Let's talk Spaghetti

Do you ever have the thought whilst cooking that you are on a cooking show like on Food Network and whilst cooking you start thinking in your head all the things you would say if you were truly on that cooking show? Well, from time to time it happens to me. I will be cooking dinner in the kitchen (because that is the logical place to cook) and I will be minding my own business and all of the sudden, suddenly, I start thinking, "now add a dash of this", "when you see it starting to brown....". Yup, those thoughts of what I would say if I were the host of my own cooking show pop into my brain.

So it happened tonight and I thought that I should be the next Paula Deen. Now I pick her because she cooks 'down home' meals. You know, with real butter and stuff. Now I didn't go get my camera which I probably should have but didn't. So we have no pictures here. But I thought I would post MY spaghetti sauce tonight.

I don't make mine from scratch and it would probably be good to take a moment to review my story about my father and his spaghetti sauce. You can find it here.

Now that you read that you understand that I have yet to actually make my father's world famous meat sauce. I used his suggestion and I doctor up a jar of spaghetti. So here goes:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 TBS Italian Seasoning
1 medium onion
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I use Prego chunky mushroom)

Brown the meat and chopped onion in a skillet. Drain the fat from the skillet and add the Italian Seasoning. Stir and cook until you can start to smell the spices. Then add the jar of spaghetti sauce and mushrooms. Cook on low (ish) until just boiling. Serve on top of spaghetti noodles and top with parmesian cheese.

Now this is a base for me. This is the normal sauce and we do eat this sauce as is often. But I have been known to doctor it up a bit by adding chopped black olives or pepperonis, or whatever else I have on hand. Sometimes I will add 2/3 ground beef and 1/3 sausage. Play with it and make it your own.

Leave me a comment and tell me what you add to your spaghetti.

Peanut Butter Squares

This is to die for. It tastes just like a Reeces Peanut Butter Cup.

Ingredients:
Packaged Peanut Butter Cookie Mix
A Bag of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
9 x 13 inch pan

1. Take any packaged Peanut Butter Cookie mix and make it like you would cookies. Press into a 9 x 13 pan all across the bottom (the entire mix)
2. Cook at 375 for about 10-13 minutes.
3. Let cool for 5 minutes.
4. While it is cooling heat put the chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl and heat in the microwave until melted.
5. Spread over the cookie cake and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the chocolate on the top hardens.
6. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve. Yum yum!

Asian Style Meatball Stir Fry

Okay so bear with me. I know it sounds weird, strange and utterly odd. But this is really good.

Ingredients:

rice, cooked
teriaki sauce
meatballs, frozen pre-made
bag of frozen asian vegetables

Here's how to put it together. Take the meatballs and toss them in a pan on medium heat. When they are about 2/3 cooked through, toss in the bag of frozen veggies. Cover with a lid for a few minutes to allow the veggies to thaw and give off some of its juices. Just when things are looking like they are hot and there is a bit of water on the bottom of the pan from the veggies, add about 1/2 cup of teriaki sauce and stir so that the meatballs and the veggies are covered. If the sauce looks too juicy then allow to reduce a few minutes before serving. You want some sauce for the rice. Then put a scoop of cooked rice on the plate and then scoop the meatballs and veggies on top and serve. Now, how easy is that.

My kids love meatballs and we have them quite often as they are quick and easy to make when they come frozen from the store. This recipe surprised even my pickiest of eaters. For some of the kids I didn't put the meatballs and veggies on the rice because they don't like their food to mingle with each other. They loved the sweet teriaki sauce on the meatballs!!

Triple Layer Boston Creme Pie

Yes you read that right. Triple layer Boston Creme Pie:

This recipe is so super easy you will wonder why you hadn't thought of it before.

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix (and whatever you need to make the cake from the box recipe)
1 large box of vanilla pudding (and the amount of milk necessary to make the pudding according to the box)Allow to firm up in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes.
1 container of milk chocolate icing.

Make the cake in two 8 or 9 inch rounds. Let cool on a rack. Slice each cake in half horizontally making 4 layers of cake.

Now, place one layer of the cake on a large plate, spread about 1/3 of the vanilla pudding on top of the layer. Then add another layer of cake. Spread another third of the vanilla pudding on top of that and add another layer. Last third of pudding on top and top that with the last layer of cake. Now here comes the yummy part. Heat the cocolate icing in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds or until slightly melted but not separated. Stir and then pour on top of the cake. The icing should only be slightly melted, enough to pour and have a slow drip not so fluid that it all runs down the edges of the cake. The icing will slowly drip down the sides. Put the cake in the refrigerater for 1 hour before serving.

YUM YUM!

You asked for it...

and here it is!!! We figure we have about 50 lbs of zucchini harvested so far, yes, so far!!

Zucchini zucchini

coming out my ears. We have just had our first harvest of zucchini from our garden. This year I haven't been as motivated as I have in the past years. We didn't go strawberry picking at all this year. I didn't can any strawberry jam. We have our garden but it is really on auto pilot now.

But we just got our first harvest and I know I have a bushel of zucchini!! I need to pull out my cheese grater and make some zucchini bread and then make some for the neighbors, then freeze some that is grated for bread later. I also need to pull up that recipe for the squash pickles and make relish again.... now where did I post that thing???

I think I will sell him on ebay...

He looks like pac-man... (tilt your head to the right)