to lick the spoon post stirring, but I wouldn't advise it! Allow your ingredients to meld for a while before sampling to allow the bitter berries to absorb the sweetness!)

Keep in mind that your recipe will shrink due to the sugar added. Just after mixing, my 8 cups of cranberries + 2 cups of sugar are equalling about 6 cups of relish. When the relish is done combining, I will most likely have between 3 & 4 cups of cranberry relish!

Recipe Recap:

2 bags of fresh cranberries

2 cups of sugar

1 large or 2 small citrus-y fruits

Personal NOTE: I don't care for gravy so I have always slathered my turkey with this cranberry relish- try a bite in my honor... you'll thank me!!!

Faux Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients: Ground beef, potatoes, mixed veggies, cream of chicken soup, milk and corn starch... how could you go wrong? Simple. Inexpensive. Yummy.

*Note: I'm pretty sure that I have never used corn starch before- so I had to make a mad dash last minute run to get some... don't worry if you need to purchase some too, mine was only $1.29!

I decided to start with the potatoes. I peeled and boiled 5 good sized potatoes. I did have a bit left over- but I'm OK with that... wink!

The recipe calls for STIFF mashed potatoes, which means NO milk or butter can be added. So I decided to whip out my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and let it do the hard work of mashing for me! (I WILL NEVER HAND MASH AGAIN...EVER!)

Bonus features from using a mixer (just in time for Thanksgiving... you're welcome!)
1. Perfectly smooth mashed potatoes!
2. All of the swirling helped to cool the potatoes more quickly.
3. I could attend to making the rest of the recipe- I simply just walked away!
4. No muscle fatigue or cranky attitude flare up mid-mashing!

I added one pound of my previously cooked ground beef. It is important NOT to drain the beef, as this adds to the flavoring of the dish. I used Angus, which left me with less 'juices' than other varieties may have.

Once the ground beef has been thoroughly cooked, I added the contents of one can of cream of chicken soup. Mix well and heat thoroughly.

While my meat and soup were melding together on the stove top, I stirred one cup of milk and one tablespoon of cornstarch together.

It is important not to have any cornstarch lumps - so I made sure to smash the back of my spoon into the side of the measuring cup while stirring to break apart any lumps that I found.

TIP: Once you are satisfied that your contents are thoroughly mixed, pour immediately into the pot on the stove. The cornstarch will settle to the bottom of the container when you stop stirring.

Next add a package of frozen mixed veggies (I LOVE adding my FREE after doubled coupon veggies into meals!!!).

Keep stirring until all of your ingredients are heated thoroughly and are combined well.

I lightly sprayed the bottom of my casserole dish and poured my beef and veggie mixture inside.

Next, I loaded up a piping bag with an extra large decorating tip (I knew these would come in handy someday...) and I squeezed little dollops of mashed potatoes, coating the top. In truth, you could just spread a thin layer of potatoes on top with a spatula... but where is the fun in that? AND... I loved cutting perfect pieces between the potato dollops...

TIP: The warmer the mashed potatoes, the easier the squeezing and the better the presentation. I actually made a second Shepherd's Pie to freeze, and the time between piping the two batches allowed my potatoes to cool significantly. I also noticed that the first pie was far more attractively piped, so next time I will microwave my potatoes if necessary.

Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes, or until thoroughly warmed!

And let me say, this is delicious!!!

Recipe Recap: serves 4
1 pound of undrained ground beef
4-5 medium/large potatoes
1 package of mixed vegetables
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

This recipe *may* be the perfect answer to what to do with your leftover potatoes after Thanksgiving...

Apple Crisp

I decided to bring Apple Crisp to our weekly Life Group meeting, and a single batch (serves 6) would NEVER be enough... so I doubled the recipe.

I washed, peeled, quartered and sliced 16 medium sized apples.

I placed all of my apple slices in a lightly sprayed 9 x 13.

