Thank you Instinct I just went and copied it down. I still don’t have ink so I couldn’t print it will try it as soon as I can ge the mustard and panko bread crumbs the rest I have in the house.
This little darling could fill alot of roles - I think Ninja Cat, but the Superman, Superstar at BBall is cool too. I just love black and white cats !!!
This one is for Dee since she has been so patient with me
Lemon Bars
Crust
2/3 cup All Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 TBS Granulated Sugar
3 TBS Butter
Topping
3 Large Egg Whites
1 Large Whole Egg
1 cup Sugar
1 TBS grated Lemon Zest
½ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (about 4 lemons)
Confectioners Sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350.
Take an 8×8x2 baking pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray, then line bottom and sides with parchment paper, extending paper a few inches beyond 2 opposite sides. The spray will help the paper stay in place.
Crust
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs and sugar.
Using fingers, rub butter into the mixture until evenly moistened and has the texture of moist sand.
Spread crumbs evenly across the bottom of the baking pan and firmly press into and even layer.
Bake in oven until lightly browned, about 13 minutes, and then remove from oven but leave oven on.
Topping
In a medium bowl, combine all topping ingredients and bet them at high speed with a hand mixer until thoroughly combined.
Pour over hot crust and then return to oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when lightly touched in center.
Move pan to wire rack to cool completely
Lift the entire square out of pan by parchment paper edges when completely cool and cut the square into three even strips on one side and then make 4 even cuts on the other side so you have 12 even bars
HI Instinct I am also a lemon lover, so thanks, sounds really yummy.
Dee doesn’t have access to us on week-ends. But I am copying them and will send it to her so at least she will have it in her mail box on Monday.
Elsie is beyond cute. Love her markings. Especially on her “knees.” Fantastic action shot. Would love to know the details about the camera.
Please give her a big belly smooch from me
I also love lemon anything but absolutly hate meringue, marshmellow anything and not that hot to trot on whipped cream. I cannot drink my iced tea without lemon and no sugar please I am sweet enough that is my story and I’m sticking to it!
Crust:
33 graham cracker squares, crushed to crumbs
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus additional, for brushing the pan
1 tablespoon sugar
Parchment paper to line pan with
Filling:
20 ounces cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 yolks
1/3 cup heavy cream
Crust
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Brush some of the melted butter around a 9 by 3-inch spring form pan. Adhere parchment to the bottom and the sides.
In a small bowl, combine crushed graham crackers, the remaining melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the parchment-lined pan. Place remaining crumbs on a sheet pan and bake both the crust and the remaining mixture for 10 minutes. Cool.
Once cool, wrap the outside of the pan in heavy aluminum foil so water cannot seep in. The pan will be set into a water bath during baking.
Reserve additional crumb mixture for sides.
Filling
Turn oven up to 350 degrees and place a pot of water on to boil to use for a water bath while baking the cheesecake.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat sour cream for 10 seconds.
Add the cream cheese and sugar and mix on low for 30 seconds and then turn up to medium. Scrape the bowl and beat again until the mixture is smooth.
In a separate container, combine vanilla, eggs, yolks, and heavy cream.
With the mixer on medium, slowly pour the liquid mixture in. When half of it is incorporated, stop and scrape.
Continue adding the mixture until the rest of the ingredients are incorporated. Once completely combined, pour into the cooled crust.
For baking you will need the spring form pan and another pan that is large enough that the spring form can sit comfortably inside of it.
Pour boiling water into the larger pan and then place cheesecake into the water bath, in the oven and set the timer for 1 hour.
Turn the oven off and leave in the oven with the door closed for one more hour. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place in the refrigerator for 6 hours to completely cool before serving – it will need this time to fully set.
When ready to serve, place the entire cake pan into a hot water bath for about 15 seconds. Unmold onto a cake round or serving dish.
Take the remaining graham cracker mixture and press into the sides of the cake.
To slice, place your knife into a hot water bath and wipe dry each time you make a pass through the cake. Or, alternately, you can use unflavored dental floss to cut it as well.
Filling
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
½ cup cold water
12 oz evaporated skim milk
3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbs Sugar
7 oz semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
14 oz Whipped cream or Non-Dairy Whipped topping
Preheat oven to 350
Crust
Crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Then, mix with the honey and butter until all crumbs are moistened and then hold together.
