Last (few) weeks Recipes!

We love lasagna! I have made it 3 times here lately! I made it the first time for King Ed's birthday, back the end of Feb. Then again the 7th of March and then yesterday! Yummy! Yesterday, I did not have fresh sausage, so I used our canned sausage! I also use the dried herbs, since I don't have fresh, I use cottage cheese and powder Parmesan, since that is what I had. I have also used spaghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce, but it makes for juicy sauce! Anyway, use it the way you like and I am sure you will enjoy!
-Hannah

Italian Sausage Lasagna

Prep Time: 1 hour 10 min
Total Time: 2 hours 10 min
Makes: 8 servings

1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups Progresso® diced tomatoes (from 28-oz can), undrained
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
12 uncooked lasagna noodles (12 ounces)
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese or small curd creamed cottage cheese (2 cups)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Cook sausage, onion and garlic in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain.
2. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, sugar, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered about 45 minutes or until slightly thickened.
3. Heat oven to 350ºF. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.
4. Mix ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and the oregano.
5. Spread 1 cup of the sauce mixture in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1 cup of the cheese mixture over noodles; spread with 1 cup of the sauce mixture. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 4 noodles, the remaining cheese mixture, 1 cup of the sauce mixture and 2/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining noodles and sauce mixture. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
6. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.


Here is a coffeecake (below) that King Ed loves! I made it for him a few weeks ago, then again one morning, when we had company for breakfast,(I made it ahead, the night before). Then king Ed suggested that we take it to the "We Surround Them" party that we went to on March the 13th (read more about that in above post!). It was a big hit there, too! I would suggest using an extra 1/2 cup of milk in the cake batter, and 2 more tablespoons of butter in the crumb top. If not, the cake is not very moist.
Enjoy! -Hannah


Golden Crunch Coffee Cake
3 cups sifted flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Cream
together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one
at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beating well after
each addition. Spread half of batter in greased 13 by 9 by 2
inch baking pan. Sprinkle half of crumbs over batter. Spread
with remaining batter. Top with remaining crumbs. Bake in a 350
degree oven 45 minutes or until done. Cut into squares and serve
warm. Makes 16 servings.

Crumb Topping
1 cup brown sugar packed
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup walnuts or pecans chopped
In a bowl, combine ingredients, mixing well.


I found this recipe (below) while looking for something new to fix for our Christmas dinners. We had some friends over two different days, plus our Christmas Day dinner, so I wanted something new and extra, plus I had corn we canned last summer!
So I improvised a little (as usual!) and used a jar of our home canned corn, and a can of Rotel instead of the peppers and onions (and I left out the dill). It was a Huge hit! Everyone loved it and of course wanted the recipe! It is so easy to make! I made it last week and we had it with some burritos!
Enjoy! -Hannah

Festive Corn
From Country Woman Christmas
"For a deluxe side dish that's easy yet has big impact, I whip up this recipe. It features corn and peppers in a comforting cream cheese sauce."
SERVINGS 6-8
PREP 5 min.
COOK 15 min.
TOTAL 20 min.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
2/3 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1 package (16 ounces) frozen corn, thawed
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan over medium heat, saute peppers and onions in butter until tender. Add cream cheese, milk, salt, pepper and dill. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted. Add corn; heat through. Yield: 6-8 servings.


A friend left us a big thing of strawberries the other day! Princess S. and I were soo delighted! We had the girls "Nonnie" over that Saturday, so I made a strawberry shortcake (for the first time, I hate to admit!). It tasted Great, but wasn't to pretty! I am sure most of you will do better, plus I did not have any heavy whipping cream, so just served it with vanilla ice cream!
Enjoy! -Hannah


Strawberry Shortcake

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ready In: 50 Minutes
Servings: 9
"An old fashioned, tender shortcake with two layers of strawberries topped with whipped cream."
Ingredients:
3 pints fresh strawberries
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
2 cups whipped heavy cream
Directions:
1. Slice the strawberries and toss them with 1/2 cup of white sugar. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar and the salt. With a pastry blender cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg and milk. Stir until just combined.
4. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in pan on wire rack.
5. Slice partially cooled cake in half, making two layers. Place half of the strawberries on one layer and top with the other layer. Top with remaining strawberries and cover with the whipped cream.


Other things I have cooked lately are:
Chicken and Dumplings (with our canned chicken, this makes a fast meal!),
Stew (with our canned ham and vegetables!),
Bean burritos,
Egg, cheese and sausage burritos (with our canned sausage of course!),
Our canned pork chops with rice,
Etc!
God bless!
-Hannah