Stuffed Shells

1 box jumbo shells
4 cups ricotta (2 lb container)
2 cups shredded mozzarella (3 cups mozzarella/parmesan mix)
2 eggs
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Italian herb seasoning

Mix ingredients.
Spread sauce on the bottom of the pan until covered.
Stuff the shells with the mix
Put the shells on top, and put more sauce on top and sprinkle over with mozzarella.

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Broccoli Casserole

Prep time 10 min
Total time 55 min
Serving 12

3 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained
3/4 lb. (12 oz) Velveeta, cut up
36 Ritz crackers, crushed
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix broccoli, Velveeta and half of the crushed crackers until well blended.
Spoon into 2 quart baking dish. Mix remaining crushed crackers and butter; sprinkle over broccoli mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes or until heated through.

Cabbage Soup

Don't let the name "cabbage" spoil this recipe for you! Its actually really good, and really good for you. Light and filling, its a soup that can easily be frozen for a few weeks and saved for a rainy, lazy day when cooking is just not part of your schedule.

garlic
6 large green onions, sliced
2 green peppers, cut into bite sized pieces
1-2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
3 carrots, chopped
1 container (about 10 oz) mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch of celery
half a head of cabbage
1 package Lipton soup mix
1-2 cubes bouillon (optional)
1 48 oz can V8 juice (optional)
season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder etc (we've discovered that spices such as rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, dill leaves, chives, marjoram, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper work best)

1.Saute the green onions, pepper in a pot with cooking spray.
2. Take the outer leaf layers off the cabbage, cut into bite sized pieces, add to pot.
3. Clean carrots, cut into bite sized pieces, add to pot.
4. Slice mushrooms into thick slices, add to pot.
5. You can use beef or chicken bullion cubes for seasoning.
6. Use about 12 cups of cold water (or 8 cups of the V8 juice), cover and put heat on low. Let soup cook for about 2 hours. Season to taste w/ salt and pepper.

Packet Potatoes

Another one of those family favorites. We've actually had to expand this recipe to use an entire bag of potatoes in order to have enough for all of us at dinner!

1 sheet (18x24") aluminum foil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 medium red potatoes, cut in bite sized pieces
2 Tbsp olive oil or veggie oil
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp dried dill weed (opt)
1/4 tsp pepper

serves 4

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or grill to med-high).
2. Spray foil with non stick cooking spray/ use glass dish and spray (we use cosco to grease the pan instead)
3. Center onion on foil. Layer potatoes evenly on top of the onion. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with seasonings.
4. Bring up the sides of the foil and double fold. (or cover glass pan with foil). Double fold ends to form one large oil packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside packet.
5. Bake 30-35 minutes on a cookie sheet in the oven. Or grill 15-20 minutes in covered grill

Snow...snow....snow...

I haven't seen this much snow since year 2000. We've been hit by multiple snowstorms and I can't tell you how many days of classes I haven't attended because of either delays or cancellations. Campus is still covered in a blanket of white stuff, and the grass hasn't seen the sun for weeks.I have been living off of pizza and spaghetti for far too long.(Not that the cafeteria food we live off of isn't much better....) And, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope we don't miss anymore classes. I'm starting to get bored and I'm off of my routine!! I don't know what the professors are going to do to catch up on things, its not like high school where you had designated make-up days. Hmm...we shall see what happens...

As for spring break, I can't wait to get home and start trying all of these new recipes I've been collecting from blogs and websites to try! Ugh. I feel so behind!

Hope you all are staying warm!!

Best Banana Bread

Taken from the Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook that my grandma got me for Christmas. :) Yay!! Thanks grandma!! It was just something I decided to do to occupy my time after dinner tonight. After it was out of the oven and on the rack, my mom and I went on a walk while waiting for it to cool. Of course, when I got back I just had to try it, it just smelled too good! I cut the first slice and shared half with my mom, but had no choice but to go back for another slice, my taste buds were screaming. It'll most likely be my breakfast tomorrow morning.

Makes 1 loaf.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 very rip bananas
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional - I only didn't add these due to allergies :( but the recipe called for it, I'm sure it'd be even better with it, but the bread turned out fine without it too. )

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter bottom and sides of a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan; lightly coat with flour.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, mash bananas with sour cream or yogurt until blended. In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer on high speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined.
3. Fold banana mixture into batter until blended. Lightly fold in dry ingredients and walnuts until just combined. Batter will be chunky. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake about 1 hour, until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pan to loosen bread. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Creamy Noodles with Ham and Peas

Mom made this for "dinner" today, which turned out to be more of a mid-day meal. When I asked where she'd gotten the recipe, it turns out that it came off of a package of egg noodles. What I liked the most about it was it reminded me of a lunch meal that my host mom used to make for us while I was in Germany. Only difference I could find was there was no peas. Good recipe for when you want to use up some leftover ham from dinner the night before. Really yummy!!

Time: about 20 minutes

4 1/2 cups Market Pantry Wide Egg Noodles (about 1/2 pkg)

3 Tsp. butter or margarine

1 cup ham, diced

1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms, larger pieces cut in half

2 Tbsp. diced onion

1 cup frozen peas

1 1/4 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

1. Bring 4-6 quarts of water to a boil, add salt to taste if desired. Add noodles and return to boil for 7-8 minutes or until noodles are tender, then drain.

2. While noodles are cooking, melt butter in large skillet. Add ham; cook and stir until lightly browned. Add mushrooms, onions and peas; cook about 4 minutes or until peas are hot and onions and mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Add cream; simmer about 2 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.

3. Toss sauce with hot noodles and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with additional cheese, if desired.