Recipe Swap: Recipes for some of the birthday boy's favorite foods

Over the weekend we celebrated our son Ross' 15th birthday. I made his favorite two-layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and when he got up Sunday morning he could hardly wait to dig right into his cake. I asked him what a couple of his favorite foods were, and I could nearly recite them with him: breakfast casserole, lasagna, barbecue ribs, crab legs and chocolate cake. The problem is, I do not have recipes for crab legs and the chocolate cake is from a box. But I will see what I can find to share our birthday boy's favorite foods with you.

Ross' Favorite Christmas Morning Casserole

6 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

6 slices bread, cubed

2 cups milk

2 pounds sausage, browned and drained

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Pepper to taste

Cube bread. Fry sausage, drain and blot grease. In a greased 10-by-10-inch baking pan layer bread, sausage and cheese. Repeat layers until all ingredients are used. Mix eggs, salt, mustard and pepper. Pour liquid egg mixture over bread layer. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. On Christmas morning or the morning of your choosing remove from refrigerator and uncover. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Every Christmas morning Ross' Nana makes this, and we smell it cooking while we open gifts. It is so good right out of the oven. He always eats until he can hardly move.

Lasagna

1 box lasagna noodles

1 (32-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

1 (8-ounce) carton small-curd cottage cheese

1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream

1 egg

1 (12-ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 pound ground beef, browned

1/2 of a large onion, chopped

1 cup water

Brown ground beef and onions together until beef is done and onions are tender. Drain well. Mix ground beef and sauce. In a different bowl, mix cottage cheese, sour cream and egg together. Spread a layer of sauce and meat in the bottom of a sprayed 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Layer ingredients in the following order: noodles, sauce, cottage cheese mixture and Mozzarella cheese. End with noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired. Pour 1 cup water around edges of pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven, cover, and let stand 20 minutes before serving. Just a side note, the lasagna noodles are not cooked ahead of time. Put in the lasagna hard and uncooked from the box. Also, this tends to bubble over in the oven, so place a sheet of foil underneath to prevent a mess in your oven.

Barbecued Ribs

4 racks pork ribs, about 3 pounds each

Olive oil for brushing the ribs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Barbecue sauce (homemade or store-bought)

Preheat a gas grill heat to medium low. If using charcoal grill, fill the entire grill with a shallow layer of charcoal and light the left edge only. As the fire moves from left to right, you will have consecutive areas of medium-low heat. Brush the ribs on both sides with olive oil and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill with the cover closed until tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. During the last 15 minutes of grilling, baste with some of the barbecue sauce. Remove from the grill and, if serving immediately, brush with more of the sauce, cut into single ribs and place on a large platter. The ribs may be grilled up to a day ahead and refrigerated, in which case do not brush them again as they come off the grill. Before serving, place on the grill until heated through. Remove from the grill, brush immediately with sauce, cut into single ribs, and place on a large platter.

Lemonade Chicken

2 frying chickens

1 (6-ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Cut chicken into serving pieces. In a small bowl, combine thawed lemonade, soy sauce, seasoned salt, celery salt and garlic powder. Stir mixture to blend well. Dip chicken pieces in lemonade mixture. Place chicken, bone-side down, over medium-hot coals. Grill about 25 minutes. Turn bone-side up, and grill until done, about 15 to 20 minutes. Brush chicken with lemonade mixture frequently during the last 10 minutes.

Marinated Flank Steak

Ross really likes this recipe, too, and eats a large portion of the steak when I make it.

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup light soy sauce

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder/salt

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 flank steak

Score flank steak and place in a zip-top plastic bag. Combine all other ingredients and shake well in the bag with the steak. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Grill steak 8 minutes on each side and no more. Keep pink in the center. Slice on the bias. Bring remaining marinade to a full, rolling boil and boil for at least 2 minutes. Pour remaining marinade over to serve. Garnish as desired.

Cranberry Chicken

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 broiler/fryer chicken, quartered and skin removed

1 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

3 tablespoons flour

2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar

Hot cooked noodles

In a slow cooker, combine the first 5 ingredients. Top with the chicken. Pour orange juice over the chicken and sprinkle with orange peel. Cover and cook on low 5 to 6 hours, or until meat juices run clear. Remove chicken; debone and cut up meat. Set aside and keep warm. Combine butter and flour until smooth. Add to slow cooker. Cook on high until thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in chicken and brown sugar. Heat through. Serve over noodles. Yields 4 to 6 servings.

Sweet and Sour Spaghetti

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can tomato soup

2 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

1/4 teaspoon red pepper

1 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 can mushrooms, drained

1/2 pound spaghetti, cooked and drained

Brown ground beef and onion in skillet. Drain grease from meat. Add soup, brown sugar, mustard, red pepper, ketchup, salt, garlic salt and mushrooms. Cook over low heat until bubbly and thickened. Add sauce to cooked spaghetti. Top with any grated cheese.

Have a great week and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.