Day 33: Sausage and Peppers

This Saturday is St Patrick's Day and growing up, I was never really a fan of the traditional corned beef nor cabbage. (Although now, I love them!) My mom, having a large group of children who wouldn't eat the traditional Irish meal, fed us sausage! Usually, it was in the form of Lil' Smokies, you know, the tiny smoked sausages, and macaroni and cheese. Not very Irish, but we loved it, and since they weren't the cheapest item, it was a rarity! Also, when the house smelled of cabbage, we knew we were gonna get the little wienies.

I have a hard time eating the little things today, not to mention the way I find boxed mac n' cheese gritty. My taste buds have matured. (Or I'm a food snob, whatever!)

Now, at least once in the month of March, I make sausage and peppers! This meal is so simple, yet so flavorful and, well, just yummy! So tasty, yet so simple, too!

I have it pictured up there with mashed potatoes, but that was because we had leftovers. Usually, I'd serve these with roasted, however, we are having a very warm March and that means the least amount of time I can have my oven on the better.

Ingredients:

1 pound Ekrich Smoked Sausage, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced julienne
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced julienne
1 medium yellow onion, sliced julienne
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil.

2.  Add the garlic and cook until slightly browned.

3. Add in the bell peppers and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally for two minutes.

4. Add in the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage and peppers are heated through.

5. Serve immediately.

Day 32: Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

Happy Pi Day!! (3-14)

To celebrate, I made frozen peanut butter pie! (I've mentioned before my love of peanut butter?) The recipe called for a normal 9 inch pie, but that wasn't enough for me. So, I doubled the recipe and made it in my 9x13 Pyrex.

Now that I've tasted this heaven, I wish I would have made two...

Sticking to my "if I can make it, I don't buy the pre-made" plan, I whipped the heavy cream myself. It was my first time doing that, and it really wasn't as hard as I was thinking it was. Which really is a scary thought cause I could have whipped cream all the time now!

I didn't make the peanut butter or the sandwich cookies, even though I do have recipes for them. I just really wanted to make sure this turned out first before I started playing with what I could or could not make happen.

Also, I topped it with a crushed king-size Snickers bar. Also have a recipe for that, but see the previous paragraph.

I used my Ninja blender that I got for Christmas (I've been using this for so many things and I LOVE it!) to crush the cookies for the crust, but you could simply use a quart-size Ziploc baggie and a rolling pin.

Then, I whipped up the cream, added the peanut butter and some condensed milk, crumbled the Snickers (also using the Ninja) on top. Voila!

Hardest part of this lovely was the four hour wait time as it froze. Why must all good things have a wait time?? Perhaps so we won't be tempted to make an excess of them?

Ingredients:

3 cups finely crushed Oreo cookies (about 30 cookies)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 (3.29 oz.) king-sized Snickers candy bar, coarsely crushed

Directions:

1. Either in a food processor, blender, or Ziploc baggie, crush the cookies until they are finely crushed.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and butter; mix well. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter, and beat until thoroughly mixed.

4. Spoon peanut better mixture evenly onto the cookie crust. Sprinkle chopped candy on top, cover and freeze at least 4 hours before serving.

Day 31: Worcestershire and Butter Steak

So, I recently celebrated my 38th birthday. When Jason asked what I wanted, I thought of three different meals that I truly consider my favorites. Two of them I would have to cook myself and I didn't want to do that on my birthday!

I went with the third option: steak! However, I didn't want just any steak. I wanted a steak that was well-planned and executed to perfection! I mean, I deserved that on my birthday, especially after all the other meals everyone gets to enjoy, right?

What better solution than mixing up some Worcestershire and butter to marinate it in all day before grilling it to awesome! It was so juicy! And, just what my anemic self needed!

The best part of this meal: two really good friends from Kentucky came up and surprised me! Thanks, guys, for making my birthday all the more special!

Also, the leftovers made an excellent salad!

Sun-dried tomatoes with grilled steak salad, yummy!

Ingredients:

4 8-ounce sirloin steaks
2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 stick butter, melted
Garlic salt to sprinkle on each side *optional*

Directions:

1. Place the steaks into a quart-sized Ziploc baggie.

2. Melt butter either in a sauce pan or microwave and let cool. Mix in the Worcestershire thoroughly and pour into the baggie with the steaks.

3. Shake to coat the steaks with the marinade and place in a bowl or pan and chill in the fridge for at least two hours.

4. Heat your grill. (We use a charcoal grill, so I have no idea what to set a gas grill to. Sorry.) For a medium doneness, cook about 5-7 minutes per side. (Feel free to cook it to your preferences.)

Day 30: Spaghetti

I've always been one to use time-savers. Spaghetti was no exception to this rule. If I could buy a jar of sauce, box of pre-made noodles, pre-shredded cheese, and pre-made bread, all the more time to surf mindless hours on the Internet!

When I decided to check into little dietary changes that could possibly improve our health, I started reading labels. Boy, was I shocked! Do you know how much sodium is in the average jar of spaghetti sauce?? And just what is that stuff coating the pre-shredded cheese to preserve it?? Not to mention what that stuff they call butter substitute on the garlic bread! I was appalled at what my culinary laziness was doing to us! I mean, it's not like I had a job that took up any time. I'm a stay-at-home mom!

Something had to give! Both Jason and I struggle with chronic diseases that, if left unchecked, could disable us! Jason has Rheumatoid Arthritis, and I've yet to be diagnosed (insurance pending). I've read all sorts of ideas about dietary changes that could improve our situations, and really, it's completely been worth it to make these little subtle differences.

The easiest has been to stop buying stuff in jars or boxes that somebody had to stuff with artificial crud like preservatives. Just this change helped take some of the weight off and that alone has helped with the feeling better!

I haven't learned quite a lot about making my own ingredients yet, but I'm in this for the long haul! While I can't make the noodles, yet, the sauce is completely in my realm of do-able, as is the bread.

Growing up, whenever we were tight on money, Mom would take the time to make her own spaghetti sauce. It was pretty good. She simply put in tomato paste and sauce and some spices. (I'm sure I'm simplifying what she put in, but these are the ingredients I remember!) Voila! Meal for our large brood relatively cheap!

I wasn't happy with the recipes I could track down, so I tweaked one from an old cookbook I've had forever. It's not totally healthy, but WAY better for you than the sauce you get in the jar and didn't really add too much to the cook/prep time of spaghetti!

Jason calls this stuff "Awesome Sauce" and swears I could market it under "Cindy's Awesome Sauce," so, coming from a guy who never wanted homemade sauce before, that's a pretty good review!

This sauce can be made ahead of time. It will keep for several days covered and refrigerated, which saves me time and gives me a meal I can whip up quickly on days I need something fast that won't compromise my new motto of "a little more healthy."

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce
1 large tomato, chopped
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup water

Directions:


1. Brown the beef in a heavy-bottomed pot. Drain off the fat.

2. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic and sauté until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, seasonings, Worcestershire and water. Simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Serve with spaghetti or your favorite pasta.

Day 29: Turkey Enchiladas

While trying to come up with ways to use the tons of leftover turkey we ended up with, my Aunt Nicky mentioned how easy enchiladas were. I had never made them, so it was worth a shot. We love Mexican food just as much as any other here, and since the best authentic place closed down recently, we've really been craving it.

I altered a couple recipes (all I could find were for chicken so I improvised) to match what we already had on hand, 'cept the tortillas which Jason had to run to the store for. These quite possibly are the best I've ever eaten. I'm not sure if it was the way the turkey was cooked or I'm getting better at figuring out what ingredients go with the others. Either way, these rocked!

I simply mixed the turkey, butter, cheddar, sour cream, and onion in a bowl; rolled 'em into tortillas; put them in a prepped baking dish, topped with homemade salsa, covered in aluminum foil and baked.

Then, I removed the foil topped with more cheddar and back into the oven to let that melt and the edges to get crisp.

Very simple but oh so good!!

I'm starting to find it difficult to buy pre-made meals anymore; and that's OK!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp butter, softened
4 cups cooked and shredded turkey
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
6 8-inch flour tortillas
2 cups salsa (I made my own, but store bought is fine)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with the butter and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix the chicken, 2 1/2 cups of the grated cheese, sour cream, onion, and some salt and pepper. Mix well.

