The Best Pasta Sauce Ever Do me a favor: MAKE THIS PASTA SAUCE FOR DINNER TONIGHT! I think you’ll thank me. It’s absolutely, positively, hands down, 100% the best pasta sauce I have ever tasted. And I’ve had a lot of pasta sauce experience so you must understand how bold of a statement I just made. The best part is: I made it myself! I know. But, through my love of Italian restaurants, I developed a love for vodka sauce, a sweet mixture of tomato and cream with a hint of spice from the vodka. But truthfully, I think the secret is the shallots. Anyway, I couldn’t be more proud of my concoction that I just needed to share it with the rest of the world. Step 1: Chop up 1 lg. shallot, 2 cloves garlic and 1/4 onion. Need a new saucepan? Step 2: Add canned tomatoes (make sure to drain the liquid!) Step 3: Add cream and vodka. When it’s done, it should look like this: …a simmering bowl of delicious tomato-ey creamy wonderfully flavored goodness! Now, pour it over some pasta. Delicious Homemade Vodka Sauce Ingredients
7 Up Biscuit Recipe 7 UP Biscuits ( I used Sprite)2 cups Bisquick (coupon HERE)1/2 cup sour cream1/2 cup 7-up or other lemon lime soda1/4 cup melted butter Cut sour cream into biscuit mix, add 7-Up. Makes a very soft dough.Sprinkle additional biscuit mix on board or table and pat dough out. ( I made drop biscuits) Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch square pan. Place cut biscuits in pan and bake at 450 degrees until golden brown. My review- They are awesome.
Chili & Cheese Macaroni Comfort food is always welcome on the table. In our house, we love macaroni and cheese along with the different variations. To prove it, I shared 12 mac & cheese recipes along with a version using buttermilk not too long ago. So here's another version to add to our growing list of mac & cheese variations. This time, I incorporated some favorite hot dog toppings, chili and cheese. Chili & Cheese Macaroni recipe slightly adapted from Cook's Illustrated table salt 1/2 pound elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked pasta) 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (85% lean) 2 medium onions, chopped 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped 6 garlic cloves, minced 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes 1 tablespoon light brown sugar 12 oz Colby Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 1/2 cups) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.
Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers I like to stuff stuff. Chicken, turkey, tacos, bras, cookies, potatoes, brownies, bellies… any old thing, really. It’s almost always a fabulous idea (well, not the bra one). Take these skinny red peppers for example. They would have been happy, relieved even, to just sun themselves on the grill and mingle with black beans and rice. But how could I let them? So go. Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cut a long slit, lengthwise, along the center of each pepper. Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan set over medium heat and add your chopped onion. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add your drained and rinsed black beans along with 1/4 cup water. Stir in your spices. Cover, set the heat to low, and let the beans simmer in spices for at least 15 minutes but the longer the better. After simmering, the beans should be thick and slightly mushy. Add corn and stir to combine. (serves 2)
Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Chinese Buffet at Home It is no secret that I have an obsession with Chinese cuisine. The place that started it all was a local Chinese buffet here in Michigan. After frequent visits to the buffet over the years, I finally decided to take a stab at cooking my own Chinese dishes at home. The majority of the dishes were delicious and I began cooking different Chinese meals every week, but I had always wanted more variety just like the buffet. I had always wondered, “what if I could create a Chinese buffet at home?” I have wanted to do this for along time so I was very excited when I was chosen to be part of the 24,24,24 event presented by Foodbuzz. In this article I will explain how to create your own Chinese buffet at home. The Menu:Main course- Sesame Chicken Orange Chicken Kung Pao Chicken Meat on a Stick (Chicken Skewers)Appetizers- Crab Rangoons Egg RollsSide Dishes- Garlic Green Beans Fried Rice Egg Drop SoupDessert- Buffet Style Doughnuts The Recipes: Sesame Chicken- Cooking Instructions: Orange Chicken-
gnocchi with a grater Do you ever feel like a kitchen incompetent? That despite what seems like The Entire Rest of the World being able to cook something flawlessly, even going so far as to boast, “This is so EASY to make!” each and every time you try it, you fail? Believe me, it’s not just you. Before this past weekend, nothing made me feel more unskilled and less deserving of your readership than gnocchi, which was a damned shame because it’s probably my favorite pasta in the entire world. After reading countless accounts by others about what a “cinch” gnocchi is to make and how you will “never buy it frozen again,” I tried to make it about a year ago and it was a complete and total disaster. I’ll own up to this from the outset: it’s my fault. You hear all that? So, if I know what went wrong and why, why didn’t I get a potato ricer and try it again? But last week, I saw a technique on About.com that was so cunningly ingenious, I was unable to resist trying again. Gnocchi Adapted from About.com
Baked Zucchini Sticks and Sweet Onion Dip: that bloomin’ zucchini! Today, class, it being late July and all, we’re going to examine our zucchini facts: •Zucchini is always at the end of any A-to-Z food list; •Zucchini and fruitcake are the undeserving targets of many a joke; •The zucchini plant literally grows like a weed, making it absolutely ubiquitous in vegetable gardens across America; •And for that reason, enterprising cooks have discovered ways to turn it into muffins, and cake, and pancakes, and… Baked Zucchini Sticks. You know that onion appetizer that came into bloom back in the late ’80s? These zucchini sticks, with their melty-soft interior and crisp crust, are reminiscent of those onions – and equally addictive, especially when served with their special onion-mustard dip. Ready to go beyond muffins, bread, kebabs, and frittata? First, find yourself 3 medium-size zucchini, about 9″ to 10″ long. That won’t be hard at this time of the year, right? Cut each zucchini into 3″ sticks about the diameter of your finger. Process until fairly smooth.
Cajun Chicken Pasta Recipe There are so many good chicken pasta dishes out there but this recipe for Cajun chicken pasta is definitely one of the best! Cajun chicken pasta is Cajun seasoned chicken tossed with a cream sauce and linguini. The highlight of this recipe is the cream sauce, this well seasoned alfredo style sauce is nothing short of amazing. Ingredients: 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small strips) 4 ounces linguini (cooked all dente) 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning 2 tablespoons butter 1 green onion (thinly sliced) 2 cups heavy whipping cream 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (chopped) ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon dried basil 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder ¼ cup parmesan cheese Cooking Instructions: Step 1: Place chicken strips and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, toss the chicken with the seasoning until the chicken strips evenly coated with the seasoning.Step 2: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter.
Perfect Mac-n-Cheese « My Cooking Quest November 13, 2008 by joejhorn A few weeks ago I started a quest for some good mac and cheese. Nancy makes a killer mac-n-cheese but I wanted my own. My first attempt was with a Jamie Oliver version that didn’t include a bechamel sauce but instead called for mixing the cooked pasta with the cheese and then baking it. The second version, I made a few nights ago for my best bud Chad, Nancy and the boys. Chad is up from San Francisco and has been visiting for the past week. Last night was particularly funny though since you can customize your player characters. Well back to the mac-n-cheese. Chad, who is like me, super-competitive and a bit of a perfectionist said “Let’s do it again and do it right this time!” Perfect Mac-n-Cheese (serves 4 as a side dish) 8 ounces penne pasta (half a box)2 cups Beecher’s Flagship Cheese Sauce (see below)1 ounce Cheddar, grated1 ounce Gruyere cheese, grated1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove from the heat. Like this:
Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup: A Secret Recipe Club Reveal Every month I get so excited about my next Secret Recipe Club assignment. Secret what? If you haven’t already heard about the club, it’s a club where bloggers are assigned another club member’s blog. The idea is to cook one of their recipes and post on reveal day. This is the brain child of Amanda from Amanda’s Cookin’, currently there are four groups. This month I got Rachel from The Avid Appetite. I had to choose a recipe but narrowing things done is always difficult. I recently bought a Cucina Pro tortilla maker/cooker and had not made tortillas yet (I’ve made Lefse with it) so I thought I’d make my own tortillas and have some on hand for whenever the tortilla pizza bug hit me. Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup. In addition to using the green bell pepper that Rachel’s recipe called for I used some of my newest favorite vegetable, the sweet mini peppers plus a jalapeno. I’m a lazy cook for sure, most of the time I like food bold and simple to prepare. Una Sopa Perfecta! Ingredients Notes
Chicken Stuffed Shells Recipe I love stuffed shells… From Italian and taco stuffed shells all the way to chicken stuffed shells. Chicken stuffed shells are a great way to make good use of left over chicken. I have seen many different recipes all using different methods but I decided to try this one. I prefer Italian flavors over cream of mushrooms soup and such. Even though I am not a big fan of ricotta cheese a lot of it goes into this recipe. Ingredients: 1 box jumbo uncooked pasta shells 6 garlic cloves (minced) 2 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded) 1 (30 oz) container ricotta cheese 1/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs 1 ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley 6 basil leaves (torn) 1/3 cup half and half 28 oz pasta sauce ¼ cup parmesan cheese 1 cup mozzarella cheese Cooking Instructions: Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe at Epicurious Preparation Into a bowl sift together the flour, the ground ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves, the allspice, and the salt. In another bowl cream 1/2 stick of the butter, add the granulated sugar, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy. Beat in the molasses and the egg, beating until the mixture is smooth. In a measuring cup combine the baking soda with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir the mixture to dissolve the baking soda. In a bowl cream together the cream cheese, and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, add the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy and smooth.