Easy Shepherd's Pie

1 lb. ground beef
2 cups hot mashed potatoes
4 oz. Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup beef gravy

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown meat in large skillet. Drain.

Mix potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and the garlic until well blended.

Stir vegetables and gravy into meat.

Spoon into 9-inch square baking dish.

Cover with potato mixture. Don't worry about it being perfectly even; the more rustic it looks, the better.

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 6 servings.

Shortcut: Use instant mashed potatoes. Prepare potatoes as directed on package, omitting the milk. This way when you add the cream cheese, the potatoes stay fluffy.

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

Seriously the best sauce you'll ever have!!!

2 lbs. ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
2 (15 oz) cans spanish style tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. sugar
8 cups cooked spaghetti
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese

Crumble ground beef into 8 qt. saucepan. Add onion, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Heat to brown meat. Add tomato paste, water, bay leaf and sauce. Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves and garlic. Add sugar and simmer 15 minutes more. Place hot spaghetti on platter, cover with meat sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Serves 6.

No-Knead Bread

3 cups all purpose or bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Corn meal or wheat bran as needed

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cup water, and stir until blended;
dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450°. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Tomato and Olive Penne

This is one of our favorite pasta dishes. Amanda and Jed have a ton of cherry tomatoes right now so we thought we'd make it. I usually use regular olives instead of Kalamata olives (I'm the only one that likes the Kalamatas and regular olives are cheaper). I also omit the crushed red pepper because I'm cooking for kids. Try this recipe you'll love it!

Serves 4

Salt and pepper
1 pound penne, or other short pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic , thinly sliced
2/3 pound (2 cups) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook penne according to package instructions until al dente, about 13 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until just golden, about 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring, until tomato juices run, about 3 minutes.
Add penne, olives, parsley, and 1/4 cup Parmesan to the skillet and toss to combine. Serve with more cheese if desired.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 pint heavy cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt
black pepper
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (preferably fresh)
1 lb fettuccine, prepared as directed

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. When butter is melted, add cream cheese. (Make sure heat is low or cream cheese will curdle). When the cream cheese is softened, add heavy cream. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan. Serve over hot fettucine noodles.

Serving ideas:
Saute chopped red onion, olives, mushrooms, red and green peppers, and penne pasta. Serve with alfredo sauce.

Excellent over spinach and cheese ravioli.

Party Spread

This gets a ton of compliments whenever I bring it to a potluck or party. You spread this mixture on small slices of bread or crackers. It is excellent, always a hit! This recipe came from Leanne Carpenter.

1 cup green onions
1 small can chopped olives
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Mix it all up. Spread on bread and bake in oven at 350 degrees until the it's hot and bubbly.

Strawberries and Cream Cake

Amanda made this cake for her friend's bridal shower and it was excellent. Definitely one of the best cakes I've ever had. She refrigerated it before serving and I think that made it even better. She also put kiwi on top of the cake instead of strawberries because her friend's wedding colors were different shades of green. It turned out really cute! It is from Betty Crocker's Best of Baking book.

Whipped Cream Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour or 2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 round pans (8 or 9 inch). Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Beat whipping cream in chilled large bowl until stiff. Beat eggs in small bowl about 5 minutes or until very thick and lemon colored. Fold eggs and vanilla into shipped cream. Add flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, folding gently after each addition until blended. Pour batter into pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick insterted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely.


Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and milk in chilled bowl on low speed until smooth; beat in whipping cream and powdered sugar. Beat on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until stiff peaks form.