My Territory

Or, another character flaw brought to light.

Some people who have tried to get a recipe from me are well aware of my irrational need to be the keeper of my good recipes. I am extremely territorial about my recipes. It's a family trait and it's completely unattractive. My mother did exactly the same thing. In fact, there's a rumor I may have resorted to stealing recipes from her...

I do understand why I do it, although I'm ashamed to admit it. It's really pathetic. Say for instance, a person made an excellent lasagna. She might be known as the Most Excellent Lasagna Maker. And that might make her feel as though she received her value as a person from making lasagna. And feeling value as a person is a good thing. But what if someone had her recipe and could make it themselves? Would she still have value? Would she still be needed? Finding out the answer to that could be very painful...

I don't know if that was my mother's issue, but I know it's mine. So, at my therapist's insistence (me) in an effort to realize that my value as a person is not determined by my cooking (or my anything for that matter), I will be posting several of my favorite/most complimented recipes here, on the internet, for anyone in the world to have.

And supposedly, I'll still have value.

Lasagna

Sauce:

1# ground beef

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. basil

1-1/2 t. salt

2-6 oz. cans tomato paste

2 cans diced tomatoes

10 oz. lasagna noodles, cooked and rinsed (Cook 10 noodles from the box and that'll be exactly what you need.)

Filling:

3 c. small curd cottage cheese

2 beaten eggs

2 T. parsley flakes

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. salt

1/2# grated Parmesan (I always double the cheeses, so I use a pound of both.)

1/2# Mozzarella cheese

Brown meat slowly; spoon off fat. Add the remaining sauce ingredients; simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, covered. Combine all filling ingredients, except the dry cheeses. Place half the lasagna noodles in a 13x9 baking pan. Spread half the filling over. Cover with 1/2 the Parmesan and 1/2 the Mozzarella. Pour half the sauce over contents of dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients to form 2nd layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serves 12. Freezes great!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1 pound smoked beef sausage, split and cut into 2-inch pieces (I use more--like 2 pounds and I cut the sausage into circles.)

4 pounds of chicken thighs

1/4 to 1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup flour

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 medium green pepper, chopped

2 celery ribs, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups of water or broth from boiling chicken

4 cup of chicken broth

1 tablespoon of Creole seasoning

2 tablespoons Kitchen Bouquet

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bunch green onions – tops and all, sliced

Hot cooked rice

File powder (about 1 t.)

1. Put oil in Dutch kettle and brown sausage over medium heat. Remove sausage, reserving drippings in a pan. Set sausage aside.
2. 2. Place chicken in a 5-6 quart Dutch kettle, cover with just enough water to cover. Cook chicken over medium to high heat until tender. Remove chicken set aside to cool. Save chicken broth if you are going to use instead of the water. Then de-bone chicken and cut into bite size pieces.
3. Measure drippings, adding enough oil to measure ½ cup. Heat oil in Dutch kettle over medium to high heat until hot. Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until roux is medium to dark colored
4. Add the chopped onion, green pepper, celery, garlic and green onion and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender. Gradually stir in 4 cups of water or boiling broth, and 4 cups of broth; bring to a boil. Add chicken, Creole seasoning, Kitchen Bouquet and thyme; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add sausage and cook 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in file powder. Serve over a bowl of white rice, with French bread. Freezes great.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

2-8 oz. packages of cream cheese

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

2 eggs

3/4 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 graham cracker crust

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well-blended. Add eggs, mix until blended. Stir in 1/2 c. of chips. Pour into crust. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. of chips. Bake at 350 degrees 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Fudgie Scotch Ring

1-6 oz. pkg. chocolate morsels

1-60z. pkg butterscotch morsels

1 can Eagle Brand Condensed milk

1 c. coarsely chopped nuts (I like pecans)

1/2 t. vanilla

1 c. nut halves

Melt chocolate and butterscotch with Eagle Brand in top of double boiler over hot water. Stir occasionally until morsels melt and mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat; add nuts and vanilla. Blend well. Chill about 1 hour. Place 3/4 of nut halves in serving dish, forming a ring. Spoon mixture in small mounds on top of nuts to form ring. Decorate with remaining nuts. Chill in refrigerator.

English Muffin Breakfast Strata

1-16 oz. pkg ground pork sausage (I use mild)

1-12 oz. pkg English muffins, split and buttered (Don't be confused...12 oz of English muffins is 6 total muffins. I speak from experience.)

1-10 oz. block sharp cheddar cheese; shredded

1-8 oz. block mozzarella cheese, shredded

8 large eggs

1-1/2 c. sour cream

1-4 oz. can chopped green chilies; drained

Cook sausage in a skillet; stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Cut muffin halves into quarters and arrange in an even layer in a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Sprinkle half of sausage, cheddar and mozzarella cheese evenly over muffins. Whisk together eggs, sour cream and chilies in a large bowl; pour evenly over sausage and cheeses. Top with remaining sausage and cheeses. Cover and chill 8 hours. Uncover and bake at 350 fro 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Freezes great.