85. Macaroni-Mushroom Bake

From 1997 Southern Living Annual Recipes

There are two schools of thought when it comes to baked macaroni and cheese: eggy and creamy. I fall into the eggy category, but this screamed comfort food on a very cold night, so I gave it a try.

Talk about easy to make...and a sure crowd-pleaser. I ate it as a meal, but it would make a great side dish for any kind of meat. It's very rich, from the mayo, and the mushrooms give it a nice texture and twist on a classic dish. Plus, it's well-documented how much I love anything topped with Ritz crackers.

8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup round buttery cracker crumbs

Combine first 7 ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish; top with cracker crumbs.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes.

81. Easy Lasagna

From 2006 Southern Living Annual Recipes

My friend Jenny cut and colored my hair (red!) last night, so I had made this the night before for us to have for dinner.

I loved the idea of flavoring the ricotta with pesto...and it gave this dish a really distinct and different taste.

I always make my lasagna with ground beef...but I'm using hot Italian sausage from here on out. Delish!

I also cut the amount of cheese in half. I didn't put any within the layers, just two cups on top along with some Parmesan cheese. And, I used spaghetti sauce with mushrooms.

We both agreed this was a keeper!

1 pound mild Italian sausage

1 (15-oz.) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup refrigerated ready-made pesto
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 (26-oz.) jars pasta sauce
9 no-boil lasagna noodles
4 cups (16 oz.) shredded Italian three-cheese blend or mozzarella cheese

Remove and discard casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain.

Stir together ricotta cheese, pesto, and egg.

Spread half of 1 jar pasta sauce evenly in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Layer with 3 lasagna noodles (noodles should not touch each other or sides of dish), half of ricotta mixture, half of sausage, 1 cup three-cheese blend, and remaining half of 1 jar pasta sauce. Repeat layers using 3 lasagna noodles, remaining ricotta mixture, remaining sausage, 1 cup three-cheese blend. Top with remaining 3 noodles and second jar of pasta sauce, covering noodles completely. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 cups three-cheese blend.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are lightly browned and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes.