Sick Day Flash Back! - Spaghetti Sauce

Hey guys. I have to apologize for the drought on my blog! I've had a house full of sick kids (and all the extra laundry that comes from *that* kind of sick in the middle of the night!) topped off by getting the bug myself. So, as we finally turn a corner towards being well again it's time to get the house back in order! I hope you enjoy a peek back at a favorite I posted in the early days of my blog! I promise - I'll make it back into the kitchen this week!!

Spaghetti Sauce:

I make spaghetti sauce once a year - and when I make it, I go big! I made enough today for 14 dinners & my freezer is now full & ready to serve us a tasty, preservative-free, QUICK dinner on the nights where I've either forgotten to thaw any meat or am craving a baked spaghetti.... like we had tonight! You could make this as a single batch, but really, it's just as easy to double it, triple it, or, in my case times-5 it!! LOL

Here are your ingredients:

Diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, bell peppers, parsley, lots of spices & some ground beef. Generally speaking I'm not brand specific about many things, but I think Contadina is the best sauce to use in this.

Dice up your parsley, garlic, onions & bell peppers. The size you cut them is the size your chunks will be so if you don't like big pieces of onion/peppers be sure to go for a finer dice.


Next, just pour everything - except the ground beef - into the pot. Or, as Rachael Ray would say, everyone goes into the hot tub together! LOL Don't forget the spices!!


Bring that to a boil over high heat, then cover & reduce the heat to low. Simmer it for an hour, stirring once or twice. About a half hour into it you should get your beef browning.


Then when the hour is up add it to the pot. I mentioned I "times-5'd" this recipe... perhaps I should have just times-4'd it!! LOL I had to pull a little liquid out of the pot to fit all the meat! (This pic is just the first scoop!)


If you think it smelled good simmering without the meat wait 'til you get a whiff of it with the meat! Divine!

Now cover it again & let it go another 20-30 minutes.

MMMMmmmmmmm......


DO YOU SMELL THAT!!!???

Spaghetti Sauce

2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 small bay leaves
1 - 1 1/2 pounds ground beef

In a stock pot combine all ingredients except for the beef. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low & let simmer, covered, for an hour.

Crumble beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat until fully cooked - no pink remaining. Drain the fat & add to the pot. Cover & simmer an additional 20-30 minutes.

Chicken Cacciatore

As many of you know, my husband is a fire fighter. And yes, the rumors are true... fire fighters can cook! Well, not all of them - but mine sure can! And every once in a while I let him have free reign of the kitchen here at home & magical things happen. Here is his chicken cacciatore - and rather than serving it on the traditional pasta you might expect, he cooked up some spaghetti squash & forked it out of the shell into wanna-be-noodles. And you know what? It was good. And way more guilt free than the carb-loaded pasta. And you don't get that heavy-gut feeling of being loaded up on the starchy carb. You really don't even notice that you've swapped out the noodles - so you should try it! You'll love it.

Ingredients:


Any combination of chicken breasts & thighs, flour, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, a large can of diced tomatoes, capers, chicken broth, white cooking wine, oregano. And, if you're doing the noodle swap, grab a spaghetti squash.

First up - dice your produce.


Now get your oil hot in the pan over med-high heat. Salt & pepper your chicken - heavy on the black pepper - then dredge it through some flour & pop it into the hot pan.


You don't need to cook it through - just get it browned - about 5 minutes per side.


Remove the chicken & set it aside. Drop the heat down to medium & add your peppers/onions/garlic to the pan & let it saute for about 5 minutes. Get your onions tender.


Add the wine. Simmer it for 3 or 4 minutes then add the broth, can of tomatoes, capers & oregano. Give it a good stir.


Put the chicken back in the pot. Swish it around to coat it in the sauce then drop your heat down a little more, to med-low. Cook it til the chicken is done - about 30 minutes.


From here you can either just serve the chicken whole with the sauce on your noodles. Or, if you're like me, you can dice up the chicken then return it to the sauce & stir it around to cover it all again.

If you're gonna do the squash, you'll cut it in half, lengthwise, cover it in plastic wrap & pop it into the microwave, cut side up for 15-20 minutes, depending on how crunchy/soft you like your squash. It'll get hot so use an oven mit to take it out. Scrape the seed & guts out of the middle & toss them in the trash. Then just start scraping out the squash into a bowl.


Aaaaaaaaaaaand you're done!


See the 'noodles' under there!!?


