Two Lasagna Recipes

I love lasagna, and yet it is the one thing I have never mastered. I have tried a dozen different recipes and I always end up with the same thing: Lasagna Soup. I won't even eat it because it looks so gross.

Last year I found a Lasagna Recipe that I really like. It's a little different because instead of a marinara sauce, it has a white sauce. It is really good, and I have yet to screw it up!

Three-Cheese Sausage Lasagna 1-1/2 pounds bulk Italian sausage
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups milk
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
6 oz. slice mozzarella cheese
4 oz. sliced provolone cheese
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
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In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove form the heat.
In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish, layer a fourth of the sauce, three noodles, half of the sausage and a third of the mozzarella and provolone slices. Repeat layers once. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top. Layer with remaining noodles, sauce and sliced cheeses; sprinkle with Romano cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

A few weeks ago, I decided to once again try a traditional lasagna. I found a recipe on www.tasteofhome.com, but just used it as a guide line. That pan of lasagna didn't last 24 hours, and this time I helped eat it! So I made it again on Sunday to see if it was a fluke, but it worked again!

Savannah's Lasagna
1-1/2 pounds bulk sausage
1 can spaghetti sauce
2 small cans of tomato paste
1 tablespoon Sage
1 tablespoon Basil
1 tablespoon Parsley
1 large container of cottage-cheese
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
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Brown sausage and drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomato paste. In a mixing bowl combine cottage-cheese, eggs, seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Cover the bottom of the pan with a little bit of the spaghetti sauce mixture. Layer 3 noodles, a third of the sauce, a third of the cottage cheese, and a third of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake for 10-15 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Corn Bread Casserole

A recipe from Grandma Vonne.

Corn Bread Casserole
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 stick butter- melted
1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn - reserve 1/2 juice
1 cup sour cream
1 box Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
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Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Pour into a well greased pan. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until set.

Banana Nut Bread

This was my first attempt at Banana Nut Bread and it was PERFECT! I got the recipe from a friend and it was so good that it will be the only one I will ever need to use.

Banana Nut Bread
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup mashed bananas (2 or 3 bananas)
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts
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Cream sugars & shortening. Add eggs, salt, vanilla and soda and mix well. Add bananas and buttermilk and mix well. Add flour, mixing well. Add nuts last. Grease and flour bread pans. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Makes 2 large loves.

Did you know you can make buttermilk by just adding vinegar to regular milk? Works like a charm. For every cup of milk add a tablespoon of vinegar. I had no idea! And it works well since our local store only carries a 1 quart size container of buttermilk and I only needed a cup.

Turkey Enchiladas

Every time I go to make these I look for a different recipe, but this one is so good that I always end up using it. It is also a great meal to use up the leftover Thanksgiving turkey on. When ever we cook a turkey I get all the meat off the bones and then freeze it in 2 cup portions. Then I can just pull out what I need when I want it for meals like this.Turkey Enchiladas
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups cubed or shredded turkey
1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
6 flour tortillas, warmed
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In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in oil until tender; remove form the heat. Stir in the turkey, 1/2 cup of cheese and chilies; set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the sour cream, soup, coriander and cumin. Cook and stir over low heat until warm; stir 1/2 cup into the turkey mixture.
Spoon about 1/3 cup turkey filling down the center of each tortilla; roll up tightly. Place seam side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Spoon remaining soup mixture down center of tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

I do a few things different than what the recipe calls for. I don't like green peppers, but I love orange and red peppers so I use those instead, and I probably use more than 1/3 cup.

Perfect Dinner Roll Part 3...Honey-Oat Pan Rolls

About a month ago I started a on a quest to find the Perfect Roll on my other blog, Countless Tomorrows. To see the recipes I have already tried just click on their name and it will take you to the recipe on my other blog.


The first roll I tried was Sweet Milk Dinner Rolls. They were pretty good and they were well named because they were a sweeter roll. They were really good served warm, but once they cooled they weren't as good.


Then a week later I tried a recipe that was called Perfect Dinner Roll. They were SO GOOD! I am a picky eater with weird eating habits. I love to bake bread and I love to eat it right as it come out of the oven. Everyone likes that. But after it cools, I don't like it anymore. I call smell and taste the yeast and I don't like that, so I usually don't eat any after the first day. That wasn't the case with these rolls. I was still eating them with my lunch 5 days later.

