Almond and cranberry tea cake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup milk
1 cup dried cranberries
pinch of salt
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder until very well combined. Set the flour mixture aside.
In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and beat again until the mixture is creamy in texture. Add milk and beat again. Incorporate flour mixture and mix it in with a spatula.
Add most of the cranberries to the cake batter and spread the cake batter into a 9-inch pie plate coated with non-stick spray, the sprinkle the remaining cranberries over top. Sprinkle the almonds over top and press them lightly into the cake batter. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the cake and almonds are lightly browned on top.

Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients:

1. Trader Joe's no-boil lasagna noodles 
2. Jar of marinara sauce (I use Rao's brand which is hella expensive but SO good)
3. 12 oz tub of mascarpone cheese (or ricotta or a blend of both)
4. Shredded parmesan cheese
5. Shredded mozzarella cheese
6. Spinach
7. Mushrooms
8. 1/4 cup milk
9. Bacon bits
10. Salt, pepper, pinch of nutmeg
11. Handful of parsley

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Slice and cook mushrooms in butter with garlic, salt and pepper.
• Spray an 8"x11" baking pan with non-stick spray.
• Whisk milk with mascarpone cheese, salt, shredded parmesan, pepper and nutmeg.
• Layer a bit of white sauce in the bottom of the pan – just enough to barely cover the bottom.
• Place 2 noodles on the sauce, cover it with marinara. Sprinkle mozzarella. Stack spinach on the first layer. Soak noodles in the white sauce and place over the spinach (I use raw spinach but you can cook it if you don't want your lasagna to get watery).
• Layer marinara sauce. Spread the sliced mushrooms (keep some for later), bacon crumbles, top with another layer of soaked noodles, marinara and shredded mozzarella. 
• (You get the drill. Noodles. Milk sauce. Marinara. Topping - crumbled Italian sausage would be good, too. Mozzarella. My Pyrex dish can do 2-3 layers, tops.)
• Let the dish sit for 1/2 hour to overnight for everything to set.
• Place dish in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
• Garnish with fried mushrooms and chopped parsley.
• Remove from oven, cut into individual portions and serve with salad and garlic bread.

Eggnog Pie

I know it's only February but this is the perfect Christmas time dessert (light and seasonal) to round up a heavy meal of turkey or shepherd's pie. My husband who loves eggnog naturally approves of this incredibly easy pie.

Ingredients:
nutmeg
graham cracker crust
instant vanilla pudding (3.4 oz)
cool whip

Method:
With an electric mixer, beat 2 cups of eggnog with 3.4 oz box of instant vanilla pudding mix. Add a pinch of nutmeg. Fold in 2 cups of cool whip. Spread into a store-bought graham cracker crust and set for 3 hours in the refrigerator.