YUM! It smells amazing, it tastes amazing... win-win! And you can add one more WIN to that if you can get your husband to cook it!!! LOL

Chicken Cacciatore:

4 Chicken thighs
2 Chicken breasts
Salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
3/4 cups white cooking wine
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, UNdrained
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp capers, drained
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Dice your onion, pepper and garlic. Set aside.

Add oil to a large skillet over med-high heat. As that's heating salt & pepper your chicken. Go a little heavy on the pepper. Dredge chicken in the flour & add to the hot oil in the pan. Cook about 5 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Remove chicken; set aside.

Reduce the heat a smidge - to medium. Put your pepper, onion & garlic in the hot pan (with the oil/drippings left behind from the chicken) & saute for about 5 minutes, until the onion is tender. Add the wine & simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, capers & oregano. Stir & return the chicken to the pot.

Drop the heat to med-low and cook until the chicken is done - about 30 minutes. Serve over noodles.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Creamy 3-Cheese Baked Penne

I'm sitting here watching TV, trying to think of some witty header to put on this recipe & I am coming up empty! The show is America's Next Top Model... something I'm almost embarrassed to admit I watch!! LOL And they just took a plane to Venice, Italy to do some fancy-schmancy scenic European shoots... and wouldn't you know it, I made pasta for dinner tonight! Haha! I feel like I'm practically in Italy! I'm SO authentic Italian. Wait 'til you see this recipe! You'll feel like you're right there in Venice with these ridiculous wannabe models! Actually, you totally won't, because as far as what I recall from my time in Italy 16 years ago, we never had anything like this. This is like white girl trying to be Italian! But it's good white girl food!! Give it a go!

The shopping list:


Penne, spaghetti sauce (I love Newman's Own Sockarooni!), a can of diced tomatoes (I chose fire roasted today), sour cream, cream cheese, mozzarella & Parmesan cheese (not the powdered kind - the shredded stuff that will melt!)

First up is boiling your pasta. Just cook it up like you normally would; drain it.


Now take that still-hot pan & put it back on the burner over medium heat. Pour in the sauce, tomatoes & cream cheese. Stir it around until the cream cheese melts & it's all nice, creamy & well-combined.


Add the pasta to it and stir it around to coat it evenly.


Now put half the pasta mixture into a 9x13 pan & spread with half the sour cream. It's a little tricky - just use small scoops & spread it a little at a time. But don't worry about being perfect. It's all gonna blend together anyway. Top the sour cream with half the mozzarella then do it all again with the rest of the pasta, the rest of the sour cream & the rest of the mozzarella!


Put the Parmesan cheese on top of it all & pop it into a 375 oven for about 20 minutes.

(and ignore the dirty oven that is overdue for a cleaning!)

Pull it out & let it set up for about 10 minutes - then dig in & enjoy!


Take a look inside!


I think you're gonna like it! It's very rich & creamy & delicious - and SO totally not Italian!

Creamy 3-Cheese Baked Penne:

1 box of Penne (4 cups dry)
1 jar (26oz) spaghetti/marinara sauce
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
6-oz cream cheese (3/4 of a block)
8-oz sour cream (1 cup)
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Heat oven to 375.

Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside. In the same pot mix sauce, tomatoes & cream cheese. Cook on medium heat until cheese is melted and everything is well combined, about 5 minutes. Add pasta to the sauce mixture & stir around to coat.

Put half the pasta mixture in a 9x13 pan. Top with half the sour cream and half the mozzarella. Repeat layers with remaining pasta, sour cream & mozzarella. Top with Parmesan & bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Skillet Lasagna

As I was thinking about this post I had to laugh. The spaghetti I posted a while back, which is traditionally a stove-top dish, was made in the oven. And now my "lasagna", typically an oven dish, is made on the stove top. If you're Italian I apologize for any disrespect you may feel by me calling this a lasagna! I know it's not lasagna:

la-sa-gna (luh-zahn-yuh)
-noun
1. large, flat, rectangular strips of pasta.
2. a baked dish consisting of layers of this pasta, cheese, tomato sauce, and usually meat.

OK, so I get it. It's TOTALLY not lasagna! It's noodles, meat, cheese & sauce. But not layered & not flat. So what is it? It's not spaghetti, either. Do you see the struggles I have in my life!!?? I don't know how many times I've asked "What should I name this?" in one of my posts!! LOL Help me, people! Settle the insanity in my life! Name this dish!

Here are the ingredients:


Sausage, bow tie pasta, sour cream, mozzarella, Italian seasonings, garlic powder & marinara sauce (not pictured). I know... how could I forget to put the sauce in the picture!!!? Ugh.

