Baked Mostaccioli

My SIL, Mary Sue (or MerrySue, as she likes to be called) has some great recipes! For example, I got the Confetti Scalloped Potatoes recipe from her, and this one is also incredible. I made it last week, for Kyle's end-of-the-year swimming banquet potluck, and the pan was the first one to go empty.

Ingredients:

8 oz. mostaccioli noodles (I used about 12)
1.5 lbs ground beef (I used 2)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic (I used 3)
1 28-oz can tomatoes
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1-4-oz can mushrooms (I used 12 oz. of fresh mushrooms)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried basil (Yeah, that's what's in the baggy pictured, Silly!)
1/8 tsp pepper
1 large bay leaf (Why do they call them bay leaves? I wonder.)
1 lb. sliced mozzarella (I used shredded)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, cook ground *beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic

until meat is browned and veggies are tender. Meanwhile, clean and slice your mushrooms. A very good chef once taught me not to wash mushrooms, but to instead wipe them clean, like so...

Drain the fat off the meat mixture. Stir in undrained tomatoes, sauce, paste, undrained mushrooms (or fresh, sliced), water, salt, sugar, basil, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While that deliciousness is simmering, put the water on to boil the pasta and read this hilarious post from Matty, who made this delicious dish a little differently.]  BOIL THE PASTA (There-That's for you Matty-types.)  Drain and set aside.

Remove bay leaf from the simmering sauce and stir in the mostaccioli.

Turn half of the meat mixture into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Layer half the mozzarella on top. Top with remaining meat mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil (the non-sticky kind or sprayed with olive oil) and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until heated through. Remove foil. Put remaining mozzarella cheese on top of casserole. Bake for another 5 minutes or more.

Serve with garlic bread and a nice salad. Serves a small crowd of hungry young men.

Note: I put this together and stuck it in the fridge (without baking it) for the next night. After school, I ran home and threw it in the oven straight from the fridge, so it took an full hour and a half to cook. It was well worth the wait :)


*I included a pound of venison this time, and it was delicious!

Confetti Scalloped Potatoes

In Wisconsin, we like our *cheesy potatoes. This recipe is a crowd pleaser and comes from my SIL, *Mary Sue.  Matty, you should definitely try this one--It's even easier than the Easy-Peasy Bars From Heaven and is really, really delicious!!

Ingredients:

1 bag Ore-Ida Potatoes O'Brien (The recipe only calls for 16oz. The bag is 28 oz. I used most of it.)

1/2 stick butter
1 can Campbell's Cream of Whatever soup (really, use whichever one you like.)
1 soup-can of milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
dash of pepper
1 cup crushed cheddar-flavored crackers (we like Cheez-Its), divided

Oops-What the heck is that little white thing in the pic?! Garlic?! I did NOT use garlic in this recipe; I think it snuck over from the other ingredients on the counter; you know how garlic is always showboating in recipes. Just ignore that, okay? Now let's get crackin'!

In a bold and daring move, I actually chose not to measure the crackers!!  Join me on the wild side and just throw some in a sandwich bag and pretend that each little square is a bit stress in your life; take it out on the crackers inside, til they're all smashed up!

Set those aside.

Next, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Now, here's where I actually adapted the original recipe (which is something I'm usually too chicken to do, so Go Me! I'm such a daredevil!)  Instead of the original call for 1/2 cup chopped onion, a small green pepper, and 2 tablespoons of pimiento, I just bought the kind of hash browns that already had those ingredients in the bag.  Because I didn't need to saute anything, I also cut the original 1/2 cup butter to 1/4 cup. It really turned out really well, so my recipe reflects these changes.

Stir in potatoes, soup, and milk. I took this pic for you to see how much of the potatoes I used (about four cups.) And yes, it was supposed to be a soup can of the milk, not a cup. (I hope we survive!!)

 Stir. Then add the cheese, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the cracker crumbs.

Pour into a buttered, shallow casserole dish. If you forget to butter the pan, feel free to dump everything back out again, wash the pan, butter it, and move back to the previous step. (Not that I did that or anything....)

Top with remaining cracker crumbs and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. [Yields 6-8 servings.]

Get ready to be showered with praise for your fine work. Everyone loves these. 

*Warning:  This recipe calls for a double-dose of Lactaid, if you (like me) are lactose intolerant.  (How is it possible that I would live in Wisconsin and have this affliction? I love milk and cheese, but they do not love me. Thank heaven I can pop a pill or two and indulge :)

[P.S. If you're lucky enough to have a copy of our first family cookbook, this recipe can be found on page 37.]

Easy-Peasy Bars from Heaven

Okay, that's not really the name of these bars. I think my cousin Julie was actually trying to ensure that no one else in the family would want any of her "Dump Bars" when she named them, haha.  Honestly, though, they're called Dump Bars because all you have to do is "dump" all of the ingredients in the bowl and mix them up. I made them for the Music Boosters Chili Lunch. Let's just say I brought an empty container home, and we'll forget about the name, okay?  Here's how you, too, can be a baking superstar....

