Holiday Jello

This is another Burnham Classic. This was also my first time making this. I made a few mistakes with the jello and whatnot, so it's not as pretty as my mom's usually is. However, it still tasted amazing and was gone by the next morning (pretty much).

Ingredients

1 package orange jello

1 package cherry jello

1 package lime jello

1 cup pineapple juice

¼ cup sugar

1 package lemon jello

½ cup cold water
¼ cup butter melted
one package of graham crackers (One section from the box. So like, 8-10 whole graham crackers. I'm spit balling here.)
2 cups whipped cream

Day 1: Dissolve each jello package separately using 1 cup hot water and ½ cup cold water. Chill in separate pans. Bread pans work well.

Day 2: Combine pineapple juice and sugar, heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and dissolve lemon jello in hot liquid. Add cold water and chill until like egg whites. At least 30 minutes. Mix cracker crumbs and butter and press into 9 x 13 pan. Fold 2 cups of whipped cream into syrupy lemon mixture and beat slightly. Combine other jellos (which have been cut into cubes) with creamed mixture and pour over crumbs. Sprinkle extra crumbs on top. Chill about 8 hours.

This was so yummy. Just realized I didn't sprinkle crumbs on top. Would've been even better. Takes a few days, so you have to keep that in mind. But totally worth it. Yummy!

Turkey

Yes, the turkey. I made my first turkey.  I got the recipe from Alton Brown on Foodnetwork.com. It turned out awesome. A total success for a first time turkey. It was pretty darn juicy and tender and had a nice flavor. And for once, I preferred the light meat over the dark meat. Unprecedented.

Ingredients
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

2 to 3 days before roasting:
Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

We did the first 30 minutes in the oven and then moved it to a roaster for the rest of the time. It took like 1 1/2 hours, or so. I don't remember exactly, but it cooked a lot faster than the intended time. And ours was like a 20 lb. bird. All in all, a good turkey, and a very successful recipe. I'd totally do it again.

Orange Rolls

This is a Burnham Thanksgiving Classic. Although it's no longer on my mom's menu, we will all remember it and many of us make it on our own. This was my first time making them and I made a few small mistakes in rolling them out and cutting them, so they ended up being huge. They still tasted great, they just weren't as elegant looking.

Ingredients
2 packages yeast
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter
¼ cup water
4 ½ cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 cup orange juice at room temperature
3 eggs
Butter
Brown sugar optional
Cinnamon optional

Day 1: Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup water. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs. Add yeast and orange juice. Add salt. Gradually add flour. Kneed. Refrigerate over night.

Day 2: 4 hours before serving, roll out on a floured board. Spread surface with 1 cube butter (and brown sugar and cinnamon if desired for a dessert rather than a dinner roll.) Roll up like a jelly roll. Slice 1 ¼ inches wide. Dip in melted butter and place in muffin pans sprayed with Pam. Raise for 3 hours. Bake at 400 for 10 to 15 minutes. They can be frozen after placing in muffin pans. It takes 5 hours to rise if frozen.

I've never tried them as a dessert, but I bet they'd be really good. I also think they' do well from some orange zest added in. But even straight from the recipe, they're amazing and an easy A+ at Thanksgiving, or whenever. Just remember, they can take up to 2 days to make.

Wassil

This has been in our Mom's Cookbook for forever and I've never had it. It's basically a fancy apple cider. It was really simple and pretty tasty. It was fun and we all really enjoyed it.

Ingredients
6 cups apple cider (I didn't have a jug of apple cider, so I just used enough apple cider mixes and water to make 6 cups worth)
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 20-oz. can pineapple juice unsweetened

Heat cider and cinnamon stick in large pan. Bring to boil and simmer covered 5 min. Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovred 5 min. longer. Keep hot ove rlow heat or heat in small batches.

I just did the whole thing in the crock pot. I heated the first ingredients til pretty darn hot and then added the rest and kept it on low. It turned out awesome.

Roasted pumpkins with bacon and brown sugar

This is another magazine recipe I found that sounded exotic and fun. In the end, I give it a B. We decided on one change for it that really would've made it better for us. But otherwise, it went over better than I could've expected. This is the sorta thing I would've gagged at last Thanksgiving, so for me it was a major success.

Ingredients
6 slices bacon, crisp-cooked and drain, dripping reserved (I baked it, which is shown here)
2 2-4 lb. pie pumpkins
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. fennel seed, crushed (It's practically impossible to crush fennel seeds, so just buy them crushed. Yes, I tried to crush my own. Didn't work. If you buy them crushed, I'd just use 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. instead of 2.)
2-3 green onions, diagonally sliced

Preheat Ocen to 400. Cut of top 1/4 of pumpkins. Remove seed and strings; reserve 2/3 cup pumpkin seeds. Place pumpkins, cut side up, in foil-lined baking pan. Brush insides with some of the bacon dripings and sprinkle with salt, pepper and brown sugar. Replace lids and roast pumpkins in oven 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in skillet stir together pumpkin seeds, fennel seed, green onions, and remaining bacon drippings. Add skillet to oven during last 10 minutes of roasting. Remove pumpkins and seed mixture from oven. Sprinkle inside of pumpkins with seed mixture and crumbled bacon. To serve, use a large spoon to scoop out insides or use knife to cut into wedges.

Excuse the not so great photo. The only problem we had with this was the pumpkin seeds were too chewy. I realize they may not have roasted well because the skillet wouldn't fit in the oven with the door shut, so I think I had the door cracked, which may have kept the seeds from getting toasty. So, that might have done it. If the seeds had been crunchy and roasted, it would've been really cool. But even without the seeds it would've been good. The skillet mixture smells really good, so I think it was just a texture thing. The flavors were all there and in sync. So if you're brave, you can try this one on for size.

