My kids love to eat this, and it is a great make ahead for busy days. For smaller families you can make the full recipe and freeze half (do it in two 8x8 pans instead of one 9x13) for another night.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

from Noreen Gilletz- The Pleasures of your Processor

1 package of Mac and Cheese (I like to use Annies Shells and Cheddar)

3 cups broad noodles (or a combo of small pasta, a good way to use up the ends of boxes)

1 onion

3 Tbs butter

1/4 lb cheddar cheese

3/4 milk

1 10oz can Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 7oz cans of tuna, drained

salt and pepper

Cook the pasta together in salted boiling water. Drain and return noodles to pan.

In processor„ process onion with a few on/off pulses. Then add the cheese cut into 1-inch cubes. Process until finely chopped. Add to noodles along with the remaining ingredients (including the cheese packet from the Mac and Cheese box). Mix well. Pour into a greases 9x13 pan. Can be refrigerated here and baked later.

Bake uncovered at 350F. for 35 minutes.

If freezing half, when you want to bake it, drizzle with a bit of milk (about 1/4 cup) and bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes.

Here is the other recipe I got from the paper, also the Hartford Courant. This one needed more tinkering but it came out great!

Salmon Chowder

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, washed and chopped

3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1 Tbs olive oil

2 cups water

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs flour

1 12ox can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups milk

1 15oz can salmon, bones and skin removed

salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and celery and cook until starting to soften. Add the potatoes and the water as well as a sprinkle of salt. Let cook until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour to make a roux. Cook for a minute or two and then add to the soup pot followed by the evaporated milk and the milk. Stir well and let cook just at a simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the salmon and stir well to break up the big pieces. Do not let it boil. Cook for a few minutes and check for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as desired.

I served this with the Amish Pertzels and a big salad and it was a great hit, even with my pickiest eater (though she did need to sit on my lap before she would try it!).

Went back through some of my older posts and decided to make this recipe for Indianish Broccoli and Spinach Soup. I am going to serve it with Baked Potatoes, a good winter meal. Yum!

Fall is always a busy time in our house and I often rely on classic dishes that I know by heart when things are hectic. Recently my oldest son asked me if I could make something new for dinner. Here is what I devised:

White Bean and Garlic Pasta

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

2-3 cloves garlic (I used one enormous one from the Garlic Festival!), pressed or minced

2 Tbs butter

1 Tbs olive oil

parsley

salt and pepper

1/2 cup cream

1 lb pasta

grated Parmesan

After rinsing the beans, puree them in a mini processor or blender, adding water as needed to get a smooth texture (I probably added 1/3 cup of water).

In a skillet, heat butter and olive oil (you can use all olive oil to make it vegan). Saute garlic until fragrant, add beans and cook while stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add parsley (I used dried as my fresh was looking really ugly, but fresh would be best, use about 2 tsp dried or 1/4 fresh). Remove from heat.

Boil water for pasta and cook according to package. I like penne, but any shape will work. When pasta is almost done, put bean sauce back on heat and add cream to thin it out (if you are going vegan use some of the pasta water). Add the drained pasta and toss well to combine. Serve with grated Parmesan (or not).

My tomato plants have done very well this year, maybe from the heat, maybe from extra care, who knows! So they are very prolific right now and I have more than I can eat raw. So time to make sauce! This is a simple riff on the lovely recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

Fresh Ripe Tomato Sauce

about 4 lbs ripe tomatoes

2 Tbs olive oil

two small onions

3 cloves garlic

2 ribs celery

1 small carrot

basil, cut very thinly

salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to boil. Score the ends of the tomatoes in an X. Dunk in the boiling water and then slip off the skins. Chop roughly and put through a food mill. If you do not have a mill you can quarter the tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds and then chop into smaller pieces- you will get a chunkier sauce this way unless you puree it.

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan (I use a Le Cruset). Put onions, garlic, celery and carrot in food processor and chop until very fine (you can do this by hand too). Add to hot olive oil and saute a few minutes. Add a dash of salt and saute a bit more. Add pureed tomatoes and reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 1-2 hours or until deep red and thicker. Add some pepper. Add basil right before serving.

I served ours with breaded eggplant cutlets, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese! Yum!

Even though our chickens are still too young to lay eggs, we adore fresh eggs. I picked some up today as I was in the area of a great egg farm (Flamig Farm in West Simsbury CT). I decide to make a riff on Eggs Florentine for dinner!

Eggs Florentine

1 recipe polenta (I used 2 cups salted water, 1/2 cup polenta, cooked for 4 minutes then allow to cool and firm up a bit)

1 med onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbs olive oil

8 oz baby spinach

3/4 cup cream

dash of nutmeg

salt and pepper

about 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 Tbs each salt and lemon juice

4 eggs

1 very rip tomato, sliced (homegrown!)

fake (or real) bacon, crumbled (I like Morningstar Veggie Strips)

Prepare the polenta. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add onions and stir until soft, about five minutes. Add garlic, cook about 2 minutes then add spinach and stir until wilted. Add cream and cook until reduced, about 10 minutes. Add pepper and salt and stir in Parmesan.

Heat a large pot of water with salt and lemon juice. When boiling reduce heat to keep at a simmer. Stir the water a bit on one side while you slide in one egg (break it into a small bowl first). Agitating the water will help the white form a nice ball. Don’t worry if they look crazy at first, they come together in the end and will taste good no matter how they look. Cook each egg about 2.5 minutes. I found I could do two at a time.

Assemble each plate with polenta on the bottom, a slice of tomato, a spoonful of the creamed spinach and then an egg. Top with a bit more of the cream sauce and sprinkle with bacon.

I bought a beautiful and very large head of broccoli at the farmers market on Tuesday. I used part of it to make a delicious Tofu Stir Fry (I fried tofu in peanut oil, then scrambled three eggs, then steamed the broccoli, then added ginger, garlic and scallions along with Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce and voila, dinner!). Then tonight I used the rest (including all the stems) to make a great Broccoli and Cheddar soup.

For the soup I took the broccoli, one onion, three cloves of garlic and 6 cups of broth and brought it to a boil. Added salt and pepper and simmered till soft and then pureed with the immersion blender. Before serving I added about 1/3 cup milk and 1 cup of grated cheddar.

Served the soup with potato skins (with veggie bacon and cheddar) and sugar snap peas.