Almond Crescent Cookies

Almond crescent cookies are another Christmas standard. In my box of Mom's recipes, I found the recipe below written by Mom and a nearly identical version written by Grandma, so I guess this recipe has a long family history.

This batch ended up with the cookies being a bit larger than I remember Mom making them. But what didn't change with this batch was the terrific almond flavor. These cookies store well and can be made in advance.

This cookie recipe is the last Christmas cookie recipe for the 2011 holiday season. You will have to come back next December for more of Mom's awesome Christmas cookies.

Almond Crescent Cookies

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. brandy
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 cup chopped almonds plus more to coat the cookies
• 2 cups flour

Cream butter with the powdered sugar until light. Mix in brandy and water. Add in chopped almonds and flour and mix well. Chill the dough. 

Preheat oven to 350. Shape small pieces of dough into crescents. Roll each cookie in the extra chopped almonds. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12 to 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Spritz Cookies

Although Spritz cookies can be made anytime of the year by adjusting the shape used, Mom always made Spritz cookies for Christmas. The standard Spritz cookie is really just a butter cookie. What makes the Spritz so special is the use of a cookie press. You can see my cookie press in the photo. For this batch, I added food coloring to the dough and used the Christmas tree shape. The cookies could be decorated more, but with such nice shapes as a result of the cookie press, not much more is needed. Nevertheless, in the recipe below, I have included Mom's decoration notes from the recipe.

The use of the cookie press may require some finesse. If the dough is too soft or too stiff, it will be difficult to work with. Also, I have found that my cookie press sometimes requires a bit of an extra squeeze to get the cookie just right. But the work is worth it to get these lovely little cookies.

Spritz

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 1/4 powdered sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 tsp. extract (vanilla, almond, etc.)

Preheat oven to 375. Mix flour and salt and set aside. Put butter in a large mixing bowl with sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, extract and food coloring (if desired). Add flour mixture and beat until just blended. Fill the cookie press with the dough and press onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Decoration Options
1. Add 10-15 drops food coloring with mixing the dough.
2. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with colored sugar.
3. Ornamental frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat 1 egg white, 1 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar until very thick, but still able to flow easily through a pastry tube. Add more sugar is needed. Use food coloring to tint. Use a pastry tube to decorate cookies.

Peanut Butter Fudge

What could be better than Fudge? Peanut Butter Fudge! Don't get me wrong, I love Mom's Fudge. But Mom often made lots of regular chocolate fudge, but very little peanut butter fudge. It seems to me like more of a special treat than just regular fudge. Some people prefer chocolate fudge, which I understand because I would never turn down a piece of any of Mom's fudge. Maybe next time I make fudge, I should to combine these two great recipes into a chocolate and peanut butter swirl fudge.

I always prefer peanut butter fudge made with creamy peanut butter. You can use crunchy peanut butter, but why would you when creamy peanut butter is so much better. I never understood crunchy peanut butter--are you eating peanut butter or peanuts? Make up your mind. Every now and then, Mom would experiment with adding nuts to either of the fudge recipes. Fudge with nuts was not popular among us kids. Nuts seemed to ruin the sugary goodness of fudge. I vaguely recall eating around the nuts. As such, I never add nuts to fudge that I make.

The recipe for this fudge is actually identical to regular fudge, just substitute peanut butter for the chocolate chips. As with regular fudge, once the fudge is poured into the pan, it needs some time to set--several hours or overnight if you can resist temptation to dig right in.

Peanut Butter Fudge

3 cup sugar

3/4 cup margarine

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 cup peanut butter

7 oz. marshmellow creme

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, margarine and milk in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, crème and vanilla and mix until well combines. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

In the week before Christmas, Mom's kitchen turns into a cookie factory. For several days, Mom bakes loads of cookies. Then, Mom assembled plates of cookies to be given to friends and family.

