The "Martha Side" of Me ~ Tortellini Soup

A friend of mine--whose name happens to be Martha--recently served this at our weekly Study Group. It was delicious, filling, and easy!








Tortellini Soup

1 lg. jar/can spaghetti sauce
2 qts. chicken broth/stock
1 pkg. frozen tortellini (any variety) ~ as you can see, I could only find ravioli :-)
1 pkg. frozen meatballs (any variety)
1 pkg. frozen spinach or broccoli
1 can diced tomatoes (optional)

Heat spag. sauce and broth--bring to boil. Add frozen tort., meatballs, and veggie and cook/simmer 30 minutes.

The "Martha Side" of Me ~ Snickerdoodles

I love, love, LOVE snickerdoodle cookies. But up until last year mine never turned out quite right--that's when I discovered a recipe from a former co-worker that I'd saved from the early 90's!!! Sidenote: Does the fact that the recipe sat untried for well over a decade give you any idea how 'not' passionate I am about cooking, hmmmmm????

Anyway, just in time for all your holiday baking, I give you "my" favorite (only!) snickerdoodle cookie recipe (pictured in the foreground, other recipe coming soon)!

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 F.
Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, margarine/butter, shortening, and eggs in large bowl.
Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls.

Mix 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon; roll balls in mixture.
Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake until set, 8 to 10 minutes.
Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

The "Martha Side" of Me ~ Breakfast casserole

Yesterday, a friend asked for my breakfast casserole recipe so I thought I'd just post it here and share it with everyone! A former co-worker from YEARS ago made this when it was her turn to provide b-fast for our monthly birthday celebrations in our department--it's been my/our favorite for many years since!!



Breakfast Casserole

½ cup butter or margarine, melted
12 eggs
½ cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 lb. small-curd cottage cheese
3 rounded tsp. dried onion flakes
2 rounded tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried mustard
½ tsp. paprika
2, 8oz. pkgs. shredded Monterey Jack and Colby, or Cheddar cheese
1 lb. breakfast sausage (any variety), browned and drained
2, 4oz. cans sliced mushrooms, drained

Brown the sausage and drain. Melt the butter. In a large bowl, whip the eggs until fluffy. Mixing well after each addition, add the following ingredients one by one; flour, baking powder, salt, cottage cheese, melted butter, one package of the shredded cheese, mustard, and paprika. Mix in the sausage, onions, parsley and mushrooms. (At this stage you may cover the mixture and refrigerate in the bowl overnight to bake the next morning or proceed to the next step below.)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place mixture in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Evenly top with the other package of shredded cheese. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes. Then reduce temperature to 350, and continue baking for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and a knife inserted in the middle comes out fairly clean.

Cool and cut into squares to serve.

Serves 8 – 10

Variations:

• I normally half this recipe for my family—follow all directions above, and bake in a 9x9 baking dish.
• I prefer to put all of the cheese in the mixture, rather than half on top.
• I frequently take advantage of the ‘overnight’ directions—helps make Sunday mornings a bit less hectic in our house!

"Martha" side of me ~ 100% Whole Wheat bread (bread machine)

A friend asked for my 100% whole wheat (bread machine) recipe, so since I've already shared my Easy French bread recipe HERE, I decided to share this recipe on my blog, too!

Just so you'll know, my bread machine pan has an eleven cup maximum capacity (based on how many cups of water the pan will hold). So I make the 'extra large' loaf.

%100 Whole Wheat Bread

1 1/3 c. water
2 Tbsp. butter (my recipe recommends that each Tbsp. of butter be cut into small chunks)
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. molasses
4 c. whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. dry milk
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. gluten
1 1/2 tsp. fast rise yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp. active dry)

The trick to making %100 whole wheat bread is extra kneading time, which gives the yeast and gluten time to create a lighter loaf. Many manufacturers produce home bakeries with a special whole wheat cycle for this purpose. This recipe can be made with the whole wheat, white, or the delay bake cycle.

"Martha" side of me ~ Easy French bread recipe (in bread machine)

1 1/2 cups water
4 cups white bread flour
2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. yeast (fast rise), or 2 1/2 tsp. active dry

Place ingredients in bread machine pan in order given, set for 'basic' recipe and medium crust. Makes one large loaf in an 11 cup capacity bread machine (you can confirm the capacity of your pan by pouring water--by the cupful--to the rim of bread pan)

Bread has a crispy light colored crust--great for sandwiches, and goes great with soups!

"Martha" side of me ~ Colossal Cookie recipe

I love making this giant cookie to give friends and family as a simple 'thank you' or 'I'm thinking of you' surprise! I first made this for my husband when he was is Seminary--I baked it (on the sly) , and put a note in his student mailbox that told him to retrieve 'something special' from the student mail office! :-)


Colossal Cookie

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup packed light or brown sugar

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 to 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips (6 ounces equals about 1 cup)

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large mixer bowl at medium speed (I just mix by hand), beat butter or margarine, brown sugar and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla. At low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Place dough in refrigerator for 1 1/2 hrs. or in freezer for 45 minutes or until chilled, but not hard (chilling makes the dough less sticky and helps prevent excessive spreading during baking).

Grease a 12-inch round foil baking pan (I get mine at the dollar store). Place dough in center of pan. Press evenly to within 1 1/2 inches of edge of pan. If desired, sprinkle additional 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top, pressing down lightly. For easier handling, place foil pan on a baking sheet.

Bake in center of a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are firm and no indentation remains in center of cookie when lightly touched. For a softer cookie, bake the minimum time. Place foil baking pan on a wire rack and cool cookie completely.

If you're really adventurous, use cake decorators icing and decorate the cookie!