Homemade Marinara Sauce

 I've been working through a list of 40 things I wanted to do in the year before I turned 40.  One was to make homemade noodles.  That experiment definitely needs to be redone.  Maybe the problem was I kept feeling like I was playing with playdough, and those it reminded me of what I imagine playdough taste like.  I can't confirm that...I probably ate it as a child, but I don't remember.  But....whatever those  pasta making issues were, the sauce I made to go on top WAS on point and I wouldn't change a thing!  It's almost an exact match to The Pioneer Woman's sauce, but this is how I did it (just a few additions).  I can't wait to try this out with some lasagna.  It was worth the simmer time!

Marinara Sauce

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Ingredients:  1/4 c. olive oil, 1 yellow onion (diced), 5 cloves of garlic (minced), 2 large carrots (peeled and diced), 2 cans (28 oz each) whole tomatoes, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. black pepper, 4 t. sugar, 1 small can of tomato paste,  2 (heaping) T Italian seasoning, cooked pasta, fresh Parmesan cheese

Instructions:  

1.  In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium.  Add the onion, garlic, and carrots.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  

2.  Pour tomatoes and juice into a bowl and use your hands to squish the tomatoes so the juices are released and they are broken into smaller chunks.  Add tomatoes and tomato paste to the onion mix along with your salt, pepper, sugar, and Italian seasoning.  

3.  Simmer for 1 1/2 hours (uncovered).  Stir occasionally.  

4.  Toss with pasta.  Top with cheese.  

Lots O' Meat Lasagna

I have been meaning to post this recipe for years.  My friend Regan makes this lasagna and it's soooooooooooo amazingly tasty.  It's originally a Paula Dean Recipe via the foodnetwork.  I love to make lasagna and cut it into squares and freeze it by the square so that I can eat it over....and over....and over again.  It's summer now so I'm cooking, and baking, and making lots of goodies.

Lots O' Meat Lasagna

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Ingredients:  1 1/2 lb ground chuck, 1 lb ground Italian sausage, 1 onion (chopped), 2 cloves garlic (minced), 2 t. ground oregano, 1 t. ground basil, 1/4 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper, 14.5 oz diced tomatoes (with basil, garlic, and oregano), 30 oz of tomato sauce, 6 oz tomato paste, 1 1/2 c. small curd cottage cheese, 5 oz grated Parmesan Cheese, 2 T chopped parsley, 2 large eggs, 9 oven-ready lasagna noodles, 16 oz mozzarella cheese
Instructions:  
1.  In a large saucepan, combine sausage and chuck, onion, and garlic.  Cook over medium heat until browned and crumbled.  Drain.
2.  Add oregano, basil, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and paste.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
3.  In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan, and parsley.
4.  Layer:
-1/4 of the sauce on the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch pan.
-3 uncooked noodles (don't overlap)
-Spread 1/3 of the cottage cheese mix on the noodles.
-1/4 of the sauce
-1/3 of the Mozzarella cheese
-Repeat cottage cheese, sauce, Mozzarella layers again
-Top with sauce.
-Set last 1/3 of cheese aside.
5.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350.
6.  Top with cheese and bake another 15 minutes.
7.  Rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Lasagna

It's July.  I live in Texas.  This means that my soul purpose in life is to keep the house as cool as possible.  I dream of a convection oven, but alas, it's still but a dream.  This means I spend as much time away from the oven as possible.  I really, really wanted lasagna this week, but it conflicted with my life's mission.  I found this recipe on allrecipes and I made a few changes, and I am seriously obsessed.  As in, my mouth is watering while I'm writing this right now and I'm trying to calculate how many miles I'll have to run if I go get another scoop, and the conclusion is...I just don't care.
So, if you want an easy dish, a delicious dish, or to never turn the dial on you oven on again, might I recommend-crockpot lasagna.

Crockpot Lasagna

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Ingredients: 1 lb beef (you could also do a mix of Italian sausage and beef), 1 onion (chopped), 2 t garlic, 29 oz tomato sauce (I like to get the kind with onions and other spices), 6 oz tomato paste, 1 t. oregano, 12 oz of oven ready lasagna noodles, 12 oz of ricotta cheese, 1/2 c. Parmesan, 16 oz mozzarella cheese.
Instructions:  
1.  Brown mean, onions, and garlic.  Once it is browned, add the tomato sauce, paste, and oregano.  Cook until heated through.
2.  In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella (I reserved a little mozzarella to sprinkle on top).
3.  Spray your crockpot with pam to save dish washing time later.
4.  Layer sauce, noodles (break them up to fit into crockpot-I did two layers of noodles on each layer), and then cheese.  Repeat until you run out of ingredients (I had about 5 layers).  The noodles will cook as the crockpot heats.  I sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on the top.
5.  Cook for about 4 hours on low (until sides are just starting to brown.

