Dirty Rice

Yum Yum and double Yum. What more can I say. Give it a try and you wont be sorry.


6 Cups chicken broth
3 cups uncooked long grain rice
1 cup chicken giblets (I don't use these but feel free to. I don't eat animal organs so I just leave this out. )
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 pounds ground pork sausage (a spicy breakfast sausage is good.)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper

cook chicken broth and rice in a saucepan over med. heat 30 minutes or till rice has absorbed broth and rice is tender. Set aside.
Combine giblets and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and chop.
Cook sausage in a large skillet over med-high heat, stirring until crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove sauce and drain reserving 2 Tbl. of  sausage drippings in skillet. Set sausage aside.
Saute chopped garlic and next three ingredients in the hot drippings about 7 minutes or till tender.
Stir together rice, giblets, sausage, veggies, salt and remaining ingredients. Spoon into greased 2 quart baking dish and bake 375 for 10-12 minutes. Or mix everything up in skillet and stir and heat everything together in pan over med heat.

Green Beans with Ham and New Potatoes

With the holidays right upon us I thought I would post this. I read this recipe in a Southern Living magazine years and years ago. This makes a wonderful pot of green beans. You can use potatoes or leave them out. It's up to you. We are making a big pot of these for Thanksgiving this year instead of the ole stand by Green Bean Casserole.
Enjoy!


1/2 Cup butter
2 1/2 Cups diced smoked ham
2 large sweet onions, diced
3 (1 pound) packages frozen cut green beans, thawed.
2 Cups chicken broth
1 pound baby new potatoes, halved
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1 small red bell pepper, diced

Melt butter in large pot over med-high heat. Add ham and saute 5 minutes. Add onions and saute 5 minutes. Add the next 4 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir the bell pepper in during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Banana Nut Muffins

I love banana nut muffins. Here is my tried and true recipe that I use. I will also tell you how to convert it to banana nut bread.

Here's what I do:

Oven 400 degrees. Line twelve muffin cup tin with paper inserts.

1 3/4 Cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt ( I always add a heaping tsp. But this is a personal taste thing.)
1/2 cup heaping of white sugar
1 large egg beaten
1 cup mashed ripe banana (over ripe with all the specs on them. they get sweeter.)
1/2 cup milk
1/3 Cup vegy oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Add the chopped pecans and mix. Combine egg,mashed banana, milk, and oil in another bowl and mix together. Add the banana mixture to the flour and stir to combine. Spoon into muffin cups filling 3/4 full. Bake 400 degrees 18-20 minutes till golden and toothpick comes out clean when tested.

for bread:
set oven to 350 and pour batter into 8x4 bread pan. Bake about 1 hour or till toothpick comes out clean when tested.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Meatballs

My Sasquatches love it when I make Italian meatballs. I don't do it often enough. It is a little work intensive but worth it. We will have pasta one day and then they make the left over meatballs into meatball subs with mozzarella on top. They are happy. I also freeze bags with 4 meatballs and sauce in each. That way they can just take out one freezer bag and they have all they need for a sub.
This recipe is inspired by a recipe by Wolfgang Puck. I have changed it over time to our liking.

Here's what I do: I double this recipe for us.

Meat balls:
1 1/2 pounds lean eye of round roast
1/2 pound pork loin (I buy center cut boneless pork chops as they are just sliced pork loin. Now not tenderloin, just loin roast.)
1 head garlic roasted (I peel all the garlic cloves and lay on foil. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Wrap up in the foil tight and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes till they are very soft. When done place in bowl with any olive oil from the packet and mush with a fork.)
 2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese ( I grind my fresh parmesan up in the food processor and then mix with a good quality container of Kraft parm from the store. It stretches the good parm out and you still get the great flavor and more for the money.)
1 tbl. minced parsley
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/2-1 tsp. salt
 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Clean and remove any fat from the meat. Cut into chunks and grind up in a food processor till meat is completely ground up. 

 Place all the meat (beef and pork) in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix with your hands till completely mixed together. Using a 2inch stainless steel scoop scoop out some meat and roll into a ball in your hands and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. You will then place them in the pasta sauce that should be cooking on the stove while these are baking.

Red Sauce:

1/4 Cup olive oil
1 med. chopped onion
1 head of garlic (whole head not just one clove) minced
1 can tomato paste
1/2 can of msg. free beef broth
2 (28oz.) cans of good quality canned tomatoes. I like to use Hunts fire roasted or Cento Sam Marzano Italian tomatoes. Chopped if you can find them.
1/2 Cup red wine
1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste
Put olive oil in large pot and heat over med-high heat. Saute onion in oil till onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the can of tomato paste and stir constantly till the paste turns a darker shade of red. Pour the beef broth in and the wine. Stir to dissolve the tomato paste. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and using an emmersion blender blend the sauce till most the tomato chunks are gone (this is optional. My Sasquatches don't like chunks of tomato so I blend them up.)
Time it so that after the sauce has cooked for 30 minutes the meatballs are coming out of the oven. Place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer lightly for another hour or so. Serve with pasta and Parmesan cheese.

Steak bites seared in brown butter

This is a simple dish. This is a divine dish. Easy and beyond good. About a month ago I purchased a whole Filet of beef to cut into filet Mignon for my family. I had a good hunk of meat left at the end and just cut it into bite size pieces and put it in the freezer. Last week I purchased three filet mignons from the store to add the the frozen ones I had cut up earlier. So it made plenty for my large family of Sasquatches.

Here's what I did:

good quality steak(filet is what I would recommend) cut into large chunks (about two bites worth.)
salt and pepper
butter
 cast iron skillet

dry the steak bites and salt and pepper. Place cast iron skillet over med-high heat and let it get good and hot. Add 4 Tbl. of butter and stir it around till melted and butter has turned brown. This is a delicate time. You want the butter browned but not burnt. Then add half the steak bites and spread out in pan. Don't touch them for 30-45 seconds to let them sear. Then stir and cook another 45 seconds or so. After this I just stirred the steak bites around till they were good and brown but still nice and rare on the inside. Pour the cooked steak bites along with the butter in the pan into a serving dish. Place pan back on the burner and add another 4 Tbl. butter and repeat the directions above.
This is wonderful.
Enjoy!

Carrot Cake

My husband Sasquatch loves Carrot Cake. So I decided to make him one today. My frosting was a little soft but it was pretty humid out. I just popped it in the fridge to help firm it up. I could have added more powdered sugar but opted not to. This cake is very old fashioned in its consistency and tastes wonderful. It is actually better the second day.  Enjoy!







Here's what I did: Oven 350 degrees. Prep 3 (9") round pans including lining the bottom with wax paper.

2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 Cups vegy oil
2-3 cups grated, then chopped carrots till they are closer to a large mince ( use the amount you like in your cake. I used 3 cups in this cake but think I will try two cups next time.)
1-1 1/2 Cups chopped pecans

In large bowl combine flour, sugar,soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix. Add eggs and vegy oil and mix with a hand mixer till well blended, about two minutes. Then fold in carrots and pecans. Pour in equal amounts into the three prepped pans. Bake 30-40 minutes. I found it didn't need the 40 minutes. I would suggest checking the cake at 30 minutes and then testing it every 2 minutes after till it is done.  Do the toothpick test. When done cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and then turn out and finish cooling completely. Of course remove the wax paper that is on the bottom of the cakes. Then when cool frost.

Cream Cheese frosting
1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, room temp
2 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. Plus more powdered sugar (how much powdered sugar you use will depend on how stiff you want your frosting. If layering you want it a little stiffer so that it can hold the weight of the layers. So after adding your initial 16 oz. of powdered sugar continue to add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time till you get the right consistency.) Frost.

Pasta e Fagioli

So in my lame attempt to bring the cool weather on (it was 93 degrees today. BRRRRR) I decided to make a soup. I found my way to doing some research into Pasta e Fagioli. Took a bunch of recipes and took what I liked about each and put my own together. It turned out terrific. Very good. My husband Sasquatch loved this. I served it with garlic toast and Chianti wine. YUMMO.

Here's what I did: I make a big pot for my large family. Half it if you want for less.

4 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 pound pancetta, cubed
1 large sprig rosemary, leaves removed from stem. Leaves lightly chopped.
2 sprigs of Thyme (with lots of sprigs on it) or 4 long single stems Thyme, leaves removed and stem discarded.
4 bay leaves
2 med. onions, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, cleaned and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 (14oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
5 quarts chicken broth
salt and pepper
4 cans cannellini beans
1 loose pack Cup of fresh basil, chopped
3 Cups Ditalini pasta cooked separately in well salted water. To be added when soup in done cooking.
Extra olive oil for drizzling at serving
Parmesan cheese for serving (this is a must for the end flavor)


Heat oil in large 8-10 quart pot. Add pancetta and cook for 3 -4 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, celery. Stir and cook for 3 minutes or so. Add garlic and stir to cook for a couple minutes. Add herbs and stir a minute. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and stir. Bring to a strong simmer. Cook for 10 minutes (lid off.) Add drained beans. Stir and continue to simmer for another hour. You want to cook down the liquid some. The soup will cook down about an inch. Add salt and pepper, and basil. Stir and continue to simmer. Start pasta water. Cook the Ditalini for about 8 minutes and then drain and put in pot of soup. If the pasta is a little underdone it will finish cooking. Continue to simmer another 5 minutes. Check for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves.
Serve in bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and a couple of spoons of parmesan cheese.

Pasta with Green Olive Sauce

My husband and I love olives. We really like just about any kind. Black are pretty dull as they aren't full of flavor. We wouldn't turn a black olive away though.  Now I don't know if he remembers but I made this for my Daddy a few times and he loved it. Of course like us he loves olives. I think my husband married me because of this sauce (I'm not sure though.)
Now if you aren't a fan of olives you aren't going to like this. BUT, if you like olives you will love this sauce. It is good.

Here's what I do:
1/4 Cup vegetable broth (or stock)
1/4 Cup Olive oil (extra virgin)
4 cloves of garlic, fine chop
1 Cup PITTED and fine chop green olives (you can mix any variety together. I just would not do straight black olives.)
3/4 Cup toasted bread crumbs (1 Tbl. olive oil to hot pan and add in fresh bread crumbs. Stir till golden and remove from pan.)
 1 lb. spaghetti noodles

Heat olive oil in pan. Add garlic and cook for a minute or so and then add vegetable broth and stir for a minute. Add olives and saute another minute. Add cooked pasta and stir. Add bread crumbs to pasta and mix. If too dry add a little pasta water  and mix. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Uh...YUM! We are grilling steak file's on the grill tonight and I wanted a potato that would be easy to fix without having to make baked potatoes and have the ton of fixings out everywhere. So I decided to google a few recipes and then put my own version together. Just WOW! I got my strawberry ice box cake and my baked potato casserole all made before 10 a.m.! Now thats planning. So tonight all I have to do is throw on some corn to boil and grill our steaks. I will let the casserole come to room temp. after being in the fridge all day and then bake it in the oven. Easy peasy. This is good and pretty easy.

Here's what I did: Use a 9x13 casserole pan (cake pan etc.....I used an oval La Creuset casserole dish.)

10 large Russet baking potatoes
1 stick of butter, at room temp
1 (8oz.) container of sour cream
1/2 Cup whole milk
1/2 tsp. Lowery's seasoned salt
1/2-1 tsp. salt
1/2 -1 tsp. pepper
3/4 lb. bacon, cut up and fried crisp, drain off grease
1 small bunch green onions fine chop
2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese, for casserole
1 Cup (or more) shredded cheddar cheese, for top of casserole
2 eggs slightly beaten


Bake potatoes till done. When they are cool enough to handle cut in half and scoop as much of the potato out as you can (without getting any of the skin) into a large bowl. Mash slightly with a potato masher. Add butter, sour cream, milk, salts, and pepper. Mash together. Once the potatoes are lumpy but mashed use a spoon to stir instead of the masher. Then add the bacon, green onions, eggs and cheese. Stir to combine. Spray your casserole dish with cooking spray and then pour the potato mixture into the casserole and spread out evenly. Top with the additional cheese. You can bake it now or place in fridge to bake later. If you bake it later. Take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temp. before you bake it or it will take forever to warm up and the top will be over done and the middle not warm.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes till it is bubbly and top is golden brown.

Buttermilk Buscuits

This is the buttermilk biscuit recipe that I use and rely on. I am currently trying my hand at a few different ones and will post the ones I think are worthy. These are very tasty and always a hit at my house. I will make these over the regular baking powder biscuit recipe (uses milk instead of buttermilk) if I have buttermilk in the house. We don't drink buttermilk so if its here it is because I'm making buttermilk dressing or a cake with it. I usually by a big container and just plan lots of biscuits.

Here's what I do: I use 1 1/2 times this  recipe for the Sasquatches. I don't double it as it is a good size anyway. So 1 and 1/2 more makes a large pan of biscuits. I also cut mine pretty thick.

4 Cups all purpose flour 
1/2 tsp salt
6 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Cup  shortening
2 Cups buttermilk
more flour for sprinkling on counter to roll out biscuits on.

Preheat oven 375 degrees

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut the shortening into the flour till it resembles cornmeal. Add buttermilk and stir till all is together.
Lightly flour counter top and turn dough onto counter and knead until smooth. Roll out 1/2 thick (I usually roll mine much thicker 1 1/2 inches at least. How thick you roll them is up to you.)
Using a 2" biscuit cutter (or just a round glass like my grandma use to do) cut the biscuits into rounds. When you have  nothing but the left over dough pieces from cutting the biscuits then mush it back together and flatten out again and cut more biscuits. Do this till all the dough is used up. Place on a large ungreased cookie sheet close together (you want the biscuits touching slightly.) Bake 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown. I also test one that is in the middle of the pan. If it is still doughy cook a few minutes longer. If need be take just the outer biscuits and place the inner ones back in the oven for a few minutes to finish cooking if they need it.


          

German Chocolate Cake

I probably made this cake the first time 15 or 20 years ago. I don't remember exactly where I got it but I got a little Hershey's pamphlet with a few recipes in it. This was one of them. This is a wonderful German Chocolate cake. If you are a fan of German Chocolate Cake you won't be sorry one bit.

Here is what I do:

Oven 350. Prep 3 (9") round cake pans.

1/4 Cup Cocoa powder
1/2 Cup boiling water
2 1/4 Cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Cup buttermilk
1 Cup + 3 Tbl. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

one recipe coconut pecan frosting (below)

Stir together cocoa and water in small bowl until smooth; set aside. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with chocolate mixture and buttermilk, beating just enough to blend. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Prepare COCONUT PECAN FROSTING; spread between layers and over top.


Coconut Pecan Frosting
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups sweetened Coconut Flakes(don't pack the coconut in the measuring cup. I did that once and it was too much and made the frosting too thick.)
1 cup chopped pecans

Stir together sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and butter in medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, coconut and pecans. Cool to room temperature.

Lemonade Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I found this recipe on The Meaning of Pie site. These are "lemonlicious", trust me.

Here's what I do:

Cupcakes:
1 stick of butter, softened
 3/4 cups sugar
 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (do not dilute)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1½ cup cake flour
 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1½ teaspoon lemon zest
6 teaspoons frozen lemonade concentrate (do not dilute)
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Oven 350, line a 12 muffin/cupcake pan with cupcake papers.

In small bowl combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix and set aside. In a mixer set on med-high cream the butter and sugar. Mix for two minutes. Turn mixer down and add lemon zest, egg and vanilla. Mix to combine and then add the lemonade and the lemon juice. Mix to combine. Batter may appear a little lumpy. It is all good. Now add in the sour cream and mix well. Turn mixer to low and alternate adding flour mixture and milk ending with flour. Fill cupcake paper 2/3 full with batter. The cupcake does not rise real high. Bake for 14 minutes and then test with a toothpick. If not ready bake another two minutes and then test again. Once the cupcakes are done take out of the oven and set aside to cool. Remove from the pan and frost.

Frosting:
In mixer cream butter and cream cheese together. Add lemon zest, lemonade concentrate and lemon juice. Mix together and then turn mixer down and add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Using all 4 cups will give you a firmer frosting that is easier to pipe. You can use less if it is to your liking.  Also you may use less lemon juice if you prefer it less tart. You might start with half the lemon juice and taste along the way. I like this recipe as listed but you could certainly make small changes to suit your personal taste.

My entire family enjoyed these. They are delish.

Pineapple-Cucumber Gazpacho

You know I never really got the whole Gazpacho thing. To me traditional Gazpacho tastes to much like eating salsa with a spoon. Not my thing. However I have a recipe book that is nothing but Raw vegan recipes. I found this and made it. OMG! this is delish. My mother will make herself sick eating it. She loves, loves, loves this version of Gazpacho. I just can't tell you how good this is. Give it a try. Enjoy! From Raw Food Real World.


Here's what I do:
4 cups chopped peeled cucumber (I like the long English cucumbers.)
4 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1 cup fresh pineapple juice
1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 green onion, white and 1 inch green part, chopped
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. sea salt (If this seems like a lot of salt it isn't. This is raw food eating and there is not salt. So more salt it needed than you would use if you were cooking with canned products. Trust the salt level.)
1 handful of cilantro leaves
3 Tbl. avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, or cold pressed olive oil (I have always used the avocado oil. You can find this at any health store or Whole Foods, Sprouts etc...) DONT ADD 3 TB. OF EACH OF THESE OILS. PICK ONE TO USE AND USE 3 TBL. OF THAT OIL. THANK YOU, THE END.
1 handful of finely chopped raw macadamia nuts

In a blender add 3 cups cucumber and 3 cups pineapple, pineapple juice, jalapeno, green onion, lime juice, and salt. Blend until smooth. add the remaining 1 cup of pineapple and cucumber, the cilantro, and 1 1/2 Tbl. oil. Pulse a few quick times. The Gazpacho should remain chunky. Taste for seasoning. Place in fridge to chill.
Before serving, add the mad nuts to the soup and stir. Serve in bowl with a drizzle of the remaining oil on top.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I originally found this recipe in Pillsbury Healthy Baking Cookbook. I will list the original recipe which is lower in fat etc.... then list the one that I also make that is a little higher in sugar and fat. That way you can choose which you want to make. They are both good.


Low Fat version:
2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 Cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup chocolate chips (mini chips work great too)
3/4 Cup 2% milk
3 Tbl. oil
1 egg, beaten

Topping for muffins (optional)
3 Tbl. sugar
2 Tbl. brown sugar

Heat oven to 400. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder,salt, and chocolate chips. Mix well. In small bowl, combine milk, oil, and egg, blend well. Add  dry ingredients to wet and stir till just combined. Divide into paper lined muffin cups. Mix the brown sugar and white sugar together and sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking (this is optional. Sometimes I do and a lot of the time I forget.) Bake 18-23 minutes.

Less healthy version: It is not much different. More sugar and usually whole milk.

2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup (or more) chocolate chips. Minis work great.)
1 Cup milk
3 Tbl. oil
1 egg beaten

follow directions above and add sugar topping if you want.

Low Fat but oh so good Potato Salad

I have this Richard Simmons Cookbook. It is a pretty good one. We have liked everything we have ever made out of it. We love his potato salad. It is different from my southern potato salad, but I would almost say it is just as good. The fact that it is low fat is even better. The first time I made it I could hardly believe it was low fat. It is a keeper.

Here's what I do: Book says this is 4 servings. You know I at least double this if not triple.

4 cups cubed unpeeled red potatoe
1 can (14 oz.) fat-free chicken broth
2 Tbl. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced green onion (green and white part.)
2 hard boiled egg whites, coarsely chopped
1 Tbl. minced fresh parlsey

Dressing:
1/2 cup reduced fat mayo
1 Tbl. course ground Dijon mustard
1 Tbl. sweet pickle relish
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. celery seed

1. In medium saucepan combine the potatoes with the chicken broth. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. In large bowl toss the hot potatoes with the vinegar.

2. In second bowl mix dressing ingredients. Add to cooled potatoes together with the rest of the remaining ingredients. Toss to combine and chill.

Eggplant Balls in Spicy Marinara sauce

This is a really good vegetarian entree. My Sasquatches (I mean kids) even like it. Actually they love this dish. I have been making this for them since they were little Sasquatches. I was vegetarian when my last son was born. He didn't have meat for the first two years of his life. I don't know if I feel sorry for him or not. It took him years to really like meat. He still loves fruit better than just about anything. I serve these in a spicy marinara sauce. It is the only time I make this particular marinara sauce. I don't know why. It just became the sauce I make with these eggplant balls and I never make it for anything else. I dunno. I will list the marinara sauce after the eggplant ball recipe below. Comes from a very old vegetarian cookbook I love called "Claire's Corner Copia"
Enjoy!

Here's what I do:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced (I use more almost always)
2 large eggplants, peeled and diced
2 Tbl. water
2 Cups italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 Cup minced flat leaf parsley (use whatever parsley you have)
2 Tbl. minced fresh basil
4 oz. shredded mozzarella (optional)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper (to taste)
1/2 flour or more for rolling the eggplant balls in
oil/butter for frying (I use olive oil and butter. You can use whatever oil you want with or without the butter.)
Heat the oil in a pan over med-high heat. Add the garlic and saute for a second and then add the eggplant and stir to coat. Turn pan down to med and  add the water and cover and cook about 20 minutes or so, stirring often till eggplant is very soft. I think I have on occasion added another tablespoon of water if need be. Remove from heat and turn into a bowl. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, basil, mozzarella, eggs, parm and salt and pepper. Stir to mix well. Taste for seasoning. let mixture stand for 15 minutes. Stir again well. You want to break down the eggplant some without turning the whole thing into liquid mush. You can add more breadcrumbs if the mixture is to thin. You should be able to scoop it up and roll into into a ball.
Form into balls and roll in flour and set on a baking sheet. To fry them heat oil and butter in skillet over medium heat and when oil is hot add balls to skillet leaving a little space in between them. Fry on each side till golden brown and remove to a paper towel covered plate to drain. You can bake them if you prefer. 350 degrees for 30 minutes turning halfway through.

Spicy Marinara Sauce

1/2 Cup olive oil
1 small onion chopped
6 cloves garlic minced (I always use more. We love garlic.)
2 (28oz.) cans good italian tomatoes. If they aren't already crushed then crush them before putting them into the pan. (I like the fire roasted myself.)
1/2 Cup fine chop fresh basil
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes (I add enough as it is cooking till the sauce has some spicy heat.)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in pan and add onion. Fry for a couple minutes and then add the garlic. Stir constantly till garlic softens a bit (don't let garlic burn as it gets bitter.) Add the red pepper flakes and stir and then the tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add the basil, salt and pepper. Simmer another 10 minutes. Sauce should start to thicken. Taste for seasoning.
Serve over pasta and or eggplant balls.

Sloppy Joe

Sloppy Joes. What can I say about a Sloppy Joe? It was one of my favorite days of the week at school when we had Sloppy Joes. I also can't say "Sloppy Joe" without thinking of the SNL skit with the cafeteria lady and the sloppy joe song. If you haven't seen it you should look it up on youtube. Hopefully its there somewhere. I have added a video with Sandler on Letterman singing the song. You wont get to see Farley but you get to hear the song. Enjoy

Chris Farley (RIP) was the cafeteria lady and Adam Sandler sang the unforgettable sloppy joe song.
Anyway, it is a quick and easy meal at my house too. My Sasquatches love it with some chips and home made pink lemonade.  If they are really lucky I will whip up a batch chocolate chip cookies.
So here is my "sloppy joe" recipe that was born of many recipes read and put together to create a pretty good sloppy joe.

Here is what I do: You can half it if you like. I am cooking for Sasquatches after all. One thing about it it makes great leftovers.

5 lbs. ground beef (you know I grind my own.)
1 large onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 Cups ketchup
2 Cups water
4 Tbl. brown sugar
5 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dry mustard
3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

add butter to fry pan and fry hamburger meat till done and crumbly (I grind my own meat so I need the butter. You may not need it.) Drain off most of the grease (if any, or liquid). Add the onion, bell peppers and garlic. Stir and fry the hamburger mix together for 3 minutes or so to cook the garlic, onions, and peppers. Then add the water, ketchup, brown sugar, chili powder, dry mustard, and worcestershire sauce. Stir to mix completely. Simmer for 20 minutes or so stirring often till most of the liquid is gone and it has thickened. Taste and add salt and pepper.
Butter and brown your rolls to serve your sloppy joes on. This makes them so much better. Something about the crispy buttered bun. I dunno its just good.
Enjoy!

Buttermilk Dressing

Buttermilk dressing really is the precursor to Ranch Dressing. They really are one and the same. Here is a recipe that I found and give inspirational credit to Home Sick Texan.
This is very good and refreshing. Unlike some other "Ranch Dressings" this doesn't have onion powder and garlic powder. It does have garlic though. It is very very good.
Give it a try.

Here's what I did:

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise (of course at my house Hellmanns is the only mayo that exists.)
1 Cup sour cream
1 Cup buttermilk
1/2 Cup fine chop cilantro
2 Tbl. fresh squeezed lime juice
2-4 cloves minced garlic (this is where you let your taste buds do the decision making.)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, veined and minced fine
1 Tbl. fine minced chives
1/8 tsp. cayenne (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
mix everything in a food processor or blender and chill and least an hour.

Texas Sheet Cake

This is probably one of my favorite cakes. Which is why I only make it a few times a year. I can't stay out of it. My kids prefer it without the pecans in the frosting. I love it with the pecans in the frosting. So maybe they wont eat it if I put the pecans in. I'm crossing my fingers. This is absolutely delicious. I have seen many many recipes for it. This is my mothers. I don't know where she got it but it is the best. I have looked up other recipes and most don't have cinnamon in the cake and that is a shame. It is the secret to the success and complete to die for goodness of this yummy cake. Love it.

Here's what I did:
Cake
2 Cups sugar
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 stick butter
1 Cup water
1/2 Cup shortening
4 Tbl. cocoa
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 Cup buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla




Oven 400


In mixer combine flour and sugar. In saucepan  bring to a boil 1 stick butter, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup shortening, and 4 Tbl. cocoa. When it comes to a boil remove from heat and pour over the sugar/flour mixture. Immediately add eggs, cinnamon, salt, buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla. Beat to combine. Pour into floured 15x10 (aprox) jelly roll pan. Bake in 400 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes. Check after 15 and test to see if its done Insert a toothpick into center. It should come out clean. Or center should be springy to the touch.

8 MINUTES before cake is done start the frosting. You will frost the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. You want it good and hot to help melt/spread the frosting.


Frosting

1 stick of unsalted butter
pinch of salt
4 Tbl. milk
4 Tbl. cocoa
1 box powdered sugar

1/2-1 Cup chop pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
In a saucepan bring to a boil 1 stick butter, 4 Tbl. milk, 4 Tbl. cocoa. Remove from heat and add in the 1 box powdered sugar, vanilla, and pecans. When cake comes out of the oven pour the hot frosting over the cake and spread carefully. Cook and enjoy.

7 Up Biscuits

I guess I'm always late to the party. Who knew? My sweet Mother turned me on to these biscuits which she loves. I had never heard of them. So I gave them a try and they are a quick and good biscuit. Give them a try. They are pretty easy peasy to make and you wont be sorry you did.
I looked at a bunch of the recipes for these biscuits and they are pretty much all the same. So I can't give direct credit to anyone for the recipe as I don't really know who it belongs to.

Here's what I did:

2 Cups Bisquick type biscuit mix
1/2 Cup sour cream
1/2 Cup 7up
1/4 Cup melted butter
3-4" biscuit cutter
Oven 450 degrees

Cut sour cream into biscuit mix. Add the 7up and blend. This makes a soft dough. It should not be runny just soft (I read lots of women say it was so wet they had to use a muffin tin and scoop it in. That is because they made some sort of a mistake. My guess is they didn't read the recipe well and added all the 7 up. DONT ADD ALL THE 7UP, just what the recipe calls for!) Sprinkle counter with a little biscuit mix and pat out the dough. Melt the butter in the bottom of a (this is about an 8x8 square pan) baking pan. Cut out biscuits and place in pan with the melted butter (yes, just set them in all that great butter.) Bake 12-15 minutes.
NOTE: I also read some just place the dough in the pan and pat it out to fit and then take a knife and cut the dough into squares in the pan and then bake. I haven't tried it but sounds like a good idea. I will probably try this the next time I make them.

Cosmopolitan Cocktail

Ok, here's the thing. Recipes are really personal. So you try it out and then adjust it to your personal tastes. More of this, less of that.
I like martini's. I like girl martini's. Meaning I'm not a huge fan of straight alcohol in a martini glass. I love a good dirty martini but it has to be extra dirty. I happen to really like a good cosmo. Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon because of Sex and The City. I also happen to love that show. I own most of the seasons. So sue me. I'm a mindless follower of certain shows. I admit it. Anyway, here is my favorite version of the Cosmo. Tweak it to your tastes.

Here's what I do:
2oz. Citron vodka
1 Tbl. triple sec
1 Tbl. cranberry juice cocktail
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice
a twist of lime, lemon, or orange peel to garnish.
Fill martini shaker 2/3 full of ice and add in all the ingredients but the twist. Shake the heck out of it till its good and cold and pour into a chilled martini glass and add a twist if you like.

Beeritas! Isn't Summer GREAT!

I first stumbled across this recipe in a Semi-Homade cook book by Sandra Lee. To tell you the truth I don't know if this is the recipe from her cookbook or not. I have it written down and don't know if we changed it or found another we liked better. So.......all I can say is these are very good and a nice flavor change from your standard margarita.

Here's what I do:

Take about a half gallon size pitcher and add to it
1 (12oz.) can frozen limeade, slightly thawed
12oz. of tequila (I just fill the empty limeade can up)
1 bottle of beer (I use Corona)
lemon/lime soda, 7up, sprite, whatever
After you put the limeade,tequila, and beer in the pitcher then fill the rest of the way up with the soda and stir to dissolve all the limeade. Serve over ice.

Rio Grande Limeade

I love Margaritas. This is a recipe that I found in my Southern Living Magazine in 2001. Although I tend to prefer frozen margaritas this one is wonderful. It is easy to fix in big batches and tastes great. The plus is that your not in the kitchen blending constantly to make refills. Give it a try. You wont be sorry.

Here's what I do:

2 (12 oz.) cans of frozen limeade concentrate thawed.
3 Cups good Tequila
3 Cups water
2 Cups orange liquer
1 Cup fresh lime juice
Limes to garnish.
Mix all in a pitcher and chill. Serve over ice with lime garnish if you wish. Salt the rims of the glass if your so inclined.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Sundae= OMG!!!

I had to borrow this picture from PW. It is also her recipe. 

Sorry for the borrowed picture. I am terrible about remembering to take pictures of the foods I make and put on my blog. I found this recipe on PW blog and it is divine. It looked like a group of Parana had attacked my baking pan. When the smoke cleared the pan was empty and I even think there were dents. Oh the joys of a house full of Sasquatches. Here's what I did:

2 sticks of butter softened
1 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 Cup regular white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. real vanilla (I personally think this makes all the difference in the world.)
2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. instant coffee granules (trust me. It is the secret to success.) I used instant espresso granules.
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
8 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips. (more if you want. I found this to be a good amount.)
Vanilla ice cream (or your ice cream of choice)
hot fudge
caramel sauce
whip cream
cherry
nuts
Just whatever you want to top it with.
Oven set to 375, a 13x9 baking pan. I used a cake pan that is 13x9
In mixer bowl add softened butter and sugars. Beat till blended. Add eggs, vanilla and mix together. In separate bowl mix dry ingredients and add to wet a little at a time. Add a little and turn mixer on and mix it down and then add more till all the dry ingredients are blended in. Mix in the chocolate chips and give it one more good mix. Grease or spray a 13x9 cake pan and put dough in and spread out evenly. Bake 15-18 minutes.
 Since we didn't eat ours right out of the oven we cut ours into serving pieces and then microwaved each piece to heat it up and then added the toppings. This was great.

Guacamole

Although its hard to believe based on the temperatures here in Texas. Summer is drawing to a close soon. I for one will be happy to see the cooler weather come back. Or at least as cool as it ever gets here in good ole Texas.
I have been hungry for some Tex-mex and just some summer time foods. I actually am planning a big Tex-mex meal this weekend  with cheese enchiladas smothered in chili gravy, big pot of pinto beans, and Mexican rice. I may or may not grill chicken. I have to see what I feel like. Oh, and of course margaritas. I will post a really easy and wonderful recipe for margaritas later. They aren't the frozen kind but they are delicious and easy because you can make huge batches and you don't have to use the blender.
Anyway, my family is like flies to ......well you know, when it comes to my guacamole. It is a real battle to have enough for dinner time if I make it too early. This isn't a big secret recipe. I have seen everything from guacamole with just mashed up avocados and onion, to some who add in picante sauce (I actually started out making mine that way.) Just like all recipes there is no right or wrong way in my opinion. There is just good. I'm not a food purist. If it tastes good or makes something better then do it. Now I know when to leave a recipe alone as well. I just think its about taste and your food experience. Enjoy it rather than stand on whats right or wrong. Anyway, here is what I do.

