Fresh Tuscan Pasta Sauce

It's always great to have a homemade pasta sauce in your cooking arsenal. This is one of my FAVORITE things in the world to eat with Penne or Spaghetti. I prefer mine vegetarian, but you can add meat if you wish. I don't add the carrot or cinnamon and prefer Thyme to the Basil.

Fresh Tuscan Pasta Sauce

1 Med-Lg Onion

1-2 T Olive Oil

2-3 Cloves Garlic (chopped)

Large Can (28 oz?) Diced Tomatoes

Handful stems Fresh Basil OR Thyme (I prefer Thyme, Basil is sweeter) - chopped

Salt & Pepper

Drizzle olive oil over bottom of large sauce pan - enough to coat, plus a bit.

Add diced onions, cook (stirring occasionally) until slightly translucent.

Add minced garlic, cook until onions are fully translucent - to prevent burning, add a healthy pinch of salt to the garlic/onions.

Add can of diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer (lightly bubbling - not boiling)- stir frequently.

Once it's reduced where dipping a spoon in the mixture leaves a "residue" on the back of the spoon, add fresh herbs, a few cranks of fresh pepper and season to taste with salt.

**For additional sweetness, add 1/4 C fresh grated carrot with the onions at the start. For a special "zing" add a tiny pinch of cinnamon when seasoning at the end.

Curry Burgers

I've been playing with different burger recipes lately and this is one Kelly said i should post. I originally made it for two, so that's the recipe i'll give you. You should be able to increase it accordingly in equal parts for each patty you add.


Ingredients:

• 2 Angus burger patties (Wal-Mart)
• 2 Slices of sharp cheddar cheese
• Red onion
• Pineapple chunks
• Diced garlic
• Fresh baby spinach
• Red curry powder
• Mustard
• Peanut butter
• 4 Slices wheat bread
• Peanut oil
• Black pepper
• Garlic salt

Directions:

1. Chop 1/4 of your red onion into strips.
2. Cut 1/4 of a can of pineapple chunks in half (fits easier on the burger).
3. Get 2 handfuls of spinach out.
4. In a good frying pan put a table spoon of peanut oil in and heat to 3/4 heat.
5. Add your hamburger patties, sprinkling red curry powder on top. Let fry.
6. Cook burger until the bottom half has browned, then flip.
7. In the same pan as the burgers, add your pineapple, red onion, and a heaping spoonful of garlic on one side.
8. Let this cook until the bottom of the burger has browned.
9. Once the burger is the desired level of cooked, add spinach over the veggies and put your cheddar slices directly on top of the patties.
10. Sprinkle with pepper and garlic salt, then cover with a lid.
11. Have your bread toasted and on one slice spread your peanut butter. On the other add your mustard.
12. After a minute, the cheese should be melted. Put burgers directly on the peanut buttered bread.
13. Stir your veggies. The spinach should be wilted and the veggies just starting to brown.
14. Pour equal parts on top of your patties and put on the mustard bread slice.
15. Serve fresh with your choice of sides.

Notes:
If you want more heat from your curry, when you flip the burger, sprinkle more on, or even add some to your veggies.

Penne Rustica

This is my favorite meal. Period. I first tried something like it (same name, little different composition) at Macaroni Grill because of Mr. Jon Blevins accolades of tastiness. After that, I tried to duplicate it to my own standards and think it actually tastes better than the original (*note* I’m not making this for a customer, but for myself and am not skimping on any ingredients, ie. love). This is by no means a health meal. This is a guilty pleasure that I only fix once in a blue moon, but am always exceptionally pleased when I do so (and apparently so is Kelly).
This usually makes anywhere from 4-6 servings.


Ingredients:

• 5-6 breaded chicken strips
• ½ bag peel baby shrimp
• 1/3 stick of butter
• 8 thin slices of ham or an equal amount of pancetta or bacon
• Grated cheddar cheese
• Grated mozzarella cheese
• Grated parmesan cheese
• 1 large can of pizza sauce (any flavor)
• 1 box of penne pasta
• Minced garlic
• Olive oil
• Pizza seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme)
• Garlic salt
• Optional: Mushroom

Directions:
**Note** -- Try to time all steps so that they finish approximately at the same time. This makes for a hot and gooey meal when you plate it up.

Step 1:

1. Following the directions on your bag of chicken strips, put 5-6 good sized piece in the oven or deep fryer and start them cooking.
2. Once they are done, cut strips into small “fajita” sized pieces. (*Please remember the chicken is hot and will burn you. Use cautions when cutting.*)

Step 2:

1. Start a large pot of water boiling. Add a dash of garlic salt and a little olive oil.
2. Once a rolling boil is achieved, add the box of penne pasta.
3. Cook as noted on packaging for an al dente noodle.
4. Drain.

