Potato Soup

YUMMY!  And perfect for a cold winter's day!  I used a recipe on allrecipes.com and changed it up a bit.  It was enough for two meals for our family of four (which probably only counts as three based on the little appetites).

6 bacon strips, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
heaping 1/3 c whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp dried basil, thyme or Italian mix
1/2 tsp pepper
6 c vegetable broth
4 large potatoes, cubed
2 c milk
dash cayenne pepper
Garnish: cheese and minced fresh parsley
In large pot saucepan, submerge potatoes in water and boil until soft.  Remove  and drain potatoes and mash, being sure to mince skins.  In same saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, milk and cayenne; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

Spaghetti Pie

This was delicious!  I actually just used our frozen sauce that I made this summer from our farm share (so the items in italics I didn't use).  I also doubled the pasta and used two pie plates, because we don't like things over-sauced.  I didn't have any cottage cheese or a good substitute of ricotta, so I just put a nice layer of mozzarella between pasta and sauce.

1 (6 ounce) package spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Cook and drain spaghetti. Stir in margarine, parmesan cheese and eggs, while spaghetti is hot. Form spaghetti mixture into a crust in a buttered 10 inch pie plate. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a skillet cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic. Drain off the fat and stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and oregano. Heat through. Spread cottage cheese over the spaghetti crust then pour in the beef and tomato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top of the pie then bake for 5 minutes longer, until cheese melts.
* Recipe from allrecipes.com by Jennifer Meakings (Spaghetti Pie II)