Spicy Rigatoni with Italian Sausage

This is the one and only photo I have of this amazing dish.  I couldn't hold off for an extra minutes and had to dig right in.  Now that means I will have to make it again soon, SCORE!!!!  I have never seen my father in law eat so much food.  If you follow my blog you know he literally lives like 50 yards away and eats with us a lot.  This was extremely delicious, filling and inexpensive.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 box Rigatoni
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, Pureed
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• dash of hot sauce
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots (I originally planned on just peas, but I am clumsy and grabbed the wrong bag.  The carrots were delicious in it.)

 

Directions:

1. Boil Rigatoni according to package instructions, adding in peas and carrots for last minute.
2. Drain pasta and return to pan with a little butter or olive oil.
3. In a separate pan brown sausage with onions until cooked through.
4. Add cooked sausage and onions into a blender or food processor with red pepper flakes and cayenne.
5. pulse a couple times to break up the sausage and incorporate the seasonings.
6. Return sausage to pan and add in tomato puree. (will look a little like dog food, see below)
   
7. In a separate sauce pan melt butter and sprinkle with flour.
8. Stir flour and butter to create a roux.
9. Slowly stir in heavy cream.
10. Stir in garlic and let thicken.
11. Pour cream sauce into meat sauce and stir together.
12. Pour the sausage cream sauce into the pot with the noodles and stir together.
13. Let pasta sit with sauce for about five minutes before serving.

 

 

 

Spaghetti with Melted Garlic Mozzarella

Like most of you know, I love cheese.  So, why not top it with ooey gooey garlicky cheese?   Spaghetti is an all time classic dish that doesn't really need enhancements.  Well, this idea popped in my head and I had to give it a whirl.  I am in LOVE.  The extra step is so worth the time and don't think I will ever be able to go back to the original.  Initially the plan was to place it under the broiler until it was nice and bubbly however, the dish said, not broiler safe!

Ingredients for spaghetti:

• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 1/2 box thin spaghetti
• 1 jar favorite marinara
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Ingredients for Garlic Mozzarella:

• 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 tablespoon flour

Directions:  Boil noodles according to package directions.  Rinse, drain and return to pot coating with olive oil.  Meanwhile, brown sausage in a large skillet and add all remaining ingredients.  Simmer for around 10 minutes and add to noodles, coating evenly.  In a small saucepan melt butter and stir in flour, forming a roux.  Slowly stir in milk and garlic.  Remove from heat, stir in cheese, pour over spaghetti and serve!

Sloppy Joe's

Who doesn't love Sloppy Joe's?  Growing up I would always get so excited for Sloppy Joe night.  For the last couple years I have always just bought the seasoning mix and they never compared to the ones from my Mom made us.  The other day I suddenly realized her secret ingredient, TOMATO SOUP.  These were delicious and definitely brought  me back to our family dinners.   

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• buns
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:  Brown beef with onions and garlic.  In a small bowl mix all other ingredients and pour over beef.  Let simmer for at least five minutes over medium heat and serve.

Peach Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Another Pork Tenderloin winner!!  This is very similar to my Orange Marmalade Pork Tenderloin, and I actually prefer by a pinch.  The sauce is simply amazing and I have been pondering many other uses for it. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pork tenderloins
• 1 18oz jar peach preserves
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 2 tablespoons apple juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine peach preserves, Worcestershire and apple juice in a medium saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until blended, stirring occasionally.  Place tenderloins in a lightly greased baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour sauce over tenderloins and cover pan with foil.  Bake for one hour and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Baked Tacos

 

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?  I am always finding delicious recipes and dinner ideas.  I came across this one and decided to give it a try, since I was making regular tacos anyways this week.  I love tacos, but tacos with melted cheese are to die for.  I did bake the corn tortillas like she did in the link and I was not a huge fan, so next time I will just buy the flat bottom taco shells. 





Ingredients:

• 1 package flat bottom taco shells
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can refried beans
• 1 4oz can diced green chilies
• 1/2 small sweet onion, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• Favorite Toppings

 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large skillet brown beef with chilies and onions.  Season beef and stir in tomatoes and refried beans.  Spoon mixture into each taco shell and place into a 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle tacos with cheese and bake for about 10 minutes.  Add your favorite toppings and serve.

Ground Beef Stroganoff

Whenever I get together with other Mamas, I always end up asking about their dinner ideas, and this was the latest idea I received.  My husband gobbled this down and my son was literally licking his fingers.  I will say we have another winner! 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package egg noodles
• 1/2 small sweet onion, finely diced
• 1 package mushrooms, optional (my husband picked his out)
• 2 tablespoons butter (if adding mushrooms)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

Directions:  Boil noodles according to package instructions.  In a large skillet melt butter and saute mushrooms until soft, set aside.  Add ground beef and onions to skillet and cook until beef is cook through.  Add soup, sour cream, broth, and seasonings to seasoning to a medium bowl and whisk together until blended together.  Pour over ground beef and heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Serve over noodles and enjoy. 
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pepper, to taste

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I re-created this pizza after ordering it from a local restaurant.  The restaurant serves it with chicken and blue cheese however, I hate blue cheese and my girlfriend is a vegetarian so we ordered half without blue cheese and the whole thing without chicken.  I like pizza but I never crave it and I had been craving this pizza ever since I tried it.  This recipe is really simple and so good.  HUSBAND APPROVED.
Ingredients:

• 1 Boboli thin pizza crust
• Red Hot buffalo sauce
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1 package Tyson Grilled&Ready precooked chicken

Directions:  Pre-Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Spread desired amount of buffalo sauce to pizza crust.  Top with chicken and cheese.  Bake 12-15 minutes and enjoy.

Tepan Yaki Steak with Homemade Shrimp Sauce

I love Japanese Steakhouses so I decided to attempt it at home.  I even made the shrimp sauce.  The sauce was great but not as good as Sakura or Mizu.  This was a great recipe for home and it definately satisfied my craving for Tepan Yaki and was about 1/2 the price of going out.  Also when cooking at home you can control the amount of butter and oil used!
Ingredients:

• 2 Steaks (Flank, New York Strip, whatever cut you choose)
• 1 package mushrooms (Sliced or whole)
• 1 package sprouts or 1-2 cups
• 2 medium zucchini cut however you choose (strips or circles)
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 3 table spoons butter
• Olive oil
• 1 cup rice
• 1-2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
• salt and pepper

Shrimp Sauce: I did a simple google search for this recipe and found several results.  I kind of just blended them all together to make my own.  These measurements might not be exactly what I did so feel free to add more or less of any of them to your liking.

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon mustard or mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon ketchup or tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Directions: Melt two tablespoons butter in saute pan with 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce add mushrooms, onions, and zucchini.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cook to your preference.  Meanwhile heat skillet with olive oil add 1 tablespoon butter if desired and cook steak to your preference season with salt, pepper, and sesame seeds, then cut into bite size pieces.  Add Sprouts to saute pan with the other vegetables and add another tablespoon teriyaki sauce. Meanwhile cook one cup rice in rice cooker. For Shrimp Sauce just blend all ingredients together in bowl.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

Crock Pots are amazing if you have a good recipe for it.  I love coming home from a long day of work with dinner ready.  This recipe is so simple and it tastes great.  It might not look pretty but it tastes good!!
Ingredients

• 1 Pork Shoulder Roast
• 1 large chopped onion
• 3 cups BBQ sauce of your preference (maybe less depending on roast size)
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• sandwich buns of your choice
• 1 package coleslaw + dressing (in bagged salad aisle)

Directions
Season roast with salt and pepper.  Fill bottom of slow cooker with 1/2 of the chopped onions. Place roast on top then add the remaining onions to top of roast.  Add about a cup of water to crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. (Time may differ depending on size of roast)  After meat is cooked drain water leaving the onions and shred meat with fork.  Add BBQ sauce and cook for 30 more minutes until the BBQ sauce is warm. (3 cups BBQ sauce might be to much for some so add one cup at a time and taste to your desire)  Place BBQ meat and coleslaw on a bun and enjoy. 
Cookers note: I add cayenne pepper, paprika, and pepper to my coleslaw to add a little spice.