Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

I used 3 Italian Sausage Links.  Wrap them in foil loosely and put them in a pan and cook in the oven on 375 for about 45 minutes.  If you prefer you can brown them in a skillet.  Once they are cooked and or heated through, let them cool and then slice them into small round slices.  You choose the thickness.  I did about 1/4 inch width.  Set aside for later.

1 Jar Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce

2 Cups Macaroni Noodles (go ahead and cook this, you know how to do it)

1/2 Cup Velveeta Cheese

1/2 Cup Grated Italian Cheese

1/4 Cup Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 TSP Dried Oregano

1 TSP Dried Basil

1 TSP Minced Garlic

2 TBL SPN Roasted Red Peppers in a jar

Dash Garlic Powder

After draining the macaroni noodles, return them to the hot pot and place back on the stove with low heat.  Add all of the dried seasonings and salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Add the butter and let it melt, stirring until it's melted.  Then add the minced garlic and the roasted red peppers.  Stir well.  Add the Velveeta and Italian cheese and let them melt completely.  Put a lid on the pot, this will let it melt faster.  Add about 3/4 of the Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce.  Mix well.  Add more if you feel it's needed.

Preheat the oven to 350 please and thank you.

Get your favorite casserole dish out and scoop all of the Alfredo Macaroni into it.  Now, if you follow my blog and are interested in my next post then scoop a small amount into a small oven proof dish.  This will cook by itself without the sausage.  Ill be posting Macaroni and Cheese Tempura in a few days.  You can use it for that.  Otherwise pour it all in the dish.  Then mix in your sausage.  Incorporate all of this very well.  Top with more of the Italian Grated Cheese mix.

Cook in oven for about 12 minutes or until cheese on top is completely melted and starting to brown slightly.

Serve and Enjoy!

Lasagna casserole

Ingredients:

1 Lb Ground Meat

1 Lb Ground Pork

1 Jar Bertolli Olive and Garlic Pasta Sauce

1/4 Cup Frozen Seasoning Blend - Pictsweet - Onions and bell

pepper basically

1 Small can tomato sauce

1 and 1/4 Cup Beef Broth

1 Large Egg

2 Tbl Spn Tone's Italian Seasoning (or your preference)

16 Ounce Package of grated mozzarella

8 Ounce grated parmesan

16 Ounce Container of Ricotta Cheese

12 Uncooked Lasagna Noodles

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1 Tbl Steak Seasoning

1 Tbl Spn Garlic Powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375.

On medium high heat, brown the ground meat and ground pork. As it browns mix in the seasoning blend.  Dust with the steak seasoning and garlic powder and blend well.

Lower heat to medium and add the jar or Bertolli  Pasta Sauce and stir, add beef broth, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning.  Bring to a boil stirring occasionally.  Lower heat to medium low and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings accordingly.

Meanwhile, in a medium to large bowl, scramble the egg and mix the ricotta cheese together with the egg.  Mix 12 ounces of the mozzarella cheese and half of the parmesan and mix with the ricotta / egg mixture.  Mix well.  Use a 9x 13 (or something close) baking pan or glass dish and put 1.5 cups (approximately) of the sauce on the bottom and spread to cover the bottom. 

Take 4 of the Lasagna noodles and put on top of the mixture.  You may have to putt some long ways and the other across the back to get good coverage.  Do the best you can. Put another layer of meat, about 1 cup on top of the noodles.  Then add half of the cheese mixture on that layer.  Take 4 more noodles and lay across the top mixture.  If you have to add more or break some to fit, that's ok.

Add the remaining meat mixture on that layer of noodles.   Then add the remaining cheese mixture.  Top with 4 more noodles.

Cover with foil tightly and bake for 50 minutes.  Consider putting the pan on a large cookie sheet because it will most likely bubble over.

After 50 minutes, remove from oven and remove the foil.  Add the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese on the top.

Put back in the oven for about 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and dancing on top!

Ummm good.

Remove from oven (don't forget to turn the oven off) and let sit for about 15 minutes if you can stand it and Enjoy!

best Homemade Apple Pie

Here are the ingredients for the apple pie dough:

-250g all purpose flour

-200g of butter, room temperature

-1 tablespoon of sugar

-1/2 teaspoon of salt

-10 tablespoon of ice water

-Step 1. Mix flour, salt and sugar together.

-Step 2. Gradually mix in butter and ice water and your dough should look like this when it is done.

-Step 3. Wrap dough and chill for at least one hour before using.

While waiting, get busy with the apples.

Here are the ingredients for apple pie filing:

-6 apples (most will recommend Granny Smith but I prefer China Fuji). Peeled, cored and sliced. Soak them in water and salt to avoid them turning brown while you get busy with the mixture below.

-80g of granulated sugar

-80g of brown sugar

-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

-1 tablespoon of vinegar

-2 tablespoon of flour.

-Step 4. Mix sugar, cinnamon, vinegar and flour together.

Step 5. Drain the apples dry as possible and mix well with the mixture from step 4. If one hour is up, remove the dough from fridge.

Apple pie dough cut into half

-Step 6. Cut them into equal half, and roll each into a ball. Return one part back to the fridge. Using a rolling pin, flatten one part of the dough. Do flour your working top and rolling pin while rolling.

