16 Bean Soup and Cornbread

Mmmm, perfect for cool autumn days and also when you need a comfort soup when sick. This is my son's favorite soup, he says he could eat it until his stomach pops. A slice of hot cornbread and you've got a wonderful cool-weather meal!

16 BEAN SOUP
1 - 20 oz. package 16-bean soup mix*
1 - 16 oz. package Hillshire Farms LITE Polska Kielbasa, cut into bite-size pieces**
1 onion, finely diced
2 teaspoons salt
1 - 28 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste - optional

Do not use the seasoning packet found in the bag of beans, I throw mine away, but you may have another use for it. Place beans in a large stock pot with 6 cups of cold water. Bring to a rapid boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain into a colander and rinse in cold water. Return beans to stockpot, add 8 cups of water, the Polska Kielbasa, onion and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and simmer with lid tilted for 1 ½ hrs. Check periodically to stir and add water if needed. Add can of diced tomatoes. Taste to see if you want to add more salt. At this time, I stir in pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 min.
*16 bean soup mix is found in the dry beans section of the grocery store. In some stores it is 15 bean, which will work just as well. The beans in this mix are: Small white beans, small red beans, black beans, light red kidney beans, large lima beans, red lentils, pearl barley, adzuki beans, green split peas, yellow split peas, pinto beans, baby lima beans, great northern beans, lentils, pink beans and blackeye peas.
** Meat alternatives: ham hocks and/or ham cubed, cubed and cooked beef or chicken.
This is a good recipe for left over beef roast.

CORNBREAD
1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
¼ cup oil
2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 10 inch cast iron skillet on burner and put 1 Tablespoon oil in it, heat until oil starts to sizzle. In medium size bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together, then make a “well” in the center. To the “well” add eggs, oil and buttermilk. Mix until well blended. Pour into hot, prepared skillet, spreading batter evenly. Place skillet in oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Shrimp in Angel Hair Pasta

My friend, Lydia, keeps asking me when I'm going to put this recipe on the blog. It is a recipe that is elegant and yet so easy! A very fine dish for company that always yields compliments. So, Lydia, this one's for YOU!

What I serve with this varies. . . good accompaniments would be: sugar snap peas, fresh spinach salad and crusty sour dough bread and for dessert how about Lemonade Party Cake.

SHRIMP IN ANGEL HAIR PASTA CASSEROLE
2 Eggs
1 Cup half-and-half
1 Cup plain yogurt
½ Cup grated swiss cheese
1/3 Cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 Cup chopped parsley
1/4 Cup chopped fresh basil OR 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1 pkg.(9 ozs) Uncooked FRESH angel hair pasta (dried does not work in this recipe)
1 jar (16 ozs) mild, thick and chunky salsa
1 lb small to medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ Cup grated monterey jack cheese
Butter a 12 x 8 inch pan. Combine eggs, half-and-half, yogurt, swiss cheese, feta cheese, parsley, basil and oregano in medium bowl; mix well. Spread ½ of the pasta on bottom of prepared pan. Cover with salsa. Add ½ of the shrimp. Cover with remaining pasta. Spread egg mixture over pasta and top with remaining shrimp. Sprinkle jack cheese over top. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 30 min. or until bubbly. Let stand 10 min.
Note: The combination of yogurt, the variety of cheeses, and salsa does not sound good! But this is a fantastic recipe and a great combination of flavors. I’ve tried it with cooked white chicken and it is good, but not quite as good as the shrimp.

LEMONADE PARTY CAKE
1 pkg Lemon cake mix (yellow cake mix works okay)
1 ¼ cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 can (6 ozs) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (¾ cup)
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tub lemon frosting or fluffy white frosting
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of 13 x 9 can pan. Make cake mix as directed on package, using water, oil and eggs. Pour into pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes. Mix lemonade concentrate and powdered sugar. Pierce cake every ½ inches or so with a long-tined fork. Drizzle lemonade mixture evenly over top of cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours. Spread frosting over top of cake. Store cake, covered, in refrigerator.

Mexican Food Appetizers

It's not JUST chips and salsa. . . How about Layered Bean Dip with chips or Chili-Cheese Dip with chips? Everytime I make chili-cheese dip I am reminded of a time (back in the 80s) when my kids were young and we'd get together with friends for evenings of Trivial Pursuit or Pictionary. There were several families that got together frequently and as "the women folk" would start discussing whose house we were going to gather at and what we were going to fix for munchies, the question would come up "who's bringing the chili cheese dip?" It was such a standard dish that the question was never "should we have chili cheese dip?" Then as the kids grew, it was one of the "standard" fare when they would have pool parties. Many, many times I would have to run to the store to get the ingredients to make yet another batch! It still remains my son's favorite dip. I still make it in my original, avacado green crock pot (yes, it DOES date back to the year that crock pots first hit the market -- sometime in the early 70s) Do I have your interest yet?

Chili-Cheese Dip
In a crock pot or slow cooker, place 2 cans of chili beans (whatever brand you like--I use Dennisons usually) and 1 lb of Velveeta cheese, cubed. Heat, stirring frequently until cheese is melted and mixture is heated through. Ladle into a bowl and serve as a dip with tortilla chips and/or corn chips OR spread the chips on a plate and ladle the chili-cheese over as you would for nachos. If served as nachos, you can top with salsa, olives, chopped green onions, sour cream or whatever else you like on nachos.


LAYERED BEAN DIP
1 - 32 oz can refried beans
1 - 4oz can diced green chilies (do not drain)
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 ½ cups sour cream
1 - 16 oz bottle taco sauce
4 to 6 green onions, sliced
3 cups lettuce, shredded fine
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 can black olives, sliced
Tortilla chips
In a bowl, mix refried beans, green chilies and taco seasoning mix. Spread mixture onto a 12 inch round serving platter. Spread the sour cream over the beans and then pour the taco sauce over the sour cream. Arrange the green onions evenly over the sour cream, spread lettuce over green onions, and then top with the cheddar cheese and black olives. Serve with tortilla chips.

Mexican Manicotti Dinner

This is quite possibly my MOST favorite Mexican food dinner. I like the idea that my other favorite ethnic foods (Italian -- the manicotti) is made Mexican! It's a dish that I usually prepare ahead of time, in fact I usually prepare two so I can put one in the freezer for another time. My family loves apples. . . so the Apple Enchiladas are a perfect ending to our favorite Mexican food dinner! The menu:

Mexican Manicotti

Green Salad, topped with salsa and ranch dressing (it's a WONDERFUL combination)

Apple Enchiladas (served warm with vanilla ice cream)

MEXICAN MANICOTTI
1 1/4 lbs ground beef
4 oz. cream cheese
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
14 manicotti-cooked just to al dente
1 ½ C prepared taco sauce
1 C grated cheddar cheese
1 C grated monterey jack cheese
1 ½ C crushed tortilla chips
1 C sour cream
3 green onion, sliced
Optional: sliced ripe olives
Cook beef in large skillet over medium-high heat until brown, stirring to separate meat; drain fat. Reduce heat to medium-low, add cream cheese and taco seasoning mix. Simmer 5 minutes. Fill manicotti with meat mixture and place in a buttered 13 x 9 pan. Pour taco sauce over each shell. Cover with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Uncover; top with cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese and chips. Bake 15 minutes more or until bubbly. Top with sour cream and onions. Garnish with olives if desired.
Tip: Place chips in 1 gal food storage bag, seal bag and mash the chips with your hand or with a rolling pin. Quick, no mess way to crush the chips!
Casserole freezes well. I usually double this recipe and make two casseroles, one for “right now” and one to go in the freezer. Prepare it up to the first bake step. Freezer to oven, adjust first baking time to 45 min, check to see if center is hot before proceeding to second bake time. If thawed to room temperature, bake for 20 to 30 min. (depends on how cool it is, just check the center before adding cheese and chips and second baking time).

