Just for Suzie


beefche
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Here ya go, Suzie.  

 

Spaghetti sauce

 

 

2 cans of crushed tomatoes

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 medium onion

2 cloves of garlic

olive oil

salt/pepper

fresh flat leaf parsley

Italian seasoning (dried kind)

dried oregano

dried summer savory

chili powder

red pepper flakes

paprika

 

 

I typically make a large batch of this and then freeze it.  I use this sauce for several things--pasta, meatball sandwich, lasagna, etc.

 

It's hard to give exact measures, because I don't use exact measures.  I use the palm of my hand to measure dried herbs/spices.  So, that's what you'll get.  

 

I use about 2 T of olive oil and dice the onion and saute until translucent.  I then finely chop the garlic and add that to the onions, stirring for about a minute (DO NOT BURN THE GARLIC).  

 

If I am making a meat sauce, this is where I would then add ground beef and cook until done.  If I'm freezing, then I do not add meat, although you can, but I like keeping it meatless.

 

Once the onions are translucent and the garlic has cooked for about a minute, I add the cans of tomatoes.  I used crushed tomatoes because I like the texture better.  I do add about 1 can of diced tomatoes for 2 cans of crushed (the diced will often have flavorings already added: diced with oregano, diced with Italian seasonings, or just plain diced).

 

I then use a palmful of Italian seasoning (that's about 2 tablespoons), a palmful of oregano, a 1/2 palm of summer savory (I add this to almost everything I make--love this!!), about 1/2 palm of chili powder (yes, you read that right), 1/2 palm of paprika, a pinch of red pepper flakes (depends on how spicy you want it) and salt/pepper to taste.

 

I let that cook for about 15 min or so.  Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired--I like it on the oregano-y side, so I usually add more Italian seasoning or oregano or both.  Let cook for as long as you want (I typically let it cook about 30 min).  At the end of the cooking, finely chop your fresh Italian flat leaf parsley and add it.  I use about 1/4 of a bunch of this for the 3 cans of tomatoes.  Because I make a large batch at a time and freeze, I typically use about 1/2 a bunch of parsley.

 

I like the flat leaf parsley better than the curly--better flavor and texture.  I also add it at the end.  Also, you'd be surprised at how much flavor the chili powder adds.  It really does make a difference.

 

Once the sauce has cooled, I then put it in containers (or you can use bags) to freeze.  It's so quick to take it out of the freezer, pop it in a pot with a lid and let it thaw/cook for a quick pasta that night.

 

I don't know how to can, but if I did, I'd find a way to can this.  I really do love my sauce.  Dravin often comments on how tasty it is.  I've just begun trying to make meatballs (can you believe I made them for the first time about a month ago???), and this sauce really makes a meatball sandwich absolutely divine.

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My goodness!!! a BIG THANK YOU Beefche!!!!! :) Loveeee your recipe!!! You are such a chef!!! Can I leave out the summer savory or will affect the flavor of the sauce? I am going to make a vegan lasagna on Thursday and I am going to use this!!!

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You can leave it out.  

 

You can also add other herbs.  Basil is great, with fresh being fantastic.  If fresh, I would add it at the same time as the parsley and use less (basil is very strong--I would use about 1/2 of what you use for parsley).  You can add thyme, rosemary, or anything else that you think would taste good.  I tried using Herbs de Province once and do NOT recommend using that in this sauce.  

 

Something else I do with the dried herbs is I crush them in my palm--that helps to release the flavor more quickly.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm gonna try making red beans and rice.  Dravin loves beans and is obsessed with Alton Brown.  So, I'm using Alton's recipe, but changing it a bit (Alton makes pickled pork for it that I have no intention of making).

 

I like using recipes to get a basis for how to make something....I almost always change it slightly when I'm making it.  If it's something that I will keep making, then I almost always change it more.  I'm not precise at all when cooking.  I rarely use measuring spoons or cups.  

 

As an aside, am I the only person who really, really likes "poorman's stroganoff?"  That's the ground beef with can of mushroom soup for the stroganoff.  I put in sour cream and mushrooms with a hefty amount of black pepper and serve it over egg noodles.  I really, really like it.  Dravin tolerates it.  I've heard that others really don't like it.  

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As an aside, am I the only person who really, really likes "poorman's stroganoff?"  That's the ground beef with can of mushroom soup for the stroganoff.  I put in sour cream and mushrooms with a hefty amount of black pepper and serve it over egg noodles.  I really, really like it.  Dravin tolerates it.  I've heard that others really don't like it.  

My Mom's poor man stroganoff was/is with sliced up or coarsly ground round steak. Onions, canned mushroom pieces sauteed then added to the meat. Cream of Mushroom, cream of celery soups, sour cream, black pepper to your hearts desire and go real easy with the salt. Sometimes Mom would get a good sized roast of beef on sale - cheaper than hamburger and she would grind it up into hamburger - THAT is when she would make stroganoff. 

 

Another of Mom's recipes is, ground beef, onions, celery, canned mushrooms, canned tomatoes (she used whole tomatoes and squished them in her hand- but that was before you could buy diced, crushed. Scramble the beef and cook till it is barely pink, add onions, celery (I also add green & red bell peppers) and cook till the onions are translucent. 

 

Add to cooked rice in a casserole or baking dish. The amounts depend on how many you wish to feed. I love this dish, so for me I use 6 cups of cooked rice, about 4 or 5 cans of diced and crushed tomatoes. Two or three small cans of mushroom slices, a medium onion, four ribs of celery, 1/4 to 1/2 of a bell pepper. One to one and a half pounds of ground beef. If it isn't wet enough - I add an 11oz. can of V-8 juice until it is rather moist. Now bake until it is hot through out and about half of the moisture is cooked down. Mom called this Spanish Rice. To make Goulash use macaroni (pasta shells, rotini, farfalle, noodles) in place of the rice. 

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So, we used Alton Brown's recipe for red beans and rice.  We substituted Andouille sausage instead of the pickled pork he calls for.

 

1 medium onion, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 t of dried thyme

1 t of hot sauce

3 bay leaves

1/2 t of cayenne pepper

salt/pepper

Andouille sausage, cut into bite sized pieces--I used about 12-16 oz (I don't remember how big the package was)

1 lb of red kidney beans, sorted and rinsed (no need to soak)

2 quarts of water

 

 

Saute the onion, pepper, and celery until softened.  Add the garlic and cook for about a 1-2 minutes more.  Add the thyme, hot sauce, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper (about 1 t of each -- I just add to taste).  Then add the beans, sausage and water.  Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for about 1.5 hours.  Stir occasionally.  Check the texture of the beans and if needed, continue to cook.  I cooked it overall for about 3 hrs.  Once you turn it off, let sit for 15 min or so and it will thicken.  Serve over cooked rice.

 

Some tips:  

 

1. I took out about a cup and 1/2 of the beans (picked out the sausage) and mashed them.  I used a potato masher.  Then I added that back in.  That will help it be thicker.  

 

2.  You can use whatever sausage you want.  I think smoked sausage would be good in this.  I used Andouille because I like the flavor and it has spice in it.  

 

3.  Be careful of the spice. If you are a wimp like me, then I wouldn't put in the cayenne until you've tasted it and determined if it has enough spice.  Andouille sausage is spicy so I was careful to add just a smidgen of cayenne.  Dravin wanted it spicier.

 

4.  It needed something smoky in it.  Next time I make it, I'm going to chop up about 6 pieces of bacon and cook that, then cook my veggies in that oil instead of the veggie oil I used.  If that doesn't give it enough smoke, then I will use a hamhock to get that smokiness in it.

 

5.  I also think it needed more thyme.  Next time, I am going to use 2 teaspoons instead of 1 to see if I can bring out that earthiness in it.

 

I didn't make enough rice, so we had some crusty bread that I dipped in mine.  YUM!  I liked it with rice and next time, I'll make more (I was using up a bag of white rice.  I'm making brown rice tonight for leftovers).  But, eating it with crusty bread was very good (the bread was a little stale, so soaking it in the beans was a tasty way to soften it).

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I made the cinnamon almonds last night.  Very simple to make.  But, I didn't care for the recipe I used.  It called for:

 

2 egg whites

1/3 c white sugar

1/3 c brown sugar

1 t salt

6 t vanilla

1/2 t cinnamon

6 c almonds 

 

Whisk egg whites until frothy.  Add vanilla, whisk to froth.  Add almonds and coat well.  Add dry mixture and coat well.  Spread on greased cookie sheet (or two as these are alot of almonds).  Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 30 min.  Turn at least once.  Once cooled, store in airtight container.

 

 

 

 

What I did was add only 3 teaspoons of vanilla and added a full 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.  I think that it needed more cinnamon (Dravin felt it was the right amount), but I should have used less almonds.  I wanted them coated a little better.  I found another recipe that I'm going to try tonight or tomorrow.  

