8B • FEB. 2, 2024
GOOD FOOD
bransonglobe.com
Spinach Artichoke Bruschetta
BY CHEF JEFF WOODWARD, THE ROGUE CHEF Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Taco Soup
Servings: 8 Ingredients: • 1 Can Artichoke Hearts,
chopped • ¼ C Garlic, minced • 16 oz Spinach, frozen, chopped, drained • ½ C Butter • 2 C Shredded Parmesan Cheese • 2 C Sour Cream • 32 oz Cream Cheese, softened • 1T Salt • 1T Pepper • 8-10 slices Ciabatta bread or any crusty
bread • 1 T Olive Oil Instructions: 1. Melt butter and place in a mixing bowl along with garlic, cream cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper. 2. Mix until smooth, then add chopped artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese and spinach. 3. Combine and place in a 9 x 13 glass, greased
baking pan. 4. Bake in a 350ºF oven until the internal temperature is 165º or approximately one hour. 5. Cut the Ciabatta bread into slices. Drizzle with olive oil. 6. Toast bread in a 350ºF oven until golden brown, approximately 10 min. 7. Spread the spinach artichoke dip on top of
Easy Pasta Bake
SUBMITTED BY CLAY COOPER, Clay Cooper’s Country Express Clay says: “I love this soup; it is so easy to make for the family and/ or friends! Serve it with tortilla chips and voila! Enjoy! Ingredients: • 2 lbs. ground beef* (browned and drained) • 2-3 cans of diced tomatoes • 2 cans of Rotel • 3 cans of ranch style beans (or black beans) • 1 can of corn • 1 package taco season-
ing • 1 package ranch dip or ranch dressing • 1 teaspoon chili powder Instructions: 1. Add all ingredients to a large pot; mix and simmer on stovetop until heated through, approximately 30 minutes. 2. To prepare in slow cooker, mix to blend and cook on low setting for approximately 6 hours. 3. Serve warm with de-
BY JANET STEINKAMP, Editor Not only is this easy to make, but it is delicious! Make a batch ahead… freezes well; or freeze half of this batch, if a smaller batch is preferred. Ingredients: • 1 lb. ground beef • 5 cups cooked pasta • 1 jar (30 oz.) spaghetti sauce • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese • 8 oz. package shredded sired toppings such mozzarella cheese as cheese and sour Instructions: cream. 1. Cook 1 lb. ground beef Soup also freezes well. in large skillet. Drain. 2. Stir in cooked pasta,
spaghetti sauce, and parmesan cheese. 3. Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish. 4. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese. 5. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. NOTE: • Ground turkey may be substituted for ground beef. • Any pasta works well, but my preferences are rigatoni, mostaccioli, or penne (open-ended pastas) • For an added, interesting meaty flavor, pepperoni slices may be added. • If cheesier pasta is pre-
• OLE SEAGULL
will allow the building of a Public Library Center that will better serve our community, creating space for meetings, new technology and other programming and resources. The Taney County Public Library Board will make all decisions about the use of this funding, but we don’t expect a new library building immediately, as the levy may not be collected until December 2024 and
revenues will need to accumulate before any new construction is initiated. Current cost estimations for a library building are based on an approximate size and general price per square foot building costs in our area. The levy can fund the building, land, materials, technology, administrative and operational costs. Q. After that email, it was noticed that the $12 million was
mated cost of a new library was based on the square footage of public library facilities in similar-sized communities, current construction costs, land acquisition, and professional design, furnishings and technology.” Q. Is it fair and accurate to say that using the method described above to finance the building of the facility will permit the Library Board to raise the levy should the costs of the estimated $12 million facility plus expenses for Library “Services” exhaust revenues received from the $.18 levy per hundred the voters are voting on? A. No, the levy is set at $0.18 and only district residents may increase the levy, with voter approval. [Once voted in, there is no “sunset provision” for this tax. The levy funds everything: the building, land, materials, technology, administrative, library services and operational costs. Is the Ole Seagull the only one who sees the possibility
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making sure that future salaries are “Enough.”] Q In a July 24, 2023, email, the Director was asked, “Using the method described above, is it fair and accurate to say that the voters, whether the ballot tells them so or not, are not just voting on “services” but the building of an estimated $12 million facility? A. Yes, the levy funding
BURGERS & PIZZA 11863 HWY. 86, BLUE EYE WED. - SAT. 11 AM - 8 PM (417) 779-8000
the toasted bread and serve. GO ROGUE by adding Truffle Hot Sauce to the spinach artichoke mixture. Want Chef Jeff, The Rogue Chef, to make this delicious treat or any other meal for you? Contact him at www.TheRogueChefBranson.com .
no longer on the site. The following question was asked, “Is it fair and accurate to say that the campaign’s website used to contain the figure “$12 million” as the estimated cost of the Library Center of the Ozarks? A. It is fair to say it did, and it was removed to avoid any confusion about what the actual costs will be. We replaced it with a more accurate statement: “The esti-
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ferred, mix mozzarella cheese into mixture and top with an extra 8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese. Extra sauce may also be added. of voters, who are already on the hook for $0.18 per hundred assessed value, being told that the taxes will have to go up to actually get a library built?] This information was in a column written for publication the Friday before the Library Tax election. Emails and videos of public meetings validate its information. The feeble brain of an 82-year-old man thought he had sent it in, but he had not done so, resulting in its non-publication. He sure picked a great time to mess up. Evidently, either way, God wanted an illustration of what the French philosopher Joseph de Maistre meant when he says, “We get the government we deserve.” *** The comments on opinion pages are the opinions of the writers, and not necessarily those of the Branson Globe, or its staff. Have something to say? Share it with us in your own Letter to the Editor. Letters to the editor sent via e-mail and fewer than 400 words are given preference. Published or unpublished letters become the property of the newspaper and will not be returned. All letters must include, name, address, and verifiable phone number. The editors may refuse publication of any letter that is libelous, in poor taste, or that endorses a business or product. Letters are subject to editing.