Black bean dip with topping

This was requested by Niamh 1 tsp. vegetable oil 1/4 cup chopped onion 1. Clove garlic 1. sweet green pepper, chopped 1/2 tsp each coriander, ground cumin and chili powder 1/4 cayenne pepper or crushed pepper flakes 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (19 oz) 2 tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice 3 tbsp chopped cilantro 1 small tomato chopped In nonstick skillet, heat oil over med. heat; cook onion, garlic and half of the green pepper until onion Is tender, about 5 min., stirring occasionally. Add ground coriander, cumin, chili powder and cayenne;cook, Stirring for 30 secs. Remove from heat. In food processor, process beans and lime juice. Add onion mixture and 1/2of fresh cilantro; process Until smooth. If too thick add up to 1/4cup of water, 1 tbsp. at a time. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour Or up to 3 days. Spoon into serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining green pepper, cilantro and tomato.

Macaroni and Cheese

4 cups macaroni
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter
2 cups milk
2-3 cups old cheddar cheese (grated)
1/4 tsp dried mustard (optional)
1/2 cup buttered bread crumbs

Butter 9 x 13 inch glass pan or 2 quart casserole. Preheat oven to 350 F

Make white sauce by melting butter and adding mustard and flour. Can be made in microwave or saucepan over medium heat. Stir flour and mustard into butter and continue cooking for 30 seconds. Slowly add milk and return to heat. Bring to boil stirring often.

Remove from heat and add grated cheddar cheese.

In the meantime cook macaroni until tender. Drain and rinse and put in casserole dish. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and gently mix. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake 35 - 40 minutes until bubbling.

Spaghetti Carbonara

2 tbsp butter or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz pancetta or diced bacon
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
12 oz spaghetti
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. In small skillet, melt butter or oil over medium heat; cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until softened. Add pancetta(or bacon) cook, stirring occasionaly, for about 6 minutes. In small bowl, lightly beat eggs with salt; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti for 8 to 10 minutes until tender but firm. Drain and return to pot over medium heat.

3. Immediately stir in parmesan, parsley and pancetta mixture. Stir in eggs, cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds until eggs are lightly cooked and pasta is coated.

Makes 4 servings.

Artichoke Spinach Lasagna

9 cooked or uncooked lasagne noodles
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
14 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts drained and chopped
1 pkg (10 oz) fresh or frozen chopped spinach
28 oz jar tomato pasta sauce
3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

In skillet add 1 tbsp veg oil and saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes until onion is soft. Stir in broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.

Cook lasagne noodles in large pot of boiling water 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.

Spread 1/4 of sauce in bottom of pan. Top with 3 cooked noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers twice ending with sauce and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.

Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minurwa more until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 8

Shepherd's Pie

This can be made either with hamburger or leftover ground roast beef.
If you don't have leftover mashed potatoes, boil 5 potatoes and mash with milk and butter. If Julia is eating you might need 6 potatoes. She loves mashed potatoes!

1 lb lean ground beef
2 small onions chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot minced (optional)
1/3 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup water
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
fresh ground pepper
1 can creamed corn (optional)

In skillet over medium heat, cook beef, stirring to break up meat, until brown; pour off fat. Add onions, garlic and carrot (if using). Cook until tender. Add tomato paste, thyme, worcestershire sauce and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 or 15 minutes stirring frequently.
Spoon the meat mixture into 2 L baking dish; if using creamed corn spread over meat and then spread mashed potatoes evenly on top. Bake in 375 f oven for 35 minutes.
Makes 5 - 6 servings.

Lasagne

If I don't have time to make spagetti sauce for the lasagne, sometimes I just brown some ground beef, onion and garlic and add two cans sauce then proceed.

2 cups ricotta or cottage cheese
1 egg
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

12 lasagne noodles (cook as directed on package or buy non-cooking)

In a 13 X 9 inch baking dish put 1/3 of spagetti sauce. Top with 3-4 noodles.
Spread 1/2 of cheese/egg mixture over noodles and spoon a small amount of sauce over.
Top with 3-4 more noodles and spread with rest of cheese/egg mixture covered with a small amount of sauce. Put 3-4 noodles on top and cover with sauce. Sprinkle with mozarella and bake at 350F for 40- 45 minutes.

Baked Ham

Ham is pretty easy to cook. Buy a bone-in ham. Oven temperature is 325 F and only needs to cook for 15 minutes per pound. Just place it in the pan and put it in the oven.
If you want to make a glaze use the leftover juice from the curried fruit. To one cup of fruit juice add 1 tbsp of brown sugar and 1 tsp dried mustard. Half-way through the cooking of the ham baste it with the juice and do it every 15 minutes until done. You can turn the heat up for the last hour so you can cook the scalloped potatoes at the same time. Cover the ham with tinfoil until ready to cut. Pea soup recipe to follow.