End-of-season specialty dishes

For those of you who have children, you know it is a family-changing experience going back to school. The notes and papers roll in and begin to collect as we go through them each week, notes from school to be filled out and signed come home on a regular basis, picture packets need to be selected, lunch money deposited, and homework and music practice need to be taken care of. It is a part-time job for parents to keep up with all of the activities that involve school, but it is good in many ways, too.

We needed to get back into a routine and get back on a schedule from summer vacation, and that has finally happened after being back in school for a couple of weeks now.

Over the weekend, I needed to take a covered dish to an end-of-the-season baseball party, and I came across several recipes that have been sent to me to pass along to you. There is no theme to the recipes, just a nice variety for you to add to your recipe collection. Try them and enjoy!

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 (1-pound) box spaghetti

1/2 pound bacon, diced

1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed

1 jar (16 ounces) creamy Alfredo sauce

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until crisp. Add the spaghetti, peas, and Alfredo sauce to the skillet; toss to coat the spaghetti well. Cook for 5 minutes, or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Sour Cream Cranberry Bars

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

2 cups sweetened dried cranberries

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the oats and 1 1/2 cups flour to the creamed mixture; mix well. Set aside 1 1/2 cups for topping. Press the remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the cranberries, granulated sugar, sour cream, egg, lemon peel, vanilla and remaining 2 tablespoons flour; mix well. Spread evenly over the crust, and sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool, then cover and chill. Slice into bars and serve.

Makes 3 dozen bars.

Creamed Onion Bake

In this recipe, onions, peas, cornbread stuffing and cheese are dressed in a creamy mushroom sauce, and baked until bubbly for a delicious side dish.

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups Pepperidge Farm corn bread stuffing

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

3 large onions, cut in half and sliced

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of mushroom soup or 98 percent fat-free cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup milk

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and mix with stuffing and parsley. Heat remaining butter in skillet. Add onions and cook until tender. Stir in soup, milk and peas. Spoon into 2-quart shallow baking dish. Sprinkle cheese and stuffing mixture over soup mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot.

Serves 6.

Marbled Chocolate Brownies

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup baking cocoa

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons margarine

3 large egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces light cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon nonfat milk

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Heat 1 1/4 cups sugar, morsels, applesauce and margarine in large, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly just until morsels are melted. Remove from heat. Stir in egg whites. Add cocoa mixture and vanilla extract; stir well. Spread into greased 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Stir together cream cheese, 1 tablespoon sugar and milk in small bowl. Drop by rounded teaspoon over batter; swirl over surface of batter with back of spoon. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 22 to 28 minutes or just until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Makes about 2 1/4 dozen brownies.

Caramelized Onion Soup

3 pounds sweet onions, such as Vidalia, Walla Walla or Maui

3 tablespoons olive oil, margarine, or butter

12 medium shallots, halved (about 12 ounces)

4 cups beef broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons dry white wine, optional

Salt and pepper

6 1/2 inch-thick slices sourdough or French bread

6 ounces Gouda or Edam cheese, thinly sliced

Green onion tops, optional

Cut about 1/2 inch off the tops of three of the whole onions. Peel off the papery outer leaves. Trim the root ends, but leave them intact. Turn one of these onions so it rests on its top. Cut two thin (about 1/4 inch) slices from the center of the onion, cutting down from the root end to the onion top. Be careful to keep these slices intact. Repeat with remaining two onions to give a total of six thin, center-cut onion slices. Set remaining onions aside. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil or margarine. Carefully add the six onion slices in a single layer. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Turn carefully with a wide metal spatula. Cook about 3 minutes more or until golden brown on second side. Carefully remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.

Thinly slice remaining onion portions. Halve and cut remaining whole onions into thin slices. You should have 6 to 7 cups of onion slices. In a 4 or 4 1/2 quart Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Stir in the sliced onion and halved shallots. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high and cook 5 minutes or until onions are golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Stir broth and wine, if using, into onions in Dutch oven. Heat through. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper. Meanwhile, place bread slices on rack of broiler pan. Place under broiler, about 4 inches from the heat, about 1 minute or until lightly toasted. Turn bread over; top each piece with a slice of cheese. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese just begins to melt. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Top each with a piece of cheese toast. Add a caramelized onion slice and green onion tops.

Makes about 7 cups (6 main-dish servings).

Once again, I am all out of room, so will wish you a great week and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.