Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

I found this on allrecipes.com.

1 (32 oz) package frozen hash brown potatoes
8 ounces cooked, diced ham
2 (10.75 oz) cans condensed cream of potato soup
16 oz sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 9x13 baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix the hash browns, ham, soup, sour cream, and cheddar. Spread evenly into the baking dish and sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for one hour or until bubbly and light brown.

Roasted Vegetables and Garlic

This is a Wegmans recipe. It is one of our favorites in the summer because we can grow so many of the vegetables. I don't always use everything in the recipe if I don't have it, and I have substituted fresh cherry tomatoes for sun dried tomatoes. Just add them to the rest of the veggies and bake.

1 pkg (16 oz) Italian Classic Whole Wheat Penne Rigate (Grocery Dept), prepared per pkg directions, keep warm
1 medium eggplant,1-inch dice
1 medium sweet green pepper, 1-inch dice
1 medium sweet red pepper, 1-inch dice

1 medium yellow cooking onion, peeled, 1-inch dice
1 clove Food You Feel Good About Peeled Garlic, chopped
1 medium zucchini, 1-inch dice
1 medium yellow squash, 1-inch dice
1 pkg (8 oz) sliced baby bella mushrooms
5 Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
5 Tbsp Wegmans Pure Olive Oil
Wegmans Sea Salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg (6 oz) Food You Feel Good About Fresh Baby Spinach
2 oz roasted red tomatoes (Mediterranean Bar), sliced thinly (about 1/3 cup)
4 Tbsp Italian Classics Shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese (Cheese Shop)
link

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Toss eggplant, green pepper, red pepper, onion, garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms with basting oil and olive oil in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   
2. Spread vegetables in a single layer on baking sheet. Roast about 30 min, until softened and lightly browned.
   
3. Combine pasta, vegetables, and raw spinach in large bowl. Toss gently until spinach wilts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with tomatoes; sprinkle with cheese.

https://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&productId=348510&catalogId=10002&krypto=QJrbAudPd0vzXUGByeatog%3D%3D&ddkey=http:ProductDisplay

Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake

I made this for the first time last night at book club. Several people asked for the recipe. Surprisingly easy for such a yummy cheesecake.

The recipe is Anthony Romano's. He is the executive chef at Players on Madison in Lakewood Ohio.


Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used two packages of crackers ground up in the cuisinart)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter, melted

I just put all of the dry ingredients in my cuisinart, mixed them up and then added the butter. Press the mixture into a 9-inch spring form pan.

Chocolate Filling
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
16 ounces Mascarpone cheese (it came in a 17.5 ounce container, I used it all)
6 eggs
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy. Add mascarpone cheese and combine well, scraping sides of bowl. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Put chocolate in a large glass bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Add half of the cream cheese mixture to the chocolate and combine well. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the crust. Pour the remaining plain cream cheese mixture on top and use a spoon to "marble" the filling.

Place spring form pan in the oven on top of a roasting pan (or any pan with a lip). Pour hot water into the roasting pan so that the spring form pan is surrounded by water. Bake 1 3/4 hours. Remove and cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Remove sides of spring form pan and refrigerate cake for 8-10 hours before serving.

Roasted Beets with Feta

I'm a sucker for Feta cheese, so when I had some beets from the farm share to use, and I saw this recipe...

4 beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached
1/4 cup minced shallot
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil, and place onto a baking sheet.

Bake beets in preheated oven until easily pierced with a fork, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once done, remove from oven, and allow to cool until you can handle them. Peel beets, and cut into 1/4 inch slices.

While the beets are roasting, whisk together shallot, parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and red wine vinegar in a bowl until blended; season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside.

To assemble the dish, place the warm, sliced beets onto a serving dish, pour vinaigrette over the beets, and sprinkle with feta cheese before serving.

From allrecipes.com

Chocolate Banana Bread

I saw this on Jamie Mitchell's blog. She doesn't say where she got it, but I found the picture she used at http://savorysweetlife.com/?p=1024 (credit to Alice). This is a slightly different recipe, though. It says this makes three loaves, but they come out sort of thin. If you can figure out at what temp and how long to bake it in two pans, give it a shot for a taller loaf.

1 cup butter, soft
2 cups sugar
2 t. vanilla
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 t. salt
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Cream butter, sugar & vanilla.
Add eggs & mix well. Mix all dry ingredients together. Mix bananas and sour cream together. Add the dry to the butter mixture. Mix in banana mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Grease three loaf pans and lace with cocoa powder or flour. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes to 1 hour. Test with toothpick.

**The author of SavorySweetLife.com posted a comment below. If you want to make one loaf instead of three, check the above link and try her recipe instead.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp lemon juice
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained

Melt cream cheese and butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Then add the spinach and artichoke heats. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with pita chips or bread.

Oven Ready Bran Muffins

Bran muffins are really delicious when they are hot out of the oven. I just found and tried this recipe on the back of my Hodgson Mill Unprocessed Wheat Bran box:

Mix batter according to directions. Store in refrigerator. Bake muffins at your convenience.

3 cups wheat bran
1 cup boiling water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk

Mix 1 cup wheat bran with 1 cup boiling water; stir and let water absorb into bran. In a separate bowl blend sugar and butter. Measure and combine flour, baking soda and salt. Combine the moist bran with beaten eggs, the remaining 2 cups of bran, buttermilk, blended sugar-butter mixture, and flour, soda and salt mixture. Stir until well blended.

Place in the refrigerator for future use, or bake at once. Preheat oven to 400F. Stir batter well and spoon into prepared muffin tins. Bake 15 minutes. Keep remaining mixture in airtight container for 2 to 4 weeks. Yield: 2 dozen.