Sunday Spaghetti, Sauce & the Steelers

For us, Sundays, spaghetti, homemade sauce and the Steelers go hand in hand. There's not a bit of Italian in my Irish blood nor is there in my husband's German, Indian and Heinz 57 blood that runs through him -BUT-I've always felt as though I should be Italian. For one thing, I LOVE Italian food...you name it, I'll eat it. (well...try it, anyway)

Pasta and red sauce are staples in my house. My husband would eat it every other day if I cooked it. I'm always trying something new with my sauce. Here's what I cooked today:

Red Sauce w/ Hot Sausage

2 lg. cans of crushed tomatoes w/basil
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 TBSP. minced garlic
2 TBSP dried Italian seasoning
3 links of hot sausage
olive oil

Pour 2 TBSP olive oil into a large frying pan.

Remove casings from hot sausage and crumble into the pan. Cook over medium heat until all pink is gone, and then add garlic & Italian seasonings. Stir to mix.

Add cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir to mix thoroughly.

Cover with lid and simmer for 2 -3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve over spaghetti. Top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Cooking with Alicia & Annie - Cinnamon Apple Waffles with Cider Syrup

I decided that I was going to make some breakfast items that could be frozen and easily reheated on school mornings. Although my kids love cold cereal, they get bored with it after a while. I dug my waffle iron out of storage over the weekend and now I'm determined to put it to good use.

I chose the Cinnamon Apple Waffles with Cider Syrup recipe from Alicia's for the Cooking with Alicia and Annie Cooking Contest.

The recipe was easy to make following the directions that were provided. I made a slight change to the spices --instead of using the spices that were called for, I used 1 tsp. of apple pie spice. I will use 2 tsp. the next time I make them. I also used peeled Granny Smith apples.

The recipe says that it makes 12 waffles but I only got 10 out of mine batch.

I was disappointed to see that there wasn't a recipe for the cider syrup. Instead, I served them with butter and Maple syrup to my daughter. My son and husband had butter and cinnamon sugar on theirs. Everyone liked them.

A tip to freeze them: Freeze the waffles in a single layer on a baking sheet until frozen, then stack between layers of waxed paper in plastic freezer baggies. To reheat, warm in the toaster.


Cinnamon Apple Waffles
1-1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. apple pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, separated
1 c. plus 3 tbsp. skim milk
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 c. finely chopped peeled Granny Smith apples, about 1/2 lb.
Vegetable cooking spray


Instructions:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir well and set aside.

Beat egg whites (at room temperature) at high speed of an electric mixer until stiff peaks form; set aside.

Combine yolks, milk, and oil in large bowl; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until well blended. Add flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Stir in apple.

Gently fold egg whites into flour mixture.

Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray; allow the waffle iron to preheat.

Pour 1/4 cup batter per waffle into hot waffle iron. Bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops.
Yields 10 servings

Yummy Halloween Treats!

I love Halloween and all of the cooking, baking and decorating to go along with it!

All of my recipes pictured here are being featured at FamilyCorner.com. Just click on the title of each treat to read the recipe. :)


Mummy Cookies




Spooky Eyeballs on a Stick




Pumpkin Cake Balls




Vampire Bat Cake Balls




Tombstone Cheesecake Cups

Cajun Beef & Cheese Wraps

Cleaning out the cupboards is turning out to be not so bad after all. I found 4 sandwich steaks buried in the freezer so that went into planning my lunch, with leftovers for the kids to gobble up after school. I had 1/2 of an onion and green pepper left in the frig. from making spaghetti sauce. Those, together with the sandwich steaks, a couple of pieces of cheese, some canned mushrooms and some tortillas would be today's salvage.

Here's what I did:

Add 1/4 C. water to a medium-sized frying pan. Turn heat to medium-low.

Cut the 1/2 pieces of pepper and onions into strips, and then toss into the pan. Cook until tender crisp and all of the water has evaporated from the pan. Add 1 tsp. olive oil to the pan along with 1 small can of sliced mushrooms (drained well). Add 2 tsp. minced garlic and 2 tsp of cajun seasonings (the kind with no salt added). Saute until everything is heated through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Put pan back onto the stove. Slice or break frozen sandwich steaks into long strips and add to pan. Cook until all meat has been browned. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

To make 2 large wraps or 4 "kid" size wraps:

Lay a tortilla flat on a plate. On one side of the tortilla start with a layer of meat, followed by the onions and peppers, and then topped with 2 pieces of cheese. (I used Muenster). Roll up the tortilla, tucking the ends in as you roll it up.

Wash and dry the frying pan and put it back onto the stove on medium heat. Add the tortilla to the pan and turn to brown evenly all over.

Cut wrap in half and serve with a side of sauce*

Sauce

1/4 c. mayo

2 TBSP salsa

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Dessert

This ice cream dessert is sinfully good! I LOVE Andes Candies so mixing them together with ice cream sandwiches, whipped topping and hot fudge is over-the-top delicious!

What You Need
12 ice cream sandwiches
1 carton frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 jar hot fudge ice cream topping
1 tsp. mint extract
1 c. Andes Candies Chocolate Mint Chips


What You Do
Cut 4 ice cream sandwiches in half. Place 4 whole ice cream sandwiches side by side in an un-greased 9 x 9 in. pan. Lay 1- 1/2 piece of ice sandwich at the end of each of the 4 whole sandwiches. The bottom of the pan should be full.

Spread with a thin layer of whipped topping.

Pour the entire jar of hot fudge sauce into a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 15 seconds. Stir in 1 tsp. of mint extract. Spoon 1/2 of the hot fudge sauce over the whipped topping.

Repeat layer with remaining ice cream sandwiches, then remaining hot fudge sauce and top with whipped topping.

Tent with Aluminum foil and freeze for at least 3 hrs. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving and sprinkle with Andes Candies mint chips. Cut into small squares.