Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce.A food that everyone seems to have their versions of.This is the best spaghetti sauce that I have ever tasted.It is my nana's recipe and I have never tasted another remotely like it.Everyone that has tasted it has enjoyed it and gone back for seconds.I make a double batch and freeze the leftovers for busy weeknights.Serve with a salad and big,crusty bread and you have a complete meal.Nana's recipe calls for ground beef but you can certainly lighten it up with ground turkey.And please don't leave out the Heinz 57 sauce.It is crucial to the outcome.My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Nana's Spaghetti Sauce

3 lbs ground beef

1 large onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon onion salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Heinz 57 steak sauce

1 teaspoon italian seasoning

Brown onion and green pepper in a large skillet in a small amount of oil.

Add ground beef to the onion and green peppers; cook until brown.

Carefully drain the hamburger mixture and return to the skillet.

Add the tomato sauce, onion salt, salt, garlic salt, oregano, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Heinz 57 and Italian seasoning.

Stir well and simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours.

Serve over your favorite pasta with garlic bread and a salad.

Slow Roasted Beef Tenderloin

January is a big birthday month around here. Two of our sons and my mother all celebrate theirs in the dead of winter. I usually make dinner the night of their special days. This year one of my sons requested this roasted beef.Which I am glad he did, because it is one of my all time favorites. The beef can be a bit pricey, so it doesn't get eaten too often around here. So it is a treat when it is made. Makes the house smell wonderful!


Slow Roasted Beef Tenderloin

INGREDIENTS:

1 (5-6 pound) beef tenderloin 2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 T minced garlic (or more to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Allow roast to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
2.	Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F . Combine the salt and pepper in a small cup. Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan so that the fatty side is up and the rib side is on the bottom. Rub the seasoning onto the roast. With your hands, rub the garlic over the salt and pepper.
3.	Roast for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Turn the oven off and leave the roast inside. Do not open the door. Leave it in there for 3 hours. 30 to 40 minutes before serving, turn the oven back on at 375 degrees F to reheat the roast. The internal temperature should be at least 145 degrees F . Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving into servings.

Mongolian Beef

Yet another chinese dinner  on my blog! What can I say? My kids love chinese food and we do not live near any restaurants that we can get a quick fix whenever we want. So I have learned to make it at home.  I love the Mongolian Beef served at P.F. Chang's and this recipe tides me over until I can get a date night dinner every now and again. I like this recipe because it is super easy to put together. And I do not have a lot of pots and pans to clean up, which I am notorious for when I pull out my wok. This is made in a large skillet and takes minimal effort. Just make sure you have all the ingredients already portioned out and put together. It will go faster when you do. And to make it extra easy on me on those busy nights, I steam a few bags of rice in the microwave and  dinner is ready in no time. I *heart* steamed rice in the microwave. Lately, every single time I make it the old fashioned way, it is way too mushy. ;)

Mongolian Beef

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili paste with garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 lb sirloin steaks, thinly sliced across the grain
• 16 medium green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
  
  

Directions

1. Whisk together the first 8 ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Sauté ginger, garlic, and beef for about 2 minutes or until beef is browned.
3. Add green onion pieces and sauté for 30 seconds.
4. Add soy sauce mixture and cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.
5. Serve over rice.

Poppy Love

One of my favorite flowers is the poppy. I love the bright red color and the black center. When I want to add a pop of color  , I always add something with poppies. It is cold and white and wintry here in PA, so I thought a few poppies would brighten your day! Happy Tuesday!

I love these earrings from Beautyspot . 

This fabric bin  from BaffinBags would look perfect in my living room to help corral toys!

I would love to send  someone a note on a piece of this stationery. Made by TheSweetUnfolding .

Such a cute journal from PeaseBlossomStudio . And small enough to carry in my bag!

Handmade fabric poppy earrings from AutMandata . Gorgeous!

I love the print background of this Dictionary Art Print from Woodendoll .

Roasted Maple Butter Chicken

My goal for the rest of January is to use the food I already have in the house. Today I took inventory and I believe my goal will run well in to February. I had three huge roasters .Three. I had no idea I had bought that many to freeze. November and December was a blur. I seriously need to write down all that I buy and keep a running record so I will not over buy in the future. Anyway, I decided to play around with what I had on hand and came up with a Maple Butter Chicken that turned out very good. Super Simple. I made more than enough butter, but there is a method to my madness...I made three loaves of bread today and I wanted  to have maple butter to spread on toast for the boys in the morning. They love it and it is going to be freezing , so   hopefully toast with maple butter, hot cocoa and oatmeal will keep them full until lunch.

