Spaghetti & Meatballs

We've always just had spaghetti. You know the easy one. Fry ground beef, drain it, stir in sauce, eat over noodles. I had wanted spaghetti and meatballs for a while and my husband had mentioned them several times as well. My brother has always talked about how good my aunt's Spaghetti & Meatballs are. She sent me the recipe and we loved them. I'm sure they weren't as good as hers, but they were good. We ate the leftover meatballs and sauce on subs a couple days later. I'll post that as well, but it wasn't rocket science. Notice the breadsticks? This was my second batch of the Olive Garden Breadsticks. They look a little better in appearance than the 1st. 

Sauce

Ingredients:

-1 jar of Ragu traditional spaghetti sauce -1 pkg. of dry spaghetti mix

-1 small can of tomato paste

- a little bit  of sugar 

Instructions:

Combine the spaghetti sauce, the mix, tomato paste and sugar to your taste in a deep skillet or pot. Stir together well and bring to a boil. After it starts to boil, add water to get it to the consistency you prefer. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour or so. Make sure to keep an eye on the sauce and keep it stirred, it will stick. If you haven't already prepared the meatballs, do so while the sauce is simmering. 

Meatballs

Ingredients:

- 1lb. ground hamburger

-1 whole egg

-Italian bread crumbs (if you don't have bread crumbs, you can use Pepperidge Farms dressing crumbs or crushed Ritz or saltine crackers)

- a little milk 

Instructions:

Combine the hamburger meat and egg, mixing thoroughly. Add in a little milk and enough bread crumbs to get the consistency you want. Mix it all together well (I used my hands). Roll out into little balls and fry them in an iron skillet until brown. Add to prepared sauce and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve over spaghetti noodles. 

Olive Garden Breadsticks

 

Yep, another Pinterest recipe and it came from Mrs. Happy Homemaker. I know the picture ain't pretty, but don't let my lack of inability to roll out a pretty breadstick keep you from trying these. They are just plain GOOD!! We loved them here. If you don't have a bread machine, you can follow the link to the blog above to get the directions for doing them by hand. This recipe makes 12-16 breadsticks, if you can roll them out right... I couldn't the two times I made them.

What you need:

For the Breadstick Dough:

-1.5 cups warm water
-1 package active dry yeast OR 2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast
-4 1/4 bread flour (use all purpose if it’s not available)
-2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
-2 tablespoons sugar
-1 tablespoon salt

For the topping:

-1 stick unsalted butter, melted
-2 teaspoons garlic powder
-1 teaspoons salt

What you do: 
-In your bread machine, add all the ingredients as instructed by your bread machine manufacturer.  Usually its the liquids first, followed by seasonings, then flour – and very last you make a well in the flour and add the yeast. -Set your bread machine on the ‘dough cycle’.  -When the dough is done, pull off pieces of dough and roll into strips.  Remember, they will get bigger after they have risen, so roll them out thinner than a typical breadstick to give room for them to grow.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Set in a warm, draft-free area & let rise 45 minutes.

-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

-Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.

-While the breadsticks are baking, combine the topping ingredients.  As soon as the breadsticks come out of the oven, brush the topping all over the breadsticks, saturating them with the yummy buttery concoction.  Let cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

 

Omelet (A Really Good Omelet)

I love, love omelets!! I have fixed a few in my lifetime, a few different ways, but had never really fixed a really good omelet. I decided to search for "how to make an omelet". This is what I found... How to Make an Omelet. Let's just say, this is definitely how to make an omelet, a really good omelet. I had quite a bit of goodies on hand that day to stuff my omelet with and it turned out DELICIOUS!!! I have made several really good omelets since.

What you need:

-2 eggs

-2 T. milk

-2 T. butter

-salt & pepper

-fillings (I used ham, bacon, mustard greens, onions and shredded cheese.. I had already cooked & chopped all of my meats and veggies)

What you do:

-Beat the eggs until they turn a pale yellow.

-Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a heavy-bottomed nonstick pan.

-Add the milk to the eggs and season with salt & pepper. Beat like crazy with a whisk or a stick blender with the whisk attachment.

-When the butter is hot enough to make a drop of water hiss, pour the eggs in, don't stir. Let the eggs cook for up to a minute or until the  bottom starts to set.

