Lasagna

This is not a quick dinner.  It has a lot of prep work, but it is oh so worth it!  I wrote this recipe in a different format.  I wrote down everything as I did it.  If you gather all of your ingredients, you should be able to work your way through the recipe and end with fantastic lasagna!

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 cups broccoli
1 small zucchini
¼ pound sliced mushrooms
1 15oz can tomato sauce
2 pounds ground beef
½ onion
3 cloves garlic
1 pound mozzarella
½ pound Romano
½ pound parmesan (plus more for topping)
6 lasagna noodles

In separate bowl mix…

2 cups fresh spinach chopped
2 cups ricotta cheese (the smaller container is just under this amount, I use that)
2 eggs

Prep the Vegetables…

2 cups chopped broccoli
1 small zucchini sliced thinly (I found that my cheese slicer actually worked really well for getting the thin slices lengthwise of the zuchini)
1/4 pound sliced mushrooms
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)

Make the Sauce…

2 pounds ground beef
½ onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce

Brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic together in a deep frying pan.  Mix in the sauce and remove from the heat.

Cheeses all shredded…

1 pound mozzarella
½ pound Romano
½ pound parmesan (plus more for topping)

Cook 6 lasagna noodles for 12 minutes.  Remove from water to cookie cooling rack.  Lay them out flat in a single layer.  If they are stacked, they will stick to eachother.

Assemble…

In a 10.5in x 11.75in x 2in baking pan pour just enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom.  Add remaining tomato sauce into the meat sauce.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. 

Lay in 3 noodles spread evenly in pan.
Lay in a layer of mushrooms
Lay in the spinach and ricotta cheese mixture
Lay in a layer of zucchini slices
Lay in a layer of meat sauce
Cover in Romano cheese
Lay in 3 noodles spread evenly in pan
Lay in a layer of chopped broccoli
Lay in a layer of remaining meat sauce
Lay in a layer of remaining mozzarella cheese
Layer with parmesan cheese

Bake at 425* for approximately an hour, or until bubbly and lightly browned on top.  Let cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving.  Top with extra parmesan cheese.

Best Bean Soup Ever!!

This is my bean soup recipe for canning.  It is amazing.  If you don't want to can it, you will have to change the cooking time.  Simmer it until the beans are tender.  Adding in the carrots and celery about ten minutes before they are done.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound bag of 16 bean soup bean mixture

3 cloves garlic

3 small onions

6 carrots

3 stalks celery

Apx 2 cups raw bacon pieces cut into bites

1 box (32 oz) chicken stock

Instructions:

Soak the bean mixture in the refrigerator over night.

Mince garlic, chop onions.  Chop carrots and celery into chunks.  Set aside for later.  Fry garlic and onions in pan with bacon pieces.  Cook until bacon is done and onions are translucent.  Drain fat.

 

Drain and rinse the beans.

 

Put the chicken stock in the pot.  Add in the beans.  You should have enough liquid to cover the beans.  Stir and bring to a boil.

Turn down and simmer for 30 minutes.

Stir in celery and carrots.

 

Scoop into pint size jars leaving 1 inch head space.  Should make 6 jars of soup.

Process according to your pressure canner instructions at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes.

 

Breakfast Cookies!

These are lovely moist cookies that make for a healthy quick breakfast. They were a huge hit with all the children in the household.

This is my inspiration for this recipe. I didn't have any applesauce on hand, but I did have plenty of frozen mashed bananas. None of my children will eat raisins, so I put in chocolate chips instead.

My version is this...

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
2 C uncooked rolled oats
2 C mashed banana
1/4 C whole milk
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinamon
2 tsp sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350*F.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Let the ingredients sit for about five minutes so the oats soak up some of the moisture.
Spoon the mixture onto a greased cookie sheet. You can put them pretty close to each other. The cookie will not spread out as it cooks and will keep the shape you put them in.
Bake for 18 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before you eat.

One batch makes approximately 24 small cookies.

I'm thinking these would freeze very well, though we don't have any left after four kids ran through the kitchen a few times.

Crockpot Stroganoff

This is one of my favorite ways to take care of leftover beef.  I've used roast, steak, and burger.  All are wonderful in their own ways.  Today I'm using leftover steak.  I try to cook extra when we BBQ just because it adds such a fantastic flavor to the meal.

Ingredients:
4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups sliced celery
4 cups sliced mushrooms (I love mushrooms.  Less is okay if you aren't a big fan.)
3 cups cubed leftover meat
6 Tblsp brown gravy mix (two packets)
4 cups water

Before serving you will also need:
1 cup sour cream
cooked noodles or rice
shredded cheese (optional)



Once you have all the ingredients gathered and prepped, this recipe goes pretty quickly.

Pour the four cups of water into your crockpot and whisk in the gravy mix powder.

Now to add the rest of the ingredients.  I put the onions and garlic in first.  Follow that with the celery, then the meat.  Top it all with the mushrooms.

Cook on low in the crockpot for about 5 hours.  The meat will be melt in your mouth tender and the veggies will all be cooked nicely.

*picture to come*

Before serving, stir in 1 cup of sour cream.  This gives the stroganoff a nice creamy flavor.  You can also stir in a small can of condensed cream of mushroom soup if you like an even creamier stroganoff.

*picture to come*

Serve over the top of cooked noodles or rice.  Top it all with shredded cheese!

Taco Bake

This is a delicious dinner even my picky kids loved! 

Taco Bake

1 ½ pounds ground beef
½ onion (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
Two small tomatoes chopped
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 cup water
3 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
Cornbread recipe
Tomato Topping

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Brown the burger with the onions and garlic until cooked through.  Add tomatoes, taco seasoning, and water.  Let simmer while you prepare the cornbread.

Spread your prepared cornbread dough into the bottom of a well greased 9x13 baking dish.  If your mixture is soupy, drain off the liquid first.  Then top the dough with the hamburger mixture. 

Sprinkle with as much cheese as you would like.

Bake in 350*F oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the cornbread is nicely browned.  I can see my cornbread through the clear baking dish.  If you are using a darker dish you may have to poke it with a toothpick.  The toothpick should come out clean.

Top with Spicy Tomato Topping and extra cheese!  Delish!

Spicy Tomato Topping

 4 small tomatoes diced

2 tablespoons dried cilantro
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon habenero sauce

 Put all the ingredients in a frying pan and simmer while the Taco Bake cooks.  It will cook down into a lovely little sauce to serve on top.

My dream....

Last summer we found my dream place.  The kids and I fell in love with this property on sight.  Hubby required a bit of convincing that the smaller amount of land would work.

No matter how much we loved this place, we still couldn't afford it.  We didn't give up though!  Over the last year we have worked hard to reduce our debt and curb our spending.  Now we are so close to achieving this dream!

The view from the end of the school building to the baseball diamond at the end of the property.

The back property line is a lovely little river.  It's far enough of a drop from the property to no pose a flooding danger.  So idealic!

Six full size classrooms!  The family is all excited about a bit more space to move around.

I am absolutely GIDDY over this kitchen.  I could cook and process food so easily with this space.  All commercial grade and size.

This mixer is as tall as I am.  I don't know what I would use a mixer this size to make, but by golly I want to use it!!

This is a dream pantry.  Notice the second mixer down on the floor.  That little bad boy is at least three times the size of my current Kitchenaide.

The natural lighting in this place is AMAZING.  The only pictures we took with lights on were in the cafeteria, kitchen, and gym.

That's right.  I said GYM.  Can you imagine the glory of a cold and rainy winter day spent playing basketball in your own personal gym?!
 I am so excited by all the prospects of this property.  Now we have to make it through the reality of financing and negotiating.  Wish us luck!  Pray!

*Edited to add*
Well, it looks like a couple more months of scrimping and saving.  They have come so far down on the price already, there isn't much wiggle room for negotiations.  I'll be patient.  Even at their asking price, we are only a few  months away from being able to do it.
We will still get started on the financing end.  That way we know where we are for sure.
Keep those good thoughts coming!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Oh, this pie is so heavenly! I was amazed by how many eggs it takes, but it is worth EVERY one! This will give you some good practice seperating eggs if you haven't practiced before. I always crack eggs into a small custard dish, then pour the egg over my hand into the whites bowl. The whites go through my fingers, then I can set the yolk into the other bowl. Many people rock the yolk back and forth between the egg shells. I tend to break the yolk when I do it this way.

This is a time consuming recipe. From start to finish it takes several hours. It is so delicious though, I am willing to work and wait!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients:

16 eggs

4 cup sugar – divided (2 for filling 2 for meringue)

2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 pie crust (I like graham)

1. Preheat oven to 325*F.

2. Separate yolks and whites of all 16 eggs into separate bowls.

3. Using an electric mixer get the whites started whisking for the meringue. This will take a while to form nice high peaks.

4. In a medium sauce pan, whisk the yolks and 2 cups of the sugar together. Add the lemon juice and stir.

5. Heat on low and stir with a flat ended spoon or spatula until it thickens up. Stir the entire time and keep scraping the bottom of the pan. You want to cook the egg yolks, but not end up with scrambled eggs. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Be patient!

6. Immediately transfer the lemon mixture into the pie crust and spread evenly.

7. By now your meringue should be starting to get nice peaks. SLOWLY add the two cups of sugar into the meringue. It will make your peaks fall, just keep it whisking until the peaks form again.

8. Top your pie with meringue! You will end up with extra meringue; I like to use it for meringue cookies.

9. Bake your pie at 325*F for about an hour or until the meringue has a nice golden brown top.

Allow to cool completely before serving.