The best Homemade Spaghetti Pie

• This classic dish is the perfect way to use leftover spaghetti or even freshly cooked spaghetti when you're craving a filling dish. The flavors from Sargento® Shredded Mozzarella - Traditional Cut and a hearty pasta sauce all bake together until harmoniously melted.
• Serves 6
• 6 oz. spaghetti, cooked
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 cup (2 oz.) Sargento® Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 3/4 cup (3 oz.) Sargento® Shredded Mozzarella - Traditional Cut, divided
• 1 cup Sargento® Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1 cup pasta sauce

Directions

1. Toss spaghetti with olive oil in large bowl. Stir in eggs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Pour spaghetti mixture into greased 10-inch pie plate; form into a crust.
2. Spoon Ricotta cheese over spaghetti crust. Top with pasta sauce. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 25 minutes. Top with half of the Mozzarella cheese. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with remaining Mozzarella cheese. Cool 10 minutes before cutting.

Steak and Potato Nachos

Ingredients

for 3 servings 

• 2 russet potatoes, sliced
• 1 lb
   skirt steak
• 4 tablespoons
   olive oil
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoons
   paprika
• 1 cup
   shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup
   shredded monterey jack cheese
• sour cream
• salsa, optional
• 2 green onions, minced

Preparation

1. Place sliced potatoes in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika.
2. Lay the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 450˚F (230˚C) for 20 minutes.
3. Season skirt steak with salt and pepper. Cook on high heat for roughly three minutes each side, for medium-rare.
4. Let the steak rest for 10 minutes, then slice into cubes.
5. In a cast iron skillet or baking sheet, arrange cooked potatoes into a heap. Top with steak, then cheddar and monterey jack cheese. 
6. Broil for five minutes or until the cheese is melted.
7. Serve immediately with sour cream, salsa, green onions or any topping of choice. Enjoy

Glazed Orange Rolls

GLAZED ORANGE ROLLS

4-1/4-4-1/2 cups flour

1 pkg yeast

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

3 T butter

3 eggs

6 T butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1-12 te shredded orange peel

1-1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

2-3 T orange juice

In mixer bowl, combine 2 cups flour and yeast.  Heat milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 T butter and 1/2 t salt til warm stirring to melt butter

Add to dry mixture; add eggs, Beat at low for 1/2 minute,  Beat 3 minutes at high.  Stir in enough remaining flour to make moderately soft dough.  Knead til smooth.  Place in grated bowl; turning once, Cover; let rise til double 1-2 hours.  Punch down divide in half. Cover and rest 10 minutes

Roll each half into 12x8” recgtangle. Combine 6 T butter, 1/2 cup sugar and peel; spread over dough. Roll up.

Slice into 12 rolls.  place in muffin pans

Cover and let rise til double.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Combine powdered sugar and OJ for glaze. Drizzle.  Makes 24

Great BEEF STEW. America Test Kitchen

3 lb beef chuck roast, cut into 1-1/2" cubes.  Season generously with salt/pepper.
3 T oil
1/4 t. salt
2 med onions, chipped
3 cloves garlic minte
3 T flour
1 cup cranberry juice
2 cup beef broth
2 bay leaves
4 med red potatoes, 1" cubes
4 large carrots, sliced
1 cup frozen peas

Heat 1 T oil in pan  and Brown mean in 2 batches.
add a bit more oil to coat pan, scraping up the bottom of the pan
Add garlic, stir in flour and cook til lightly colored, 1-2 minutes

Add cranberry juice and beef broth.  Simmer and then add beef

Heat to low and cover for 1 hour.

Add potatoes and carrots.  cook uncover for 1 hour

Add peas and cover for 5 minutes

FINALLY...AN AMAzING CHICKEN SOUP IN PRESSURE COOKER! from Am Test Kitchen

1 T veg oil
1 onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic. minced
1 t thyme
8 cups watr
4 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 T soy sauce
4 lb chicken, remove giblets..season with salt and pepper inside and out
salt/pepper
4oz egg noodles


in a pressure cooker

Heat the veg oil on med.
Cook the onion for 5 minutes, stirring
add garlic cloves for 30 seconds
add 1 t. thyme

Add 8 cups water, carrots, celery and soy sauce

Place the chicken, breast side up.

Add the lid and turn onto high til pressure meets. Keep it on a low steady steam by adjusting temps as you go.

Turn off heat.

Use the quick release and shake a bit.

Remove chicken and set til cool...pick off the meat in pieces.

Bring broth to boil and add 4 oz egg noodles for 5 minutes.

Add chicken pieces.  Top wit 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Season as needed.

Cherry Fluff

Was at Jan Warren's yesterday and she served 2 wonderful things.   Here's a sort of dessert or salad but whichever it was a perfect foil for the Sausage Crescent Bites

This morning, looking for another recipe in a family cookbook we had put together about 1982 and discovered there are several similar recipes but none exactly like this:

1-21 oz cherry pie filling (Jan used extra cherry can)
1-14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1-20 oz crushed pineapple thoroughly drained
1-8 oz thawed Cool Whip

Mix these well.

Add 1 cup mini marshmallows

Chill at least 2 hours.

Crescent Sausage Bites

Was at Jan Warren's yesterday and she served 2 wonderful things.  First this:

1# Breakfast Sausage
1-8 0z pkg cream cheese
2 pkgs crescent rolls

Brown sausage and drain.  Add salt and pepper.  Blend in cream cheese til melted.

Puf 1 pkg rolls in 9x13 pan, pinching seams.