Pepperoni Puffs

Here's a super easy/last minute appetizer I've stuck together for football watching parties and New Year's Eve.  You can never go wrong with pizza.  And if pizza is wrong...you need new friends.

Pepperoni Puffs

Ingredients:  1 can junior biscuits, 40 pepperonis, 10 cheese cubes, butter and garlic salt, pizza sauce.
Instructions:  Pull the top and bottom of the biscuit apart.

 Place 2 pieces of pepperoni with a cheese cube on top.  Place another two slices of pepperoni on top of the cheese cube.
Place second biscuit half on top of pepperoni and press the sides.  Seal well.

Place biscuits in a pan.  Place remaining biscuits side by side.  Spray or brush with butter and sprinkle with garlic.
Bake biscuits according to the time/temp on your biscuit can.
Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

Easy Rhodes Mini Pizzas

 I love making pizza, and it's especially fun to do the whole 'make your own pizza' with a group,but then there is all that dough making, and there is only so much room in the oven....enter...delicious and easy pizza made using Rhodes Frozen Rolls.  So simple, and such a fun snack for a football watching party...even if it's a party of one b/c you can defrost just the number your want (the come in bags that zip back up in the freezer section).  I'm sure any frozen roll would do, just bring them out and let them thaw for about an hour or two.  I then smash mine and roll them through some olive oil and put them onto a baking sheet.  Top with sauce/cheese/your favorite toppings.

 I cooked mine for about 10 minutes at 400....the bread will have risen, the cheese will have melted.  Your good to go.

Pizza Dip

I've seen this around on the net (pinterest) over the last year, and so I decided it was time to post the version I use.  It's yummy.  I mean really, any version of pizza is a friend of mine.  And without further ado, blog friend, meet food friend.  I'm sure all the recipes are good, each variation, but just to be sure....I think I'll try them all.
Pizza Dip Recipe
Ingredients
4 oz cream cheese, (softened to room temp), 1/4 c. sour cream, 1/4 c. mayo, 1/2 c. mozerella (shredded), 1/4 c. parmesan (shredded), 1 c. pizza sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella (shredded), 1/4 c. parmesan (shredded), 2 oz pepperoni slices, bread
Instructions
1.Mix cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, 1/2 c. moz. cheese, and 1/4 c. parm cheese and spread it across bottom of  pie dish.

2.Spread the pizza sauce on top and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and pepperoni (you can also add other pizza toppings like olives, veggies, and meats)

3.Bake at 350 oven about 20 minutes until cheese has melted and is bubbling.
4. Toast bread in an oven to scoop out the tip.

Cupcakes: Spaghetti Cupcakes

 With a degree in rocket science, you too can make spaghetti cupcakes.  Fine, it's not going to change anyone's life, but how fun are :insert anything on earth: served in cupcake form?  These hold together well, and per the nature of spaghetti are better the next day.  As for the innards.  I just mixed a pound of cooked meat with a jar of spaghetti sauce and a few spices and garlic .  I added my noodles (any would work, just cook up a box, add and drain), and then filled cups 3/4 full with this mix.  (I tried half out with some crust, but the crust was just soggy, so do as I say...not as I did).  Half were just noodles...you can see one of those in the top left hand corner. 

 Add a handful of mozzarella cheese on top and a sprinkle of Parmesan.  This becomes the glue.  Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted.

 Let these cool enough before popping them out so they retain their shape.  Baked spaghetti is just good anyway, but baking them in cups provides fuel for my cheese to noodle ratio needs.  This make approximately 2,00,345 cupcakes. 

Cupcakes: Garlic Cheese Cupcakes

 There aren't a lot of things I love as much as a sugar filled cupcake, but these are equal to any cupcake I've ever shoveled down....I mean....nibbled on like a delicate flower.  These are worth every minute...and calorie.  I found this recipe at Farm Girl, she doesn't know it yet, but she's pretty much one of my favorite people today. 
Cheese Cupcake Recipe
Dough Ingredients: 1 T. yeast (I used a package), 1 12/ c. warm water (follow packet instructions on temperature), 1 1/2 T. sugar, 1 t. salt, 4-5 1/2 c. flour, 3 T veg oil, 1 egg yolk
Spread Ingredients:  1/2 c. butter, 1 1/2 T. garlic salt (reduce if you don't love garlic as much as I do...it's powerful), mozzarella cheese (about 1 c., shredded)
Dough Instructions:  Combine yeast, sugar, water, and stir.  Let sit until bubbly.  Add salt, oil, yolk and mix.  Add 3 c. of flour and mix.  Add 1 more cup, mix.  Add up to 1 1/2 cup more until dough is barely sticky to fingers (I only need 4 1/2 c.)  Knead 2-3 minutes.  Cover and let rise 1 hour. 

