Spaghetti Bake

This recipe is a slight modification of one that my mother-in-law makes. The first time she made it for me was just after I had my son and was completely incapacitated from the surgery. My wonderful mother-in-law came to stay with us for a week and took great care to love and feed us while she was there. This recipe will always remind me of her kindness.

Aside from it's wonderful memories, it's tasty too.

Spaghetti Bake

16 oz package spaghetti
1 pound hamburger
1 green pepper
1 medium onion
1 package pepperoni, chopped into small pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 jar spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Boil noodles, but drain them about two minutes before you would normally remove them. They will continue cooking in the oven.

In a fairly large pan, brown and drain the hamburger.

In the same pan that you cooked the hamburger, saute pepper and onion in butter until tender. Add the chopped pepperoni. Saute for two minute more.

Add the hamburger back to the vegetables and pepperoni. Add the spaghetti sauce and heat until warm.

Place the cooked noodles and the vegetable/sauce combination into a 9x13 baking dish. Mix thoroughly.

Top with cheese and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is brown.

Making Calzones

I really love calzones. It's taken me a few years to learn some things about making them.

One of the most important is starting with good dough. Here's a great recipe -- it works every time. I divide it into three pieces -- eating one and freezing two for pizza or calzones later. Each piece will make four calzones or one large thin-crust pizza. People in our family eats two calzones each.

Step #1 --Roll out the dough, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour.

Step #2 -- Divide into fourths with a pizza cutter. On top of one half of each fourth I put a slice of ham, a tablespoon of ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella, four slices pepperoni and a little bit of Mexican blend cheese.

Step #3 -- Fold over the empty half of the dough and seal together. Cut a slice into the top of each calzone as a steam vent. (If you have trouble with cutting dough, spray your sharpest knife with cooking spray and go for it!) Placed on a greased cookie sheet.
Step #4 -- Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. Turn the pan half-way through baking.

Step #5 -- Be sure to move to a cooling rack if you'll be waiting to eat them. Just like all bread, the bottom will get soggy if left in or on the pan.

Stromboli My Way

I love Stromboli -- I stink at making it.

The traditional Stromboli is meat and cheese rolled up together inside bread dough, then baked like a log and then finally sliced. When I bake it in a log, it comes out soggy on the inside and the dough is never fully cooked. A long time ago, I went to a Pampered Chef demonstration where they made pepperoni pinwheels. A-ha! No more soggy Stromboli. Slice before baking, that's the ticket!

The recipe below will feed 3 adults, with 3-4 slices each. It is a very filling meal. You can add any meats/cheeses or veggies that you like. I have to say though, the veggies add liquid which again adds to the main problem of soggy Stromboli. I prefer just meat and cheese -- I get my veggies from dipping it in the spaghetti sauce :) Note: This recipe is one of those that the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. In other words, it's much tastier than it first appears by the list of ingredients. It has a wonderful buttery, sweet and spicy tang to it.

Stromboli

1 package Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

3-5 slices honey ham

15 slices pepperoni

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup spaghetti sauce

1. Roll crescent rolls out flat. Use a rolling pin to smooth the cracks or perforations until the dough is like one piece. Roll it out a bit so that you have a large rectangle.

2. Place the ham in one layer covering the entire space of the dough.

3. Place the pepperoni in two rows.

4. Cover the entire thing with the shredded mozzarella.

5. Roll tightly.

6. Slice into 1 inch pieces and lay flat on a cookie sheet -- so you can see the swirl.

7. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.

8. Serve with spaghetti sauce for dipping.