Pasta Surprise

There are millions of ways that you can make pasta... and being tired of just the same old plain spaghetti with red sauce or cold spaghetti salad. I looked around the fridge and pantry to see what I could find to make something a little different for tonight's dinner.

This is what I came up with...

I had some kielbasa in the freezer and I boiled, drained and cut it into pieces. Next I cooked up some onions and garlic to soften them up.

I boiled the mostaccioli noodles while the onion/garlic combo was cooking.

I drained the pasta, and to the empty pot I added: the cooked onions and garlic, parmesan cheese, mushrooms, kielbasa, green olives, a can of diced tomatoes, leftover pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce.

For spices, I added, ground chipotle, salt and pepper, ground cinnamon, ground mustard, basil, oregano and parsley.

Add the pasta back in, and viola! Dinner is served.

It was pretty good, even though it sounds pretty bad, lol. The flavors combine perfect into a hearty dish. I'll probably make something like this again someday, now that I have put it out here for all posterity.

Oriental Steak - RECIPE ADDED

When I was a kid... my mom bought me this cookbook called, Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook. It was published in 1979, so I'll assume that is when I got it. One of the recipes I used to make and still make on occasion, is called Oriental Steak. It's sort of the same as pepper steak.

Since I was given fresh tomatoes and peppers, I decided to make some of this tonight. I have to say, after 20+ years, it still tastes the same.

The combination of peppers and tomatoes along with the soy sauce, rice and steak will probably continue to be a favorite of mine for years to come.


2017 UPDATE:

Since restarting my blog, I decided to share this recipe as it is written in the cookbook it came out of. Here is the recipe:

1 green pepper - cut into thin strips
1 tomato - cut into pieces
1 cup cold water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
4 small beef cubed steaks
rice or noodles

1. Put water, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and salt into a jar. Screw on lid tightly and shake until smooth. Set aside.

2. Put oil in skillet. Over medium-high heat, add green pepper. Cook until lightly browned. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and put on plate.

3. Put steaks in pan. Brown on each side. Remove and put on plate.

4. Shake mixture in jar again. Pour into skillet. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.

5. Put meat and peppers back into pan. Add tomato and heat through. Serve over rice or noodles.

Fresh Tomato Pizza

Saturday afternoon found myself driving to grandma's to get some fresh tomatoes. Since I was a kid, one of the finest tastes in my life has been the tomatoes out of her garden. Nothing has ever come close to the rich sweetness that I've enjoyed throughout the years. That just made me sound really old, lol... but no, I'm only 38... I remember sitting in her garden when I was little, with just a salt shaker, picking tomatoes off the vines and eating them right there.

Simple pleasures can be had when you're a child that you cherish the memory and savor the flavor that you've grown to love.

So when she called, I was so there, lol...

Now the question was... what to do with them... of course I ate one or two the same way I used to, only over the kitchen sink and not in the garden, but definitely with my trusty salt shaker. I thought since I bought some cornmeal for scooting my pizza's out onto the stone in the oven. I'd try a fresh tomato pizza.

Not in the mood for sauce, I only topped it with some olive oil, tomato, green olives, oregano, basil, fresh garlic (out of my moms garden), and salt.

I could have put more on it, but I didn't want the flavor of the tomato to be lost with everything else. So I kept it pretty simple.

I have to say, I'm getting really good at mastering pizza dough and baking it. Not being conceited at all... it's been a long time coming. I could never get the crust right and it always used to turn out undercooked. Not anymore. Not with the stone and an extremely hot oven. I'm thinking of all kinds of toppings to try. Believe me, I'm coming up with some interesting combinations. One of these days, there's going to be a seafood one... That's a promise.

So, the pizza turned out... incredible.

A nice sweet taste of the tomato combine with a slight bite from the garlic and olives. Even the olive oil gave a nice delicate flavor and balance along with the few spices.

So for all of you cooks out there... a simple pizza like this... try it... I'm sure you'll enjoy!

Brazilian-style Flan

What makes flan, Brazilian style?

That is the question I'm pondering at the moment. Most flans are made mostly of eggs. I found this recipe on the web and it calls for condensed milk. I think that's the reason for it being 'Brazilian' style. Brazilians are notorious for using condensed milk in their desserts. I should know, I've been there to taste quite a few. It seemed that most desserts I tried, there was condensed milk in it... they even go so far as taking a can of condensed milk, not opening it, boiling the can and it creates a a sort of dulce de leche dessert. I've tried that here in the states and it actually works. It's really sweet, but it is good.

Now for the flan. I'm a huge fan of Cuban flan, having made Gloria Estefan's recipe since I saw it in a magazine probably 10 years ago.

This version, isn't too sweet, but is very rich and creamy. The caramelized sugar topping is excellent and produces just the correct amount of sweetness to round it out.

Google it... it's a must make dessert.

Homemade Salsa

So, Wednesday morning mom decided to bring over an abundance of tomatoes and all of the other ingredients for me to make homemade salsa. I call it slave labor, lol... But since I love being in the kitchen, I decided that was pretty cool. I'd make it and she'd enjoy the fruits of my labor.

The recipe she found called for blanching the tomatoes. Well, I did that... And I have to say... NEVER AGAIN! NOT for salsa. It just made them too mushy and in salsa, I happen to like my tomato to be a bit firm. Years ago when I made it, I just cut them up. Next time I make it... you can bet I'll just be cutting them and not skinning them. Would make for a nicer looking salsa and hopefully one that isn't as juicy.

But I do have to say, with the tomatoes, green peppers, onions and jalapenos, and with the few spices I used, along with garlic... It has a really rich incredible flavor.

And that's even on top of my pressure canner not sealing correctly. So I timed it as I normally would, took the hot jars out and turned them upside down on a tea towel. That worked in sealing them, which I thought was good. Time for a new gasket on that thing. I'm thinking I'll possibly make homemade sauerkraut this year, and I'm going to have to can those jars too. And those definitely need a good tight seal.

So, I'm hoping mom likes the flavor of this stuff. She said something about some other uses of her garden tomatoes. Who knows what kind of adventure I'll get into with her ingredients next.

Shrimp Stuffed Burgers

So the other night I pondered what to make for dinner. Since my freezer is completely loaded, I decided to come up with something a bit out of the ordinary. I knew I wanted a burger. I saw the frozen shrimp in there and thought... hmmm... what would it taste like to combine the two. Stuff the burgers with a shrimp mixture. I thought the idea interesting and thawed both to try it.

First of all, I wrote down the night before what I could use to flavor the shrimp. I knew, of course, there would be garlic, as I love the vegetable and always gives food a nice flavor. So, I used fresh garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, basil and oregano. I also splashed it with a touch of Triple Sec for an interesting orange flavor. Well, hey, if you're going to have shrimp and it comes from the sea, you might as well give it a nice tropical citrus taste, right?! Plus I have an overabundance of alcohol that I can throw into my dishes for flavor, lol.

I took the spices and ground them to powder using my mortar and pestle, and then I used a touch of butter in the skillet and cooked up the garlic and spices first, then added the shrimp. Oh my, the intense and delicious flavor that it gave the shrimp was incredible.

Once I let that cool, I ground up the shrimp. Made a nice little filling and put it into a large bowl.

To that, I added some shredded colby/jack cheese.

When I decided that forming burgers and using two patties to put the shrimp into, I thought, nope, just mix it all together, so that's what I did instead. The mixture proved a bit soft, so I added an egg and some unflavored bread crumbs. That worked and into the cast iron skillet six burgers went.

I have to say... the flavor was incredible. I tasted the shrimp filling and the cheese inside. I toasted two slices of white bread to serve. They were juicy and cooked just to perfection.

Dijon Honey Salmon...

So for lunch today, I decided to figure something with the salmon steak I bought the other night. I didn't want to smoke it this time, although, I'm thinking I probably should have. Instead, I made a sort of honey mustard to go on top of it to bake.

I mixed some dijon, honey, salt & pepper, garlic and parsley... Now, I don't really like honey/mustard. And I've determined that I still don't care for it... Had I made the mixture more dijon, I would have liked it better, I think.

However, it didn't taste too bad baked on top of the salmon. I kind of liked it...

I did top the fish with sour cream though, lol... Also served with a side of green beans.

Not too bad for a lunchtime meal...

Taco soup...

Ok, so I come to finally posting about the taco soup...

Something so simple, a college student could make this in their dorm if they had a crock pot... Just ground beef and some canned goods is all it takes... However, my spin, I followed the directions exactly, it turned out fantastic, but I topped it with some cheese and sour cream. Had I had chives here, those would have been a good garnish as well.

I'm supposing this stuff will freeze well, considering what is in it... you wouldn't think that those few things would fill up the cooker, but it did. I don't want any of it to go bad, so I'm going to divide it up into one person portions and freeze. Good idea on my lack of budget, lol.

The soup itself, has a great bold taco flavor... sort of reminiscent of real tacos. I even used tortillas to serve with also. It was robust, a bit on the medium side of the heat scale. Not too hot, but not too mild either. Very good this way. I do have to say. You get the taste of the corn, beans, burger and tomato in every bite. Very good. Very well balanced in the flavor.

Something to definitely make again someday... Would be a very good winter soup to make, as it's hearty and not very thin... almost on the side of a chili.

I'm thinking it would be good with chicken instead of beef as well.

The pepperoni and the pizza...

I do have to get on here and talk about that homemade pepperoni that I made. It was delicious and really did taste like the store bought stuff... That doesn't mean I won't buy the real thing from time to time... laziness will probably get the best of me with that.

The pizza I made with it, was just the pepperoni, colby/jack cheese, cream cheese, my homemade sauce and mushrooms... It was fantastic...

Now that I bought corn meal, I know my pizza adventures will get better, only because now, the pizza will be easier to get in and out of the oven. All I need to get is that pizza peel and I'll be good to go... Me and my gadgets, lol... when I move, it's going to be hell to determine what to keep, what to store and what to take... time will only tell...

A few pictures of the pepperoni itself and the pizza I put it on... hopefully this thing will allow the proper way to view it and not put it opposite of what the picture is supposed to be...

For dinner tonight... is taco soup... more on that later!


The pepperoni...


The pizza....

Pepperoni???

Yesterday, before I made that pizza, I cooked the bacon in one of my trusty cast iron skillets. Well, it's well seasoned, but I use salt and hot water to get all the stuck foods out of it. I'm a little low on salt until Friday and remembered I had a big container of Tender Quick food preserver in my pantry. Knowing it was mostly salt, and I needed an abrasive, I just used that to clean out the cast iron skillet.

Well, my curiosities made me wonder what exactly was in it. So I googled it and got the Morton website. I saw the ingredients, and then I noticed there were recipes on there. Hmmmm, me + a site with recipes = hours spending looking through them, lol.

So, I clicked on the preserve and canning section and found myself face to face with recipes for both pepperoni and salami... I looked at both and found I have most of the spices needed to make them, plus the beef. So, last night, I got out some ground beef to thaw.

It's funny that all this recipe consists of is: tender quick, liquid smoke, ground black pepper, mustard seed, fennel seed, red pepper, anise seed and garlic powder. If you want the exact measurements to make it... hey, go to the website and get it yourself... Mix it all up, wrap it, fridge it overnight and then make the necessary preparations tomorrow...

Here is the link to the recipe: Pepperoni

I was going to use that on a pizza tonight, but that's going to have to wait. I want to try this 'pepperoni'...

It smells like the store bought stuff... I nuked a small piece of it in the micro... it tastes almost identical... so, I'm really looking forward to continuing the process and making pizza tomorrow...

Pictures and a review to come... stay tuned!!



Now... what's for dinner tonight??!!!

Update!! Chicken Bacon Pizza...

Ok, so can I also say this combination is phenomenal!!!

On top, I of course used my homemade pizza sauce. Topped it with the chicken. Bacon. Colby/Jack cheese. Cream Cheese and mushrooms.

To die for!!

Incredible!!

Need I say more??!! Sometimes I really do impress myself!

Chicken Bacon Pizza

So, It's been a while since I cooked anything major. Tonight I'll be trying my hand at a chicken and bacon pizza. Hey, it's in the freezer, so I figured, what the hell. Hopefully the dough will thaw out in a decent amount of time, as I've already got the chicken boiling in water with garlic powder, paprika, salt and ground chipotle.

The bacon and sauce are also thawing in the fridge. Wonder what else I can top this bad boy with tonight? Any suggestions??

Will let the world know how it turns out, when it turns out...


Ohhh, and did I forget to mention... just for shits and giggles, I threw in a splash of orange extract??!! Tasted the chicken after cutting to see if it was done...

Hmmm - yum!