Start out by browning your sausage. If it's in casing just peel it like a banana & crumble it into the pan. You can also just use ground beef. If you do, add about a teaspoon of salt, too. While that is browning up boil your pasta according to the package directions.


Once they're both done, drain the pasta & toss it on top of the meat. Give the pasta a quick drizzle of olive oil so it doesn't get sticky. Add in everything else - the sour cream, cheese, sauce, seasonings. Keep out half the cheese for later & give it all a good stir.


Now top it with the rest of the cheese & pop it under the broiler to melt the cheese. If you're not sure if your skillet is oven safe just wrap tin foil around the handle(s). Leave it there for maybe 5 minutes - until it's good & melted, just starting to brown.


And that's that! My skillet lasagna! Hope you try it and love it!

Skillet Lasagna:

1 lb ground sausage
1 box bow tie pasta
1 jar marinara sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp garlic powder
a drizzle of olive oil

Brown meat. Boil pasta to al dente. Drain pasta & dump on top of meat. Drizzle with olive oil.

Add remaining ingredients, reserving half the cheese. Stir to combine well.

Top with remaining cheese & put under broiler for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Baked Spaghetti

Had a baked spaghetti for dinner tonight. It's just a good, warm, yummy, comforting food. Almost everybody loves spaghetti, but with a little extra effort - and I meant little! - you can take good old spaghetti and make it great! I use my homemade spaghetti sauce for this. You could use jarred sauce & it would probably be great - but I'm absolutely in love with my sauce! Give it a go - definitely worth it!

The ingredients don't get simpler than this:


Spaghetti noodles, sauce & cheese! I usually go with Cheddar/Jack.

Get your noodles boiling - half a bag...

(Action shots are hard when you're doing the cooking AND taking the pictures!! LOL)

While this is going preheat your oven to 350. And you should probably heat your sauce up a little - it'll spread smoother/easier... not that we're going for perfection here. Once the noodles are done drain them & set aside.

Now put just a little sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 dish. You don't need much - you're really just using this to 'grease the pan' so the noodles don't stick.


Now add in half the spaghetti noodles & spread them as evenly as you can. Then put half the sauce on top of that. And then half of the cheese!


Don't skimp on the cheese!

Now repeat those layers - use the rest of the noodles & the rest of the sauce but DON'T put the top layer of cheese on yet. If you do it'll brown & turn a little crispy - which is delicious - just not what we're going for here.


Not super heavy on the sauce - I only used 2 cups for the whole thing - maybe would like a little more for this because I LOVE red sauce, but when I make my jumbo batch of sauce I break it into 2-cup bags, so that's what I had.

Bake it in the oven for about 25 minutes. Pull it out & top it with the rest of your cheese. Pop it back into the oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese into an ooey-gooey goodness.


Ahhh...... the noodles just soak up all that sauce & get a nice layer of cheese - perfection.

DO YOU SMELL THAT!!!???

Serve it up and enjoy!!

Baked Spaghetti:

1/2 a bag/box of spaghetti
2 cups of spaghetti sauce (a jar is about 3 cups, so if you go that route don't use the whole thing!!)
2 cups shredded cheese (I use Cheddar/Jack)

Preheat oven to 350. Boil spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

Spread a small amount of sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Add half the cooked noodles. Spread half the remaining sauce over the noodles. Cover with half the cheese. Top with remaining noodles, then sauce.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove, top with remaining cheese, return to oven for 5 minutes.

Let sit for a few minutes before diving in to let it set up. ENJOY!!

Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco

That's one fancy-schmancy sounding title, isn't it!!? But you know what? This dish is worthy of a 5-star name like that because it is so, so, so, so, SO (that's 5 so's, right!!? LOL) delicious! However, now that I have dangled that carrot in front of you, I have to say this is a Pampered Chef recipe that needs a PC item to make it that awesome. You could probably use any old kitchen tools for the prep but the one essential tool is 100% Pampered Chef... the Deep Covered Baker. (As long as I'm on the topic, in case any of you reading didn't know, I sell PC - so if you ever want anything just let me know & we'll get it for you!) With the well-loved DCB you can make this in the microwave!

Here is today's cast of characters:

Mezze Penne, chicken broth, white cooking wine (optional, not pictured), fresh basil, garlic, cooked, diced chicken, Parmesan cheese and grape (or cherry) tomatoes.

Step 1: Slice up 4 cloves of garlic (at least! The Gilroy in me insists you use more!) and throw a container of grape tomatoes into the baker with the sliced garlic. Pop it into the microwave for 4-5 minutes.

