Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Here's another winner I found from Melskitchencafe.com Best Recipes List. We just ate this for dinner tonight and I think I've found my favorite spaghetti sauce. I'll type the recipe up as she posted it, but I did make some changes.

My personal changes: I omitted the mushrooms and red pepper. I used 1 lb of Italian sausage only since my kids don't like the sauce too meaty.

*This batch makes a TON. I fed my family of 5, then filled two 48 oz. containers with the leftovers and put it in the freezer. Mel of Melskitchencafe.com says that the finished sauce freezes well. To serve, thaw in a refrigerator (about a day) and reheat over medium-low heat in a pan on the stove. It's always nice to have delicious spaghetti sauce on hand.

3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 c. onion, chopped and divided
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 lbs. hamburger
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 12 oz. can tomato paste (or two 6 oz. cans)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoons dried oregano
3 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 14-oz. cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 carton fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 1/2 c. beef stock or beef broth
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add 1/2 of the onions and saute until translucent and slightly browned. Add garlic and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add beef and cook until no red is showing. Drain beef slightly. Blend up the remaining onions and red pepper in a blender or food processor until mostly smooth. Add mixture to the garlic, onions and beef and stir to combine, cooking for another minute. Add tomato paste and spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring until combined. Add tomatoes, beef broth and sugar (and mushrooms, if using). Stir until combined and add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Fifteen minutes before serving, stir in the balsamic vinegar.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

I have found a bunch of yummy recipes from Melskitchencafe.com Particularly from her The Best Recipe List. This chicken dish is very good. My entire family eats it and it's super easy. It tastes like chinese take out, but even better -- cuz you made it!

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 c. cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Cut chicken into approx bite size pieces (maybe a little bigger). Season with salt & pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg mixture. Fry in a pan with the oil until lightly brown, but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
3/4 c. sugar
4 Tablespoon ketchup
1/2 c. vinegar (I use whatever I have, which happens to be apple cider vinegar)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt/powder

Bake for one hour at 325. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve chicken over rice. Toss some chopped green onions on for garnish.

Eggnog Cookies

If you like Eggnog, you'll LOVE these cookies.

21/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg, plus extra for sprinkling

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup salted butter, softened

1/2 cup eggnog

2 large egg yolks

Preheat an oven to 300. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer to form a grainy paste. Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks. Beat at medium speed till smooth.

Add the flour mixture on low until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, 1 inch a part. Sprinkle lightly with a little nutmeg. Bake 23-25 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Immediately transfer to cooling rack.

Austrian Goulash Suppe

This is a recipe that has been passed down to me from my mother, who got it from her mother. I've modified it a bit since I couldn't remember the exact details.

Ingredients:

1 lb. stew meat (cut small bite size pieces)
1 large onion or 2 small chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons paprika
4 cups water
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon
oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot brown the onions and garlic in oil. I used olive oil. Add meat until brown. Cover with water and add paprika and bouillon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Serve over hot noodles, rice, or potatoes. Great for a rainy or snowy day.

Pumpkin Bars

Bars:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened (or up the ante and use 1/2 pumpkin cream cheese which makes it that much more amazing!)
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:

2 cans 28 oz. diced tomatoes or 4 cans 14 oz. diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 to 1 onion (chopped)
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic (minced)
pinch of baking soda
1 tablespoon fresh basil (chopped) or 1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups cream

Directions:

Mix tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, butter, onion, garlic, baking soda in a pot. Simmer for 1 hour. Then heat cream in a small pan, stir to avoid burning or use a double boiler. Add cream to hot soup mixture.

Sprite Cake

This cake is super moist and tastes almost homemade! (For this cake I doubled the recipe, you could probably get a decent two layer cake if you only did one)

1 box white cake mix

1 10oz can Sprite (mini can)

4 eggs

3/4 cup oil

1 3oz box instant Vanilla pudding

Mix all ingredients together, but don't over beat. Preheat oven to 350 and grease 2 (or 3) 9 inch round cake pans.

Separate mix into however many bowls of different colors you'd like. We had 4, I've seen Rainbow before with 7 bowls. Food color away. Remember, the more vivid the color, the better and brighter it will bake. For the first color, use a 1 cup (or smaller depending on how many colors you have) and drop one circle into the center of the pan. Repeat with alternating colors, dropping the next on top of one another, creating concentric circles, like above. The previous color will get pushed out as the color on top hits. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool, cut tops off to make flat. You can leave the top one rounded or flatten it, whatever you like.

We used a whipped cream filling that was light and airy with fresh strawberries.

Icing

3 cups heavy whipping cream, beaten into soft, but firm peaks

3/4 cup powdered sugar beaten into the peaks

any food color

you want this icing pretty firm- almost like a regular buttercream icing.

Strawberries diced with a little sugar. Don't over sugar them or you'll get a ton of syrup and the cake will be really wet and can affect the icing.

When layering, put the icing first, then the strawberries on top, then the next cake layer.

click on picture to see the color swirls better