(no subject)

[nverland]

Summer Pasta Bake

Ingredients
1 16 oz pkg penne pasta, cooked and drained
2 T olive oil
1 lb ground beef
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3 bell peppers-red, green, yellow (or orange), chopped
1 can Hunt's sausage spaghetti sauce
1 container ricotta cheese
1 8 oz bag or more Italian cheese shredded mix
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oven to 350. Grease casserole dish with olive oil. Brown beef and drain. Add garlic, peppers, salt and pepper, cooking until peppers begin to soften. Add spaghetti sauce. Place a layer of beef mixture in bottom of casserole, cover with a layer of pasta, and a layer of cheese. Continue adding layers of beef, pasta and cheese with cheese being last layer. Bake about 20 minutes.




Cookies 3 –


Butterscotch Brownies
Yield: 16 brownies

1/4 cup shortening, really soft
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup M&M’s
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix shortening, sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients except M&M’s and white chocolate chips. Put mixture in a greased 8x8x2 pan. Top with M&M's and white chocolate chips. Bake 25 minutes. Cut into two-inch squares.
Tip
“If using self-rising flour, omit baking soda and salt. You can substitute and/or add nuts for white chocolate chips, M&M’s with nuts for plain M&M’s, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, etc. Use your own preferences.”



Mountain Sheep Nut Horn Cookies
Yield: About 4 dozen

Dough:
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 pound butter or margarine
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream

Filling:

1 pound walnuts, ground
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites

Mix dough and refrigerate until cool. Cut into four sections. Roll each section into a circle and cut into wedges like a pie. The more wedges you make, the smaller the nut horns.
Put filling on the large end of each wedge and roll closed. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar.



Mint Melts
Yield: 4 1/2 dozen

1/4 cup margarine, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups mini pastel mint chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream margarine and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, beating well. Add eggs and beat to mix. Combine the dry ingredients; add slowly, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla (dough will be stiff). With a spoon, stir in the mint chips.
Form the dough into 1-inch balls.
Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet two inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake about eight minutes, until edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet one to two minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cookies will flatten, and tops will crack as they cool.



Lemon Gumdrop Cookies
Yield: 30 cookies

2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup shortening
1 package lemon cake mix
2 cups gumdrops, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Beat eggs with sugar, vanilla and half of the cake mix until smooth. Stir in remaining cake mix and add gumdrops. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Cool and serve.
Tips
1. “They’re easy to make, except for cutting up the gumdrops, which poses some problem. It helps to have a saucer of loose sugar to dip the cut pieces of candy in.”
2. “As with all cookies, in my opinion, these should be removed from the oven a little on the undone side so that they cool into a chewy product.”



Anise-Almond Biscotti
Yield: 5 dozen

4 tablespoons margarine, softened
3/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 egg whites
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons crushed anise seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whole blanched almonds

Using electric beaters, combine margarine, sugar, eggs and egg whites until smooth. Mix together flour, anise seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt and gradually fold into margarine mixture. Stir in almonds. Form dough on greased baking sheets into four slightly flattened rolls, 1› inches in diameter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Let rest on wire racks until cool. Slice into 1/2-inch thick bars. Lay slices, cut-side down, on an ungreased baking sheet and bake again at 350 degrees for seven to 10 minutes per
side, until golden. Let cool.



Fruitcake Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 packages (8-ounce size) pitted dates, coarsely chopped
2 jars (4-ounce size) candied pineapple, finely chopped
1 cup candied cherries, quartered
1 can (3 ounce size) toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
1 cup toasted brazil nuts, coarsely chopped. (See Note.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift flour with baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and eggs at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Stir in flour mixture until well combined. Add fruits and nuts, mixing well.
Drop level tablespoons, two inches apart, on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake eight to 10 minutes or until golden-brown. Let stand one minute before placing on wire rack to cool.

Note:
To toast brazil nuts, cover shelled nuts with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer three minutes. Drain well. Place in shallow pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.





And that's the end of our recipes, for now anyway. Glad you enjoyed, hope there were some good ones in there.

Seems my planning was off and I have an overlapping date today, so the next theme will start later today.