SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously I haven't cooked anything decent in quite a few months. We've been eating our frozen meals that we prepared before Maisy came along. But we've just about emptied the freezer, finally, and I'm getting back on track with cooking. It's fun now, cause it's a new season, with all new recipes! Putting away my crock pot and stews, and getting out my BBQ! SO Excited! Just wondering- does anyone have any good recipes for fish? i want a tasty, maybe breaded but not fried fish recipe. Does such a thing exist? We're trying to eat better, but we don't want to be miserable doing so:)

Here's my favorite, and SUPER easy summer dessert recipe. It always makes me think of summer fun.
angel food cake
Shredded coconut flakes
Strawberry Cool Whip (you could use regular if you cant find strawberry, it's just cuter when its pink)
and Strawberries

Flip Angel food cake upside down on a plate. Mix the coconut into the cool whip till it's all fluffy and chunky, cut up strawberries to a good size for eating.

Frost the Angel Food Cake with the cool whip and coconut mixture all over, just like a cake. then fill the hole of the bundt with the strawberries till it's overflowing onto the cake. For garnish, sprinkle some coconut flakes over the strawberries.

This cake looks so pretty, and summery, and is perfect for get togthers and potlucks. I usually make one for the 4th of July, so if I do, I'll post a picture.

I love slow cooking!

I'm on a slow cooker (crockpot) binge...here are two favourites of mine. The first is a really easy and super delicious soup that also freezes well. The second recipe is in my slow cooker right now!

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 frozen chicken breasts, whole

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 med. onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 can chicken broth

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

2 cans corn (or 1-10ounce package of frozen corn)

1 tsp dried cilantro

7 corn tortillas (coloured ones are fun!)

vegetable oil

sourcream

cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

-Add first 13 ingredients to slow cooker. Stir and cover. Cook on high setting for 5 hours.

-Before serving, remove chicken breasts and cut into shreds. Stir back into soup.

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10-15 minutes. (If wanting to freeze some of the soup, put some aside now)

-After pouring soup into a bowl, sprinkle tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and a scoop of sour cream over each person's individual soup bowl.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Barbecue

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce (choose your favourite flavour)

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbeque sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.

2. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

3. To serve, you can either serve the chicken breasts whole and use the sauce over potatoes, rice, or pasta. Or shred the chicken with a fork and put it back into the sauce and mix it all together and then serve it on a bun (just like a pulled pork sandwich, but with chicken).

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:)

John Mazetti - Maternal Family Recipe

Since I have received requests from people for frozen dinners before baby arrivals, I thought this one was perfect. And can easily be made gluten free.

John Mazetti
1 lb. Ground Beef (Have thought about using ground turkey, but have not tried it yet.)
1/3 lb. bacon – i have switched to Turkey Bacon before and it tastes fine.
2 med chopped onions
28 oz diced tomatoes (Nick prefers petite diced)
8 oz med noodles
dash of salt and pepper
1/3 lb. cheddar cheese (I never measure it…just enough to cover the entire top layer of the pan you are using)

Begin boiling water for noodles. Brown bacon and drain. Cut up bacon into small pieces and set aside. Add noodles to boiling water. Brown beef in bacon fat (I don’t always do this due to health reasons) and add onions. Add seasoning, tomatoes, and bacon. Stir. Drain noodles and add to mixture. Place in dish and add grated cheese. (You can do one 9 by 13 pan or 2 smaller ones. If you do the smaller ones you can freeze one for later and have one for dinner tonight!)
Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes.