Alex's Marinara Sauce

A couple of weeks ago, Alex made homemade marinara sauce and it was absolutely delicious. He made it again the other day and I asked him to give me the recipe so I could post it here. Below is the recipe as he wrote it, including his comments. I'm copying it word for word because it's kind of funny and cute.

Ingredients:

Blend:

6 Tomatoes
1 Onion
3-4 Cloves Garlic

(for those with smaller blenders, you can split things up.)

It is now a weird smelling light red tomato juice. Pour into saucepan.

Add

1/4-1/2 cup favorite red wine (colour)
1/4 tsp oregano (cliche)
1/8 tsp sage (secret ingredient, leave it out if it ain't your thang)
1/8 tsp dried bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt (add to taste)
1-2 tbsp sugar

Now simmer to reduce it. This can take a while depending on how much attention you can give it. If you are watching it like a hawk, you can crank the heat and stir it constantly. However, like most people, I have other things to do.


Simmer at low heat for about an hour, stirring it up regularly. Until you have your desired consistency. If it's not zippy enough, you can add some cayenne or black pepper to it.

Serve with your favorite pasta, a meatball, or whatever.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

This recipe showed up on my FB news feed (a friend had shared it) and I immediately shared it on my own timeline so I could go back to it.

It came from here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/candaceshealthyfriends (not sure if it's elsewhere online or not, I'm trying to give credit where credit is due). And it's SO EASY AND SO DELICIOUS.

1 lb ground beef

1 can/jar spaghetti sauce

6 uncooked lasagna noodles

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese*

Brown ground beef and drain.

Spoon about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the crock pot. Mix the rest of the spaghetti sauce in with the ground beef.

Place 2 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce in the crock pot.

Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture over the noodles. Then spread 1/2 cup cottage cheese over the meat. Top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella. 

Add another layer of noodles, meat, cottage cheese and mozzarella, then do it again once more. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the very top.

Cook on low for 4 hours. Do not cook longer than that, as it will get overdone.

*I actually used about 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. :)

Beef Pot Pie

Had to do something with starting to go freezer-burnt stew meat. Alex said "beef pot pie!" so I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com and made it. I followed the recipe almost exactly (except I used 4 potatoes instead of 3), but next time I think I would mix the gravy in with the meat/veggies instead of putting it on top. However, it still turned out fantastic and I will most definitely be doing it again.

1 pound of beef, cubed

1 can (14 oz) beef broth

3 large carrots, diced

3 potatoes, cubed

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/3 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

2 9-inch refrigerator pie crusts

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, brown the pieces of meat on all sides. Pour in some water to almost cover*. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until meat is tender and falls apart easily (about 2-3 hours). Transfer meat to a large mixing bowl. Shred the meat and add salt and pepper to taste.

2. In another saucepan over medium heat,  pour in beef broth** and add carrots and potatoes. Cook until almost done, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. When the carrots and potatoes are done, transfer to the large mixing bowl with the beef, leaving the liquid in the pan. Combine the peas in with the carrots, potatoes and beef.

5. Dissolve the cornstarch with the 1/3 cup of water. Pour into the saucepan of beef broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Line a 9-inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts, following the package instructions. Place the beef mixture into the pie crust. Pour the gravy over top of the mixture, then cover with the other pie crust. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes***. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

*I had to keep replenishing the water over the course of the 2 hours I cooked the beef because it kept evaporating (as water will do).

**Recipe calls for a 14 oz can of beef broth. I only had a 10 oz can. So I used the water that was left over at the end of the beef-cooking to make up the difference.

***My pie crust was not golden brown after only 25 minutes. In my oven at 350F it took 40 minutes. I would say put it in for 25 and then check it and add time accordingly, checking every so often.

Easy Chicken Casserole

I wanted to do something different with the chicken breasts I had taken out, so I made a casserole. It was really simple and turned out amazing. The crappy thing is, I don't measure anything, so these are just a rough estimate.

1 1/2 cups shell pasta
3 chicken breasts, cut into small bite sized pieces
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

While pasta is cooking, cook diced chicken breasts in some olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet. When pasta is cooked, drain, and mix with the chicken. Add can of cream of mushroom soup and about 1/2 cup (or half the empty soup can) of milk and mix thoroughly until everything is creamy. Transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and then cover with shredded cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Garlic Potato Bake

Alex invented this "treat" as he calls it, the other night. He didn't put ALL the potatoes he made into this, he left some out (after step 1) for Charlie and I because we don't like tomatoes. He said it was absolutely amazing. I didn't get a picture, but will the next time he makes it for himself.

1 lb peeled potatoes
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 diced tomato
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Boil potatoes until they are cooked. Mash with butter, milk, salt and garlic powder.

2. Place potatoes in the bottom of a greased loaf pan. Top with tomato and parmesan cheese.

3. Bake in oven at 425F for 20 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have been wanting to make chocolate chip muffins for awhile now. Today, I found a recipe and tonight I made them.

O.M.G. These are so good. Amazingly so.

First, the website I got them at is http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/01/17/bakery-style-chocolate-chip-muffins/ She deserves all the credit, and you should read that post just because it's kind of awesome. And so are the pictures. Much better than mine. LOL.

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional, I chose not to do it because I couldn't find coarse sugar at the store)

Preheat oven to 425F. Grease muffin tin (or line with paper cups) and set aside.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk eggs and sugar, then add milk, oil and vanilla and mix.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix together using a wooden spoon, until all the flour is off the bottom and there are no pockets of flour in the mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon/pour batter into the muffin tin, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar, if you're doing that.

Bake in the 425F oven for 5 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 375F and bake for another 13 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken

I wish I knew where I found this recipe, so I could give whoever came up with it credit. But alas, I found it somewhere online, copied/pasted it to a sticky and long forgot where it came from. Tonight though, I made it and holy toledo is it ever good! We will definitely make this again.

4-6 chicken breasts or thighs (I actually used 3 chicken breasts)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup vinegar

1/4 cup lemon-lime soda

2-3 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 Tablespoons corn starch

2 Tablespoons water

Rice or noodles, cooked

Red pepper flakes (optional) 

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken in slow cooker (frozen or thawed, doesn't matter). Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce and pepper. Pour over chicken.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours (that's what I did). 

I actually skipped this next step and may try it next time, but may not because it was awesome without doing it.

Take chicken out of the cooker and pour remaining sauce into a saucepan. Place over high heat. Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan and mix well. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two.

Serve chicken over rice or noodles and top with glaze. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes if desired (I didn't do that either).

We had ours with basmati rice. It would definitely be good with pasta too. 

Sorry for the somewhat crappy picture. I just took a quick one with my phone.