-THIS IS THE PART WHERE I HAD THAT A HA MOMENT!! I never done this before and my omelets never turned out right. I believe this step is the key to making a really good omelet. Using a heat-resistant spatula, gently push one edge of the into the center of the pan to allow the still liquid egg to flow underneath. Repeat with the other edges, until there's no liquid left.

-The omelet should be bright yellow and easily slide around the pan. If it sticks at all, be sure to loosen it with your spatula.

-Gently flip the omelet over and cook for a few more minutes to make sure there is no uncooked egg left.

-Spoon whatever fillings you choose across the center of the omelet in a straight line.

-Using your spatula, lift one edge of the omelet and fold it across and over, lining the edges up. Cook for another minute or so. Flip the whole omelet over and cook for 30 seconds or so. It says not to let the egg brown, mine did, it was still goooooood!!

I didn't detail as well as the website, so if you need a little more info., just click on the link and go to the site. I'm happy I found this recipe and will be making omelets this way for years to come. ENJOY!!!

Cream Cheese Corn

I found this on Pinterest as well... Budget Savvy Diva. This was a super easy recipe and something different when you are having a hard time choosing sides for supper.

Ingredients:
-1lb. of corn ( fresh or thawed)
-1T. butter
-3oz. low- fat cream cheese (I used regular)
-red pepper flakes
-pepper

Instructions:
-In a medium saucepan, combine corn, butter and sour cream and heat through.. making sure the sour cream is melted, but not overheated.
-Season with pepper and red pepper flakes (I didn't have any red pepper flakes and it was just fine)

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

This is one of the many millions of recipes I found on Pinterest and wanted to try. I seen it pinned several different sites, but this particular pin came from Jamie Cooks It Up. It was pretty easy to fix and was really, really good. Both my husband and I agreed that it would go down as one we would like to have again. I ate  mine with the gravy, he wouldn't touch the gravy. Go ahead and have it with or without the gravy and whichever you decide... enjoy!!

What you need...

For the Chicken:

-4 large chicken breasts
-2 sleeves Ritz crackers
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/8 tsp. pepper
-1/2 c. milk
-3 c.cheddar cheese, grated
-1 tsp. dried parsley

For the Sauce:

-1 (14-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
-2 T. sour cream
-2 T. butter
  

What you do...

- Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.
-In a small food processor grind up the Ritz crackers. (use any method you normally use for crushing if you don't have a food processor, I have one and didn't feel like dragging it out, I used a Ziploc bag and my hands)
-Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pansor bowls. Toss the 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
- Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese and finally the cracker crumbs.
-Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
-Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
-Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.
-Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. 

-Serve the gravy over your chicken or just left the gravy out completely and eat it plain or with a dipping sauce.

Taco Salad

I'm not even sure this would be considered a recipe, but from years of having days where we're hungry and don't have time to fix a big meal, we throw this together on a regular basis and it fills us full. 

Here's what we do... 

Prepare your ground beef as directed on the back of whatever taco seasoning packet you choose. Layer Dorito's (you can use any tortilla chips you like, we love the Dorito's though) in the bottom of your bowl (we just do our own individual bowls). Add however much taco seasoned beef you want, add shredded cheese and whatever else you love... sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, refried beans, taco sauce, just whatever. Stir it up good and eat away. 

Cheesy Zucchini Sticks

My sweet mama found this recipe online and of course she brought me the zucchini to make them. I don't have exact measurements, but they're super easy and quick. Yum, yum, yum!!

What you need...

- Pam or any type of oil to coat pan 

-zucchini

-Season All

-Parmesan cheese

-shredded cheddar cheese

What you do...

-Wash your zucchini well and pat dry. I cut the ends off of mine. Cut them into whatever strips you like. I sliced mine similar to pickle spears. 

-Spray the bottom of your pan with Pam or LIGHTLY coat with olive oil or choice of oil. Lay the zucchini in your pan and generously sprinkle with Season All. Sprinkle VERY GENEROUSLY with Parmesan cheese (the kind in the plastic container). 

-Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 20 minutes or so. Take out and sprinkle shredded Cheddar cheese on top and bake 10 or so more minutes. Baking times may vary depending on how tender you want your zucchini.

These are delicious!! Enjoy!!