Baked Spaghetti

This is a perfect fall meal. It makes a ton, but it's great as leftovers! You could also just halve the recipe and make it in an 8x8 pan. From Taste of Home

These are the alterations I do:

1-1/2-2 jars of meatless spaghetti sauce

low fat cottage cheese

Ingredients 

• 1 package (16 ounces) spaghetti
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 jar (24 ounces) meatless spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 cups (16 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
• 4 cups (16 ounces) part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

• Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese and butter. Drain spaghetti; add to egg mixture and toss to coat.
• Place half of the spaghetti mixture in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with half of the cottage cheese, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers.
• Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 10 servings.

Chicken and White Bean Stew

This is one of the best White Chicken Chili recipes I have tasted. It's from Better Homes and Gardens and its for crock pot.

Ingredients
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbls. olive oil
2 jars bottled alfredo sauce
1 15 oz. can Great Northern White beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 4 oz. can diced green chile peppers, undrained
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese(optional)

Directions
1. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces(I do this while still partly frozen). Sprinkle chicken with cumin and black pepper. In a large skillet cook chicken, half at a time in hot oil over medium heat until browned. Place chicken in a 3-1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker. Stir in Alfredo sauce, beans, broth, onion, chile peppers, and garlic.

2. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high heat setting for 2 to 2-2 1/2 hours. If desired, sprinkle each serving with cheese and/or parsley.

Coconut Cream Bars with White Chocolate Cookie Crust

These are to die for!!

Cookie Crust
1 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 cups oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup white chocolate chunks

Filling & Topping
2 packages coconut cream pie pudding mix (3.9 oz.)
3 cups milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup coconut

Cookie Crust
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir until mixed well. Fold in coconut and white chocolate chunks. Press evenly into a 13xo pan. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown on the edges. Let cool.

Filling and Topping
In a large mixing bowl, beat together pudding and milk. Let chill in refrigerator. In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Stir in powdered sugar. Pour chilled pudding on cookie crust, then top with whipped cream. Sprinkle coconut over the top. Chill until ready to serve.

Super Yummy Raspberry Cheesecake bars

Super Yummy Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

1st place in the LDS Living Dessert Bar Contest

By Vida Lake: San Angelo, Texas

1 pouch sugar cookie mix (17.5 oz)

1/2 cup firm butter

2 packages softened cream cheese (8 oz. each)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg 

1 can raspberry pie filling (21 oz.)

Pour dry sugar cookie mix in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and coarse. Set aside 

1 1/2 cups of mixture to use later as topping. Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray and press the rest of mixture flat in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium until smooth. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over baked crust. Spread raspberry pie filling evenly over the cream cheese mixture. Take remaining 1 1/2 cups of unbaked crumbs and sprinkle over the top.

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees or until crumbs on top are a light, golden brown. Let it cool for 30 minutes and then chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. When firm, cut into bars.

Enjoy!

Butterscotch Nutella Bars

I love bar cookie recipes for fall. If you love Nutella as much as I do then try this recipe. It took 3rd place in the bar cookie recipe contest featured in the July/August LDS Living Magazine. It is very good! Stay tuned later this week for the 1st place bar cookie recipe!

By Sharon Leigh Painter: Aloha, Oregon

Crust:

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup softened butter

2 eggs

Filling:

1/2 cup Nutella

1 cup mini marshmallows

1/3 cup butterscotch chips

Crust: Mix sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl. Add butter to the mixture with a pastry blender. When well mixed, add eggs. Stir with spoon and then mix with hands until well incorporated. Reserve 2 cups of this crumbly crust mixture for topping. Press the remainder in a sprayed 13x9 pan and bake 10-13 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden on edges

Filling: While the crust is still hot, spoon on Nutella. Sprinkle marshmallows on top, then sprinkle on the butterscotch chips. Dust that with the reserved crust dough. Bake 10-13 minutes until marshmallows and crust are lightly browned.

Beer-Braised Beef Short Ribs

I tried this recipe and it was so good! I served it with a fruit salad, mashed potatoes(we put the left over sauce on the potatoes as gravy), and rolls.
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/beef/beer-braised-beef-short-ribs/

Make Ahead Casseroles

Sorry no photos for this one! I have been making some easy casseroles because I am so busy after school teaching piano and getting kids to their activities. It's been nice to make dinner ahead of time and then just heat it up in the oven when it's time to eat.

Ham and Cheese Casserole- this serves 8 so I cut it in half.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine - 1 stick
• 3 cups milk
• 4 cups ham - chopped
• 5 cups potatoes - thinly sliced
• 3 cups cheese - cheddar, shredded
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 green bell pepper - chopped

Preparation:

Mix flour, pepper, and salt (omit salt if you think ham and cheese are salty enough, I do). Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour mixture. Cook over medium heat for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Return to heat and cook until thick.

In a very large bowl, mix remaining ingredients with sauce. Bake in covered casserole dish(es). Bake in 350 F. oven for 90 minutes. Remove cover after first 30 minutes.
Let cool 15 minutes before serving. It's even better as leftovers.
To reduce clean-up, I suppose the sauce could be started in a stockpot, and then everything combined in that before putting it in casserole dishes. 

Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soft cream cheese
• 4 6-inch corn tortillas
• 3/4 pound ground beef or pork
• 8 ounces can stewed tomatoes
• 4 ounces can diced green chile peppers
• 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, mild
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese, Mexican style

Preparation:

Spread about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese onto each tortilla; fold tortillas in half. Set aside.

In a 1 1/2 quart microwaveable casserole dish, crumble the ground beef or pork. Microwave, covered, on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 minutes, until no pink remains, stirring once. Drain off fat.

Stir in undrained tomatoes, undrained chilis, enchilada sauce, and cumin. Cook, covered, on high for 5 to 7 minutes or until heated through. Spoon about three quarters of the meat mixture into a 2-quart microwave safe baking dish. Arrange folded tortillas on top of the meat mixture. Spoon remaining meat and tomato mixture over the tortillas.

Cover with wax paper and cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Serves 4.