So after being informed by my BFF that the print feature I added awhile back actually prints the entire blog post instead of only the recipe like I wanted it to, I have (with a little help from a more experienced blogger) figured out how to make only the recipe in each post printable. Yay! So from now on you will be able to print only the best part of each post: the recipe! And when I get time here and there I will go back and add the feature to all of my other posts (which number 72 as of today, so it may take me a little while to get it done). Thank you all for sticking with me thus far! ❤
Category: Italian
Ok, seriously; I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love this sauce! Remember when I told you that my husband loves my sausage gravy so much he wants to eat it in a bowl like soup? Well that’s me with this sauce. And I can do that because this sauce is actually good for you! I’ll get into how I eat it in a bowl later. But first, I’ll get right into the recipe…
This sauce is so ridiculously simple that you’re going to wonder why you ever bought sauce at the store. It’s incredibly inexpensive to make too! These ingredients hardly cost anything:
I suppose I should clarify: if you have all of these ingredients on hand, this recipe hardly costs anything. If you don’t have them on hand, you should. I’m perfectly serious. Go out and buy these ingredients if you don’t have them. The herbs will last you awhile and will allow you to make SO many other dishes! And having cans of tomato products on hand will allow you to easily and cheaply make your own sauces and soups without the cost and additives/preservatives the store bought stuff has. Ok, enough about that. Moving on…
So I have picky kids when it comes to onions. The girls like the idea of onions; meaning that they like the flavor that onions add to certain foods, but if they bite into a piece of onion then it’s game over. They won’t eat another bite for fear of getting another piece of onion. Any my son is just now starting to branch out beyond the realm of chicken nuggets and mac & cheese, so if he can see pieces of onions he won’t even allow the dish to appear on his plate. To combat this I got creative. Ok, sneaky. Same thing sometimes. Anyway, I grated the onion when I started playing with this recipe and it worked perfectly! Even I prefer it that way and I LOVE onions! So now I grate the onions on the small holes of the grater every time. When you grate the onions, do it on a plate or over a bowl to catch the juice as well as the pulp.
Now mince your garlic. You do not need a garlic gadget! Use your chef’s knife and hone your skill with it.
Holding your knife as usual, use your off hand to keep the tip of the knife on the board (putting your fingers on the TOP of the blade to steady it) and your dominant hand to do the actual mincing by lifting up and down while also working the blade back and forth over the pile of garlic. It’s MUCH easier than it sounds. You’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly. You’ll end up with a pile of minced garlic…
Super easy! And it only takes a couple of minutes. Now that those two things are done, all you have left is opening a can and measuring herbs and spices. How much easier can homemade get?! You do have to make a choice, though. You can use olive oil for this sauce and it will turn out amazing. But I use bacon fat to saute the onion and garlic and the slightly smoky flavor it imparts makes the sauce stellar. I recommend using bacon fat, but the choice is yours. So choose one or the other and put it into a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion first, adding the juice as well. It may sizzle a bit, so be careful. Once the onion is beginning to turn golden, add in the garlic.
Let the veggies cook for another 2 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t begin to burn. Give it a stir every 20-30 seconds to prevent burning. The picture above is as dark as you want it to be; much darker and the garlic will turn bitter and ruin the sauce. Go ahead and add the tomato sauce and mix well. Add the brown sugar (sadly not pictured above), basil, oregano, thyme, white pepper, the smaller amount of salt, and the bay leaf into the pot.
SO much flavor going into this sauce! Give this a good stir to distribute the herbs, cover the pot, and bring the sauce to a boil. Back the heat down to a slow simmer and set a timer for 30 minutes. If you think of it, you can come back and give the sauce a stir. But even if you don’t stir it at all in that 30 minutes, the sauce will be fine. This is one of those wonderful times that you can set a timer and just let the sauce do it’s own thing while you go do yours.
