Cooking Ladies - Meals #2

This is the evidence of another successful day for the Cooking Ladies!!

We got together after the WEPAC cheer clinic at Hilary's house and made 5 more recipes to stock our freezers for November

Taco Soup
{Tara said she combined a couple different recipes...this one is fairly close to the one we made. I did use beef broth instead of water...this is good served with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips...probably guacamole too if you like that sort of thing ;) }

White Chicken Chili
{This took me ages to find on Hilary's blog...I kept getting sidetracked re-reading her posts, lol! Haven't had this one yet.}

Cowboy Lasagna
{I will admit I mis-read the recipe and we added tomato sauce instead of tomato soup. So we offset the mistake by adding a tad bit of sugar to the recipe. This was a new one for me...also the one I brought...and my family wasn't really impressed. Jeremy's words were "nothing exciting" and I would agree with him. Probably perfect for the cowboy who enjoys a plain ol' meat and potatoes meal, but I don't think it's good enough for me to make it a "keeper."}

Christmas Breakfast Casserole
{Haven't tried Jody's recipe yet, but it was easy to throw together and she promised us she tried it from the freezer ahead of time and it worked perfectly. I LOVE a good breakfast casserole, so I'll be adding this one to my meal plan this week.}

Classic Lasagna
{Thanks Rachel for being the only one I can't link to ;)}
1 (12 oz) pkg. oven-ready lasagna noodles
1 (24 oz) container cottage cheese
1 (24 oz) Pasta sauce - we used Francesco Rinaldi & it was yummy!
2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 lb ground beef, cooked
1 C water
1/4-1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
Fresh or dried basil & S/P to taste

9x13 pan

In mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 C mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, basil and salt & pepper; set aside
In another mixing bowl, combine hamburger (cooked), pasta sauce and water; set aside.
Spread bottom of pan with just enough sauce mixture to lightly cover the bottom.
Layer 1/2 box of uncooked noodles.
Spread entire cheese mixture over noodles.
Layer lightly with sauce mixture.
Top with remainder of uncooked noodles.
Top with remainder of sauce.
Sprinkle top with panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella and pepper.
Cover with a double layer of foil.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 1 hour or until fork tender.
Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes more.
Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.
If frozen, increase cooking time to 1 1/2 hours.
{This was Rachel's recipe and we ate it that night for dinner...I was intrigued by the Panko bread crumbs on the top...it was just as delicious as I anticipated it being!!  I also appreciated the lack of layering this recipe required.  It was a snap to put together and it seemed to me like it held together better once it was cooked...unlike most of my other lasagna adventures.  I'm also going to try this next time with my homemade meat sauce...just because I can.  The sauce Rachel brought us to use was FANTASTIC!

We also brought an additional item for each other to take home...pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, cream cheese chocolate chip cookie dough, salsa, and homemade french bread. It was fun to have these things too this month!


{Brynlee, Hilary, Jody, Rachel, Tara, Sara}

I'm still in favor of a Cooking Ladies Logo and maybe matching shirts...whatdaya think girls??!!!

Our plan for next month is to bring meals already prepared to swap since December can be such a busy month. We did manage to agree that we should probably arrange for an evening when we could meet for at least drinks ;) We know what's really important about our little group!!! Matter of fact, at this month's session we were discussing the fact that what we love most about this project is not really any money savings, but a convenience matter. We all LOVE having meals that are basically ready to go and the time that saves us during our busy weeks. Well, that and the fellowship we get while we're together, we kinda love that too.

So far on the menu for next month is enchiladas and a ham and cheese braid. I think I'm going to make everyone a beef & beer stew that is perfect on a cold, December evening. I also created a Pinterest board where we all pin ideas of things we would like to make or things we plan to bring. It's a great way for us to keep our own little recipe book!! Here's the link to our Freezer/Crockpot Meals Board.

I'd love for you to drop me a comment if you try any of our recipes and let us know what you think. I'll be sure to share your comments with the other Cooking Ladies.

I'm looking forward to December.....YUM!

Oh and one of us is growing our own little bun in the oven...we can't wait to see if we'll have another little girl to join our group!