Cooking is another one of my favorite hobbies. I started cooking with my mom when I was a little girl. My favorite toy when I was a little girl was a play kitchenette I got as a Christmas present. Every Christmas, I make Christmas cookies with my mom and then we decorate them. My mom has taught me to cook many things, ranging from large family dinners to small meals.



Here are some of my favorite recipies:

Mrs Millers Blueberry Pie 

Ingredients:

5 c Blueberries, fresh; washed	1/4 c Water
3/4 c Wugar	1/4 c Sugar
3/4 c Water	3 tb Cornstarch
1 ts Lemon rind; grated	Pie shell, 9"; baked

Directions

1. In saucepan, combine 1 cup blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup water, and 1 teaspoon lemon rind. Bring mixture to a boil. 

2. Mix 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch and add to hot mixture.

3. Cook until clear and thick.

4.  Cool. 

5. Pour thickened mixture over 4 cups blueberries in bakec pie shell. Chill until ready to serve.

Classic Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 (14.5-oz.) can basil, garlic, and oregano diced tomatoes
• 2 (6-oz.) cans tomato paste
• 1 (8-oz.) can basil, garlic, and oregano tomato sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
• 12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 8 cups boiling water
• 1 (16-oz.) container ricotta cheese
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 (6-oz.) packages part-skim mozzarella cheese slices
•  Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Sauté onion in 1 Tbsp. hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Add beef, and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until beef crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain beef mixture, and return to skillet. Stir in diced tomatoes, next 4 ingredients, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf; set meat sauce aside.
2. Place lasagna noodles in a 13- x- 9-inch pan. Carefully pour 8 cups boiling water and remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil over noodles. Let stand 15 minutes.
3. Stir together ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, remaining 1/4 tsp. salt, and remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper until blended.
4. Spoon half of the meat sauce mixture in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Shake excess water from noodles, and arrange 6 noodles over meat sauce; top with half of ricotta mixture and 1 package mozzarella cheese slices. Repeat layers once.
5. Bake, covered, at 350° for 55 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until bubbly. Let lasagna stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Simple Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

Directions:

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl just until blended; place in a lightly greased 9- x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Stir together ketchup, brown sugar, and yellow mustard; pour evenly over meatloaf.
3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes, and remove from pan before slicing.
4. Note: Wrap meatloaf in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.

Here are two of my favorite chefs:

Click on their images to go to their website, or scroll down and click their websites manually.

• Martha Stewart


• Emeril