Pasta Sauce

About once every two months I make a huge pot of pasta sauce. The thing I love about pasta is that it's very quick to fix, once you have the sauce. And there's quite a few variations.

In my sauce, I put

2 lbs hamburger meat
1 package hot (or mild) italian sausages
3 reg size jars traditional prego spaghetti sauce
1 onion chopped
1 green, yellow, red, and orange bell peppers, diced
garlic powder, salt and pepper, italian seasoning.

1. In a crockpot, pour the spaghetti sauce, add veggies and stir. (low heat)
2. In a large skillet cook the hamburger meat and sausages (skins off) til done. While cooking add salt and pepper and italian seasoning. When cooked thru, drain, and add to sauce.
3. I like to let my sauce simmer in the crockpot for 3-6 hours. Add the garlic powder to taste.
4. At the end of the day, turn off crockpot and let sauce cool. Once it's about room temp, I pour 3 cups of sauce into large gallon size freezer ziplock baggies. This will make about 5 bags. When i'm ready to make them, I just take out of freezer, plop bag in a bowl of lukewarm water to thaw for 30-45 minutes, then pour into a bowl with a can of tomato sauce and microwave.

Tonight we're having spaghetti, but on the menu for the next month is tortelli (the premade kind in the grocery store), rigatonni (penne pasta cooked, sauce, and 1 cup shredded colby jack cheese added in the last 5 minutes to melt), ravioli, and maybe some manicotti. It's great and cheap. The sauce costs about $20 total (that's $4 a meal), the pasta $1-4, so it's my fall back when i need to really stretch those pennies.

Hamburger and My George Foreman Grill

I have a problem with kitchen gadgets. I have mroe than I have counter space. The food processor, blender, and several small hand held gadgets have a home in one of the bottom counter. On top are my rice maker, crockpot, and kitchen aid mixer (which I just love!!!). I try to avoid the kitchen section of most stores (as well as the shoe section) so I have heard of but never tried the George Foreman Grill. Emily, my best friend, swears by this thing. She says it's just perfect cuz on those nites where she's experimenting with a new recipe or just doesnt feel like cooking her boyfriend can fix himself a hamburger and viola, dinners done. Well, I try to avoid 1)adding to the collection and 2)following the trends (ha), so I was a bit surprised on my birthday when my parents got me a George Foremand Grill and a Pizzazz Pizza Oven by Presto.

They've both been sitting, still in the box, in the corner of the living room. I was afraid to open them because I have NO where to put them. But last night I decided to fix hamburgers. This decision was made because of the left over meat and hamburger buns from the previous nite of taco burgers. I hate wasting food and it was either that or the hamburger helper.

Now to say i'm a novice in the kitchen is incorrect. Blonde, yes. I couldnt cook a hamburger to save my life. Dont ask me how but I always find a way to either get it to stick to the pan or fall apart. So when I announced I was going to attempt, yet again, this feat, Vinnie suggested I try the GF grill.

I have found my new best friend. OMG this thing is awesome!! Just plug it in, let it warm up, put the burgers on, drop the lid, set the timer, and presto chango dinner is done. I am in love. I didnt get burned by popping grease, the burgers got completely cooked thru, and I was able to get the rest of the kitchen clean while they were cooking instead of standing over a (violent) stove. Can I have a Amen?

It comes with a handy dandy instruction book that has several recipes that look very yummy. But last nite Vinnie fixed the patties. (I have this thing about sticking my hands in raw meat. It's too cold and my hands go numb. Dont ask). He added 1 cup of chopped dried onions, 1 1/2 cups A-1 sauce to 3 lbs hamburgers and they turned out just delicious. Pop some french fries in the oven, slice a tomato and call it a day.

I love easy dinner days.

Ps. The pizza oven is still in the box. Update later.

Mac n Cheese Variations

For the longest time I refused to eat Mac n cheese. While I was married to my first husband it was a daily staple. In his eyes you could have it for dinner everynite, just change it up. There was the little smokies, a can of chilli, hot dogs, and tuna. There were more but I cant remember (selective memory).

But the other day I was perusing my cupboards and found a box and thought, hmmm, what the heck. One of my favorite concoctions was always the tuna and peas. Great for lunch, get your vitamins, and easy to fix. So I thought today I would share the recipe (not that it's hard to figure out). I think i'm going to fix this for lunch tomorrow.

Ingredients

1 box mac and cheese
1 can tuna
1 can sweet pease (drained)

1. Fix mac and cheese as directed on box. Add drained can of tuna and peas. Let simmer for a few minutes. (I prefer this cold, so i'll fix it and store in fridge for a few hours).

Bar B Q Pork Chops

I got this recipe from my grandmother, and is one of my favorite. I remember eating these as a kid and fighting over the last one. They're very simple and cheap. In fact i've been told they were 'hillbilly' pork chops, mostly becasue i've always referred to them as 'ketchup pork chops'. I guess that just doesnt sound too appetizing to most people. It wasnt until i was dating a japanese guy who tasted them and said 'it's homemade bar-b-q'. Yay! Now when I say i'm making these no one is like 'uh what?'.

They cheap (the best part), sweet and tangy, and go great with mashed potatoes, cream corn, and buttermilk biscuits.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 pork chops
2 cups ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1 lemon sliced
Olive oil


1. Preheat oven to 375. Line Baking sheet with tin foil.
2. Gently rub the pork chops with the olive oil. Use just a drop for each one. (The oil makes the meat jucier).
3. In a bowl mix the ketchup and brown sugar. Slice the lemons. Totally coat the pork chops in the ketchup mixture, place on the baking sheet, and top with a slice of lemon.
4. Cook for 45 minutes.

Quickie Ham

I love having a ham dinner. With all the fixings of course. But i never have time during the week, so i started doing this just to have a nice dinner that wasnt hamburger helper.

And yes, this is my original recipe.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

2 large ham steaks (no bone)
2 cans coke
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbs ground cloves

1. Slice ham steaks into smaller pieces. In a bowl mix the other 3 ingredients. Place ham in a baking dish (i use a 8x8 metal pan). Pour coke mixture on top and stick in fridge. This is better the longer you marinade it, (dont forget to occasionally stir to make sure they all get well soaked), but i have done it in as little as 45 minutes and it was still good.
2. When ready to cook, cover dish with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375'.

Snicker Brownies

These brownies are super easy to make, cheap, and quick. The big 3. I found this recipe in a cookbook that i got at Borders bookstore, on one of their bargain books racks. It's "Everyone's first cookbook" , no author, by Mud Puddle Books.
Personally, I dont like these, simply because of the snickers. I love snickers, but since these have to go into the oven they melt (duh), and i cant stand cooked peanuts. Nothing grosses me out more. Well, maybe coffee. But i do love that these take like 3 minutes to prepare the batter, 30 minutes in the oven, and everyone else seems to love them. I make a 9x13 inch pan and it's gone in two days, and that's without my help.

Ingredients

2 (18 oz each) box german chocolate cake mix
3 sticks butter, melted
1 cup evaporated milk
2 king size snicker bars, cut into small slices

1. Preheat the oven to 350'. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients except the candy bars. Mix well until well blended. It's gonna be kind of gooey. Pour half of the batter into a greased, floured 9x13 inch bakin gpan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and place the candy bar slices evely over the brownies. Spread the remaining batter over top, and cook for another 25-30 minutes. (If you stick a toothpick in the middle to check for doneness, dont mistake the melted chocolate candy for brownie batter, like i did the first time).

Italian Bake Pork Chops

I got this recipe from one of Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade cookbooks. Now, I cant stand to watch this woman on tv, something about her just bugs the crap out of me, but I have found a few good recipes in her cookbooks.

This recipe is great for those nites where you're strapped for time. It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare, and while it's in the oven I fix some instant potatoes, veggies, crescent rolls, and toss a salad from the bag to the bowl. Nice and easy.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
4 pork chops
salt and pepper
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400'. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, oil, and italian seasoning. Smear mixture on both sides, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a pinch or two of cheese on both sides and press into pork chops. Place on baking sheet and bake for 25 mintues.