Family Recipe Italian Baked Macaroni. An Italian food item sure to please almost everyone. Baked macaroni is a versatile food that can be served with many main dish food items. Baked macaroni may be served as side dish of a main menu item or a snack. Baked macaroni can be eaten hot, cold, at room temperature, reheated, for lunch or dinner. Baked or pan fried macaroni makes a great additional food item with barbecued meat main food items and also for picnics. Lunch box ready. There are two variations for making the finished product. Method one is oven baked and the other is pan fried. Instructions for both are below. With a little practice the pan fried method can be used which is slightly quicker. Pan frying requires slightly more work and a more intensive watching during the frying process. Finished product for either method results needs to be a light golden brown on both sides. For eye appeal garnishment of parsley can be used on top side. Ingredients: 1 pound box of thick spaghetti made from durum white or wheat flour. Any style of pasta can be used, if preferred. 4 to 8 large eggs (Just enough egg to coat pasta when blended as instructed below) Amount of eggs will vary based upon all ingredients used. Italian olive oil of any variety works best. Seasonings and Spices: All spices and seasonings are prepackaged, store bought items. Quantities may be varied to individual tastes. 1/2 to 1 cup grated Italian parmesan cheese (A blend of Romano and Parmesan can also be used) 1/2 teaspoon or one tablespoon of salt 1 teaspoon or one tablespoon of sweet basil 1 teaspoon or one tablespoon of parsley 1/2 teaspoon oregano only 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of garlic powder Optional Ingredients: 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of onion powder 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of black pepper Optional and/or Additional Sautéed Items: (Sautéed in olive oil.) 1/2 to 1 cup chopped and drained canned Mushrooms 1/2 to 1 cup chopped and drained canned black Olives 1/2 to 1 cup chopped bell pepper and/or fresh onion and/or fresh garlic Non sautéed additional food items: Chopped pre-cooked ham and/or pan fried cooked sausage and/or cooked bacon broken into bits can also be added with any ingredients above and/or added alone. The variations are almost endless. Number of eggs will need to be adjusted to bind pasta and all ingredients together. A trail and error method. Create your own baked or pan fried baked macaroni. Add one pound box of spaghetti to the volume of boiling water per box instructions. Boil 9-12 minutes only. Spaghetti made from 100% durum flour provides the best results but any pasta made of any flour will do. The spaghetti should be done “Al Dente” style. While the pasta is boiling, stir frequently following all directions as recommended per the instructions on the package. As the pasta is cooking, crack open and pour out the contents of the eggs into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add in the seasoning ingredients one at a time slowly to allow complete blending without lumps. Blending can be done either by hand using a wire whip or with a hand held electric mixer. Do not over whip the mixture. Blend just enough to combine all ingredients. Set this mixture aside temporarily. When the pasta has finished boiling, pour pasta and water into a colander and allow it to drain completely. Do not rinse. Especially if using a brand of spaghetti made from durum wheat flour. Allow pasta to cool in the colander. Once the spaghetti has cooled and drained completely, put the cooked spaghetti pasta back into the same pot used to boil it. Add 1 ounce or so of oil to prevent sticking and gently blend with a fork. Continue cooling. While the pasta cools, liberally oil the surface of a baking pan 3 to 4 inches deep and approximately 12by 12 or 8 by 12 inches in size. A non stick baking pan may also be used. But also should be oiled with olive oil. Pour the egg mixture slowly into the pot containing the pasta while gently stirring and mix until all ingredients are completely blended together. Once the spaghetti pasta and all the ingredients are blended, pour the spaghetti mixture into the baking pan. Using a spatula, press down lightly and move pasta around to level it. Sprinkle on some dried parsley to the top for eye appeal and as a final garnishment. Next bake in a preheated oven at about 350 degrees until pasta becomes lightly golden brown on the top. Baking time is about 30-60 minutes. Check it often, oven temperatures and baking times will vary. When the spaghetti is fully baked, the top must be a slightly golden brown in color. Remove from oven and allowed to cool for about 15 - 20 minutes. Turn it upside down and gently remove from baking pan. Turn it over again. Cut into approximately 2 to 4 inch square pieces. Now ready to serve. Hints: When baked correctly, the finished product should be cooked completely inside. The slice or piece cut should be firm, not dry nor to oily and remain intact. Slight oily moisture is desirable and totally acceptable. You may need to alter the number of eggs used to acquire the final results above and/or adjust baking time to provide the best final results. Tips: Alternate types of cheeses may be used. All ingredients will absorb the egg mixture. Adjust eggs and/or ingredients to obtain the best final results. Practice makes perfect…:) Trial and error provide the best results. Plenty of room in this recipe to vary the amounts and types of seasonings and/or ingredients used to alter the flavors and tastes. Be sure to cover and refrigerate any leftovers. Do not freeze leftovers. Do not refrigerate warm. Room temperature only. Alternate Pan Fry Method: In a [U]LARGE[/U] fry pan add just enough olive oil to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Add in the blended pasta mixture. Pat down to level pasta. Add some garnishment to top. Cook uncover at medium heat. Slight amount of oil should begin to boil with bubbles around edges. When the edges begin browning, use a spatula to lift one side up to view bottom. Under side should be lightly golden brown when this first side is done. Now turn off heat and remove frying pan from burner. Then place a large plate or large pizza cooking pan over frying pan. Hold plate or pizza pan with palm of one hand on the top of frying pan and flip fry pan over. Pasta should now be in pizza pan or large plate. Lift empty frying pan and place back onto stove burner. Add some additional olive oil to prevent any sticking. Slide pasta off pan or plate back into frying pan. Pat down or roll edges as needed or if needed to make a full round circle so all product is all in fry pan. Resume heat to medium and repeat cooking process. When the second side is cooked golden brown, once again flip finished product into either large plate of pizza pan, which ever was used. The final product is now round like a pizza, so it can be cut like one. Additional Suggested Variations: Another variation to either recipe above is to pour in HALF the ingredients. Sprinkle in some type of grated cheese of choice between two layers. Add the remaining pasta to top of cheese. Level and bake or pan fry. Enjoy. PS: In case you're wondering, “Al Dente” is [U]NOT[/U] an Italian mobsters name…:D Al dente means the spaghetti is not overcooked...:) Print and Save. Use File above in the menu of word document choices. Then select print. On the web site use thread tools drop down menu, select show printable version.

i got 2 30 oz jars of chunky salsa from the blue store that starts with K and one jar the best by date says oct 23rd 2008 :eek: the other dec 2nd 2009. is that possible how could a store sell food that old. am i risk now for food poisoning sense i just finished the one jar that had the oct 23rd 08 date on it. so far no effects.