Extra-Easy Spinach Lasagna

This is another wonderful recipe from the folks at Campbell's Kitchen.  If you'd like, you can substitute the mozzarella cheese with a blended Italian cheese. It's one of those personal taste kind of things.

Another tip is for thawing the spinach. I'm big on the microwave for those types of things. Campbell's apparently agrees. Microwave the spinach on HIGH for 3 minutes, stopping half way through to tear apart with a fork. Don't forget to drain it.

Pepperidge Farms makes a wonderful Texas Toast that is perfect with lasagna. Five minutes and you're done.

Extra-Easy Spinach Lasagna

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)
1 jar (24 ounces) Prego® Fresh Mushroom Italian Sauce
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1/4 cup water


Stir the ricotta cheese, spinach and 1 cup mozzarella cheese in a medium bowl.

Spread 1 cup sauce in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles and half the spinach mixture. Repeat the layers. Top with the remaining sauce. Slowly pour water around the inside edges of the baking dish. Cover.

Bake at 400°F. for 40 minutes. Uncover the dish. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Makes: 8 servings (1 cup each).

Skillet Vegetable Lasagna

This recipe comes from the folks at Campbell's Kitchen. It's a quick, easy meal that perfect for a cold, winter day -- like this one.

Campbell's suggests serving the Lasagna with Pepperidge Farm Texas Toast. I wholeheartedly agree. I'm a big fan of Texas Toast. The Pepperidge Farm brand only takes 5 minutes to cook (any longer and it gets hard) and also great for spaghetti. I'm particularly fond of the garlic version. It's a freezer staple for me. But they've got other versions as well.

Skillet Vegetable Lasagna

Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 15 min.


2 3/4 cups Swanson® Vegetable Broth (Regular or Certified Organic)
15 uncooked oven-ready (no-boil) lasagna noodles
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1 can (about 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)


Heat the broth in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat to a boil. Break the noodles into pieces and add to the broth. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 3 minutes or until the noodles are tender.

Stir the soup, tomatoes and spinach in the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Spoon the ricotta cheese on top and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Tip: You can try using 4 ounces mozzarella cut into very thin slices instead of the shredded mozzarella.

Makes: 4 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each).

Frosted Fudge Brownies

I needed a dessert. Quickly. Something that would appeal to a mostly male population. That meant chocolate. Not enough time for a cake. Brownies. That would be perfect.

I found a recipe that sounded good. That means all the ingredients were present and accounted for. Don't you just hate finding a recipe, getting excited, then realizing you'll have to make a trip to the grocery store or choose something else? Not today. No time.

The original recipe came from The Southern Living Cookbook. I've had this cookbook for more years than I care to admit. It's still my favorite. You can tell. Drops of this and that litter some of the pages. Hey! I never said I wasn't messy.

The only problem with the recipe is that it involved a double boiler. I really didn't want to deal with that. So I did what I do. I used the microwave instead of the double boiler. It worked great so those are the instructions I'm giving you.

Another tip I'll pass on involves sifting. Dont't do it. Yes, the recipe calls for it but a faster way is just to whisk the powdered sugar. It works just as well and with a lot less mess and effort.

Enjoy!

Frosted Fudge Brownies

1 cup shortening
4 (1-oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Frosting (recipe follows)

In a microwave bowl, combine shortening and chocolate. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir. Chocolate should be fully melted. Microwaves vary so you may have to put it back in for another few seconds. Just be careful not to do too much.

Slowly stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Microwave on HIGH for 10 seconds. Stir.

Add the eggs and vanilla. Stir thoroughly. Stir in flour and salt, mixing thoroughly. If you choose to add pecans, stir those in now.

Spread batter in a well-greased 13x9x2-inch pan. Be sure to grease the sides of the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool. Spread with frosting. Cut into squares. Store in refrigerataor.

Yield: about 3 dozen.

Frosting

2 (1-oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons boiling wataer
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

Combine chocolate and boiling water, stirring until chocolate melts. Blend in butter. Using a mixer, slowly add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the egg and beat until blended.

Yield: Enough for 3 dozen brownies

Cheesy Spinach and Bacon Dip

This recipe comes from Kraft Foods. Everyone needs a really good dip recipe. Kraft suggests serving the dip with cut-up fresh vegetables or Tortilla chips. Of course, I'll always go for the chips. I know it's not the most nutritional but they are my weakness.

Kraft also suggests that when you serve this dip at a party, pour the prepared dip into a small slow cooker and set the temperature on low. This keeps the dip warm for several hours. Just be sure to stir it every now and then to avoid hot spots.

Cheesy Spinach and Bacon Dip

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 lb. (16 oz) VELVEETA, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz pkg) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 can (10 oz) RO*TEL diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
8 slices OSCAR MAYER bacon, cooked, crumbled

Microwave ingredients in microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 5 minutes or until VELVEETA is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 3 minutes.

And it's only 70 calories per 2 tablespoons (not counting the chips!).

Jif Peanut Butter Cookies

I am a recipe collector. I have all these scraps of paper, newspaper clippings, magazine pages and handwritten notecards. Some have nothing more than a list of ingredients and, perhaps, an oven temperature. Others are so old that I have no idea where they originated. But there they are, valuable to me for the endless possibilities.

This recipe comes from the Jif peanut butter people. I think it was an ad, probably around Christmas. The photo reminds me of the peanut butter cookies I ate as a child. I can almost taste them. I guess that means I'm off to bake a fresh batch. How about you?

Irresistible Jif Peanut Butter Cookies

3/4 cup Jiff Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine Jif, Crisco, light brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie baking sheet. Flatten slightly in criss-cross pattern with the tines of a fork.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Hershey's Perfect White Chip Chocolate Cookies

It all started with an amazing sale on white chocolate chips. I can never resist a really good buy. And I love white chocolate. Oh, I know. It's not really chocolate. Maybe that's why I love it so much.

There are so many wonderful things to bake with white chocolate. But I needed something quick and easy and yummy. And there's nothing quite like the recipe on the back of the bag. My only complaint? Make the words LARGER folks!

The cookies are wonderful and have a taste that makes you want to eat another one and another one and another one and...well you get the picture. Give them a try. You'll love them.

Hershey's Perfect White Chip Chocolate Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12-oz package) Hershey's Premier White Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually beat into the butter mixture.

Stir in white chocolate chips.

Drop teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I recommend spraying lightly with Pam!)

Bake 8 to 9 minutes (8 minutes in my oven).  Do NOT overbake. Cookies are supposed to be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten when cooling. Let the cookies cool slightly, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Store in an airtight container.

Grandma's Cookie Jar Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe comes from the Land O'Lakes butter company. They have a wonderful website with some super recipes. I love oatmeal-raisin cookies! Give this recipe a try.

3 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup Land O'Lakes Butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all ingredients except flour and raisins in a large mixer bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping the bowl often, until well mixed. This will take 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour. Continue beating until well mixed, another 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in raisins by hand.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies