Pasta-licious!!!

Baked Pasta!!!

I've re-committed myself to cooking - so much so, that I made this meal on a night in which no one else was going to share it with me.  Monday, my hubby didn't get home until after 7:30, and made a "run for the border" to keep himself from passing out.  The kiddo had a busy evening, and only had time for a PB & J in-between rehearsals.

I made this anyways - mostly because it was a night I knew I had time to make it, and it would make for good leftovers for the rest of the week.  It was yummy that night - and was yummy on Thursday when we ate the leftovers!  The recipe:

1 box of Smart Choice Pasta - I used Fusilli - it holds the sauce well.

1 jar of tomato based pasta sauce - I used the Wal-mart generic "Garlic and Onion" sauce - and it's good!

1 package of Turkey Italian Sausage, about 1 pound

1 green pepper, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

Kosher Salt

Garlic Powder

Dried Basil and Oregano

12 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box - except remove it from the water one minute from the stated cooking time.

Saute the Italian Sausage until no longer pink.  Place the sausage in a "holding container", and then saute the green pepper and onion until soft.  Add kosher salt, garlic powder, basil and oregano to taste.

Once the pasta is finished and well drained, transfer to a 9 x 13 glass baking dish that has been coated with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese over the pasta so it falls in-between the noodles.  Spread the onions and peppers in a flat layer on top of the pasta, followed by the sausage, followed by the jar of pasta sauce.  Top with the mozzarella cheese in an even layer.  Loosely cover with a layer of aluminum foil that has been lightly coated with non-stick spray (if you don't do this, the foil will stick to the cheese.  If you don't use the foil, the cheese will harden as it melts - and we're going for ooey-gooey goodness here).

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the sauce is bubbly.  Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

You could certainly add other veggies to this dish - I think it would be good with mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, roasted red peppers - all sauteed before adding, of course.  Also, the next time I make this, I may add more than one can of sauce, perhaps a can and a quarter - it's not very "saucy" as is.

You probably can tell by now that when I cook a dish in which I do not use a recipe, there is a lot of experimentation involved - as evidenced by the vagueness of some of the amounts and ingredients used in the dishes.  I would encourage you to do the same!  Ask yourself, "What do I think would taste good combined in a dish?"  I challenge you to go all Iron Chef on your kitchen one night - see what is in your pantry and refrigerator, and make something happen!  Some of my yummiest meals have come from the blessings of serendipity - as well as some of my most hideous culinary nightmares.  But - that's OK - this is how learning happens!

As with many aspects of life, a mistake in the kitchen is only a mistake if we perceive it as such.  Sometimes a mistake is an opportunity waiting to happen.

I have some pork in my fridge.  I might make pork fried rice.  I might brown the pork in butter and olive oil,  braise in beer, and serve over Asian noodles.  I might braise the pork in the sauces left over from earlier crock pit meals and serve the thickened gravy over rice.  Or spaghetti squash.  Or...???  

I guess we'll just have to find out!

Sue's Gettin' Her Groove Back.

Not quite in the same fashion that Stella found hers...but the groove I'm missing is in the kitchen, not elsewhere in the home.  ;-)

Check this out, ya'll:

Baby Back Crock-Pot Ribs!

I took so many liberties with the recipe I used, that I'm going to share what I actually did, rather than what the recipe told me to do.

2 1/2 pounds pork baby back ribs

1/8 cup paprika

1/2 cup Emeril's Essence

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons sugar

2 bottles of Guinness Beer

32 ounces of Hickory Smoke BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup honey

Cut the ribs into sections containing 3 ribs each.

Combine the paprika, Essence, kosher salt, and sugar in a large metal bowl.  Rub the mixture into the ribs, and grill them for about 3 minutes per side - until they have grill marks.  (I used a cast-iron grill pan, actually - and this rub burnt on to that pan like nobody's business.  Perhaps next time I'll line it with foil first.)

Put the seared ribs in the Crock-Pot, then pour the beer over them.  Cook on high for 2 hours.  

Combine the BBQ sauce and honey in a bowl, and then add to the Crock-Pot, and cook on high for another hour and a half.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

There was a WHOLE LOT of juice left over, which we put in a container and plan to reduce down into a Guinness BBQ sauce at some point.

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.  I could quite possibly remember how to throw food on a table after all.

Keepin' It Real

Reality has set in, indeed. You may have noticed - a short time ago, new recipes flooded this blog. The spirit of innovation flourished, new flavors graced our table and we were eating - and eating quite well, if I do say so myself, at home.

Fast forward to this past week. Today is Saturday, and in looking back at the week, I note 3 dinners not made by me - pizza last night, and si, mis amigos a las restaurantes Mexicanas made two of our meals this week. And - one lunch was eaten out as well.

Epic fail.

I could easily justify each indiscretion. Monday was my birthday - and who should cook on their birthday? I did make a dessert that night, however. Brownie Bottoms - http://www.crock-pot.com/Recipe.aspx?rid=344. It was...rich. If you make this, I strongly recommend you use it as a topping for ice cream, rather than as the recipe recommends, which is to serve it with ice cream. It was like a fudge bomb going off - ooey, gooey, rich, luscious - but like anything that decadent, must be consumed responsibly.

But - we did eat our main meal out that evening - as we did the next night. I was exhausted after a long day, and wasn't feeling well either.

The meals I did make were woefully sub-par. Wednesday was penne pasta with some red sauce slapped on it. Thursday was a hastily thrown together chicken stir-fry that suffered because I threw the chicken into the wok before it had completely thawed. Therefore, as the ice melted, it became water pooling in the bottom of the wok, which then not only half-boiled, half-steamed the meat instead of searing it with a luscious crust - but washed off the seasonings I put on the meat. It was edible - but I can do much, much better.

Pizza night was a result of a headache - a nauseating, horrid headache.

All perfectly reasonable excuses. In addition, our daughter's schedule has become ridiculous, so many nights she simply does not have time to eat anything at home, which reduces my desire to make anything.

But, these are simply excuses, nonetheless. And, our schedule won't be clearing up any time soon - if anything, it will be getting worse.

This provides the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate. I need to be better at planning, as well as building more "last-minute" emergency food options so I won't be tempted to fall back into old habits. Illness will happen, schedules will change, crisises will blossom - I need to be better prepared. Now is the opportune time to renew my commitment. I've identified some problems, now it's time to formulate some solutions.

In other news, this morning I decided to spoil my family with a pre-Valentine's Day breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes. I just made regular pancake mix, dropped batter on to the hot griddle, let it cook for a minute, then dropped a bunch of semi-sweet chocolate chips on the pancake and flipped it over for a few seconds to finish. I topped the pancakes with butter and powdered sugar, then served them to a grateful family. As I took a bite, each chip formed a pocket of chocolate lava that gushed into my mouth, filling it with sweet-yet-sinful bitterness that is the essence of chocolate.

Hmmmm...perhaps an innovative, sinfully delicious meal is in order for Valentine's Day also...but, this presents a challenge. I don't get home until 8:00...so how can I make this happen?

Stay tuned, faithful readers, for the conclusion to our tale...

Oh My Goodness!

The updates haven't been as often as I'd like lately.  As I predicted, life got much busier, so therefore, priorities dictate that I need to put the food blog low on my "to-do" list.

But - a brief free moment has popped into the schedule, so, I figured I'd take advantage of it while I could!

The food highlights of the week included my first attempt at making Beef Wellington.  It sounds fancy - and if you Google recipes, it seems complicated.  It really isn't.

1 1/2 lb beef tenderloin roast
1 Frozen Puff Pastry sheet (found with frozen pie shells at the grocery)
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Truffles (probably going to need to hit the internet for those, unless you have an awesome bro-in-law who just gives them to you ;-)  )

1.  Thaw the sheet of puff pastry by letting it sit out for about 40 minutes on the counter top.
2.  Once completely thawed, place the puff pastry on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
3.  Rub kosher salt and fresh pepper on the roast.
4.  Chop up the truffles and sprinkle them on the puff pastry.
5.  Place the roast on the puff pastry.  Wrap the pastry around the roast.  Place the seam sides facing down on the cookie sheet.
6.  Put the roast in a 400 degree oven for an hour.
7.  Remove from the oven, and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
8.  Slice, serve with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans (like I did Monday night!).

The cabernet sauvignon that our friend brought over complimented this meal quite well!

The night before I made this, I had the house to myself.  My hubby was at a Pep Band game, as was my daughter.  So, I pretended I was in college again.

Beer & Mac

To my credit, it's at least the 2% Milk Velveeta Shells and Cheese - so it wasn't as bad for me as it could have been.

And - I made the Brown Stout Mustard!

While mixing this in the food processor, I had a flashback to my American history classes when they discussed the destructive nature of mustard gas.  Let's just say I learned to keep my head back when removing the food processor lid, rather than shoving my face directly into the path of the fumes rising from the brown mustard goodness.  The good news is that I now found a recipe to make the next time I have any sinus problems whatsoever.

It is pretty yummy - but very hot!  My brother in law's had more flavor, and less heat, so I may make his recipe next time.  But, it's still better than any purchased brown mustard I've had.

My next challenge - feeding my family Super Bowl worthy food that does not require ordering out for wings or pizza.  I have a plan...and I think it's a good one...involving beer, hot wing sauce, and some interesting techniques that I hope pay off!

I'll keep you posted.

Oh - I figured I'd pay tribute to the element of Super Bowl Sunday upon which I focus the most - the quest for excellence, the desire to be the best, and at its core, what America roots itself around.

Commercialism.