Strawberry Topping

4 cups chopped strawberries (about 1½ pints)
⅔ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp cornstarch

Put chopped strawberries and sugar into a saucepan. Add ⅔ cup water to cover, stir to blend. Heat mixture over medium high heat until it boils. Stir, then reduce heat to medium.

Mix cornstarch with 4 tbsp water until a thick liquid forms.

Pour the liquid into the pan, stirring continuously, and continue to stir until well blended. Cook the strawberry mixture over medium for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until it becomes thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Serve over cake, cheesecake, ice cream, sundaes or waffles.

Basic Buttermilk Cake

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the cake pans and line bottoms with parchment or waxed paper; butter the paper. (if you’re making cupcakes, fill cups with paper liners or butter them.)

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl for 5 minutes at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Scrape the bowl and beaters and beat well to incorporate.

Sift the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. Add a quarter of the flour mixture to the butter-egg mixture, then add vanilla and a third of the buttermilk. Repeat, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scraping well after each addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bke 25 to 30 minutes (15-20 minutes for cupcakes), or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Turn pans onto the rack; remove parchment or wax paper and cool completely before frosting.

Lasagna with Sausage

1 lb sweet Italian sausage
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp sugar
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 boxes (26 oz), Pomi tomatoes
1 box (13 oz) Cirio tomatoes
2 cans (6 oz) tomato paste
12 lasagna noodles
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese, drained
1 egg
1 lb. mozzarella, thinly sliced
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Remove sausage meat from outer casings; chop the meat. In a 5-qt Dutch oven, over medium heat, saute the sausage, onion and garlic stirring frequently, until brown - about 20 minutes.

Add the sugar, half the parsley and salt and pepper to taste; mix well. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and ½ cup water, mashing tomatoes with wooden spoon. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until thick - about 1 hour.

In large pot, bring water and 1 tbsp salt to boiling. Add lasagna noodles, 2 or 3 at a time. Return to boiling; boil uncovered and stirring occasionally,10 minutes of just until tender. Drain in colander; rinse under cold water. Dry on paper towels.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium bowl, mix ricotta, egg, and remaining parsley.

In bottom of 13x9 baking dish, spoon 1½ cups sauce. Layer with 6 lasagna, arranged overlapping, to cover. Spread with half of the ricotta mixture; top with one third of mozzarella. Spoon 1½ cups sauce over cheese, sprinkle with ¼ cup Parmesan cheese.

Repeat layering, starting with 6 lasagna and ending with 1½ cups sauce sprinkled with Parmesan. Spread with remaining sauce; top with rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover with foil.

Bake 25 minutes; remove foil; bake uncovered, 25 minutes longer. Cool 15 minutes. Serves 8.

Nutella Swirled Oreo Bottom Mini Cheesecakes

18 Double Stuff Oreos
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Place an Oreo in the bottom of each one.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Beat in vanilla, eggs, and sour cream.  Continue beating until combined and smooth.

Add a heaping tablespoon of cheesecake batter to each muffin cup.

Warm the Nutella in the microwave for 20 seconds. Place a scant teaspoon of Nutella in each cup. Add another tablespoon of cheesecake batter on top, filling the cupcake liner. Use a toothpick or knife to gently swirl the Nutella into the cheesecake mix.

Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes until filling is set. Cool completely in tin before removing. Store in refrigerator.

NOTE: Nutella can be replaced with hot fudge sauce.

Caramel-Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

NOTE: Batter must be chilled at least 1 hour (or overnight) before baking cookies.

6 tbsp butter (¾ stick)
4 ounces Baker’s semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 large eggs
½ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
½ cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
¼  tsp baking soda
about 24 Dove’s Milk Chocolate Promises with Caramel
Flaky sea salt, for topping

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, chopped chocolate, and chocolate chips. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until fully melted and combined. Remove pan from heat and let chocolate cool slightly.

In a small bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together on high until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and the melted chocolate mixture and beat for 1 or 2 minutes more. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. The batter should be thick but pourable. Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop out scant 2 tbsp of dough and place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the dough into small disks, about 2 inches in diameter, and place a caramel in the center. Scoop out a rounded tsp of dough and flatten into a disk. Place the disk over the caramel, pinching the layers of dough together.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until just set on the edges. Remove from the oven and sprinkle each cookies with a little flaky salt. Let cool for at least 5 minutes on baking sheet before serving.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats
1½ cups Ghirardelli caramel flavored baking chips
2 small Gala apples, peeled, cored and diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. While mixing, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir in the caramel chips and apples making sure they are evenly distributed.

Place golf ball sized scoops of dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies are golden brown. Let rest for a minute to two on baking sheet before removing to wire rack to cool.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

1 tsp oil
1 small onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 lb. ground turkey
Salt and pepper
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup BBQ sauce (recommended: Stubb’s Original)
½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tbsp red vinegar

Add oil to  skillet and place over medium high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper; saute for 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Transfer ingredients to a small bowl.

Add ground turkey to skillet and season with salt and pepper; break up meat as it cooks. Once turkey is cooked, add the onion/bell pepper mixture back in. Then add ketchup, bbq sauce, Worcestershire, and vinegar. Sir well to combine and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes longer. If sauce looks too thick, add a tbsp water.

Serve on hamburger buns. Or serve over elbow macaroni.

Optional: Add ½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese to skillet just before serving; cover with a lid until cheese is melted.