Guacamole
4 large ripe avocados.

Everything from here on out is personal choice. You choose how much of each ingredient you like in your Guacamole.
1 jalapeno (stem removed, cut in two and remove seeds and veins. The heat is really in the seed  and veins. So if you remove them you don't have so much fire.) Slice into slivers and then mince.

2 plum tomatoes,  cut in two and with a spoon scoop out all the seeds and wet stuff. After this dice into fairly small pieces.

1/2  a medium onion (use whatever you like, white, yellow, red....) and dice fine

1/2 bunch cleaned cilantro, minced

salt

juice of half a lime

Peel the avocados and place in a bowl. With a fork mash them up as much as you like for your guacamole. Add the rest of the ingredients except the salt and lime. Add the salt last a little at a time till it is salty enough for you. Lastly mix in the lime juice. Taste for salt and of course if it needs more of any ingredient or even more lime. Serve with corn chips.
If you make ahead and want to store in fridge:
I have heard and tried using the avocado seed. Can't say that really worked all that well. What you want to do is cover with Saran wrap. Place it directly on the guacamole and make sure there are no air pockets. Air is what turns it brown as it oxidizes. Place in fridge. When your ready to eat just remove the saran wrap and give it a stir. Taste for seasoning once more and then enjoy.

You Will Never Make Another "POT ROAST" Again! POT ROAST, POT ROAST!

I'm telling you that this is the best Pot Roast EVER!!!!!!!!!!! I served it over creamy mashed potatoes. I bought a new food mill and ran the potatoes through the food mill and they were so creamy and amazing. Don't know how often I will use the food mill but I have wanted it forever and it made amazing mashed potatoes.

The picture above is the food mill I purchased. They had one that was better but it was $110, so I settled for the second best one. It took a while to get the potatoes through and I will have to play with it some to understand exactly how to use it. It did do everything that they say where the potatoes were concerned. They were absolutely creamy and smooth and delish. I will list the mashed potato recipe another time.

Ok the most amazing pot roast in the world. Here's what I did:

4-5lbs of boneless chuck roast (I purchased mine as Costco and it was actually two roasts.)
2 onions, skins removed and cut into fourths (don't separate the onion layers.)
6-8 med. size carrots cleaned and cut into 2 -3 inch chunks (I cleaned them but did not peel them.)
8 ounces of mushrooms cleaned and cut in half or fourths (optional. Sometimes I use them and sometimes I don't.)
2-4 Tbl. olive oil
1 Cup red wine (I used a good Chianti that we drink often.)
Beef broth (enough to fill the pan 3/4 of the way up the side of the pot roast. I used 1 1/2 boxes of beef broth to do this. But that will change depending on what size pan you use etc..... I used a large roasting pan for this recipe. The picture is a smaller roast.)
3 Sprigs of fresh thyme
3 Sprigs  of fresh rosemary (the first time I used this I almost didn't put this much rosemary in. It ended up being perfect. So dont be afraid to use this much of the fresh herbs.)
Salt and Pepper

 Clean and cut up the veggies, salt and pepper the chuck roast well on both sides. Measure out your wine, and open your boxes of beef broth. Get your herbs ready.
In the pan you intend to put in the oven to  cook your roast in ( if you have to brown in one pan and cook the roast in the oven in another thats ok. I have a huge stainless steal roaster that I just put over the fire on my stove. I also have a few cast iron pots that I use. Use what you have and do what you need to. It will work.) Add in the olive oil to the hot pan. Place the onions in and sear them till they have a good brown color on all sides. Remove the onions form the pan and set aside. Add in the carrots and sear these as well. Get a brown sear on them the best you can. All the brown is flavor. It makes a difference in the final flavor. Remove the carrots and set them on the plate with the onions. Now place the roast in the pan and sear it a nice brown, then turn and sear the other side. Remove and set on top of the veggies on the plate. Now pour the one cup of red wine in the pan to deglaze (you could use beef broth if using wine isn't your thing but it wont be as good) scraping up all the little browned bits on the bottom of the pan. These bits are where the flavor lives. now add in the beef broth and the herbs. Place the roast in the pan and then the onions and carrots. Place the onions and carrots around the side if you can so that they are sitting in the broth.
Cover and place in the oven set (this depends on how long you have. If you have 4-5 hours cook at 300 degrees. If you have less time maybe closer to 3-4 hours set the oven to 350 degrees.)
Bake in the oven till the roast is falling apart tender.
Once its done remove roast and strain the veggies and place on the plate with the roast. I then strain the gravy into a big bowl to serve with the roast and mashed potatoes. Straining it will help remove the sticks left behind from the thyme and rosemary and also the leaves. I then poured some of the juice over the roast. You could at this point thicken the roast gravy or serve it as is. I served it as is and  did not thicken it. It was DIVINE!!!!!

Don't forget to serve with a side of good mashed potatoes. I don't cook potatoes in the gravy as I don't think it adds anything to the flavor and I don't care for the taste/texture of potatoes cooked in roast gravy. I prefer good mashed potatoes.

Fruit-n-Nut Chicken Salad on a Croissant

This is hands down my favorite sandwich in the world. It is not something I would have ever in a million years chose to make based on the ingredients had I not had it at a party many many years ago. I have tweaked it some over the years to meet our tastes. I also don't think this tastes as good on other breads as it does on Croissants. There is something about the taste of the croissant and this chicken salad that just work perfectly. Here's how you do it.

Fruit-n-Nut Chicken Salad

6 bonelss skinless chicken breasts (boiled in water till tender and cubed or shredded)
1/4-1/2 Cup raisins (I don't use them as I don't like raisins.)
2/3 Cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 apples cored and with the skin on chopped into tiny pieces
2 Cups of grapes (red or green seedless) cut into tiny pieces
20 ounce can of pineapple tidbits (in their own juice, drained) chopped

Mix all this together in a large bowl and add:
2 Cups mayonnaise
2/3 Cup sour cream
mix everything together and then add:
1/2 Tbl. cinnamon (now this is where it becomes a personal taste thing. I like the cinnamon. You might start out with a little less and add up to 1/2 Tbl. and taste it. It will mellow out some as the salad sits.)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
mix into the chicken salad thoroughly. Taste and make sure it is how you would want it . You can play with the seasonings to suit your own taste. I actually never measure the seasonings but did this time to be able to put it on the blog.
Store in fridge till it is good and cold and serve on croissants. YUM YUM YUM!!!!!

 Enjoy!

Patty Melt!!!!!!

I was on one of the food blogs I like to read and they made a patty melt. Oh my goodness. I must do this. Take the idea and make it my own. So here is my own. Enjoy!

Makes 8 Patty melts

1 stick of butter
2 large onions sliced thin
3 pounds good quality ground beef (although I usually grind my own I bought mine this time. It was Nolan Ryans 97% lean. Was pretty good quality.)
Salt
Pepper
Montreal Steak seasoning
8 dashes Worcestershire sauce
16 slices baby swiss cheese (you can use American too)
16 slices Rye bread (or a good sour dough works well)
Mezzetta tamed slice jalapenos (not traditional but oh so yummy)
bottle of thousand island dressing

Slice your onions very thin and put a couple tbl. butter in a pan and cook them on med-low heat till they are golden brown. Remove to a bowl.

In a bowl place the hamburger meat and add plenty of salt, pepper, the dashes of Worcestershire, and a good shake of the Montreal steak seasoning. Mix completely and divide into 8 burgers and shape in the shape of the bread you are using. Make them large enough to fit the bread size.
Place a few Tbl. of butter in a cast iron skiller (if you have one if not use the pan you fried the onions in. I just think cast iron gives the meat a great flavor.) Fry the burgers till they are done flipping half way through.
Butter the bread you are using for frying. Place a piece of bread butter side down in another hot skillet. Place a slice of cheese on the bread, then the patty, then onions and a few slices of the jalapeno peppers if using, then another piece of cheese and add some thousand island dressing to the last piece of bread on the side that will touch the cheese then place bread(butter side up) on top of patty and cheese. Grill till the bread is golden and toasty and turn. Grill
 the last side till golden. Remove and slice patty melt in half. Serve with extra thousand island dressing if desired.
Pretty tasty.

Lasagna Bolognese

I am almost speechless about this lasagna. It is hands down the best lasagna I have ever ever.....EVER had. It is also very different than what I'm use to.. YUM.
This recipe came from The Homesick Texan (I think. It's been a while since I found it.)
All I can tell you is that it was hands down the best lasagna I have ever had and my husband said the same thing. He just kept repeating all through our meal how wonderful it was. This is now my go to lasagna. I had intended to really be energetic and make home made lasagna sheets but I got to busy and decided to just cheat and use the store bought noodles.
So here it is. Enjoy!
Now the bolognese sauce is a long cooking sauce. I ended up only cooking mine about 1 1/2 hours. I started to late to let it go the 3 to 4 hours they say it should. It was still perfectly wonderful.
Start with the bolonese sauce first.

You will also need
 a large box of lasagna noodles

2 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese (now here is my cheat on Parmesan cheese. I buy a good huge block of parm at Costco. I then buy the Kraft Parmesan/Romano/Asiago shredded cheese. I grind up the good Parm I purchased at Costco and blend it with the store bought parm. It makes the expensive stuff go further and still gives the great flavor of the better cheese. I know its horrible. I should have my kitchen apron taken from me. But when you feed a house of Sasquatches you got to cut those corners where you can. If you can afford the good stuff exclusively then go for it and I love you.)

2 Cups or so of good Mozzarella cheese shredded



 Bolognese
In a food processor add
 one onion cut into fourths
2 carrots (if they are small thin carrots add 4) cut into chunks
2-3 ribs of celery cut into chunks
4-5 cloves of garlic minced
chop the veggues fine in the food processor.
4 Tbl. olive oil
salt and pepper (you will use a lot of this for seasoning)
2-3 pounds good quality ground beef (chuck, sirloin. I grind my own as I have ground beef issues. I used a 2.8 pound eye of round roast that I ground up in my food processor.)
2 6oz. cans good quality tomato paste
2 Cups red wine ( we used a good quality Chianti. You should never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink.)
water (I will tell you how much in the instructions.)
2 bay leaves
4 fresh sprigs of thyme

Place a 5 or 6 quart pot on the stove. Let is become hot and add olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot add all the veggies you ground up in the food processor. You are going to want to get a good carmelization on these veggies as this brings out a lot of flavor. So you are going to cook them till they kinda brown and  there is a little brown stuff on the bottom of the pan. This my friends is where the flavor is. Now you will add a good amount of salt to the veggies as they are cooking. I'm sorry I didn't measure the salt. I just eyeballed it. Not helpful I know but if you under salt the dish it will not have the flavor you want. So season generously with salt and pepper.
After you have a nice browned veggie mess add in the ground meat and again season generously with salt and pepper. You want to sear this off as best you can (again the flavor is in the browned bits.) Stir and cook till the meat is cooked through and then add both cans of tomato paste. Stir this around and brown. This will take about 5 minutes. It will become a rust color. Just let it cook for a sec and then stir and let it cook for a second and then turn etc....Once it has browned for a few minutes add the red wine and stir to blend everything. Cook a couple minutes scraping up any brown bits that are on the bottom of your pan. Cook for a few minutes till it really starts to thicken and then this is where the water comes in. You are going to add enough water to raise the level two to three inches (normally what would happen is you would add the initial water and cook it down and then add two more cups of water and cook it down and so on for 3 to 4 hours. But since I didn't have time for that whole game this is what I did.) You should have a good size pot of sauce. Turn it down to a simmer add in the bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme. Cook stirring frequently for about an hour to hour and a half.
Now when the sauce is done remove the bay leaves the the thyme stems. Check for seasoning. You should not have to add anymore water. If you do you are cooking it at too high a heat. Just add a tiny amount of water if you have to if it cooks down too much during the hour of cooking.
Now onto the noodles and bechamel sauce.
Now that the meat sauce is done put a pot of water on to boil your noodles. Cook the noodles in good salty water. While the water is heating up and coming to a boil make the bachamel sauce. Here is how you do it.

Bechamel Sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic minced
fresh ground nutmeg (use dried if you don't have fresh. You will use a couple good pinches of nutmeg)
fresh ground pepper

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Sprinkle flour over butter and whisk together. Cook for a minute to cook off the flour taste and then pour in a little of the milk. Stir as it thickens and then add a little more milk and stir as it thickens. Repeat the process till all the milk is used up. Season with salt/pepper/nutmeg/garlic. Stir till it thickens up and is like a gravy consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning. Again we want it flavorful so be generous with your salt/pepper. You want the nutmeg to be a back note. Kinda like when you exhale after tasting the sauce you get the nutmeg but not over powered by it when the sauce hits your tongue. Sorry kids this is the best I have for helpful directions. Now set it aside and stir often so it doesn't get a film on top while the noodles are cooking. Hopefully by now they are in the pot of hot water cooking according to package directions. Drain the pasta and run under cold water to stop the cooking process and then drain them again and lets start the assembly.

In a lasagna pan (I have a pan that is a little long than the standard cake pan that I make my lasagna in but a cake pan size will work 9x13. I also use glass pans. Use what you got.)