Pour the crumbs into a 9” spring form pan and press evenly across the bottom and up the sides. This is easiest if done with a glass that has straight sides and a flat bottom
Bake crust in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on counter.
Filling
In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over the cold water and let stand for 1 minute until gelatin softens. Then place pan over low heat until gelatin dissolves.
In medium saucepan bring evaporated milk to a boil stirring constantly.
Stir in cocoa powder, sugar and chocolate. With wire whisk, mix until smooth and then pour through a strainer into a large bowl for cooling and stir in the vanilla and the gelatin mixture.
Once at room temperature, refrigerate and stir every 10 minutes until it thickens (this will keep a skin from forming and allow it to chill evenly) in about 30 to 40 minutes.
Gently fold in whipped topping and then pour into crust.
Refrigerate for at least two hours (to allow it to fully set) and serve
I will usually grate the leftover chocolate and sprinkle it on the top
Thanks for the compliments! Wanna know my secret for catching her in midair??? I took like 100 pics of her and lucked out with a couple of really nice action shots!
Thanks for the recipes! Here is one I make every year at Thanksgiving time and pass out as Christmas gifts. I usually use coconut rum and this year I used red and green sugars to roll the balls in. Very pretty! My friends just rave over them. Enjoy!
Rum Balls
1 box Vanilla Wafers (finely ground)
1 cup Walnuts (finely ground)
2 cups Powdered Sugar
¼ cup Cocoa Powder
¼ cup Light Corn Syrup
½ cup Rum
Granulated Sugar
Mix together the first 4 ingredients, then add liquids. If the mixture is a little dry, add more rum!!! Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Make into 1-inch balls, roll in granulated sugar. Best if kept in
refrigerator for at least 1 week before serving. The longer they sit in the refrigerator, the better they become!
I love Rum balls, thanks for the receipe*adding to secret receipe book*
Try this one-
Orange Balls - intense flavor, (no alcohol alternative)
1 pound crumbs (vanilla wafers and grahm crackers)
1 pound powderded sugar
6 oz orange juice concentrate
1 stick melted butter
Mix crumbs and sugar
add liquid/ roll into balls and roll in sugar!
Cute little flying Critter fuzz! Sweet looking little guy. Love those black kneepads!
Heres my lasagna recipe. It makes a huge batch.
Lasagna by Greycat
Needed:
1 large rectangular turkey-roasting pan - one of those disposable ones is best for this, as they are deep enough to hold all the ingredients.
1 Large box Lasagna noodles ( these stay uncooked for now)
1 medium onion (about 3 inches in diameter)
Whole garlic (two good sized cloves will be plenty)
6 eggs (I use grade a extra large or jumbo eggs)
Ricotta Cheese (Two large containers)
Six cups of Mozzarella Cheese – Shredded (Hold two cups aside for later)
Four cups of either grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
Two pounds Ground Beef or Turkey (I have never used turkey in my lasagna, but it should be ok)
Two Pounds of Italian Sausage - Mild or Hot either in links or loose (I prefer hot links) (I suppose you could also substitute turkey sausage, but the Italian part of me thinks that this is sacrilege)
Two large jars of tomato sauce…32 oz jars (I use Ragu or Prego)
Preparation
Put the sausage in the freezer for about 30 minutes this causes the outside to freeze slightly making it easier to cut up later on.
Peal and dice the onion. Set aside
Take the garlic cloves and crush with the flat of a knife. This helps remove the skin and releases the oils better than just cutting it up…. Chop finely…just watch your fingers!
In a large frying pan melt three tablespoons of Butter or Margarine….
Put in the diced onion and the garlic…brown over medium heat until the garlic is browned and the onions are limp and slightly caramelized. When done…set aside
Take the Sausage and cut it into ¾ inch wide chunks (if using links) (this where the slight freezing helps) and cook it. Set aside.
(There are two ways to cook the sausage. One is by taking a large pot of boiling water and putting the sausage chunks into it, the other is to fry the sausage bits. This is the way I do it.)
Brown the ground beef in a large fry pan ( I split mine into two batches since it is hard to get the entire two pounds into a 10 inch pan properly). When browned, set aside
Combine the Ricotta Cheese and half the Parmesan Cheese and the eggs in a LARGE bowl
Take a large pot (mine is a five quart size pan) and pour in the tomato sauce. (I use Ragu or Prego) Add the onion and garlic, also the browned ground beef and sausage. Heat over medium heat. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Construction Phase:
Ladle a layer of tomato sauce into the bottom of the roasting pan try and get just sauce here, but if a few chunks of sausage find their way into the pan at this stage do not despair. Just leave them alone.
On top of the sauce place the first layer of UNCOOKED* Lasagna noodles.
Now ladle in another layer of sauce.
Spoon in a layer of the cheese mix and sprinkle on a layer of Mozzarella cheese
Another layer of uncooked noodles
Repeat the above steps until all the ingredients have been used up except for the two cups of Mozzarella. This goes on the very top of the mix….on top of a layer of sauce if possible
Cover with aluminum foil and bake according to the directions on the box of noodles. I add about 15 - 20 minutes because of the size of the batch. Remove the foil during the last 15 Minutes of cooking so that the cheese topping can brown.
*Now, the noodles will cook quite nicely in the sauce. That’s why you can use them in their uncooked form.
This makes about 12 large servings about 4 x 5 inches…it freezes well.
It is actually really easy to make your own sauce. Get a bunch of Roma tomatoes, and puree in a blender with water (add fresh basil and oregano in puree). To take it up a notch, puree your garlic and some onions. Toa take it up another notch (secret ingredient) get fresh spinach (clean) and puree a nice big handfull with your tomatoes (put the rest in your salad). I just adds something special to a lasagna or pasta dish.
I have had even the pickiest of eaters LOVE this.
Good morning!!!!!!!!! You guys are making me hungry!
How cute it that little kitty!!!!!! I say victroy dancing is what she is doing. LOL Again………very cute!
Yes we did. Not much left on the ground now! YIPPEE!
I wanted to say a BIG Thank you to all who welcomed me so warmly: MerD, Huddy’s Mama, Bumblebee, and everyone else. Yes there are so many wonderful people here!!!!!!! I am glad I decided to chat and be part of you all.
I had no idea we would be sharing recipes! How cool…I will have to print this out. hehehehe
Question: How do you get the smiley faces on your comments?
It is a beautiful day MerD what you got planned?
Hey Shawn, all you have to do is type a colon and a right parenthesis next to each other for a smile. For a big smile it’s a colon followed by a capital D.
Below is an example placed between dash lines so that you can see the typing form. Just remove the dashes and they system will recognized it as a smile.
Yes, very glad you decided to chat, and become a part of this site. Isn’t it just wonderful??? I look forward to it each day!
Have a lovely day! The sun is shining here again! Melting the old snow and ice. HOORAY!!!
no snow!!! just tons of sunshine here in greeley (though we still haven’t seen bare ground in a few months)
little kitty reminds me of a kitty that hubby use to have…would catch a crunched up empty cigarette pack that he would throw down the hall in mid air doing a kitty backflip with a twist and catch the pack in his mouth ….then bring it back! will have to find the picture
OK, since Greycat mentioned Lasagna here is my sauce that you can use with it
Basic Marinara
3 TBS olive oil
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Vidalia or Spanish onion
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
3 14 oz cans whole tomatoes
1 12 ounce can tomato puree
1/8 cup fresh basil
2 tsp. Thyme
Pinch of Sage
2 Bay Leaves
3 TBS sugar
2 TBS Salt
2 TBS course ground Black pepper
1/2 cup Red Wine (I like a Cabernet Sauvignon)
In a 2-3 quart pot heat the olive oil over medium heat and then add the onion, garlic and red pepper and sauté until translucent.
Drain and crush the whole tomatoes and rinse out the seeds as best you can (they will make the sauce bitter) and add to the pot with all the other ingredients except the wine
Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat and allow it to simmer for about an hour. Then add the wine and simmer for about 15 minutes more and taste.
If the flavor needs to be adjusted, do it in small steps since all the flavors need time to come together.
You can double this up and freeze it for easy cooking later in the week or month.
Have you ever tried cooking chicken in your maranara sauce? I get chicken breasts, slice in half and boil in the sauce untill they almost fall apart, then serve on penne or mostacholi (sp). Chicken Catatori. MMMMMMM
Sounds good, I have never tried it. I like the real small pennes. I have never in my life tried chicken in sauce. Someone told mr once that they used the leftover rotissery chicken they bought and add it to their spaghetti sauce. They said it is awesome.
