Hearty Sauce for a Chilly Week!

I've been very spoiled with some delicious garlic from the Mother Unit's garden. I'm already halfway through my stash! The rosemary is also from her garden and I grew the cayenne peppers in Syracuse. At this point the peppers are just decoration as they're a couple years old now.

 This week I sauteed up some garlic, onion, and a green pepper with some ground turkey and emptied out a couple cans of spaghetti sauce to make a very delicious meat sauce. It's been nice to have a huge pot of sauce in the fridge so I don't have to think about dinner. I whipped up the garlic-chive butter with the last of my fresh chive (I'm attempting to winter the plant) and it made very good garlic bread.

It's been perfect for this chilly weather!

I also made a batch of my Hootycreek cookies this weekend. They make an excellent breakfast when paired with a giant cup of coffee.

Sage is the name of the game!

I did not have a game plan for dinner tonight but inspiration struck as I was leafing through a Food Network magazine waiting for our staff meeting to start. I love it when dinner comes together (especially when you heavily edited a recipe!), you have all the ingredients at home, and you're using up leftover bits. In this case I was using up leftover pumpkin, cream, onion, and fresh sage. The added bonus being I got to open a bottle of wine! Who doesn't like that? Plus gemelli pasta makes me insanely happy for some odd reason.

Pumpkin Sage Alfredo Sauce

(from my kitchen!)

Ingredients:

1 box of fun shaped pasta (GEMELLI!!!)

2 tablespoons butter

10 sage leaves

1/4 cup red onion, minced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup light cream

2 generous pinches of nutmeg

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to box.

2. Melt the butter and saute the onion and garlic for two minutes. Add the sage leaves and saute for two more minutes.

3. Whisk in the pumpkin, cream, and nutmeg.

4. Add in wine and parmesan. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Toss with pasta and serve with extra parmesan cheese.

Tablescape!

Jalapeno Cheese Sauce!

You should never chase your dayquil with a cup of coffee. You might do something insane like bake a whole batch of delicious pretzels and attempt to eat them all with no warning. By then you've used up all your reserve energy in this spurt of feeling better and find yourself dying back on the couch. It was certainly delicious. My pretzel recipe is still amazing, you can find it HERE! The jalapeno cheese sauce was a new amazing addition. I highly recommend it.

Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

(Pinterest find! adapted from smells like home)

Ingredients:
Jarred jalapenos (the equivalent of 1 jalapeno)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
4 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
1. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the chopped jalapeños to coat with the butter. Whisk in the flour, coating the peppers, and cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.

2. Slowly whisk in the milk. Stirring constantly, bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the stove and stir in the shredded cheese until all of the cheese has melted. Serve warm.

Hot Dog Sauce

I found this hot dog sauce on pinterest, it seemed to be very popular. It's a copycat recipe from a popular hot dog place in Utah. I loved it but I love all things sweet. It was like a nice bbq sauce. Mr. Lawyer does not love sweet things as much (except for me!) so we experimented with it. It is still delicious with a line of sriracha sauce (or your preferred hot sauce), that way you get a whole sweet and spicy thing going on. The recommended toppings were onions and banana peppers which makes sense to me, again with the sweet and spicy. One of my favorite Wawa hoagies is the honey roasted turkey with creamy horseradish and spicy peppers. I did halve the recipe and it was more that enough for 4 hot dogs. It's definitely a keeper, a nice change up from the standard ketchup and mustard.

J Dawgs Secret Sauce

(Pinterest find!)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. onion powder
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in saucepan & heat to boiling on medium heat. Pour over hot dog.

Notes: it is suggested that you slice the hot dogs in a crisscross pattern to hold more sauce and serve with onions, hot peppers, and pickles.

Garlic Breath!

This pasta was something. It was so soft and velvety. Amazing. Of course that's because it contains half a cup of olive oil and six tablespoons of butter but it was worth it. I'm sure you could get away with cutting back on some of the oil and butter. It was a nice change from sauce straight out of the jar: different taste, different texture, even better as left overs! I used a roasted veggie sauce and would definitely double the mushrooms next time. I loved the garlic flavor but it's not a date night recipe!

Garlic Mushroom Pasta

(Pinterest find! From Country Cleaver)

Ingredients:
9 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 pound dried pasta
6 tablespoons butter
15 ounce jar of sauce
8 ounces baby portabella mushrooms, sliced (I would double this!)
Directions:
1. Combine olive oil and garlic in a medium pot. Bring to a boil then turn to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Cook pasta

3. Add a little bit of olive oil to a skillet and cook mushrooms.

4. Combine pasta and mushrooms in the same pot.

5. Add butter to garlic oil and stir to melt. Stir in pasta sauce and mix well.

6. Add garlic sauce to mushroom pasta and toss to coat!

Super Sauce

Tonight Miss Amanda came over and we had a super fancy meal of spaghetti and yummy sourdough! We pumped up our on sale jar of sauce with some sauteed turkey, onions, green peppers and a heaping of cayenne pepper. It's a quick and semi-healthy way to bulk up some sauce. One day I'll make some fancy homemade sauce....one day...

I'm in Trouble!

I got yelled at when I presented dinner today. "Chicken Parm?! Don't you know that's like one of four things I can make?! It's my dish!" Okay then. Next time I won't cook dinner. Also, you need to expand your repertoire. This dish was a good excuse to use up the last bit of my spicy hot tomato sauce. It came out pretty good!

Spicy Chicken Parmesan!

(created in my kitchen!)

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, halved and pounded thin
1/2 cup flour
salt, pepper, garlic
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup panko
1/4 cup parmesan
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 cups tomato sauce (I used my spicy sauce!)
Mozzarella cheese, sliced
Directions: 
1. Heat up olive oil in large frying pan. In the meantime mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic in one bowl. In the second bowl mix the egg and water. In the third bowl mix the panko and parmesan.
2. Take each piece of chicken and coat it in flour, dip it in the egg mixture and then dredge it with the panko. Place in a hot frying pan and brown, a few minutes on each side (depends on thickness)
3. Place in an oven safe dish, cover with sauce and top with mozzarella slices. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until done (depends on thickness)

To balance the meal out we had a salad with leftover mozzarella and cranberries. Yum!

Spicy Sauce Leftovers!

What's a girl to do with a giant vat of delicious Spicy Hot Tomato Oil?! Why simmer some pork chops in it of course! Mr. Lawyer says he'll keep me. Ha.

Spicy Hot Tomato Pork Chops!

(created in my kitchen)

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless pork chops (mine were thing)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
1-2 cups of spicy tomato oil
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pan. Meanwhile, season pork chops with salt, pepper, and garlic.
2. Brown pork chops until just cooked, a few minutes on each side.
3. Add in spicy tomato oil and simmer, simmer, simmer! At least 15-20 minutes. I just left mine go until the boy got home.

A Spicy Creation!

There are lots of things I miss about my New York home and one of those things is Pastabilities. Delicious pasta, bread and sauce. Clearly it's heaven. When one of the parental groups visited last month they brought me a container of Pastabilities Spicy Hot Tomato Oil and I was in heaven for about three days. In those three days I had that sauce every day as an after school snack and I did not share one single drop of it. Hey, it's not my fault the boy wasn't proactive enough to get some before it was gone!

Lately I've been hankering for some more but for obvious reasons their recipe is a closely guarded secret. I found two versions online that other people had made but I wasn't really thrilled about certain parts of each one. So I took what I liked from each one, smushed them together with very little measuring, and BAM! I have created a decent representation of my beloved Spicy Hot Tomato Oil. It's a bit chunkier than the original (I imagine that the restaurant strains or purees it but I am obviously too lazy for that), I was hesitant with adding bucket loads of oil, and I think I need to kick the spice up a tad more but overall it satisfied my craving! Plus it's Boy approved. I apologize for the lack of measuring with the spices but that's really something you should do to taste anyway!

My Attempt at Spicy Tomato Oil

(from my kitchen!)

