Venetian Mac and Cheese, suggested by Michelle

From Giada de Laurentiis - Every Day Pasta
Serves 4-6

Butter for pan
12 oz egg noodles, uncooked
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded Fontina cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 TBSP chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease pan or casserole dish.

Coook noodles to al dente. Drain & set aside.

Whisk cream, milk, flour, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Blend in 1 cup fontina, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup Mozzarella, and parsley. Add noodles & toss to coat. Blend remaining dry cheeses together.

Transfer to baking dish and cover with the rest of the cheeses.

Bake for about 15 minutes. (This wasn't enough baking time - I think I ended up baking for bout 25).

Let stand 10 min before serving. She's serious about this - the sauce will be very runny when you take it out of the oven, but it will thicken a lot upon standing.

*The original recipe called for peas and pancetta. I omitted them due to preference, but I'm sure they would be a good addition if you liked them*

Chicken Fritters, an idea from Michelle

I marinated some chicken in soy sauce and rice wine, made a fritter batter out of a stiff egg white, flour, corn starch, and baking powder (let it set up for 30 mins then folded in sesame seeds), combined the two, fried, and served with a honey-chili sauce. We had stir-fried carrots and snow peas on the side.

Butternut Squash Risotto with Pancetta, from Sarah

I actually made it tonight the traditional way - I just added the broth about 1/2 cup at a time and reduced all the broth while it was in the pan on the stove, I didn't put it in the oven at all - and it was equally yum:

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 1/2 cups)
Cooking spray
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons Madeira wine or sweet Marsala
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
4 ounces chopped pancetta
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) 1/2-inch-cubed Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Fresh tarragon sprigs (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 475°.

Place squash on a nonstick jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 475° for 20 minutes or until tender, turning after 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

Combine broth, water, wine, and tarragon in a saucepan; bring to a simmer. Keep warm over low heat.

Cook pancetta in a large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove pancetta from pan; drain on a paper towel. Discard pan drippings. Add onion and oil to pan; sauté 10 minutes or until onion is tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add rice to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth mixture; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, and simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes. (Do not stir; rice will have a liquid consistency similar to stew.)

Place pan in oven; bake at 325° for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Stir in the squash, pancetta, cheese, salt, and pepper. Cover with a clean cloth; let stand 10 minutes (rice will continue to cook). Sprinkle with pine nuts. Garnish with tarragon sprigs, if desired.

Spaghetti Bake, from Barb

Whole wheat pasta cooked and drained - added to a bowl with 3 eggs beaten with 1/4 grated parmesan cheese.
Pour into a pan sprayed with Pam.
Spread 1/4 cup Sour Cream and then top with your favorite spaghetti sauce.
Bake 20 minutes at 350.
Top with Shredded Mozzarella and then bake another 10 minutes.

Cheesesteak-French Dip Hybrid, an idea from Kris

The only problem is that I always end up with a lot of leftover meat (I think because I slice it so thin, it always seems like there is a lot more meat than if the slices are thicker).

Anyhow, tonight I made up a cross between philly cheesesteak (which I've never had, just seen on TV) and a French dip sandwich. I took the leftover meat from last night and sliced the thin slices into strips. I then simmered the meat in some beef broth with worcestershire sauce, black pepper and garlic and simmered it for a good 45 minutes (to get the meat back to the 'soft' stage instead of the 'overcooked' stage). I sauteed some onions and green peppers.

Bought a couple loaves of baguette bread, sliced them, buttered them (a little) and toasted them in the oven until crispy. I then took the meat out of the meat juice (?) and put on the bread, topped with provolone cheese, the onions and peppers, a splash of the meat juice and back in the oven to broil for about 3 minutes. I served them along side a little ramekin of the meat juice for dipping. OMG ya'll. They were sooooooo good!

(Note from Dot--this is a "second gen recipe" using Kris' fajita recipe.)

Beef Fajitas, from Kris

Beef marinade:

2 - 3 lb tri-tip roast, trimmed of visible fat
2 lemons
1 orange
1 lime
3 large cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup white wine
black pepper
2 TBSP soy sauce
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

I mix the above together in a big gallon sized zippy bag. I squeeze the citrus into the bag and then let the rind hang out with the marinating meat. Then marinate for a few hours. Throw it on the grill and cook on very low heat for about 1 hour. Slice it supah-thin and away we go with homemade guac, sour cream, tortillas and cheese. The fajitas were really really good.

Lemon Pie Filling, from Barb

Try this for a lemon filling:
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1 cup lemon juice

mix well with electric beater and then back in graham cracker crust at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.