Once half an hour has gone by, take the lid off and give the sauce a good stir. While it should definitely be a sauce, and as such should be pourable, it should still be a bit thick. It should not be runny or watery. If it is watery, let the sauce continue to simmer uncovered until it looks like this:
If your sauce was too watery after its covered simmer, it most likely means that the can of tomato sauce you started with was of lesser quality; they added too much water in the process of turning the tomatoes into sauce. That way they can use less tomato and make more money. In short; you got ripped off if you bought the super cheap “bargain” brand. Some bargain or store brands are great and work just fine. But then there are those that really do rip you off. Unfortunately sometimes it’s a matter of living and learning and figuring out which ones do and which don’t. So I usually go for the mid priced tomato products. Not the super fancy “premium” brand that costs a ridiculous amount, but not the super cheap “bargain basement” stuff either. Once again- moving on…
Assuming your sauce is the proper consistency, go ahead and give it a taste. Add more salt if you think the sauce needs it (I almost always do) and the red chili flakes if you want to use them. Remember that if you do use red chili flakes, let the sauce sit for a couple of minutes after you add them for them to take effect then give it another taste and readjust the seasoning if needed. If you want a spicy, arribiata type of sauce, go ahead and add the red chili flakes at the beginning with the herbs. But be warned: it will be SPICY! We like a little kick but still want to be able to feel our lips when we’re done eating, so I add just a little and only at the end.
Just like that, you’re done! And oh; the things you can do with this sauce! You can can this sauce in jars or freeze it in bags or containers. Or it will keep for about a week in the fridge. This amount makes one batch of lasagna or spaghetti with meat sauce for me. If I want to make pasta with no meat, I use what I need and save the rest (trust me; you’ll find a use for it). It’s perfect as a pizza sauce, but you can also make pizza fondue. Really; it’s one of my family’s favorite fun meals! Heat the whole batch of sauce in a fondue pot over low heat (if using an electric pot) or a couple of tea light candles if you’re using an old school fondue pot. Cut up your favorite pizza toppings and lay them out. If you want veggies that aren’t crunchy, saute them lightly before you set them out. I use cooked and sliced Italian sausage, ham, pepperoni slices (they’re easier to eat if they’re cut in half), and pineapple for a super easy spread of toppings. Cut some mozzarella into cubes (the block stuff will do but it won’t be nearly as good as the softer, “fresh” mozzarella you get packed in a little water) and some hot french bread into slices. Spear a cube of cheese and then your favorite toppings with your fondue fork and dip it all in the sauce. Slide the contents of your fork onto a slice of french bread and enjoy! I usually get 2 dips out of one slice of bread, so that helps fill up the hungry tummies gathered around the fondue pot 🙂
OH! I said up above that I would tell you how I eat this out of a bowl… it’s so simple and SO good…
I make crustless pizza in a bowl. Stay with me on this! Put about half an inch of sauce in the bottom of a microwave or oven safe bowl then put some shredded or cubed mozzarella cheese in the sauce. Cover the bowl and heat it until the edges of the sauce are bubbly. Then add a few pizza toppings evenly over the surface. You don’t want to add a ton or the sauce won’t heat through well- just like real pizza. Cover the bowl again and heat until everything is good and hot. In all honesty, this is one of my favorite meals if I’m making something just for myself. But ONLY if I’m using this sauce. It’s just that good.
The Recipe:
29 Oz Can Tomato Sauce (plain, no flavoring added)
1 T Bacon fat or Olive Oil
1/4 Large Onion, Grated Fine
8-10 Cloves Garlic, Minced
3-4 t Brown Sugar (start with the smaller amount and add more if needed after the sauce is simmered)
1 1/2 t Dried Basil
Scant 1 t Dried Oregano
1/4 t Ground Dried Thyme (or about 1/2 t dried thyme, unground)
1 Bay Leaf
1/2-3/4 t Kosher Salt (start with the smaller amount and add more if needed after the sauce is simmered)
1/4 t White or Black Ground Pepper (or to taste)
1/8-1/2 t Red Pepper Flakes (or to taste)
The Method:
*Grate the onion (on the smaller holes) onto a plate or into a bowl to save the juice as well.
*Mince the garlic.
*Add the bacon fat or oil into a large sauce pan over medium heat.
*Once the pan is ready, saute the grated onion (with its juice) until it begins to turn golden brown.
