Beef & Mushroom Lasagna

I clipped this recipe from a magazine. You can also find it at campbellskitchen.com. It was a hit with my family. :-)


Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup milk

1 lb. ground beef

2 cups Mushroom flavored spaghetti sauce

9 cooked lasagna noodles (I  have used both lasagna and egg noodles.  Egg noodles are very simple and easy... especially if you have children!)

1 cup shredded Italian-blend or mozzarella cheese

Directions
Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup and milk in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth.

Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat. Stir in the Italian sauce.

Layer half the beef mixture, 3 lasagna noodles and 1 cup soup mixture in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles, remaining beef mixture, remaining noodles and remaining soup mixture. Sprinkle with the cheese. Cover the baking dish.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the lasagna is hot. Uncover the baking dish.

Heat the broiler. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 2 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Next time I make this, I may try to layer cheese into the dish as well as on the top. 

Texas Sheet Cake

This is my absolute favorite from scratch cake recipe. It is so good, that I made it this year for my boys' birthdays!

I got the recipe from:

http://southernfood.about.com


Ingredients:
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•2 cups sugar
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1 cup butter
•1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
•2 eggs
•1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
•1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
•.
•Chocolate Frosting:
•1/4 cup butter
•3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
•3 tablespoons buttermilk
•2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
•1/2 teaspoon vanilla
•1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
Preparation:
Cake
Grease a 15X10X1-inch or jelly roll pan or a 13X9X2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup butter, 1/3 cup cocoa, and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. With an electric hand-held mixer on medium speed, beat chocolate mixture into the dry mixture until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute (batter will be thin). Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in a 350° oven about 25 minutes for the 15X10-inch pan or 35 minutes for the 13X9-inch pan, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Pour warm chocolate frosting over the warm cake, spreading evenly. Place cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly before cutting.
Makes 24 servings.

Frosting:
In a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, and 3 tablespoons buttermilk. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add 2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth. If desired, stir in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans.

English Muffin Pizzas

I bought some sourdough English muffins and made little pizzas from them. They were a big hit.

*Halve the English muffins
*Spread them with pizza sauce - not too much
*layer favorite vegetables (I used mushrooms & diced tomatoes)
*layer with favorite meat if you like (I used real bacon bits)

*Broil for a couple of minutes

*sprinkle with shredded cheese and place into oven

*Turn oven off and let sit until cheese is melted (cheese will melt superfast since oven is so hot).

*Serve with a tossed salad!