Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy Recipes

Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy cover

Book

Sammy Keyes and the
Sisters of Mercy
by Wendelin Van Draanen

Sammy lives with Grams at Senior Highrise. Join Sammy and Grams for Grams’ Green Bean Casserole for dinner.

Then, go hang out at the mall with Sammy and make Marissa’s Hamburger and Fries.

Sammy makes a new friend, Holly, and connects her with two of her friends, Vera and Meg, the owners of Pet Parlor. Join Sammy, Holly, Vera, and Meg for a heaping helping of Vera’s Lasagna.

Cook

Vera's Lasagna

Complexity: Easy, several steps, but prep is simple.
Time: 30 minutes plus 40 minutes baking.

Ingredients

½ box lasagne (½ lb, assumes 1 lb box)
1 pound cooked and drained bulk Italian sausage or ground beef
2 jars marinara sauce (total of 48 oz)
15 oz ricotta cheese
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup (2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
2 lightly beaten eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain and separate.
In a large saucepan, combine cooked meat and 1 ½ jars marinara sauce. Simmer 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 3 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and eggs.
Spray 13” x 9” baking dish with cooking spray.
Spread ¾ cup marinara sauce over the bottom of the baking dish.
Place 3-4 lasagna noodles over the bottom of the dish, on top of the sauce, slightly overlapping.
Spread half of the cheese mixture over noodles and cover with ½ of the meat sauce.
Create another layer of noodles with cheese and sauce.
Cover last layer with remaining noodles and remaining marinara sauce.
Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cook

Marissa's Hamburger and Fries

Complexity: Simple. Mixing burger ingredients and cooking, slicing and baking potatoes.
Time: 20 minutes plus 60 minutes cooking.

Ingredients

Hamburger:

1-1/2 lb. 80% lean ground chuck
8 oz. 90% lean ground sirloin
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 T worchestire sauce
Dried minced onion (found with spices in your grocery store)
Black pepper
Buns
desired toppings (see below for ideas)

Fries

As many Yukon gold potatoes as you’d like
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Wash the potatoes.
Slice potatoes as thinly as you can and place into a 9x13 pan.
Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.
Roast in the oven for 45 minutes, or until potatoes start to brown and are soft when pierced with a fork.
While the fries are roasting, put the meat in a bowl and add the egg and worcherstire sauce. Knead gently with hands to mix.
Shape the meat into 6 patties.
Slightly depress the center of each burger patty.
Sprinkle the top of each patty with dried minced onion and pepper.
Grill or fry in a pan over medium high heat until desired doneness (approximately 6 minutes per side, 12 minutes total) flipping just once.
Place on buns and top with cheese, lettuce, tomato, barbecue sauce, fried eggs, caramelized onions, mustard, pickle slices, mushrooms, cooked bacon, pancetta, peanut butter, or anything else.

Cook

Grams' Green Bean Casserole

Complexity: Easy - low prep, just mixing and baking.
Time: 15 minutes prep plus 30 minutes baking.

Ingredients

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (Healthy Request) (you can also use cream of mushroom)
2 cups evaporated skim (or regular) milk
4 teaspoons dried tarragon
½ teaspoons pepper
1 package (16 oz) linguine, cooked and drained
2 lb green beans, ends trimmed if desired
3 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast (optional)
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
paprika for topping, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
In large bowl , combine soup, evaporated milk, tarragon and pepper.
Stir in linguine, chicken, and green beans. Transfer to ungreased 4-qt baking dish.
Sprinkle with parmesean cheese and paprika if desired.
bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.