Paige's Pasta Casserole

Boil one box of rigatoni or ziti in a large pot. Simultaneously brown
1 lb of ground beef. Drain, and add 2 jars of pasta sauce. Simmer on
low for about 5 minutes. Drain pasta.

Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Layer 1/2 of dry pasta, 6 slices of
provolone cheese, 1 8-oz container of sour cream and 1/2 the meatsauce
mixture.

Then add the rest of the pasta, 1 bag of mozzarella cheese (fat free
works fine if you cover it with sauce-otherwise it doesn't melt), and
the rest of the meatsauce. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese lightly over top.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, cool for 5. I like to divide and freeze
the leftovers.

BooMama's Fudge Pie

3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 well-beaten eggs
1 small can evaporated milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients, making sure to thoroughly combine the dry ingredients before adding the butter, eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Pour mixture into a pie shell, and bake for 35-40 minutes. When you remove the pie from the oven, it will still be a little jiggly. Let stand for 15-20 minutes before cutting. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

BooMama's Egg Custard Pie

2 cups whole milk (skim or nonfat milk won’t work nearly as well)
6 eggs
dash of salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients, then pour into a pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes or until set. Let cool before serving.

Crawfish Etouffee

Crawfish Etouffee (The Real Thing)
Serves: 6-8

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 pounds crawfish tails
• 1 cup crawfish fat, if available or 1 cup butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
• Lemon slices (optional)

Melt butter in large skillet or Dutch oven and saute green onions until tender; about 10 to 15 minutes. Add parsley, crawfish tails, crawfish fat (or butter), and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes. If a thicker gravy is desired, dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of water and add to sauce. Serve over steamed rice and garnish with lemon slices, if desired.

King Cake (The Traditional Version)

Ingredients

1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar

3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups flour unsifted

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest, this is lemon rind, grated

1/2 cup warm milk

5 egg yolks

1 stick butter cut into slices and softened, plus 2 tablespoons more softened butter

1 egg slightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1" plastic baby doll

Directions

Pour the warm water into a small shallow bowl, and sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar into it. Allow the yeast and sugar to rest for three minutes then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm place for ten minutes, or until yeast bubbles up and mixture almost doubles in volume. Combine 3 1/2 cups of flour, remaining sugar, nutmeg and salt, and sift into a large mixing bowl. Stir in lemon zest. Separate center of mixture to form a hole and pour in yeast mixture and milk. Add egg yolks and, using a wooden spoon, slowly combine dry ingredients into the yeast/milk mixture. When mixture is smooth, beat in 8 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon at a time) and continue to beat 2 minutes, or until dough can be formed into a medium-soft ball.

Place ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and knead like bread. While kneading, sprinkle up to 1 cup more of flour (1 tablespoon at a time) over the dough. When dough is no longer sticky, knead 10 minutes more until shiny and elastic.

Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a large bowl evenly with one tablespoon softened butter. Place dough ball in the bowl and rotate until the entire surface is buttered. Cover bowl with a moderately thick kitchen towel and place in a draft-free spot for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in volume. Using a pastry brush, coat a large baking sheet with one tablespoon of butter and set aside.

Remove dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface. Using your fist, punch dough down forcefully. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top, pat and shake dough into a cylinder. Twist dough to form a curled cylinder and loop cylinder onto the buttered baking sheet. Pinch the ends together to complete the circle. Cover dough with towel and set it in draft-free spot for 45 minutes, or until the circle of dough doubles in volume. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Brush top and sides of cake with egg wash and bake on middle rack of oven for 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Place cake on wire rack to cool. If desired, you can hide the plastic baby in the cake at this time.

Colored sugars

Green, purple, & yellow paste

12 tablespoons sugar

Squeeze a dot of green paste in palm of hand. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the paste and rub together quickly. Place this mixture on wax paper and wash hands to remove color. Repeat process for other 2 colors. Place aside.

Icing

3 cups confectioners sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 - 6 tablespoons water

Combine sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons water until smooth. If icing is too stiff, add more water until spreadable. Spread icing over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle the colored sugars in individual rows consisting of about 2 rows of green, p urple and yellow.

Southwest Pretzels

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 package (1/4 ounce) quick-rise yeast
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1-1/2 cups warm water (120° to 130°)
• 1 egg, beaten
• Coarse salt
• Salsa con queso dip

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, salt, minced onion and spices. Add water. Beat just until moistened. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 16 equal portions; roll each into a 15-in. rope. Cover and let rest 10 minutes longer.
• Twist into pretzel shapes. Place on greased baking sheets; brush with egg. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Brush again with egg; sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake 10-13 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Serve pretzels warm with dip. Yield: 16 pretzels.

Chicken Tetrazzini

1 (16 oz) package of thin spaghetti
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cups cooked chicken (I use boiled chicken breast or rotisserie chicken shredded)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (reduced fat)
1 can of cream of chicken soup (reduced fat)
1 can of cream of celery soup (reduced fat)
1 (8oz) sour cream (light)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook pasta
2. Toss cooked pasta with chicken broth
3. Stir chopped chicken and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl
4. Add cooked pasta
5. Spray 2 cooking dishes (11 X 7 ) size with cooking spray
6. Fill cooking dishes
7. Top both with cheese
8. Put in freezer
9. When ready to cook set out on counter for about an hour to defrost a little
10. Cook covered with foil at 375 for 45 minutes or until bubbly (I check every 15 minutes)