Dinner
As those of you that know us , you know that Jim does not cook very often, but I have to tell you when he does it is ALWAYS delicious! This particular recipe is his own recipe that he adapted from HIS Mom’s recipe! We all love this recipe, although it does take most of the day and does have a number of ingredients. I can promise you not only will your house smell soooo good all day long I also know that you will enjoy it and an added bonus… it feeds a crowd!
INGREDIENTS for sausage and sauce
6 hot sausage links
6 sweet sausage links
2 cans (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 cans (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper , diced
3 ounces of white wine (any kind YOU like)
2 cloves crushed garlic
Salt
Pepper
12 ounces of water
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon parsley
INGREDIENTS for meatballs
1 1/2 pound 85% ground beef
1 egg
1/8 cup of milk (we use 1%)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 tablespoon of the spaghetti sauce
Salt
Pepper
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon parsley
Pinch of rosemary
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound of thin spaghetti (boiled for 9 minutes). In a LARGE saucepan start by browning the sausage links. Remove links from pan. Using the same pan, add the diced, onions, peppers and the crushed garlic cloves along with the wine, salt and pepper. When the onions and peppers are soft, add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, basil, oregano, parsley,and sugar. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Turn heat down to a simmer. Add the sausages back into the saucepan with the sauce.
While tomato sauce simmers it is time to make the meatballs. Mix ALL of the meatball ingredients together. Roll into any size meatball you like and add the meatballs into the sauce and simmer for three hours.
Enjoy!
I know everyone has their own favorite rib recipe and to be honest this is more of a method than a recipe! This is the ONLY way I make ribs. They are just that good! I have tried this recipe a few different ways with different ingredients and I ALWAYS get a very grumpy look from everyone in the family. My family does not like change with a recipe they already love! I will caution we like a lot of flavor and you get A LOT of flavor with the rub. It adds some serious heat, so if you don’t like heat with your ribs please use your own spice mix and certainly feel free to change up the BBQ sauce . Like I said it is really the method more than the ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
2 slabs of baby back ribs
1 large bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ sauce
1 tin of Nantucket off shore Rasta Rub (use sparingly)
DIRECTIONS
The night before you want to cook them I take one slab at a time and rub both side with the rub (using as much or as little as you like knowing it adds a lot of flavor and heat!) . I then slice the ribs into three even portions and place in large heavy duty Ziploc bags. I do this with both slabs.
When you have everything portioned into the Ziploc bags I squeeze a good amount of the BBQ sauce into each bag rubbing the sauce all through the ribs making sure the ribs are well coated with the sauce. I refrigerate these overnight.
When you are ready to cook them preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Cut six pieces of tin foil large enough to wrap each individual rib piece. Wrap one rib section in one piece of foil and place on baking sheet and continue until all of the rib portions are wrapped. Bake for 2 1/2 hours. Take the ribs out of the oven, unwrap the ribs from the foil. Discard foil and place the ribs back onto the same baking sheet. Using the same BBQ sauce, coat each baby back rib with a nice slather of sauce. Move the oven rack to the top portion of the oven. Turn oven to broil, leaving the door open just slightly.
Place ribs back in oven on broil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes watching carefully as they can burn at this point. You want the sauce on top to get thick and caramelized without burning!!!
Enjoy,
We really enjoyed these turkey lettuce wraps. This recipe I found on the website canyou stayfordinner.com. There are tons of lettuce wrap recipes out there and some of them have a list of ingredients as long as my arm, but this one is simple with great flavor and a lot of the ingredients you may already have on hand! I will definitely be making these again.
INGREDIENTS
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup Hoisin sauce (found in the Asian section of the store)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey breast
2 cups chopped button mushrooms (not in mine…mushrooms not my thing)
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon ginger root, minced
3 large carrots, grated
6 scallions, chopped (green and white parts)
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
Butter Lettuce
Salt
Pepper
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl whisk sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar and Hoisin sauce together. Set aside. Add olive oil to large skillet or wok, set over medium high heat. Add ground turkey and cook for five minutes, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Add the mushrooms, cook for three more minutes stirring often and until turkey is no longer pink and the mushrooms soften. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add chili powder, garlic and ginger. Stir to combine. Add the reserved soy sauce mixture to the pan and stir to coat all ingredients. Cook for three more minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly. Add carrots, scallions,and water chestnuts and give the pan one last stir. Remove from heat. Spoon a small amount of meat mixture on to the lettuce leaves and enjoy!
These are messy…but flavorful and healthy! Perhaps try pita pockets instead of the lettuce.
Enjoy,
This recipe was a very happy accident! I had planned on making this chicken with fresh sautéed garlic but I ran out of fresh garlic soooo, I did what any other Mom in the middle of trying to get dinner on the table would do, make do with what you have. I am glad I did this because it came out so tender and delicious. My husband, not knowing or caring what the sauce was, was dipping bread in the sauce non stop! Sorry that may have been a little too much info! On to the not so recipe!
INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix garlic, brown sugar and olive oil together. Place chicken in a baking dish.
Slather the brown sugar mixture all over the chicken and bake for 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
I served this with rice pilaf and corn.
Enjoy,
This is another Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) recipe with just a couple slight changes. One change is that I dislike mushrooms, you will not find mushrooms in my mac and cheese. The second change is that I do not add Fontina cheese but instead up the amount of Gruyere cheese, as I love the nutty flavor the Gruyere gives. The rest of the recipe is the same. I also used only one pound of macaroni instead of 1 1/2 pounds.
To make this recipe a little easier I usually cook my bacon and caramelize the onions one day in advance.
INGREDIENTS
Salt
Pepper
8 slices thick cut bacon (cooked and chopped)
2 whole onions (peeled, halved and thinly sliced)
5 Tablespoons of butter
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
4 ounces goat cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni
1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk (I use 1%- it worked just fine)
1/2 cup half and half
2 whole eggs, beaten
4 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola
DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet over medium low heat, sauté onions in one tablespoon of butter, stirring occasionally until golden brown. This takes some time…don’t rush, you really want the onions to caramelize. Grate the Parmesan cheese and Gruyere cheese and unwrap the goat cheese. Cook the macaroni until just under cooked. Drain and set aside.
To make the sauce, Melt 4 Tablespoons of butter into LARGE pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour , whisking to combine. Let the roux cook for a minute or so continually whisking. Pour in the milk, still whisking, cook for 3-5 minutes until thick and bubbly. Add the half and half, 1 teaspoon of salt , plenty of black pepper and stir to combine.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the hot white sauce into the small bowl with the beaten eggs, stirring with a fork as you drizzle the white sauce in. Once combined pour the mixture into the pot with the white sauce, stirring constantly.
Add the Goat cheese, Parmesan cheese and Gruyere cheese. Stir to melt. Add the cooked Macaroni to the sauce and stir to coat.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Lay half of the cooked onions on the bottom of the pan, followed by half of the macaroni, half of the Gorgonzola and half of the bacon. Repeat layers, ending with the bacon on top!
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly!
Enjoy!
