PS..WII?

So Tony got a new toy.  Playstation came out with a motion controller on Friday.  Tony wanted to try it out so he invited some friends over.  I didn't know how many people would be coming or eating here, so I made my lasagna.  I don't know how many servings are technically in it, but I know it's a lot!  It's great  as leftovers too.  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures that night.   That's one of the reasons I started this blog, so I could look back and see what I wanted to make again.   Oh well, I make this one often enough that it doesn't matter.

Jenna's Lasagna

1 box of lasagna noodles
1 pound ground buffalo (or turkey or beef)
garlic
onion
green pepper
1 jar of pasta sauce- We use Newman's Own Sockarooni
6 oz tomato paste
3- 8 oz packages of italian blend cheese
1 cup (ish) parmesan cheese
16 oz. cottage cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon oregano

Boil noodles until they are a little firmer than al dente.  It really didn't take long.  Drain and set aside.  Brown ground meat and add some garlic, onions, and green peppers. (I just dump some in from the frozen bags).  Mix together 2- 8 oz packages of cheese, parmesan cheese, the egg, and oregano and set aside. In the bottom of the biggest casserole dish you have (mine is 11x 15) spread a couple tablespoons of the pasta sauce so the noodles won't stick. When the meat is all cooked, add the rest of the pasta sauce and tomato paste.  Layer half of the lasagna noodles in the dish.  Top with half the meat mixture.  Layer all of the cheese mixture next. Then, layer the rest of the noodles and sauce.  (It's a tight fit in my big pan.)  Top with the remaining bag of cheese and add more parmesan cheese if you wish.   Bake at 375 for about 1 hr.

This is my favorite thing to make for people that just had a baby.  It makes so many leftovers and fits in those big foil pans really well.  Tony ate it for a week straight one time when I went to Florida.

If I ever get a deeper pan I would add a can of tomato sauce too.  I'd have a big mess if I tried to add it in the pan I have now though.

Italian Bread

This is my favorite bread recipe so far.  You can even make the dough almost a day in advance!  ( I do get lazy at the end and don't do the egg wash.)

Oreo Truffles

These truffles were really good too!  They were sooo dangerous to have left overs of though.  I don't even want to know how many I ate the next day.  They didn't need very many ingredients to make, but were very messy.   It was totally worth it though.  Tony wants me to make these for his friends at work for Christmas.  He suggested maybe using the peanut butter or mint oreos too. 

Apple Strudel

This is from one of my favorite cook books- "The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts."  It doesn't have pictures of any of the desserts so I'm surprised I bought it.  Surprised, but glad.

Tony said this was just okay, so I'm assuming he would rate it 3 out of 5.  I'd give it a 4, but I'm not as picky as he is.  :)

6 baking apples, peeled and thickly sliced

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

butter slices

1 cup sugar  (Next time I will try using brown sugar instead)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 350.  Place thick layers of apples in the bottom of a well-greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.  SPrinkle over the apples and dot with butter.

Sift the 1 cup sugar, baking powder, flour, and salt in a medium bowl.  Add the egg and mix until crumbly.  Spoon over the apples.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is brown.  (My crust never got brown.)  Serve warm with milk, whipped cream, or ice cream.