After I found those rolls, my quest seemed to die out. Mostly because I really liked the Perfect Dinner Rolls, but also because I was lazy for a few weeks and didn't cook any.
This weekend I tried another recipe that I have been wanting to try.

Honey-Oat Pan Rolls
2-1/2 to 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
2 packages (1/4 oz. each) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/4 cup honey
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 egg
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In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the water, honey and 4 tablespoons butter to 120°-130°. Add to the dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add the egg; beat until well combined. Stir in enough remaining all-purpose flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 24 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Melt remaining butter; brush over the rolls. Remove from pan to a wire rack.

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The final verdict? I need to try these again. They didn't turn out right which in my kitchen means great drama. I ended up crying because they were burnt. So for now the Perfect Dinner Roll is still my favorite, but these rolls earned the right for a re-try. I think was supposed to roll them and then set them side by side to let them rise. Then after cooking pull them apart. I tried to cook them as single rolls which I think resulted in 22 minutes being too long.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Homemade Oreo Cookies

2 boxes of cake mix - one Devil's Food and one Milk Chocolate

4 eggs

1-1/2 cups shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

3-3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

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Combine cake mixes, eggs, shortening and vanilla. Mix well. Dough will be stiff. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

For filling cream together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Frost over a cookie and then top with another cookie.

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

I've never like raisin cookies. You think its a chocolate chip cookie, and then bam, raisins! Last week I was talking with someone at work and they made a suggestion that was so simple. A substitute I have done several times in other recipes. Craisins! I love craisins, so it was the perfect solution. 

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 Butter Flavor CRISCO stick or 3/4 cup Butter Flavor CRISCO all-vegetable shortening

1-1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups quick cooking oats, uncooked

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup Craisins (or raisins if you're not adventurous)

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

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Heat oven to 375°. Combine shortening, brown sugar, egg, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed just until blended. Stir in craisins and nuts.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto a well greased cookie sheet.

Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Do not over bake. Cook 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

Bacon Apple Cheese Sandwiches

I love love love these cheese sandwiches. I saw them on a TV show I used to watch all the time Real Simple. I love that show. I really need to find out when it is on these days so I can start watching it again. I found the directions for this sandwich on their website, but really I just use them as a general guideline. Here is how I make them.

Bacon Apple Cheese Sandwiches
French Bread
Cooked bacon
Green apple, peeled and thinly sliced
Provolone or cheddar cheese
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Slice and butter bread. On a grill lay the bread butter side down then a piece of cheese, bacon, apple, and another slice of cheese. Having cheese on both sides really helps to hold everything together. When the bottom is a nice golden brown, carefully flip the sandwich and cook on the other side.

The tricky part is flipping the sandwich so they don't fall apart. I use two spatulas. I put one under the sandwich and then the other on the top and then just maneuver until it is flipped.

The key thing I have learned is to make these sandwiches as thin as possible, because they kind of tear on the roof of your mouth. So when you slice the bread and the apples do it as small as you can, but still good enough to make a good sandwich.

How do you eat your spaghetti?

You know, the normal way. Noodles, spaghetti sauce with saugage and corn. Don't forget the garlic bread!
Yes, that is really how I like my spaghetti.

Cranberry Cake

I love this cake! I recently talked about it on my other blog. Click here to see that story.
Cranberry Cake
3 Tbs. butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup milk
2 cups fresh cranberries
2 Tbs. grated orange or lemon peel
SAUCE:
1-1/3 cups sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup butter
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Cream butter & sugar. Beat in egg. Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg. Add to creamed mixture alternately w/ milk. Stir in cranberries and orange/lemon peel. Batter will be thick. Pour into a greased 11x7x2 pan. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. SAUCE: Combine ingredients. Cook & stir over medium heat until heated. Serve over individual servings of cake. Reheat sauce as needed.

My mother in-law cooks this in a square 9-inch pan, but I cook it in a regular pan so it will go further. I love the sauce. To get maximum coverage I usually cut my cake in half and layer the butter between the slices. The butter sauce will harden as it cools. I just refrigerate it and warm it for the leftovers. This cake is best when served warm. ENJOY!