*Add the garlic to the pot and saute for about 2 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
*Pour the tomato sauce into the pot and stir to incorporate the veggies.
*Add the brown sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir well.
*Cover the pot and bring the sauce to a boil. Back the heat down to a slow simmer and leave the sauce to cook for 30 minutes. You could give the pot a stir a couple of times if you think about it.
*Once 30 minutes is up stir and check for proper consistency. If the sauce is too watery let it simmer uncovered until the right thickness is reached.
*Add the red chili flakes if you’re using them, more brown sugar, salt, and/or pepper to taste.
*Use as desired immediately, can, freeze, or store in the refrigerator for about a week.
*FOOD SNOB ALERT!* WARNING: The Humble Food Snob is about to get snobbish! I figured I’d better give some fair warning that I’m about to live up to the food snob part of my name. I don’t do it very often so it may take some of you by surprise ;.)
Broke food. I don’t do broke food- not like most people do. I can’t bring myself to cook up Ramen noodles and call it dinner. I can’t fry up some Spam, mix it with some mac & cheese and serve it to my family. I just can’t. It’s not tasty, it’s not healthy, and it’s just plain depressing for my entire family. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t do it if they have to. I know that for some that’s all they can afford. Thanks to my ex husband I know what it’s like to have to do that or not eat. I’ve been there. It’s that experience that drove me to redefine broke food for my family. It’s that experience that made me look at the food I buy and think about how I can make it go farther and still be healthy and tasty. I can now take a pound of bacon and make 4 different nearly meatless main courses out of it. I can take 3 pounds of steak and make at least 2 meals out of it- sometimes as many as 5. I can take a big bag of frozen chicken breasts from Sam’s Club and make it last a whole month. And the dishes I create from the food I stretch taste wonderful, are filling, and are at least moderately healthy (sometimes I make something truly indulgent and it’s not the healthiest thing in the world but darn it, it tastes good). So now I’ve redefined “broke food” for my family and we are all perfectly happy to eat it. They don’t know it’s broke food until I tell them it is and it’s a running joke now. Instead of being depressed that we have to eat nasty processed foods we can continue to enjoy dinners as a family, eating inexpensive meals, and never really giving our broke food a second thought. It’s a great illustration that food is as much about psychology as it is about the act of eating.
This is one of the dishes I can make from a pound of bacon. I originally found it in The Soprano Family Cookbook but have also found the recipe on food.com and it is exactly the same. I was a bit wary of making a dish that uses both pasta and potatoes but it turns out amazingly good and not nearly as heavy as it sounds. If you look up the recipe on food.com you will see that I have changed things up a bit. I do that. That’s why my food is so good. (See? I just can’t stop with the snobbishness in this post ;.) )
As you can see, the ingredients are few and fairly cheap. Pictured is double the amount of bacon I would normally use. If you look at the color it has turned you can tell that I needed to use it up so I decided to put it all into this dish. The result was very tasty but it will still be wonderful using a quarter pound of bacon. There are 8 bullion cubes there and that’s one of the changes I made from the original. It called for water and that would just be boring. Chicken broth gives this dish a richness and flavor that water just can’t.
If you’re using the correct amount of bacon you probably won’t need to drain any of the fat because you need about 2 tablespoons to saute everything. If you use any more than the quarter pound you’ll definitely need drain some off or the dish will end up greasy. Once you’ve diced the onion and carrot you can put those in the pot along with the tomato sauce too saute it all together. When everything is golden add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add your diced potatoes and 6 cups of the broth. You should have what looks like soup.
Don’t worry- it will end up a thick, rich, tasty concoction akin to a very thick stew. Now you need to let this simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, giving it a good stir occasionally. Then take a potato masher or the back of you cooking spoon and mash some of the potatoes. That is part of what will thicken everything and what gives the dish it’s satisfying texture.
