Hershey Brownies & Applesauce Snack Cake...and other recipes

UNCLE.  UNCLE.  I give already.  Shame shame on me for not posting or finding those recipes somewhere and linking them.  I'm a terrible kitchen tease, I know.  Sharing a menu and not sharing at least the best stuff on it....like the desserts!

The brownies aren't fancy, just off an old Hershey's Cocoa tub :o)
Hershey's Best Brownies
2 sticks butter, softened
2 c. sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c. cocoa
1 c.flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. nuts - optional but really good
You know the routine...cream, beat, sift dry and stir in well :o)  Bake in greased 9x13, 350 for about 30-35 minutes.  A handful of mini chocolate chips added in is just hat much better...and rich :o)

Applesauce Snack Cake
I found this a long time back on the Maidens of Worth site I believe, or through one of their blogs.  That's my recipe note anyway ;o)  It's delicious.
23 oz applesauce...I buy or use my homemade, so we might have chunky as well.
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs butter
1 1/2 c quick oats...I don't usually have 'quick' here, but I will pulse the old fashioned oats in the processor to chop them a bit smaller.
1 1/3 c brown sugar
3 eggs  (I didn't have an egg to my name yesterday!  I subbed ground flaxseed -- 1 Tbs flax to 3 Tbs water for each egg.  I've never had a problem with taste or texture using this in baked goods)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c raisins
Same routine :o)  But mix the applesauce and butter in a saucepan and heat to melt and blend.  Add the oats into the mix, and even your raisins (to plump them).  Let it cool to room temp then mix in with everything else.
Bake in greased 9x13 at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
This is a great breakfast cake, too ;o)


My meatloaf is boring....and we make a large batch so for smaller meal folks, maybe a great OAMC recipe.
Here is our large version Meatloaf:
3# ground beef
2 # sausage
or just all ground, or a bit of ground turkey or venison...the choice is yours, just 5 # of meat.
5 eggs, beat
1 1/3 c. milk
5 cups bread crumbs...homemade, seasoned, store-bought
if you don't use seasoned, you'll want to add a few spices of your choice.  I usually blend my crumbs with italian seasons when I make them.  The choice is yours.
Break up meat a bit, whisk eggs and milk together and start working into meat with bread crumbs.  Pack a good meatloaf...pack into 3 or 4 loaf pans to shape, or do as we do...2 large "rustic" flat football shapes on a sheet :o)  We flatten them slightly because they are rather large and I certainly want them to cook through well.
Bake at 350 for about an hour.

I'm using parts of a few recipes for the lasagna...One of the ladies at Christian Keepers at Home shared this on her blog.  It's very similar to what we tend to do, so it's my new 'standard' now, with our tweaks included.  Our homemade noodles turned out great...I'm wondering what texture difference they might provide, but we did roll them very thin before cutting and drying, so maybe they won't be too 'chewy'  I'll let you know!
Lasagna:
2# ground meat
1# sausage
green pepper, chopped
onion, chopped
mushrooms
Italian seasonings
1 Tbs sugar
2 large cans tomato paste
3 large cans stewed tomatoes
eggs
parmesean cheese
ricotta cheese
Mozzarella
I browned the meat and veggies together.  I added the seasonings, though I just sprinkled...maybe 3 tsp?  I tossed in a quart of my home-canned diced tomatoes, and 2 quarts of homemade spaghetti sauce (yes, I'll pull that recipe and share it as well).  I put all of this into the crockpot to simmer all day yesterday.  When I assemble the lasagna, I may add more sauce...I'm doing a no-boil with these noodles, so I'll want more sauce I think.
Blend a container of ricotta (15oz) with 2 eggs and 1/2 c parmesean cheese.
Spread some sauce in bottom of the pan, layer noodles, good amount of meat mixture,spread some of the ricotta blend, add a good handful of mozzarella cheese and top with sauce.  Repeat these layers until you've built a good looking lasagna :o)  Top with additional sauce and bake until done...350 for about 40 minutes maybe?  Pull and top with mozzarella cheese and return to oven to melt and brown cheese.

My Tuna Casserole is really hodge podge.  I don't really have a recipe...I just mix until it looks good and bake it.  The loose plan is:
I will gently cook the homemade noodles -- using store-bought I don't cook them if it's going to set overnight in the fridge, I do cook them if I want it right now for dinner.
A can of tuna -- 4 or 5 of the large store size, or one of the really big Sam's Club monsters.  Well-drained and dumped into a bowl.
Add in any veggies of choice.  I'm a traditionalist, so we'll have peas and carrots :o)
Cream of Chicken soup...store-bought cans, you'd add about 3/4 the can of milk but with the homemade I do, I don't need to add anymore milk.  You want a soupy casserole, but not too sloppy...it's an eyeball thing :o)
Stir together well, add more milk if necessary.  Toss in a couple good handfuls of cheese (we use a Colby-Jack blend) and stir in your noodles.  The flavors blend really well if you plan ahead and let this sit in the fridge overnight, or at least mix in the morning and let stand all day.

Homemade noodles will be par-cooked (I know...I'm a culinary dictionary, aren't I?  cook them just less than al dente...and remember, homemade cook in about half the time of store-bought anyway) and mixed in and I won't let it stand overnight, but probably a good few hours.

Ok...did I forget anything?  The homemade pizza has no recipe, sorry.  I might dig out some fancy dough recipe, but aside from that, it's just pizza.  Pizza is a personal thing :o)  We'll have sausage browned, pepperoni if they don't snag it all before it hits the actual pizza and lots of veggies like bell peppers, onions, mushrooms.  And a ton of cheese.

Roast is roast.  2 batches of brown gravy, 2 cans or a small batch of cream of mushroom soup, and some water.  5 hours in a 300 oven.  If you can find it and use it, Cambell's Beefy Musroom soup is absolutely DELICIOUS and makes a wonderful gravy.  If not, cream of mushroom (or even chicken, in a pinch...) is  very good and passable in service of a good chuck roast.

Pork Loin is the same way.  I rub with seasonings...never the same twice, just what I find that strikes my fancy at that particular time...and in the oven it goes until it's done, maybe 300 degrees. I'm a sloppy cook.  I don't usually time things.  It's all sight and temperature here.

There...that ought to keep you busy enough and well-fed for a while :o)