When we were young, Mom always enlisted us all to help. I especially liked to help so that I could also taste test all the cookies. Mom limited our cookie taste-testing to the cookies that did not come out quite right (not that we ever intentionally damaged cookies). There are so many great cookie recipes, I will not be able to post them all this year. You will have to come back next year to see more.

This recipe--a basic sugar cookie--is made special with the use of Christmas-themed cookie cutters. To make this batch, I used Mom's cookie cutters. My favorite shape is the Christmas tree because it is so easy to work with the shape. Some of the cookie cutters result in delicate cookies that break easily. No matter the shape, these cookies are always delicious.

Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter with sugar. Add vanilla and egg; beat until fluffy. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt and blend well. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours. Using about a fistful of dough at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Place the cookies on cookie sheets and bake at 325 for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool. 

Sugar Frosting

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• water
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• food coloring

Blend the sugar with vanilla and enough water to create a smooth thick frosting. Add food coloring. Frost cookies and add sprinkles or other decorative candies.

Fudge

Mom's fudge is a Christmas tradition. Maybe I am biased, but I think it is the best fudge that you will ever taste.

In addition to MDS, this time, our good friends Natalie and John got to be taste-testers. The fudge passed inspection.

The fudge is fairly easy to make, but there is one step that requires complete attention to avoid burning. While the sugar mixture is boiling, you must constantly stir. And I really mean constantly stir, or it will burn. When I was young, Mom would not let me near the boiling sugar; I guess she knew I would not have been able to resist trying to sample the tasty sugar mix. Usually, Dad would be put in charge of stirring so that Mom could prepare the pans. The fudge needs to cool for at least a few hours or overnight so that it fully sets.

Just before Christmas, Mom makes multiple batches of fudge to include in her cookie plates. More recently, Mom pours the fudge into the bottom of the plate so that after eating a plate of cookies, there is a wonderful plate of fudge waiting. Mom's fudge is always a favorite.

Fudge

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 12 oz. package chocolate chips
• 7 oz. marshmellow creme
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, margarine and milk in a large heavy pan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in chips, marshmellow creme and vanilla and mix until well combined. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan. Cool completely before cutting.

Pumpkin Pie

Just as with the apple pie, pumpkin pie plays a key role at Mom's Thanksgiving. I love both apple pie and pumpkin pie, but I think my current favorite is pumpkin pie. Actually, I can't get enough of anything made with pumpkin: pumpkin scones, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin granola, pumpkin latte. I could go on. If it has pumpkin in it, you can bet I will like it.

This pumpkin pie recipe is fairly standard, as far as pumpkin pies go. You will need to adjust the cooking time to suit your oven. Mom says that it usually takes longer time in her oven for this custard-style pie to set. Be patient and let the pie cook properly, otherwise you will have a gooey mess on your hands.

Pumpkin Pie

• pie pastry
• 1 can (15 ounce) canned pumpkin
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup milk

Line a pie pan with the pie pastry. Blend all other ingredients and pour the pumpkin mixture into pie shell. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 350 and bake for 50 to 60 minutes more until the center is firm and a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting. 

Apple Pie

There was so much good food at Thanksgiving, but Mom's pies might be my favorite. Despite being stuffed with stuffing, turkey and all the rest, I would eat pie and sometimes have a second helping of pie later in the night. Mom always made apple and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. I hear about others having different Thanksgiving pies--such as pecan or chocolate--but only apple and pumpkin mean Thanksgiving to me.

Mom often made the pies in large 9x13 rectangle pans, instead of pie pans, to make more pie. When there are seven kids, there needs to be enough pies for everyone. I also remember what a treat it was to have whipped cream from a can on top of the pie. Now that I am older, I like whipped cream made from actual cream, but the taste of whipped cream from a can brings back memories.

Mom always made a crumb topped apple pie. A double-crust pie looks pretty, but does not taste as good as the delicious sugary crumb topping. On Thanksgiving morning, after the stuffing was made, we would get put to work peeling and slicing apples. I remember eating a fair amount of apple slices before they could make it into the pie. Mom usually assembled the apple pie early in the day and leave it in the fridge until after the turkey came out of the oven.