4. Place the tortillas on a work surface and spoon about 1 cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of each one. Roll them up and place into the prepared baking dish, seam side down. (It will be a tight fit.)

5. Scatter the salsa over the top.

6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until heated through, about 40 minutes.

7. Remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the whole top. Return to the oven until the cheese is melted and the edges of the tortillas are just beginning to get crisp, about 5 to 8 more minutes.

8. Serve hot.

Day 28: BLT

This week, Jason and I got in on a ginormous meat sale! Seriously, it was like Black Friday in there! So many people wanting meats! All together, I think we scored 20 pounds of chicken, beef, and steak each as well as 15 pounds of bacon for less than $80!

We're all set in the meat department! :^D

So, after we realized that we had to try and fit all 75 pounds of meat in our regular freezer (because our deep freezer seems to not want to work right now), I had to work my mad puzzle skills to squeeze it all in! Even then, I couldn't find space for 2 pounds of ground beef, 4 8-ounce sirloins, and 3 pounds of bacon! However, there was an unplanned cleaning out of the fridge and freezer. Science experiments were growing in there!

Anyway, I needed to use up some of that unfrozen meat. What better way to use bacon than BLTs? There isn't one, that's what!

Pshaw! You say BLTs are too tame for this blog adventure? Did you see that pic up there?? No? Go, scroll back up. I'll wait here. Did you see it? The bacon is woven into a perfect square! That's right! Now it fits on your bread and none of it falls off as you eat every delicious bacon-y bite!

The first time I saw it (on Pinterest) I was amazed! Also kind of skeptical. I mean, how does one fry that up? Well, one doesn't! One bakes it! Which makes the cooking a little less messy, to boot! A-maz-ing!

You simply take 3 pieces of bacon, cut them in half, weave them together, and bake on a baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven for 18-20 minutes depending on your bacon doneness preferences. It's simple!

This method is great for not easily burning the bacon, which sometimes happens when I cook it in a skillet. I prefer my bacon that way anyway, but neither Jason nor Jay do, so (I'll admit) I sometimes let it burn on purpose so I'd get a couple extra slices! (I know, for shame!) We're talking bacon here!

Make sure you let the extra grease drip into a pan or on some paper towels for a few minutes before you put it on your sandwich, though.

Simple as that! Just toast some bread and assemble the sandwich to your liking! Personally, I prefer mine toast, mayo, tomato, lettuce, bacon, mayo, toast. Oh, and a little bit of pepper sprinkled on the tomato. Delish!

Day 27: Peanut Butter Pound Cake

Today is National Peanut Butter Lovers Day!!

I think I've established my love for peanut butter already. For those of you just tuning in: I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER!! Maybe it's my low-iron count. Maybe it's my nuttiness that draws me to the nutty. I don't know. I just love it!!

So, I scoured my recipes, but I already posted a couple of them, and the ones I haven't yet I didn't have the necessary ingredients to make. Boo! A thorough scouring of the internets was warranted! But then, I was saved by Mr. Food! His Facebook page was posting a peanut butter recipe for every 100 likes they got today! Yay! I just had to wait for one I had the stuff for!

I didn't have to wait for long. This pound cake was the first one they put up!

I did discover the peanuts I had on hand were stale. I didn't know that could happen! Lesson learned! Don't save the peanuts for anything; eat them right away! Got it!

Of the two loaves I made, one burned slightly on the bottom, but that was easily cut away. The other one, well:

Simply fantastic cake! Just enough peanut butter to satisfy even the biggest fan's cravings, yet subtle enough to not be overkill. You could even put some of your favorite jelly or jam and make it a PB & J cake! Fun times!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 sticks of butter, softened

2 cups sugar

6 eggs

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9x5 inch loaf pans with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the peanut butter and the flour.

3. Spread equal amounts of mixture into prepared loaf pans. Bake for 20 minutes.

4. Remove loaves from oven and sprinkle with equal amounts of chopped peanuts. Return to oven and bake 30-35 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pans and place on a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.