Easy Lasagna

I have always been wary of making lasagna.  But Bettie to the rescue, once again.  She gave me this recipe that doesn't require you to cook the noodles first!  And it is delicious.

15 oz. ricotta or cottage cheese
2 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella, split in half
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, split in half
1/4 c. fresh parsley or 1 t. dried parsley (whatever looks good)
1 egg, lightly beaten
26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce (I like mine saucy so I usually use an extra half a jar)
1 lb. ground beef/bulk sausage (Kyle's favorite) or 1 c. TVP reconstituted in 1 c. liquid
3/4 c. water
dry lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix ricotta and half of the mozzarella and half of the parmesan with the parsley and egg.  Cook and drain meat. Put some sauce on the bottom of your 13x9 pan. Stir remaining sauce in with meat. Pour water in the jar to rinse it out and add the water to the meat and sauce mixture.  This water helps cook the noodles. Layer noodles, cheese mixture, meat sauce mixture, ending with noodles. (I usually end up with three layers of noodles and two layers of the cheese mixture). Put meat sauce (or extra spaghetti sauce) on top of the last layer of noodles and sprinkle on remaining cheeses.  Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 15 minutes more. Take out of the oven and let sit for 15 minutes.

12 hour rolls

I got the recipe from my friend Bettie who got it from her Grandma.  She taught me how to make them a couple weeks ago and I've made them twice since then.  The trick to these rolls is that you let them rise in the pot and there is no kneading involved.

1 c. milk

1 T. yeast

1 T. sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 t. salt

4 C. flour

1/2 stick melted butter

Heat milk in a pot.  Heat on low so it doesn't scald. Put a small amount of heated milk in a bowl with the yeast and 1 T. sugar.  In the meantime, melt the stick of butter in the milk.  Let milk cool to lukewarm and add yeast mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients and put the lid on the pot.  Let rise for 2-3 hours until doubled.  Punch down dough and cut in half. Shape each half into a circle. On a lightly floured surface roll out one circle until large and thin (about 18" maybe?).  Cut with a pizza cutter into 16 wedges. Roll loosely from large end to the point (like rolling crescent rolls) and place on sprayed pans.  Cover with towels or sprayed plastic wrap and let rise 4-5 hours until double. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 10 minutes.  Makes 36 rolls.

Sour Cream Peach Pie

Another recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com.  It was a hit!  We didn't even need whipped cream or ice cream, and that's saying something!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
• 4 cups sliced fresh or frozen peaches
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream, white sugar, 1/3 cup flour and almond extract until smooth. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the pie crust to prevent it from getting soggy. Alternate layers of peaches and the sour cream mixture, beginning with a layer of peaches and ending with a layer of sour cream.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for an additional 35 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Set the oven to Broil, and broil for 2 to 3 minutes, until caramelized.

Here's the ways I changed the recipe:

I used vanilla instead of almond extract.

I followed other reviewers' advice and put the brown sugar on for the last 10 minutes, instead of doing the broil.

I used about 1/3 mangoes and 2/3 peaches.  It is what I had in the freezer.  I defrosted the fruit first and drained the liquid so the juices didn't mess up the recipe.

Chile Relleno Casserole

A neighbor gave us some fresh green chiles and we were craving Chile Rellenos...but not enough to do the work to make them.  This casserole is close enough and yummy!  Another from Allrecipes with changes as recommended by reviewers.

Ingredients

• 2 (7 ounce) cans whole green chile peppers, drained and chopped
• 8 ounces shredded cheese (use monterey jack, mexican cheese, cheddar, a mix of any of them)
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 can enchilada sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Lay half of the chilies evenly in bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the Jack and Cheddar cheeses, and cover with remaining chilies. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, and flour, and pour over the top of the chilies.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, pour tomato sauce evenly over the top, and continue baking another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining Jack and Cheddar cheeses, and serve.

Easy Peach Cobbler

This is taken from Allrecipes, with changes and comments from the comments on that website.  First, the link to the original recipe.  Now the better recipe:

• 12 fresh peaches, pitted and sliced or 2-32 oz. cans sliced peaches
• 1 cup water           }
• 1 cup white sugar   } or 1 c. peach juice from cans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white/yellow cake mix
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spread peach slices evenly into a 9x13 inch baking dish. If using canned peach juice, pour 1 cup of it over peach slices. If using fresh peaches, combine water and sugar in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve, then pour mixture over peaches. Sprinkle cinnamon over peach slices.
3. Cream together the cream cheese and cake mix. Spread mixture over peaches then drizzle on the butter or margarine.  Another option is to cream the unmelted butter in with the cream cheese and cake mix.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, until golden.

*Skip the extra sugar if your peaches are already sweet (most fresh ones are if they're ripe and ALL canned peaches are sweet enough). If you're using another fruit, like blackberries or raspberries, then you'd need the extra sugar. Remember, the cake mix has sugar, too. 


*Cream the cheese and cake mix together with a pastry cutter or a couple forks until it resembles a crumbly granola-type consistency. 


*Melt the butter and pour it over with the liquid (use less liquid if your fruit is really juicy!) Alternately, cream the butter in with the cheese and cake mix (see above). 


*Cinnamon is not always appropriate if you are using this with a different fruit. Other options that might sound better to you are nutmeg, vanilla bean specks or vanilla-flavored sugar.


*For a crunchy bonus, sprinkle the top with sliced almonds before baking.

Carrot Rice Pilaf

 The kids have a program at school called Cooking With Kids and they learn how to cook food from all over the world.  I don't really think the name of this recipe does it justice.  What I need to call it is:  Rice for those who don't like rice.  Or something else like Yummy rice.  We make this all the time, and I don't like rice!  It goes great with Hawaiian Haystacks, by the way.  And I think for this recipe, you really need to stick with basmati.  It is a fragrant rice and the way it cooks up is just wonderful.  Give it a try!

1 1/2 c. basmati rice
2 T. butter
3/4 c. grated carrot
3 1/2 c. water
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 t. salt

Put the rice into a bowl with cool water.  Swirl the rice around and then pour off the water.  Repeat this process 2 or 3 times, until the water is clear.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the rice and grated carrots and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the water, cinnamon stick, and salt.  Bring to a boil, uncovered, for 2 minutes.  Reduce the head to medium-low and cover.  Cook the rice for about 20 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat.  Let the rice rest for 10 minutes before serving.  It says 4 to 6 servings, but this makes a lot of rice and you'll have leftovers for sure!

Bettie's Bread Sticks

Warning.  These are not low fat.  But they sure are yummy!

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 T sugar
1 T yeast
3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter or marg.

Dissolve sugar and yeast in water.  Mix in flour & salt.  Knead for 3 minutes on well floured board.  Let rest for 10 min.  Roll out into a rectangle about the size of a cookie sheet.  Cut into 24 sticks.  Melt butter and pour into a cookie sheet.  Dip each bread stick and cover both sides with butter.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese.  Let rise for 20-30 minutes.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.