Meat Loaf Miniatures

Tonight I made Meat Loaf Miniatures, a recipe from Taste of Home. These weren't bad, but they were fairly dry. If I made them again I would double the sauce recipe, and I would use 82% lean ground beef instead of the 93%. Not sure if I will make them again. Meatloaf never seems to come out as good as my grandmother's did.

Pioneer Woman's Linguine with Clam Sauce

Months ago I read about how Pioneer Woman makes linguine with clam sauce in this story she wrote. I couldn't wait to try the recipe out. So when I checked out her book from the library I was excited to see a recipe for Linguine with Clam Sauce, although it doesn't seem like the recipe is exactly what she described in her story. Anyway I tried the recipe last night, and didn't think it was anything great. It wasn't horrible, but it just didn't have much flavor, and I'd prefer a thicker sauce. I think it needed a lot more garlic, maybe a little more lemon or some lemon zest, and more wine. I want to try this recipe from the Frugal Gourmet for Spaghettini in Clams and Cream Sauce and see if I like it any better.

Pasta Tubes with Savory Prosciutto Filling

Tonight I made "Millerighi con Prosciutto Crudo" Pasta Tubes with Savory Prosciutto Filling by Mary Ann Esposito. Overall I thought this was decent. I would like to try it again and add some finely chopped broccoli and maybe some bread crumbs to this.

Here is the recipe:
12 large tubular pasta either millerighi or manicotti

For the filling:
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups diced prosciutto di Parma or cooked ham (I used ham)
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup grated carrots
Salt to taste
1/2 cup white sauce

For the sauce:
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
3 cups hot milk
2 cups Fontina cheese, cut into bits
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Salt to taste

Cook the pasta in 4 to 6 quarts of rapidly boiling water to which 1 tablespoon of salt has been added. Cook until al dente, about 4 minutes; the pasta should remain a bit firmer than normal because they will be baked in the oven and it is much easier to stuff them if they are still firm.
Drain, cool them, and set them aside while making the sauce.

To make the sauce:Melt the butter in a two quart saucepan over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, whisk in the flour and make a smooth paste. Slowly add the milk and continue whisking until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the Fontina cheese, thyme, and salt. Keep the sauce warm and covered.

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and stir in the onion; cook until the onion begins to wilt. Stir in the garlic and cook until the garlic softens. Stir in the prosciutto or ham; cook a couple of minutes. Stir in the carrots. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the cheese and 1/2 cup of the white sauce. Cool the mixture until easy enough to handle. Lightly butter two baking dishes.

Preheat the oven to 350F
Use a spoon or your hands to fill each pasta tube with some of the prosciutto mixture and place them in a single layer in the baking dishes. Cover them with the remaining sauce and sprinkle the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese evenly over the top.
Cover the dishes with aluminum foil and bake them for 30-35 minutes; uncover the dishes and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the top is nicely browned. Serve 2 per person as a first course. Or use as a main dish for a buffet.
Serves 6

Parmesan Popovers

Today I made "Parmesan Popovers" by Giada de Laurentiis. These looked great coming out of the oven but had no taste and were like eating spongy scrambled eggs. BLEH. I even tried them with butter to see if that would help and it did not. Definitely will not make these again.

Amish Broccoli Soup

While I haven't actually made this recipe myself, I ate it yesterday at a party and it was excellent! Basically a broccoli cheese soup but with noodles in it. Very tasty!

Amish Broccoli Soup

10 oz. box chopped broccoli, cooked
1/4 c chopped onion
3 c water
3 boullion cubes
1/2 pkg thin noodles (recipe specifies Inn Maid fine noodles, I'll probably substitute thin spaghetti because I've never seen Inn Maid brand)
3 c milk
1/3 lb Velveeta, cubed

Cook broccoli, set aside.
Cook onion in butter until tender.
Add water and bouillon cubs and boil until dissolved.
Add noodles and cook until tender.
Add milk and Velveeta. Heat on med-low until cheese is melted. Do not boil after milk is added. Add broccoli, serve.

Chicken Florentine

Tonight I made Chicken Florentine from Cook's Country April 2009 issue. It was pretty good and I think I will make it again. This would be good over some noodles too. Next time I think I will mix the spinach into the sauce rather than just pouring the sauce over it. I will add it to the Master List. I wonder if this recipe would freeze well. I will have to experiment with that.

Sizzler's Cheese Toast

I tried this recipe for a copycat Sizzler's Cheese Toast. This also was okay. I would like to try it with fresh minced garlic rather powdered garlic. I think that I will normally just use my old method for making homemade garlic bread which is to just butter some bread, sprinkle it with garlic salt, italian seasoning and maybe add some parmesan or mozzarella and broil it a few mins.