Lasagna

1 lb hamburger, fried with a little salt/pepper
24 oz cottage cheese
2 1/2 C mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 C parmesan cheese, divided
2-3 Tb dried parsley
26 oz can spaghetti sauce
1 C water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

-Let cottage cheese sit in strainer to drain juices some.
-Mix cottage cheese, 1 1/4 C mozzarella cheese, 1/4 C. parmesan cheese and parsley. Set aside.
-Mix hamburger and spaghetti sauce. Add water to empty sauce jar and shake well. Add to meat mixture and blend well.
-Spread 1 C sauce mix to bottom of 9x13pan; top with 3 noodles; top with 1/3 cot cheese mix and 1 C sauce. Repeat twice. Top with 3 remaining noodles and remaining sauce.
-Sprinkle with 1 1/4 C moz cheese and 1/4 C parmesan cheese. Cover with greased foil.
-Bake 45 min at 350. Remove foil. Bake additional 5-15 minutes, until heated through and cheeses lightly browned. Let sit 5min or so before cutting.

Yield: 12 large servings

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com Pretty good, especially since I don't like runny lasagna - this was on the drier side. 7/10
*Note to self, do not skimp on water or recipe will be too dry. Cot cheese amount increased a little from original recipe. Cheese got too hard after foil removed - would not leave in full 15 minutes.

Golden Potato Soup

9 C peeled and cubed ( I chunk them) potatoes
3/4 C chopped celery
1 diced onion
Chicken seasoning - MSG free (to taste)
3 C water
1 Tb dried parsley (or to taste)
pepper to taste
2 heaping Tb flour
4 1/2 C milk
12 oz shredded cheese (I mixed cheddar and colby-jack)


-In large pot add potatoes, celery, onion, water and parsley. Season with pepper and simmer until veggies are tender.
-Whisk flour and 1 C. milk in a small bowl until well blended. Add to soup with other milk and cook until soup thickens, stirring frequently.
-Stir in cheese and simmer until cheese is melted.

Yield: 7 servings (for hungry guys:))

Recipe adapted from one found at Allrecipes.com . Very good! 9/10

Whole-Grain Banana Nutmeg Coffee Cake

3Tb butter, softened
1 C. Quick Oats
1/4 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 C. br sugar
1 C. Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C. sugar
1 Tb. bk powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C. veg. oil
1 C. milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 mashed bananas
1/4 C. chopped pecans

-Mix butter, oats, 1/4 C. whole wheat flour and brown sugar in small bowl until crumbly. Set aside.
-Mix flours, sugar, bk powder, nutmeg, and salt.
-Mix egg, oil, bananas, vanilla and milk.
-Combine last two steps.
-Spread half of mixture in greased 9-in springform pan (or any 9 in pan). Sprinkle half of oat mixture on top.
-Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining oats and nuts. Bake at 350 for approx. 40 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

Tried this out today (a rainy day - perfect for baking, of course), and mmmm - I like it! Might try a little more nutmeg next time. Good thing we had 8 brown bananas sitting around waiting to be mashed! The fruit slush recipe (6 bananas) I tweaked a little also looks like it will be yummy.
Coffee cake recipe adapted from one found at Green Mountain website.

Mocha Truffle Cookies

1/2 C butter
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tb instant coffee crystals
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C br sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/3 C cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bk powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C choc chips ( I like the white/milk choc swirl chips!)

-Melt butter and 1/2 C. semisweet choc chips over low heat in saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in coffee crystals and let cool 5 min.
-Mix eggs, sugars and vanilla. Add to coffee mix.
-Mix dry ingredients.
-Combine all ingred.
-Drop by rounded tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets.
-Bake at 350 for approx 10 min. Let cool 1 min and remove from sheet.
Y: 30

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.

Mmmm Lemonade!

Lemonade
Originally uploaded by jamieanne.

3/4 - 1 C. Sugar
1 C. Lemon juice concentrate
6 C. Water

Mix together and enjoy!!!

I love this easy lemonade that our friend Dana made recently! Since I rarely buy lemons, I enjoy how close this tastes to real lemonade without actually buying the fruit. And lemon juice is a staple in my fridge. Mmmmm mmmmm, 5/5 for both Jonathan and me I think!

Mom's Potato Salad

This is truly a "little bit of this and a little bit of that" recipe from my Mom. I really enjoy her potato salad and this is her recipe...

-Boil a bunch of peeled potatoes until soft.
-Rinse in cool water and dice.
-Boil a bunch of eggs approx. 10 min.
-Let cool and chop after peeling.
-Chop some celery.
-Mix above ingredients.
-Mix approx 1/2 jar mayo, 1 Tb sugar (to taste), some mustard, and a little milk. Add to other ingreds.
-Mix in small amount of dehydrated onions, and some salt and pepper.
-Can sprinkle paprika on top. Keep cold.

Sorry for the lack of details, but it will taste yummy regardless of the ratios:).

Whole-Grain Apple Coffee Cake

3Tb butter
1 C. Quick Oats
1/4 C. Flour
1/4 C. br sugar
1 C. Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. veg. oil
1 C. milk
1 Tb. bk powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 C. chopped apples
1/4 C. chopped pecans

-Mix butter, oats, 1/4 C. flour and brown sugar in small bowl until crumbly. Set aside.
-Mix flours, sugar, oil, milk, bk powder, cinnamon, salt, and egg in large bowl until well blended.
-Stir in apples. Spread half of mixture in 9-in springform pan (or any 9 in pan) that has been greased. Sprinkle half of oat mixture on top.
-Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining oats and nuts. Bake at 350 for approx. 40 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

I have made this once, and I really liked how it looked in the springform pan! Beautiful! Tasted good, too:)! Might be even better with a little powd. sugar frosting drizzled over it. A 4/5 for me, Jonathan maybe not so high of a rating.
Recipe adapted from one found at Green Mountain website.

Ginger Cake

1/2 C. boiling water + 2 Tb.
1/2 C. canola oil
1/2 C. br sugar
1/2 C. molasses
1 egg
1 1/2 C. whole wt flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bk powder
1/2 tsp soda
3/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon

-Boil water. Pour water carefully over oil. Set aside.
-Beat egg, sugar and molasses. Mix with oil/water.
-Mix dry ingredients.
-Add wet ingreds to dry ingreds.
-Bake at 350 for 30 min in 8-in greased pan.

- Serve with applesauce (unsweetened or sweetened) and whipped cream!

Y: 8

Mmmm! This dessert was a treat we enjoyed while having dinner with Blake's parents in Minnesota! The recipe is from his mother, Elaine. Her recipe was called "Ginger Bread," but I switched it to cake.

Freezer Corn

Sweet Corn
Sugar
Salt
Pint/Quart freezer bags
Ice
Large pot
Cooling bowls
Angel food cake pan
Knives

-Place cobs on angel food cake pan and slice sides off into bottom of pan.
-Measure 9 Cups corn and place in saucepot.
-Mix with 1 Tb salt, 1/4 C sugar, 2 1/2 C water.
-Stir and heat to a boil. Boil 5 min.
-Pour into bowls and place in sink with small amount of ice water to speed up cooling process.
-Bag and freeze!!
-To serve, place in saucepot with small amount of water, heat on high until completely thawed, then turn off.


This recipe is from my mother-in-law. She taught me so much about preserving. This corn is wonderful!!!!

Blueberry Morning Glaze

Mix 1 Tb Cornstarch with 1/2 C water until smooth. Add 1/2 C sugar. Heat in skillet with bottom covered in blueberries until boiling. Boil 1 minute. May mash blueberries if desired. Serve with blueberry pancakes of course!:)

Garlic Bread

1 loaf French Bread, sliced
1/4 C. Butter, softened
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp oregano
4 tsp parsley (dried)
3 Tb parmesan cheese

-Combine butter and spices and cheese.
-Spread mixture on one side of each bread slice and place on foil.
-Wrap reconstructed loaf in foil and bake at 400 for 12-15 min or until butter melts and bread is crusty.

Mmm!

Graham Cracker Crust

18 single graham crackers (~ 1 1/2 C crumbs)
2 Tb sugar
1/3 C. melted butter

Crush crackers in bag using rolling pin. Mix with other ingreds. Press into 9" pie plate. Chill as is, or bake at 350 for 8 min.


Recipe shared from Mennonite Country-Style Recipes & Kitchen Secrets by Esther Shank