Catching Up: Easter Recipes

Last weekend, we spent Easter with some very good friends here in Stuttgart.  It had been a while since I'd whipped up anything homemade in the kitchen; even then, I wasn't trying to kill myself.  You guys know how I love to keep things simple!

I was asked by the hostess to help her out by bringing a few dishes. Naturally, I agreed to do a side dish as well as a dessert. 

I wanted to do a side dish that I thought would go well with the ham that we were going to have.  The hostess already told me that she was going to have a salad as well as some sweet potatoes.  So I went with a green bean casserole...only this recipe was kicked up a notch.  I didn't think it would be noticeable.  I mean, it's green bean casserole, after all.  However, it was a hit.  Even I thoroughly enjoyed it and intend to make every green bean casserole this way from now on.

~Classy Green Bean Casserole~

{via allrecipes.com}

3 (14.5 ounce) cans French cut green beans, drained

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup coarsely crushed buttery round crackers

2 tablespoon butter, melted

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.In a medium bowl, mix together the green beans, sour cream, condensed soup, salt and pepper. Spoon into a 2 quart casserole dish. Stir melted butter into the crushed crackers, then sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

3.Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned and bubbly.

For dessert, I wanted to have something light and I knew that I wanted to use strawberries.  Enter Kraft Foods' Strawberry Pretzel Squares recipe.  It's similar to a recipe that my cousin always makes back home, only this one incorporates fresh strawberries and a pretzel crust.  I love that sweet and salty combination!  Because we had so many desserts that evening, including a fabulous carrot cake that the hostess made, I had tons leftover (although I was told it was delicious).  No problem though, because I took it to work the next day and it was polished off in no time.  I am definitely making this one again too!

~Strawberry Pretzel Squares~

{via kraftfoods.com}

2 cups finely crushed pretzels

1/2 cup sugar, divided

2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1-1/2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. milk

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

2 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (6 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin

1-1/2 cups cold water

4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

HEAT oven to 350°F.

1.  Mix pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 min. Cool.

2.  Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar and milk until blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over crust. Refrigerate.

3.  Add boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression).

4.  Stir berries into gelatin; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

Enjoy!

Now I'm off to find the perfect Cinco de Mayo recipe for a potluck we're having at work.  Any ideas out there?

Bowties with Ham & Sweet Potato Spice Cookies

My friend, Laura, had her baby shower yesterday afternoon.  She hits her 36th week today and is having her second little boy!

The baby shower was a potluck, so I decided to bring both a main dish and a dessert.

Pasta casseroles are one of my favorite things to whip up for parties.  One, I'm a huge pasta fan.  You can't go wrong with it.  Just about everyone eats it!  This particular dish was so simple to throw together.  The asparagus gives it a delicious crunch, the sundried tomatoes kinda give it a nice hint of sweetness and the melted havarti cheese just really brings it all together very nicely.  It's simply called Bow-Ties with Ham, and I got both the recipe and this picture (below) from Pillsbury.

Bow-Ties with Ham

by Pillsbury

3 cups uncooked bow-tie (farfalle) pasta

1 jar (16 oz) Alfredo pasta sauce

10 medium asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes in oil and herbs (drained and chopped)

1 cup diced cooked ham

1 cup shredded Havarti cheese (4 oz)

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.  Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

2.  Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat Alfredo sauce over medium heat, stirring frequently, until hot.  Gently stir in cooked pasta, asparagus, tomatoes and ham.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese.  Pour into casserole.

3.  Cover; bake 35 to 45 minutes or until bubbly.  Top with remaining cheese.

I just love the fall.  I do a lot more baking at this time of the year because of the holidays and I love the aroma of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin spice to completely saturate the house.  I found this recipe for Sweet Potato Spice Cookies in a Taste of Home Cookies & Bars book that I bought years ago.  Oh my goodness, the flavors in this cookie just meld so well together.  You've got sweet potatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg...and butterscotch chips, coconut and pecans to give it a nice crunch.  They were wonderful!  The kids especially loved them.  Even my husband gave it a rave review!  I am definitely going to make these again.

Sweet Potato Spice Cookies

Yield: 7 Dozen

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup finely shredded uncooked sweet potato

3 Tbsp orange juice concentrate

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1-1/4 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1.  In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg, sweet potato, and orange juice concentrate.  Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.

2.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until firm.  Remove to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!

Pasta a la Vodka Casserole

I didn't have a chance to make this week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe, but earlier this week my friend Anna and I whipped up some Pasta a la Vodka Casserole. The recipe was borrowed again, from my friend Melissa's blog, Love at First Bite , and is really named Penne a la Vodka Casserole. However, we didn't have any penne on hand, and just used a mixture of different kinds of pasta, hence the Pasta a la Vodka Casserole. We were both so excited about making this recipe. She's Italian and I love, love, LOVE Italian food! Plus, Anna had taken a peek at Melissa's blog through mine and called to tell me that she wanted to make it. So we did, and let me tell you, it is wonderful! Can't you tell? Even Anna's dog, Howard, was itching for a taste. Isn't he cute?

Although preparing the dish took a long time, it was all worth it. Everything worked out really well. I had about half the ingredients and Anna had the rest, including the main ingredient--the vodka! The recipe calls for both hot and sweet Italian sausage, but I was only able to find sweet Italian turkey sausage, as seen below. I tend to prefer sweet over spicy anyway.

Here, we sauted the sausage and about 4 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions together. We added about two cloves of garlic to this mixture and the aroma was just so invigorating!

Here, we later added whole tomatoes and heavy cream and the resulting sauce was mixed with our pasta. We had enough of the pasta mixture to fill the entire baking dish and then some. So we were each able to help ourselves to a serving. The pasta mixture could very well be served without baking it. I actually preferred the unbaked pasta to the baked version, but you find out which version works for you!

The baked pasta came out looking like this....cheese all bubbly and just downright yummy! Again, the dish took a while to prepare--about 40 minutes to make the sauce and then the same amount of time to bake. But you will find that it was time well spent! Here is the recipe below, which Melissa adapted from Emeril. And thanks again Melissa for another great recipe!

Penne A La Vodka Casserole

(recipe adapted from Emeril)

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices

1 lb. hot Italian sausage, cut crosswise into 1-inch slices

4 cups thinly sliced onions

1 and 3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup vodka

Two 16-oz. cans whole tomatoes, crushed in their juices

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 pound penne pasta

15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

1 and 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

1. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over high heat. Add the sausages and cook, stirring, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, 3/4 tsp. salt, and the black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are just soft, about 4 minutes. Add the basil and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the vodka and tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. Add the garlic powder and heavy cream, stir to mix, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. To cook the pasta, combine 4 quarts water, the olive oil, and the remaining tsp. salt in a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain well. Combine half of the ricotta cheese and half of the Parmesan-Reggiano with the remining 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the pasta and toss to coat evenly. Add the sausage mixture and mix well. Add the remaining ricotta cheese and the remaining Parmesan-Reggiano and mix well.
3. Transfer the mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Bake until bubbly and golden, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Delicious! Just you wait and see!