My Fiance’s kitten, trying to bring back the high-five!
AIRBORNE FUZZZZZ!
*Quickly and with stealth, she slips cat nap sack under airborne fuzz, and dissapears….. to be found hours later napping with said fuzzbutt*
Silently, I pick up fuzzbutt and tiptoe away for a little play session..shhhh….
Hi Judy from another Judy I agree shes a little fuzzbut looks like shes having fun
Good morning all!
This little guy is adorable and looks like he is having SO much fun!!
Thanks for sharing!!
Good Morning Everyone, This little one is so adorable. I don’t know if she is high fiving or doing some little victory dance after getting a treat.
Hey Susan, I put a Mac and Cheese recepie for you on yesterdays page
Thank you Instinct I just went and copied it down. I still don’t have ink so I couldn’t print it will try it as soon as I can ge the mustard and panko bread crumbs the rest I have in the house.
Thanks for all the advices and recipes! There is one minor issue though; I should be sleeping now but for some reason I am too hungry!
She looks like she’s doin a slam dunk! Go basketball FuZz!!
Michael Jordan fuzz…
I think being abke to fly is very special, especialy if your a cat!
But where’s the cape and the big red ‘S’??
would that not be a big red K ?
Super Kitty is the best action hero ever! (Bye bye, Wonder Woman, you lost this time.)
This little darling could fill alot of roles - I think Ninja Cat, but the Superman, Superstar at BBall is cool too. I just love black and white cats !!!
Too cute!
OK, here’s the first of three deserts for today
This one is for Dee since she has been so patient with me
Lemon Bars
Crust
2/3 cup All Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 TBS Granulated Sugar
3 TBS Butter
Topping
3 Large Egg Whites
1 Large Whole Egg
1 cup Sugar
1 TBS grated Lemon Zest
½ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (about 4 lemons)
Confectioners Sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350.
Take an 8×8x2 baking pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray, then line bottom and sides with parchment paper, extending paper a few inches beyond 2 opposite sides. The spray will help the paper stay in place.
Crust
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs and sugar.
Using fingers, rub butter into the mixture until evenly moistened and has the texture of moist sand.
Spread crumbs evenly across the bottom of the baking pan and firmly press into and even layer.
Bake in oven until lightly browned, about 13 minutes, and then remove from oven but leave oven on.
Topping
In a medium bowl, combine all topping ingredients and bet them at high speed with a hand mixer until thoroughly combined.
Pour over hot crust and then return to oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when lightly touched in center.
Move pan to wire rack to cool completely
Lift the entire square out of pan by parchment paper edges when completely cool and cut the square into three even strips on one side and then make 4 even cuts on the other side so you have 12 even bars
Dust with confectioners sugar and serve
HI Instinct I am also a lemon lover, so thanks, sounds really yummy.
Dee doesn’t have access to us on week-ends. But I am copying them and will send it to her so at least she will have it in her mail box on Monday.
Elsie is beyond cute. Love her markings. Especially on her “knees.” Fantastic action shot. Would love to know the details about the camera.
Please give her a big belly smooch from me
That works
These things are really easy to make and taste great. Just make sure to use lemons and not bottled lemon juice - the bottled stuff tastes weak
Thanks for the tip. My daugheter will LOVE these. She also loves lemon. We love our lemon meringue pies! Mmmm the best!
I also love lemon anything but absolutly hate meringue, marshmellow anything and not that hot to trot on whipped cream. I cannot drink my iced tea without lemon and no sugar please I am sweet enough that is my story and I’m sticking to it!
Bottled lemon juice??? Are you kidding? Wouldn’t dream of it. That would be a bloody sacrilege.
I know, I miss Dee one the weekends.
That is very sweet of you to copy the recipes for her! What a sweetie and so thoughtful! 
Thank you Bumblebee, honey! I think the saying is –it takes one to know one!
Purrs
Awwwww, thanks…… You are TOO sweet!
Eva could you please email it to me too as I cannot print for awhile? Bless your heart in advance and if you cannot I still love you.
And the next one is….
Sour Cream Cheesecake
Crust:
33 graham cracker squares, crushed to crumbs
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus additional, for brushing the pan
1 tablespoon sugar
Parchment paper to line pan with
Filling:
20 ounces cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 yolks
1/3 cup heavy cream
Crust
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Brush some of the melted butter around a 9 by 3-inch spring form pan. Adhere parchment to the bottom and the sides.
In a small bowl, combine crushed graham crackers, the remaining melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the parchment-lined pan. Place remaining crumbs on a sheet pan and bake both the crust and the remaining mixture for 10 minutes. Cool.
Once cool, wrap the outside of the pan in heavy aluminum foil so water cannot seep in. The pan will be set into a water bath during baking.
Reserve additional crumb mixture for sides.
Filling
Turn oven up to 350 degrees and place a pot of water on to boil to use for a water bath while baking the cheesecake.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat sour cream for 10 seconds.
Add the cream cheese and sugar and mix on low for 30 seconds and then turn up to medium. Scrape the bowl and beat again until the mixture is smooth.
In a separate container, combine vanilla, eggs, yolks, and heavy cream.
With the mixer on medium, slowly pour the liquid mixture in. When half of it is incorporated, stop and scrape.
Continue adding the mixture until the rest of the ingredients are incorporated. Once completely combined, pour into the cooled crust.
For baking you will need the spring form pan and another pan that is large enough that the spring form can sit comfortably inside of it.
Pour boiling water into the larger pan and then place cheesecake into the water bath, in the oven and set the timer for 1 hour.
Turn the oven off and leave in the oven with the door closed for one more hour. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place in the refrigerator for 6 hours to completely cool before serving – it will need this time to fully set.
When ready to serve, place the entire cake pan into a hot water bath for about 15 seconds. Unmold onto a cake round or serving dish.
Take the remaining graham cracker mixture and press into the sides of the cake.
To slice, place your knife into a hot water bath and wipe dry each time you make a pass through the cake. Or, alternately, you can use unflavored dental floss to cut it as well.
Look, it’s Super Kitty. Able to jump tall kitty houses! Too adorable. Thanks for sharing!
And finally, for those who missed it the first time around…
Chocolate Mousse Pie
Crust
10 Chocolate Graham Crackers
2 Tbs honey
2 Tbs unsalted butter (melted)
Filling
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
½ cup cold water
12 oz evaporated skim milk
3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbs Sugar
7 oz semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
14 oz Whipped cream or Non-Dairy Whipped topping
Preheat oven to 350
Crust
Crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Then, mix with the honey and butter until all crumbs are moistened and then hold together.
Pour the crumbs into a 9” spring form pan and press evenly across the bottom and up the sides. This is easiest if done with a glass that has straight sides and a flat bottom
Bake crust in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on counter.
Filling
In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over the cold water and let stand for 1 minute until gelatin softens. Then place pan over low heat until gelatin dissolves.
In medium saucepan bring evaporated milk to a boil stirring constantly.
Stir in cocoa powder, sugar and chocolate. With wire whisk, mix until smooth and then pour through a strainer into a large bowl for cooling and stir in the vanilla and the gelatin mixture.
Once at room temperature, refrigerate and stir every 10 minutes until it thickens (this will keep a skin from forming and allow it to chill evenly) in about 30 to 40 minutes.
Gently fold in whipped topping and then pour into crust.
Refrigerate for at least two hours (to allow it to fully set) and serve
I will usually grate the leftover chocolate and sprinkle it on the top
Beautiful kitten
I love how you cought em in mid air!
Thanks for the compliments! Wanna know my secret for catching her in midair??? I took like 100 pics of her and lucked out with a couple of really nice action shots!
Thanks for the recipes! Here is one I make every year at Thanksgiving time and pass out as Christmas gifts. I usually use coconut rum and this year I used red and green sugars to roll the balls in. Very pretty! My friends just rave over them. Enjoy!
Rum Balls
1 box Vanilla Wafers (finely ground)
1 cup Walnuts (finely ground)
2 cups Powdered Sugar
¼ cup Cocoa Powder
¼ cup Light Corn Syrup
½ cup Rum
Granulated Sugar
Mix together the first 4 ingredients, then add liquids. If the mixture is a little dry, add more rum!!! Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Make into 1-inch balls, roll in granulated sugar. Best if kept in
refrigerator for at least 1 week before serving. The longer they sit in the refrigerator, the better they become!