APPLE ENCHILADAS
1 - 21 oz can apple pie filling
6 - 8 inch flour tortillas
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Spoon about one quarter cup of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in prepared dish. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, sugars and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand 30 minutes. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve warm, vanilla ice cream is optional.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Mmmm, Mmmm good! This dish is one I made up by combining two different recipes. It is FAST to make -- no kidding, after the chicken is cooked, it takes about 15 minutes! Of course, the dessert finale is one that is made several hours ahead of time and it is SO WORTH IT! This soup is very hearty. The dessert is one that I had for the first time just about 5 years ago and then searched and searched for the recipe. It's another one where I took several (I think it was three) recipes and mixed them up and through trial and error came up with my version. The menu is Chicken Enchilada Soup and Tres Leches Cake, and here's the recipes

CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
4 chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups chicken broth
20 - 6 inch corn tortillas cut into 1 x 1 inch squares
2 - 15 oz cans black beans, drained
2 - 15 oz cans cut corn, drained
1 - 28 oz can mild green enchilada sauce
1 - 28 oz can mild red enchilada sauce
3 teaspoons ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional and can be increased)
Sour cream
Grated cheddar cheese
Tortilla chips
In large stock pot, bring the chicken broth to a slow boil; add the tortillas and cook over medium heat until strips soften. Stir in the chicken, black beans, corn, enchilada sauces, cumin and cayenne pepper. Continue cooking until heated through. When serving, top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and grated cheese. Serve with tortilla chips on the side.


TRES LECHES CAKE
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
½ cup whipping cream
5 oz can evaporated milk
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whipping cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 quart Fresh berries
(raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc. It‘s okay to use a variety of mixed berries)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish or cake pan. Beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl on low speed 30 seconds; beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Pierce completely through hot cake every ½ inch with long-tined fork. Mix ½ cup whipping cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk in a small bowl. Slowly pour milk mixture evenly over top of cake. Cover and refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled. Arrange berries on top of cake, reserving a few for garnishing. Beat 1 cup whipping cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over berries and then garnish with the reserved berries. Store cake in refrigerator.

NOTE: I experimented with this recipe and made a COCOA TRES LECHES CAKE by using:
Chocolate cake mix instead of yellow
Adding 2 envelopes of Mexican chocolate milk mix in with the “tres leches” that was poured over the cake.
Mixing 2 envelopes of Mexican chocolate milk mix with the whipped cream. I eliminated the berries, and garnished with chocolate curls.
If you can’t find the Mexican chocolate milk mix (usually in the Mexican food section of the grocery store), you can make your own by adding ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon to each pack of regular chocolate milk mix.

Quesadillas Supreme and Taco Salad

This quesadilla recipe is the best I've ever tasted. I got it from a co-worker about 30 years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. It's vegetarian, so I usually fix a taco salad to go with it for those family members who like meat with dinner (ahem. . . that would be my husband). The taco salad recipe is from Sunset Magazine and it, too, dates back actually longer than the quesadilla--probably a good 35 years. There are many really good taco salad recipes, but this one remains our favorite. Since this menu requires much assembly and cooking JUST before dining, the sequence of steps I usually follow are: 1) mix up the quesadilla filling and set aside 2) cut up the tomatoes, slice the avocado and grate the cheese for the salad 3) cook the meat for the taco salad 4) spread the filling onto the tortillas for the quesadilla (put any leftover filling in the refrigerator) 5) Heat the oil for cooking the quesadillas and cook them (unless you have a HUGE skillet, you can only do one or two of these at a time) and while these are cooking, 6) start assembling the salad plates with the chips, and lettuce. If I'm making several quesadillas, I put the cooked ones on a platter and place in a warm oven (200 degrees will do it) and 7) finish assembly of the salad - SERVE! and ENJOY! - whew!!!

Oh - the menu! Well, that's really all it is, except for dessert. Any of the previous Mexican Food desserts will do, or take a look at the next one!

QUESADILLAS SUPREME
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 can (4 ½ oz) diced olives
1 can (4 oz) diced green chilis
1 small tomato, diced
1 small, soft avocado, mashed
½ lb cheddar cheese, grated
½ lb monterey jack cheese, grated
Flour tortillas
Oil for frying
Combine first 7 ingredients. Spread, no more than ¼ inch thick and no closer than ½ inch from edge, onto one half of a flour tortilla. Fold tortilla over. Repeat with as many tortillas as you need for the meal. Leftover filling keeps very well in a covered, airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Leftover quesadillas don’t reheat very well because they lose their crispness. Fry in approx ½ inch of oil over medium-high heat until lightly browned, turn and brown other side. Pat with paper towels. Serve warm with sour cream and salsa.

TACO SALAD
1 lb lean ground beef
¼ cup chopped onion
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 medium-sized head iceberg lettuce
½ cup cheedar cheese, grated
2 medium sized tomatoes, cubed
1 avocado, peeled and sliced (optional)
Tortilla chips
Place beef and onion into a frying pan over medium-high heat; stir until meat is crumbly and has lost its pinkness and the onion is tender (about 7 minutes). Discard any fat. Stir in salt, chili powder, and tomato sauce; reduce to low heat and keep hot. Shred lettuce and arrange on individual salad plates, top each with a scoop of hot meat mixture and sprinkle evenly with cheese, Garnish each salad with tomato cubes and avocado slices. Place tortilla chips around edges of salads and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Acapulco Enchilada Dinner

Here's another dish that can be assembled ahead of time and put in the oven before time to dine. Have you figured out that I really love ethnic foods; I'm always searching for authentic recipes, and sometimes change them! This is a "not so heavy" Mexican dinner that finishes with a delightful chocolate pudding with a twist. The menu:

Acapulco Enchiladas

Tossed Green Salad with dressing of choice

Mexican Cinnamon-Chocolate Pudding

ACAPULCO ENCHILADAS
2 cups diced cooked chicken
½ cup chopped ripe olives
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
3 cups red enchilada sauce
12 corn tortillas
Salad oil
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
4 Tablespoons minced green onions
Combine chicken, olives, almonds and ½ cup of enchilada sauce. Lightly fry tortillas in hot oil (just until soft, not crisp), drain. Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of chicken mixture along the center of each tortilla. Roll and place, flap side down, in a shallow ungreased baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through. Mix sour cream with onions and spoon over enchiladas. (4 to 6 servings)

MEXICAN CINNAMON-CHOCOLATE PUDDING
½ cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cans (12 fluid ozs each) evaporated milk
1 ¼ cups (6 ozs) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
½ cup flaked coconut, toasted
Combine sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in medium saucepan; gradually stir in evaporated milk. Stir in morsels and egg yolks. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened.
Pour chocolate mixture into dessert cups. Chill, covered, for at least 1 hour, sprinkle with toasted coconut just before serving. (8 servings)

SPAGHETTI DINNER

When we bought our first microwave, in 1981, I discovered that I could make my homemade spaghetti sauce in it. What used to take HOURS of simmering on the stove could be done in the microwave in one hour! What a time saver!! Through the years my recipe has evolved as I've discovered some really good pre-packaged seasonings. This is a recipe that I am frequently asked for. The dessert we like with this dinner is Italian Cream Cake, a good and impressive triple layer cake that presents beautifully when brought to the table on a nice pedestal cake plate. The cake recipe is from my Aunt June, who is a wonderful cook and whom I have gotten MANY recipes from.

Here's the menu:
Spaghetti
Tossed Green Salad
French Rolls or Garlic French Bread
Italian Cream Cake

SPAGHETTI SAUCE
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb Italian style sausage (pork or turkey)
3 - 15 oz cans Italian style stewed tomatoes
4 - 15 oz cans tomato sauce
Minced garlic to taste (I use 1 Tablespoons of prepared minced garlic in a jar)
1 cup Tone’s Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning mix
1 pkg Lawry’s or Schillings Spaghetti Sauce seasoning
2 Tablespoons sugar (cuts the acid of the tomato sauces)
In 5 qt microwaveable baking dish with lid (corning ware), crumble meats and microwave, uncovered, on high for 3 minutes. Stir and break up meat, heat for 3 more minutes, stir and heat in 1 to 3 minute increments until meat is completely cooked. Drain fat. Place remaining ingredients in baking dish with the meat, stir well, cover and microwave for 15 minutes at power level number 6. Stir well, cook for 15 minutes at power level 6; repeat cooking and stirring two more times - giving a total cooking time of 1 hour.
Note: Sauce freezes well in sealed plastic container or in Ziploc freezer bag.
Tone’s Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning mix is available at Sam’s Club and some super WalMarts. The ingredients are salt, dehydrated onion, spices, dehydrated red and green bell pepper, sugar, parsley, dehydrated garlic, red pepper.


ITALIAN CREAM CAKE
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup Crisco shortening
2 cups sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup angel flake coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a small mixing bow, beat the egg whites until stiff. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and shortening, add sugar and beat until smooth. Add egg yolks and beat well. Combine flour and baking soda, add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well. Stir in vanilla extract, coconut and nuts. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 8 inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cakes test done with a toothpick. Cook 5 minutes, remove from cake pans onto cooling racks and let cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
8 ozs cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
In medium bowl, mix butter and cream cheese at medium speed on electric mixer. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Spread between layers and on top of cake (do not frost the sides). Sprinkle chopped nuts on top

ITALIAN POT ROAST

There is a restaurant my husband and I like to eat at and they have this Italian Pot Roast. It was pretty easy to figure out how they make this dish and so I'm sharing it with you! It's a pretty heavy meal, so I've found that biscotti and coffee is a sufficient dessert for this meal. My biscotti recipe is from an old friend of mine who got it from an elderly Italian lady. . . so we assume it's authentic. Biscotti is so easy to make and it keeps so well, I frequently bake both the regular recipe and the chocolate one.

The menu:

Italian Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes

Sauteed Zucchini

Tossed Green Salad

French Rolls or Garlic French Bread

Biscotti

The recipes:

ITALIAN POT ROAST

Place a brisket, flank roast or pot roast (well trimmed) in slow cooker. Pour one jar of any brand and any flavor spaghetti sauce over meat. Arrange russet potatoes that are washed and pierced (but not peeled) on top of sauce and also carrots that are washed (but not peeled). Cover and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours.

BISCOTTI
½ Cup Margarine, Softened
1 ½ Cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1 T Anise Seeds (crushed with either a mortar and pestle or in a coffee bean/spice grinder)
3 Cups Flour
1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Salt
¾ Cup Coarsely Chopped Almonds
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Beat margarine and sugar until creamy. Stir in eggs one at a time. Stir in anise seed. Mix dry ingredients together and then stir into dough. Stir in almonds. Separate into 4 balls. Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Roll each ball into logs and place two logs on each cookie sheet. Pat down logs to about 2 inches in width, about ½ inch thick and almost the length of the cookie sheet. (Lightly oiling hands helps keep batter from sticking – spraying Pam on hands works great)
Bake each sheet for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place each rectangle on a cutting board. Slice diagonally into one inch segments. Place slices back on cookie sheet, cut side up, and bake another 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI
½ Cup Margarine, Softened
1 ½ Cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 ½ Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/3 Cups Coarsely Chopped Almonds
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in almonds and chocolate chips. Shape as per instructions for regular biscotti. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (until springs back when lightly pressed). Reduce oven to 325 degrees. Cut as per instructions for regular biscotti, place cookies “bottoms up” (instead of cut side up) on cookie sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more.

LASAGNA DINNER

My lasagna recipe is from my mother-in-law and we think it's the best lasagna EVER! I've been making this recipe for 34 years and my mother-in-law made it for a good 20 years before that. The tiramisu recipe is from one of those best of the best cookbooks that was put together by home economics teachers in the state of California several years ago. I don't like most restaurant's tiramisu, many of them use rum or something else that I don't like! My recipe is easy and elegant and even people who don't like coffee compliment the chef when they try it. I've modified it a bit, mainly exchanging the traditional lady fingers for vanilla wafers. . . that change was out of desperation because lady fingers are sometimes hard to find. The vanilla wafers work so well, I don't even bother trying to find those lady fingers any more. Here's the complete menu for my lasagna dinner:

Lasagna

Apple Feta Salad

Garlic French Bread

Tiramisu

And here are the recipes!