Place all sausage mixture leaving a small border

Place 2nd can of rolls on top

Press edges to seal and press seams together

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes til golden brown. Cut into squares

swedish meatballs like IKEA

The Best Swedish Meatballs

The best Swedish meatballs are made from scratch with an easy homemade gravy. Make a huge batch of meatballs and keep them in the freezer for a quick meal!

 Prep Time 10 minutes

 Cook Time 45 minutes

 Total Time 55 minutes

 Servings 4 servings

 Calories 694 kcal

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:  OR USE FROZEN

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 slice white sandwich bread
• 8 ounces ground beef
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 onion, grated
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (omit if baking meatballs)

For the Gravy:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon beef base
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Mashed potatoes or cooked egg noodles for serving
• Cranberries for serving

Instructions

To make the meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a rack coated nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, mash together egg, cream, and bread until a smooth paste forms. Add beef, pork, onion, allspice, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Mix well using a strong rubber spatula or your hands (I always wear latex gloves). Or, combine all ingredients in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until uniformly combined.
4. Using a strong spatula or your hands (I like to wear latex gloves), mix well. Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls (you should have about 24 total). 

To bake the meatballs:

1. Arrange on rack and bake until browned with crispy edges, about 15 to 20 minutes (an internal thermometer should read 155 degrees for 15 seconds).

To fry the meatballs:

1. Heat vegetable shortening in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the meatballs in batches until browned on all sides and the meatballs are cooked, about 5 to 7 minutes per batch (an internal thermometer should read 155 degrees for 15 seconds). Add more shortening between batches if the skillet looks dry.

To freeze the meatballs (optional):

1. Arrange meatballs in a single layer on a baking sheet, not touching. Freeze until solid, about 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. 

To make the gravy:

1. In a large skillet, melt butter until the foaming subsides. Stir in flour and cook for one minute.
2. Add chicken broth, brown sugar, and beef base (if using). Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes until reduced to about 2 cups.
3. Stir in heavy cream and return to a simmer. Add meatballs, cover and cook until the meatballs are heated through and the gravy has thickened (allow about 10 minutes if the meatballs are frozen). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles and cranberries (or lingonberries, if you can find them).

To serve as an appetizer:

1. Transfer meatballs and sauce to a slow cooker. Keep warm over low heat.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated January & February 2009  edition (Real Swedish Meatballs) .

Dawn's Tortilla Soup

Everyone enjoys this soup...and my cook book might not last forever...just noticed a spill!  So here it is for posterity...and anyone else who might want it!

Sausage Hash Brown Casserole for a Snow Day Brunch!

After more snow days than school days in the last week, I decided to cook up a brunch casserole for Evan and Adelle.  I found this recipe:

https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sausage-hash-brown-breakfast-casserole

But altered it for our own needs.

Cook up one pound of sausage, then drain. (We used regular but will probably use hot next time.)
Cook up 1/2 a 32 oz bag of hash browns as directed. 
Mix the sausage, hashbrowns, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (Next time, we will use a bit more) in a bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in a 8x8 pan. 

In another bowl mix 6 large eggs and 2 cups of milk...whisk. Pour over the meat mixture. Cook at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until done.

Delicious!  And yes, snow days ARE days to show more love to your kids! 

WELLESLEY COLLEGE FUDGE CAKE

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• WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS..COOK'S COUNTRY
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• Wellesley Fudge Cake originated roughly a century ago, when the founder of Wellesley College held that “pies, lies, and doughnuts should never have a place in Wellesley College.” Students honed their fudge-making skills in secret and produced some impressive fudge. When we tested recipes for Wellesley Fudge Cake, we found that decades of chocolate overload had desensitized the modern palate, and far more chocolate flavor was required of our recipe. We replaced some of the bar chocolate with cocoa powder bloomed in hot water to deepen its flavor. Traditional recipes called for “thick sour milk,” an ingredient we weren’t quite prepared to call for. Instead, we used buttermilk to give our cake a hint of tang. For our frosting, we found an unexpected solution in evaporated milk. Our frosting kept falling apart when we added chocolate to the warm sugar mixture—the heat was causing the fat in the chocolate to separate, a problem easily solved by adding butter and evaporated milk first to cool it down a bit.
  
• For the Cake:
• 2 1/2 cups (about 12 1/2 ounces) flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (Hershey's Special Dark also works)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups (about 14 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup (about 8 ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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• For the Frosting:
• 1 1/2 cups (about 11 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup (about 8 ounces) evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 cups (about 12 ounces) confectioners' sugar, sifted

DIRECTIONS:

1

For the Cake: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch square or round baking pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

2

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate with the hot water. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Mix in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by 1/2 cup of the buttermilk. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk. Add the remaining flour mixture and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the cocoa mixture until incorporated.

3

Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is thoroughly combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and gently tap the pans on the work surface to settle the batter. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Run a small knife around the edges of the cakes, then flip them out onto a wire rack. Peel off the parchment paper, flip the cakes right side up, and let cool completely before frosting, about 2 hours. (The cakes can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

4

For the Frosting: Stir together the brown sugar, 1/2 cup of the evaporated milk, 4 tablespoons of the butter, and salt in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan, 4 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until large bubbles form and the mixture has thickened and turned deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk and remaining 4 tablespoons butter until the mixture has cooled slightly. Add the chocolate and vanilla and stir until smooth. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Let the frosting cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.

5

Line the edges of a cake platter with strips of parchment paper to keep the platter clean while you assemble the cake. Place one of the cake layers on the platter. Spread 1 cup of the frosting over the cake, right to the edges. Place the second cake layer on top, press lightly to adhere, and spread the remaining frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until the frosting is set, about 1 hour. Remove the parchment strips from the platter before serving.