Pasties!

Unless you grew up in northern Michigan (fondly known as the UP), it's likely that you've never heard of a pasty before. History says that Cornish immigrants brought pasties to the UP, where they became a staple for miners, who could pocket a filling pie in the morning and pull it out hours later, still warm, for lunch. Pasties seem to be a well-kept secret, but I'm here to spoil that. Having heard friends describe the yumminess of pasties, I decided to make them, and I'm so glad I did! Easy, nutritious, filling, and delicious, these make great meals in themselves, whether fresh from the oven, frozen and reheated, or packed as a lunch (Pasties: the original Hot Pocket!). Serve them with brown gravy, ketchup, or even just plain. 

CRUST

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, stir together shortening and water until shortening is melted. Gradually stir in flour and salt until a very soft dough forms; cover and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours. 

FILLING

• 4-6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups root vegetables (rutabagas, turnips, carrots and/or parsnips), peeled and cubed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons butter

Combine all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. [I steamed the root veggies until they were about half cooked before I mixed everything together. I was afraid they wouldn't cook through otherwise]. 

Divide dough into six equal portions. On a floured surface, roll out one portion into a 10-inch circle. Mound 1-2 cups of filling on one side of the dough; dot with butter and fold the dough over, sealing with a fork. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and cut several slits in the top. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. 

Bake pasties at 350°F for 1 hour or until golden brown. Serve immediately, or cool on wire racks. Store in the refrigerator or freeze for later. Makes 6 pasties.

throw on top of spaghetti (Mary)

Please enjoy this tragic reflection on spaghettti toppings.

Spaghetti is easy and cheap, but it can get boring after a while. So here are some ways to spice it up!

First, put olive oil on the spaghetti and sprinkle on dried basil, oregano, or some other green leafy thing. This just makes it look classy. I bet minced garlic would be good, too. Then, try these:

Chop carrots into pennies and sautee them. Add salmon (one flat can, like 5oz?, per person) until it's heated through. Throw on top of spaghetti.

Make Jaimie's spicy tuna sauce.

Sautee carrots and broccoli, and throw on top of spaghetti.

Sautee chicken (strips are good), and mix that with your red spaghetti sauce. Change out of your white shirt. Throw on top of spaghetti.

Chop chicken to bite-sized pieces. Sautee with chopped onions, garlic, and green pepper. Throw in a can of diced tomatoes or a sliced fresh tomato at the very end. When it's all warm, throw on top of spaghetti. (Add shredded parm!)

Cut a chicken breast into 2-3 pieces. Mix flour, salt, paprika, garlic, thyme, and black pepper (go heavy on the flour) and use it to bread the chicken. (Put the flour mixture and the raw, thawed chicken in a sealed container, like a pyrex with lid or a freezer bag. Seal and shake till the chicken is coated.) Sautee the chicken in oil. Add sliced red or green pepper (probably a half to a whole one), and half to a whole chopped onion. Add a can of diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup chicken broth (you can make this with chicken soup base and hot water), and bring to a boil. Add red pepper flakes to taste. Simmer until chicken is cooked through. (You should end up with chicken in a thick sauce. If you don't, add some of the leftover flour mixture until it thickens.) Throw on top of spaghetti. (Or rice.)

What do you throw on top of spaghetti?

not pathetic lasagna (Mary)

Today is another Pathetic Tuesday, the day when I don't see Luke for a whole 12-13 hours and inevitably end up feeling sorry for myself. (Gosh, Mary, remember that long-distance dating and engagement when you only saw him at two-month intervals? No, actually, I apparently don't remember that at all.) So I made Not Pathetic Lasagna.

You need:
-lasagna noodles
-spaghetti sauce (one jar, spiced how you like, with whatever meat and veggies you want)
-shredded moz cheese

You may want:
-ricotta cheese (smallest one you can buy, maybe 16 oz?)
-shredded parm cheese
-parsley
-frozen spinach (half a block of it - but my mom says you can re-freeze it without any problem, so don't worry about leftovers)

Step 1: Choose your pan. Last time I used a 7x11 pan, which was a little awkward and ended up making two dinners for two. Today I used a 9x13, which was less awkward (the noodles fit better) but will require some freezer action after tomorrow's dinner.

Step 2: Count your noodles. If you're using a 7x11, it works best to have two rows of noodles (and you'll have to cut off an awkward few inches at the end of every noodle). If you're using a 9x13, go with three rows of noodles. You'll probably want to go four noodles high. So, do some math and figure it out. That's 12 noodles for a 9x13 pan.

Step 3: Boil your noodles. Now, unlike spaghetti, you can't just pull one out and eat it to see if it's done. So do some poking around with a fork and if it feels good, use it. (This is not relationship advice.)

Step 4: Grease your pan.

Step 5: Start layering. Sauce on bottom. Then noodles. Then sauce. Then noodles. Etc.

Exception: If you want to add a little different flavor (or more substance if you're going meatless), mix the ricotta cheese list in a bowl and use that instead of sauce for a layer. My mom would put the ricotta cheese mix on one noodle because some of her kids liked it and some of her kids didn't. Also, if you forget the parm, you might not notice. I didn't, and parm is a little more expensive, so I don't use it anymore.

Step 6: Finish with a layer of sauce on top, then spread the sauce around so it covers the noodles. Any exposed noodle will get kind of crusty in the oven - which isn't a disaster, but it's not hard to avoid. Then, cover the top with shredded moz.

Step 7: Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, then take the foil off and bake another 15 minutes.

Foiled again! Whatever to do with the leftovers? (Pun credit: Eddie)

Extra ricotta cheese mixture can be stuffed inside jumbo shells (boil the shells, stuff them, bake them) and frozen. If you don't have jumbo shells, boil another couple lasagna noodles and make little ricotta cheese rolls. Freeze those for later, or enjoy as a snack. Cover with sauce if you want.

Extra frozen spinach can be re-frozen, my mom said. It doesn't have a lot going for it in the way of texture, so if it ends up a little mushier, nobody will know.

Extra cheese can be frozen (I don't think you can re-freeze, though), or used for some other recipe.

Extra lasagna can be frozen. If you're using meat, remember not to re-freeze that unless you've cooked it  between freezings. If you're anticipating extra lasagna, consider making this in aluminum tins so you can throw the whole thing in the freezer.

Ideas I haven't tried

I think you could make small versions of this in bread pans. For those of you who don't cook bread very often, you might have bread pans that could sit in the freezer for a couple weeks without anyone noticing. Maybe make a 9x9 pan, eat that for two dinners, and make the others in bread pans to heat up for dinners later.