Upside Down Spaghetti

UPSIDE DOWN SPAGHETTI

Georgia

1 lb. ground beef
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 lg. prego spaghetti sauce

1 (8 oz.) sour cream
Grated mozzarella cheese

Cook meat and add sauce. Place half of the cooked spaghetti in 9x13 in. pan. Add half of sauce mixture. Mix cream cheese and sour cream; place on top, then layer rest of spaghetti, followed by rest of sauce. Add grated mozzarella on top. Bake at 325º for 30 minutes covered. Bake additional 15 minutes uncovered.

Canned Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

CANNED HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Georgia

 

50-60 Roma tomatoes (13 lb. 2 oz. of tomatoes)

4 green peppers

1 whole garlic

3 lbs. yellow onions

4 sticks celery

1 pint vegetable oil

8 small cans tomato paste

½ cup salt

1 ½ c. sugar

2 Tbsp. fresh basil

2 Tbsp. oregano.

 

Slip skins on tomatoes, and cook down for 2 hours.

 

Sauté green peppers, garlic, onions, and celery. (I definitely did NOT use that much oil, and you’ll have to sauté in batches)

 

Puree vegetables in blender, and add to tomatoes. (After I added the vegetables to the tomatoes, I would scoop out some and put it in the blender, and keep doing this until the sauce was to the “chunkiness” I wanted)

 

Then add tomato paste, salt, sugar, basil, and oregano. (I don’t like how much sugar it calls for, next time I’ll be cutting the sugar in half probably)

 

Cook all together for 2 hours, until desired consistency.

 

Steam can for 20 minutes. ( I only have a water bath, so I water-bathed the pints for 50 minutes, and the quarts for 55 minutes.)

 

Good luck! It’s super yummy~!

Pesto Sauce

PESTO SAUCE

Shauna

 

We LOVE Pesto.  There are already several Pesto recipes in this cookbook,

but we found this one this summer, and it's another winner!  YUM. 

(Noah and Whitney were here when we found this treasure. It's from the back of a box of “Ball” canning lids. So it's probably in the Ball Blue Book.)

 

1 cup pine nuts (or walnuts, or no nuts at all if you're out—but pine nuts are the best)

4 cups fresh basil leaves, firmly packed

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup plus 1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 (8 oz) half pint glass canning jars

 

1.     Spread pine nuts on a baking sheet and toast in oven at 450°F until lightly browned.

2.     Puree toasted pine nuts, basil and garlic in a food processor until smooth.

3.     Add Parmesan cheese. processing just to blend.

4.     Add 1 cup olive oil in a slow stream while machine is running.

5.     Place in container and drizzle remaining oil on top.

 

Get ready for some green goodness!!!

 

(We LOVE eating this on French bread, and making Bruschetta (fresh cut tomatoes and basil recipe) to go along with it.) 

Spaghetti Sauce

SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Georgia

 

This is Wes’ mom’s recipe. This is his favorite kind of spaghetti sauce.

 

1. Cook 1 lb. of hamburger with 1 onion and a tsp. of garlic.

2. Add ½ tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 2 ½ c. tomato juice and a can of tomato paste.

3. Let simmer for most of the day. In the last hour add a can of mushrooms.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA

Georgia

 

8 ounces linguine pasta
2 chicken breasts
2 tsp cajun seasoning
2 T butter
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, chopped
1 c heavy cream
Cajun Seasoning to taste (1 Tablespoon-ish)
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Place chicken breasts in a baggie with cajun seasoning (see recipe below). Shake until covered.
3. Cook chicken in frying pan over medium to medium-high heat or cook chicken on a grill over high heat until cooked through. Remove chicken, slice into strips, and set aside.
4. Melt butter in frying pan used to cook chicken (no need to clean it). Saute bell peppers, mushrooms, and onion. Return sliced chicken to pan.
5. Add cajun seasoning to taste. You can add more later as the sauce thickens.
6. Add heavy cream. Allow to cook until sauce thickens (about 5 minutes).
7. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

*** You can mix up the veggies in the pasta. I love to add zucchini to mine when the mood strikes.

Cajun Seasoning:
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper (if you have it, if not, don't fret)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or less depending on how much heat you can handle)
4 1/2 tsp paprika
2 1/2 tsp salt

Make a batch and save it in a little jar or baggie. This can be used on tons of different stuff.

Macaroni and Cheese

MACARONI AND CHEESE FOR ONE (AND 2 AND MORE!)

Georgia

 

A Hearty Portion for One

6 tablespoons uncooked macaroni pasta

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pinch pepper

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon ground mustard

½ cup milk

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1-3 dashes Frank’s hot sauce (to taste)

 

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Grease a ramekin.

2. Fill a small saucepan with water, and bring to a boil. Stir in the macaroni; cook until al dente. Drain well.

3. Meanwhile in another small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, mustard powder, and milk; whisk until smooth. Cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes until the sauce just starts to thicken. Reduce heat to low, and whisk in 1/3 cup cheese and hot sauce. Stir in the cooked macaroni. Spoon the macaroni and cheese into the prepared dish.

4. Bake, uncovered, about 10 minutes..

Hearty Lunch for Two Adults, or a Mom and 2 Kids

¾ cup uncooked macaroni pasta

2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pinch pepper

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

1 cup milk

2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2-6 dashes Frank’s hot sauce (to taste)

(2 ramekins)

 

Family Size

1 ½ cup uncooked macaroni pasta

4 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

2 cups milk

1 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 dashes- 1 tablespoon Frank’s hot sauce (to taste)

(4 ramekins) or I just use a 9x13 glass pan