Roll dough out onto a board sprayed with cooking oil (like Pam). 
Mix butter and garlic salt, and spread over the rolled dough. 

Sprinkle cheese on top.

Roll up (like you are making cinnamon rolls). 

Slice into 18 pieces.  Let these rise for 20 more minutes while the oven is heating. 
Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. 

If garlic cheese cupcakes were a boy....I'd marry it yesterday.

Italian Cream Cake Cupcakes

I recently tried out this recipe when I brought a dessert to a luncheon.  It was really moist, and good.  I created one big rose pattern on top, this took a lot of icing, so triple the icing recipe if you are going to try this out.  I originally saw the cupcake recipe in the Cake Doctor's cook book, the icing recipe is just a basic cream cheese frosting, but it holds up well for decorating.  You could also sprinkle coconut flakes on top, but that sort of messed with my artistic vision for the sake of these cupcakes.  :O)   Speaking of cupcakes...I've been trying out a bunch of projects that involve non-cake cupcakes I'll be posting about in a week's worth of post sometime this fall.  ...as if I needed to delve deeper into the cupcake world. 

Italian Cream Cake Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients for Cupcakes:  1 pkg (18.25 oz) plain white cake mix, 1 1/3 c. water, 2 T vegetable oil, 3 large eggs, 2 t. coconut flavor, 2 c. (1 cup is for the batter, the second cup is for topping the iced cupcakes) sweetened flaked coconut, 1 c. finely chopped pecans. 

Instructions:  Beat all ingredients minus the coconut and pecans for 2-3 minutes.  Fold in pecans and 1 c. of coconut flakes.  Fill 22 cupcake liners.  Bake 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Icing:  8 oz cream cheese (softened), 4 oz of butter (softened), 2 t. of vanilla, 3 c. of powdered sugar.  Mix together until smooth. 
Store cupcakes in the refridgerator before eating, but let them set out for about an hour before serving. (Cupcakes taste better at room tempearature...I'm kind of an expert on eating cupcakes.)

Spaghetti Pie

I know I use the word love...a lot, but I mean it this time. I would almost go so far as to say this is my homemade favorite dish, but I'm too scared to commit, but I really like it, and I've asked for it as a birthday dinner in the past. I like spaghetti. I REALLY like baked spaghetti, with a broiled cheese topping...yum. I LOVE spaghetti pie. Carbs+Carbs=Goodness. It's the perfect way to carbo load, and if I ever take up running...
Here's the recipe, in case you are ever in charge of cooking my birthday dinner, OR in case I'm at the store, and need to iphone my blog to look up the recipe (my real reason for posting recipes ;o)).
Ingredients:
1 lb of hamburger meat
1 med onion
3 cloves of garlic (or more-too taste)
1 jar of pasta sauce (17 oz)
2 dashes of basil
2 dashes of red pepper
3/4 lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
8 oz of mozzarella
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 roll of phillo dough and butter, or two refrigerated pie crust (if you use this, you might also want to add an egg wash).
Instructions:
Brown meat, drain when almost finished, add 1 med, chopped onion, 3 cloves of garlic, and cook until tender.
Add 1 jar of sauce, basil, and red pepper to taste (depending on the herbiness of your sauce....you may want to throw a few more traditional sp. sauce herbs in the mix).
Cook noodles until almost done. Add noodles to sauce pan, add two cheeses, and stir together.
Line the bottom of a round (9 inch) cake pan with 1 roll of refrigerated pie dough (I think I like this a little more than the phillo dough option). Pour noodle mixture into pan. Cover with the second pie dough. Seal the edges, and cut slits in the top. I also add an egg wash (AKA egg white) to the top to help it brown.
OR Line the bottom of a round (9 inch) cake pan with 1/2 roll of phillo dough (butter between each layer-I used spray butter, you know, to keep the dish 'light'...ha...ha...ha...ha...ha...ha!). Place noodle mixture into pan. Fold over edges. Cover the top of the pie with the other half of your phillo dough, again, buttering between each layer. I spray the overhanging edges, and tuck them down inside the pan. If you use this dough, it's not necessary to cut slits in this dough before it bakes.
Both doughs work great, it's just a matter of texture preference.
Bake at 375 for 50 minutes (until golden brown).

As most dishes go-I love this best on day two after all the ingredients have hung out together for awhile.
Serves 6....assuming I'm not on the guest list.
Linking To:
http://thethriftyba.blogspot.com/2010/05/ready-for-another-party.html