Lasagna, Judy's kind

15 lasagna noodles, don't need to be cooked
sauce=1 package of spaghetti seasoning, 3 oz cans of tomato sauce, 3 cans water, 1 can cream of mushroom soup and grated cheese as desired)
1 pound lean ground beef cooked with some chopped onion and drained

In a 9x13 pan layer sauce, noodles, meat, sauce, noodles, meat, sauce, noodles, meat, sauce

Top with grated mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Macaroni and Cheese--Lucille Kerksiek Hansen, my grandmother

Cook elbow macaroni in boiling water until soft.  (This is not al dente people, or your finsihed product will be too dry.)  Cook the amount you need for the amount of people you need to feed. (A pound will feed about 8 people.)

Drain pasta and rinse in cold water.

Mix 1 part grated cheddar cheese to 2-3 parts macaroni.  Grandma says the amount of cheese used is of great importance in the taste of the final product.  The more cheese the better.

You can mix it directly in the baking pan.  Mix in salt and pepper to taste.

Pour in the milk (any percent milkfat you desire) until you can see the milk from the top.  You don't want to cover all the pasta, just to where you can start to see the milk.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes in a 9x13 or 1 hour 15 minutes in a deep pan.

You can cover it if you want a soft end-product or or leave it uncovered if you desire a crisy/crunchy top.


(And this is the best kind of recipe--no measurements)

Italian Style Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
2 T olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausage
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 24oz jar of marinara sauce
4 c ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 c fresh spinach, lightly packed and chopped
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 t dried oregano

Cook pasta and lightly oil, set aside. Preheat oven to 350.

Cook the sausage, crumbling it. Add onion and garlic and cook 4 min. Add marinara. Set aside.

Mix ricotta, egg, spinach and half of the Parmesan in a bowl.

Grease a 9x13 pan with olive oil. Spread 1 c of sauce mixture on the bottom. Top with 3 noodles.  Spread 1/4 of ricotta mixture on noodles, then 1 cup sauce mixture. Then 1/2 c of the shredded mozzarella.

Repeat noodles, cheesy mixture, sauce, cheese three more times.  Finish with Parmesan. Sprinkle with oregano.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Zucchini Ribbon Pasta with Creamy Lemon-Basil Sauce

Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients
½ lb (or 8 oz) fettuccine
1 medium zucchini
2 tsp olive oil, divided
10 ounces grape tomatoes (about 2 cups)
kosher salt
black pepper
3-4 cloves finely minced garlic
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
3 ounces fat-free cream cheese
1 cup very loosely packed basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice, more if desired

Instructions
Prepare a pot of water and cook pasta according to package instructions.  Cut ends off zucchini and slice along the long direction, cutting the zucchini into about ⅛ inch slices.  Cut each of those slices into long pieces, about the same size as the fettuccine.  Set zucchini aside.

Heat a medium size skillet to medium heat.  When hot, add 1 teaspoon olive oil.  Add tomatoes and give them a little sprinkle of kosher salt and a few cracks of black pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes. Just until they start to burst and look blistered.  Remove tomatoes from pan and place in a small dish, covered, and set aside.

Add another 1 teaspoon olive oil to the empty pan and add garlic.  Stir constantly on medium-low heat for about 30-60 seconds.  Add chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer and use a spatula to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.  Simmer for 1-2 minutes and then reduce heat to low.

Place cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and soften for 20-30 seconds, until it can be easily stirred smooth.  Ladle in a couple spoonfuls of the chicken broth mixture into the cream cheese and stir to combine.  Once the mixture is smooth, add it to the pan with the remaining broth mixture and whisk until smooth and creamy. Add chopped basil and lemon juice and stir to combine.  Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.  (Lemon lovers can also squeeze in extra lemon juice at this point.)

When pasta is just about done, add zucchini strips to pot (so they’re cooking with the pasta).  Boil for about 2 minutes, or until tender.  Drain zucchini and pasta and combine with sauce.  Gently toss in tomatoes, or simply add them on top of each serving. Garnish with additional basil if desired.

Serves 4 generous main dish servings, or 8 sides.
Nutrition Facts (for main dish, ¼ of recipe): 286 calories, 5 grams fat.

Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo pasta shells

Cook according to directions.

1 c ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
a couple handfuls of spinach, or thawed frozen spinach squeezed dry

Mix these.  Stuff cooled shells with mixture.  Place in baking dish.

Pour your favorite spaghetti sauce over the top and more grated cheese if desired.

Bake at 325 for 30-40 min.

Chicken Spaghetti

from the Pioneer Woman Cooks

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken, Shredded
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces (measure 3 cups after the pieces are broken. It was hard to get it exact, so I probably had closer to 3 1/2 cups)
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup (I used 1 crm of chicken and 1 crm of mushroom. She says whatever you have is fine)
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained ( I only bought 5 jars for all the massive amounts I made – use as little or much as you like)
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot (I probably only used 1 c. Once you have everything else mixed together, but before it is in the pan, start adding broth a little at a time until it is moist and easy to stir, but not soupy.)
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• ⅛ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked (drain and rinse), combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar. SAVE BROTH FROM SPAGHETTI to use in the casserole as needed.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Ham Tetrazzini

• 6 ounces spaghetti
• 3 quarts water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup diced ham
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers
• 
  

Directions

Print 

• Prep
  15 m
• Cook
  15 m
• Ready In
  30 m

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain (or use leftover pasta; see Cook's Note).
2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup water, and shredded cheese. Heat mixture until cheese melts, stirring often.
4. Mix in the ham, cooked and drained pasta, chopped pimento, and chopped parsley to saucepan; stir to combine. Cook until mixture is heated through, then serve.

Spaghetti Bravissimo

1 envelope lipton onion soup
6 cups water

Bring to a boil and add:

8 oz spaghetti noodles
Cook 20 minutes

Meanwhile:
Cook 1 pound of ground beef, drain

Add this to the spaghetti mixture

Then add:
2 8oz cans of tomato sauce
1 7oz can tomato paste
1 T parsley
1 T oregano
1 T basil

Stir to blend well and then heat through for 15 minutes, then serve!

This is one of my mom's favorites and something we ate a lot growing up.  It was great!

Vegetable Rotini

1 can broccoli cheese soup
3 oz cream cheese
3/4 c milk
2 t mustard
pepper
2 1/2 c dry rotini, cooked
3 cups cut up vegetables, cooked
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Stir soup and cream cheese together over low heat.  Add mild, mustard and pepper.  Stir often.  Add rotini, veggies and parmesan cheese.  Cook until hot and serve.

Baked Ziti

1 # ziti pasta, or rigatoni
1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 # ricotta
8 oz grated mozerella
1/4 c parmesan cheese
2 eggs
salt and pepper
2 t parsely

Cook pasta.  Combine with one ladle of the sauce.

Combine the rest of the ingredients and add to pasta.  Put in casserole dish.  Top with the rest of the spaghetti sauce.  Top with more cheeses.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Cavatini

1 lb mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
8 oz rotini pasta, boil 8 minutes and drain
1 32 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
1 lb hamburger browned and drained
1/2 a green pepper, diced

Mix all ingredients. Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Makes a bunch.  You can cover and freeze leftovers.  To re-serve: Place in 200 oven for 3 1/2 hours.