"Good Time Casserole"

Family!  Gotta love them, whenever we get together during the summer each family takes turns making meals.  Normally, there are the family favorites that get chosen and requested each year.  Aunt Margo's "Good Time Casserole" is one of those!  I guess it's a Canadian favorite but we enjoy it just as much in the states!  This hearty casserole is reminiscent of lasagna with the layers of noodles, meat and cheese.  I've served it when expecting guests and always get compliments!

 

Ingredients: (serves 7)
4 cups cooked noodles
2 pounds ground beef
4 7 1/2 ounce cans tomato sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups sour cream
5 green onions, sliced including tops
2 cups medium Cheddar Cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Prepare noodles as directed on package. Drain. Spread in bottom of 4 quart casserole.
2. Brown the beef in frying pan, stirring to break up chunks. Drain the oil
3. Add tomato sauce to meat. Measure in salt, pepper, garlic salt and sugar. Stir; bring to boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Spoon over noodles.
4. In bowl, mash cream cheese and sour cream. Stir in green onions. Spread over meat layer. Sprinkle cheese on top.
5. Bake uncovered in 350F oven for 35 minutes.

Note:  Pioneer Woman has a similar recipe that doesn't include the sugar and uses cottage cheese instead of cream cheese.  Her recipe uses 1/2 c. Sour Cream and 1 1/4 c. Cottage Cheese.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies

I've made these so many times in the past couple of weeks because they are so good!  My kids and husband love pretzels so we often have them in the house. In fact we buy them by the tub for now we need even more then before because of my obsession with these cookies!  I would suggest making sure you have some hidden or you won't get any.


Recipe: Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies
Makes 48 cookies

 

Ingredients:

3 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1 cup of butter at room temperature
1 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup of granulated sugar
2 egg (beaten)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup broken up pretzel pieces
Pretzel Salt or Sea Salt

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten eggs and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and pretzels.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

Note: One time I had a few toffee pieces left over and I dumped them in, fabulous.

Zucchini Banana Bread

It is the time of year when zucchini is in abundance but not everyone likes zucchini.  This bread has a more banana flavor with the moistness provided by the zucchini!  This recipe is from the Avrie Cooks blog and she included a recipe for icing which I'm sure is wonderful but I didn't have time for it.  I took 2 Tbs of buttercream icing from a can and threw it in the microwave for 10 seconds and stirred to make it more of a glaze.  It was fabulous drizzled over the bread since the bread is not super sweet.

Zucchini Banana Bread

Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf (Note: I made as one 9-by-5-inch loaf but you may wish to divide batter among two 8-by-4-inch loaves and reduce baking time by about 10 minutes; or bake as 3 or more mini loaves, bake in a 9-inch square pan, as 10-cup Bundt cake, or as muffins; adjusting baking times as necessary)

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (half of one stick)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

6 ounces vanilla or plain yogurt (one standard-sized small container; Greek yogurt preferred, or sour cream may be substituted – do not use fat free or light yogurt or sour cream)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup grated zucchini, loosely packed

1 to 1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (1 large or 2 small very ripe bananas)

one 3.4-ounce box vanilla instant pudding mix (not Cook ‘n Serve), optional see notes below

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

Preheat oven to 325F, spray pan (s) with cooking spray with flour or grease and flour the pan(s)s; set aside.

In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power. To the melted butter, add the sugars, egg, yogurt, vanilla, and whisk to combine. Add the zucchini, bananas, and stir to incorporate.

Add the dry pudding mix, and stir to combine (Note: You are not making pudding; simply add the mix as a dry ingredient. You don’t have to use pudding mix but it creates wonderful moisture and flavor in the bread. If omitting, you may wish to add an additional 1/4 cup granulated sugar and an additional 1/4  to 1/3 cup flour, based on taste preference and how your batter looks). Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix or bread will be tougher as the gluten will over-develop. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake for about 60 to 65 minutes (this is for one 9-by-5-inch loaf), or until top is golden and set, and a wooden skewer, cake tester, or knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If bread is browning a bit fast on the top, you may wish to lower your oven temperature to 300F midway through cooking, at about the 30-minute mark if your oven runs hot or tent the pan with foil in approximately the last 20 minutes of cooking. Allow bread to cool in the loaf pan for at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Baked Pasta with Italian Sausage

Often recipes look great but often I don't have everything needed.  I'm getting more confident in guessing good substitutions or additions and this recipe is one that turned out great in it's modified version!  Here it is below.

