You know, ugly things get kind of a bad wrap. Where would the world be without hairless cats, Donald Trump’s hair, and decidedly unphotogenic casseroles? Newt wanted lasagna after church on Sunday. Lasagna is pretty easy, really, but I wanted to streamline it a bit. I just wasn’t in the mood for fussing with the layering. I took all the basic ingredients, substituting macaroni for the lasagna noodles, dumped it in a dish and called it good. Walt and Newt called it good too, when we sat down to eat. This dish may not be the prettiest girl at the ball, but it sure has a great personality.
This casserole won't be winning any beauty contests, but it tastes great and it's even better for lunch the next day. Even with making your own sauce, it comes together pretty quickly.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 lb lean ground beef
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp honey (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups dry macaroni
2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.
Begin by preparing your homemade pasta sauce: Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, then add garlic. Cook until slightly brown.
Add ground beef and cook until browned.
Stir in herbs, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. If you prefer a sweeter sauce, add honey.
Salt to taste and simmer while you prepare pasta. (Tip: if you have time, simmer longer, up to an hour or so. The longer you simmer, the better the flavor.)
Cook pasta in boiling water until just al dente. Drain and mix pasta with sauce. Add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix ricotta and Parmesan cheeses. Spoon into pasta and stir slightly. (You want the ricotta to stay somewhat clumpy.)
Pour into a greased casserole dish and top with remaining mozzarella.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
Remember when I said I was all full of ideas and plans? Yeah, me too. What’s that old saying? People plan, God laughs? I might as well join him: Ha ha hee ho hum… Poor Newt has a nasty stomach bug. All plans are on hold. Yesterday, I spent the day providing ice chips and clear fluids, fluffy pillows and tv. Time and loving care seem to be working and Newt is on the mend. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I’ll serve her favorite breakfast and we’ll get on with our plans.
This is a great dish. It's cake-like yet filling, good hot or cold and is oh so good for you. It's made with real, wholesome ingredients and no refined sugars. Soaking the oats before preparation makes them easier to digest and helps your body to better absorb the oatmeal's nutrients. Plus it's super tasty. You'll almost feel like you are getting away with something bad.
Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats, not instant
1 cup full-fat plain yogurt with live, active cultures (We use homemade yogurt, but most store brands are fine. Just check the label.)
½ cup water
2 eggs
⅓ cup honey
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1½ tsp baking powder
⅓ cup whole milk
1 – 2 cups fresh, frozen or dried fruit (I used a handful each of dried apples and frozen blueberries in the pictured dish.)
Instructions
Mix oats, yogurt and water in an ungreased 8 x 8 baking dish. Cover with a clean towel and let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Don't worry, your yogurt won't spoil. The live cultures keep it from going bad. (Of course, never eat anything that looks or smells spoiled, but I'm telling you, you don't need to worry about it with this dish.)
When you are ready to prepare your oatmeal, mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add to oatmeal mixture and stir until incorporated.
Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.
Scoop servings into bowls and top, if desired with real maple syrup and milk or cream (skimmed from the top of fresh, raw milk is divine.)
Leftovers can be reheated or eaten cold. Both are wonderful.
Last week, I came across this fun holiday finger-food combination generator in the New York Times. Just saying that makes me feel all smarty-pants with a dash of pretension. Sometimes I read Newsweek too. Anyway, back to the NYT article. It suggests that you can create thousands of holiday finger-foods by merely using a base, a spread and a finishing touch. For example: base, toasted baguette; spread, goat cheese; finishing touch, sun-dried tomatoes. Wha-la! Instant appetizer. The article contained the above chart to help generate some ideas. In the spread category, they do list a white bean mash, but one of my favorite holiday “spreads” takes the humble white bean to a whole ‘nother level. With the flavors of garlic, roasted red bell pepper and fresh basil highlighting the sweet mildness of the beans, it’s sure to be a hit. Not only that, but it’s easy to make and wonderfully versatile. And not only that, but since it is free of sugar and bad fats and packed with protein, this is one holiday indulgence you can feel good about in the morning. To quote the late, great Charlie Sheen: It’s winning. I am fully aware that Charlie Sheen is not dead. And also that he is not all that great. I do read the recipe section of the New York Times, after all…
Spread it on toasted baguette or crackers; use it as a dip for chips of vegetables. No matter how you use it, this delicious dip is sure to please.