Ingredients:

 

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

5 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup chocolate chips

Dump all of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) into a bowl.

 

I have to take this moment to ask--Raise your hand if you ever decided that since hot cocoa is great, then cocoa powder must be incredibly delicious, so you tried to eat a spoonful of Hershey's Cocoa, only to find

yourself spitting violently?!

Back to the yum....Mix until all ingredients are moistened.

   

Take a moment here to stop and smell the chocolate, smell the roses, or in my case, watch the snowflakes and wonder how much more winter you can expect....

Spread in greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top (do not stir.)

Did you notice the lone escaped chocolate chip? (I didn't have the heart to crop it out.)

Admire the beauty of it all....

  

(Did you see Lincoln's face in there? Good--neither did I, but I thought I'd check.)

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven. Let cool a bit and then slice before taking them to your event.  (Make sure you save twelve one for yourself, or like me, you will come home with an empty container!)

Beef Barley Soup

Saturday is our big Soup Swap, so I was busy tonight whipping up my contribution; my sister Mary's delicious Beef  Barley Soup.

Of course, every soup is better when it's made with TLC, so that's why I was thrilled when my dear friend, Dawn, offered to come over and help.

She served as Peanut Gallery, Personal Assistant, and even brought us Chinese food to sustain us through the night. Her fiance Jerry showed up when most of the work was done (haha) but we truly enjoyed his company as well. I'd like to take this time to thank Dawn for not making too much fun of my obsessive measuring! :)

And now, back to the soup!

Ingredients (makes 11 cups):
1-2 soup bones
1 lb soup meat (chuck roast or stew meat)
1 1/2 cup chopped onions
1 3/4 cup sliced carrots
1 3/4 cup sliced celery
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs parsley
2 tsps salt
1/8 tsp pepper
9 cups water
1-2 16-oz canned tomatoes (basil & garlic flavor)
1 cup uncooked pearled barley
3 T chopped parsley
3 cloves garlic (more if you like)
beef bouillon

I multiplied the recipe by FIVE for the soup swap. Don't try this at home...(unless you're feeding a crowd or have a ton of freezer space, haha!)

Cut meat into cubes.

Kiss the helper.....

then slice the carrots, celery, and onions.

Go crazy with the garlic if you like, and set it aside for later. In a heavy 4-6 qt. pot, put the bones, meat, onions, 1 cup of the carrots, parsley sprigs, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and water.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer about 2.5 hours.  Skim yucky stuff off the top.

Remove bones and return meat from bones to soup.  Add remaining carrots and celery, tomatoes, garlic and barley (I rinsed the barley and checked for scary things in it first.)  You may also want to add some beef bouillon at this point. Partly cover, and cook 45 minutes to an hour, til vegetables and barley are tender.  Just before serving, stir in chopped parsley. Makes 11 cups.

I'll be honest and tell you that as I type this, the soup is still in the cooking stage, so I won't be able to post a pic of the results until tomorrow. What?!  It's 12:21am--cut me a little slack, will ya?! [Update: It turned out wonderfully as the pic I added added to the top of this post! :)]

P.S. I also want to thank my friend and colleague, Sarah, for giving me the beautiful apron for Christmas. As I said, every good soup is made with TLC, and with Dawn's, Mr.4444's, and Sarah's help, this one is sure to be a winner!

P.P.S. Dawn "forgot" her Chinese food leftovers! I'm pretty sure she did it on purpose; something tells me she'll be stopping by on Saturday for a taste of the soup! :)

For a printer-friendly copy of the ingredients and directions, click here.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad w Black Beans & Chili-Lime Dressing

Apologies to whoever I got this recipe from! I tried to find you via Google but came up empty. Regardless, it's all over the Internet, which tells everyone it's good! [Update: Thanks, Blogging Under the Influence!!!]

I don't know how anyone could get tired of eating sweet potatoes or potato salad, but let's just say you are. In that case, this is a delightfully-different spin on potato salad and on sweet potatoes in general. First of all, it's a mixture of textures and flavors not usually associated with sweet potatoes (kind of like my yummy Berry Mallow Bake that way.) Also, it's served warm or room temperature, which I absolutely loved (since you know Mr.4444 rarely brings the meat in from the grill at the time he originally planned!) Let's get started!

Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes (I used two of the ginormous ones pictured), cut into 1" chunks
1 large red onion, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
salt and freshly-ground pepper
*1-2 tablespoons minced, fresh, hot chili (such as jalapeno)
1 clove garlic, peeled
juice of two limes
2 cups cooked black beans (canned are fine), drained
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely-diced
*1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

*Before I begin, I must confess that I am missing two ingredients from my version (too lazy to run back out to the store for cilantro and a jalapeno. Even without those, it was delicious.

Instructions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Chop the sweet potatoes and onions like this...


Put them in a large bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil. (Knowing what I know now, I might put a little less oil in this stage next time; when I cooked the potatoes, they were so wet, they were fully cooked before having the chance to brown.)

Toss to coat...
...and spread out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with sale and pepper.