Apple Pie

Pie Pastry
(yields 4 single crusts)

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 pound (1 cup) vegetable shortening
• 7 Tbsp cold water
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp vinegar

Mix flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, blend in the vegetable shortening. Use a fork to blend in the water, egg, and vinegar. Divide dough into four balls. Individual balls can be frozen for later use.

Use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry on a floured surface. The pastry should be rolled into a shape just larger than the pan you will be using for the pie. If the pastry is too dry or cracks, use a little water to smooth over or repair the cracks. Carefully transfer the pastry into the pie pan. Use your fingers to create a fluted edge.

Apple Pie Filling

• 5-6 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon to coat the apple pieces. Transfer filing to the pastry-lined pie pan.

Crumb Topping

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. butter

Mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over the filled pie.

Preheat the oven to 375. Cover the edges of the pie with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more until top is golden and fruit is tender.

Stuffing

Now that it is November, my thoughts have turned to Thanksgiving. The single best item from Mom's Thanksgiving is her stuffing. I know someone who is happy just to eat a plate of stuffing all on its own. The batch of stuffing that I made for this post disappeared so quickly that I never got a second serving.

Thanksgiving is a holiday when the food takes center stage. I remember not eating all day on Thanksgiving in anticipation of the feast. The smells of the turkey, stuffing, pies, and other goodies cooking all day made me so hungry, but I would resist the temptation to eat knowing that the dinner would be delicious.

On Thanksgiving morning, the stuffing was the first thing that Mom made so that it could be stuffed into the turkey. Whoever was around would get recruited to help tear up the bread after it was toasted. Mom would toast the bread on cookie sheets in the oven. Each time a pan would come out, we would happily tear the bread into pieces. When there wasn't bread to tear, Mom would put us to work peeling apples for the pie (a post for another day). Mom used a large stock pot to mix up the stuffing because that was the largest container available and it is helpful to have a large container. Mom always managed to get all the stuffing into the bird. I often make a smaller bird, so I end up cooking some of the stuffing separately in a baking dish. Despite the name "stuffing," this recipe easily cooks up in a dish without being stuffed into a bird.

This stuffing recipe is always the best stuffing to me. I have tasted other stuffing recipes, but this one tastes the best to me. Maybe it is because it is the stuffing that I grew up with or maybe the flavors are just right, but to me nothing compares.

Old Fashioned Sage and Celery Stuffing

• 1 bunch of celery, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 cup margarine
• 3 bullion cubes
• 1 1/2 loaves of bread
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp pepper

Saute the celery and onion in margarine and bullion, until tender. Meanwhile, toast the bread and tear it into small cubes. Add the salt, sage, poultry seasoning and pepper. Add the celery and onion to the bread mixture. Stir to evenly combine and add just enough water to moisten (about 1/2 to 1 cup).

The stuffing can be cooked in the cavity of a turkey. Or, place the stuffing in a baking dish and cook on 375 for 30 minutes.

Taco Dinner

Laura recalls that her first dinner at the Buckley household was taco dinner. What an introduction to the Buckley family! I suppose it could have been worse. In any case, Laura learned of the need to fend for yourself if you wanted the "good" taco toppings, or, for that matter, anything in our household.

When we were kids, Mom always made tacos the same way--ground beef, hard taco shells, and a buffet of toppings. Mom would use a standard taco seasoning packet that you can find at just about any grocery store.  I have recently started using Trader Joe's taco seasoning, and it seems to be the best. Mom did have a secret seasoning--Worcestershire sauce--that she added to the meat with the taco seasoning. Worcestershire sauce has always been a mystery to me. I do not understand its contents, but it always makes dishes tastier.

Mom always used hard taco shells and I usually end up unintentionally breaking the shells and needing a fork to eat the fallout. But there is something satisfying about the crunch of a taco. As for toppings, there was always chopped iceberg lettuce, chopped fresh tomato, cheese and sour cream. The cheese would often be just sliced American cheese, cut up to be like shredded cheese. I don't remember any other toppings as part of the dinner, but I could be wrong.

Taco Dinner

• 1 package hard taco shells
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• iceberg lettuce
• tomato
• shredded cheese
• sour cream

Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Add the taco seasoning and Worcestershire sauce and turn heat to low. Meanwhile, prepare the toppings by chopping the lettuce and tomato. Arrange the ingredients as a buffet for taco assembly. Enjoy!

French Toast

Megan recently reminded us of Mom's french toast. Breakfast was often an on-your-own meal, but sometimes Mom would make french toast. Mom would especially make french toast for Noah. Mom recently said that it was her attempt to diversify Noah's diet, which primarily consisted of mac & cheese and M&Ms. I doubt french toast actually adds much diversity to such a diet. But french toast sure tastes good.

French toast is made from simple ingredients that are probably sitting around your house--bread, eggs, milk, a little sugar. Other ingredients could be used to fancy up the french toast. MDS and I recently had french toast at Mexique in Chicago, which used a tequila and orange mix to make french toast. Next time I make french toast, I think I may try to recreate that tasty blend. For this french toast, I stuck to the basics.

French Toast

• 6 slices of bread
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• maple syrup

Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat on medium heat. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and add the milk and sugar. Dredge each piece of bread through the egg mixture and coat each side of the bread. Place the bread on the skillet. Cook each side of the bread until brown, about 5 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup. Enjoy!

Sausage & Peppers

Mom always cooked Italian sausage with peppers and nothing else. Then, the cooked sausage and peppers would be served in good French bread. You don't need anything else for this easy and delicious dish.

Mom always used sweet sausage. You can get the Italian sausage anywhere, but my favorite place to get the sausage is Paulina Meat Market. Also, Mom always used green bell peppers, but I suppose any bell pepper would do.

The sausage and peppers can be served without the bread. Occasionally, I add Marsala wine after the sausage is brown and reduce the wine. Sometimes, I will add onions when I add in the peppers. But Mom's version is always just sausage and peppers and always tasty.

Sausage & Peppers

• 5 Italian Sausages
• 3 large bell peppers
• Bread to make sandwiches

Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place on stove top on medium heat. Place sausages in the pan and brown each side, about five minutes per side.

While the sausage is browning, wash and slice the peppers in to thin strips about one to two inches long. After the sausage is browned, add the peppers. You may need to add a little water at this point. Cover the skillet and allow to cook until the sausages a cooked through and the peppers are tender, about ten minutes or so. Stir occasionally to be sure there is even cooking.

Breaded Pork Tenderloin

Breaded pork tenderloin makes for a tasty Sunday night dinner when paired with potato pancakes or creamy garlic noodles or both. The creamy garlic noodles are a mix from the pasta aisle. Potato pancakes are a favorite in my house--MDS even ate them as leftovers!

Breaded pork is so easy that it could easily be a weekday meal, but I remember Mom usually making this dish on Sunday. Mom always pounded the pork a bit to make it fairly thin. Depending on how much you want to make, you can buy already sliced pork, or buy a large tenderloin and slice it yourself. Thinly slicing the pork helps it cook quickly, but still have so much flavor.

If you happen to have leftovers, I recommend making up a sandwich. I always like just the pork between two slices of bread, with nothing else added. Of course, you could add any sandwich ingredients, such as mustard or mayo, or veggies. But to me, just the pork on bread makes for a tasty lunch.

Mom uses Italian seasoned bread crumbs. Because I did not have any on hand, I just improvised by adding oregano, garlic, and onion to the regular bread crumbs.