Once you’ve done that add the last 2 cups of broth and the box of pasta and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until the pasta is cooked all the way through. This is where you’ll need to stir more often. This stuff likes to stick! If you just let it simmer away at this point you will have an inch of cooked on crud at the bottom of your pot. I found that out the hard way once when I had to attend to something else while cooking this dish. It was not fun to try to clean and it wasted about a serving & a half which defeats the purpose of broke food. So stir it every couple of minutes & save yourself the headache. You will end up with something like this…
Now you can add half a cup of Parmesan cheese. As much as I like fresh parm sometimes I just can’t afford it so the stuff in the green can works fine too. Or you can leave it out. You’ll lose a little flavor but not much thanks to the flavor boost the broth added. Serve it up with some biscuits, rolls, or garlic bread and you’re set. It’s even great as leftovers!
The Recipe
1/4 lb. Bacon, diced
1 large Carrot, diced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 T Tomato Paste
1 & 1/2 lbs. Potatoes, diced (the recipe calls for “boiling potatoes”. I use russets because it’s what I buy in bulk & what we like)
8 C Chicken Broth, divided
1 box Ditalini (this is one of those times you have to use shaped pasta. Ditalini works best but you could use stars or a similar sized pasta)
1/2 C Parmesan Cheese, optional
The Method
*Cook bacon until browned but not quite crisp.
*Add diced onion and carrot and the tomato paste and saute until the mixture takes on a golden hue.
*Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
*Add 6 cups of the chicken broth and the diced potatoes and cook uncovered on a medium boil (more than simmering, less than a rolling boil) for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
*With a potato masher or the back of your cooking spoon mash some of the potatoes but not all.
*Add the last 2 cups of chicken broth and the box of pasta. Cook on a medium boil about 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked all the way through and soft. Make sure you stir often!
*Take off the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese if using.
*Serve with bread and maybe a nice salad.
This really is a wonderful, filling dish that you won’t even realize is broke food :.)
I realize I promised to have this post up sooner. I suppose that’s what I get for promising things. As luck would have it I am sick. I wasn’t feeling the greatest when I made this dish Wednesday but as I’m the only one in the house who cooks I had to get dinner on the table. (No- I’m not complaining. I truly enjoy my calling and duties. I am merely stating a fact.) By Thursday when I had planned on writing this post, sitting upright at the computer was not on the list of things I felt up to. But today- Saturday- I feel well enough to put fingers to keyboard. So here goes!
Spaghetti Amatriciana. I can’t take credit for coming up with this on my own of course. The original recipe came from The Sopranos Family Cookbook that I bought years ago. It was not until about 3 months ago that I finally decided to try some recipes out of the book and this was the first. It is an AWESOME recipe! I don’t usually go to Italian restaurants- or order Italian in any other restaurant for that matter. It’s always just so darn mediocre so I don’t bother. Homemade Italian on the other hand is almost always a joy to behold. Modest, hearty, and flavorful almost to a fault. But I have always been intimidated by making homemade Italian. I thought there was just too much involved. Not that I’m against tedious, tricky recipes. I’m not- they can be great fun and I love the challenge. But as a SAHM (Stay at home mom for those not in the know) with 3 young kids and 7 people total to feed right now I don’t often get to make recipes that take hours to put together. And that’s the beauty part of this recipe: It goes together incredibly quickly. I want to apologize for the quality of these pictures. All we have right now is our dirt cheap digital camera that we got a few years ago. The pictures are NOT high quality. However this will be rectified by the next post. Our brand new, 10 mega pixel digital camera will be delivered to Best Buy and picked up by us next week. So after this the pictures will be MUCH better!
First step: Gather your ingredients and start your pasta water heating.
On the cutting board are: garlic, onion, chili pepper flakes, and bacon.
Step 2: In a large pan (it has to be LARGE because you will be adding the pasta when it’s cooked)over medium heat, render bacon with 1 scant tablespoon of olive oil- DON”T DRAIN IT WHEN IT BROWNS! You’ll need all that bacony goodness to saute the onion and garlic. If you use turkey bacon you will have to use 1 & 1/2 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Let the onions turn a nice golden color and then add your garlic. Don’t add it until now because overdone/burnt garlic is very bitter and will ruin the entire dish. So add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
Step 3: Add your UNDRAINED Italian Diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Add chili pepper flakes. I only use about 1 teaspoon but we’re spice wimps. Play with the amount until you get it how you like it. And you can always serve more on the side for those who want it spicy.
