OxfordPress.com

Cook of the Week: Debbie Keehner

NAME: Debbie Keehner

RESIDENT: Milford Township

WORK: Obstetrics nurse at McCullough-Hyde Hospital, in Oxford, and schoolbus driver for Laidlaw/Talawanda School District.

HOW LONG COOKING: Since age 12

HOW OFTEN SHE COOKS: 3 or 4 times a week

COOKING MENTOR: her mom, Doris Meyer of West Chester

COOKING SPECIALTY: Farm-type or homemade, country cooking

FAVORITE COOKBOOK: Loves loose recipes from newspapers, magazines, friends, and family. For references, she uses an old 1961 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook.

FAVORITE RESTAURANT: Texas Roadhouse.

SPECIAL INTERESTS: Flower- and vegetable gardening, bowling, spending time with daughter Sarah, son Steve, and husband, Darrell.

2 FAVORITE RECIPES: Lasagna and coconut cream pie.

Lasagna

1/2 pound (or 12) lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic

1 medium to large onion, chopped

1 pound hamburger

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon rosemary or basil

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon oregano

12 ounces (canned) tomato paste

1 1/2 cups water

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 pint cottage cheese

1/4 pound ricotta cheese

1/2 to 1 pound mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

To make meat / red sauce:

Saute garlic and onion in oil until soft. Brown hamburger; drain off fat. Add garlic, onion, and seasonings.

In a bowl, mix together water and tomato paste; then add to hamburger mixture. Simmer on the stove top in a deep pan for 4 or 5 hours.

Prepare noodles using the directions on the box.

In a large bowl, blend eggs, ricotta, and cottage cheese.

In a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, spread a thin layer of the hamburger / sauce mixture in the bottom of the pan. Next, layer 1/2 (6) of the cooked noodles over top of the hamburger sauce. Spread egg and cheese mixture over noodles. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over this. Next, place a single layer with mozzarella slices or shredded mozzarella over top. Layer with the rest (6) of the noodles. Layer with the rest of the sauce. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cover with remaining mozzarella cheese; then bake 15 more minutes. (Note: You can make this and freeze it after the last layer of sauce; then finish it just before baking.)

Yield: 9 - 10 servings.

—Debbie Keehner

Cheesecake dreams

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (She uses pecans.)

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square pan. To make the crust: In a bowl, mix together the first 3 ingredients; then stir in butter until well combined. Reserve 1/3 cup of the crumbs; then pat remaining crumbs gently in the bottom of the pan. Then bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer at a medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Beat in remaining ingredients; then pour over baked crust. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over top. Bake for 25 more minutes, or until set. Cool on a wire rack. When cool, cut into 2-inch squares. Cut each 2-inch square diagonally in half for 32 servings. If you don't cut them diagonally, you get sixteen 2-inch square servings. (Note: She's been making this for at least 20 years.) Yield 16 - 32 servings.

—Debbie Keehner, from the 1961 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook