Dandelion Casserole

Description: It seems like a lot of greens but they cook down to almost nothing.And if you want you can replace the dandelion with spinach. I use hot sausage which gives this a real kick, but if you rather go for mild or just use chopped beef.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cooked pasta
• 1/2 lb crumbled sausage
• 1 lb chopped beef
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 cups young stems removed dandelion greens
• 4 -6 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Steps:

1. Blanch greens for 3 minutes and set aside.
2. Brown meats, onion and garlic, add bread crumbs, parsley, dried herbs, salt, pepper, egg, and milk.
3. Squeeze dandelion greens of all moisture.
4. In a buttered casserole alternate layers of dandelions, pasta, crumbled browned meat mixture and tomato sauce.
5. Top with cheese and bake 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
6. Garnish with hot pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese and serve with crisp fresh bread.