Crispy Deli Wraps

These came out so good! They were awesome! Also an appetizer. I was pretty excited for these guys and rightfully so. I'm glad I doubled the recipe. I could've tripled it and maybe had some leftover. They were great.

Ingredients
1 box (9 oz) frozen spinach
2 cups Bugles corn snacks (I'm sure other corn chips would do, I imagine. I did use Bugles.)
1/4 cup butter, melted
16 thin slices cooked ham or turkey (I used both)
4 sticks mozzarella string cheese
1 can crescent rolls

Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing (I used mayo)
1/3 cup Dijon mustard (mine was just plain jain mustard)
1/3 cup honey

Heat oven to 375. Remove spinach from container; place in colander. Rinse with warm water until thawed; drain well. Squeeze spinach dry with paper towel; divide evenly into 4 portions. Set aside. Meanwhile, place corn snacks in plastic bac; seal. Crush with rolling pin until crushed fine. Pour into shallow dish or plate. In another shallow dish or pie plate, place melted butter; set aside. Unroll dough; separate into 4 rectangles. Press each into 6x4 rectangle; firmly pressing perforations to seal. (I didn't make mine any particular size, but just used the rectangle in whatever size it came out as.) Arrange ham or turkey in 4 stacks. Top each stack with 1 portion of spinach, spreading spinach evenly over ham. Place 1 stick of cheese on one short side of spinach-topped ham. Roll up each stack. Place 1 filled ham roll on one long side of each dough rectangle. Fold sides of dough up over ham and roll to opposite long side; press edge and ends to seal and completely cover ham roll. Roll each in butter, then in crushed corn snacks to coat. Place seam side down on cookie sheet. Bake 20-28 minutes or until deep golden brown. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients with wire whisk. Serve warm wraps with the sauce for dipping.

These came out great. One of the eaters even let me know that they do not like spinach, but enjoyed them. After reading the directions thoroughly, I realize I constructed mine wrong. I would be sure to follow the instructions. It will just turn out the best possible way. Ours still tasted great, but the construction could've been easier if I'd followed the instructions. So read them well and then enjoy, because they're really yummy!

Spiced Pumpkin Butter

This is something I, again, found in a magazine and thought it sounded exotic and fun. It was super simple and I made it ahead of time. It was pretty darn good. As reference for the remaining Thanksgiving recipes, some were appetizers that we ate as we hung out and cooked turkey. Then there are the meal recipes that were for the actual dinner. This was an appetizer. (Unless you think this will be ravaged or you're having an extremely large group, I might half it.)

Ingredients
4 cups Pumpkin Puree, or two 15 oz. cans pumpkin
1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup
1/2 cup apple juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
Chopped hazelnuts (optional) (I went through tons of trouble to find these darn things and then forgot to take them to the event.)

In 5 quart dutch oven combine all ingredients except nuts. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently., 25 minutes or until thick. (It was pretty much thick the whole time to me, so I just did 25 minutes.) If mixture spatters, reduce heat to medium-low. (Okay, this is like tomato sauce, it spatters no matter what, so just keep a rag handy and mop it up as you go along.) Remove from heat; cool. Ladle into jars or freezer containers, leaving1/2-inch headspace. Cover; store in refrigerator up to 1 week or freezer up to 6 months. To serve, top with chopped nuts.

Can serve on pancakes, muffins, or toasted bread. Can top with favorite cheese. We just had it plain on cut french bread. I would definitely toast the bread. Just a simple, tasty spread.

Mom's Homemade Mac and Cheese

I love a good homemade mac and cheese. Haven't you noticed? Here's another version. Quite delicious and if you grate your cheese beforehand, super easy.

Ingredients
6 cups water
¾ tsp salt
3 cups small elbow macaroni
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese
6 tbsp margarine
6 tbsp milk
Pinch paprika (I have big pinches)
Pinch white pepper (Black works fine. The original recipe called for white. I found it at Smiths.)
Pinch cayenne pepper

Using a large saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Stir in macaroni and return to boil. Stir occasionally; boil for 4 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and continue to boil, stirring frequently for 7 minutes. (You may need to reduce the heat to its lowest heat the last 2 minutes to prevent sticking.) Add the remainder of the ingredients, stirring well until the cheese is melted.

Royal Round Steak

Well, this is a simple crock pot meal. It's really simple and tastes pretty good. To me, it was a bit too salty, but there's not much to edit to make it less salty. But with me, it could've just been that day. Aaron liked it so we're gonna keep it around. It was an all around easy and yummy dish.

Ingredients
1-2 lbs beef round steak or stew meat
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 envelope (1 oz.) dry onion soup mix (maybe they make a reduced sodium version? And I didn't buy a nice brand, just the X-stuff. Maybe that would make a difference to salt and flavor issues.)
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Hot cooked egg noodles
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Trim round steak and cut into cubes. Partially frozen meat makes for easier cutting. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meat on all sides. (Do not need to cook through, just brown sides.) Combine dry onion soup mix and canned soups in mixing bowl. Pour mixture into crock pot. (I just mixed it in the crock pot. No need to dirty a bowl.) Add browned meat. Cover and cook on high 6-7 hours. Spoon over egg noodles. Sprinkle with parsley.