Breaded Pork Tenderloin

• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 thinly sliced boneless pork tenderloin

Prepare the pork by pounding each piece so they are about equally thin. Beat the egg in a bowl and add a dash of salt and pepper. In another bowl, place the seasoned bread crumbs. Dredge each piece of pork through the egg and then the bread crumbs, covering each completely.

Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat the skillet over medium heat. Melt a tablespoon of butter or margarine in the skillet. Cook each piece of pork for a few minutes on each side, until completely cooked. Enjoy!

Mom's French Bread

Mom is famous for her bread. She usually makes this easy french bread. And eating the bread fresh out of the oven is hard to resist (this bread quickly disappears shortly after it comes out of the oven). Like the rest of the Buckley family, I probably could eat just this bread for most of my meals and not miss anything. Mom often made this bread on Sundays, especially in the winter. She now often makes it to bring to family parties. It is always a favorite.

When we lived on Lincoln, Mom used to put the bowl with the rising dough on the black easy chair in the living room. It would not take long for the whole house to smell of bread.

When Mom makes bread, she never uses a thermometer to determine the temperature of the water.  She just runs the top on hot for a bit and always seems to know the right temperature. As for me, I need to use a thermometer. If the water is too hot or too cold, the bread will not rise and it will not taste right. I do not know Mom's secret for always getting it right, but when I figure it out, I will let you know. Mom never used a mixer to make bread; instead, she just mix and kneaded by hand. While you could use a mixer with a dough hook to handle the kneading, it is just as easy to use your hands.

Mom's Bread

• about 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tsp. salt
• 1 package yeast
• 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1 3/4 cup hot water

In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Heat water to 120 degrees and add the butter to the water.  Add the water and butter to the flour mixture. Mix well with a fork.  At this point the dough should be fairly liquid.  Once the mixture is smooth, add in more flour (usually 2 to 3 more cups) until a soft dough is formed. Then, turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead, incorporating the remaining flour in as you go, for about 8 minutes. The dough should become somewhat elastic. Form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel (use a damp towel if the weather is dry) and let the dough rise until it doubles, about 1 to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Let rest about 10 minutes. Divide the dough into two halves. For each half, roll out the dough so it is about 12 inches long. Then, roll the dough to form a loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. Form the second half into a loaf. Cover the dough with a towel and let rise again, for about 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. The bread is done when you knock on the loaf and it sounds or feels hallow. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Pie

What to do with leftover Spaghetti & Gravy? Make Spaghetti Pie, of course.

Now in my house, there is someone who usually does not like leftovers, but loves leftover Spaghetti & Gravy. So making Spaghetti Pie involves a certain amount of negotiation or subterfuge to prevent the leftover Spaghetti & Gravy from being eaten before Spaghetti Pie can be made. But, as it turns out, MDS liked Spaghetti Pie, so maybe we will have it more often (I doubt it).

Mom made Spaghetti Pie only on the rare occurrence of too much leftover Saturday night spaghetti. Spaghetti Pie is a nice and tasty way to heat up leftovers. Another way that Mom heated up leftover spaghetti involved a pan on the stovetop with added Parmesan cheese. But Spaghetti Pie was just a little more special, but still very easy to make. While normally we did not eat much cottage cheese in our house, the addition of cottage cheese to Spaghetti Pie gives it a nice tang. So go ahead and make extra spaghetti & gravy, because you can always make a pie with the leftovers.

Spaghetti Pie

• Leftover Spaghetti & Gravy
• 8 oz. cottage cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Parmesan cheese for topping

Mix leftover spaghetti and gravy with the cottage cheese and the beaten egg.  Place in greased dish (pie dish if you have a smaller amount, or 9X13 pan if you have more). Cover with cheese. Bake covered for about 25 to 30 minutes at 350.  

Egg McMuffins

At some point in the mid-1980s, my family got a microwave. I remember that it was large and took up a good amount of counter space, but it was worth all the space it used up. Mom experimented with the microwave, and one experiment that became a household standard was Mom's interpretation of the Egg McMuffin, the McDonald's breakfast standard composed of egg, ham, english muffin and cheese. Mom always toasted the english muffin. Instead of a griddle-fried egg, she used microwaved scrambled eggs. I don't recall Mom using ham, but she did use cheese. One other difference is that Mom always made these as open-face sandwiches.

