Rock Soup

Ingredients
2 quarts beef broth
20 small meatballs
2 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
a dash of salt
black pepper to taste
1 can cabbage (can be seasoned, but not sauerkraut)
1/4 cup sliced onions
1 can sliced carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup elbow macaroni

Instructions
In a large saucepan or stock pot, bring broth to a boil.
Add all ingredients except the macaroni.
Simmer for thirty minutes.
Add the macaroni, and cook until pasta is done. This will take approximately as long as the cooking time on the macaroni package, but keep an eye on it to make usre it is not too firm or too soft when finished cooking.

Cook's Note
This recipe was developed by my elementary-age son after their class listened to the story of "Rock Soup" at school. A meatball soup recipe was the basis, providing the "rocks", but the various vegetables were his idea, inspired by the fable.

A retelling of one version of the fable can be read here:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1548.html#stonesoup

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients
5 sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbl orange juice
1 dash ground cinnamon
1 package (10.5 oz) marshmallows, cut in half

Instructions
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes and place them in a large saucepan.
Cover the sweet potatoes with water, and heat until boiling.
Cook the potatoes until tender. This should take approximately 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the sweet potatoes from heat. Drain and mash them.

In a large bowl, blend the sweet potatoes with the butter, brown sugar, orange juice, and cinnamon.
Spread the mixture evenly in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Place the marshmallows on top of the sweet potato mixture.

Back for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. The marshmallows should puff and turn a golden-brown color.

Variation
Mini-marshmallows can be used, rather than the large variety halved, to save time. But the marshmalow halves seemed to make a more even layer, so I like to use those.

Mexican Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz elbow macaroni
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz Velveeta Mexican Mild cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook macaroni as directed on package, and drain it.

Melt 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir in flour until it is moistened. Stir in the milk slowly, cooking and stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. At low or medium-low heat, this will take several minutes. (Higher temperatures may speed the process, but also lead to burning.)

Add the salt and cheese. Stir the mixture until the cheese is melted.

Add the macaroni and place the entire mixture in a 1-quart casserole dish.

Melt the remaining butter and add the bread crumbs to it, stirring thoroughly. Sprinkle the buttery bread crumbs over the macaroni casserole.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Note that this recipe is VERY much spicier than traditional macaroni and cheese. Use caution when serving it to children, as it will not taste like they are used to out of the Kraft box. It's zestier flavor is probably better for adults unless you have a child that particularly likes spicy food.