Spaghetti Pie.

"This is the best spaghetti I have ever had" Gary told me just moments ago. I think that says it all. Cook and enjoy!!

Spaghetti Pie

8 oz. dried spaghetti

1 tablespoon butter

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup freshley grated parmesan cheese

1 lb pork sausage

1 tablespoon garlic powder (or to taste)

1 quart of tomato sauce (or about that much - i used the second to last jar of sauce that i canned last summer)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup mozzarella (and/or garlic mozzarella) cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Return cooked spaghetti to warm saucepan. Stir in butter, egg, and parmesan cheese. Stir until butter is melted. Set aside.

Cook ground pork mixed with garlic. Stir in tomato sauce and oregano. Heat through.

Coat a 9 inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Press spaghetti mixture on the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate to form a crust. Spread cottage cheese on the top and up the sides of the pasta crust. Spread meat mixture over that and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree over for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. To serve, cut into wedges.

Alfredo Recipes

Wednesday night for our dinner group, I made two different alfredos. I cheated a little bit in the fact that I bought jars of alfredo sauce rather than making my own, but in my defense, I was cooking for 10 people, some of which are vegetarians and others of which are picky. :) Everyone told me it was very good, but they've said that about most everything I made so I'm beginning to wonder if they are just being polite. :) So, without further ado, here they are:

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

5 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground pepper (I use the McCormick Peppercorn Grinders)
Italian Seasoning (McCormick Grinder, again)
1 bag frozen broccoli (fresh would be even better)
1 box fettuccine noodles
1 1/2 jar alfredo sauce
a splash of milk (helped to rinse out alfredo jar)

Cook chicken in olive oil. Add pepper and italian seasoning. Once chicken is fully cooked, add broccoli. After broccoli is no longer frozen, stir in alfredo sauce. To clean out jar, add a little milk and shake and add to chicken also. Prepare noodles and toss the two together. Serve immediately.
Vegetable Alfredo

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 red pepper, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
5-10 mushrooms, sliced
1 - 2 handfuls of fresh spinach
Freshly ground pepper
Italian Seasoning
1 /2 jar alfredo sauce (1 jar was a mushroom alfredo)
splash of milk (to rinse jar)
1 box fettuccine noodles


Saute vegetables in olive oil with pepper and italian seasoning until tender. Add sauce and let simmer. Cook noodles according to box. Combine with sauce and serve immediately. Enjoy! :)

Mint Ice Cream Cake

With the extremely hot weather we've been having lately, I decided to attempt an ice cream cake for our dinner group. I was a little leery to do so because I'm a HUGE fan of Dairy Queen ice cream cakes and I just wasn't sure if this would measure up. But... according to all but one review it did! The reviewer who didn't agree didn't necessarily disagree... Lucas just told me that because it was mint it was hard to compare because we haven't had a mint one from Dairy Queen. So, the next attempt will be to try and beat (or tie) the original Dairy Queen ice cream cake. :)

But, for now, I will share with you the Mint Ice Cream Cake that was made up entirely by me, so... as usual... not many exact measurements. Sorry!

Ice Cream -- whatever size comes in the rectangular box shape (2 pints maybe?) I used a combination of vanilla and chocolate chip ice cream.
Creme de Menthe Syrup, about 1/3 cup or to taste -- I got this from the ice cream topping aisle.
Oreo Cookie Pie Crust
Hot Fudge, about 3/4 jar
Mint Oreos, about 1 1/2 rows, crushed

Melt the ice cream to the point it can be easily stirred and add the Creme d Menthe Syrup. Spread a layer of hot fudge on bottom of Oreo crust. Top with 1/2 the ice cream mixture. Freeze for approximately 2 hours. Remove from freezer and add a layer of crushed Mint Oreos. Top with hot fudge (do not heat up, just spread the best you can). Top with remaining ice cream and then add remaining crushed Oreos on top. Freeze 2-4 hours or preferably overnight. Serve and enjoy! ;)

Comment:
You could easily just use Mint Chip Ice Cream rather than mess with adding the syrup to vanilla ice cream. :)

Grilled Shrimp.

In an effort for minimal use of the stove during the heatwave we are experiencing we spent the weekend 'grilling out.' I was most excited to have this shrimp. I started with 2 pounds of shrimp (worked well with both pre-cooked and un-cooked shrimp) and marinated them all day.

Threw some foil down on the grill and plopped these babies on there. For the shrimp that was pre-cooked we only kept them on long enough to heat up and get a bit of grill flavor. For the shrimp that was uncooked we kept them on about 10 minutes (5 each side) - or until they are done.

Grilled Shrimp Marinate

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup lemon juice

3 cloves of garlic (minced)

2 tablespoons parsley

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon tastefully simple green tea peppercorn seasoning

So delicious, so easy, and so good!! I need to pick up some more shrimp the next time I am at the grocery store!

Strawberry Spinach Salad.

I've began picking spinach from my garden! The strawberries have not rippened yet, but I see that one of the local strawberry farms has some ready for picking. In our household that means it is time for some strawberry spinach salad!

Strawberry Spinach Salad.

1 large bowl of fresh, cleaned spinach

1 pint fresh strawberries (sliced)

1 small can mandarin oranged (drained)

Mix together and toss with dressing.

Dressing.

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon poppy seed

1/2 cup sugar

Mix well and pour over salad.

This is soooo tasty and simple and doesn't require an oven. That is a beautiful thing in our hot and humid climate!!

8 Layer Tortilla Bake

This is a meatless Mexican dish that I made for a dinner group. Everyone complimented me on how good it was, so I don't think it will let you down either. Anything with numerous layers always frightens me a little, but trust me-- this so SO easy! :)


8 Layer Tortilla Bake

8 flour tortillas, burrito size (corn tortillas could also be used)
2 cans refried beans
1 can black beans
2 cups salsa, divided
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
3 cups shredded cheese, any variety, I used mozzarella, cheddar and a Mexican cheese blend
** feel free to use more or less cheese, I didn't measure mine, so this is only an approximation of what I used**

Combine 1 cup salsa, 2 cans refried beans and garlic powder. Separately (from refried bean mixture) mix black beans, remaining salsa, diced tomato and chopped cilantro.

Use cooking spray to coat a pizza pan (or large cookie sheet, anything large enough to allow the tortilla to lay flat). Place first tortilla on pan and top with enough refried bean mixture to cover; top with cheese. Place second tortilla on top. Cover with enough black bean mixture to cover and top again with cheese. Continue layering like previous two layers until you reach the eigth tortilla. On the eight tortilla, spread the last of the refried bean mixture, top with cheese and loosely cover with tin foil.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with additional salsa and sour cream along with any other toppings of your choice. I served it with lettuce, black olives and extra tomatoes also.

I had to laugh when Lucas (my boyfriend) said, "it was really good, but it would have been better with some meat!" I laughed because it was something my dad would definitely say. So, next time I make it... I might just try adding some meat... I think it would be good with ground beef, seasoned steak or chicken. And, hopefully next time I can take a picture before it disappears!

Tastefully Simple.

If any one is in need of anything from Tastefully Simple, let me know. I am having a book party. Orders ship directly to your house! I love their garlic garlic - so good with slices potatoes made into little foil packets and put on the grill!!

Their website is www.tastefullysimple.com

Recipes coming soon. I promise!!