Step 4: Let simmer about 20 minutes. Remember what I said about tasting often? This is where you start. You will need to add salt to taste.
Step 5: After about 10 minutes of simmering drop your pasta into the boiling water and let cook until it’s done the way you like it. (What?! You’ve never figured out just how done you like your pasta? Well now would be a good time to try it at different stages of doneness & see wouldn’t it?)
Step 6: When pasta is to desired doneness reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water and then drain the pasta and add to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine. The sauce should evenly coat the pasta with a little left in the bottom of the pan. If the pasta seems too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water a little at a time until it’s to the desired consistency.
Step 7: When pasta and sauce are thoroughly combined take off heat. Now you can serve it family style or plate it up individually.
Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, diced small (if you have a problem with real bacon you can use turkey bacon)
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tsp. chili pepper flakes
1 scant T. olive oil (1 & 1/2 – 2 if using turkey bacon)
3- 15 oz cans Italian seasoned, diced tomatoes in juice
1 lb. Spaghetti
Salt to taste
Large pot of boiling water to cook pasta
*Gather your ingredients and start your pasta water heating.
*In a large pan (it has to be LARGE because you will be adding the pasta when it’s cooked), render bacon with 1 scant tablespoon of olive oil- DON”T DRAIN IT WHEN IT BROWNS! You’ll need all that bacony goodness to saute the onion and garlic. If you use turkey bacon you will have to use 1 & 1/2 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Let the onions turn a nice golden color and then add your garlic. Don’t add it until this step because overdone/burnt garlic is very bitter and will ruin the entire dish. So add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
*Add your UNDRAINED Italian Diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Add chili pepper flakes. I only use about 1 teaspoon but we’re spice wimps. Play with the amount until you get it how you like it. And you can always serve more on the side for those who want it spicy.
*Let simmer about 20 minutes. Remember what I said about tasting often? This is where you start. You will need to salt to taste. After about 10 minutes of simmering drop your pasta into the boiling water and let cook until it’s done the way you like it. (What?! You’ve never figured out just how done you like your pasta? Well now would be a good time to try it at different stages of doneness & see wouldn’t it?)
*When pasta is to desired doneness reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water and then drain the pasta and add to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine. The sauce should evenly coat the pasta with a little left in the bottom of the pan. If the pasta seems too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water a little at a time until it’s to the desired consistency.
*When pasta and sauce are thoroughly combined take off heat. Now you can serve it family style or plate it up individually.
Yes, these are the same directions I gave in the step-by-step. Hey- they were good directions and it seemed the easiest for those who may want to copy & paste. If any of you would like to see it done differently, let me know & we’ll “talk” about it!
One of the wonderful things about this dish is it’s versatility. Don’t eat pork? Use turkey bacon. Don’t like a lot of garlic or onion? Scale it back a bit. Don’t have spaghetti on hand? Use what you’ve got. The original called for buccatini. I looked in every store that’s close to me the 1st time I made this and couldn’t find it. Now I use whatever pasta I’m in the mood for. So go on- get in the kitchen & play!
Yes- this is posted before my welcome. I didn’t mean for that to happen but that’s the way WordPress does things :.( I copied my other posts from Blogger to here today (3-25-12) and I wanted to make sure my welcome was here too. Sorry for any confusion!
NOTE: I started out on Blogspot because people I know have blogs there. I have found that site to be infinitely frustrating to compose on and, having had yet another fight with said site today, I have decided to give WordPress a go. I do apologize for any confusion this may cause but I really am enjoying blogging (even though I don’t get to do as much as I’d like to right now) so I had to do something to make this easier. So here goes…
Today I am rather proud of myself. Today I am going to share one of my super-secret recipes with you, my dear readers. It really is a wrench, giving it to you at all. I’m still getting used to this whole recipe sharing thing and sometimes I revert back to my old habits. See, up until I started this blog I guarded my recipes jealously. I had a password protected file on my computer that held some of my best ones. The rest I kept in my head, never to be shared with anyone. In fact, the first time I made my meatloaf for Ron I made him leave the kitchen and go play with the girls in their room so he wouldn’t see what went into it. Never mind the fact that cooking hotdogs in the microwave is as advanced as he gets in the kitchen. There is only one person in the world that I have shared any of my secret recipes with- my BFF. And you’d better believe that I swore her to secrecy before I handed those precious few recipes over. If I remember correctly I even made her promise to delete the email that contained them. But then I started to really get a passion not only for cooking and feeding people but something completely new to me. My passion started to evolve and grow into a passion for teaching people that what I do isn’t (always) magic. Just about anyone can do it. (Yes; Ratatouille is my absolute favorite movie. I tear up every time I watch it.) Now I’m left with a passion for cooking and for helping others enjoy really great food that comes from their own kitchens. Along with this change came in itch to blog- to really get myself out there. So the fact that I have this blog and am sharing my recipes and secrets is a great stride for me. Progress; not at all as scary as some make it out to be :.)
This Alfredo sauce is not even remotely close to what you can get out of a jar at the store. Or even out of a container in the refrigerator section. Heck- it may not even be remotely close to a real Italian Alfredo sauce. But you know what? I don’t care. It’s so incredibly good that once you start eating it you won’t remember your own name let alone where the dish was supposed to have originated. The only thing that will be important to you is that you take another bite.
The ingredients are so very simple that this sauce can even be made on those very busy, you-think-you-have-no-time-to-cook nights.
Most recipes for Alfredo call for cream or at least milk. This one does not. It gets it’s creaminess from cream cheese. You can use any fat content you like. I use 1/3 less fat but use whatever your arteries can tolerate ;.) And yes- those are 6 giant cloves of garlic. This is a very garlicky dish. Feel free to cut back on it if want to but it won’t be as good. Now, after you brown your chicken your pan should look like this…
This is what the French call fonde and it will add wonderful flavor to whatever is cooked in this pan so be sure to make the sauce in the same pan as your chicken. After you cook your chicken, lower your heat to medium-low and melt your butter. Once it’s completely melted add your minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, until it’s very lightly browned. Then add the block of cream cheese- you can just put the whole thing in, it will be fine. You just have to keep stirring and it will melt. Once it’s melted a bit add your Parmesan. (A note on the parm: It MUST be good quality- NOT from the green can. The Parmesan is the star of this dish and has to be good quality or you might as well not bother.) So that you don’t panic, here is what this will look like:
It’s a great big, ugly mess. But it’s supposed to be. Once you’re at this point stir for a minute and then start adding your chicken broth, about 1/4 cup at a time. Stir each addition in well, using at least 1 & 3/4 cup of the broth total. It will end up looking like this:
Now add your chicken back in, season with white pepper to taste (you don’t want little black flecks in your nice, white sauce), and serve however you’d like. I served mine over spaghetti…
You could easily make this into a pizza sauce but the recipe makes a lot and it does NOT freeze. At all. In fact as it cools it gets a bit grainy because of all of the cheese. It still tastes phenomenal- it’s just not great shakes at being leftovers. If you wanted to you could cut the recipe in half very easily. SO good, SO easy, and it makes me SO happy to share it with you!
The Recipe:
1T Olive Oil
1/2 Lb – 1 Lb Chicken Breast, diced or sliced thin (it all depends on how much chicken you want in the sauce and whether you want chunks or slices)
6 Large or 8 Regular Cloves Garlic, minced
4T Butter
8 Oz. Cream Cheese
8 Oz. Parmesan Cheese (grated or shredded- it doesn’t matter)
2 C Chicken Broth
White Pepper to Taste
The Method:
*Brown the chicken in the olive oil, removing to a bowl when done.
*In the same pan melt the butter.
*Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes or until very lightly browned.
*Add the cream cheese and stir until about half melted then add the Parmesan cheese.
*Stir until the Parmesan starts to melt.
*Add the broth- 1/4 cup at a time, stirring after each addition.
*Add at least 1 & 3/4 cups of the broth total. The whole 2 cups if you like a very thin sauce.
*Serve immediately over whatever you can dream up.