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Here's the fun almonds recipe I use (haven't done it in a couple of years, though).  I've never dipped them in chocolate -- just the caramelizing process.  And it's fun, because you can flavor them however you want.  I've done a few variations: cinnamon and sugar, dark cocoa powder and sugar, chili powder and lime juice.

http://www.chefeddy.com/2009/12/caramelized-almonds/

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As an aside, am I the only person who really, really likes "poorman's stroganoff?"  That's the ground beef with can of mushroom soup for the stroganoff.  I put in sour cream and mushrooms with a hefty amount of black pepper and serve it over egg noodles. 

 

It's one of the few meals that everyone in our house loves. But we call it, "white trash stroganoff".  :blush:

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Ok, so here's my result from making cinnamon almonds.  Dravin approved this recipe:

 

2 egg whites

3 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

pinch of salt (1/2 t or less)

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

4 cups of almonds  (I use unsalted, raw almonds)

 

Pre-heat oven to 250.  Use whisk or fork to beat egg whites with vanilla until frothy.  Make it really frothy.  Add in the salt, sugars, and cinnamon.  Mix well.  Add in the almonds and mix really well.  You'll have more sugar stuff than almonds, so make sure you combine it really well to coat all almonds.

 

Place almonds onto a very well greased cookie sheet (I line it with aluminum foil and use cooking spray).  Spread out evenly and bake for about 30 min.  Be sure to stir the almonds a couple of times.  I didn't time this that much...I just estimate it'll be about 30 min.  As you stir the almonds, they will start to feel "dry."  Once I got that, I let them sit in the oven (I had turned off the oven) for about 10 min, so it was around 30 min total that they were in the oven.

 

Let cool (the sugar will harden on the almonds as they cool) and then store in airtight container.

 

 

Funny thing about this last batch.....I had mixed everything together (except the cinnamon), placed it on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven.  I kept thinking to myself that the mixture actually didn't smell nice, "This actually stinks...I wonder why I thought this smelled good???"  They were in the oven about 1 minute when I realized that I forgot to add the cinnamon.  So, I took them out and sprinkled cinnamon on them and stirred.  I didn't actually measure the cinnamon because I was in panic mode--I kept thinking I had to get the cinnamon on them quick! or they'll be ruined.  Turns out that cinnamon makes them smell divine.   :D

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  • 4 months later...

Sorry to resurrect an old thread.....ok, not really sorry.

 

I make 2 dishes that each time I eat them I comment that these are the best I've ever had.  One of them is anything with my spaghetti sauce (recipe above).  The other is my chicken salad.  I thought I'd share my chicken salad recipe.

 

Again, I don't measure when I cook.  So, I'll try to estimate as closely as I can.

 

1 whole chicken

about 1/3 cup of nuts (I typically use walnuts or almonds)...also I use my hand to measure, I end up using about a palmful plus a little more

about 1/3 cup of raisins or cranraisins (we use the cranraisins exclusively--same measurements as the nuts)

green onion (optional)

about 1/2 cup of mayo

fresh flat leaf parsley

salt

pepper

 

This is great for left over chicken or buy a rotisserie chicken.  Dravin and I will buy whole chickens when they are on sale and then roast a couple (put the others in the freezer) and debone it.  If you decide to roast it, you can use your favorite recipe.  I'll include the one I've used at the end.

 

Place the cooked, deboned chicken in a large bowl.  Add the nuts and cranraisins.  Stir well.  Add the mayo. This is difficult to measure for me.  I simply add about 1/2 cup and stir really well.  I then add about a tablespoon at a time until I get the consistency I want.  We tend to go a little on the drier side as we don't like using a lot of mayo.

 

Taste and add salt and pepper to your taste.  Here's where I put in a plug for kosher salt as opposed to iodized salt or table salt.  Kosher salt doesn't make a dish salty...it makes it more flavorful.  You won't be able to use a salt shaker for kosher salt...I just keep it in the box and pour it into my palm and then use pinches of it.  You can keep it in a small bowl, if you like.

 

Once you've got it tasting right, chop up some fresh parsley.  I LOVE fresh parsley, so I tend to go heavy in this area.  I use about 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.  Always add a little at first and taste...you can always add more.  This is where you would put in your chopped green onions (I would not use regular onions as they are very strong--scallions are less strong). I would recommend using only 2-3 small green onions/scallions.