It's kinda fun to listen to it cook because as it gets hot the tomatoes explode! POP-POP-POP!! When it come out mash it all up - I use my Mix-n-Chop, you could probably use a potato masher.

You're essentially making your own sauce for the pasta dish right now so give it a good, thorough mashing. Once you've done that, throw in the chicken broth, wine, salt, pepper and pasta - DRY pasta. Yep! Straight from the box! How fantastic is THAT!!?


Then it goes back into the microwave for another 16-18 minutes. Stir it once after about 10. When it comes out for good add in the chicken, basil & cheese. Give it a good stir & put the lid back on. Let it sit for about 5 minutes so the pasta can finish cooking/absorbing the liquid & the chicken/basil/cheese can heat/wilt/melt. This baker is stoneware so it retails the heat & redistributes it evenly. With the lid on it works like a convection oven & heats everything/keeps it hot.

I was making this to take to a pot luck so I had to run out the door with it - so I didn't get a pic of it after sitting for 5 minutes... thus the liquid still in the pot. Cut me some slack! I'm not a hoity-toity (how on Earth would you spell that!!?) compensated food blogger - I"m just a mom/housewife with a busy, busy life! Sometime you get amazing - sometimes you get reality!! LOL

This picture may bot speak to you but let me tell you, if you could smell it you would make this weekly! It is DELICIOUS!!! And SO easy. A great way to use up leftover chicken. And it makes a ton so you can send leftover to work with Hubby for lunch - or just hide them in the back of the fridge so you can have it all to yourself!

Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco
(this recipe uses a ton of PC tools - you can make due with just about anything else - I'll offer suggestions in parenthesis.)

4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
3 cups uncooked mezze penne pasta
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cups white cooking wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (NOT the powdery kind!)
2 cups diced grilled chicken breast

Spray baker with olive oil using kitchen spritzer (or brush using a basting brush). Slice garlic into baker using garlic slicer (or thinly slice with knife). Add tomatoes. Cover; microwave on high for 4-5 minutes. Stir after 2 m inutes. Crush tomatoes using mix-n-chop (or potato masher). Add dry pasta, wine, broth, salt & pepper.

Cover & return to microwave on high for 16-18 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely chop basil.

Carefully remove baker from microwave (it will be hot!). Remove lid & add basil, chicken & cheese. Stir well & cover. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Stir again & enjoy!!

Spaghetti Sauce

I make spaghetti sauce once a year - and when I make it, I go big! I made enough today for 14 dinners & my freezer is now full & ready to serve us a tasty, preservative-free, QUICK dinner on the nights where I've either forgotten to thaw any meat or am craving a baked spaghetti.... like we had tonight! You could make this as a single batch, but really, it's just as easy to double it, triple it, or, in my case times-5 it!! LOL

Here are your ingredients:

Diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, bell peppers, parsley, lots of spices & some ground beef (go 1/2 beef 1/2 ground Italian sausage for an extra delicious combo!) Generally speaking I'm not brand specific about many things, but I think Contadina is the best sauce to use in this.

Dice up your parsley, garlic, onions & bell peppers. The size you cut them is the size your chunks will be so if you don't like big pieces of onion/peppers be sure to go for a finer dice.


Next, just pour everything - except the ground beef - into the pot. Or, as Rachael Ray would say, everyone goes into the hot tub together! LOL Don't forget the spices!!


Bring that to a boil over high heat, then cover & reduce the heat to low. Simmer it for an hour, stirring once or twice. About a half hour into it you should get your beef browning.


Then when the hour is up add it to the pot. I mentioned I "times-5'd" this recipe... perhaps I should have just times-4'd it!! LOL I had to pull a little liquid out of the pot to fit all the meat! (This pic is just the first scoop!)


If you think it smelled good simmering without the meat wait 'til you get a whiff of it with the meat! Divine!

Now cover it again & let it go another 20-30 minutes.

MMMMmmmmmmm......


DO YOU SMELL THAT!!!???

Once it's cooled for a little while I divide it into 3-cup portions in quart-sized freezer Ziplock bags, lay them flat on a cookie sheet & stick them in the freezer overnight. Once they're frozen you can easily store them in a nice stack on any shelf of the freezer. When you want to use it, just fill the sink with some warm water, drop the sealed bag in & let it thaw for a bit before reheating.

Spaghetti Sauce

2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 small bay leaves
1 - 1 1/2 pounds ground beef &/or ground Italian sausage

In a stock pot combine all ingredients except for the beef. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low & let simmer, covered, for an hour.

Crumble beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat until fully cooked - no pink remaining. Drain the fat & add to the pot. Cover & simmer an additional 20-30 minutes.