Last night it was Spaghetti. I love my spaghetti. I'll give a guideline, but I don't really use a "recipe," it's more taste and add whatever it needs. LOL
Ingredients: (Note, I make a HUGE batch and freeze it so I can just thaw one container and go from there. Makes my life easier)
Tomato Paste
Tomato sauce
Crushed Tomatoes
Tomato Puree
Hunt's canned spaghetti sauce (gives you kind of a flavor base)
Garlic
Olive oil
Mushrooms (optional but oh so yummy!)
Basil
Green onions
Italian seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne powder
Directions:
-Use a pot large enough for the amount you're making. I make it in mass amounts so I use a huge stock pot.
-Add about 2-4 Tbps of olive oil to the pot on Med heat. The amount depends on the batch size.
-Add mushrooms if you're using them
-Saute garlic, be sure not to burn it or it will turn bitter.
-Add tomato sauces and let it heat through.
-Add green onions. For a large batch I use about 6 or 7 of just the green part. I have them growing in my kitchen
-Add spices to taste. This is where it's all subjective. I like a little heat to my sauce so I add quite a bit of cayenne and we really like garlic. You really have to play around with it and find what flavor profile works best for you.
Enjoy!
Note: I don't add meat at this point because I don't like to freeze meat after it's been cooked. I thaw a tub, brown up whatever meat I'm using and go from there.
If you're going to be making a large batch, let the sauce cool to room temp on it's own before you package it up. You can use freezer bags or do like I do and use tupperware (or glad or whatever I bought). Just be careful not to drop it when it's frozen... the gladware shatters like glass when it's that cold :)
Friday, December 23, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Crispy Baked Potatoes in a rush
Making baked potatoes tonight and no time to soak them in salt water? Try this!
Ingredients:
Baking Potatoes
Olive oil (I use garlic infused)
Directions:
-Clean potatoes well (no one wants to eat dirt...)
-Use a fork to poke holes throughout the the potato
-Rub potatoes with olive oil (it's messy, but SO worth it)
-Place potatoes on top rack in the oven. I pop a baking sheet on the bottom rack to catch any dripping oil.
-Cook at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with a fork. If it's hard to get the fork through, try another 10 minutes.
- ENJOY!
Ingredients:
Baking Potatoes
Olive oil (I use garlic infused)
Directions:
-Clean potatoes well (no one wants to eat dirt...)
-Use a fork to poke holes throughout the the potato
-Rub potatoes with olive oil (it's messy, but SO worth it)
-Place potatoes on top rack in the oven. I pop a baking sheet on the bottom rack to catch any dripping oil.
-Cook at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with a fork. If it's hard to get the fork through, try another 10 minutes.
- ENJOY!
Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients:
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
1 1/2 Cups milk
1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter/margarine
8ozs grated Parmesan cheese
Chives
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lb bacon
garlic olive oil
Directions:
-Chop bacon into small pieces and saute in a small pan with the garlic olive oil. Set the oil aside.
-In a medium saucepan combine bacon, cream cheese, salt, pepper, milk, cheese, chives, and butter.
-Keep stirring until well combined, about 10 minutes on mid heat.
-Serve over pasta (or anything you want really)
You know that oil/fat you saved? Add it and about 1/2 tsp salt to the water you boil your noodles in. The oil helps the noodles to not stick together.
Let me know what you think!
Store this in the fridge. Do not use this raw! Use within a month and toss the rest!
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
1 1/2 Cups milk
1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter/margarine
8ozs grated Parmesan cheese
Chives
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lb bacon
garlic olive oil
Directions:
-Chop bacon into small pieces and saute in a small pan with the garlic olive oil. Set the oil aside.
-In a medium saucepan combine bacon, cream cheese, salt, pepper, milk, cheese, chives, and butter.
-Keep stirring until well combined, about 10 minutes on mid heat.
-Serve over pasta (or anything you want really)
You know that oil/fat you saved? Add it and about 1/2 tsp salt to the water you boil your noodles in. The oil helps the noodles to not stick together.
Let me know what you think!
Store this in the fridge. Do not use this raw! Use within a month and toss the rest!
Rotel Bacon Chicken
Sorry for not having a picture. I made this a few days ago and it was devoured before a picture could be taken!
Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts (thawed)
1 can (10oz) Rotel tomatoes and green chilis
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
4 oz sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter/margarine (softened/melted)
Chives, cut small. About 4 stalks worth.
bacon (varies)
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thickness. This doesn't have to be exact.
-Lay bacon strips over chicken breasts and roll the chicken. Secure with toothpicks. (Roll like you would cinnamon rolls).
-In a small pan, mix butter, cream cheese, Rotel, sour cream, chives. Cook on low until melted & combined.
-Place chicken in a baking pan. The sides need to be at least 2 inches high or so. I use a glass square baking pan.
-Spoon mixture over rolled chicken. Make sure to cover all of the chicken.
-Cook for 45 minutes, checking half way through to spoon more of the mixture over the chicken.
I know the ingredients don't make a whole lot of sense but it's wonderful! The heat from the chilies is balanced by the cream cheese and sour cream. Let me know what you think!
Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts (thawed)
1 can (10oz) Rotel tomatoes and green chilis
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
4 oz sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter/margarine (softened/melted)
Chives, cut small. About 4 stalks worth.
bacon (varies)
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thickness. This doesn't have to be exact.
-Lay bacon strips over chicken breasts and roll the chicken. Secure with toothpicks. (Roll like you would cinnamon rolls).
-In a small pan, mix butter, cream cheese, Rotel, sour cream, chives. Cook on low until melted & combined.
-Place chicken in a baking pan. The sides need to be at least 2 inches high or so. I use a glass square baking pan.
-Spoon mixture over rolled chicken. Make sure to cover all of the chicken.
-Cook for 45 minutes, checking half way through to spoon more of the mixture over the chicken.
I know the ingredients don't make a whole lot of sense but it's wonderful! The heat from the chilies is balanced by the cream cheese and sour cream. Let me know what you think!
Introduction
I thought I would start this all with an intro. I'm Amber. I have a 4 year old daughter, Ozzalyn. She'll be 5 in March. I'm so not ready for that. She's my baby! She starts school next year. Not ready for that either. I will be that mom in the parking lot bawling my eyes out. I feel sorry for my daughter... she has THAT mom. I'm not too proud to admit it.
I'm a wife as well. In March I'll have been married 4 years. I know you're doing the math. YES, I got married AFTER I had my daughter. Three weeks before her 1st birthday actually. I know I did it backwards. I didn't really anticipate getting pregnant THAT quick. Oh well. I love my Bug and I wouldn't have it any other way :)
I'm a seamstress. No clue where I learned it. Kinda like my cooking. I woke up one morning and BAM, I knew how to sew. I was TERRIFIED of my sewing machine for the longest time. I finally sat down and tried it after about 3 months of my friend Jessi telling me I needed to!
I'm an avid couponer. If I can avoid paying retail, I will. You know that lady in front of you in line with a STACK of coupons? That would be me :) There's nothing better than watching your total cut in half!
I LOVE to cook. I never really follow recipes. I kind of wing it. 99% of the time it turns out great. Trouble is, by the time I want to make it again, I have NO clue what I put in it! In comes the blog! All of my best recipes, all in one place!
Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see or anything you want me to take a stab at!
Enjoy!
I'm a wife as well. In March I'll have been married 4 years. I know you're doing the math. YES, I got married AFTER I had my daughter. Three weeks before her 1st birthday actually. I know I did it backwards. I didn't really anticipate getting pregnant THAT quick. Oh well. I love my Bug and I wouldn't have it any other way :)
I'm a seamstress. No clue where I learned it. Kinda like my cooking. I woke up one morning and BAM, I knew how to sew. I was TERRIFIED of my sewing machine for the longest time. I finally sat down and tried it after about 3 months of my friend Jessi telling me I needed to!
I'm an avid couponer. If I can avoid paying retail, I will. You know that lady in front of you in line with a STACK of coupons? That would be me :) There's nothing better than watching your total cut in half!
I LOVE to cook. I never really follow recipes. I kind of wing it. 99% of the time it turns out great. Trouble is, by the time I want to make it again, I have NO clue what I put in it! In comes the blog! All of my best recipes, all in one place!
Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see or anything you want me to take a stab at!
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
