2010 September — Cooking During Stolen Moments

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

September 29, 2010 By Kate 5 Comments

Over the years I’ve tried many different recipes and variations of baked spaghetti. Spaghetti is a favorite meal in our house, especially with the kids, and I love the idea of having a spaghetti casserole that I can freeze and stick in the oven for a quick meal. The only problem is that I’ve yet to make a baked spaghetti that would be considered a real winner with everyone.

Well, until now that is. I think I’ve finally figured out a good combination that combats the usual problems we have with baked spaghetti. The number one problem we run into is that we all find the traditional baked spaghetti too dry. The kids don’t like when the noodles get a little crispy and my husband and I never think the finished product is saucy enough.

So I decided to counter that problem with a little creaminess in the noodles. It worked perfectly. The dish was definitely not too dry and there were no crispy noodles for the kids to complain about. But more importantly, it did not turn out soupy either, which I was a little concerned with. The taste might be a little off from a traditional spaghetti with meat sauce dinner, but the spirit is definitely still there. And since I just know this will freeze perfectly, it’s going to be a great option for stocking the freezer in our house.

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

1/2 – 1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley
2 t. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. sugar
1/2 – 1 lb. spaghetti
1 c. cottage or ricotta cheese
3 oz. cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c. shredded Mozzarella or Italian blend cheese

1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef with onion, pepper and garlic. Drain. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes before removing from heat to cool.

2. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cool water.

3. In a large bowl, stir together the cottage or ricotta cheese, cream cheese, egg and Parmesan cheese until combined. Add spaghetti and stir until well mixed. Pour into a greased 13×9 casserole dish. Spoon the meat sauce on top of the spaghetti and cover with shredded cheese.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden. (If made during stolen moments, let the casserole dish come to room temperature while the oven heats.)

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Reader Questions Answered: Freezing Cookie Dough

September 27, 2010 By Kate 5 Comments

When I wrote about one of my baking days several weeks ago, I had quite a few people ask about freezing cookies and cookie dough. I meant to answer that question much sooner, but it slipped my mind for some reason. (I’ll blame it on pregnancy brain for now, at least while I still can!)

I successfully freeze both cookie dough and baked cookies. However, my preference would definitely be for freezing the cookie dough. This has nothing to do with quality and everything to do with personality. Frozen cookies can be thawed in about 10 seconds. In fact, they can even be eaten frozen. So needless to say, they don’t last very long in our house.

Here are the two methods I use for freezing cookie dough.

The log (aka slice-and-bake) method. I form the cookie dough into a log, wrap in waxed paper (if available) and then place in a plastic freezer bag. To bake the cookies, I slice the desired size off the frozen log, if the dough is workable when frozen. If it is too hard to cut through the frozen dough, I let it thaw for about an hour in refrigerator first. Then I slice and bake.
The ball method. I roll the cookies into a ball by hand or with a cookie scoop. Then I place on a foil-lined baking sheet or large plate and flash freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. I then transfer the frozen balls of dough to a plastic freezer bag. To bake the cookies, I remove as many as needed, place on a cookie sheet and bake from frozen. I find that frozen cookie dough usually only needs an extra minute or two of bake time.

To freeze baked cookies, I start with completely cooled cookies. Then I follow the same flash freeze method as above and freeze in a plastic freezer bag or container. I thaw the cookies on the counter in about 15-30 minutes (certain cookies will thaw faster than others) or in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Cookies that are supposed to be very soft and chewy, like sugar or molasses cookies, will have the best texture if they are wrapped in cheese cloth or paper towel before thawing.

One last tip – hide that frozen dough or those frozen cookies, especially if you are saving them for a certain occasion!

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Tropical Carrot Bread

September 26, 2010 By Kate 12 Comments

Over the past few days, I have been more thankful than ever for our freezer stash of food. Unfortunately, that thankfulness stems from the fact that we have been digging into what is supposed to be post-baby goodies and meals. But there’s been a bit of a change in plans, so it’s so nice to have the option of using the freezer.

Last week, a severe bout of false labor (steady contractions every 6-7 minutes for several hours) had my husband and I taking a trip to the hospital on Thursday morning. While it did turn out to be false labor, we found out that the baby is breech. So our best laid plans for a fifth natural birth have been dropped, unless the baby surprises us all and flips to a head-down position. We will be scheduling a c-section for the 39 week mark. For me to make it to 39 weeks will take nothing short of a miracle given my history of early deliveries. Since almost any kind of activity triggers another bout of contractions, I’m pretty much grounded until then.

While I’d love to still be focusing on filling up the freezer even more instead of depleting its reserves, I am so thankful for the meals we’ve been enjoying with minimal effort on my part. I am still hoping that we can leave a good portion untouched as I know we’ll now need it more than ever after the baby is born. So I’m trying to plan some easy meals for the next few weeks, especially ones that can be stretched for more than a day. Every day seems like a new adventure though and I feel like a walking time bomb. I guess we’ll just have to take it a day at a time and be grateful for each extra day.

I was hesitant to pull a loaf of Tropical Carrot Bread out of the freezer since I was really looking forward to having a slice or two for breakfast while nursing a newborn. But it was just calling to me (and the kids) the other day. We made quick work of it and polished the whole loaf off in a day between breakfast and after school snacks.

Tropical Carrot Bread

3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil
1/2 c. applesauce
1 c. finely shredded carrots
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 t. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 c. shredded coconut or coconut flakes
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/4 t. ginger, optional
1/4 t. nutmeg, optional

1. In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the oil and applesauce; beat an additional minute. Then add the carrots, pineapple and vanilla; beat just until combined.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Slowly add into the mixing bowl, beating or stirring by hand just until completely moistened and combined.

3. Evenly divide the batter among two greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Stop by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for Tasty Tuesday or Blessed With Grace for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

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