Pasta in Rose Cream Sauce

 

Pasta in Rose Cream Sauce

Heat a Dutch oven and add some olive oil.  Add 1 chopped onion and cook until soft.  Add some minced garlic and cook and stir together.  Add 1 1/2-pound ground beef* and cook all together.  Add some salt, pepper, and oregano.

Cook until the beef is browned, drain fat.

Add: 1 jar Rao Marinara Sauce

Mix together.  Add 1/2 lb. broken spaghetti over the top.  Add 1/2 jar water, then 1 jar Rao Garlic Alfredo Sauce.  Then sprinkle with handfuls of Mozzarella cheese.  Cover and cook on medium or medium low for 15 minutes.  Stir and cook another 15 minutes or until pasta is done and all is hot and bubbly.   Serve.

*You can leave out the meat if you want it meatless.

Brazilian Lemonade

 Our friends brought us these cool, refreshing drinks.  Perfect for a hot summer day!

Brazilian Lemonade

1 bottle lime juice (4.23 oz)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 cups ice cubes

1/2 cup water

Put all in the blender and blend until the ice is crushed.

So refreshing!!

Mystery Rolls

 I got this recipe from Ree Drummond- the Pioneer Woman.  She said her mother made these often.  They were easy and yummy.

Mystery Rolls 

1 can flaky biscuits 

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese or gorganzola cheese

1 stick butter

 Preheat oven to 350

Cut biscuits into fourths. Melt butter and cheese on a pan. Roll biscuit pieces in cheese and butter.

Bake until rolls are done.  8-12 minutes.

As the rolls bake, occasionally brush the rolls with the butter/cheese.

Hamburger Steaks in Onion/ Mushroom Gravy

 Do you ever watch Brenda Gandt videos on Facebook?  She is a cute southern lady who cooks simple Southern recipes right in her simple kitchen. 

 I wrote down this recipe while she cooked.  It is simple, but delicious.  This one is for your meat and potatoes man.

Hamburger Steaks in Onion Gravy

1 1/2 lb. hamburger

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper

Mix together and form into patties.  Melt butter and fry the patties on both sides.  Remove the meat and add flour, enough to soak up the grease.  Stir the flour with the meat drippings.  Add water (she used water, I chose beef broth) or beef broth to make a gravy.  In a separate fry pan, saute  2 onions sliced thin in butter.  Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until onions are soft and golden.  Add mushrooms (opt.  This is my addition) and continue to cook for awhile.  Add to the gravy and stir well. Put the meat back in the gravy and cook until it makes a nice gravy.  Serve over mashed potatoes.

This is comfort food at its best!

Pasta Bowls

 This is a technique I learned from the chefs at a resort where we stayed in Mexico.  They would make it to order right in front of you.  You can use any kind of pasta, sauce, and veggies to create your pasta bowl.

We did bowtie pasta with marinara sauce, meatball, chopped onion, mushrooms, garlic, and fresh tomatoes.

Pasta Bowls

Individual Pasta of choice: Rotelle, penne, farfalle, shells, etc.

Sauce/ sauces  of choice: marinara, meat sauce, alfredo

Chopped vegetables of choice: mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc.

Cook pasta according to directions.  While it is cooking:

Heat some oil in a small sauté pan.  Cook vegetables of choice until softened.

When the vegetables are cooked to your liking, add sauce of choice.  Stir and cook together until hot.  Add in cooked pasta.  Cook for a minute, then put on plate or in bowl and top with parmesan cheese.

Each individual can make their own, or you can do as big a batch as you like for as many as you like.  

Cranberry White Chocolate Bread

 Our cute next door neighbors bring us baked goods frequently.  The last she brought was this delicious Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Bread.  They brought it warm while Michelle and Brian were visiting, and it was devoured within minutes. I begged the recipe and was surprised how easy it is.  Like my neighbor said, "It's almost a crime how easy it is." I have made it several times.  You can easily double the recipe.  Eat one/ Share one.  You can alter this same basic recipe to make all kinds of breads.  See the suggestions below.  

You have to try this.  You will be glad.

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Bread

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp yeast

2 cups room temperature water- start with 1 1/2 cups and add more as needed.

Mix the flour, salt and yeast until combined in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of dried cranberries and  1 cup of white chocolate chips.  Add the water until it isn't dry, but not too wet.  Cover with saran wrap and let it sit for 6 to 24 hours. (That's a big window.  It rises slowly, so I think any time in there works.  I usually rise it overnight.)

 Then stir the risen bread once to release the air.  Grease a bread pan with oil.  Place the dough in the pan and let rise for an hour covered with a dish towel.  Bake at 400 for 30 minutes (put another bread pan on top or a dish).  After 30 minutes , take the covering off and bake another 10 minutes.  

Other options:

- Use 1 cup of wheat flour in place of 1 cup of the white flour

Instead of the cranberries and white chocolate chips, try adding:

-1/2 cup of shredded cheese and 1 diced jalapeno for Jalapeno Bread.

- 1/4 cup chopped almonds, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, and 1/4 cup flax seeds for nutty bread

-1/2 cup raisins and 2 tsps. cinnamon for cinnamon raisin bread

Broccoli Cheddar Rice Casserole

 This is not the exact recipe, but is reminiscent of a recipe my roommate in college would make.  We ate together, taking turns cooking, and she would often make her version of this recipe. It is an easy, meatless recipe, but you could add cooked chicken if you wish.  Or it could be served as a side dish.

Broccoli Rice Casserole

6 cups broccoli florets, chopped

2 cups cooked rice

4 T. butter

1 onion, diced

4 T. flour

2 cups whole milk

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. paprika

4 T. Cream cheese, softened

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Salt and Pepper

1 tube Ritz crackers, crushed

2 T. Butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 2  qut casserole dish.  On the stove in a large saucepan, melt the butter over med. low heat.  Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes, whisking.

Pour in the milk, whisking as you pour.  Cook over medium heat until mixture bubbles and thickens.  Remove from the heat and add the seasonings.  Stir.  Add the cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar cheese.  Stir until melted.  Season with salt and pepper.

Blanche the broccoli in salted water for 2 minutes.  Drain.  Stir together the rice, broccoli, and cheese sauce and transfer it to your prepared baking dish.  Top with remaining cheese.  Mix together the crackers and butter and sprinkle over the casserole.  Bake about 35 minutes.  The top should be golden and the casserole bubbly.