The Alchemist's Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 9-12 Lasagna Noodles
• 1 Pint Cottage Cheese
• 4 Eggs
• 1/4-1/2 C Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 C+ Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3 C Parsley
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• ~1 C Grated Mozzarella Cheese
• Spaghetti Sauce (We like Prego Mushroom)

Preheat oven to 375* F.  Cook Lasagna noodles about 1/2-2/3 recommended cook time (~6 minutes) and drain.  Meanwhile, combine eggs, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.  In pan, layer two repetitions of noodle, cottage cheese mixture, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella topped with a layer of noodle, spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese.  I won’t tell you what size of pan because you might prefer two thin layers or two or more thicker layers.  We like to use small loaf pans and make individual lasagnas.  They look really classy and are easy to serve and portion.  Bake 30 minutes at 375*.  Consider aluminum foil or a cookie sheet beneath pan in case of spilling over.

Ingredients

• Beef Ribs
• Barbecue Sauce

While it’s not rocket science, making good Barbecue Beef Ribs may seem a little daunting to the novice.  Some people promote pre-boiling, baking, or marinating.  I promise that it’s not hard–you just have to be willing to get your hands dirty.  If you are grilling your ribs, slice them apart, cover ribs with barbecue sauce, and place on grill on medium heat.  They should cook for 45 minutes to an hour.  Periodically (every 15 minutes or so) turn and baste with additional barbecue sauce.  If you are using the oven, preheat to 325*.  Leave ribs together and cover entire rack with barbecue sauce.  In a roasting pan, place rack of ribs on rack of pan and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, basting every 15 minutes or so (no need to turn).  Cut apart before serving.

A favorite from my in-laws.  While this recipe is intended for dutch oven/camping opportunities, we may have been guilty of making them in the oven because they are just that good and we can’t wait for the next camp-out!

Ingredients:

• 18 White Frozen Rolls (we like Rhodes)
• 1/2 C Melted Butter
• 1/2 C Brown Sugar
• 1 t Cinnamon
• 1 C Chipped Walnuts
• 1 sm pkg Butterscotch Pudding Mix (not instant)

If using a dutch oven, place rack inside.  Line dutch oven or deep pan (if cooking indoors) with foil.  Spray with cooking spray.  Cover bottom with nuts.  Using a spoon, dip each roll in butter and arrange in bottom of oven/pan.  Add dry pudding cinnamon and sugar to remaining butter.  Mix and then spoon over rolls.  Cover with lid and let stand over night.  Do not refrigerate.   In the morning:

• For 12″ dutch oven, prepare 25 charcoal briquettes.  Rest oven on 8 briquettes and place 17 briquettes on lid.
• For 14″ dutch oven, prepare 32 charcoal briquettes. Rest oven on 11 briquettes and place 21 briquettes on lid.
• For indoor cooking, preheat oven 350 and insert pan.

Bake 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.  Invert onto a cookie sheet or large platter.

A fun activity as everyone should assemble their own!  Generally, a foil dinner consists of a meat, a few vegetables, a ‘liquid’ (oil, water, or condensed soup), and a few seasonings.  There is no ‘one way’ to assemble a foil dinner, so I have included our family’s favorite combination.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 oz hamburger meat/person
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Diced and peeled potatoes (russet, red, or yukon golds)
• Diced Onion
• 1/2 T Margarine/person
• Garlic
• Oregano
• Salt

Form meat into a patty and place in the center of a 1.5-2 ft square of aluminum foil (use two layers of foil, shiny side up to direct heat inward).  Top with vegetables, margarine, and seasonings.  Bring two opposite sides of foil together and roll.  Roll up remaining two sides.  On a third sheet of shiny side up foil, place dinner upside-down and repeat wrapping maneuver.  Mark the top with name/initials using a permanent marker to identify after cooking.  Place in firepit or on the grill turned on high for about 30 minutes.  Peel away foil to check for doneness.

I have made this recipe for years in a frying pan, but an extremely warm day a few weeks ago lead me to try it as shish kabobs on the grill.  We were even able to cook the rice outdoors on our grill’s side burner.  Wonderful both ways!

Ingredients:

• Chicken Tenders (about 4 oz per person)
• Teriyaki Sauce (a generous amount)
• A Squirt of BBQ Sauce
• A Squirt of Dijon Mustard
• A Dollop of Orange Juice
• 1 Can of Pineapple Chunks
• Rice (about 1/2 C uncooked rice per person)

In a bowl, combine Teriyaki Sauce, BBQ Sauce, Dijon Mustard, Orange Juice, and juice from can of Pineapple.  Tear chicken into large chunks and place in Sauce.  Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.  About ten minutes before returning to the chicken, begin cooking your rice.

Here is where the recipes deviate.  If cooking indoors, heat frying pan to med-high.  Add chicken pieces and small amount of sauce.  Stir while frying.  When chicken is done, set aside and in the same pan combine remaining sauce, a small amount of flour (less than 1/2 T), and pineapple chunks.  Bring to a boil and stir continuously.  Serve chicken over rice topped with pineapple and sauce.  Serve with broccoli.

If you are cooking outdoors, skewer alternating chicken and pineapple chunks.  Place on grill on a very low heat.  Using a basting brush, baste with teriyaki sauce occasionally.  Serve over rice with broccoli.

After having the wettest May in 40 years and a June to match it, the weather has finally turned and everyone is complaining about how hot it is!  With the forecast in the high nineties at the end of the week, I thought I should focus on what we can do to keep our houses cool and still prepare scrumptious food.  This way, we don’t have to live off of salads and sandwiches all summer!  (Although those can be scrumptious as well).  When most people think about outdoor cooking in the Northwest, hamburgers and hot dogs seem to be common fare.

A few tips about Hamburgers on the Grill:

• Blend your hamburger meat with an egg before shaping into patties and they will stay together better (about 1 egg to 1 lb of meat)
• Toast buns on the top rack when patties are nearly finished and put condiments on both sides of the bun to ensure that burgers are neither dry nor soggy
• Slice pickles at a diagonal instead of lengthwise or in a coin shape
• Slice mushrooms +/or onions and wrap in 2-3 layers of aluminum foil with butter or margarine and a small amount of garlic or garlic salt for a more sophisticated burger

Other Outdoor Cooking Ideas (in case you’ve had it up to here with burgers and hot dogs)

• Teriyaki Chicken (as a shish kabob)
• Other Shish Kabobs
• Ribs
• Foil Dinners
• Sticky Buns