Measure dough with pie pan

-Step 7. Ensure the diameter of the dough is at least 4cm bigger than your baking pie pan so that it will cover the walls.

Base dough ready in pie pan

-Step 8. Place dough by gently rolling it over the rolling pin and unroll over the pie pan. Trim off excess edges. Using a fork, gently poke holes on dough so that it lets steam out during baking.

-Step 9. Place all the apples in the baking pan.

-Step 10. Remove the other dough from fridge and flatten it to make a Lattice Top Pie by slicing the dough into about 2cm width strips.

-Step 11. Trim off excess dough from the side and brush egg wash (egg white and water) over it before baking. This will give it the shiny brown surface when it is down.

-Step 12. Place it in the middle tray. Bake apple pie in preheated oven at 22oC for 15minutes. Reduce heat to 175C and bake for another 40minutes. Lastly, serve that best homemade apple pie warm or chilled and Enjoy!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent rolls

2-8oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 stick butter (1/2 cup real butter not margarine)

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into the bottom of your baking dish press the seams together. In a separate bowl blend the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla spread over top of dough. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place on top of the cream cheese mixture pressing seams together again. Melt butter and pour over top layer of crescents. Mix the reaming 1/2 cup of sugar & cinnamon together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the top. If you don’t think that’s enough cinnamon sugar on top add more its really up to you there’s no rules on this part of the recipe. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly brown. Cool, slice and enjoy!

BANANA AND CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Ingredients:

½ cup softened butter

¼ cup sugar 

1 egg

1 ½ cups of mashed banana (approx. 3 medium bananas) 

1 ¾ cups self-raising flour

½ teaspoon nutmeg 

¼ teaspoon baking soda 

½ cup chocolate drops   

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 Degrees Celsius.

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed. Mix until mixture becomes a creamy yellow colour.  If the mixture appears dry, add another banana .

Divide evening into muffin trays.

Bake in the oven for approximately 10 – 15 minutes or until golden brown, and Enjoy!

Cheesy Tater Tot Hotdish

-Olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3–4 cloves gar­lic, minced

1 teas. dried basil

1 cup crem­ini mush­rooms, chopped

1 medium zuc­chini, sliced into half moons

1/2 cup frozen peas (you must have at least one frozen veg­etable in it for it to be a real hot­dish)

2 veg­gie sausages, cut into coins

1 tube creamy ched­dar Teese

1/2 cup milk of choice (I used almond)

-Tater tots

Pre­heat oven to 375. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 or smaller casse­role (I used a 5 x7, but 8 x 8 would work too, you could always increase your zuc­chini and mush­rooms a lit­tle or add more tots!).

In a pan, heat olive oil. Add onion and gar­lic and sautee until onions become translu­cent. Add basil and sautee for another minute. Trans­fer to a large bowl. In same pan, sautee mush­rooms until ten­der. Drain juice and add to bowl with onions. Add zuc­chini, peas and veg­gie sausages to bowl. Add Teese and milk and mix with a whisk or spoon until Teese and milk have incor­po­rated and coat veg­gie mix­ture (it might look a lit­tle lumpy, but that’s fine). Pour into casse­role dish and cover with frozen tots.

Bake for 35–40 min­utes or until tots are golden and cheesy mix­ture is bub­bling. You may need to put a bak­ing sheet with parch­ment under the casse­role to catch drips. Allow hot­dish to cool for about 5 min­utes before serving!

Homemade German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

4- ounces German sweet chocolate

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1- teaspoon baking soda

1/4- teapoon salt

3-large egg whites, room temperature

1/2-cup butter, softened

1-cup white granulated sugar

1-teaspoon vanilla extract

3-large egg yolks

2/3-cups buttermilk

Ingredients for Coconut-Pecan Frosting:

1-6-ounce can of evaporated milk

1-slightly beaten large egg

1-teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3-cups white granulated sugar

1-1/3 cups flaked coconut

1/2-cup chopped pecans

Step 1...Grease and lightly flour 2 round 8 or 9-inch can pans. set aside. grease pans and flour lightly!

Step 2...Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. sift.

Step 3...In a small saucepan on low, heat the German chocolate in 1/3 cup water until it melts.(let cool before adding to egg mixture).

While chocolate is melting, beat softened butter

in a mixing bowl, add the sugar and vanilla.

Cream butter and sugar.

Continue to beat until light and fuffly. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after

each one. Beat in the chocolate and water mixture.

Add Chocolate

Melt German Chocolate.

Step 4...In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Set aside.

Preheat oven now to 350 degrees.

Step 5...

To the mixture in step 3, add the flour mixture, and the buttermilk alternately,

beat well after each addition. Fold in the egg whites from step 4.

Step 6...Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Step 7...Remove cakes from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

Remove from pans and continue to cool.

While the cakes cool prepare the coconut-pecan frosting as follows;

Step 1...

In a medium saucepan combine, the evaporated milk, 2/3-cup sugar, 1/4-cup butter,

and the slightly beaten egg. Cook and stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens

and bubbles, should takes about 12 minutes, quite awhile, so watch it, don't want to let it burn.

Cool slightly and add the vanilla, coconut and pecans.

Step 2...

Cool for about 15 minutes, frost the bottom layer, top with the second layer, frost this layer,

and smooth the icing to the edges and on the sides of the cake. and Enjoy!