Ingredients:

2 cans (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

2 cups olive oil (I would go back to one as a personal, a trying to be healthier preference)

1/2 cup garlic, sliced

2 ounces asian chili oil (contains pepper flakes)

1 teaspoon cayenne powder

1/3 cup honey

Directions:

1. Pour olive oil into a pot and heat to medium. Add garlic and cook until golden.

2. Add in tomatoes, chili oil, cayenne, and honey.

3. Let simmer for a bit.

4. At this point I blended half of it and then poured it back into the pot. This still leaves some whole garlic slices.

5. Try not to eat it all.

Not the most attractive picture but it's suppose to be oily, after all it's spicy tomato oil not sauce! The container I had from NY separated like this too so I'm taking that as a good sign. Having the slices of garlic is also authentic. Overall I think it's a great imitation of the Spicy Hot Tomato Oil Recipe!

For comparison here is a picture of the real deal, Spicy Hot Tomato Oil right from Syracuse.

Pasta Sauce Change Up!

This was a nice spring-like change from regular red pasta sauce. I used fresh parsley and basil, dried thyme and omitted the marjoram. The only thing I really changed was adding the extra butter and all the herbs to the hot pan at the end to help melt it and blend the flavors. Then I tossed it with the pasta. It was easy, quick and would work well in a pinch. Nice change but not an overly exciting photo! You can see a little bit of the herbs but there isn't much to show with a butter sauce!

Fettuccine with Garlic Herb Butter

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
6 ounces dry fettuccini pasta
1 teaspoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (optional)
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 teaspoon butter. Add garlic and cook for 30 to 60 seconds or until garlic begins to turn golden.
3. In a small bowl, combine parsley, basil, marjoram, thyme, 1 tablespoon butter, salt and ground black pepper with cooked garlic; mix well. Toss with pasta and serve.

Spicy Hot Favorite!

More reasons to be in heaven! Our visitors from Upstate brought us this little yummy present. And by us, I mean me because there is no way in heck I'm sharing it.

Heaven. From one of our favorite places in 'Cuse. My ultimate after school snack happened today: Spicy Hot Tomato Oil, a nice loaf of bread, and some sharp Cabot cheese. I can die happy.

Meatloaf Sauce!

"I really wanted a piece of meatloaf but this is so much better." What Mr. Lawyer says right after he takes a bite of dinner is usually the best compliment ever and this dish deserved it. I threw the leftover meatloaf, a jar of sauce, and a few dashes of garlic powder into a pot and simmered it for 30+ minutes. What made it amazing was when you'd get a bite that was all sweet from the bbq sauce. To die for. I will totally make another meatloaf just to make meatloaf sauce.

Plus my soup and sandwich plate looked super cool with spaghetti. 

Holy Sauce.

The most perfect day ever. I just spent 4+ hours rocking out to excellent music while making a mess in my kitchen and creating delicious things. Oh, and eating Peanut M&M's out of my apron pocket. Because that's what life is about.

A bazillion different things: olive bread proofing in the microwave, soup stock simmering, sauce going in The General, and a messy prep counter.

In researching Asian cuisine and wok use it seems that the most time consuming part of stir frying is making the sauce. When the actual act of stir frying is so simple and quick no one wants to come home, take out a bazillion ingredients, and whip up some sauce before starting up the wok. Today my mission was to bake bread and make soup. These activities require a lot of down time between proofings and stock boilings. Problem solved. Let's sauce it up and make a collection of stir fry sauces that can chill out in the freezer.

I wasn't joking about the M&Ms.

Take a peek at the sauce recipes!

Meaty BBQ Meat

The leftover BBQ Pot Roast was better than the original! Pot roast is okay, it's just a bit....well pot roasty. But this leftover bbq stuff was banging. Next time I might just skip the pot roast part and go straight to bbq. I didn't do the onion or chili powder part and I suppose the taste depends on the quality of bbq sauce you get. I was overwhelmed by the choices at the store and had not tried any of the brands present (I'm a Dinosaur or Sweet Baby Ray's girl) so I texted Mr. Lawyer with a variety of choices including apple bourbon and smokey maple. Being a boy he picked the Bone Suckin' Sauce because it "sounded cool". It was good, not too spicy and a little bit sweet which is exactly how I like my bbq.

Tonight was also our building's Christmas party but nothing looked as appetizing as the bbq sandwiches we had waiting for us except for these delicious salads we snagged. One had a cranberry/goat cheese thing going on and the other a sweet onion dressing with almonds. Both were amazing.

