Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

So I did something totally amazing and out of character for me-- two somethings actually. My Dad gave me a bunch of tomatoes, and I didn't want to see them go to waste. Around here fresh produce doesn't seem to last long, and that's not because we eat it. I didn't see the story of these tomatoes ending any differently since we now have a 3 week old baby in our house, and anything that takes more effort than pushing some buttons on a microwave has been out of the question as far as food goes.

Well needing to use tomatoes, my Mom's suggestion to make things and freeze them, the desire to attempt making my own spaghetti sauce and an unexplained burst of will and energy led me to doing something extraordinary-- in my book at least. Not only did I make sauce with fresh tomatoes and onions, I made a couple batches. And not only did I make a couple batches I-- are you ready for it-- split the batches and froze them!
It was amazing!

So here is my spaghetti sauce recipe:

Dice 1 and a half onions-- I used white onions.

Put the onions in a pot with 4 tablespoons of butter.

Cook the onions in the butter until they are transparent.

I then added 4-5 tomatoes diced.

Then came 5 cans of tomato sauce. I think they were the 15 oz size.

I stirred everything together and added some seasonings.

I added, to taste:

Garlic powder
Italian seasonings
Parsley
Salt and pepper

I cooked it for a good hour, let it cool, split it equally into good serving sizes and stuck it in the freezer.

My husband loved it so much he excitedly licked the pan after I had split it all up.

Some Stuffing for Thanksgiving!

I found this recipe on the internet. It is DELICIOUS!!!

Cornbread Stuffing

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

mix together:

2 (8.5 ounce) packages of cornbread muffin mix
1 (8 ounce) can of cream-style corn
2 eggs
1/2 cup of yogurt
1/4 cup of milk

Do not over mix. Just mix until it is moistened. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

* I should note that this cornbread recipe is delicious. I was licking the bowl in a frenzy. I have never tasted cornbread batter that was so good!

In a skillet:

Melt 1/2 cup of butter

Then add:

1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery
1 green bell pepper finely chopped
4 cloves of minced garlic, or about 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic powder

Saute in butter, over medium heat.

When onion is tender, add:

2 teaspoons of Thyme
1 teaspoon of dried Basil
2 teaspoons of dried Oregano
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper

Crumble the baked cornbread and put combine with other ingredients from the skillet

Then add:

1 to 2 (14.5 ounce) cans of chicken broth-- add until stuffing is to desired consistency.

Other Thanksgiving recipes!

Breakfast to Chicken Breast

Yet another recipe my husband wanted me to share. This one is very basic and simple.

Prep

Take a chicken breast. Cut it into strips. Crack an egg or two-- you'd be surprised how far one egg can go in this situation. Scramble with a fork a little-- do not cook. Take your favorite breakfast cereal,-- I'd avoid the tooty fruity one's and stick with ones like regular captain crunch, or possibly frosted flakes-- we chose Honey Bunches of Oats, and crunch it up somehow. You can stick it in the blender or just use a rolling pin if you like. After you have crunched it up place it in bowl.

Make

Now take your uncooked chicken strips and dip them in the eggs. Then dip them in the cereal until they are covered.

Bake

Bake at 350 or higher, or broil, until fully cooked. Serve any way you like-- on a sandwich, with dipping sauces, as a main course to a fancy meal, etc.

Suggestions

Having the chicken fully thawed may make it easier to get it fully covered in egg and cereal. You can just prepare the whole chicken breast this way, without cutting it into strips, but I recommend cutting it because it cooks a little better.

*I just learned a new secret for making chicken like this. Give the chicken a light coating of flour before you dip it in the egg. The flour will help the egg stick better.

Crepes

This recipe came from my best friends family. It is indeed delicious. I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Crepes

Combine in a large bowl:

2 cups of flower
1/4 teaspoon of salt
4 eggs
2 and 1/4 of milk
1/4 cup of melted butter

Beat well and refrigerate for 1 hour. Heat a 6 inch skillet over medium heat and brush with butter or oil. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan and quickly tap so batter is all over the pan. Cook 1 minute, flip and repeat. Repeat until all of the batter is cooked.

Filling

In a separate bowl combine:

2 cups of cottage cheese
3 oz of softened cream cheese
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 tablespoons of butter

Blend ingredients together. Spread 2 tablespoons of mix in the center of crepes . Fold crepes and then lightly brown each side in a skillet. Top with fruits, caramel or chocolate sauce or whatever else you desire.

Sweet Bean Soup

An inventive lunch indeed. It was so simple I thought nothing of it, but my husband requested I share it.

Sweet Bean Soup

In a sauce pan combine

1 can of pinto beans (undrained)
1 can of black beans (undrained)
1/2 a tomato diced
1/2 a red onion diced
2-4 tablespoons of sugar or sweetener

Bring to a boil. Let simmer if desired and serve.

Strawberries and Cream

My husband loves strawberries and cream and he asks for it all the time. The only problem is we always seem to have strawberries and no cream. Well one night for dessert I decided to invent my own cream. I modified a pudding recipe and came up with this:

Strawberries

I like to slice my strawberries and then sweeten the in a bowl. I'll do a handful of strawberry slices and sprinkle some sweetener on top. Then another handful of strawberry slices and another sprinkling of sweetener until all the strawberry slices have been sweetened.

Cream

Scramble two eggs in a bowl. Do not cook them. Just set them aside

In a sauce pan mix together:

3/4 cup of sugar
2 Tablespoons of corn starch
3 cups of milk
1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 tablespoon of butter

Bring mixture to a low boil. Then pour some of the mixture into the bowl with the eggs. Stir the eggs vigorously as you do so. This will cook the eggs, but keep them from becoming clumps in the cream. Combine all of the mixture together and serve over cut and sweetened strawberries.

The Story of My First Lasagna

I loved Lasagna when I was little. It was my favorite food. My mom would make it from scratch then, but, me being so young, I didn't ever take part in the making of the lasagna. Then one Sunday I took on the task of making lasagna all on my own. I had a couple recipes to choose from, plus an idea of what to simply do in my head. I combined all these together to create this: My First Lasagna!

Sauce:

16 oz package of sausage cooked with half an onion diced

14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Powder

1 cup of spaghetti sauce-- I use Tone's Spaghetti seasoning and make the recipe that makes 4 cups

1 small can of tomato paste

Add to taste:

Basil

Oregano

Italian seasoning

Cheese Mixture

15 oz container of Ricotta

1/4 cup of Parmesan

1 egg

Add to Taste:

Parsley

Cook 1 box of lasagna noodles.

Layer 1: Sauce
Layer 2: noodles
Layer 3: cheese mixture
Layer 4: noodles

Repeat until all ingredients are gone. Try to top off with the sauce. When completed pour remaining Spaghetti sauce on top. Cover with Mozarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.