Shepard's Pie

1 lb. of ground beef

1 can of corn

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

3/4 lb. of potatoes

3 tablespoons of butter/margarine

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic salt to taste

8 oz. of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4-1/2 cup of milk

Place the ground beef in a pan and add salt, pepper and garlic salt. Continue to cook until brown.

Peel the potatoes and rinse them off. Place them into a boiling pot of water. Cook until a fork can easily go through them. Drain potatoes and put back in pan. Add 3 tablespoons of butter/margarine and 1/4-1/2 cups of milk and some pepper and garlic salt to taste. Mix with a mixer until smooth/mashed.

Get a large baking pan and layer the meat on the bottom. Drain the can of corn and add to the meat. Add the can of cream of mushroom soup to the meat and corn, and mix the mixture until combined thoroughly. Make a small handfull of shredded cheese and layer it over the mixture. Take the mashed potatoes and layer it over the layer of cheese. Once spread out, take the remaining cheese and layer over the top. Cover with tinfoil and place in the over at 350* for 35-45 minutes.

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White Bean Chicken Chili

3 cans of great northern beans

4 cloves of garlic (minced or pressed)

2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chilis

2 tsp of ground cumin

1 tsp of ground cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

1 lb. of boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 1/2 cups of chicken broth

Drain the beans. Place them in a slow cooker. Add the garlic, spices, salt, tomatoes and chicken broth, and stir to combine. Place the chicken breasts over the top. Cover and cook on Low for 9-10 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours.

When ready to serve, break apart chicken breasts with fork to shred. Also good with tortillas, sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, etc.

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Deluxe Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 cup of crushed gingersnap cookies

1/3 cup of finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup of melted butter

4 - 8 oz. packages of softened cream cheese

1 1/2 cups of sugar

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

4 eggs

2 tsp of vanilla extract

1 can of pumpkin

2 tsp of ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg

Place a greased 9 in. pan on a double thickness of heavy tin foil. Securely wrap the foil around the pan.

In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and eggs, and beat on low until combined.

Place two cups of the filling in a small bowl, and stir in the pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg. Remove 3/4 of a cup of pumpkin filling and set it aside. Pour the remaining pumpkin filling over the crust and top it with the remaining plain filling. Drop spoonfuls of the reserve pumpkin filling over the cheesecake. Cut through with a knife to swirl it.

Place the pan in a large baking pan and add 1 in. hot water to the larger pan. Bake at 350* for 55-65 minutes or until the center is set. Remove the pan from the water. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully the a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen. Let it sit for an hour longer. Refrigerate it overnight.

Garnish it with chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, whipped topping, and additional cookie crumbs.

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Veggie Casserole

2 cans of french cut green beans

2 cans of white shoe-peg corn

8 oz. container of sour cream

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

8 oz. of shredder sharp cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Drain the cans of green beans and white shoe-peg corn, and place into a large baking pan. Add sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper and combine in the baking pan. Cover with tin foil, and bake at 350* for 1 hour.

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Ravioli Soup

1 package (9 oz.) of fresh or frozen ravioli or tortellini

3/4 lb of hot italian sausage crumbled

1 can of stewed tomatoes (italian style)

1 can of beef broth

1 can of italian beans (drained)

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, then drain them.

Meanwhile, cook the sausage in a pan over medium-high heat until there is no longer any pink, then drain. Add the undrained tomatoes, beef broth, and 1 3/4 cups of water, and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, stir in the pasta and green beans. Simmer until it is heated through. Season with pepper and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

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Lasagna

1 package of lasagna noodles

1 large jar of spaghetti sauce (or make your own; ask me if you want to know how)

1 small can of black olives (drained)

2 medium sized zucchini squashes

1 can of sliced mushrooms (or slice your own fresh ones)

16 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 lb of ground beef

1 container of ricotta (can use cottage cheese as a substitute)

2 tsp of butter

Garlic salt to taste

Cook pasta (about 9 pieces) according to the directions on the back of the package, then drain.

Slice the zucchini and place into a pan with 2 tsp of butter, and a little garlic salt. Cook until tender, then drain.

While the others are cooking, cook the ground beef in a pan, adding garlic salt to taste, until browned, then drain. Add the spaghetti sauce, black olives, zucchini, and mushrooms. Mix until combined.

In a large baking pan, layer a little bit of the meat/veggie mixture into the bottom of the pan. Take three pieces of pasta and lay it over the meat mixture in the pan next to each other (so to cover the mixture). Layer with another layer of meat/veggie mixture. Take a spoon and scoop spoonfuls of ricotta onto the layer of meat. Then take a handful of shredded mozzarella and cover. Repeat these layers until all of the pasta is used up. On top of the last layer of pasta, add the last bit of meat/veggie mixture, and cover with remaining shredded cheese.

Bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until all of the cheese is melted.