Baked Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

I planted spaghetti squash this year. It was my first-ever garden and I planted every seed in the package. Needless to say, the spaghetti squash took over and produced abundantly! Since my family is getting a bit bored with plain spaghetti squash with olive oils and herbs and spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti I went in search for a new way to prepare it.

I found this recipe at AllRecipes.com. The original recipe is meatless, but I replaced the olives with ground turkey.

Ingredients
* 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 2 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes (I recommend draining a bit of the juice)
* 1 tablespoon dried basil
* 1 cube vegetable bouillon
* black pepper to taste
* 1 (15 ounce) can black olives, chopped (I substituted 1/2 lb ground turkey, browned and crumbled)
* 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with a thin layer of cooking spray. Place squash halves cut side down on the baking sheet.
2. Bake squash 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife can be easily inserted. Remove from oven, and cool.
3. Meanwhile, spray a non-stick saucepan with cooking spray. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes, basil, bouillon cube, and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until you have a medium thick sauce.
4. Remove squash strands with a fork, reserving the shells. Layer each half with a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers until shells are full, or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts.

Nutritional Information Serves 6 Calories: 280 | Total Fat: 15.9g | Cholesterol: 27mg

Cheddar Topped Shepherd's Pie

I made this for St. Patrick's Day this year... And was made to promise that I wouldn't wait until next St. Patrick's Day to make it again!

I did make a wee change from the recipe I found in Everyday Food magazine. The directions call for 1 cup of water to be added to the meat mixture. This left the meat bland, in my opinion. Good... OK... But bland. My fix for that? Use 1 cup of Guinness. It adds flavor to the meat. Funny bit of info for you: No one in my house drinks beer. But I keep a bottle of Guinness corked (with a wine cork) and in the fridge for cooking.

The recipe serves 8- or more. But it's really easy to half...

Ingredients
* 2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4), peeled and thinly sliced
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
* 6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, quartered if large, and thinly sliced
* 6 celery stalks, thinly sliced
note: you can add practically any veggie to this: green beans, leeks, small florets of broccoli...
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup tomato paste
* 2 pounds ground beef chuck (you could also use ground turkey or a half/half mix of turkey & beef)
* 1 c Guinness (optional)
* 1 cup whole milk (I used skim)
* 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar (6 ounces)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover by 1 inch with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, onion, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beef; cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 cup water or Guinness; bring to a boil, and simmer 1 minute. Set beef filling aside.

3. Drain potatoes; return to pan. Cook over medium, stirring, until liquid has evaporated and a thin film covers bottom of pan, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; add milk and 1 cup cheese. Mash until smooth; season cheddar-potato topping with salt and pepper.

4. Pour beef filling into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Drop dollops of topping over filling; spread to edges with a spatula. Using a fork, make decorative peaks; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling rapidly, about 20 minutes (if topping and filling were chilled, increase to 35 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead Tip: Both filling and topping can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated separately.

Homemade Cheeseburger Pizza (including Quick Pizza Dough)

Before the title scares you off I want to let you know that this is a very easy recipe! I was pleasantly surprised by just how easily this pizza came together. And how good it is! I may never order out again. Between this recipe and the calzones recipe from last year (try the quick pizza dough recipe below for these) I have your pizza needs covered.

If you've never used the dough hook that came with your mixer this is the perfect time to try it! And don't worry if you don't have a dough hook. I actually kneaded it by hand.

The recipe comes from Cuisine at Home magazine. It begins with a Quick Pizza Dough. It takes about 1 ½ hours. This recipe will make 4 - 7" pizzas (or two 12").

You Need:

1 c warm water (100-110º F)
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 ¼ t.)
1 t honey
2 ½ c all purpose flour
½ c bread flour
1 T kosher salt
2 T olive oil

Directions:

Combine water, yeast & honey in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, 5 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Whisk both flours and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl); add yeast mixture and oil. Mix on low speed using a dough hook until well blended, smooth & dough springs back when pressed, about 7-10 minutes. (Or mix thoroughly with your hands; dough won't spring back or look smooth but it will still work.) Transfer to an oiled bowl, place in cool oven with the pot of boiling water on the rack next to it. Allow dough to rise about an hour.

Divide dough into quarters, shape into balls and wrap in plastic. Use right away or chill up to 1 hour. (You may freeze it now. Thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.) For baking instructions see following recipe.

On to the Cheeseburger Pizza.

You Need:

Quick Pizza Dough (recipe above)
¾ lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
Salt & pepper to taste
½ c ketchup
¼ c prepared yellow mustard
2 c shredded lettuce
½ c red onion, thinly sliced (I omitted this)
½ c grape tomatoes, halved (I just sliced some regular tomato)
½ c dill pickle chips, chopped
½ c mayonnaise
¼ c dill picle juice
1 c Velveeta, shredded, divided (I used shredded pizza/Italian blend cheese)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500ºF with a baking stone on the lowest rack. (No baking stone? No worries! I used regular baking sheets in the center rack and set the oven at 425ºF.)

Keep dough covered until ready to use.

Brown ground beef in a skillet (coat skillet with cooking spray is using very lean beef or turkey) over medium-high heat. Saute until cooked through, season with salt & pepper; drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Whisk ketchup and mustard in a small bowl; set aside.

Combine lettuce, onion, tomatoes & pickles in a bowl; whisk mayonnaise and pickle juice together in a separate bowl.

Roll one dough ball on a lightly floured surface into a 7" circle; place on pizza peel or back of a baking sheet coated with cornmeal. Spread 3T ketchup mixture onto dough, leaving a ½" border.

Brush edge of crust with oil and sprinkle with 1 t. sesame seeds. Top sauce with 1/3 c beef and ¼ c cheese. Slide pizza from the peel onto the stone and bake until cheese melts 8-10 minutes (if using a baking sheet bake for 10-12 minutes); remove from ovens. Top pizza with ¼ salad mixture and drizzle with mayonnaise sauce.

Assemble & bake remaining pizzas the same way.

Note: Don't think you have to use all the dressing on top of the pizzas! Keep some for dipping the crust! Yummy!