Ed read this and said "Spare time? Hello?! It's called going to a movie and lunch. And I was working!" all while laughing. He said, must be nice to go to a movie and get credit for working! Still joking. He likes that y'all are "green enough" (are into recycling) that you don't jab me about using garbarge.

Here are two of my favorites: Chicken Tetrazzini â¢4 cups cooked diced chicken â¢salt and pepper â¢8 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained â¢6 tablespoons butter â¢8 ounces sliced mushrooms â¢1/4 cup all-purpose flour â¢1 cup light cream or half-and-half â¢2 cups chicken broth â¢1/4 cup dry sherry â¢1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese â¢ground sweet paprika, optional Heat the oven to 425ð. Butter a 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish. Cook spaghetti or noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat; sauté sliced mushrooms until golden. In a saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter; stir in flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir until smooth; add chicken broth and cream. Cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened. Add chicken, cooked mushrooms, and sherry; heat through. Place noodles or spaghetti in a buttered baking dish; pour on sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 425ð for 15 to 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. serves 8 Baked Ziti 1 pound dry ziti pasta 1 onion, chopped 1 pound lean ground beef 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce or homemade sauce 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced 1 1/2 cups sour cream 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Directions: 1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain. 2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes. 3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. 4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted

Pam, that mushroom ciabatta sounds amazing! Especially with Brie--which I could eat every day! Raven, I know what you mean about bouncing back. I had to force myself to get some stuff done today. What would we do without our freezers? Glenda, our niece made the best squash casserole for Easter. She didn't have cornbread so she used Italian bread crumbs. It was so good. Harry was reading the new menu from the restaurant here and it has fried green tomatoes on it. Guess I'll be eating out more often :-) Susan, I like being able to make a "normal" recipe and freezing the leftovers for another day. Sure saves a lot of time. Wish I'd done more of it when I was working. Carol, do you stagger your planting or do most things grow any time of year in CA? You always have such amazing vegetables to go out and pick. Your dinner sounds delicious--especially those vegetables!!

I love a good shepherd's pie (lamb, of course -- the one with beef is a "cottage pie", as shepherds don't herd cattle). It's not so much a regional term but that people seem to have forgotten the meaning of the word "shepherd". (It went beyond strange that the work lunch menu this week included "lamb cottage pie"...) I use rosemary -- complements the lamb nicely -- and thyme goes very nicely in this too. Some garlic and onion, additional potato, maybe chopped turnips. Salt and pepper, too. If I were to make a cottage pie (beef), I'd likely forego the rosemary. Jamie Oliver has a couple great recipes, and I found one on Serious Eats that I've adapted.