Baked Ziti

We watched A Lot of Gordon Ramsay's cooking shows, and saw a lot of great chefs win. They also had cookbooks, so we started collecting our fave chefs books, and starting cooking! Of course Italian dishes are my faves, but I sure am having fun making all the dishes :-) 

3 cups uncooked Ziti or Penne

4-5 Italian sausages casings removed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion chopped

*** Spaghetti sauce from Testa Dura sauce post **** or your own sauce

1/2 cup sour cream 

4 slices of provolone

1/4 of a bunch of spinach 

1 cup grated mozzarella 

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

fresh basil 

Boil ziti or penne until almost done (since it will cook more in the oven) 

Over Medium heat in a saucepan brown the sausage. Add garlic and onion stirring until fragrant and soft. (5 minutes) Drain the fat from the pan. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and spinach and simmer 15 minutes.Stir in the soiur cream and remove from heat. 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 1 quart baking dish. Put half noodles in the bottom, then the provolone, and half the other cheeses. Pour half the sauce over top getting the edges. put the rest of the noodles, rest sauce and top with remaining cheese.Cover and Bake for 20  minutes, then take lid off and cook another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and fresh basil, Serve. 4 portions. 

Thankyou Christine Ha (recipes from my home Kitchen cookbook)

 

Unorthodox Shepard's Pie from Diane Mott Davidson **Sweet Revenge**

 

I've been reading Diane's novels, and they are full of great food and she's always cooking while she solves crime. Hence I am always hungry reading her books. SO I decided to try one of the recipes, since I usually cook Italian I had never made Shepard's pie, or commonly called Cottage pie when you use beef instead of lamb. And  I don't like lamb so I have eaten Cottage pie all me childhood years and never knew what it was called lol.

2 pounds ground beef

2 cups onions chopped

1 cup carrots chopped

2 cups celery chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

2 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbles

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary crumbled or ground

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon grated black pepper

1 cup frozen baby peas

1 cup frozen corn

4.5 pounds russet potatoes 

1.5 cups half and half

1 cup Gruyere cheese grated

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

additional salt to taste 

additional pepper to taste

2 ounces unsalted butter (1/2 stick) cut into bits

paprika

In a very large saute pan, saute the ground beef, onions, celery and carrots in the oil over medium heat until the beef is browned and the vegetables limp. Add the flour and stir for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture begins to bubble. Slowly add the chicken stock. Stir until completely combined, then stir in the thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the mixture is bubbling and thickened. Stir in the peas and corn and set aside.

Bring a large quantity of salted water to boiling. Peel the potatoes and drop them into the water. Cook about 40-45 minutes. In a small saucepan, heat the half and half until steaming, but not boiling.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a lasagne pan.

Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Begin to beat the potatoes on low speed, slowly adding the additional salt and pepper.

Place the beef mixture in the pan. Place the potatoes on top of the beef. Scatter the butter bits on the potatoes and sprinkle generously with paprika. 

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and the pies are heated thru.

Makes 8 servings. 

Gone all day Beef Stew (From Teresa Cowx)

 

We were invited to Teresa's for supper one night and she made this stew. OMGosh I couldn't stop eating so I had to get the recipe, it was an oldy from a calendar, the recipe was hard to read with all the well loved creases in the print out. So here is one I can read, and never lose! 

1 Can tomatoes diced 10 3/4 ounce

2 Cups of water

1/4 cup flour

2 Pounds beef chuck,fat trimmed cut into 1 - 2 " cubes - Seared

3 Medium carrots cut into bite sized pieces

2 large onions quartered

4 medium potatoes cubed

2 celery stalks cubed

1 cup (ish) of mushrooms cut in half

2 beef bouillon cubes ( just throw in no water mixed ) 

1 teaspoon of basil

1 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

3 grinds of fresh pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Mix together flour and water until smooth, add tomatoes stir in 

add all other ingredients in covered roasting pan

Bake at 275 for 4-5 hours, or use a crock pot. 

Great with Coleslaw and warm bread 

Carrot Ribbon Salad

 

Maddie sent me this this Tik Tok link for Carrot Ribbon Salad. Maddie said it was yummy so I had to try! She was right :-)

10-12 carrots

1/8 teaspoon crushed garlic 

1 TBLSP sesame seeds

2 TBLSP soy sauce

3 TBLSP rice wine vinegar

2 TBLSP sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

Use a peeler to make your carrot ribbons ( slices) I placed the carrot on a cutting board and sliced again and again without turning the carrot so I got nice thick slices 

the dry ingredients was a sprinkling and the liquids were once around the bowl? hope that makes sense there were no measurements in the video 

it's better after one - days :-)

Bernadin's Kosher-style pickles

Sept 22 1993 I cut out a recipe from the Winnipeg Free Press. I have had it since then, the pickles are amazing and the newspaper is getting tattered! So the safest place to put the best pickle recipe in the West... is in the Blog!

8 pounds pickling cucumbers

14 heads of dill

7 cloves garlic, finely chopped

7 Tablespoons pickling salt

7 Teaspoons pickling spice

3 1/2 dried red hot peppers

Brine:

8 cups vinegar

8 cups water

Fill canner with boiling water. Place 7 clean quart jars in canner over high heat.

Wash cucumbers. Cut a thin slice off blossom end and discard. Leave 1/4 inch of stem attached where possible.

Place new snap lids in boiling water; boil 5 minutes to soften sealing compound. In large stainless steel saucepan , combine vinegar and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently.

In a hot jar, place one head dill , one clove finely chopped garlic , 1 tablespoon pickling salt , 1 teaspoon pickling spice and 1/4 to 1/2 of a dried red pepper. Pack cucumbers snuggly into jar to within 3/4 inch of top rim. Place 1 head dill on top. Add boiling brine to cover cucumbers to within 1/2 inch. Remove air bubbles by sliding rubber spatula between glass and food; readjust head space to half inch.

Wipe jar rim and center snap lid on jar. Apply screwband just until fingertip tight. Place jar in canner and repeat for remaining pickles.

Cover canner; return water too boil, and process 15 min. remove jars and cool 24 hours.

Check jar seals, sealed lids curve downward, remove screwbands, wipe jar, label and store in a cool dark place.

Makes 6 or 7 quarts.

Store for at least 3 weeks before eating.

The Real Pecan Pie

 

Thanks to Sally's Baking Addiction for this wonderful and extremely easy Pecan pie recipe!

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/my-favorite-pecan-pie-recipe/

• 2 and 1/2 cups (250g) shelled pecans (pecan halves)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup (240ml) dark corn syrup*
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Put the pecans on top of the pie crust.   

Blend the rest of the ingredients in the blender and pour the filling on top.

350 degrees for 55 minutes.  It just couldn't be easier!

Stampede Super Slider - Jurrasic Burger

The Stampede Super Slider/Jurassic Burger

Ingredients:
2 Waffles
2 Breaded chicken patties
Steak
pulled pork
burger (optional)

Cooking:

Cook chicken, burger and steak on bbq.
Heat pulled port as desired.
Toast waffles as desired.

 Assemble slider:

Waffle on bottom
Place chicken patty
Pulled pork
Steak
Burger (optional)
Second chicken patty
Waffle on top.

Place knife through entire Slider/Burger for stability.

Top with pancake syrup if desired.

Take photo and enjoy!