Fireside Chili

I made this for our ward chili/bake off. It was something I found from a magazine and it sounded exotic, so I went all out. In the end, I didn't really care for it. It's a specialty chili, I like to call it. It's got a real distinct and unique flavor. I think you either love it or hate it. I was missing one ingredient, but not a crucial one to flavor I don't think. Anyway, it's got a very smoked flavor. So if you like smoked, you'll probably love it. It also has a cumin polenta that goes with it. I forgot to try the polenta with the chili so I can't vouch for it. But I do imagine it's a good addition to the strong flavored chili, so I'll add it at the end anyhow. The picture is deceiving. With the flash from my camera, it came out very bright. This was a dark chili, not bright red. Be not deceived. And I put this in the Mexican label because it has fresh jalapenos and dried chile peppers. To me, that's in the realm of Mexican food. Oh, and despite me saying I didn't really like it, we brought the giant pot home almost empty. So it was getting eaten, no doubt. Which made me feel good, even though I didn't win the cook off.

Ingredients
1 recipe Chili Seasoning Puree (I'll list it further down)
1 1/2 lb. ground beef chuck (which I learned is just plain old ground beef. Why do they make this so hard?)
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 tbsp. smoked paprika (I think this gives it a majority of the smoky flavor. Smoked paprika is very, very strong.)
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground cloves (This I didn't have. But it's such a small amount, I'm hoping it didn't ruin my chili not having it.)
1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, cut up (I'd make the pieces about 1 inch or so)
1 1/2 cups water
1 14 oz. can beef broth
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1-2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (optional) (This is one of the things that drew me to this recipe)
1 1/2 cups dried plums or raisins, chopped (chopping dried plums is somewhat tedious. I'd do it before when you're not feeling rushed.)
Cumin Polenta (optional)

Prepare Chili Seasoning Puree. (listed below) In 6 quart dutch oven cook beef, onion, and celery until meat is browned, stirring as needed. Drain fat. Stir in Chili Puree, paprika, coriander, crushed red pepper, and cloves. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in undrained tomatoes, water, beef broth, and tomato paste. Brign to boiling, reduce heat. Add chocolate and plums. Simmer, covered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve with Cumin Polenta.

Chili Seasoning Puree
2 dried chile peppers (There are tons of different types [from different regions] so just pick one.)

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

3/4 cup beef broth
5 pitted plums

Place chile peppers in a bowl. Add boiling water to cover. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain; remove stems and seeds. To remove seeds, cut off stem end. Cut a slit down one side and scrape out seeds with a spoon. In food processor or blender combine drained chile peppers, jalapeno pepper, broth, and dried plums. Cover and process or blend until smooth.

Cumin Polenta

2 14 oz. cans reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 tsp ground cumin

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup whole milk (I do think using skim or otherwise will change the quality. I used skim cause it's all we have.)

1 tbsp butter

In large heavy saucepan combine broth and cumin; bring to boiling. Reduce heat; gradually whisk in cornmeal. Cook and stir until thick, about 6-8 minutes. Whisk in milk and butter, Season with salt and pepper. I was told by a friend that you should always stir the polenta in one direction only. It doesn't matter which direction, but you don't stir both directions or do figure eights in the polenta. Just pick a direction and stir it that way. She heard that from a reliable cooking source, so try it.

Pie Crust

This is the recipe I used with the Grape & Pear Pie. It's slightly different from my mom's (my preferred pie crust), but it was fine. If I make a pie during the Christmas season, I'll use the other crust recipe and post it as well. This one uses shortening and my mom's uses oil. I think the shortening crust is supposed to be flakier, but I prefer the flavor of the oil crust personally. But pie crust is a very personal thing, so do what floats your boat.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
8-10 tbsp cold water

In medium bowl stir together flour and salt. Using pastry blender, cut in 2/3 cup shortening until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tbsp cold water over part of flour mixture; gently toss with fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tbsp water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened (8 to 10 tablespoons total). Divide dough in half. Form each half into ball.

On lightly floured surface, slightly flatten 1 ball of pastry. Roll dough from center to edges into 12-inch circle. Wrap pastry around rolling pin; unrollinto 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch. Trim even with rim of pie plate. Pour filling into pastry. Roll remaining dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Cut slits in pastry to allow steam to escape. Place pastry on filling; trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top pastry edge under bottom pastry. Crimp edge as desired.

I didn't follow the directions specifically with the water, mainly because it's tedious the way it's described. But it came out fine. Otherwise I did follow the recipe. I didn't do a plain pie topper though, as you can tell from the pie post. If you want lessons on making a weave top, I'll gladly teach how I did it.

Grape and Pear Pie

I did this for a chili/bake off at church. I just found the recipe in Better Homes & Gardens. I was very impressed with this recipe and would totally make it again.

Ingredients

1 recipe for double-crust pie
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp finely shredded orange peel
5 cups whole seedless red or black grapes
2 medium red pears, cored and sliced (2 cups)
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare pie crust. For filling, in large bowl stir together brown sugar, flour, melted butter, and orange peel. Add grapes and pears; toss. Prepare bottom layer of crust. Pour filling into pie. Roll remaining dough over filling. In small bowl, combine egg white with 1 tbsp water. Brush top of pie with egg white mixture. Cover edge of pie with foil. Bake 35 minutes; remove foil. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until top of pastry is golden and steam is escaping from slits in top crust. Remove from oven. Cool 6 hours. Store, loosely covered, in fridge up to 24 hours.

The only additions I would add is to make sure your grapes aren't too big. Mine were huge. It was good, but they were a mouthful. Second, make sure you have enough pears. They're so good. And don't scrimp on the orange peel either. It adds a great flavor. I'll add the recipe for pie crust as well. (I'll add some simple construction instructions for the pie crust part as well, as I left it out in this recipe.) You can always buy it too. Mine was homemade.

Waffled Pizza Dippers

This was fun. I did it more for a child-food experiment. Joseph ate them pretty easily, although he didn't really dip them, which for me is the whole point. Anyway, it was a success and they were pretty good.

Ingredients
7 oz. (1 ¾ cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (1 oz.)
½ tsp dried basil leaves
½ tsp dried oregano leaves
2 cans crescent dinner rolls
1 jar pizza sauce
32 small slices pepperoni

Heat waffle maker on medium-high setting. In medium bowl, mix both cheese, basil and oregano; set aside. In 1 ½ quart saucepan, heat pizza sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot. Place in small serving bowl. Unroll both cans of dough onto work surface. Separate each crosswise, making 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal. Place 1 dough rectangle on bottom surface of heated waffle maker, being careful not to open up perforations. Quickly sprinkle 1 cup cheese mixture evenly on top of dough. Place 16 slices of pepperoni evenly over cheese mixture. Top with another dough rectangle; close waffle maker. Bake 2 to 3 minutes or until sandwich is golden brown. With pancake turner, remove from waffle maker; cool before cutting. Serve with warm sauce.

I didn't get the amount of cheese or pepperoni listed in the recipe, but used it all more or less. It definitely needs the sauce. At least for me, being used to pizza. Joseph ate it without, which I didn't find as good. But for a version of pizza, it is very easy to eat hands on and I'm sure kids would enjoy the fun waffle-ness of it. And for "homemade pizza" it is pretty easy. I'm sure you could easily alter the ingredients a touch to add other toppings, like canadian bacon, mushrooms or olives.

Orange Cream Floats

I didn't like this the first time I had it, but the second time I really liked it. The third, even more. I like that it's a dessert, but it's more bitter than sweet. It's the orange juice concentrate, I think. Anyhow, I enjoy its difference. It's refreshing. (Although I had some issues with my ice cream, so for all I know, I just didn't add enough and it was supposed to taste differently. Either way I'm sure it's a delicious recipe!)

Ingredients

2 pints (4 cups) vanilla ice cream, softened (I tried measuring out the ice cream from a big tub. Would've been easier to buy it by the pint. I don't know if I used enough ice cream.)
1 can (6 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
¾ cup water
½ tsp vanilla
Red and yellow food coloring, if desired
1 bottle (2 liters) ginger ale

In large bowl, mix ice cream, orange juice concentrate, water, vanilla and food color until almost smooth. For each serving, scoop heaping ½ cup ice cream mixture into 16 oz. glass. Pour about 1 cup ginger ale over top of each. You can make the ice cream mixture before serving and store it in the freezer.

My first attempt was really sloshy. The ice cream was basically melted and so it looked like a big orange juice with foam. Then I froze the mixture and scooped it straight out of the fridge and added the ginger ale. That was when I liked it better.

Tortellini in Brodo

Or as Emeril taught me, Tortellini in Soup. So super yummy! I loved this recipe!

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ onions, chopped
¾ cup chopped celery
¾ cup chopped carrots
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
9 oz. fresh cheese filled tortellini
2 tbsp minced parsley
Salt, to taste if necessary
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add the olive oil and, when hot, add the onion, celery, and carrots. Saute until soft, about four minutes. Add the garlic, italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the tortellini and cook for 5 minutes (or longer if pasta directs). The pasta should be al dente. Stir in the parsley, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Remove from heat and ladle into soup bowls. Garnish each bowl with 1 tbsp cheese. Serve.

The big odd looking white sections (not the noodles) are the Parmesan cheese. Then there are also a few non-organic items in there (two orange, one white). They're plastic ice cubes. They cool the food down without watering it down. I forgot about the picture before I put them in.

Homemade Pancakes

This is my mom's wonderful recipe. I adore her homemade pancakes. This said, I altered the recipe (sly grin) with a few of my own special changes. The pancakes were still good. Not as great as hers, but considering the changes, I think they came out great. The flavor wasn't the same, which was the main difference, but it was still good.  I'll give you the original recipe first, then my changes.

Ingredients
3 eggs
3 cups milk
3 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp butter, melted

Combine eggs and milk. Add dry ingredients, mix well. Add butter and mix. Bake on griddle sprayed with Pam.

Now, the root of my changes was in the sugar. I did some research on brown vs. white sugar out of curiosity. What I was able to find said that white sugar is just brown sugar that's been processed more. I believe the most raw and natural form is the dark sugar. It has a few different names. You can find them on Wikipedia pretty easily. Anyway, I was curious about substitution. I read one source which said you could substitute 1 for 1, making sure to pack the brown sugar. Someone else said it would alter the moisture because brown sugar naturally has more moisture. So I started out with 1 for 1, then ended up adding more flour. If I could do it again, I would limit the milk and go about it that way, instead of adding more flour in the end. This was the way it turned out for me:

Ingredients
3 eggs
3 cups milk
*4 cups flour
*½ cup brown sugar packed
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp flax seed
3 tbsp butter, melted

Yup, I added flax seed. You might even be able to get away with 2 tbsp without altering the flavor. Anyway, this is the edited, hopefully slightly healthier version. If doing it again, like I said, I would start with 2 cups milk and slowly add until it was the right texture. Easier than adding flour after. But I would still use 3 eggs. I don't Mom, what do you think?

Anyway, the original recipe is great, the altered one was pretty darn good as well.

Bacon tip

This isn't anything revolutionary, but something I just realized recently was pretty handy and figure others out there might not've had the revelation yet either. We enjoy bacon with breakfast type meals, but I hate popping bacon grease, and the constant attention that bacon needs on the stove top. I also don't like using up all my Pam doing it in the microwave Dad style. Anyway, I noticed that bacon always has baking directions. On some packages it is even the recommended cooking method. Anyway, I've started baking my bacon in the oven and it has a few perks. No popping grease for one. It also leaves you completely freed to make whatever else you wanted with your meal and the bacon is completely independent to cook without worry. It's really nice.

This is my method. Then if you need the drippings for anything, you can pour them out. (I of course had more than 4 strips on here originally.) Putting them on the drying rack keeps them from getting stuck to the pan and breaking in pieces when you remove them.

White fish filets

This was originally a filet de Sol recipe. However, it works with any white fish: Sol, tilapia, cod, or catfish. I'm sure there are others. And no, I don't know why they're called white fish. Anyway, this was the first fish I really started enjoying. And I love it! I have since altered the recipe a tad. This is by far a family favorite. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Ingredients
4-6 filets (approx.)
½ cup flour
1 tbsp Alpine Touch (an all-purpose seasoner like Lawry's. It has onion, garlic, salt and pepper.)
2 tbsp flax seed
2 tbsp wheat germ
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp oil

Combine dry ingredients. Warm oil in saucepan. Dip sol in mixture and fry in oil (I use olive oil or vegetable oil) until browned on each side. It doesn't take very long. It should flake easily with a fork.

I was really pleased with this recipe. This is the first time I've measured the ingredients. Usually I just dump them together and make it. But I've wanted to measure it out so I can share it. The wheat germ is expenable, but I would definitely have the flax seed, as it has a stronger flavor and adds to the taste of the fish. This is another recipe that's easy to edit to your individual tastes. You could easily add other seasonings that are a family favorite. Or you can substitute the Alpine Touch with other all-purpose seasoners, like Lawry's or a Lemon Pepper Seasoning. It's easy to get creative if you want to. And Joseph just loves this recipe and can eat a good size filet all on his own. I think it's the most fish friendly recipe I've ever had if you don't want to feed your kids fish sticks. :)

Cabbage Rolls in Creamy Bacon Sauce

So the title of this one sounds pretty good (if you're not afraid of cabbage.) However, I will warn you that the picture for this one looks really un-appetizing. Well, it looks just plain gross. BUT don't be afraid! It's mostly my own fault that it doesn't look as beautiful as the one in the book. I'll explain later. So don't be scared away because of my bad picture (and not so great camera. The fuzziness of the picture really isn't helping this one any.) For the record, these did taste good. They weren't spectacular or anything, but a nice recipe for using up my cabbage (which I just hate to waste, but have a hard time using.)

Ingredients

1 large head cabbage, core removed* Read note below
1 lb beef (extra-lean) (I only had turkey, but it worked great)
1/3 cup uncooked instant white rice
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup beef broth
½ tsp caraway seed
½ cup milk
½ cup sour cream
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ cup cooked bacon pieces (I just used bacon bits, but fresher, larger chunks of bacon would've been really nice.)

Fill 5-6 quart Dutch oven half full of water. Heat to boiling. Place whole cabbage in water, core side down. Cover; cook 2 to 3 minutes, turning over once, or until leaves can be removed from head. With slotted spoon remove cabbage from water. With tongs, carefully remove 6 leaves from head. Save remaining head of cabbage for later use. Shave or trim part of the thick rib from each lead. Return leaves to water; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until wilted. In medium bowl, mix ground beef, uncooked rice, 1/3 cup milk, the egg, Worcestershire sauce, ¼ tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the ground beef mixture on thick end of each cabbage leaf. Roll up, tucking sides in. Place filled cabbage leaves in 12-inch skillet, seam side down. Add broth and caraway seed. Cover; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer 25-30 minutes or until thermometer inserted in center of ground beef mixture reads 160. With slotted spoon, place cabbage rolls on serving platter; cover to keep warm. In small bowl, mix milk, sour cream, flour, remaining ¼ tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper with wire whisk. Pour into skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Serve sauce over cabbage rolls; sprinkle with bacon.

*My biggest issue with this recipe was my cabbage. I didn't have a new head, but an older one that only had the smaller, whiter leaves from the center. So that made the rolls pretty transparent, making them look pretty weird. The leaves were also much smaller, so I had to use multiple leaves to wrap up each one. This meant that I only had enough leaves for 3 instead of 6 like the recipe calls for. So that's mainly the reason for my weird looking rolls. Had I had the larger green leaves from the outer cabbage, the rolls would have looked much friendlier.

The biggest issue with the actual taste was the caraway seeds. It might've been because I still cooked them in enough broth and caraway seeds for 6 but only have 3. So the caraway seeds were quite strong, especially if you bite into one. Kinda minty. Aaron's happened to have a lot of caraway seeds from the broth, so he didn't love the minty flavor.

Pumpkin Muffins

I got this recipe from my Visiting Teacher. I've been doing muffins quite a bit lately, so thought this would be nice for the fall season. They came out great. However, if left out, they'll get pretty dry. I would also recommend not using muffin cups. Just grease your pans good. They totally stuck to the inside of the muffin cups. I was able to peel one out without losing much, but you have to have expert peeling from muffin cup skills. For the kids, it didn't work well. Anyway, great recipe. Here it is:

Ingredients
1 1/8 cup flour
6 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/4 milk
1 egg
2 tbsp applesauce

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix wet and dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Grease muffin pan and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

It would probably be really good with some type of white frosting and sprinkled nuts or cinnamon sugar, if you wanted to make it more desserty.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

We use it for tacos, fajitas, or any recipe that calls for a packet of taco seasoning. The nice thing is, you can spice it up or down, depending on your taste.

Ingredients
1 tbsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp minced onion
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp corn starch
¼ - ½ tsp red pepper flakes

Combine ingredients in small plastic bag. Seal, label, date and store in tightly covered contained. For best results use within three months.

Onion Tip

I learned this from my mother in law and put it to the test. It totally works. To keep from crying while you cut up onions, chew some gum. You have to make sure you don't stop chewing and just have the gum in your mouth. You have to be chewing it. But I've done it twice now and haven't cried. Okay, once I started to, but I hadn't been chewing for two minutes. I started chewing again and the tears went away. Amazing I say. Amazing.

Split Pea Sausage Soup

I'll be the first to admit that anytime I read split pea soup I do not get hungry. I even dread making it for like a week before I do it. However, in the end I eat it and think, "Hey, this is okay. I kinda like it." Needless to say, it's a good recipe and I've eaten it many times. It just has a stigma, you know? Poor split peas. Anyway, another make ya feel good for eatin good recipe.

Ingredients
1 pound smoked kielbasa
1 pound dry split peas
6 cups water
1 cup chopped carrots (2 medium carrots)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
½ tsp coarse black pepper
2 bay leaves (I just have chopped bay leaves, so I use about 1-2 tsp.)

Cut sausage in half lengthwise; cut into ¼ in. pieces. Place in pot; add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours or until peas are tender. Remove bay leaves.

Another easy recipe, and it's pretty good for ya. I'm including this in my beans category because I keep my dried split peas with all my dried beans. I don't know if it's actually a bean. Maybe it is.

Vegetable and Red Lentil Soup

This one came out great and I'm sure it's insanely healthy for you. Once you chop up the veggies it's one of the really easy dump-in-the-crock-pot-and-leave-it recipes. Love those.

Ingredients

1 can (14 ½ oz.) vegetable broth (Check sodium levels on those things. Some of them are insane. I found one with like 1/3 the sodium of the others. Same goes with chicken broth.)
1 can (14 ½ oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash (or 1 of each), diced (I used one of each)
1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced
½ cup thinly sliced carrots
½ cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted (may substitute with brown lentils)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil or thyme (I used basil. For no reason really.)
½ cup croutons or shredded cheese (optional)

Combine broth, tomatoes with juize, zucchini/squash, bell pepper, carrots, lentil, salt, sugar and black pepper in crock pot; mix well. Cover; cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours or until lentils and vegetables are tender. Ladle into shallow bowls; top with basil, croutons, and cheese.

Like I said, hearty and easy. I did make one mistake and cooked my basil with the soup. Although mine wasn't fresh, so it wouldn't be as potent I imagine. Anyway, it was good. And made me feel good for eating healthy. Yay for that.

Crescent Burritos

These came out great. We made them bigger than the original recipe because we were worried they'd be too small. I think they would've been okay. They turned out gigantic. Anyways, it's a great recipe no matter what size you make them. (I doubled this recipe because otherwise it doesn't make very many. They're kind of small, so you'll want more than one. But if you wanted to you could half it.)

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (You could easily use turkey.)
½ onion, chopped
1 pckg taco seasoning
1 cup water
1 can refried beans (I like black beans. I think they're a bit better for you than refried beans. Just drain them first and smash them up a bit.)
4 cans crescent rolls
1 cup salsa
8 slices American cheese
1 cup sour cream
½ cup sliced olives

Heat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix and water. Reduce heat to medium; cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until water has evaporated. Remove from heat; stir in beans. Separate dough into 16 triangles. (4 per can) Firmly press perforations to seal. Spoon about 2 tbsp beef mixture and 1 tbsp of salsa onto each rectangle; spread across one half of rectangle. Fold rectangle in half and pinch edges to seal. Place on cookie sheet. Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until golden brown. Top each burrito with cheese; bake 2 to 3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve garnished with sour cream and olives.

This is half a burrito. They were huge. Really. When you're making them, don't worry if you think they'll certainly explode while they're cooking. And don't worry if they look really small. (if you do the original 1/2 lb version.) When they cook, they expand and the crescent roll seals off all the areas where you think it'll leak. That was my experience anyway. And I didn't bother putting them back in the oven to melt the cheese. It melted just fine when they were fresh from the oven.

Brownie (for lack of a better word)

I don't recall what the original recipe called these, if not brownies. Call them whatever you want. It's good! I am naming them: Ultimate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 miniature chocolate-covered peanut butter cup candies, unwrapped (from 15.6-oz bag)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chip

Heat oven to 350°F (if using dark or nonstick pan, heat oven to 325°F). Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or spray with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well blended. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut 12 of the candies into fourths (about 3/4 cup). Stir cut-up candies and chocolate chips into batter. Spread in pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately press remaining 24 candies in brownies in 4 even rows of 6 candies each. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

I followed the recipe except for putting extra cups on top. I thought it might be too much, and didn't have anymore because I only set aside 12. Anyway, now that I've made it, I could totally do with the extra ones. I thought this would be one of those super guilty treats that makes you feel bad for eating it. However, because it's cake-like, it doesn't feel that bad for you. The peanut butter taste is subtle, the chocolate isn't overwhelming. I would definitely add the extra peanut butter cups, and maybe some vanilla ice cream. And the most time consuming part was opening the peanut butter cups. Otherwise, a very speedy recipe, which is always great with desserts!

