Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna

I was so intrigued when I came across this recipe, I was excited to try it! I was pretty conservative trying to make it for the first time--next time I would probably go heavier on the seasonings and cheese. I might make more of the spinach filling and add an extra layer of noodles, because I had a lot of noodles left over. But, it turned out to be pretty easy for a lasagna.
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Serves 6

olive oil
1 onion, chopped 
2 cloves of garlic, minced
400 grams frozen chopped spinach
salt, pepper
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg, divided
3  pumpkin, divided
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, divided

1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a frying pan on medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic until the onions are cooked and translucent.

Add the chopped spinach, 1/2 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook the mixture until the spinach is wilted and there is no more water left in the pan (this takes several minutes). Set the pan aside.

Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package. When they are al dente, drain them and run cold water over them to cool them. Strain them once they've cooled.

In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cans of pumpkin with 3/4 cups heavy cream, and 1/2 cup parmesan. Add  1/2 tsp sage and 1/4 tsp nutmeg, along with salt and pepper.

Butter an 8x12 Pyrex. Place 1 layer of lasagna noodles. Top with half the pumpkin filling, and half the spinach filling. Place another layer of lasagna noodles. Top with the other half of the fillings. Place the final layer of lasagna noodles on top.

In a bowl, mix 1 cup pumpkin and 3/4 cups cream. Pour this over the top of the lasagna. Sprinkle with 1 cup parmesan.

Heat the lasagna in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Place the lasagna on a cooling rack to set for 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Zuppa Toscana

Bill and I both like the "Zuppa Toscana" at Olive Garden. My mom used to make something similar, sans greenery. So I found this Copykat recipe online, and decided to give it a try. I substituted the kale in favor of spinach. I've never cared for the kale in that soup.

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4 spicy Italian sausage links
3 red potatoes, chunked
1/2 onion, diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 c. frozen chopped spinach
6 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. whipping cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Use a paper towel to soak up extra grease. Cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices.

Place onions in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken broth, spinach, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.

Add sausage and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve with crusty french bread.

Christmas Cookie Favorites

Mom would make tons of cookies every year, and make up plates for all of our neighbors. So, I'm trying to carry on the tradition! I started with my two favorites of the ones Mom makes every year. Except I don't know what they're supposed to be called. The first are known by so many different names. And the second, I've never seen anyone else make them! So, here they are:

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The ones rolled in powdered sugar
1 cup butter (salted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool enough to handle, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar.

* Honestly, I found a pretty close recipe on allrecipes.com under "Russian Tea Cakes." But there were also "Mexican Wedding Cakes," "Italian Wedding Cookies," "Austrian Tea Biscuits"...

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The mint chocolate chip ones
Makes about 5 dozen
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 drops food coloring
1 12 oz pkg mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
a few drops of peppermint extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Line a large baking sheet with a double thickness of waxed paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and vinegar on high speed until they are all foamy. Add the sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time until all used.  Should be white and firm when you lift out the beaters.

Add 2-3 drops peppermint extract. Careful with the extract, a little goes a long way. Blend in a few drops of food coloring (with the beaters) to whatever shade you like.

Fold in the mini chips gently with a spatula.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet.

Turn off the oven and put in the baking sheet(s) letting the meringues dry out in the oven overnight.  Or for several hours until they are dry and delicate.

Store them in a dry place or they will absorb moisture and lose their crispness. An airight container is best.

Plum Pie

So, Laura Flowers, of TheCookingPhotographer.com, has written several blogs extolling the wonders of Oregon brand canned fruit. I'd never bought it before, and wasn't even sure if grocery stores carried it down here in Texas. So I looked on their website to see which grocery stores sold their brand. Super Target was listed, so I made a special trip to the nearest Super Target to look for these Oregon Whole Purple Plums that are apparently THAT GOOD. But they didn't seem to have any Oregon products at all. A few days later guess what I spotted at the Albertsons just a block over from our apartments. That's right. I bought four cans, and I was sooo excited to make this plum pie.

