Hearty Ham Casserole

Comfort food at it's best, ham, potatoes a creamy sauce and cheese. My kids love it!

HEARTY HAM CASSEROLE

2. c. cooked cubed potatoes
2 c. cooked cubed ham
1 fifteen ounce can of whole kernel golden corn, drained
1/4 c. fresh parsley (optional)
1/4 c. butter
1 T. chopped onion or green onion or leeks



SAUCE

1/3 c. all purpose flour
1-3/4 c. milk
1/8 t. black pepper
4 oz. shredded cheese, preferably yellow


Boil your potatoes until they are ALMOST done, they still have to cook in the oven for a while longer.

Drain off the water, add in the ham, corn, parsley, butter and green onions. Mix well.

In a small pot, add the milk and cook over medium heat until it just starts to want to boil, add in the flour and the remaining sauce ingredients and stir until thickened.

Pour the potato mixture into an oven proof dish, pour the milk mixture over, sprinkle some more cheese over and cover with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until potatoes are done. Remove foil and bake for a few minutes more until cheese is completely melted and browned.

Buttery Pound Cake

My husband was craving a cake yesterday afternoon so I whipped up this delicious buttery pound cake, it has a brown sugar glaze and inside a layer of thinly sliced apples, with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg it's just so good.

BUTTERY POUND CAKE

1/2 c. plus 1/3 c. brown sugar, packed and divided
1/2 c. chopped pecans, toasted
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground nutmeg
3/4 c. plus 2 T. butter, softened and divided
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
3 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. sour cream
2 t. vanilla extract, divided
1 1/2 c. apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 T. milk


Combine 1/3 cup brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl; set aside.

Beat 3/4 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Add sour cream and flour mixture; beat at a low speed after each addition just until mixture is blended. Stir in one teaspoon vanilla.

Spoon half of batter into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Arrange apple slices over batter, then spoon half of brown sugar mixture over apples; gently press into batter.

Top with remaining batter, then sprinkle with remainning brown sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter starts to brown. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, milk and one teaspoon vanilla. Stir until smooth; drizzle glaze evenly over cake. Serves 16.

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Baked Penne with Italian Sausage

Image credit: oneordinaryday

BAKED PENNE W/ ITALIAN SAUSAGE
www.RecipeGirl.com

1 lb sweet and hot Italian sausages, casings removed
12 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese (about 1½ cups)
4 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, divided
salt and ground black pepper
12 ounces fresh whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 3 cups
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1½ cups)
1½ lbs ziti or other short, tubular pasta
4½ cups Marinara Sauce or jarred tomato sauce
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves (for serving)

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot over high heat.

2. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the sausage loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Drain the sausage on a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside.

3. Mix ricotta cheese, 2 Tbs. of the olive oil, ½ tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper together; set aside. In a separate bowl, toss the mozzarella and Parmesan together until combined; set aside.

4. Add 1½ Tbs. salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Reserve 1½ cups of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Return the drained pasta to the pot and stir in the marinara sauce, sausage, remaining 2 Tbs. oil and reserved pasta cooking water.

5. Pour half of the sauced pasta into a 13×9-inch baking dish. Drop large spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta, then pour the remaining sauced pasta over the ricotta layer. Sprinkle the top of the penne evenly with the mozzarella mixture.

6. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400°F. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray (or use nonstick foil). Bake until the sauce bubbled lightly around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until pasta is completely heated through, 25 to 30 minutes longer. Sprinkle with basil before serving.


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What's for dinner????

An old favorite.....Spaghetti Pizza Pie.

I just reposted the recipe and included photos, enjoy!

Mock Turkey Cordon Bleu!

We all know that a good Cordon Bleu has the ham and cheese rolled *inside* the chicken or turkey, but during one of my busy days I came up with this inside out cordon bleu which the family loved.

Hope you enjoy it too, it is super quick to put together and really tasty.

Mock Turkey Cordon Bleu

Turkey Tenderloins
Ham
Cheese
Heavy Cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste


Grease a baking dish and layer the turkey tenderloins on the bottom.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Place a layer of Ham followed by the Cheese and then pour about a cup of heavy cream over.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes or until turkey is done, the cheese is melted and browning and the cream is bubbly.

Serve with mashed potatoes. We like to use the creamy gravy on top of the potatoes. Enjoy!

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