Enchiladas

A twist on an old favorite. This is a family FAVE! My mom's enchiladas have now made many a missionary happy in Montana as well. This recipe is pretty versatile. I usually make it with ground turkey. It's meant for beef, and can be easily converted to using chicken. Killer delicious! This version is not rolled enchiladas, but an enchilada casserole. You definitely have to make the original enchiladas to truly appreciate it. But, when you make it frequently, it's nice to do it casserole style because it takes less time. Here's the original recipe:

Ingredients

1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
½ cup flour
2 tbsp chili powder
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
4 cups hot water
2 beef bouillon (use chicken bouillon if making with chicken)
1 pound ground beef (or turkey or chicken)
½ pound grated cheddar cheese
10 flour tortillas (When I make them into rolled enchiladas, I tend to only get 8. I think it's because I fill mine pretty full)

Combine first six ingredients. Add water. Stir (use a bouncer or whip). Add bouillon and cook over medium heat until it starts to thicken. Cook the ground beef while you are making the sauce. Drain and put in a bowl. Add the grated cheese to the ground beef, saving some to go on top. Dip tortillas in the sauce to soften, place on a plate and put a spoonful of the cheese/beef mixture near one side, spreading it out. Roll up and place in a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour remaining sauce over the rolled enchiladas. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes and put the saved cheese on top. Return to the oven until the cheese is melted. (I used to forget and always put the cheese ontop before I put it in the oven. Now I just do it before because it's easier to remember. It still works out fine.)

To make this a casserole:
Cut up your tortillas. I just use a pizza cutter and make then into small chunks. Then you layer your ingredients. Start with tortillas, then add meat/cheese. Then douse with sauce. Then repeat. This last time, I ended with a layer of tortillas. Just make sure they all have sauce on them before you bake. If any tortilla strips on top don't get sauce, they'll get dark and crispy.

I didn't add this to the kid friendly section because when Joseph was younger he'd never eat it. He did this time, however.

Oven Fried Chicken

So this is a simple oven fried chicken recipe of my moms. It's very simple and tasty. I have made it with drumsticks, as the recipe calls for, but this time I did it a little bit different. I'll post the original recipe and then tell you how I did it differently.

Ingredients

1/3 cup vegetable shortening, melted
¼ cup flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp paprika
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 lbs chicken drumsticks washed (3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 3 strips each)

Heat oven to 425. Melt shortening and set aside. Mix dry ingredients in a paper bag. Wash chicken and pat dry. Put 3 or 5 pieces at a time in paper bag and shake to coat chicken with flour mixture. Arrange chicken in a single layer in an ungreased 9x13 baking pan. Drizzle melted shortening on chicken. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Serve with ketchup, BBQ sauce or honey.

I think having them in smaller strips makes them pretty kid friendly. You could even make them into smaller bite size nuggets for younger ones. This is also a recipe that would be easy to jazz up. Add an all-purpose seasoner or your preferred seasoning and you could have a garlic chicken or onion chicken or whatever. I haven't done it yet, but I'm sure it would be easy and tasty.

Cinnamon Crescents aka Cinnamon Rolls

These are amazing. They have all the goodness of cinnamon rolls and crescent rolls in one tasty treat. I've tried to make modifications to make them a bit bigger, or do a double batch, but so far my efforts have been thwarted. However, I haven't given up and will get it right one day. For now, here's the basic recipe.

Ingredients
2 can crescent rolls
½ cup butter, softened
8 tsp granulated sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk or apple juice

Heat oven to 375. Separate dough into 4 rectangles ( 2 long rectangles per can). Firmly press perforations to seal. Spread 2 tbsp butter evenly over each dough rectangle. In small bowl, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over rectangles. (I don't do this. I simply sprinkle generously with my cinnamon and sugar sprinkler, from the "cinnamon sugar tip".) Starting with short side of each rectangle, roll up. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 3 slices. Place slices in ungreased 8 or 9 inch square pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle icing over rolls. Serve warm.

I originally intended to make these on Halloween, but forgot. Nonetheless, in honor of Halloween being the night before, I made these orange. Sort of like little cinnamon and sugar jack o'lanterns.

 
So easy and yummy. Definitely worth it.

Cinnamon Sugar Tip

So I grew up eating cinnamon sugar toast. So yummy. Still like it. Anyway, we always had a container that had a cinnamon sugar combo in it. I have continued the tradition, but since upgraded. Instead of keeping it in a tupperware deal, I used an empty seasoning bottle. So now I just have to sprinkle it on and snap the lid when I'm done. It's extremely convenient, and very useful in my next recipe: Cinnamon Rolls.

This one is now empty and needs refilling!

Blueberry muffins

I ended up making both my lemon zest recipes. These came out great. Straight from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. Thanks Mom and Diane. Awesome wedding present!

Ingredients
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 beaten egg
¾ cup milk
¼ cup cooking oil
¾ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel

Grease muffin pan or insert paper bake cups.
In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Add blueberries and lemon peel to batter.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

Lemon Tea Cookies

As promised, I made some delights involving lemon zest. Mom's famous lemon tea cookies are so awesome! I love these! (And so does my sister Stacie) They are the best and they go way too fast in our house.

Ingredients

2 tsp lemon juice
½ cup milk
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup butter
1/3 cup butter
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp lemon peels grated
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup lemon juice

Stir 2 tsp lemon juice into milk; set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ¼ tsp salt. In mixer bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds. Add ¾ cup sugar; beat til fluffy. Add egg and lemon peel; beat well. Add dry ingredients and milk mixture alternately to beaten mixture and beat til well blended. Drop from a teaspoon 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 oven for 12-14 minutes or til done. Combine ¾ cup sugar and lemon juice; stir til sugar is dissolved. Remove cookies at once to a wire rack; brush with lemon mixture. Cool.

I cut the sugar/lemon juice mixture in half because I always have too much. However, I always make my cookies too big as well. I would recommend using the kiddie teaspoon. Not the big soup spoons. For some reason, they're better smaller. And then you have more. So it makes it seem like they can last longer. Anywho, we love these cookies. They rock!

Haunted Houses

I came up with this idea a while ago. I was inspired by last Christmas's "gingerbread" houses. So for FHE last night, we made haunted houses. It was a hit. Really easy and quite fun (even for the adults.)

Royal Icing Ingredients

2 egg whites
2 tsp lemon juice
3 cups powdered sugar

Blend egg whites and lemon juice until well blended and foamy. Slowly add sugar while blending. Mix well. If desired, add color and blend thoroughly.


I put mine in sandwich bags and snipped a corner to squeeze out. My first bag had a huge hole, so it was coming out in a big blog. That's the bag I used to put the houses together, so they had a lot of orange goop all over. I used the finer tipped bag to do all the decorating.

Simple structure using graham crackers.

I put frosting on the roof and let him put candy wherever he wanted to.

Then I put frosting on the bottom of whatever candy he wanted for the plate and he placed it.

Peeps makes ghosts, cats, and pumpkins.

He really had a ton of fun. This house is for Grandma and Grandpa Denney.

This is our haunted house, made by yours truly. If you can't tell (Aaron couldn't.) I made spiderwebs on the side and put black M&M's for spiders. It was a lot of fun. And yes, we had some candy when we were done.

Lasagna

So I'm pretty sure this was my first lasagna. I was getting a bit ambitious I think. But it worked out! I will tell you I was afraid to take the first bite. I thought for sure it wasn't going to work out. But it did! Woohoo! This was originally Mom's recipe, but I changed it a bit.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef cooked (I'm sure turkey would sub great in here)
4-8 oz. mushrooms (I used a 4 oz. can. If you wanted to beef it up two cans would work well.)
3 cans diced tomatoes (could use seasoned ones and skip the seasonings.)
¼ cup flax seed (honestly, I forgot them. But just now realized it would go in just fine.)
1 tbsp basil leaves
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
8 oz. lasagna noodles (oven-ready)
parmesan cheese

In a 2-quart saucepan heat oil; add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. While sauce is simmering, in a bowl combine ricotta, egg, and mozzarella cheese with parsley; set aside. In bottom of a 8x13” baking pan, spread a thin layer of meat sauce; top with alternating layers of cooked lasagna noodles, cheese mixture and meat sauce, ending with a layer of meat sauce. Douse with parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.


When you hit the stage of adding tomatoes, etc. I'd put it in a soup pot. My saucepans aren't big enough anyhow. I would use as much noodle on each layer. You'll probably have to break them a bit. Since I used the oven ready noodles, they're stiff. Putting a layer of cheese mix on that is kinda hard. But I basically tried to spread it on the noodles like putting it on a cracker. It worked alright. I wasn't able to spread it too well, but I'm sure the heat helped it to spread when it was cooking. Make sure no noodles are exposed on that last layer. That's why it's important to end with a meat layer. Then I just doused the top with parmesan cheese. You can put as little or as much as you like. I liked it. It added a crunchy and flavorful crusty top to the lasagna. I didn't use all the lasagna noodles in mine. I probably could have if I had broken some of the pieces up. At first, I thought it had too much basil because I could really smell it. But once we were eating it, it was great. The taste wasn't at all overwhelming. I think it just has a strong scent. But the flavors balanced very nicely.
 

I didn't put this under kid friendly, however Joseph ate it without a complaint once it was cooled down. Maybe most kids are cool with lasagna. I didn't know that.

Lemon Zest tip

So I've had lemons around since I started making homemade lemonade.  I also used it in a fish recipe the other day and in that recipe it needed some lemon zest as well. I don't have a real lemon zester, but I have a cheese grater that's the super fine kind. So I use that. It works just as well. Anyhow, Aaron wanted to make the lemonade a few days before I was ready to use the zest, so I zested my lemons and put it in a container in the fridge. I wasn't sure how it would keep, or if it would work, but I figured it was worth a try. To my surprise, when I pulled it out to use it the other day, it was great! It was dry, but still had all the lemon flavor (you could smell it.) So from now on, I will never toss a lemon rind after I juice it. I will zest it first, store the zest, then juice it.

I use lemon zest mostly for lemon tea cookies (the best ever!!) or blueberry muffins. (I'll probably be making one of the two soon since I bought lemons today. Maybe even both!)

Breakfast Sausage

I found this one in a Pillsbury Cookbook my mom lent me. It's made with ground turkey, which is what drew me to it. I was originally suspiscious, just because it doesn't sound like it would work, but this is an awesome recipe. I didn't post it under kid friendly, because I don't know how most kids handle sausage, but when I made it this time, Joseph ate it without a single word (which is a very good thing.)

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp rubbed sage
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp vegetable oil
In a large bowl, combine the turkey, salt, sage, thyme, nutmeg and cayenne. Shape into eight patties, In a large skillet, cook patties in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Drain on paper towels. May also be made as ground sausage.

 

I made mine as ground sausage. It's a bit easier. But I do plan on doing this again, but making them into patties and pre-freezing. I think it should work. It'll be fun. If you do plan on making patties though, I would use wax paper to shape the patties. Ground turkey is especially sticky and your hands will be a mess if you just try to shape them with your bare hands. Good luck!