Homemade Ricotta

2 cups whole milk

1 cup cream
(or 2 cups half and half and 1 cup whole milk)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Pour the milk, cream, and salt into a 4-cup glass liquid measuring cup.  Microwave until it comes to a full boil--it will get all foamy on top.  Mine took 7 1/2 minutes to come to a full boil, stopping occasionally to stir.  (Warning!  If you just set the timer for 7 minutes you might end up with an explosion in your microwave!  And it's no fun to clean up, so stop occasionally to stir--and maybe cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a paper towel or something.)  Then stir in the lemon juice and let it sit for 1 minute while the curds and whey separate  (If the curdling seems weak, try adding some more lemon juice.).  Place a strainer over a large bowl and line with paper towels.  Gently transfer curds to strainer and let drain for twenty-five minutes.

And you have 1 cup of ricotta cheese!  Now, what to do with it?  If you doubled the recipe, you could try Lasagna Florentine. Or you could try Roasted Figs with Fresh Ricotta.  After looking around at what I had on hand, I added about a Tablespoon of honey, a Tablespoon of lemon juice, and a teaspoon of lemon zest.  Gave it a good stir and scooped some into a bowl.  Then topped that with some berries and a drizzle of warm honey.  Delish!  

Try making  Lemon-Pepper Ricotta Spread and combining that with this Zucchini Tomato Dish.

Mama Bahr's Egg Strata Casserole

8 slices of bread, crusts removed, buttered
1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 2/3 C. milk
1 tsp. salt, pepper to taste, dash cayenne
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 lb. sausage

Brown and drain sausage. Arrange buttered bread slices (my slices didn't fit very well, so I cubed them), grated cheese and sausage in 9 x 13 pan, alternating layers ending with cheese (b,s,c b,s,c)

Combine other ingredients and pour over. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Place casserole pan in a larger pan of warm water and cover whole thing with foil.

Bake 1 hour @ 350 degrees. Remove foil last 20 minutes. Cut in squares and serve immediately.

Optional:
Substitute bacon or ham for sausage.

Coleslaw

1 small head green cabbage, about 6 cups thin 1-2 inch slice

2 carrots, large grate

Dressing:

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise (275 g)

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 Tablespoon vinegar  

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large bowl, place sliced cabbage and grated carrots.  Whisk together dressing ingredients.  Toss dressing with cabbage and carrots.

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Grandpa Carl and Grandma Ruth Johnson

2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
4 eggs

4 cups flour - sifted (560 g)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups applesauce

1 package chocolate chips (12 ounces)

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, one at a time, until well blended.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, spices, and salt, stirring well. Add to creamed mixture. Combine soda and applesauce. Add to mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Makes about 6 dozen. You may 1/2 the recipe if desired. (See measurements below.)

Enjoy! Grandma Ruth

(Grandma would wash the styrofoam meat trays and use them as a tray to freeze her cookies--first wrapped in plastic wrap, then foil. I usually ate her cookies frozen. Somehow they are still soft enough to bite into.)

Notice it was Apple Sauce, two words back then. But later it became one word. :)

Here are the ingredient measurements for half a batch:

1 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs

2 cups flour - sifted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoons baking soda
1 cups applesauce

1/2 package chocolate chips (6 oz.)

Buffet Menu for 50

This menu was for a funeral buffet.  The Ward payed for the meat and provolone ($30.00).  The rest came from 23 wonderful volunteers. It was beautiful.  Alas, I took no pictures.

2 lbs turkey $4.00/pound (prepackaged)

2 lbs ham $4.00/pound (prepackaged)

1 lbs roast beef $7.00/pound (sliced from the deli)

1 bottle green olives - $3.29

Created three meat platters (about 9x13 ovals).  Left side layered rows of rolled turkey, right side layered rows of rolled ham, pile of roast beef in middle, olives along bottom edge, garnish with parsley.

1.5 lb provolone $6.76 (prepackaged)

1 lb pepper jack ~$4.50 (sliced from deli)

1 lb American cheese ~$4.50 (sliced from deli)

Created two cheese platters (about 9x13 ovals).  Stack the cheese and slice in half to double the number of slices.  Fan and layer slices with parsley garnish.

6 dozen rolls - Slice each roll leaving one side still connected.  Keep bagged.

Mayonnaise

Miracle Whip

Mustard

1 Large Green Salad

2 Large Pasta Salads

Vegetable Platter (about 12x18).  Heaping rows as follows:  celery sticks, carrot sticks, olives (two cans), carrot sticks, celery sticks.

Strawberries, washed and hulled

Grapes, washed

6-8 dozen cookies/brownies

4 pictures of ice water, 2 with sliced lemons

paper plates

plastic cups

plastic forks (in a basket)

napkins

2 tongs

4 large serving spoons

Oven Roasted Chicken Breasts

Use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and place them a sheet pan lined with tin foil (just for easier cleaning). Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, both sides.  Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin.

If you only have boneless, skinless chicken breasts, treat them the same with oil, salt and pepper, cover them in bacon and cook 30-40 minutes.  Don't discard the bacon, though!  Let everyone have a tasty snack or incorporate the bacon into your dish somehow!  Kristen would say you'd have to put the bacon back in the oven to crisp up a bit more for her to enjoy the snack though.  :)

Honey Wheat Bread

1 1/4 cups warm water

3 tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine pan and run on dough cycle.  When the cycle is finished, turn on the machine long enough to knead the risen bread back into a ball and butter your loaf pan.  Remove and shape into a loaf.  Place in buttered loaf pan.  Turn oven on to "Warm", place loaf in oven.  After 25 minutes, turn the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove finished loaf after 25 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.