1 (12 oz) package dry (penne or bow tie work well) pasta
2 tsp olive oil
1 pound mild Italian sausage (not in casing)
1 clove chopped garlic
1 c chopped onion
1 tsp basil
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) pizza sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Place sausage, garlic, onion and basil in skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Stir in tomato sauce, pizza sauce and tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with cooked pasta, and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with mozzarella.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Maple Nut Tart

A recipe has to be good if that's the first thing someone asks you about, after having not seen you for two years!  I was at Llama Fest yesterday and our former pastor's wife asked if I still had the recipe from  a pie I made them for Pastor's Appreciation Month back in 2009!  I remembered of course because it has two of my favorites: Maple and Pecan.  She said she would love the recipe so I found it again for her and decided to put it up here as well.  I didn't have a tart pan so I made it into a pie when I made it last.
 
Maple Nut Tart

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
1 1/2 cups walnut pieces

Yields 8 servings.


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. On lightly floured piece of wax paper or parchment paper, roll pie dough into 12-inch circle. Carefully fit into 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan, gently lowering dough into bottom and sides of pan without stretching. Roll rolling pin over edge of tart pan to cut off excess dough; set tart shell aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and salt; whisk in maple syrup. Add nuts, and mix filling to combine. Place tart pan on rimmed baking sheet, and pour in filling. Bake tart until filling is set and crust is slightly golden, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Remove tart from pan before serving.

- From Everyday Food, November 2007

 Pie Crust
 

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
 
 Yields 1 single crust.



In large bowl using pastry blender, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add butter, and cut in with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.

Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water, and continue to work dough with pastry blender until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers. (If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Do not overwork dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; form into 3/4-inch thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (Or wrap in plastic, place in a resealable plastic bag, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before rolling.)

Amazing Brownies

Last year Fig tutored a student through the Kids Hope program.  Once a week for one hour Fig would leave his office and go into a local school and spend time with his student.  He'd help with homework, play games and occasionally do things with the whole class.  Often Fig would bring a snack to share.  I made them brownies one of the last weeks they met.  This recipe is amazing and I actually put all the dry ingredients into Ball jars and had them in my cupboard with directions attached to give away or use in a pinch!  Thanks to the How to Cook Like Your Grandmother blog!

Gotta love farm fresh eggs!

Fig's bag and his snack ready to go!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa powder (high quality)
3 eggs
3/4 c. salted butter (melted)
3/4 c. chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325.
Combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips in a bowl by hand until the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the wet.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Line 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
Pour batter into pan and push it into place with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Once out of the oven lift the brownies out by the parchment paper to cool and then slice and enjoy!

Reeses Krispies

One of the nights we had the mission trip team over.  They watched the Jesus film they would show to the villages in Guatemala to help prepare their hearts and minds for the trip.  I made these cookies but they had trouble setting because of how hot it was!  In fact in order to cut up the Reeses I had to throw them in the freezer for a few minutes before the wrappers would come off without most of the chocolate sticking to them.  This is a different kind of no-bake cookie!  The recipe is from the Sweet Basil blog.

Reeses Krispies
Ingredients:
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Corn Syrup
1 1/3 C. Creamy Peanut Butter
4 1/4 C. Rice Krispes
1 Pinch of Salt
4 large Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped
1/2 C. Chocolate Chips

Directions:
In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt the sugar, corn syrup, and peanut butter until smooth and evenly combined.
Remove from heat.
Quickly add the salt and cereal and stir to combine thoroughly. Add the chocolate chips and stir again. Wait about 1 min and add the candy, quickly folding the mixture together so as to not smash up the candy.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop rounded tablespoons onto the sheet. Let cool and devour!