Step 3:

1. Cut up your ham/bacon/pancetta into small pieces.
2. In a small pan, add a liberal bit of olive oil and your butter.
3. Heat until the butter is melted.
4. Add shrimp and cook until thawed.
5. Add a large spoonful of minced garlic.
6. Cook until shrimp is done.
7. Add the can of pizza sauce to a sauce pan and start heating.
8. Once sauce is warm, add the contents of your small pan, another spoonful of olive oil, a liberal dash of seasonings and garlic salt, your ham/bacon/pancetta, (mushrooms if desired,) and cover. Let simmer over a low heat.

To plate:

1. On your plate/bowl first add a serving of the penne pasta.
2. Add on top of that a helping of mozzarella cheese.
3. Next add a serving of sliced chicken.
4. Pour a nice serving of the sauce over this.
5. Finally, add a serving of cheddar cheese and a good shake of parmesan on top.

Notes:
Once you’ve finished your meal, take your pasta, leftover chicken, and your sauce and put it together into a container. Mix thoroughly. Let it sit for a couple of days in the fridge. Microwave, adding a little water and olive oil, and serve with your three cheeses mixed in. This is actually better to me than the first go around, since the flavors in the container have had time to meld together. This can be frozen for a while, but i still recommend a few days in the fridge to let the flavors really mix before freezing.

If you use bacon, I recommend cooking it seperately and then adding it when you would the ham.

If you use mushrooms, I'd either go w/ the presliced canned kind or I'd buy a fresh box and cut them into either 1/2's or 1/4's.

Preferred drink: Long Island Ice Tea

Garbage Plates: A Rochester "Tradition"

Garbage plates are a staple in the Rochester area of Western New York. When my ex-boyfriend and his best friend first described them to me, I shivered in horror and declared I would eat one over my dead body, or something equally dramatic. Not hard to believe, looking at the picture (from a Rochester restaurant, not from my kitchen).

What sort of concoction could elicit this type of initial response? Well, it's some combination of meats, condiments, macaroni salad, baked beans, onions, and, according to the Rochester Wiki article linked above, sometimes even a grilled cheese sandwich or fried fish.. a smorgasbord of.. well, garbage. The "grosser*" the finished product looks, the better it is, according to the "experts" who taught me all about this dubious delicacy.

Assorted Sides

These sides are specifically in reference to the "Tilapia" post i just put up, but they really work in whatever meal you think they'd go good with.

Tilapia

I do not enjoy “fishy” tasting food, but Kelly turned me onto tilapia a while back and it is now a staple food around our house. It has no fishy taste and cooks up very flaky and moist when done right. It also picks up flavors very well, so can be used in many different ways. Plus, it is quite healthy for you, so that doesn’t hurt.

What I’m going to do is list a few of the different ways that I’ve tried preparing it. The basic steps are going to be the same, just the ingredients will be different (for the most part). Each recipe will be for 2 servings (ie. when I fix it for Kelly and myself), but can easily be expanded by just increasing the ingredients accordingly. I’ll also give some side suggestions in the following post to expand each into a meal. This is an actual example of how to eat very healthy and enjoy what you are eating.

Death by Chocolate

This is a very chocolaty dessert. It is so good that, at my wedding, it was gone before we ever got through with our receiving line. Yey for freeloaders eating my food! I blame Jon (both for posting this for Leah and for any annoyances that occurred during my wedding... just because).

Chicago Style Hot Dog

The self-declared King of Hot Dogs hails from Chicago, IL. It's truly a local favorite. Chicago has more hot dog stands than McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger Kings combined. I have to admit I was skeptical at first... no ketchup?! Hot peppers? SWEET pickle relish? Never would I have assented to murder a perfectly good sausage with such goofy condiments... unless I had a very good reason. Can nearly 10 million Chicagoans be wrong? My discovery was: no. There's a reason your typical Chicago native is portrayed like the chubby, hearty, life-loving Chris Farley (see left)... and that reason, I believe, is the Chicago Style Hot Dog. A delicious blend of beef sausage, a poppyseed bun and an entire backyard garden's worth of vegetables. I brought plenty of backup dogs, buns and condiments (including ketchup & sauerkraut) for those of our number who might not care for the overloaded Chicago dog but all 5 of us cleared our plates and Z and I both went back for seconds.

On to the recipe (this is for a single Chicago Dog, duplicate for each additional)...

Mushroom/veggie soup

A rich and flavorful soup that is easy to make. Serves 3-4.

Curry coconut squash

This can be a very spicy or very mellow dish, depending on how you fix it. The proportion I fix will feed 3-4 people.