Place a couple ladles of meat sauce in bottom of the pan and spread out evenly. Lay a layer of noodles on top making sure to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Ladle another couple 2 or 3 ladles of meat sauce over the the noodles and spread out evenly. Then ladle a couple ladles of the bechamel sauce over the meat sauce and spread the best you can. Sprinkle with some of the parm and mozzarella and then another layer of noodles. Do this till you have your pan full ending with noodles and then topping with one last layer of meat sauce and then parm cheese. I had 4 layers (your shooting for 4 to 5 layers if you can) of noodles counting the bottom and the top layer. You may have extra sauce left over of both the sauces. Thats ok. The meat sauce can be used over spaghetti. I just got rid of the left over bechamel sauce. There wasn't much of either left.
Bake  at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. I ended up covering the lasagna up with foil for the last 20 minutes or so as it had got a browned as I wanted it to be.
Take out of the oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes (longer if you can.) Then cut and enjoy. This was supremely wonderful.

Refreshing Summer Drink "Cucumber Water"

Ok, I know this is another post that is really a "no brainer".....or is it? The truth is I know I knew this but for some reason never put it to work. One night I was watching a Will Ferrell movie (we love him, even his bad movies) and in it he is a police officer and he is served a water with cucumber in it and he is consumed with how refreshing and delicious it is. He ends up wanting to return to this place of business because they have such great water. It was pretty funny. Anyhow, it was like the light bulb came on and I said to myself "I knew about this why haven't I ever done it?" So I did. Very simple and sooooo good. It is everything summer and cool. It will refresh you. It is a garden in your water. Lovely just lovely.

Here is what I did:

Filled my pitcher with filtered water

Clean an English cucumber and sliced two or three thick junks and dropped them into the pitcher of water. 

Put it in the fridge for a couple hours and then poured myself a nice cold glass of the most wonderful, fresh, amazing water. 

Give it a try. It is wonderful.

Pink Lemonade

I got a craving for pink lemonade. What do I do when I have a craving? I create!!! Here it is.

2 3/4 Cups sugar

2 3/4 Cups fresh squeezed lemon juice. Grenadine is sweet so we like a little more lemon juice than usual. (We usually use 2 1/2 cups lemon juice.)

 2 Tbl. grenadine (you can add more if you like. I think 2s tablespoon is perfect. But if you love grenadine add another. It would be easy for the grenadine to overpower the wonderful lemon flavor so don't be heavy handed. Little at a time.)

   Enjoy.

Put sugar in one gallon container and add 1 cup very hot water and stir to dissolve sugar. Add lemon juice and stir. Add enough water to make a gallon of lemonade and then the grenadine. Now if this is too strong you can add just a bit more water. Everyone is different in how strong they like their lemonade. More sugar, less sugar, more lemon, less etc..... Stir and enjoy.

Taco Pizza

Ok, this isn't brain surgery.Doesn't take a lot of thought to create this pizza but it is really good and thought I would add it for your idea bank.


Taco Pizza- I'm going to give you the ingredients for one pizza. I actually make about 4 for my Sasquatches.

1-1 1/2 pounds ground beef mixed and cooked with taco mix. (I have a taco seasoning on my blog or buy one of the store bought packets. Make according to directions.)
1 can refried beans
1 bottle salsa (whichever salsa you like. Taco sauce is ok too. We just like Salsa at out house.)
1 jar picked jalapenos , chopped(optional)
1 small bag frozen corn
1 small can sliced black olives (optional)
1 tomatoe chopped (remove seeds and the wet stuff in the tomato before chopping. You don't want it adding liquid to your pizza)
shredded cheddar cheese
1 onion chopped
shredded lettuce
sour cream
Pizza dough

Heat oven to 450 degrees

I have a pizza dough recipe on my blog or make your own (you can buy canned pre-made pizza dough at the store.)
Place dough on pizza pan. Spread dough with thin layer of refried beans. Spread thin layer of salsa over the beans and top with cooked taco meat. Top with corn, jalapenos (if using), and the cheese. Top the cheese with onions, tomatoes, and black olives. Bake till dough is golden and cheese is melted about 12 minutes give or take.
Slice and serve topped with lettuce and sour cream and extra salsa. Enjoy! My yummy lemonade would go great with this meal.

Buffalo Hot Wings

We love hot wings, but have you taken your family out for wings recently? You need a small loan to pay for the number of the little darlings it takes to feed everyone. Now when you have a family of Sasquatches like I do it is a real financial challenge.
So I set out to make my own. I have made them in the past but the problem was getting so many made and everyone fed at one time. I began with my typical research and after reading many recipes came up with this recipe that works GREAT and feeds everyone at the same time.

To feed my 6 grown Sasquatches and then 2 more Sasquatch friends I purchased 50 whole wings and after cleaning them and cutting them into their little parts I had 100 wings. Believe it or not we only had about 15 wings left after dinner. Shocking I know.

make sure you buy the Franks Original NOT the wing sauce.


Buffalo Hot Wings

Place all the cut up wings in a large bowl. We are going to marinate the wings for 8-24 hours before cooking them. Using FRANKS  RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce (this is the best) add just enough sauce to lightly coat the wings in the bowl. You don't want them swimming in the sauce just lightly coated. Then place them in a large zip lock bag. Place about 25 wing pieces per bag. Now Put a good coating of Cajun Seasoning (I used Ragin Cajun) and about half the amount of garlic powder over the wings then close the bag and shake and mix the wings with the cajun seasoning and place in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours.
When you are ready to cook them place a large heavy dutch oven or deep fryer (however you plan to fry your wings) over a flame and fill the pot half full with oil of your choice.  Bring the oil to 350 degrees. You want to try and keep the temperature of the oil as close to 350 degrees as you can during cooking. Layer three paper towels on counter and place the chicken pieces out on the paper towels (this is to absorb the liquid that may have collected on them.) You don't want to wipe them off because you will wipe away the seasoning. Just roll them over the paper towel and stack them. I separate them into piles of drummettes and wingettes because they cook for different times. You should have already cut these up. The wing tip should be discarded and the drummette and wingette separated from each other.



 Fry in batches depending on how large your pan is 6-8 at a time. You will fry the drummettes at 350 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes (depending on the size of them.) and you will fry the wingettes about 8 minutes. Once they are fried drain and set aside. I drained mine and then place them in two seperate baking dishes. Once you have fried ALL your wings in batches and place in baking dishes set aside your pot of oil and make your wing sauce.

Turn oven on to 325 degrees

Hot Wing Sauce- This amount was perfect for the large amount of wings I made. It doesn't make a lot so you decide whether you want to half it or not.

1 23oz bottle of Franks Hot sauce
2 sticks of butter
2-4 good dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Place in sauce pan and heat to melt butter and combine.

Pour the sauce over the wings in the baking dishes and mix thoroughly to coat evenly. Place pans in heated oven for 15 minutes to heat the wings back up and to adhere the sauce to the wings. Once heated give them another good stir to coat them with the sauce on the bottom of the baking dishes. SERVE!