What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

Thank heaven for the Internet and recipe reviews!  They can pretty much ensure that the recipe that “sounds good” or “looks pretty” will actually be worth eating!  I shared with you here, the fiasco I had as a new wife when the recipe for Lasagna broccoli Roll-ups was a complete failure!  If I had had the luxury back then of a review of my recipe, I might not have had the disaster all those years ago! 

When I told my husband Saturday night that we were having Sausage Lasagna Roll-ups, I’m sure his stomach heart grew a bit weak!  However, he didn’t know that the review on-line was a 5 star one!  Yes, technology changes lots of things – even cooking!  I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious this recipe really was!  It’s a nice change from regular lasagna, and when cooking for just a small number, it’s nice not having a whole pan of pasta leftover.  This recipe can be completely made ahead of time – it would even freeze well before baking.  I just put it in the oven before church and used the Time Bake feature.  It was perfect when we got home.

Ingredients

•3 lasagna noodles – *I used 4

•3/4 cup ricotta cheese – *1 Cup cottage cheese

•1/2 teaspoon minced chives

•1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

•1/2 teaspoon dried basil

•24 slices pepperoni – *1/2 lb. Sweet Italian turkey sausage, cooked and crumbled

•3 slices Swiss cheese, cut into thirds – *Mozzarella Cheese

•1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce

•1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

•Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Combine the ricotta cheese, chives, oregano and basil; spread 1/4 cup over each noodle to within 1/2 in. of edges. Top with pepperoni and Swiss cheese; carefully roll up.

• Place seam side down in a greased shallow 1-qt. baking dish; top with spaghetti sauce. Cover and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 3 servings.

Citrus Tossed Salad – (Taste of Home) This was really good!

Torn greens
Mandarin Orange
apple, chopped
pecans, toasted

Dressing:
1/2 C unsweetened apple juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 T sugar
1 T olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon – The cinnamon won’t incorporate very well into the dressing, but don’t worry, it will splash onto the apples and make them yummy!

Combine the greens, fruits and pecans on salad plates.  Drizzle with dressing just before serving.

I must confess that the dessert was made by a friend at church who is a terrific cook!  I looked on-line and found this recipe. . .it has to be the same thing!  Oh, my goodness!  Pumpkin pie will take a back seat with this dessert around!

Pumpkin Crunch Cake
14 ounce(s) can evaporated milk

1 cup(s) chopped walnuts

3 eggs

1 cup(s) melted margarine

4 teaspoon(s) pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt

15 ounce(s) solid pumpkin

1 1/2 cup(s) sugar

1 box(es) yellow cake mix

Preparation

Mix first 6 ingredients by hand.

Pour into greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Sprinkle dry cake mix (entire box) over mixture, sprinkle nuts on top. Pour melted butter over dry cake mix.


Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes (until it looks solid and nuts are browning).

Did you have any successes – or even failures at good attempts in your kitchen this week?


From my parsonage kitchen,