Mushroom Lasagna

Ingredients:

• Salt
• Olive Oil
• 3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 4 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1 1/2 pounds cremini or portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup freshly graded Parmesan

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large, wide pan (if you use a wide one, you can save a dish later and saute your mushrooms in the bottom of it) of water to boil with salt and a splash of oil, that will help keep your noodles from sticking together as they drain. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Make bechamel: Bring the milk and garlic to simmer in a saucepan, or heat it in your microwave, and set aside. melt 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons or 1 stick) of butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for one minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Pour in the hot milk, a little at a time at first and stirring until combined. Once you've added half of it, you can add the second half all at once, along with 1 1/2 teaspoons of table salt, the pepper, and nutmet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring or whisking frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until thick. Set aside.

Prepare Mushrooms: Discard portobello mushroom stems and/or trim the ends of the cremini stems. Slice mushrooms 1/4 inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in the bottom of the large, wide pot you used to cook the noodles earlier, or in a large saute pan. Cook half the mushrooms with a couple pinches of salt for about 5 minutes, or until they are tender and release some of their juices, tossing to make sure they cook evenly. Repeat with additional oil and butter and remaining mushrooms.

Assemble Lasagna: Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8x12 or 9x13 baking dish. (Ina recommends the former. If you wish to freeze the dish, use a foil pan). Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce (about 1/4 of what remains), 1/3 of the mushrooms and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Repeat two more times then top with a final layer of noodles, your remaining sauce and last 1/4 cup of Parmesan.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. To freeze for future use, allow it to cool completely and wrap two to three times in plastic wrap before freezing.

Recipe Credit: This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen and was adapted from Ina Garten's recipe.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

• 8 oz block of cream cheese
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese
• 1 small can of green chopped chilies
• 1/2 can of quartered or chopped artichoke hearts in water
• 1 chopped Roma tomato
• 4 oz of frozen spinach
• 1/4 cup of chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or Italian vinaigrette dressing
• 1 tablespoon of olive or canola oil

Instructions

1. Sautee chopped green onion together in oil, after about 2 minutes add tomato. Cook together about another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Next defrost spinach in microwave. Squeeze out all the liquid from the spinach. (You can also try fresh cooked spinach - if you use spinach that hasn't been cooked, your dip may be a bit watery)
3. Remove cream cheese from packing, place in microwave for approximately 1 minute. Take softened cream cheese, block and place in a mixing bowl. Use hand mixer on low setting to blend cream cheese to soften even more.
4. Gradually add cheddar cheese, then milk, then apple cider or Italian dressing. Continue to mix until smooth.
5. Begin to add spinach, then artichokes, then sauteed onions and tomatoes, then chilies. Blend together well.
6. Place dip in baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of the dish) or until the top of the dip is slightly browned.
7. Serve with bread, tortilla chips or celery sticks.

Meri's Salad

Below are ingredients and info on Meri's easy Salad...

• Romaine lettuce- cut up into bite size strips.
• Spring Mix
• Cabbage—cut up really thin
• Kale-cut up really thin
• Tomatoes of course
• Peppers—green, red, yellow, and orange.
• Onion
• Carrot—grated
• Parmesan cheese-grated

Then sometimes I add...

• Corn off the cob
• Avocado
• Nuts
• A little pasta of some kind

Toss in Granny's Salad Dressing.

Granny's Salad Dressing

2 ½ T. lemon juice

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. mustard

1 clove garlic minced

6 T. oil

Mix together in order given. Stir after each addition.

**Meri's Variation**

Small changes to the above recipe: 

1 whole tsp.  of mustard and more like ½ tsp. of salt and pepper.

Cilantro Lime Rice

**I have listed both the original recipe and the recipe Betsy uses below**

A light and lovely rice to serve when just plain old rice isn't enough. Lime and fresh herbs make it a perfect complement to heavier stews and fried foods, and it's easy to put together, too, when three different things are cooking on the stovetop.
Tip: This rice works well with rice cookers. Simple toss everything except the last two ingredients into your cooker and follow the manufacturer's directions for white rice. Mix in the cilantro and green onion when done and leave it on the warm setting until ready to serve.

Serves 4 as a side, about 3/4 cup per serving
Time: Less than 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1½ cups vegetable broth or water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (only if you're using water)
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, lightly packed
• 1 green onion, green part only, sliced very thinly

INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a heavy pot, combine the rice, vegetable stock, olive oil, lime juice and zest, salt (if using), and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cover the pot. Cook for 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice grains are tender.

2. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the rice with the cilantro and green onion. Fluff the rice, working in the chopped herbs. Serve immediately.

**Betsy's variation on the above recipe**
Make up a pot of rice-white or brown in some kind of salty water/broth. When the rice is done, squeeze a lime or two's worth of lime juice and about three to four tablespoons of fresh cilantro.  

Stuffed Standing (Prime) Rib Roast

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 2 bulbs Garlic, Chopped Medium
• 1/4 Cup Onions, Chopped Medium
• 3 Cups toasted 1/4" Bread Cubes - Use 66% Fresh Whole Grain Breads & 33% Good White (Cracked Wheat Sourdough, French Baguette, etc)
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Minced Rosemary
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Minced Thyme
• Salt, Pepper to Taste
• 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• Kitchen Twine

Instructions:
PREHEAT oven to 275 degrees. F.Saute butter, garlic and onion in skillet until translucent. Add bread cubes and saute until bread is toasted and liquid has been absorbed. Add Rosemary and Thyme; Salt and Pepper to taste. Set aside

Cut roast along rib bones separating the roast from the bones, nearly all the way through. Place stuffing between ribs and roast, tie roast with kitchen twine. If necessary, cut slits in roast and insert any additional stuffing. Some stuffing may be crushed and sprinkled over the roast during the last 1/2 hour of cooking.

Rub roast with dijon mustard, top & sides. Roast on raised rack, bone side down, approximately 30 minutes per pound. Sprinkle last stuffing, crushed, over roast during last 1/2 hour of cooking. Roast is done at 130 degrees for rare, 135 degrees for medium.

Let stand 10-30 minutes before carving.

Tomato, Squash, and Feta Gratin

6 ounces zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick on long bias
6 ounces yellow squash. sliced 1/8 inch thick on long bias
2 scallions, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped oregano
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
12 ounces tomatoes, cut in half, then sliced 1/4 inch thick crosswise
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly oil a 6 inch diameter ovenproof saute pan.

Toss zucchini with salt and pepper. Toss yellow squash with salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix the scallions, garlic, oregano and feta cheese.

Lay zucchini slices in the pan, slightly overlapping them like shingles. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with a layer of tomatoes-slightly overlapping them like shingles. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the scallion mixture. Top with a layer of yellow squash, then another layer of tomatoes, sprinkle layers with salt and pepper. Top with remaining scallion mixture. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
Place pan on a sheet pan in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the top is slightly browned. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. Makes 4 servings.