LASAGNA
1 lb lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 - 1 lb, 12 oz can stewed tomatoes
2 - 6 oz cans tomato paste
In large skillet, brown meat over medium-high heat, drain off any excess fat. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a low simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
1 - 16 oz carton cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
In a small mixing bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs, parsley and parmesan cheese.
1 - 8 oz pkg lasagna noodles - boiled to al dente and drained
1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated
Place ½ of the noodles in a 13 x 9 pan. Spread with half of the cottage cheese mixture, then spread with half of the meat sauce mixture, sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Let set 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

APPLE-FETA SALAD
1 medium-size Golden Delicious apple
1 medium-size Red Delicious apple
½ Tablespoon light olive oil
4 cups torn leafy green lettuce or lettuce mix
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 bottle Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, or Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing
Core and quarter apples; slice each quarter into 3 wedges. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add apple slices and saute until golden and barely tender (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Just before serving, arrange leafy lettuce on individual salad plates. Top with sautéed apples and feta cheese. Serve with dressing on the side.

TIRAMISU
2 Cups Whipping Cream
2 - 8 ounce packages Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 Cup Cold Espresso
1 box Vanilla Wafers
1 Hershey’s Chocolate Bar, shaved into curls
In medium mixing bowl, whip cream until stiff, set aside. In large mixing bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth, then add powdered sugar, vanilla and 4 Tablespoons of the espresso. Fold whipped cream and cream cheese mixture together. Arrange ½ of the Vanilla Wafers in 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle half of the remaining cold espresso over the wafers. Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture on top of wafers. Repeat layers. Top with chocolate curls. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
NOTES: Must use espresso made in an espresso machine. Espresso coffee made in a drip coffee maker is NOT the same. If you don’t have an espresso machine, purchase an espresso “to go” at a coffee shop. An alternative to chocolate curls is Ghirardelli Chocolate Powder, just sprinkle on top of Tiramisu.
Instead of 9 x 13 dish, use sherbet or other stemware, placing a vanilla wafer in the bottom and lining the sides with wafers. It takes longer to do these individually, but is more festive for special dinners. Any remaining mixture can be layered in an 8 x 8 dish or whatever size would accommodate.

BISQUICK PASTRIES

It doesn't get any easier than Bisquick! Bisquick came on the market in 1931 and was primarily a mix for making biscuits or pancakes. As the popularity of this product grew, so did the recipes using it. The first time I had a Bisquick Braid was in about 1988 and it was brought to a potluck I attended. I couldn't believe it was a bisquick recipe! The lady who brought the dish graciously gave me the recipe. The Bisquick Danish were also tasted for the first time at a potluck, and of course I asked for the recipe. These pastries are not as good as a yeast dough pastry, but they are good and they are FAST!

BISQUICK BRAID

2 cups Bisquick
¼ cup sugar
3 ozs cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup milk
7 oz. jar of raspberry (or other fruit) preserves or jam
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In medium bowl, mix the bisquick, sugar, cream cheese and butter. Stir in the milk to form a stiff dough. On a pastry sheet dusted with a little flour, roll dough out to a 15 x 10 rectangle, transfer to a lightly greased or sprayed cookie sheet. Spread preserves or jam down the lengthwise center of the dough. With a knife, cut 1 inch wide tabs along both long sides, cutting almost to the preserves and cutting the same number of tabs on both long sides. Starting at one end, fold one tab over the preserves and at a slight downwards angle, fold the tab directly opposite over and down, slightly overlapping the first tab. Continue folding the tabs until all are folded over the preserves. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Drizzle with glaze (see recipe and instructions for glaze for the Bisquick Danish)

BISQUICK DANISH

2 cups Bisquick
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
2/3 cup milk
¼ cup raspberry (or any flavor) preserves
Glaze (recipe follows)
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix the bisquick and sugar; using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until crumbly in texture. Pour in the milk and stir until JUST mixed. Use a ¼ cup measure and drop 12 mounds onto a slightly greased, or sprayed, cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each mound. Pour a little oil into a small container and dip your finger in the oil and then press a “finger size” well in the center of each mound. Fill each well with 1 teaspoon preserves. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and drizzle with glaze while still warm. Makes 12 danish.
Glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon water
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix until smooth, spoon into a small plastic bag (sandwich or snack size), with scissors snip off a very small section of the corner of the bag and squeeze glaze into a zigzag pattern over the top of each danish. Serve warm or room temperature.
TIP: To make filling the plastic bag MUCH easier, fit the plastic bag into a glass mug or cup, folding the bag opening over the rim of the mug. Now you can set the mug on the counter and spoon the glaze into the bag with much ease. Pull the filled bag out of the mug and proceed!

PEACH KUCHEN

My first taste of peach kuchen was in 1971 and it was love at first bite! I was a senior in high school and had a part-time job in the office of a local feed manufacturing company in Lodi, CA. There was a wonderful German bakery in town, Knutson's Cottage Bakery, and they baked peach kuchens that were absolutely delightful! It was a real treat when one of us would run to the bakery and buy a kuchen for the office "snack." It wasn't until 1981 that I managed to find a recipe that was close to Knutson's. The card my recipe is on was written by a German lady in Lodi and it is a treasure to me. While my kuchens have never been quite as good as Mrs. Knutson's, they have become my daughter's favorite Christmas pastry. I've seen many variations on this recipe, especially in recent years with all the recipe sites online. Some of them are not a yeast crust, they are more like a cake crust. And some of them have an evaporated milk custard instead of the sour cream. I've not tried any of those, yet!

PEACH KUCHEN
Dough:
½ Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup lukewarm Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs
4 – 5 Cups Flour
½ Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 envelope Dry Yeast
Place all ingredients in bread machine in order listed; process on the “dough” setting. Or, if you don’t have a bread machine, mix first 4 ingredients together. Stir in 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast. Mix well. Add remaining flour gradually, kneading dough until smooth and elastic. Place dough in buttered bowl and cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Punch dough down, divide into 6 equal portions. On floured board, roll each portion into a 9 inch circle and fit into greased 9 inch pie or cake pans. Let rise about 30 minutes.
Filling:
1 Large can sliced peaches, thoroughly drained
3 Cups Sour Cream, room temperature
4 Eggs, room temperature
1 Cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon
Arrange peaches on dough, do not allow slices to touch each other or overlap. Mix remaining ingredients together. Use a ladle or large spoon to evenly distribute sour cream mixture over peaches, spread to within ½ inch of the side of the pans (leaving a “rim” of crust). Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes.


Notes: Instead of peaches, use canned sliced pears, apricots, or prunes. Instead of fruit, use cottage cheese and the dish is now called Kase Kuchen . Use about ½ to ¾ cup cottage cheese for each pie, the custard step is the same as for fruit and you will still sprinkle with cinnamon.
Baked Kuchen freezes very well for several months. Wrap well with plastic wrap or seal one cake in a 1 gallon size freezer bag.

Sticky Pecan Bundt Breakfast Cake -- Illustration is a pencil sketch with watercolor pencils.

For years I would make homemade pastries for Christmas breakfast from scratch. In the "old days" it was all about mixing with the electric mixer and then hand kneading. Then I got a bread machine. . . boy did that help! It was so nice to mix and raise the dough in the machine and then proceed with the forming, filling and second rising and baking. Then the frozen food people finally came out with a really good premade dough! It is so easy to make homemade pastries nowadays! Oh I still like some of my old recipes, and I still use the bread machine -- no, I do NOT hand knead EVER! The breads I still use my old recipes for are Foccacia and Portuguese Sweet Bread. . . but I've pretty much adapted all my other sweet pastry recipes so I can use Rhodes Frozen Rolls -- what a snap!! So, here's a recipe with several variations:

PECAN STICKY BUNDT BREAKFAST CAKE
24 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls, thawed but still cold
½ Cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ Cup chopped pecans
½ Cup butter, melted
½ Cup packed brown sugar
In a small bowl, mix regular sugar and cinnamon. Roll each dinner roll in the sugar/cinnamon mixture, completely coating the roll. Place in a buttered bundt pan. Repeat until you have a single layer of dough balls in the bundt pan. Sprinkle with half of the pecans. Repeat layers until all the rolls and pecans are in the bundt pan. Stir together the melted butter and the brown sugar and pour over the rolls. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray, and place it on top of the pan (sprayed side down). Let rise until almost to the top of the pan - takes about 1 hr. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Invert immediately onto serving platter.
Variations: Chocolate/Pecan Sticky Bundt--Cut each roll in half with scissors and wrap each piece around a chocolate chip, sealing dough well, before rolling in the cinnamon sugar mixture, continue with the recipe. Cream Cheese Pecan Sticky Bundt--flatten each roll and then wrap around a level tablespoon of cream cheese seal dough well, roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture and continue with recipe. Peanut Butter Peanut Sticky Bundt--replace chopped pecans with chopped roasted peanuts, flatten each roll and then wrap around a level tablespoon of peanut butter and seal dough well, roll in cinnamon sugar mixture and continue with recipe.

Stuffed French Toast Casserole

In our home, Christmas morning starts with a huge homemade breakfast. This tradition started in my husband's family and is something our children look forward to almost as much as they do the gift exchange! My husband is in charge of the hash browned potatoes and the bacon and I am in charge of the eggs and pastries. Our menu ALWAYS has these items, but the type of pastries change through the years. For the hash browned potatoes, my husband bakes large russet potatoes the day before and lets them chill completely and thoroughly overnight in the refrigerator. Then he grates them and cooks them in lots of butter, adding salt and pepper as they are cooking. The bacon and scrambled eggs are cooked in the usual manner -- but as a treat, I use 1/2 and 1/2 in the eggs instead of 1% milk! The pastries. . . ah the pastries. These have been German Peach Kuchen, Cinnamon Rolls, Hawaiian Coconut Rolls, Sticky Rolls, Chocolate Filled Sticky Rolls. . . the list can go on and on and on. Several years ago, I tried Stuffed French Toast Casserole and it became such a hit that it is on the Christmas menu permanently! It's a super easy dish and so that's just fine with me. The older I get the more I don't want to mess too much with the lengthy raised yeast recipes. So, here's the recipe:

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

Cut into ½” Cubes:
1 loaf of firm white bread (Country Potato or Country Buttermilk)
Layer ½ of the bread cubes in the bottom of a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.
Cut into ½” Cubes:
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
Evenly scatter the cream cheese cubes over the bread cubes in the baking dish. Cover with remaining bread cubes.
Mix together:
10 Eggs
1 ½ Cups Half and Half
¼ Cup Maple Syrup
½ Cup Melted Butter
Pour mixture over bread cubes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes – 1 hour, until lightly browned and knife inserted in the center reveals no liquid. Cut into squares to serve. Serve with maple syrup or fruit syrup. Our favorite is Strawberry Syrup.

Christmas Day Dinner

The menu:

Spiral Cut Honey Glazed Ham

Ranch Potatoes

Sweet Potato Casserole

Green Beans with sliced almonds

Waldorf Salad

Rolls

And for dessert:

Cranberry Pecan Pie (pictured), Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie --all available with either sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Coffee, Tea, or Milk

The special recipes:

Ranch Potatoes

2 lbs, russet potatoes, washed and unpeeled, sliced thin as you would for scalloped potatoes

1/2 cup butter, cut into slices

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups sour cream

1 pkg Ranch Dressing mix

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Layer the sliced potatoes and butter in a 2 qt covered casserole. Sprinkle each layer with a little salt and pepper, if desired. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Combine sour cream and the dressing mix. Spread evenly over hot potatoes, top with grated cheese. Return to oven, uncovered, until cheese melts. About 5 minutes. Do not overcook.

Sweet Potato Casserole

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes - baked, peeled and mashed

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

6 Tablespoons melted butter

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Wash, pierce with a knife and wrap potatoes with aluminum foil, bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool completely. (I do this the day before I'm going to make the casserole) With a potato masher, mash the potatoes. Stir in eggs, melted butter, sugar and spices. Mix well. Pour into a greased casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Topping:

3/4 cup crushed corn flake cereal

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

6 Tablespoons melted butter

Place cereal in a ziploc bag, crush into crumbs. Into the bag add the pecans and brown sugar and shake to mix well. When casserole comes out of the oven, sprinkle this topping evenly onto the top and then drizzle the melted butter over all. Return to oven for an additional 15 minutes.

Cranberry Pecan Pie

1 – 9 inch Pie Crust
3 Eggs
1 Cup Corn Syrup
2/3 Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Fresh Cranberries
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Fit crust into a 9 inch pie dish. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla until blended. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Pour into crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees; bake 35 – 40 minutes longer or until filling is almost set. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate overnight before slicing. Yield: 6 – 8 servings.