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Gluten Free Spaghetti Pie – perfect to make ahead!

July 23, 2012 in Recipes with 4 Comments

In the summer I try to keep serious cooking to a minimum. One of the reasons I love Spaghetti Pie is the ease of preparing and the way it can be made ahead of time. You can freeze it for later, or fix it up to the baking point, pop in the refrigerator and heat it up right before dinner.

This is a recipe I found when I lived in South Carolina. It is a cross between Spaghetti and Lasagna. Fancier than Spaghetti and easier than Lasagna. I have continued to adapt the recipe over the past few years in order to accommodate eating restrictions. I have grown to love the many varieties of gluten free pasta products, in this one I used rice pasta. If you are not watching gluten, feel free to substitute regular pasta. Follow directions on the package for cooking.

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces linguini (I prefer thin spaghetti pasta)
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Eggs, beaten
1 pound Ground Turkey (ground chicken or beef can be substituted)
1 large jar Spaghetti Sauce (or make your own)
1 cup Cottage Cheese or Ricotta Cheese
2/3 cup grated Mozzarella Cheese

DIRECTIONS
-Cook pasta. Drain and put back in pot. Add butter and stir. Add beaten eggs and Parmesan Cheese. Pour mixture into a greased pie plate (9-10 inch). Using the back of a spoon, push the noodles up the side of the pie dish, to form a crust. Set aside.
-Spread the cottage cheese over the crust. Push out almost to the edge of the noodles.
-Add meat to Spaghetti Sauce and stir til heated. You may also add fresh mushrooms, chopped onions or peppers. Pour sauce over the cottage cheese and spread out to the edges.
-At this point the pie can be frozen, refrigerated or put in the oven to serve immediately.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. The sauce will start bubbling.
-Remove from oven, cover with grated mozzarella. Put back in the oven and bake til the cheese melts (5 minutes).
Serves 5-6.

This recipe can also be doubled. Make two pies and freeze one. I have also used the small 4-5 inch pyrex pie plates and served individual pies. This is perfect for a family that has one gluten free person.

What’s your favorite ‘Fix Ahead’ or ‘Get out of the Kitchen Quick’ recipe? Link up your recipe/site in the comments!

Rizzoli and Isles Season 2 DVD available May 22

May 15, 2012 in Life, Recipes with 0 Comments

I love a good cop show! I love shows with intriguing interpersonal relationships and I love a show that has STRONG female leads. Soooo, naturally I love Rizzoli and Isles. Strong females, lots of great friendship dialogue and a good mystery in every show. Maura (Shasha Alexandra) and Jane (Angie Harmon) are the perfect duo and are perfect for each other.

After a few shows I was hooked. I couldn’t wait to see how Rizzoli’s family would get involved in the next mystery or would she find the right man? Would they be able to deal with their differences as they join together to battle the odds of the latest mystery/murder/mayhem?

One of the memorable episodes was Seventeen Ain’t So Sweet. Jane decides to take Maura to her high school reunion and while there, the two are called on to solve a series of murders–and all leads point to fellow students as the prime suspects. Jane has to come to terms with her past and she is able to use those past experiences to help her solve the mystery/case. Of course, the story line based on the works of Tess Gerritsen, helps all of us learn a lesson. There have been a few times when my past has helped me get through a hard situation.

Once when I was in high school, I went on a cross-country trip with a busload of friends. For some reason I thought that listening to a friend and following along after her was more important than listening to our leader. Peer pressure, thinking she was better than me, I could go on and on. I followed sheepishly and we missed getting on the bus after a lunch break. Imagine the horror! I was in the middle of downtown Colorado Springs and had no clue what to do! Without a cell phone and without a point of reference, we were able to catch a cab and meet our group at the next stop, a few miles away. Later, I found myself in a similar situation, only this time I was a leader on a long bus trip. Instead of ‘hoping’ everyone would check their watch and get back in time….I remembered my torturous 2 hours as a 16-year-old and never left from a stop without first counting to make sure everyone was back. I wanted to make sure that no one was lead astray in an unknown city. Not as dramatic as the life lessons and memories that Jane had to relive, but a lesson learned nonetheless. Going to a reunion is not as fun as it seems. Jane has to face some old memories, relive peer pressure, face down the ‘cool’ kid factor and solve the case. I’m not a fan of reunions, especially seeing all she had to face!

