Saturday Recipes

Here are some last-minute recipes to add to your end-of-year table, including Blue Ridge Blackberry Lemon Bars and Eggnog Meltaway Cookies. Enjoy!

SCOTTO CHEESE LASAGNA

This recipe is from Family Time, and begins, “This delectable lasagna makes great use of convenience products so that you've can put the dish together in just 15 minutes! While it bakes you can throw together a salad, and you've got a fabulous dinner for very little work.”

Serves: 8 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each); Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 70 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 container (32 ounces) ricotta cheese

2 eggs, beaten

Prego® Tomato Basil & Garlic Italian Sauce or 5 cups Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce

12 lasagna noodle, cooked and drained

1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

2 cups grated parmesan cheese

1 package (10 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Mozzarella and Garlic Loaf

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the ricotta and the eggs in a medium bowl.

Spread 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Layer with 3 lasagna noodles, 1 1/3 cups ricotta mixture, 1/4 of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1 1/2 cups sauce. Repeat to make 2 more layers. Top with the remaining noodles, sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 350°F. for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes or until the lasagna is hot and bubbling and the cheese is melted. Remove the lasagna from the oven. Let the lasagna stand for 1 hour.

Increase the oven temperature to 400°F. for the bread. Bake the bread according to the package directions.

Cut the bread into 2-inch diagonal slices. Serve the bread with the lasagna.

RED VELVET VAMPIRE CUPCAKES

This is from The Food Network, and begins, “No, these cupcakes don't need bandages. What looks like a gory encounter with the Count himself is just raspberry jam brightened with a drop of red food coloring. And if you dare sink your own teeth into them, you'll find that more raspberry jam and chocolate await in the center.”

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes; Active: 1 hour; Yield: 12 cupcakes; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups cake flour (see Cook's Note)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon red food coloring, plus a drop for the filling

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg, at room temperature

One 3-ounce semisweet chocolate bar

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 cup raspberry jam

Cream Cheese Frosting:

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Special equipment: a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and a plastic straw

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, sour cream, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and egg in another large bowl.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.

Microwave the chocolate and coconut oil together in a small microwave-safe bowl until mostly melted, about 1 minute. Stir, then microwave again until completely smooth, about 15 seconds more.

Use a small sharp knife to cut out and remove a plug from the middle of each cupcake, making sure not to go all the way to the bottom and leaving a 1/4-inch border around the side (eat the plugs). Brush the holes with the melted chocolate and place in the freezer until the chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes.

Whisk together the jam, 1 drop of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until completely smooth. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the jam into each of the chocolate holes; set aside.

For the cream cheese frosting: Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe on top of the cupcakes so the jam is covered.

Poke 2 holes into the frosting on each cupcake using the end of a plastic straw to resemble vampire bites, making sure you hit the cupcake and not the jam-filled hole. Drizzle the remaining jam into the holes to resemble blood.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

BLUE RIDGE BLACKBERRY LEMON BARS

I got this in an email from FamilyTime, and begins, “A delicious and healthy snack the whole family will enjoy!”

Serves: 25-30 bars; Prep. time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups oats, either quick or old-fashioned (uncooked)

2 cups Pillsbury® BEST All Purpose Flour

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup butter or margarine, chilled (cut into small pieces)

Crisco® Original No- Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

1 (12 oz.) jar Smucker's® Seedless Blackberry Jam

Powdered sugar, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 325°F. In a large mixing bowl toss together oats, flour, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt until well blended.

Sprinkle mixture with lemon juice, then with a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter pieces until mixture is crumbly.

Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Reserve 2 cups of the oat mixture, then sprinkle remainder in pan, pressing with fingers to form a crust.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until set. Let cool slightly, then spread blackberry jam evenly over crust.

Sprinkle evenly with reserved oat mixture, pressing down gently.

Return to oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

COZY CROCK COMFORT IN SLOW COOKER

This is from an old (10+ year old) email. Possibly Weight Watchers, according to the email’s header. But very yummy food!

16 ounces gound 90% lean turkey or beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 cups (15 ounces) diced raw potatoes

1/3 cup (1 ounce) uncooked regular rice

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup finely diced celery

1 1/2 cups Healthy Request tomato juice or any reduced-sodium tomato juice

1 (10 1/4) can Healthy Request Tomato Soup

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

In a large skillet sprayed with butter-flavored cooking spray, brown meat.

Place browned meat in a slow cooker container. Add onion, potatoes, uncooked rice, carrots, and celery. Mix well to combine.

Stir in tomato juice, tomato soup, black pepper, and parsley flakes. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Mix well before serving. 6 servings ~ 5 points each

Serves 6 - Each serving equals: 2 protein, 1 1/2 vegetables, 2/3 bread, 10 optional calories, 243 calories, 7 gm fat, 16 gm protein, 29 gm carbohydrate, 290 mg sodium, 33 mg calcium, 3 gm fiber

Diabetic: 2 meat, 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable

LIGHT LASAGNA

This is from a long-since-forgotten emailing list (possibly a Weight Watchers email), and starts off, “This is from my new cookbook "Fix it and Forget it Light" Lowfat Crockpot recipes.-Sams' Club.”

Makes 8 servings

4 1/2 C fat free, low sodium meatless spaghetti sauce

1/2 C water

16-oz fat-free ricotta cheese

2 C shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

3/4 C parmesan cheese, divided

1 egg

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

8 oz box no-cook lasagna noodles.

Mix spaghetti sauce and 1/2 c water in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, 1 1/2c mozzarella cheese, 1/2 c parmesan cheese, egg, garlic and seasoning.

Spread 1/4 of the sauce mixture in bottom of slow cooker. Top with 1/3 of the noodles. Breaking to fit if needed.

Spread with 1/3 of the cheese mixture, making sure noodles are covered.

Repeat layers twice more.

Spread with remaining sauce.

Cover. Cook on low 5 hours.

Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Cover. Let stand 10 min to allow cheese to melt.

Per serving: 360 celeries (90 calories from fat = 25% fat) 10 grams fat (4.5g saturated, 0 trans) 40 mg cholesterol, 870 mg sodium, 39g total carbohydrates (6g fiber, 10g sugar) 25g protein, 50% DV calcium, 10% DV iron.

EGGNOG MELTAWAY COOKIES

This recipe, from the Food Network kitchen, begins, “The secret to these cookies' melt-in-your-mouth texture is the confectioners' sugar, which easily comes together with almonds in a food processor. The flavors of rum, bourbon and nutmeg make the little snowball lookalikes taste just like your favorite holiday drink. “

Total:2 hr 55 min; Active: 25 min; Yield: 4 dozen cookies; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds (skinless)

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon bourbon

2 teaspoons rum extract

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note)

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for serving

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Put the almonds and 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until very finely ground, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and process until smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Scrape the dough off the inside of the bowl if needed. Add the bourbon and rum and vanilla extracts and pulse until smooth. Add the flour and salt and pulse until the dough forms a ball.

Roll mounded teaspoons of the dough into balls about 1 inch wide and place on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until the cookies are firm when gently pressed, completely dry and just beginning to crack at the top, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes; they will firm as they cool.

Meanwhile, put the nutmeg and remaining 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar in a pie plate or wide baking dish and mix well. Toss the warm cookies very gently in the sugar mixture until evenly coated; the cookies need to be warm for the first coating of sugar to stick. Cool the cookies on a wire rack completely, about 30 minutes, then toss again in the sugar mixture so they are very white. Sprinkle with additional grated nutmeg.

Store the cookies in a little bit of extra confectioners' sugar in an airtight container for up to a week.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)