Lasagna Recipe

I made lasagna for lunch at Church and had 2 requests for the recipe so I thought someone else might enjoy it too!

Easy Lasagna-

1#ground beef
3 1/2c (32oz jar) thick spaghetti sauce
1 1/2c water
2c (15-16oz) ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
2c (8oz) shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
1/2c grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/4c chopped parley ( I use dried)
1 tsp salt
1/4tsp pepper
8 oz lasagna noodles uncooked

Brown beef in a 3qt sauce pan; drain off excess fat. Add sauce and water; simmer about 10 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients, except lasagna noodles, for filling. Pour about 1c sauce in a 9x13x2 dish. Layer 3 pieces of uncooked lasagna over sauce; cover with about 1 1/2c sauce. Spread 1/2 of cheese filling over sauce; repeat layers of lasagna, sauce and cheese filling. top with layer of lasagna and remaining sauce. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes. Remove foil bake about 10 minutes longer. Allow to stand about 10 minutes before cutting for easier handling. 8-10 servings.
The lasagna will expand to fill empty spaces.

This freezes and reheats very nicely !!!

It's Snowing! Nope it's cotton picking time in the South

This time of year the cotton fields are ready to be harvested. I like to refer to the cotton as " Southern Snow". When it is harvested little bits of cotton fly around in the wind and get scattered along the roadways much like snow flurries up North.

The cotton boll(pronounced bowl) is a pretty sight but although I have never picked cotton I have been assured it is not a pleasant task. The bolls have very sharp thorns or edges.


Picking cotton now is all by machine. There is the harvester, and when it gets full it dumps its load into what I call a tamper( I don't know what it really is called) which tamps the cotton down real hard. When the 'tamper' is full it raises up and leaves a 'brick' of tamped cotton behind.

The farmers cover the cotton to keep it dry until a special truck comes by to carry it off to the cotton gin. At the cotton gin the cotton seeds are removed.









Cotton seeds have many uses- they are pressed for cotton seed oil, ground into meal for use as a soil amendment and of course some are saved for next years crop. 

Turkey Stock

Every 1st Sunday our Church eats together after morning services. Last week the ladies were trying to decide what we would have and it was suggested that we would do a "Thanksgiving Meal". It was that and so much more! I volunteered to bake the bird. I bought a 24# bird! No pictures, well you all have seen what a cooked turkey looks like right.
Anyway, I brought home the leftover meat for pot pies and sandwiches and the bones to make turkey stock.

This is how to make turkey stock: Put all the bones in a large crock pot and cover with water and add 1/4 c vinegar( that's so you get calcium from the bones), and cook on low all night. Or you could use whatever pot you have that the bones will fit in cover with water, cover and simmer on low - med low for about 4 hours, watch the water level and add more water if the bones are not covered.  

This is my 8.5 qt crock pot full of the bones and water

In the morning let cool slightly and strain, pick out any good meat. You can then put the stock in the refrig and when it gets cold the fat will be on the top and you can remove it. Heat the stock to boiling and then pour the hot  broth into quart canning jars and pressure can at 10# for 25min, if you want to can in pints just pressure can at 10# for 20minutes. I've canned ham, chicken and beef stock the same way, always better than store bought.
This stock can also be frozen.

Canned Stock

Sausage and Creamed Potatoes

Sausage and Creamed Potaotes

Made this recipe last night, yummy. Just click on the name and it will take you the blog with all the pretty pictures and directions.

Winding Down the Summer

In May I posted my summer garden pictures so I felt it fitting to post some of the garden pictures for the end of summer. I have 4 heirloom pumkins yet to pick and am anxiously waiting for the citrus to ripen before a hard frost hits. Hubby has graciously tilled my small fall garden plot for me, usually I plant several garden areas for fall but we plan on starting to build our dream home in January. The other areas will either under the foundation or will be trampled by busy builders.

                                    

 The fuzzy stuff is stevia seeds getting ready to fly off the their new home.

Hamburger Soup

It's cool outside and time for soup! Today it is Hamburger Soup, it is comfort food. I've been making this soup for years starting with 1 1/2# of hamburger. Here is the recipe :
Brown:
1 1/2# of hamburger in a stew pot(dutch oven for those in the know), drain
Add:
1c of chopped onion
1c chopped celery
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced,about 1c
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed,about 1c
28 oz can or jar of tomatoes plus juice
2tsp salt
1/4-1/2tsp ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1/8tsp dried basil leaves
3c water

Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer just until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Now you can get creative with this soup, today I added a handful of chopped spinach, 1/2c of field peas, 1tsp of pureed garlic, fresh ground pepper and Italian seasoning to taste and some leftover cubes of sweet potato. Yummy!!!!

Play Dough

I've made this play dough many times for the nephews with great play reviews.

Play Dough- No cook
1 cup flour- any kind of plain flour, not self rising
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp food color- experiment with mixing colors, the new neon ones are fun.
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

In a small mixing bowl add the flour. In a measuring cup mix water, food coloring and oil, add to flour in mixing bowl. This will be very messy and sticky not very good for the kiddos to get into. Mix with a spoon or your hands, the hands work better for this. Keep mixing and kneading until it reaches the consistency of play dough, will take maybe two minutes. If the play dough seems sticky add a little more flour. I haven't tried doubling or tripling this since each nephew wants a different color. This play dough keeps up to a week if refrigerated in a baggy or other sealed container. Don't try to dry any "creations" the oil in the play dough will prevent it from getting hard enough.

Enjoy-Viki