Lemon Meringue Pie

Oh, this pie is so heavenly!  I was amazed by how many eggs it takes, but it is worth EVERY one!  This will give you some good practice seperating eggs if you haven't practiced before.  I always crack eggs into a small custard dish, then pour the egg over my hand into the whites bowl.  The whites go through my fingers, then I can set the yolk into the other bowl.  Many people rock the yolk back and forth between the egg shells.  I tend to break the yolk when I do it this way.

This is a time consuming recipe.  From start to finish it takes several hours.  It is so delicious though, I am willing to work and wait!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients:

            16 eggs

            4 cup sugar – divided (2 for filling 2 for meringue)

            2 cup fresh lemon juice

            1 pie crust (I like graham)

                       

1. Preheat oven to 325*F.

2. Separate yolks and whites of all 16 eggs into separate bowls.

3. Using an electric mixer get the whites started whisking for the meringue.  This will take a while to form nice high peaks. 

4. In a medium sauce pan, whisk the yolks and 2 cups of the sugar together.  Add the lemon juice and stir.

5. Heat on low and stir with a flat ended spoon or spatula until it thickens up.  Stir the entire time and keep scraping the bottom of the pan.  You want to cook the egg yolks, but not end up with scrambled eggs.  This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.  Be patient!

6. Immediately transfer the lemon mixture into the pie crust and spread evenly.

7. By now your meringue should be starting to get nice peaks.  SLOWLY add the two cups of sugar into the meringue.  It will make your peaks fall, just keep it whisking until the peaks form again.

8. Top your pie with meringue!  You will end up with extra meringue; I like to use it for meringue cookies.

9. Bake your pie at 325*F for about an hour or until the meringue has a nice golden brown top.  

Allow to cool completely before serving.

           

Scalloped Potatoes

You will notice there aren’t any real measurements in this recipe.  I love this recipe because it is so versatile for making it more or less according to your needs.  Once you have the process down, you can easily make the exact amount you want.  This recipe is for a 9x13 baking pan.  After my family of six eats with this as a side dish, I usually have one small serving left.

As usual, this is NOT a low calorie recipe.  It is, however, amazingly good!

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

4-5 Medium potatoes

Shredded cheese (I prefer cheddar)

Flour

Pepper

1 quart whipping cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F

You are going to start by peeling, washing, and slicing the potatoes.  If you are adjusting the recipe size, prep the potatoes as you fill the pan so you don’t waste them.  Be sure to slice the potatoes consistently nice and thin, this will ensure even cooking.

In a greased 9x13 baking dish place a layer of the potato slices, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. 

Sprinkle the potato slices with your shredded cheese.  We like a lot of cheese, so I pretty much cover the potatoes.  You can use as much as you like. 

Sprinkle on some pepper.  Don’t use to much, you will be doing this on every layer.

Now sprinkle a bit of flour on there.  This is what helps the sauce to thicken as it cooks.  I usually just “eyeball” the amount.  It’s probably about two or three tablespoons on each layer.

Start over with the potatoes and work the layers again.  You should have enough room to put in three or four complete layers.

Once your pan is full of potato and cheesy goodness, pour the quart of whipping cream on.  Yep, I said the entire quart!  You want to fill the pan right up to the edge with the cream.  Because the pan is so full, you will probably want to put a lined cookie sheet under the pan, it may spill at bit once it starts bubbling.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350*F for an hour.

Uncover and raise the temperature on the oven to 400*F, bake until the cheese on top is a nice dark brown.  Probably about another hour.

Lasagna from scratch!

Lasagna

This is not a quick dinner.  It has a lot of prep work, but it is oh so worth it!  I wrote this recipe in a different format.  I wrote down everything as I did it.  If you gather all of your ingredients, you should be able to work your way through the recipe and end with a fantastic lasagna!

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 eggs

2 cups broccoli

1 small zucchini

¼ pound sliced mushrooms

1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

2 pounds ground beef

½ onion

3 cloves garlic

1 pound mozzarella

½ pound Romano

½ pound parmesan (plus more for topping)

6 lasagna noodles

In separate bowl mix…

2 cups fresh spinach chopped

2 cups ricotta cheese (the smaller container is just under this amount, I use that)

2 eggs

Prep the Vegetables…

2 cups chopped broccoli

1 small zucchini sliced thinly

1/4 pound sliced mushrooms

1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)

Make the Sauce…

2 pounds ground beef

½ onion chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 jar of your favorite sauce

Brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic together in a deep frying pan.  Mix in the sauce and remove from the heat.

Cheeses all shredded…

1 pound mozzarella

½ pound Romano

½ pound parmesan (plus more for topping)

Cook 6 lasagna noodles for 12 minutes.  Remove from water to cookie cooling rack.

Assemble…

In a 10.5in x 11.75in x 2in baking pan pour just enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom.  Add remaining tomato sauce into the meat sauce.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. 

Lay in 3 noodles spread evenly in pan.

Lay in a layer of mushrooms

Lay in the spinach and ricotta cheese mixture

Lay in a layer of zucchini slices

Lay in a layer of meat sauce

Cover in Romano cheese

Lay in 3 noodles spread evenly in pan

Lay in a layer of chopped broccoli

Lay in a layer of remaining meat sauce

Lay in a layer of remaining mozzarella cheese

Layer with parmesan cheese

Bake at 425* for approximately an hour or until bubbly and lightly browned on top.  Let cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving.  Top with extra parmesan cheese.

Breakfast Cookies!

These are lovely moist cookies that make for a healthy quick breakfast.  They were a huge hit will all the children in the household.

This is my inspiration for this recipe.  I didn't have any applesauce on hand, but I did have plenty of frozen mashed bananas.  None of my children will eat raisins, so I put in chocolate chips instead.

My version is this...

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
2 C uncooked rolled oats
2 C mashed banana
1/4 C whole milk
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinamon
2 tsp sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350*F.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Let the ingredients sit for about five minutes so the oats soak up some of the moisture.
Spoon the mixture onto a greased cookie sheet.  You can put them pretty close to each other.  The cookie will not spread out as it cooks and will keep the shape you put them in.
Bake for 18 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before you eat.

One batch makes approximately 24 small cookies.

I'm thinking these would freeze very well, though we don't have any left after four kids ran through the kitchen a few times.

Crepes Sleepover Brunch

I just made the most scrumptious brunch for after a sleepover.  Quite filling and decadent for the morning after a sleepover.  A double batch of the crepes, a single batch of the berry sauce, and a single batch of the cream cheese filling was enough to feed 5 children and 3 adults.  With just two crepes leftover.

Crepes

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 stick frozen butter

Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl, add the milk and continue to beat to mix.  Add flour, stir until mixed evenly.
The pan needs to be heated to a medium heat before you start cooking.  I don't use nonstick pans, the following instructions assume this.  Use the frozen butter to grease the pan, pour in 1/4 cup of the crepe mixture.  You will need to pick up the pan and swirl the crepe batter a bit to spread it out.
Watch the crepe closely, it is ready to flip when the top looks dry.  Flip and cook on the other side for just a bit of time (1 minute maybe).  You will not be able to walk away from the crepes, they cook quickly!
Fill with cream cheese mixture if desired.  Roll and top with berry sauce.
A single batch will make approximately 12 crepes.

Berry Sauce
I used the homemade cranberry sauce recipe.  I just did 2 cups cranberries and 2 cups blackberries for the crepe topping.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce:
Ingredients:
‎1 Cup water
1 Cup sugar
4 Cups Fresh Cranberries.

Directions:Put in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for apx 10 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool. It will thicken as it cools.

Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients
1 package cream cheese (8oz)
approximately 1 cup whipped cream topping

Directions:
Put the cream cheese and the whipped topping in a 1 gallon ziplock bag.  Squeeze as much of the air out as possible.  Squish the cream cheese and the topping together until combined.  Squish all the mixture to the bottom of the bag.  Snip the corner of the bag and use as a pastry bag to fill the crepes.
This makes just enough to fill approximately 10 crepes.  My children do not like this filling, so I only used it for the adults.

Cranberry Oatmeal Bars

I found this recipe scratched on a piece of paper and shoved into an old cookbook.  I have no idea where it came from or who to give credit to.  It was fantastic though!

Cranberry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 can whole cranberry sauce (I used my home made sauce, recipe below)

Directions:
Mix oats, flour, and brown sugar in bowl.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Put half of mixture into a well greased 8x12 baking dish.  Cover with cranberry sauce.  Put remaining mixture on top of cranberry sauce.  Bake at 350*F for approximately 45 minutes or until top is nice golden brown.  I baked it for 55 minutes and it could have used a couple more minutes, so perhaps an hour?
Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan.  Cut into squares and serve.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce:

Ingredients:
‎1 Cup water
1 Cup sugar
4 Cups Fresh Cranberries.

Directions:
Put in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for apx 10 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool. It will thicken as it cools.

Turkey Ala King!

Turkey Ala King is a wonderful comfort food.  Rich and creamy, a perfect use for leftover turkey or chicken. 

Ingredients:

4 or 5 mushrooms sliced (more if you love them, less if you don’t)

2 stalks of celery chopped

½ cup chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic minced

½ cup butter (1 stick)

½ cup flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups half and half (you can use milk)

Approximately 2 cups cooked turkey (or chicken) cut into bite size pieces

1.      Melt butter in a deep fry pan over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms, celery, onion, and garlic.  Stir and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is transparent.

2.      Stir in flour.  This will be goopy, keep it moving in the pan for about a minute.

3.      Add chicken broth and half and half.  Stir constantly until bubbly.  Keep stirring, while bubbly until it starts to thicken.

4.      Add turkey.  Keep stirring until turkey is heated through.

5.      Salt and pepper to taste.

6.      Serve over fresh biscuits or toast.