Pulled Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 cups shredded leftover cooked pot roast
1 (18 ounce) bottle Barbecue Sauce
6 Kaiser rolls, split, toasted
Directions:
1. Heat oil in medium skillet or saucepan about 1 minute; add onion. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, or until onion browns a bit, stirring occasionally. Blend in chili powder.
2. Add shredded pot roast and barbecue sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook about 5 minutes or until bubbling, stirring occasionally.
3. Fill rolls evenly with the meat mixture and serve.

Liquid Gouda

I think calling it gravy is just a way to try to make you feel better about the fact that you're inhaling cheese sauce. I mean it sounds more sophisticated and a little bit healthier. I used apple-wood smoked gouda instead of original and man oh man, it was amazing. My chicken was a wee bit dry but that's all my fault. The original recipe also included a broccoli and mash potato side but Mr. Lawyer picked up some grilled veggies from WF.

Chicken with Gouda Gravy

(adapted from Rachael Ray)

Ingredients:
Salt & Pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, sliced into tenders
2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
1 cup shredded gouda cheese
Directions:
1. Season chicken with salt, pepper and thyme. Saute in a pan with olive oil till cooked or bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
2. In a small, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the chicken broth and 1/2 cup milk and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the cheese in a figure-eight motion until melted, 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Big Italian Dinner!

I feel like spaghetti and meatballs is always a dish that you compare to your parents (or grandparents!) so I was nervous to make this for the Lawyer but he loved it! And it wasn't a boyfriend lie! I first had this meatball recipe when Grandma Nancy made it for me and even better, it's a Wegman's recipe (♥!)! Grandma made the meatballs according the recipe, the first time I made them I used asiago cheese and they were still amazing. This time I followed the recipe and used pecorino romano. I would change nothing about this recipe unless you wanted to experiment with the cheese, which I completely approve of. The panko breadcrumbs are essential (and we all know what a sucker I am for panko!) These are my go to meatballs!

Wegman’s Meatballs!

(Wegmans obviously)

Ingredients: 
1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
2 tsp minced Garlic
2 Tbsp minced fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp McCormick Italian Seasoning (or a dash of oregano/basil)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb Wegmans 80% Lean Ground Beef
Directions: 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
1. Add panko, eggs, water, cheese, garlic, parsley, seasoning, salt, and pepper to large bowl; stir to combine. Add beef; mix by hand until just combined (use the claw! overmixing will toughen meatballs). 

2. Scoop up about 3 Tbsp meat mixture to form balls; smooth by rolling in cupped hands. Arrange meatballs on baking sheet, about 1 1/2-inches apart. 

3. Bake 15-17 min or until internal temp reaches 160 degrees.

I also tried a new sauce recipe out. It was pretty good although the name was misleading. I could taste the spicy but not the basil (except for the torn basil we put on top, from my very own basil plant!) I also simmer the meatballs in the sauce for a while after they come out of the oven. Supposedly the pine nuts add a creaminess to the sauce but I'm sure it would be fine without them because 1/4 cup pines nuts is equal to one month of my rent, just kidding! (except not really, those nuts are expensive!) While I'm not as in love with recipe as I am my Wegman meatballs I would make it again, but I would also experiment with new recipes. I did omit the fennel seeds because of my intense (and unfounded?!) hatred of fennel seeds. I like fennel bulb but for some reason I just cringe when I find fennel seeds in my pizza or spaghetti sauce.

Spicy Tomato-Basil Sauce 

(Bon Appétit) 

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes with added puree (from two 28-ounce cans), divided
1/4 cup pine nuts
4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (finely crushed in plastic bag)  or not.
3/8 teaspoon (or more) dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Place 1 cup crushed tomatoes in blender. Add pine nuts and blend until very smooth, about 1 minute. 2. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic, fennel seeds, and 3/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper. Sauté until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. 

3. Add remaining crushed tomatoes, 2 tablespoons chopped basil, wine, and oregano. 

4. Scrape in tomato mixture from blender and stir to combine. 

5. Simmer sauce until flavors blend, 5 to 6 minutes. 

6. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more dried crushed red pepper (I did add more red pepper)

7. Add your meatballs!