Ragu ala Bolognese

Holy Goodness!! This was really good. I. Mean. Reeeeeallly.  Reeeeallly.  GOOD! A definite keeper! It takes a few minutes to get all the goodies chopped and cooked then it just simmers for 2 hours...add to spaghetti noodles and Presto! A terrific dish!

~Recipe~
"some" extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
1 celery stalk finely chopped
1/2 pound minced ground beef**I used turkey**
2 ounces finely minced prosciutto crudo or bacon**I used prosciutto**
1/2 cup red wine
1 large can crushed tomatoes**I used a good quality**
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound spaghetti

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Saute onion, carrot and celery until soft. Add meat and prosciutto.  Pour in the red wine and cook until it is evaporated.  Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper and simmer for 2 hours.  Cook spaghetti and and stir the sauce into the cooked pasta.  This is a great dish! Enjoy~

Banana Crumb Cake

Love coconut.  Love bananas.  Thought this would be a yummy hit.  I thought it was too heavy.  It was a good breakfast cake but not a snack cake, in our house. It gave 1/2 to the neighbors and they said they looked it.  It needed vanilla ice cream if you were using it as a dessert.

~Recipe~
2 cups sugar
1 cup coconut milk
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 stick butter
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla

*Topping*
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour

Spray a 9 x 13 pan.  Add bananas and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat until bananas are liquid.  Add butter and mix until creamed.  Add all other ingredients and blend well.  In a medium bowl place all topping ingredients and cit together with a fork until blended.  Pour 1/2 batter in the bottom of the prepared pan and top with 1/2 crumb mixture...pour remaining batter and top with remaining topping.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Enjoy~

Creamy Lemon Rotini

This is a great side dish with a ton of flavor. This was the first time I had made it and it was a perfect addition to the dinner.

~Recipe~
4 cups rotini pasta, cooked according to package directions
2 Tbsp butter
 4 ounces of cream cheese, cubed
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp dried parsley**I used fresh**
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
Melt butter in a large sauce pan and mix in the cream cheese and milk.  Stir constantly until the cream cheese is completely melted and the sauce is well blended.  Stir in 2 Tbsp of the Parm. Toss the cooked rotini with the sauce, the zest and parsley until evenly coated.  Top with the pepper and the rest of the Parmesan cheese. YUM!

Enjoy~

Romaine Salad with lemon cream dressing

Fresh! Springy! Yum! This simple salad is easy and delish!

~Recipe~
Whisk together ~
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp shredded or grated Parmesan
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups romaine lettuce chopped
*I added tomatoes, more shredded parm cheese and croutons **
Enjoy~

Slow Cooker Swiss Steak

Eh....not what I thought this would be! But it was cold out and I wanted to use the slow cooker.  It was too tomatoey for us.  I will pass it on and you can decide for yourselves!

~Recipe~
2 Tbsp oil
2 lbs of beef round steak cut into serving pieces
1/2 cup flour
4 potatoes peeled and quartered
5 carrots sliced
2 onions sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
Heat the oil in a skillet and coat the steak in the flour and brown in the oil.  Remove the steak from the skillet and drain.  Place the potatoes, carrots and onion in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Place the steak on top of the veggies and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour the tomatoes and tomato sauce over the meat.  Cook on low for 10 hours. Enjoy~

Chicken and Asparagus in White Wine Sauce

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  • I came across this recipe in an old issue(from 2007) of Cooking Light! I love to make asparagus and I found some great spears, tops only, really tender and YUMMY! I thought this would be fabulous. MY only complaint is that it did not keep well.  Tony was a little late from the airport and his asparagus wasn't as good as ours was when he ate it.  But the kids and I really enjoyed it!
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  • ~Recipe~
  • 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 3/4  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  • 2  tablespoons  butter
  • 1/2  cup  all-purpose flour
  • 1/2  cup  dry white wine
  • 1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 2  garlic cloves, minced
  • 1  pound  asparagus spears, trimmed
  • 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
  • 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
  Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken breasts evenly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

  Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add wine, broth, and garlic to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes. Add asparagus; cover and cook 3 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and juice. Serve asparagus and sauce with chicken. I served it with broiled garlic bread and it was great! Enjoy~

  

  
  

  
  

Carrot cake

We love carrot cake! For my birthday my friend brought me a carrot cake.  Her birthday is today...her daughter requested I make HER a carrot cake...so I did! I also made one for us....that is ok, right?


~Recipe~
4 eggs
2 tsp soda
1 1/2 cups oil
3 small jars of carrot baby food
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
**you can add in raisins or nuts if you wish**
Mix all together and put in a greased jelly roll pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cream Cheese frosting
3 1/2 cups  powdered sugar
1 8 ounce cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter
Beat together and frost!
Easy and De-lish!
Enjoy~