Sweet Potato Souffle

Sweet potato Soufflé

4 medium sweet potatoes            

5 beaten egg yolks

¼ c melted butter

1 c half and half

1 c brown sugar

¼ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp nutmeg

5 egg whites

¼ c melted butter

Pecan halves

Cut sweet potatoes into chunks, place in microwave safe dish with water, cover, and microwave until very tender.  Remove skins when cool enough to handle.  Beat potatoes together with egg yolks, ¼ c butter, half and half, brown sugar, cloves and nutmeg until smooth.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.  Fold egg whites into potato mixture.  Pour into casserole dish.  Top with melted butter and pecan halves. 

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and crusty on edges.

La-la-la-lasagna!

Here's a recipe for my mama's lasagna.  I had the missionaries tell me once they'd heard I made a famous lasagna and would like me to make it again.  So, it's pretty good. :)

Lasagna

1 lb ground beef

1 lb jimmy dean sausage

1 to 1 1/2 onion diced

2 lb mushrooms sliced

1 tbl garlic minced (4-5 cloves)

1 tbl basil

1 tbl 1 tsp oregano

1 tsp marjoram

1 ½ tsp parsley

1 bay leaf

3 29 oz cans tomato sauce

1-2 boxes frozen spinach

1 large container ricotta cheese

2-3 lb mozzarella cheese shredded or sliced

1-2 c shredded parmesan cheese

1-2 boxes lasagna noodles

In large pot, sauté onions in a little olive oil until translucent.  Add garlic, sauté for another minute or two then add mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid evaporates.  Remove from pot and add ground beef, and brown.  Remove from pot and drain while you brown the sausage, also draining sausage after it is cooked.  Return everything to pot (or crock pot, I usually put the sauce in there and let it simmer most of the day), add spices and tomato sauce and let everything simmer for a while.

Thaw spinach and squeeze as much moisture as you can out.  Mix with ricotta cheese until well blended.  Cook noodles as directed on package.  In large lasagna pan (this recipe is for my pan, it’s like 10x13 and 4 or 5 inches deep; you could also make two smaller pans with this recipe, but you will need two boxes of noodles) spread a small amount of sauce in the bottom.  Layer noodles on top, spread about 1/3 of ricotta mixture on top, top with generous amount of both cheeses and the cover with sauce.  Layer more noodles and repeat until pan is full.  On top layer of noodles, cover with sauce and then shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 covered for about 45 minutes (or until hot through), then uncover and continue baking until cheese is melted and golden on the edges.

Zucchini Bread

My mom's famous zucchini bread.  It's awesome!

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

2 c sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tsp cinnamon

3 tsp vanilla

1 c oil

2 ½ c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 walnuts, optional

Sift dry ingredients together.  Beat together eggs and sugar.  Then add oil and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients and zucchini and nuts.  Bake at 325 for 40 minutes for a small loaf or 55 minutes for a large loaf.  

This recipe also makes good muffins.