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.