Archive for April, 2009

Printable Recipe

I wanted to share my lasagna recipe with you so this is what we had today for Sunday dinner. Please allow 3-4 hours preparation time as the meat sauce needs to simmer 2-3 hours. We all have our favorite meals that we make often and when I can’t get my creative juices flowing I fall back on lasagna!
I broke tradition today and did not have a tossed green salad with the lasagna – instead I made variation #2 of the Fruit Salad with Creamy Citrus Salad Dressing and it got rave reviews from the family!

This recipe has been in my family for 40+ years and is the only lasagna recipe I use. You know the saying   “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it! ”

Ingredients:
Serves 10

• 1 lb. lasagna noodles
• 1 C small curd cottage cheese
• 2 C mozzarella grated cheese
• 1/2 C romano grated cheese
• meat sauce

Meat sauce:

• 3 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 3 cans tomato paste (small cans)
• 2 C water
• 2 tsp. dried or fresh chopped parsley
• 2 tsp oregano if desired
• salt/pepper

Do this:
In large pot saute onion and garlic in 2 T margarine until onions are clear then add the ground beef and brown. After meat is browned add the tomato paste, water and parsley, stir to blend all ingredients. Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours allowing the meat sauce to evaporate some of the water.
Boil the lasagna with a one tablespoon of oil for 15 minutes and drain. Use a 11×17 greased baking dish and start with a layer of noodles, then half of the cottage cheese, half of the mozarella, half of the meat sauce and half of the romano cheese. Repeat layers. Bake in 375º oven for 1 hour or until bubbly and brown on top. Serve with a salad and garlic toast.

Cover and simmer meat sauce for 2-3 hours

Start with a layer of lasagna noodles and half of the cottage cheese

Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the cottage cheese

Use a ladle to spread half of the meat sauce evenly over the mozzarella layer

Finally, sprinkle half of the romano cheese on the meat sauce layer and repeat layers one more time

Bake in 375º F oven for 1 hour

Printable Recipe

Printable Recipe

  I don’t make pies very often but when I do this is the only pie crust recipe I have used since it was given to me many years ago. Why? Because it makes a crust that is extremely flaky and tender. Don’t believe me? Then try this recipe the next time you make a pie and see if you don’t agree.

Ingredients:
Makes 2 crusts

• 2 C flour*
• 1 C Crisco
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1/3 C cold milk

Do this:
Cut the Crisco into the flour and salt with a pastry cutter until the flour is completely blended into Crisco. Now add the remaining ingredients and mix with a fork… do not over stir or overwork the dough.
Form into a ball and cut in half for each crust. Roll out with rolling pin on a floured pastry form with cloth to a size larger that the pie pan. Place in pie pan. The pie dough will freeze nicely if you are only making a single crust shell. Saves you the mess the next time you make a single shell pie.

Single pie shell:
Prick sides and bottom with fork and bake at Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes.

*I use only unbleached flour for the reason being that it does not have all the nutrients taken out. Much healthier!

Combine flour,salt and Crisco in bowl

Work the Crisco into the flour with a pastry cutter

Add the cold milk and vinegar. Combine with fork and do not over stir.

Form the dough into a ball and cut in half

You can safely freeze the remaining dough

Roll out the dough into a circle on a floured pastry cloth

The dough should be rolled out 2-3 inches larger than your pie pan

Place the rolled out dough into your pie pan and turn under the edges for a single crust pie then crimp around the edge.
If you are making a two crust pie you will now fill the pie with the filling of your choice and then lay the top crust on, turn the edges under and flute or crimp edges. It can be a real challenge to flute the edges if you have long fingernails…  I  use the knuckles on my index fingers!

Prick the sides and bottom using a fork for a single crust pie before baking. Bake in a 350º oven for 25-30 minutes – cool and fill.

Printable Recipe

  This recipe has been in my recipe box for many many years and is just the best darn chocolate pie ever. Creamy, smooth and best of all – Chocolate! I’ve seen this made with graham cracker crust, but I prefer using my Never Fail Pie Crust recipe. 

Ingredients:
Baked pie shell
whipping cream

Filling:

• 6 oz. (1 Cup) semi-sweet chocolate bits
• 2 T sugar
• 3 T milk
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla

Do this:
Prepare a 9 in. baked pie shell and cool. Melt chocolate bits with sugar and milk in a double boiler stirring occasionally. Cool. Beat in egg yolks one at a time then stir in vanilla. Beat the egg whites using an electric mixer until stiff then fold into chocolate mixture with rubber spatula. Pour into cooled pie shell and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream.
Please please do not use Cool Whip! Cool Whip is a dirty word around here because it is fake, fake, fake! If you use Cool Whip I will be forced to come and wash your mouth out with soap… but you probably won’t mind because that’s what it tastes like anyway – dish soap! Yuk.

Fold chocolate mixture into stiff egg whites with rubber spatula

Well blended and ready for the pie shell

Pour into the prepared pie shell