Curry Chicken-Mango Wrap

This is great for a lunch or a light dinner.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup finely chopped mango

3/4 tsp. curry powder

1/8 tsp. red pepper

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1/2 cup red bell pepper

1/4 cup onion

Pita bread or flour tortillas

Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken, bell pepper and onion. Stir to combine. Fill pita bread pockets or flour tortillas and enjoy.

awww pascetti

My favorite food growing up was spaghetti. My mom is a wonderful cook and I will never ever match up to her awesomeness. I'm currently missing her pretty badly right now. Can you tell? :) My Mom learned her spaghetti sauce from her Mom and tweaked it and I did the same. I think I like making it because I never do the same thing twice. I play around with the spices or which kind of cans of tomatoes to add. It always turns out at least eatable. :)

The basics:

Brown in sauce pan with some onion. (I use the spice called "Chopped Onion" so that I don't have to cry every time.)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 tube of Italian sausage

In crockpot add:
1 large can of Tomato Puree OR crushed Tomato
1-2 small cans of diced tomatos - Nick prefers petite diced
1 teenie can of tomato paste
1 small can of tomato sauce
1-2 T Oregano
1 T Basil
some minced Garlic
Pinch of salt/pepper
browned meat from earlier

Stir together and cook in crock pot for at least all afternoon on low.

Sometimes I like the sauce thicker so I add more paste and less diced tomatoes. If you want it more liquidy less tomato paste or none at all. Have fun!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I have memories of my grandpa (who came from Italy as a boy) telling me how his mom would slow cook the sauce all day long, and the house would be filled with the pleasant aroma. I have tweaked the traditional recipe a bit, but I think it tastes pretty good. Also, just so you know our family sauce recipes are not written down anywhere. It is passed down by the grandma's teaching the granddaughters how to make it in the kitchen. There is not a whole lot of exact measurements, we mainly eye ball the amounts that go into the sauce pot. So, the measurements I list below are estimates. Thought I'd add that disclaimer.

A little Italian cooking lesson: Pasta is not intended to be drenched in the sauce, rather lightly coated. But if you are like my husband, he just loves his sauce and drowns the poor noodles in it. Also, the pasta and meat are traditionally served separately. However, I like to put the meatballs in with the sauce and noodles. Now for the recipes:

Sauce:

1 cup onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 can tomato paste

3 cans tomato sauce

1/2-1 cup beef broth

2 cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained and chopped (or you can buy already diced or crushed tomatoes for quicker meal prep.)

Italian seasoning or basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and cook for approx. one minute. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Then I add a little splash of beef broth to add another dimension of flavor, and to thin it out if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for as long as you would like or have time for. The longer the better! Add the Italian seasoning or basil in at the end, so you don't lose the flavor of the herbs in the sauce. 1 tsp. of dried equals 1 Tbs. of fresh.

Meatballs:

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 links sweet turkey Italian sausage, remove casing

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/3 cup fresh basil (yummm!!!)

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 egg

2 garlic cloves

1 pound ground chuck (or whatever ground beef you prefer)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. It is easier to remove jewelry and just get your hands in this concoction.

Then with wet hands roll the mixture into little meatballs. Place meatballs under the broiler for about 15 minutes.

I like to add the meatballs to the sauce and let them soak in their a bit, but if you want to go the traditional route let them sit poolside.

Spahgetti Week!

I am declaring this to be Spaghetti week! I want everyone to post their favorite Spaghetti recipies, tricks, quirks, and sentiments!


I just made spaghetti, so it's fresh in my mind. There is something so wonderful about a spaghetti dinner. It's so simple and easy and common, however I always seem to feel like a meal of spaghetti makes a house a home. The smells are amazing, it's always way too filling, and I guess it reminds me of cheap and frequent childhood meals or something. I have a few ways of making Spaghetti... a veggie one and a meaty one, depending on the contents of my pantry--usually meaty though.

I always start off with a jar of marinara in the crock or stock pot. I don't really know how to make the sauce with canned tomatos, etc, and marinara seems just as cheap and easier, so I stick with that. I saute my onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms (if i have them) and throw them in the marinara to simmer. Then I brown my ground beef, and I always throw my italian seasonings on the beef to saute them a bit, and so the seasoning sticks to the beef- then throw it in the marinara. Simmer as long as possible, usually 5 or 6 hours, then pour over our gluten free spaghetti and dine.

We usually light candles when we have spaghetti, because it dresses up such a simple meal. My favorite is garlic french bread covered in mozzerella and parmesan and toasted to perfection on the side. Once I tried meatballs and loved them, but have been to lazy to try them again. Dave always likes mixing alfredo into the spaghetti sauce for more of a Vodka sauce.

SO what about you all?? Have any good meatball, sausage, bread and sauce variations? Where did you get your spaghetti recipie from? How often do you have spaghetti in your household? I want to gather some excellent ideas and recipies for my LONG future with spaghetti!!!

honestly- i got my spaghetti recipie from my dad of all places! He used to always make a mean veggielishious spaghetti simmered in the crockpot all day. I still think of him everytime I add the bayleaf. As kids we always thought we were special if we ended up with the bayleaf in our food. We have spaghetti about once a month (depending on how many leftovers there are:)