Of course it was Thanksgiving morning, and I had other things already going in the kitchen. So rather than look up the recipe again, I made it from memory. Meaning, the recipe isn't EXACTLY the same as the one posted on the website. But it felt great to be baking a pie sans recipe while we watched the Macys Parade on an overcast and chilly Thanksgiving morning. So homemaker-y.

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2 (15 ounce) cans Oregon Whole Purple Plums in Heavy Syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Butter for dotting pie
1 box Pillsbury Pie Crusts
Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Set out a 9 inch pie plate.

Strain the juice from the plums into a large saucepan. Cut the plums in half, then half again pitting as you go. Set plums aside.

Pour the sugar into the saucepan with the plum juice. Cook the mixture over medium heat stirring often at first, and constantly as the mixture heats. Cook and stir scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoons until the mixture thickens and sugar is completely dissolved. Turn off the heat from under the sauce pan. Add the ground ginger.

Mix the sliced plums with flour and salt until coated.

Place the dough into the pie dish. Place the plums onto the dough. Next, pour the hot filling into the pie dish arranging the plums around if needed. *Don't overfill the pie. Leave out a little of the juice if it gets too full.* Dot with butter and top with the top crust. Flute and cut vents into the dough.

Place a pie shield over the crust and bake pie for 30 minutes. Then remove the pie shield and bake for about 10 more minutes, or until golden brown and done on the bottom. Cool for several hours or overnight.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

From Let Me Plan Dinner! This turned out sooo good. Of course Bill added more cheese when I asked him to dish it out. We ate it with toasty garlic bread. Yum! We thought it would also taste good with cubed ham or even...bacon! But it was surprisingly good on its own.

1 large potato, diced small
1 c cauliflower florets
2 c broccoli florets
3 T butter
1/4 c flour
1 can chicken broth
2 c milk
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t pepper
2 t minced onion
4-8 oz grated cheddar cheese

In a small saucepan, steam potato, cauliflower, and broccoli (with potato on the bottom and broccoli on the top) until tender.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt the butter on low heat. Stir in the flour.

Turn the heat up to high and whisk in the chicken broth, milk, salt, pepper, and minced onion. Bring to a rolling boil for a minute, stirring constantly, or until mixture begins to thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

Stir in the cooked potato, broccoli, and cauliflower. Remove from heat and stir in 4 oz cheese until melted.

Serve with fresh cracked pepper and additional grated cheese.

Shepherd's Pie

The last time I attempted Shepherd's Pie, it was a dismal failure lost in a sea of Campbells cream of mushroom soup. Bland. Colorless. Awful.

So I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com that didn't use cream of anything at all.

Problem: I didn't print it out. I just wrote down the ingredients to pick up at the grocery store. Then when I came home, I couldn't remember which recipe I'd been looking at. (If you look at the original, you'll see it's "Shepherds Pie VI.") So, I kinda did it from memory. I did alright, but I was skimpy with the beef broth and it came out a tad too dry for my husband's taste. But I liked it. I love that there's a whole layer of bright orange carrots!

Also, I used potato flakes instead of real potatoes! We bought a big ol' box of them at Costco and...I use them when I can, because I'm not huge fan of potatoes. Unless they're sweet potatoes. Or french fries.

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1 lb carrots, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup frozen peas

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ketchup

3/4 cup beef broth

1 packet Idaho potato flakes

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash and set aside.

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup, beef broth and frozen peas. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of mashed carrots. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Apple Dumplings

A recipe that I've carried around for years, given to me by my pre-mission roommate, Jenn, at BYU. It will always remind me of her because the syrup turns a fabulous shade of PINK.

Pie Crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup Crisco
1/4 cup water

Mix flour and salt. Mix 1/4 cup of mixture with the 1/4 cup water. Cut Crisco into the rest of the flour mixture, then mix in the water mixture.

Roll out dough and cut into 6 squares.

Filling:
4 sm. apples, peeled and chunked
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
butter
Red Hots

Place filling in each square with a dollop of butter and one or two Red Hots. Fold up corners, and seal into "dumplings." Place in 9x13 baking dish, sealed-side down.

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup Red Hots
1/4 cup butter

In saucepan, combine sugar, water, spices and Red Hots. Boil 5 min. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Pour syrup over dumplings in the baking dish.

Bake at 375 for 45 min.