Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks

from The Pioneer Woman Website

Ingredients

* 12 ounces, weight Pasta, Cooked Al Dente (my box of Farfalle was 16 ounces, so I upped all the amounts)
* Reserved Pasta Water, If Needed (a mug-full)
* 3 ounces, weight Chopped Pancetta (6 slices thick cut bacon)
* 3 whole Leeks, Sliced Thin (1 very large Vidalia onion, small chop)
* 1 Tablespoon Butter
* ½ cups Dry White Wine (3/4 cups chicken stock)
* ½ cups Heavy Cream (3/4 cup)
* Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
* Parmesan Cheese, Shaved (instead I finely grated at least 1/2 cup, maybe 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus some large grated for anyone to sprinkle on top)

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Saute chopped pancetta (bacon) until fat is rendered and it starts to brown. Add sliced leeks (onions) and cook for 8 minutes. When you add the leeks, you can also throw in a pat or two of butter if you want to. This’ll give the dish some scrumptious flavor. I add it after the bacon is browned because I don’t want the butter to brown. After 8 to 10 minutes, pour in wine (chicken stock), then cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until reduced. Reduce heat to low (remove from the heat), then pour in cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in Parmesan shavings (grated Parmesan). Toss in pasta, adding a little pasta water to thin as needed. Serve with Parmesan shavings over the top—delicious (really!)!

Random note: Often I hear cooks say that certain pastas are better for certain sauces--that the way they are shaped helps carry the sauce better. I've never noticed any difference--until this dish. I found that the little pinch in the middle of the farfalle (bowtie) carried a little extra sauce that made this dish a little more enjoyable than if there was an even coating of sauce on the pasta. Three "a little"s in that there sentence. Is that some literary device I should remember? Anyway, I warned you this was a random note.

Update: Okay, I tried this recipe again using reasonably priced, non-organic leeks, costing $2.50 for four from Harmon's. While I liked the flavor, I have to say I did not like the squeeky-cheese experience that happened every time I bit into the leeks! Really. You know the sound cheese curd makes (if it's the good stuff). Well that was the sound we made eating the leeks! Now I love the flavor of leeks. I know this because of the out-of-this-world-fabulous Potato Leek Soup that we make (hope to put that recipe up this fall). But in that recipe, the last thing you do is blend everything so it's a smooth, velvety bit of loveliness. No chance of a squeak there. So my recommendation is, ditch the leeks and use a large Vidalia onion in this recipe.

Spinach Tomato Bacon Swiss Ricotta Frittata

The leftovers: 

bacon, chopped, about 3 slices

1/4 cup onion, chopped 

spinach

Swiss cheese, finely grated, 

about 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or whole--depending on the size 

Custard Base: 

6 large eggs 

1/2 cup ricotta cheese 

pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated if you've got it) 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

Freshly ground black pepper to taste 

In a large skillet, cook the bacon on low heat for a couple of minutes until some of the fat has rendered. Add the onions, and a little salt and pepper. Cook about 10 minutes. Add the spinach, tomatoes, and a little more salt and pepper. Cover and cook about 5 minutes. Let cool. 

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta, Swiss, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and beat to combine. Fold in the leftovers. Pour mixture into the pie plate (greased with butter or bacon grease) and cook in a 350 degree preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until it's golden on top. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. MM Specs

Sloppy Joes

from The Essential Mormon Cookbook by Julie Badger Bensen

3 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can tomato soup
2 tablespoons vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
12 hamburger buns

In a large skillet brown ground beef. Drain fat. Sprinkle with salt. Add chopped onion and cook until tender. Stir in ketchup, tomato soup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Spoon into hamburger buns and serve. Makes 12 servings.

This is delicious and every single member of the family liked it. The only thing I did differently was cook the ground beef in smaller batches, pouring off the fat each time, so it would really brown instead of just boil in the fat. I like the flavor of browned beef better. I cooked the onion low and slow in a stock pot using the fat from the first batch of browned beef. By the time all the batches of beef were done the onions were done, so I added everything to the stock pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Frankly, the sauce is so flavorful I'm not sure the browning was necessary.

9/6/10 Update: This is how Grandma Carlene served Sloppy Joes while I was growing up! Take a hard roll, slice the top off, pull out the bread inside (Grandpa says use the bread the next day in meatloaf!), and fill with Sloppy Joe mixture! Kind of takes the sloppiness out of the Sloppy Joe! :)

Cobb Salad with Chive Dressing

from A Pinch of Salt Lake

1 medium-size head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 large tomato, chopped
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 large avocado, peeled, diced and sprinkled with lemon juice
1 pound sliced bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Chive Dressing:
6 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 Tablespoons chives
1/2 cup olive oil

Place shredded lettuce in a large salad bowl. Prepare dressing by combining salt, garlic powder, pepper, chives and the oil in a jar and shake well. Pour the dressing over the lettuce and toss. Arrange the tomato, chicken, avocado, bacon and eggs on top of the lettuce. Place crumbled cheese in the center of the salad. Toss at the table.

Okay, first of all, that amount of dressing is huge. We've never even used half of it. Second, don't take the amounts of the salad ingredients too literally. Just chop up what you think you will use. And only toss at the table if you're interested in getting lots of polite "oooo"s and "aaaaaah"s. Frankly, not many people I've served this to want everything on that list (which technically means they are not getting a Cobb Salad, but, oh well). So I chop up what I think will be good and let people assemble their own salads as if at a salad bar. If you've got little kids, often they just want things separate anyway.

Remember, if you don't want to heat up the kitchen, cook the bacon and eggs earlier in the day! While they are cooking you can chop (when it comes to the lettuce, tear) everything but the avocado (the lemon is supposed to keep it nice--which it does--but I often don't have a lemon, so--but if you have a lemon, it adds nice flavor), and when it's dinner time--simply assemble!

Volcano Cookies

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter (one stick)
2 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons cocoa
pinch salt (no baking, so I use Kosher salt--I just like the flavor better, but regular is fine)
3 cups uncooked oatmeal (I like quick oats)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (try to use natural peanut butter, but if it's on the runny side, the cookies will have better texture if you use regular peanut butter)

In a medium saucepan, combine first 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil, simmer 1 minute (if you simmer too long, the cookies will end up crumbly). Remove from heat.  Add oatmeal and stir well.  Let sit for ten minutes.  Add vanilla and peanut butter. Mix well. Place spoonfuls onto wax paper. Shape into volcanoes. (Immediately. Don't think you can mix these up and let them sit for awhile before spooning the cookies out. They will set up pretty fast.)

Just an interesting aside--a version of this recipe is included in a book by Mario Batali! If I remember right, his Grandma made them every Christmas. So feel free to say you can cook just like Mario! :)

I saw the cutest little raspberries at the store, and volcano cookies were on Sarah's baptismal celebration menu. Could the raspberries make volcano cookies look more like live volcanoes with lava ready to blow out the top? Well, kinda. They were okay. But I really liked just placing a raspberry right in the middle. As the picture says, they were "cute as a button" and delicious too! To make sure they were secure in the cookie, right after scooping the batter onto wax paper and before they had set, I used the handle of a wooden spoon to make an indent in the cookie and dropped the raspberry right in! Loved it!

MM Recipe Card

Asparagus Bacon Swiss Ricotta Frittata

The leftovers:

cooked asparagus, cut into 1" pieces, about 10 stalks
cooked bacon, rough chop, about 3 slices
Swiss cheese, finely grated, about 1/2 cup
cooked minced onion, about 2 Tablespoons, warmed in microwave for easy mixing (the oil solidifies in the fridge)

Mix with:

6 large eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated if you've got it)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a pie plate--better yet, use some of the left-over bacon grease. It adds great flavor, and seemed to make the frittata come out of the pan better!

1. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta and Swiss and beat to combine. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and beat to combine.

2. Toss in the leftovers! Mix well.

3. Pour mixture into the prepared pie plate then put it in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until it's golden on top. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Here's the original recipe--you'll notice it's easily halved for a smaller version and very food storage friendly.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2 cups macaroni
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
2 cans tuna, drained
1-2 cups frozen peas (optional)
grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Mix in soup, milk, tuna, and peas. Pour into a large casserole dish (9x13). Grate cheese and sprinkle over top of casserole. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

There you have it! Easy peasy and very kid friendly. This was Jeff's favorite dinner. But after cooking it for twenty years I got a bee under my bonnet and decided I wanted to avoid some of the ingredients in commercially canned soups. So I tried to create a roux version. I looked here for guidance. I think it taste's better than the original, but it takes a whole lot longer to make, and there are more dishes to clean. But if I keep practicing I'll eventually be able to have the roux done by the time the noodles are cooked, and maybe I'll be able say this one's easy peasy too!

Tuna Noodle Casserole with a Roux

5 Tablespoons butter, divided
2 cups macaroni
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped (to make it more kid friendly, grate the onion) 1 stalk celery, finely chopped (to make it more kid friendly, you could leave it out)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped crimini mushrooms (I like crimini better than button)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
1 cup frozen peas
cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium-low heat and cook onion and celery until translucent. Increase heat to medium-high and mix in mushrooms. Continue to cook and stir 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan, and whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk, and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in tuna, peas, mushroom mixture and cooked macaroni. Pour the entire mixture into a 9x13 pan (I've always used glass pans and never had a problem with the casserole sticking. If you do, try buttering it first.). Sprinkle generously with cheddar cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly.