Recipes can be tweaked to suit any tastebuds

By Olivia Sipe

I looked in three cookbooks, found five recipes for Chicken Spaghetti and no two of them alike. Therefore, I picked the one I liked best and added my favorite things to it. I have prepared it with fresh tomatoes and with canned. I do not have a preference. I think the sauce is good enough, that with a little longer cooking time, one could spoon it over steaming hot pasta, sprinkle with cheeses and enjoy it without the chicken. Do not omit the chicken stock or the bacon.

The original recipe for Apple-Walnut Bars came out really moister than I like, so I dropped the apple count by one and the yogurt measurement by one-fourth cup. Feel free to add back the apple and the quarter cup of yogurt. Do dice the apple finely. The bars will cut much better.

Vegetable lasagna isn't just regular lasagna without the meat. I admit to makin' it up as I went along and think it is delicious if I do say so myself.

Apple-Walnut Bars

1 ¬½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1âÑ8 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2âÑ3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1âÑ3 cup granulated sugar

1 ¼ cups plain yogurt (I did not use low fat)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 cooking apples, peeled cored and finely diced

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup raisins (May use golden raisins, dried cranberries or dried sweet cherries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with Pam. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs; add sugars and beat until well blended. Whisk in yogurt, vanilla and melted butter. Add flour mixture gradually beating until incorporated after each addition. Fold in apples, walnuts and dried fruit of choice. Pour into prepared pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

Chicken Spaghetti

1 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast half per serving

1 (32-ounce) carton of good quality chicken stock

1 pound of good bacon

2 large, sweet onions thinly sliced

1 (8-ounce) carton fresh mushrooms, sliced

¬½ green bell pepper, slivered

¬½ red bell pepper, slivered

2 pounds fresh tomatoes, chopped (May use one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes and include the juice)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend, or to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (8-ounce) package spaghetti, cooked al dente

Sliced black olives, optional

Cheese(s) of choice

Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with Pam. Cook chicken in stock to cover until well done and tender. Remove chicken from broth, cool and, with a fork, shred into medium size pieces. Cover and set aside. Strain chicken broth and chill or freeze for another use. In a large saucepan, cook pasta al dente according to the package directions. In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp; remove from pan, drain well, chop and set aside. Leave two to three tablespoons of bacon drippings in the pan. Strain and chill the remaining drippings for another use. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook onions in skillet until tender, add bell peppers and mushrooms. Continue to cook until mushrooms begin to take on a little color. Add tomatoes and seasonings; bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes. Place drained pasta in the prepared baking dish. Follow with a layer of chicken. Spoon tomato mixture over the chicken. Top with diced bacon pieces, sliced olives and desired amount of cheese. Bake, uncovered, until heated through and bubbly.

Cook's note: You may cook the pasta in the remaining chicken broth. However, you should discard after removing the pasta.

Vegetable Lasagna

3 tablespoons bacon drippings

1 large sweet onion, sliced

Bell peppers, ¬½ each of two or three colors, slivered

¬½ cup shredded carrot

1 (8-ounce) carton fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning or to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

2 small zucchini, thinly sliced

2 to 3 small yellow squash, thinly sliced

1 (6-ounce) can Italian style tomato paste

1 (8-ounce) can Italian style tomato sauce

3 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with your choice of add-ins (May use 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes instead)

¬½ pound fresh spinach

No- cook, ready-to-use lasagna noodles

May use cheese or cheese blends of your choice

In a large skillet, heat bacon drippings; add onions, bell peppers, carrots and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until all vegetables are tender. Add seasonings, zucchini and squash. Add tomato products in the order given; mixing gently after each until well combined. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add spinach and heat until spinach is wilted. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese mixture.

1 (24-ounce) carton small curd cottage cheese

1 ( 8-ounce) Ricotta cheese

4 eggs, beaten

1 (8-ounce) package Sargeanto's 6-cheese Italian blend

¬½ cup chopped fresh parsley

In a large bowl, combine cheeses until well blended. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in cheese blend and parsley. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large, deep baking dish generously with Pam. Spoon enough tomato sauce mixture into prepared pan to cover the bottom. Layer lasagna noodles over sauce, layer cheese mixture over noodles. Layer lasagna noodles over cheese mixture. Repeat layers ending with tomato sauce. Top with your choice of shredded cheese, cheese blends etc. Bake 45 minutes to one hour or until mixture is bubbly and cheese is browning.