 

The key to this is to stir it REALLY well.  I tend to stir after I add each ingredient. By the time I've added the last ingredient, everything is already mixed well.  This will keep for a week in the fridge.  We like to use flour tortillas instead of bread. 

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Roasting a whole chicken:

 

If you are as wimpy as a couple of my friends and don't want to deal with the bones, then this recipe is not for you.

 

When using a whole chicken, be sure to reach into the cavity (or the "butt" of it) and make sure that any gizzards/neck is out of it.  Feel free to dust those with flour and fry up and enjoy....I LOVE fried chicken gizzards (that's my Kentucky heritage coming out...). Or if you are a wimp, throw them away.

 

You can either use a roasting pan with rack or just use a 9x13 pan with sides (I've used my cake pan for this).  For easy cleanup, line the pan with aluminum foil.

 

Take some oil (veggie/canola oil is best) and pour it into your hand.  Then begin to "massage" the chicken.  You basically want to get that oil all over the outside of the chicken.  You can also use softened butter to do this, but I'm too lazy to wait for butter to soften.  Once the chicken is oiled, put salt/pepper all over the oil.  Don't cover it in salt, but be generous.  If I salt the outside well, I don't use salt in the cavity.  The oil and salt/pepper makes the skin crispy and tasty (you can always not eat the skin if you are concerned about health, but don't skip this step).

 

Place in the cavity:  2 whole onions (you don't have to peel them but I would recommend you quarter them), 2 lemons or limes (I just halve them), fresh garlic, at least 4 cloves  (sometimes I add this and sometimes I don't--again, you don't have to peel them, but either crush them, or halve them).  Other optional ingredients:  celery, fennel, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, anything that has a strong flavor.

 

Place the pan in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.  Cook the chicken for about 1.5 hours.  If you use a thermometer, then it's done when the thermometer gets to 165 degrees when checking between the leg and thigh.  If you don't have a thermometer, then it's done when you cut it between the leg/thigh and the juices are clear, not bloody.

 

One thing I tried if you like really crispy skin:  pre heat oven to 425, place chicken in oven and cook for 10 min. Lower temp to 350 and cook until done.

 

Always, ALWAYS let the chicken rest after cooking.  I would recommend AT LEAST 20 min before you cut into it.  That means take it out of the oven and let it sit for at least 20 min.  I usually let it just cool completely then use my hands to take the meat off the bone. I will let some of the skin into the meat for taste.  You can then use this for a variety of recipes or freeze for a quick meal later.

 

Be sure to discard the veggies/herbs in the cavity.  If you clean the veggies, you can certainly eat them (think using onions, carrots, and potatoes in that case). 

 

Another option to try:  instead of placing chicken on rack or directly in the pan, line the pan with your veggies (especially, the celery and onions).  Be sure to place some in the cavity as well (helps to flavor the chicken better).  Again, if you clean your veggies, you can eat them after cooking (but don't be alarmed if those veggies are either overdone or burned--for that reason, I tend to not eat them).  

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  • 1 month later...

Suzie, did I ever share my family recipe of sketti and bacon?  I love, love it and Dravin doesn't.  But, he ain't Southern as I is, so bless his heart.  

 

I don't know of anyone else that makes this, but I got the recipe from my born and bred back in the hollar Kentucky grandma.  It is a very simple recipe with only 4 ingredients.  I never vary the amount, but I'm sure you could halve it. BTW, this is one dish that I feel tastes so much better immediately after making. I will eat the leftovers, but fresh made taste better to me.

 

BTW, this is NOT healthy.  I've also tried variations, but I think getting these exactly makes the dish.

 

1 package of spaghetti (again, you can use linguini or whatever, but I find just plain ol spaghetti works best)

1 package of bacon

1 medium onion

1 can (10-12 oz) tomato sauce (I've tried other types, but again, it's the tomato sauce that does it for me)

 

cook spaghetti according to directions

while that is cooking, dice the onion and cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces.  Cook onion and bacon together. I cook until the bacon is done and lightly brown and right before it starts to crisp (it won't get really crisp since you have the onion with it).  My mom liked it cooked until the bacon was very brown and "crispy" (still not crispy, but very brown and looks like bacon you are used to).  

 

Drain the spaghetti. Put back in the pot.  Add the bacon/onion mix to it (I add some of the grease, but be careful, some bacon has more grease than others. I would estimate a total of 1-2 tablespoons). Pour in the tomato sauce.  Mix well.  

 

That's it.  Goodness, I love that dish, but it's a once/year dish due to the pound of bacon.  

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