I love Rum balls, thanks for the receipe*adding to secret receipe book*
Try this one-
Orange Balls - intense flavor, (no alcohol alternative)
1 pound crumbs (vanilla wafers and grahm crackers)
1 pound powderded sugar
6 oz orange juice concentrate
1 stick melted butter
Mix crumbs and sugar
add liquid/ roll into balls and roll in sugar!
Hey, thanks for the alternative! I wondered if something else could be substituted for the rum…..
BTW- what kind of rum is best for the rum balls?
I like Myers dark rum. I use it for fruitcake. Yummy.
I use it for Pumpkin Pie…yuuuuummmmmmm
*droooooolllllll*
Coconut Rum, Or Captain Morgan would be nice too, and you can roll them in Coconut Flakes. Thank So Much for the yummy recipies all!
I’ve rolled the rum balls in powdered sugar, coco powder and sometimes in crushed nuts.
Cute little flying Critter fuzz! Sweet looking little guy. Love those black kneepads!
Heres my lasagna recipe. It makes a huge batch.
Lasagna by Greycat
Needed:
1 large rectangular turkey-roasting pan - one of those disposable ones is best for this, as they are deep enough to hold all the ingredients.
1 Large box Lasagna noodles ( these stay uncooked for now)
1 medium onion (about 3 inches in diameter)
Whole garlic (two good sized cloves will be plenty)
6 eggs (I use grade a extra large or jumbo eggs)
Ricotta Cheese (Two large containers)
Six cups of Mozzarella Cheese – Shredded (Hold two cups aside for later)
Four cups of either grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
Two pounds Ground Beef or Turkey (I have never used turkey in my lasagna, but it should be ok)
Two Pounds of Italian Sausage - Mild or Hot either in links or loose (I prefer hot links) (I suppose you could also substitute turkey sausage, but the Italian part of me thinks that this is sacrilege)
Two large jars of tomato sauce…32 oz jars (I use Ragu or Prego)
Preparation
Put the sausage in the freezer for about 30 minutes this causes the outside to freeze slightly making it easier to cut up later on.
Peal and dice the onion. Set aside
Take the garlic cloves and crush with the flat of a knife. This helps remove the skin and releases the oils better than just cutting it up…. Chop finely…just watch your fingers!
In a large frying pan melt three tablespoons of Butter or Margarine….
Put in the diced onion and the garlic…brown over medium heat until the garlic is browned and the onions are limp and slightly caramelized. When done…set aside
Take the Sausage and cut it into ¾ inch wide chunks (if using links) (this where the slight freezing helps) and cook it. Set aside.
(There are two ways to cook the sausage. One is by taking a large pot of boiling water and putting the sausage chunks into it, the other is to fry the sausage bits. This is the way I do it.)
Brown the ground beef in a large fry pan ( I split mine into two batches since it is hard to get the entire two pounds into a 10 inch pan properly). When browned, set aside
Combine the Ricotta Cheese and half the Parmesan Cheese and the eggs in a LARGE bowl
Take a large pot (mine is a five quart size pan) and pour in the tomato sauce. (I use Ragu or Prego) Add the onion and garlic, also the browned ground beef and sausage. Heat over medium heat. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.
Construction Phase:
Ladle a layer of tomato sauce into the bottom of the roasting pan try and get just sauce here, but if a few chunks of sausage find their way into the pan at this stage do not despair. Just leave them alone.
On top of the sauce place the first layer of UNCOOKED* Lasagna noodles.
Now ladle in another layer of sauce.
Spoon in a layer of the cheese mix and sprinkle on a layer of Mozzarella cheese
Another layer of uncooked noodles
Repeat the above steps until all the ingredients have been used up except for the two cups of Mozzarella. This goes on the very top of the mix….on top of a layer of sauce if possible
Cover with aluminum foil and bake according to the directions on the box of noodles. I add about 15 - 20 minutes because of the size of the batch. Remove the foil during the last 15 Minutes of cooking so that the cheese topping can brown.
*Now, the noodles will cook quite nicely in the sauce. That’s why you can use them in their uncooked form.
This makes about 12 large servings about 4 x 5 inches…it freezes well.
It is actually really easy to make your own sauce. Get a bunch of Roma tomatoes, and puree in a blender with water (add fresh basil and oregano in puree). To take it up a notch, puree your garlic and some onions. Toa take it up another notch (secret ingredient) get fresh spinach (clean) and puree a nice big handfull with your tomatoes (put the rest in your salad). I just adds something special to a lasagna or pasta dish.
I have had even the pickiest of eaters LOVE this.
Good morning!!!!!!!!! You guys are making me hungry!
How cute it that little kitty!!!!!! I say victroy dancing is what she is doing. LOL Again………very cute!
Good Morning Shawn! Did you get some snow last night? We got another inch or so.
Yes we did. Not much left on the ground now! YIPPEE!
I wanted to say a BIG Thank you to all who welcomed me so warmly: MerD, Huddy’s Mama, Bumblebee, and everyone else. Yes there are so many wonderful people here!!!!!!! I am glad I decided to chat and be part of you all.
I had no idea we would be sharing recipes! How cool…I will have to print this out. hehehehe
Question: How do you get the smiley faces on your comments?
It is a beautiful day MerD what you got planned?
Nothing fun, laundry & house cleaning.
Hey Shawn, all you have to do is type a colon and a right parenthesis next to each other for a smile. For a big smile it’s a colon followed by a capital D.
Below is an example placed between dash lines so that you can see the typing form. Just remove the dashes and they system will recognized it as a smile.
-:)- or big smile -:D-
Yes, very glad you decided to chat, and become a part of this site. Isn’t it just wonderful??? I look forward to it each day!
Have a lovely day! The sun is shining here again! Melting the old snow and ice. HOORAY!!!
Cool……….-:)-
how is that?
Guess I need to read better;
Oh yea, and if you use a smi-colon, it gives you a wink.
and if you do a captial B it gives you a smile with sunglasses B)
Get out! Sunglasses? Got to try that! Watch me mess it up!
B:)
yep messed it up!
B)
B Sorry, I have to try this.
B:-) *****, how hard is it to make one smiley? >:|
I think this site only does the basic ones - smile, big smile and wink
oh, and frown
B-) OK, I seem to have obsessive compulsive personality disorder.
ME TOO!
no snow!!! just tons of sunshine here in greeley (though we still haven’t seen bare ground in a few months)
little kitty reminds me of a kitty that hubby use to have…would catch a crunched up empty cigarette pack that he would throw down the hall in mid air doing a kitty backflip with a twist and catch the pack in his mouth ….then bring it back! will have to find the picture
have a great weekend!!
I love it when kitties fetch! I’ve told our labrador that the kittie is a better retriever than him - he of course just wags his tail in response.
OK, since Greycat mentioned Lasagna here is my sauce that you can use with it
Basic Marinara
3 TBS olive oil
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Vidalia or Spanish onion
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
3 14 oz cans whole tomatoes
1 12 ounce can tomato puree
1/8 cup fresh basil
2 tsp. Thyme
Pinch of Sage
2 Bay Leaves
3 TBS sugar
2 TBS Salt
2 TBS course ground Black pepper
1/2 cup Red Wine (I like a Cabernet Sauvignon)
In a 2-3 quart pot heat the olive oil over medium heat and then add the onion, garlic and red pepper and sauté until translucent.
Drain and crush the whole tomatoes and rinse out the seeds as best you can (they will make the sauce bitter) and add to the pot with all the other ingredients except the wine
Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat and allow it to simmer for about an hour. Then add the wine and simmer for about 15 minutes more and taste.
If the flavor needs to be adjusted, do it in small steps since all the flavors need time to come together.
You can double this up and freeze it for easy cooking later in the week or month.
Oh and if you want a meat sauce, just brown about a pund of ground beef or italian sausage and add it in with the tomatoes
Have you ever tried cooking chicken in your maranara sauce? I get chicken breasts, slice in half and boil in the sauce untill they almost fall apart, then serve on penne or mostacholi (sp). Chicken Catatori. MMMMMMM
Sounds good, I have never tried it. I like the real small pennes. I have never in my life tried chicken in sauce. Someone told mr once that they used the leftover rotissery chicken they bought and add it to their spaghetti sauce. They said it is awesome.
Thanks Instinct for the recipes and the tips on smileys! B) Lets see………….You guys are wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday Night Fever fuzz!
Ooo! A Holstein kitty! S/he looks just like the Gateway computer boxes!
That’s a really unusual pattern, with the black on the underside of the legs. Cute kitty!
kitty kitty kitty of the jungle
Friend to you and me….
You have to be a Gorge of the Jungle fan for this joke
HEY! Who turned the gravity off!?!