For a while there, we had Mom's Egg McMuffins regularly. Maybe it was because we could make them ourselves with little or no intervention from Mom. While Egg McMuffins make great breakfast food, they are also good as breakfast for dinner.

This recipe is easy to make for one person or can be easily made for many. To microwave the scrambled eggs, you will need to watch carefully the first time in order to get the timing right. You will also need to stop the cooking once or twice to mix up the eggs as they cook, otherwise, the eggs will be one large chunk of cooked eggs.

Mom's Egg McMuffins

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon of milk
• salt and pepper 
• 2 slices of cheese
• English muffin

Toast the english muffins and butter them.

Place the butter in a microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwave, about 10 seconds. Break the eggs into the bowl, add the milk, salt and pepper. Use a fork to scramble the eggs. Microwave for about 90 seconds, but stop once or twice during the time to mix the eggs.

Once the eggs are done, carefully place the eggs onto the english muffins. Top each with a slice of cheese. Microwave for about 15 seconds to melt the cheese. Enjoy!

Tuna Rockefeller

So many of Mom's recipes are casseroles--a bunch of ingredients thrown together in a dish and heated in the oven for a bit. Tuna Rockefeller is such a recipe. Easy on a weekday night, Tuna Rockefeller is made from ingredients that are usually kept around for use anytime. Served with a side of veggies, this recipe can be the family's main dish, a side dish or a potluck dish.

As with so many casseroles, just mix all the ingredients together. Note: I recommend thoroughly defrosting the frozen spinach so that it mixes easier and excess water can be drained. I used an 8-inch round casserole dish but any type of similarly sized dish could do.

Tuna Rockefeller

• 1 large can (12 ounces) tuna, drained
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, drained
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• salt and grated pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese plus extra for top

Mix together all ingredients. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Spread the tuna mix into the dish. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until done. If you would like the cheese somewhat browned, you can use the broiler for the last five minutes or so.

Lasagna

Mom usually made lasagna for family parties, and it makes a great party dish because you can serve it in small or large dishes. It can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer until it is ready to be baked. Lasagna is also very good as leftovers, but then again in our house just about everything was enjoyed as leftovers.

There are other recipes for lasagna, such as vegetable lasagna or spinach lasagna. But as far as I am concerned, there is only one: Mom's lasagna. Like so many of Mom's recipes, I don't know if this recipe was ever written down. I know it from years of making lasagna with Mom.

Sometimes, Mom would make it the day before the party and store it in the fridge overnight and then just stick it in the oven before the party. A few years ago, I used to make lasagnas for Grandpa to keep in the freezer and put in the oven for dinner. I made the lasagnas in small pans that would be enough for one or two meals. This lasagna stores well in the freezer, but after all the work that goes into making the lasagna, why bother freezing it when you can have a big pan of lasagna to enjoy.

The first thing to do is to gather the ingredients. While some ingredients are pantry staples, other ingredients are not household standards. I do not have a preferred brand of noodles, but I personally do not like the no-boil noodles; they never cook right. While cooking the noodles adds some time to this already time-intensive dish, the noodles can be cooked while making the gravy and hard-boiling the eggs.

Lasagna
1 box lasagna noodles
Gravy
6 hard-boiled eggs
1 pint ricotta
1 cup shredded mozzarella
grated parmesan

First, prepare the various components. Get the gravy going. It can always simmer as everything is being prepared. Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain and carefully separate the noodles to prevent them from sticking together. You will need four layers of noodles, so separate the noodles into layer groups reserving the most intact noodles for the top and bottom layers. Meanwhile, hard-boil the eggs. After the eggs are cooked and peeled, finely chop the eggs then add a dash of salt and a double dash of ground pepper.

Once all the components are cooked, gather all the ingredients to prepare the lasagna.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Add a little bit of gravy to the bottom of the pan to prevent the noodles from sticking. Then, add a layer of noodles, followed by gravy, eggs, ricotta, and parmesan. You should use one-third of the eggs and ricotta because there will be two more layers with the eggs and ricotta. Use about one-fourth of the gravy because there will be three more layers using gravy. Once you have the gravy, eggs, ricotta, and parmesan down, you may need to evenly spread the layer with a fork. Then repeat two more times, starting again with the noodles. For the top layer, after putting down the noodles and gravy, cover with mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and cook at 350 for 25 minutes. Uncover and cook for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Allow 15 minutes to cool before cutting.

Mocha Pudding Frosting

Mom made a lot of birthday cakes -- at least seven a year for her seven kids. There were many kinds, but the one I remember most had a chocolate-coffee frosting, which I will call Mocha Pudding Frosting. Mom usually used decorator icing to write happy birthday. Decorating a cake is a lot harder than it looks--as you can see from the cake I made for MDS.

Chris and I remember this frosting being put on a chocolate cake. Mom thinks she used it on a yellow cake. Perhaps Mom just made the type of cake that the birthday kid wanted. While I will eat just about any type of cake, I prefer chocolate, so maybe that is why I remember the cake being chocolate. The cake was usually a pan cake, but there were times when Mom made other types of cakes. In our family lore, the most famous other cake was the blueberry layer cake Mom made for Grandpa, but that is a story for a future Spaghetti and Gravy post.

This frosting is easy and tasty. Its use of coffee disguised in chocolate must have been the beginning of my coffee addiction. All you need is a box of instant pudding, dream whip, instant coffee and milk. I loved to help Mom make this frosting because she would let me lick the bowl after she frosted the cake.

Mocha Pudding Frosting

• 1 box chocolate instant pudding
• 1 or 2 envelopes of Dream Whip
• 2 Tbsp. instant coffee
• Milk

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Use one half the amount of milk called for on the box of the pudding and Dream Whip. If desired, you can use more instant coffee. Using a hand mixer, beat on low until the ingredients are blended. Then beat on high for about five minutes until soft peaks form.

If needed, you can refrigerate the frosting to help it stiffen. This frosting works best on sheet cakes, but could be used on any type of cake.

The Kitchen Table

In our house, Mom's kitchen table was the place to be. Throughout childhood, at both the house on Lincoln Avenue and the house on Addison Road, the kitchen table was where everyone gathered.  It was a big table--it had to be in order to seat all seven kids, plus Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, the Grandkids, and whoever else might have been around.

Recently, we had to say goodbye to the kitchen table. Mom has downsized to a smaller house and the house on Addison was sold. I thought about trying to keep the kitchen table, but it is too big. So, instead of keeping the kitchen table, MDS suggested that I write a post here.

The first photo is from the house on Lincoln. It was taken just before Christmas as part of the annual photo shoot for the Christmas card. Mom and Dad would make us dress up in nice clothes and then take a number of photos throughout the house in different arrangements of the seven kids. Here, Noah is front and center.

We celebrated many birthdays around the kitchen table, so there are a lot of photos of one of us with a cake and candles. When we were young, Mom always baked the cakes. She would serve the cake in the cake pans. Those birthday cakes were always the best cakes.

After we had all moved out, any time we visited Mom and Dad, the first stop was the kitchen table. Often, I didn't get past the kitchen table and would spend the entire visit there. The kitchen table was the heart of the house.

Below are a number of family photos taken around the kitchen table. Some are old (in one, I am the crying baby), some are new (featuring Mom and Dad with the grandkids), there is even one photo featuring a Saturday night spaghetti & gravy dinner. But all the photos are a fun reminder of the good times around the kitchen table. My favorite photo is the one of Rich and Marvin in sunglasses. Which is your favorite?