If you are a fan of Rizzoli and Isles, good news! The Season 2 DVD is available for pre-order here: http://bit.ly/ISlEkF (5/22)

Be sure to get your Season 2 and rewatch it before the Season 3 premiere on June 5th 9/8C on TNT.

Disclosure: I have been hired by Warner Bros. WBWord division to promote Rizzoli & Isles Season Tw0 on DVD.

Rainbow Explosion Cookies #SaturdaySavors

April 15, 2012 in Recipes with 4 Comments

Are you a ‘Pinner’? I love to explore all the many Pinterest boards out there. Sometimes I repin, sometimes I bookmark a pin so I can try it later…..and today is one of those days!

I have pinned lots of rainbow food items. I am fascinated with what people do with food coloring!! My nephew spent the weekend with me and I love doing fun food crafts with him, so I checked my boards and picked the Rainbow Pinwheel Cookies. Now please, don’t look at their picture yet…… Here’s the truth, I am not a chef or a baker. I have a nice camera, but usually only use the program setting. With all that in mind, I set out to show how a ‘normal’ pinner might make these cookies!

So, here’s what you need-

Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix package (I used two–I was very energetic). Food Coloring. Cookie Sprinkles.

After making the cookies according to the package (add a Tablespoon of flour since you will be handling the dough a lot) I separated the dough into 5 bowls.

Next add some food coloring. I used what I had on hand–which was McCormick Neon 4 colors and I added yellow as the 5th shade. Mixing in the color was interesting – not fun! I added 10 drops per bowl. Mix with spoon and then hands to get the color distributed. I put in the refrigerator to cool the dough before we started rolling. Next time I may put into plastic bags and mash the color in that way.

Make grape size balls of each color. Then roll 5 balls together. Don’t roll too much. It should look like a cool beach ball. My helper enjoyed this part the most.

The next step is to roll the ball into a snake onto a lightly floured counter. This is a difficult part for younger helpers. But, this was a project we were doing together–and we enjoyed every part of it! Take the ‘snake’ and coil it into a circle. Twist the coil as you roll to swirl the colors. The final step is to dip the ends into fun cookie sprinkles.

Bake for 10-14 minutes (depending on how large your small grapes become as you grow weary of making beach balls, snakes and coils )

The results were delicious and oh so beautiful! The finished cookies got the exact response I was hoping for, “They look a lot like rainbows!’ So here is a picture of our finished project. Thanks for the helping hands Garon!

Now go check out how the experts made this recipe!

Krispy Chocolate Dipped Eggs for Easter

April 7, 2012 in Recipes with 2 Comments

Have any old plastic Easter Eggs around your house? There are two fun pins I found for them.

First, a fun Easter snake out of old plastic Easter egg halves. Such a cute idea. Thanks Mom to 3 Blessings for this fun kids craft.

The second one is from Better Homes and Garden and this is the one I made today!

It is so easy to make these delicious eggs.

Melt 1 cup butter and 1 bag of marshmallows in the microwave. I used mini mallows so they melted quicker. Stir frequently.

Add in 4 cups of Rice Krispie treats. I used gluten-free so all my friends could enjoy!

Once combined, put a few spoonfuls of the mixture into each side of the greased plastic egg. Push together tightly.

I found that the key was over stuff and then smashing! A very fun project. The more compact the treat, the better it stood up to the next step.

Once cooled, I dipped the bottom/flat end of the eggs into melted chocolate. Then I dipped them into various cake/cookie decorations. Put on a greased surface to set. Serve to lots of Oohs and Ahs!!

Dyed Deviled Eggs

April 7, 2012 in Recipes with 1 Comment

Another fun thing I found on Pinterest was this fun version of Deviled Eggs. I had to try it myself.

First, I followed the directions for the Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg from my site. I used older eggs and they were really easy to peel, except for one or two. After peeling the eggs, I cut them in half and removed the yolk.

Second, I put each half into a bowl of dyed water. I used cold water and 7 drops of food coloring. I only had neon colors on hand, so I didn’t let the eggs rest too long in the water. A friend had asked if the water bath made the eggs slimy and I am happy to report that it did not.

Third, I removed the eggs from the dye and laid them to dry on paper towels.

Fourth, I made the deviled filling.
-Smash the egg yolks til fine.
-Add 1 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons mustard, 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning. Mix thoroughly. If the mixture is not moist enough, add more mayo.

Finally, pipe the filling into the eggs. (I just use a plastic baggie with an end cut off). Sprinkle with paprika and serve.