Roasted Maple Butter Chicken

1 Roaster chicken, about 4 pounds
2 T maple butter (recipe follows)
1 T Montreal Steak Seasoning (made by McCormick)
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash roaster and pat dry with a paper towel. Set , breast side up, in a roasting pan.

Carefully lift the skin from the breast and the legs of the chicken. Rub 1 T of maple butter per breast/leg under the skin. (2 T total)

Your hands will be buttery, so use the butter on your hands to rub the outside of the skin with the leftover butter adhered to your hands.

shake the steak seasoning all over the chicken (breasts, thighs, legs and wings) Rub in the seasoning with your hands.

Put the onion and garlic into the cavity of the chicken.

Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear.Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before carving.

MAPLE BUTTER


1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup real maple syrup

Mix the butter and maple syrup with an electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Store in the refrigerator .

My Favorite Things - Cloche hats

It has long been said that I  am a lover of old things. A bygone era. When someone mentions it, I usually just shrug it off and go crochet something.Just kidding. But I really do love old fashionedness. In all it's forms. Which is why I love wearing cloche hats in the colder months. Think Daisy in The Great Gatsby. Or Susannah in Legends of the Fall. Yesterday I realized just how un-modern I was when I ran into town to run a few errands before the snow came, and I received 4 compliments on the cloche hat I was wearing...all by women 60 or older! I have amassed quite a collection that just grew when I was finding Etsy shops that sold them. I just bought two more .SSHHHH...don't tell my husband! Here are a few gorgeous cloche hats I found for you. There are links directly to the Etsy pages right under the pics. Enjoy!

                ChiCreations

               KraftyPalette

            Xeino

        TheMillineryShop

      BonniesKnitting

Framed Books of the Bible Print

I was playing around on the computer the other day with word art and came up with this . Books of the Bible. I did it in blacks and grays and I love it. I printed it out and  cut it to fit the frame. It sits on my bedside table . I think I will now do a women of the Bible . Stay tuned...

Chicken Tortilla Soup

One of my favorite soups to make on cold winter days is chicken tortilla soup. Last month I attended a potluck dinner  at a friend's house and I brought a double recipe of this soup. I brought home an empty container. This soup recipe is very versatile. You can add corn and black beans to make it heartier ( and to stretch it, just in case you have extra dinner guests) . I serve diced avocado, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro and sour cream as add on items. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons canola oil
• 8 corn tortillas, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 medium onions, chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 large cooked chicken breast halves, shredded or diced

GARNISH

• shredded cheese( I use monterey jack)
• diced avocados
• sour cream cilantro 
  
  

Directions

1. In dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the tortillas, garlic, cilantro and onion, cooking for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, bringing to a boil.
4. Add cumin, chili powder and bay leaves.
5. Add chicken stock and return to a boil.
6. Reduce heat.
7. Add salt and cayenne and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
8. Remove bay leaves and stir in shredded chicken.
   
   
   

General Tso Chicken

Every year I on their birthdays, I make the boys a dinner of their choosing. Yesterday, our oldest turned 13 and he asked for General Tso's Chicken, Vegetable Fried Rice and Steamed Garlic Broccoli. This recipe is a bit time consuming to make, but the final outcome is so good. So much better than take out. Here is the recipe  for  the chicken. The rice and the broccoli will be added later.

General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients

 

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken thighs

3 T low sodium soy sauce

1/2 tsp pepper 

1 egg

1/2 c cornstartch

oil, for frying

 

Sauce: 

1/4 c cornstarch 

3 T water

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

3 T white vinegar

1 tsp red pepper flake 

 

Directions

1. In a zip-lock  bag, combine marinade and chicken. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. While marinating, assemble rest of ingredients (except chilies) and combine in a bowl. 
2. After marinating, fry chicken and drain. Keep warm.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until the cornstarch is combined; add to the skillet and bring to a boil and reduce heat. Mixture should thicken up a bit.
4. Return the chicken to the skillet and heat through.