Ingredients
1 16 oz. can White Northern (also know as cannellini) beans
1 medium sized red bell pepper
1 large clove garlic
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
A handful of fresh basil leaves (10 -12)
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Preheat your oven's broiler.
Coat clean and dry pepper with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place on baking sheep and slide under broiler.
Broil, turning every few minutes, until the pepper's skin is blackened. Remove from oven and place pepper in a bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. (This will hold in the steam and loosen the skin, making the pepper easy to peel.)
Once pepper is cool enough to handle (10 minutes or so) pull out stem and gently hand peel off skin.
Cut pepper in half and remove seeds and membrane. Set aside.
Place beans, garlic clove, remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt in food processor or high powered blender. Blend until smooth, adding water if needed.
Add basil and roasted pepper. Pulse until coarsely chopped.
Taste and add black pepper and/or additional salt as needed.
The other night, I got a holiday hankering for some eggnog. Sadly, I was already in my pajamas. It was nearly 6pm, after all. Instead of falling into a noggless funk, I decided to try working a little kitchen magic. Eureka! Behold my made-at-home-without-ingredients-I-can’t-pronounce-glass-of-goodness: Since I was already in the kitchen, and feeling festive, I also whipped up some travel mugs of cocoa (with eggnog mixed in) and some salted olive oil popcorn (made in the Whirley Pop sent to me for Christmas a couple of years ago. Best gift ever.) (Okay, maybe not the best ever… but still pretty great.) I packed up the treats and we bundled up in slippers and robes. Then we drove over and picked up Grandma for an impromptu pajama-clad drive to see Christmas lights. There is a neighborhood near us that decorates like crazy! Each street has a different theme: stockings, Christmas cards, cartoon characters… My favorite house was totally dark, no decorations or lights anywhere with the exception of this: That is totally how I would do it. Minimal effort, maximum impact. Just like homemade eggnog…
We knew it was tasty, but who knew that making eggnog could be so easy?
Ingredients
6 eggs (farm fresh if you can get them)
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
6 T sugar
1 T vanilla
½ tsp. nutmeg
Instructions
Place eggs, milk, cream and sugar in blender. Blend on high until slightly thickened and frothy.
Add vanilla and nutmeg; blend well.
Chill until serving.
Notes
Consuming raw eggs does carry a risk of salmonella. Eggs fresh from a reputable farm may decrease this risk. (They also may be richer and tastier.)
The better the ingredients, the better the final product. We used raw farm fresh eggs, raw milk and cream, Mexican vanilla and freshly grated nutmeg. Our eggnog was wonderful, far better than any from a carton.
One thought: I’m planning on trying this again, but substituting honey and/or real maple syrup for the sugar. It won’t be a traditional flavor, but I think it will be good. Also planned: putting my ice-cream maker to work on the next batch. Stay tuned.
I had a dear friend bring a tin of lovely, still warm cookies to our hotel tonight. That got me thinking about holiday baking. My absolute favorite cookie to bake and eat is hands-down the spicy, chewy, humble molasses cookie. I like to take a bite, hold it in my mouth and suck my spit through it. Oh dear, did things just get uncomfortable? A little TMI? Sorry, I do that sometimes. I can’t help it though. There’s something about this particular cookie that demands to be eaten in this admittedly strange way. I’m sure I’m not the only one. I just googled “suck my spit through molasses cookies” and got nothing. This just tells me that no one else will admit it. Or that people are generally unaccustomed to oversharing on the internet… If you still have an appetite left, here’s the recipe.
Some cookies don't make the switch to whole wheat all that well; something gets lost in translation. Luckily, that is not the case with these oh-so-good molasses cookies. Not only does the whole wheat flour taste fine, I think it's actually an improvement on the original.
Ingredients
¾ cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
2 cups whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup sugar: white, sanding or turbinado
Instructions
Place butter in a medium sized microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds or until melted. Mix in 1 cup sugar to cool butter a bit, then add egg. Mix until well blended then stir in molasses.
In a separate bowl, mix all remaining ingredients except for the ½ cup of sugar.
Add dry ingredients to wet and blend.
Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Roll dough into golf ball sized balls and roll in sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until tops are cracked and bottoms are nicely browned. Serve warm or cold or wait until cool, wrap well and freeze for later.
Notes
While either whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour will work, the pasty flour will be a bit lighter.
White sugar will work fine for rolling dough in, but sanding sugar or turbinado sugar with their larger grains will create something really sparkly and special.
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