Basil's Pumpkin Pie

1 9 inch graham cracker pie crust
1 15 oz can of condensed milk
1 14 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

preheat oven to 425
mix all ingredients with whisk or flat silicon spatula
pour into crust and bake 15 minutes
lower oven temp to 350 with pie still in oven
bake for 40 minutes
take out and let cool
enjoy with whipped cream!

Basil's vegetarian weekday lasagna

1 package of oven ready lasagna noodles
1 jar of your favorite sauce or left over sauce (we use Classico tomato garlic or my leftover homemade)
1 15oz container of ricotta cheese
1 large egg
Shredded real parmasan (not the shaky kraft stuff!)
Shredded mozzerella
salt, pepper, italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder to taste (you can sub italian seasoning with your fave blend of things like basil, oregano, thyme, any sort of italian cooking herb)
one 8 by 4 loaf pan or another rectangular pan (you can also do this in a square pan, just do two instead of layering one)

put ricotta cheese into a bowl, crack egg into bowl, mix well (it should be a nice paste) and season to taste with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and italian seasoning.

preheat your oven to 375F/160C degrees

pour a little sauce into the bottom of your pan, enough to cover it, and place a noodle down. spread your ricotta cheese mix on the lasagna noodle with the back of a spoon and sprinkle mozz and parm on top. layer with sauce and press lightly with another noodle.

repeat this pattern until your lasagna is as tall as youd like it. to finish your lasagna, instead of pressing another noodle into the sauce, sprinkle a hearty amount of mozz on top. cover with tin foil making sure it doesn't touch the cheese on top.

pop it in the oven for 25 minutes, take it out and remove the tin foil, then pop it in again for another 25

when done, remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving!

Basil's Instant Potato Soup

family sized bag of instant mashed potatoes in ur fave flavor (my hubby loves the baby reds or sour cream and onion the best)
minced garlic
1 medium chopped yellow onion
1 cup heavy whipping cream
half cup sour cream
5 cups filtered water
chives, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder
two tbsp butter

melt butter into a pot and cook down onions and garlic
add your cream and water and mix
shake in your instant potatoes while mixing slowly, until well encorporated. you're looking for a soupy consistency! feel free to add milk or more cream at this stage if you feel like it's not thin enough. add your seasonings here and let simmer until your mixture doesn't have a mealy texture
serve hot with cheddar cheese and bacon bits if you like!

Basil's now-and-later meatloaf! (makes two meatloafs that serve four)

The Meat Mix

2 large Eggs
1 and a half cups milk
2 and 2/3rds cups of your favorite breadcrumbs (italian seasoned is good but plain works! whatever you have on hand, even crackers can work)
6 Tablespoons chopped onion (roughly one medium yellow onions worth but use what you feel is best, you can always add more)
three cloves of garlic, finely diced (minced or jarred garlic is okay too! this is again all about what's easy and cheap for you)
half teaspoon salt
1/4th to half teaspoon rubbed sage to taste
pound of ground beef

The Glaze

Half cup ketchup
4 tablespoons dark or light brown sugar
Worchester sauce to taste (I find a teaspoon usually works but less or more is fine!)

Set your oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, beat your egg. Add your milk, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and sage into the egg and whisk until smooth.

Crumble your beef into the bowl and sprinkle onions on top.

Get gloves (or not but it WILL be cold so fair warning) and mush everything together in grabbing and pushing motions. You're looking for meatball consistency, meaning if you can roll it into a ball and it sticks together and everything is well incorporated into the meat it's perfect. If you find your meat is too wet, add breadcrumbs. If it feels too tough, add another splash of milk. Shape into a loaf and place in two shallow baking dishes coated with cooking spray or a layer of stick butter

In a smaller bowl, mix together your ketchup and worchester sauce and add your brown sugar in slowly while stirring. It will settle and be a little grainy until you cook it, that means it's right!

Once well mixed, spoon over the meatloaf top and pop into the oven at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Allow to sit and remove and replate the meatloaf for cutting or carefully drain the fats into a bowl and allow to cool and harden for scooping into the garbage. Do not drain this into your pipes, it will clog them!!!