Put them in the oven and roast, turning occasionally, until potatoes begin to brown on the corners and are just tender inside, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and keep on pan until ready to mix with dressing.

While the potatoes and onions are filling your kitchen with the scent of heaven, prepare the dressing. Juice the limes...(I like to use a strainer, since that's all I have to keep the seeds out of the juice, but I just asked Santa for a juicer thingy, so hopefully, I've behaved myself enough this year.)

Put chilies in a blender or mini food-processor along with garlic, lime juice, the remaining olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Process until blended, making sure not to do this....

Just look at that golden goodness:

Drain the beans.
Don't forget to watch the potatoes. Mine looked like this when they came out:

Put warm vegetables in a large bowl with the beans and bell pepper. Toss with dressing and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate up to a day.

Serves 4-6

Isn't it pretty?

The final product, as my mom would say, "Looks good enough to eat!"

And eat we did! Here are the verdicts:

*Mr.4444 and I loved this dish and had two helpings each.
*Kyle (age 17) had one serving and said it was "good."
*Kendall (age 14) could not get past the onions and the fact that I made her try it without actually looking at it first. (Sorry, Kendall.)

Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Seeds

Kendall talked me into carving a pumpkin today.  She likes carving pumpkins because she loves to stick her hand in the goo. Me, not so much, though I do enjoy pumpkin carving, especially since I found this recipe for a different kind of pumpkin seed seasoning. It's sweet and salty goodness at its best!

Ingredients:

seeds from one medium pumpkin (about a cup and a half)

5 T sugar, divided
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cumin (I insist on using seeds and grinding them myself; it's just better that way!)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp coarse salt (Kosher salt)
1 pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste (I used pepper flakes and ground them, too.)
1 1/2 T peanut oil

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread seeds on the parchment paper, evenly.  Bake until dry, stirring occasionally; about one hour (though mine only took 45 minutes this time; maybe it was the parchment?)  Cool. (I poured them onto a clean, cool cookie sheet and set them on the deck for five minutes.

Set two tablespoons of the sugar aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of the sugar, plus the salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne; set aside.

Heat peanut oil in a medium, non-stick skillet over high heat.  Add the baked pumpkin seeds and the rest of the sugar. Stir, cooking until the sugar melts and the seeds begin to caramelize (I cooked mine until the seed started whistling!), about a minute.  Transfer to bowl with spices and stir well to coat.

Cool.

These may be stored in an airtight container for up to one week (if crazed fools haven't eaten them all by then!)

Pizza Casserole

Ever since I got a taste of my friend Pam's delicious Pizza Casserole last weekend at the Homecoming dinner at her house, I've been wanting to make it for dinner. So, even though I had 49 other things to do tonight, I happily put my needs aside and sacrificed for my loving family.

Note: Try to make this on a night everyone has other commitments so that you can have most of it for yourself. (Also, there will be fewer people around to watch you sneaking pepperoni.)

Ingredients:12-oz. egg noodles (I used only part of the bag pictured)
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion
1 green pepper
1 8-oz pkg pepperoni
fresh mushrooms
pizza sauce
Campbell's cheddar cheese soup

First, put water on to boil for the noodles. If you have a 10-year-old Calphalon pot like mine, try not to grumble too loudly about the finish coming off. (I've already had it replaced once, and I'm too lazy to send it in again.)

Dice the green pepper and one small onion (or half of a large one)

The recipe actually called for canned mushrooms, but to me, that's like sprinkling mystery parmesan cheese from a can, instead of grating the real deal, so I decided to throw caution to the wind (I'm not an adventurous cook) and used fresh.

Brown the ground beef, along with the green pepper and onion. (Why, no, I'm not worried about heart disease. I may die, but I'll die happy.)

Add the pizza sauce and cheddar cheese soup,

and stir....
Simmer for about ten minutes (I added the mushrooms during this time.)

Remove from heat and stir in the pepperoni minus the 25 you ate while cooking.

Add the pasta. I made the whole 16 oz. bag and reserved about 1/4 of it for Kendall (who had the swine flu and wasn't interested in real food.)

Mix and place in greased casserole dish. I poured it into two dishes, so that I could freeze one.

At this point, remember the frozen block of mozzarella in your freezer. And if you have the patience of a first grader with severe ADHD and no meds when it comes to cooking, go ahead and try to grate it anyway. (It takes longer than thawing it first, but it it's a nice challenge.)

At this point, I want to show you the level of sacrifice I am willing to make for my family (yes, I really am a pacesetter when it comes to putting one's family first.) Just look at the cheese-grating injury I sustained in order to tend to my family's well-being...

It was worth it.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (covered.) Remove cover and bake another ten minutes. (This also freezes very well.) Doesn't this look delicious?! Trust me; it is!!! [Of course, I only needed 30 minutes because it was already hot. Adjust heating times as needed.]

Now, I kid when I say I'm very dedicated to my family. If that were true, I'd have a tomato for this salad and some fresh, toasty garlic bread to accompany this meal, right?

My poor family had to tough it out...

...but I didn't hear any complaints.