Since I had only planned to make a single batch, I had only set one stick of butter out on the counter to come to room temperature. I pulled a second stick from the freezer and I microwaved it on defrost(watching carefully for a puddle to start forming from the inside) until the butter nearly became room temperature. (tricky, tricky!)

I then measured 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar (3/4 cup per batch)- but my brown sugar had a few lumps. So I put my brown sugar in the microwave for 30 seconds and I was easily able to smush my lumps into the standard brown sugar consistency. (More tricky-ness!!!)

Next, I added my two sticks of butter, 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 cup of quick-cooking oats, cinnamon and vanilla to taste!

Apple Crisp is not a beautiful dessert, especially pre-baked in this picture! But all 12 servings were consumed before I could snap a final picture! Hmmm, maybe I'll have to bake this again later this week, especially while apples are inexpensive and in season!!!

Recipe Recap: (single recipe version, serves 6)

4-6 Apples. Core, skin, quarter and slice.

3/4 Cup all-purpose flour.

1/2 Cup quick oats.

3/4 Cup brown sugar.

1 Stick of butter.

1 Teaspoon cinnamon

1 Teaspoon vanilla

*Layer as instructed above. Bake at 375* for 30 minutes.

Mashed Potato Soup

Each time that I make this soup, I break the process into two days. On the first day I prepare the potatoes. Normally I purchase 10 pounds of potatoes(the variety isn't really all that important, but I find the bigger the potatoes the less time it takes to peel them!), but this time I peeled 15 pounds because I was taking this soup to a party!

After I have rinsed and peeled my potatoes, I like to cut them into chunks so that they boil and cook faster. Large potatoes I slice into six sections and the smaller ones just into quarters.

Boiling potatoes is very easy, just fill the pot with water until your potatoes are completely covered with water. Keep in mind that the potato water likes to bubble over, so keep a close eye (I prefer to keep within ear shot) on your pot. I usually keep the lid offset enough to let a little bit of steam escape, and somehow this keeps my pot from boiling over.

While my potatoes were cooking, I peeled and shredded my 1 pound bag or carrots. It is FAR easier to shred long carrots than chubby/short baby carrots. And long carrots are less expensive too. ($.79/bag for long carrots vs. $1.39/bag for baby carrots.)

I was pleasantly surprised to receive nearly 4 cups of shredded carrot from just a single pound bag. I popped both of these containers into the freezer, even though one would be used the next day!

When my potatoes were done cooking (you can test their 'doneness' with a fork, if a fork easily pierces a potato they are done!) I drained all of the 'potato' water out of the stock pot. I reserved about 8 cups for use in the soup stock. (I let the potato water cool completely on my counter before I let it refrigerate overnight.)

Here are my two secret weapons for supremely yummy mashed potatoes... a block of cream cheese and a stick of butter!!! YUMM-O! I cut my cream cheese and butter into squares and then I mash them into my potatoes (hint: I mash my potatoes with the pot in the kitchen sink so that it can't accidentally slip off of the counter when I'm furiously mashing!)

I fill a 9x13 pan with mashed potatoes, and I will use the rest of the mashed potatoes as the base to my soup! (And yes, I like my mashed potatoes lumpy!)

After filling my 9x13, I still had 8 cups of mashed potatoes left over for the soup. I allowed both of these containers of potatoes to cool before I set them into the refrigerator overnight.

The following afternoon (day of serving) I put together the rest of my ingredients for the soup. On the far left is the 8 cups of potato water, I used 1 bag (even though 2 were pictured) of frozen corn, 2 jars of bacon crumbles(you could crumble your own), the small container of liquid is home made chicken stock, 8 cups of mashed potatoes, and 2-ish cups of shredded carrots.

I also shredded a block of cheddar cheese to use as a topping!

After your soup has had a chance to meld together (either on the stove top or in your crock pot) for about 2 hours, warm your mashed potatoes in the oven (30 min. at 350*).

Place a large scoop of mashed potatoes into the bottom of your bowl and add a ladle or two of your mashed potato soup on top. Add shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream and... enjoy!