Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sauce:
    3 cans or jars of your favorite cheap spaghetti sauce
    2 cans diced tomatoes
    1 small onion, finely chopped
    3 Tablespoons chopped garlic
    1 can tomato sauce
    1 can tomato paste
    dash or two of hot sauce
    1/2 cup Italian seasoning
    sugar to taste  (We like a sweet sauce and use 1/2 to 3/4 cup of s, brown ugar)
    2 lbs. cooked ground beef or the Worlds BEST meatballs.

Mix the sauce ingredients together and put into your slow cooker in the morning. Add cooked group beef or meatballs or a mixture of both.  Let it simmer all day on low until you're ready to serve over the noodle of your choice. And garlic bread. You have to have garlic bread! Or try it with the Olive Garden Breadstick Clone!


  
   

World's BEST Meatballs

2 lbs of lean ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely crushed Italian bread crumbs
2 eggs

Mix all the ingredients together (preferably with your hands) until all are combined. Shape into ping pong ball sized meatballs. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. This makes about 50 meatballs and if you don't use them all in your sauce you can freeze them in a zipper baggie and take out as many as you need.

Yooper Pumpkin Pie

1½ cups mashed cooked pumpkin (canned is fine)
1½ cups whole milk (don't use 2% or skim...you'll regret it forever)
¾ cup light or dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger, powdered
¼ tsp. cloves, powdered
¾ tsp. salt
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Pastry for 9″ shell. If you're not so good at pie crust you can just get the pre-made ones from the store.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat well with a rotary beater. Chill and pour into an unbaked pie shell.

There's a little trick to getting a pie into the oven with a liquid filling. Place the pie shell on a cookie sheet into the oven and then scoop it into the shell by using a measuing cup or ladle until it's up to the fluted edge of the shell. Don't overfill it! If you have extra filling you can put it into a smaller ceramic dish, lightly greased with no cook spray and bake it like a custard. Since it's smaller, it won't take as long as the pie so don't forget it's in there!

Bake in hot oven (450-f) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately slow oven (325-f). When the surface of pie filling turns light brown, test by inserting a table knife. If it comes out clean the pie is finished baking. Serve with freshly whipped cream. YUM!!

Olive Garden Breadsticks Clone

About This Recipe

"Got this from a copycat website it is the closest thing I have found so far. Very tasty. The rising time is included in cooking time." And it's pretty darn close!

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• garlic powder

Directions

1. In your stand mixer or bread machine mix 4 cups flour, 1 1/3 cup water, 4 tsp butter, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp yeast.
2. Divide it into 16 peices.
3. Cover and let rise until doubled about 45 minutes.
4. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
5. Melt remaining 2 tsp butter in a bowl and thinly brush the breadsticks once.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Brush with butter again and top with garlic powder to your liking.

Pepper Steak and Beefy Rice

This is a nice meal when you're running around all day or when you don't have energy to stand at the stove to cook the evening meal because you can set the meat to cook on low all day in the slow cooker. Quick fry the veggies when you get home and toss it all together while the rice is cooking.

Ingredients:
      2 lbs. lean beef steak, cut into 1/4 strips or bite size chunks. It's not rocket science. Choose the size you like best.
      1 large onion, sliced
      2 large green peppers. Or red, or yellow or mix them up!
      2 tsps. dry beef boullion
      2 can's diced tomatoes
      1/2 tsp. minced garlic
      2 T. corn starch (mix with water to make a slurry)
    
Sear the beef in a small amount of oil, turning often to even brown all sides. Put the meat in a slow cooker on low and add 1 cup of water, the tomatoes, garlic and the boullion. Mix it around a bit to make sure all the meat gets a chance to swim in the liquid. Put the cover on, set it to low and go about your day.

About 30 minutes before you want to eat, make your rice.

Put 2 cups of white rice in an 8 quart pot. Add 1 tsp. beef boullion and 4 cups of cold water. I like to add 1/4 dry vegetable soup mix. Bring to a boil, stirring now and again. Once the water comes to a full boil, turn the heat down as low as you can and put the lid on the pot. Do NOT peek until 20 minutes later. Then turn off the heat and stir with a fork to fluff the rice.

While that rice is cooking, get to work on your peppers. Wash, seed and core them and then slice them into strips or into bite size pieces. Do the same with your onion. Fry in a little bit of butter until the onions are almost clear and the peppers still have their color.

Now that you have that all ready, mix the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Pour it into the meat to thicken the gravy a bit. You don't want it to be too thick. More like the consistancy of honey. If it's too thick, add some more water. Not thick enough? Add a bit more slurry.

Once your gravy is right, dump in the peppers and onions and toss the meat, gravy and veggies together until everything's nicely coated.

Serve over rice.

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Ingredients

4 to 6 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs or

4 chicken breasts

 

Marinade:

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

3 tsp honey

1 clove garlic, crushed (I use minced garlic in a jar. Easy is good!)

1 tsp grated fresh ginger root (you can use 1/2 teaspoon of dry ginger if you don't have fresh)

Directions

1. Combine the ingredients for the marinade. Cut each chicken breast into 4 strips and marinate for 30 minutes or do it the night before so when you get home from work they're going to be ready for you to cook.

2. Soak 8 bamboo skewers in water at least 15 minutes to prevent them scorching.

3. Thread the chicken strips onto the skewers in a zig zag fashion. Watch out for the sharp ends on the scewers when your fingers start to freeze from the cold chicken! Cook under a preheated broiler for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or on an indoor grill (ala George Forman) or on the charcoal or gas grill. Don't use the highest heat on the grill or you'll quickly have chicken jerky!

4. If using chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized cubes and trim away any fat (remove the skin, if you haven't bought skinless). Thread the chicken cubes onto the skewers. IMHO, chicken thighs work great if you like dark meat. I prefer the white meat.

Sloppy Joes

2 lbs. of good quality hamburger. I use 90/10 but if you have the cheaper kind, it's ok. You just have to the grease off well and rinse it so you don't have grease dripping down your arm when you eat the Joe.

Ingredients:
1 can tomato soup
1 cup catsup
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
salt and pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dry oatmeal (regular is fine or you can use quick oats)

Brown the hamburger well, breaking up any big chunks. Drain if necessary. Rinse if necessary. Put the browned meat back in the pan. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well, simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve over 40 Minute Hamburger Buns or store bought buns if that's all you have. Our favorite bun of choice is Potato Rolls!

Homemade Hot Pockets

Homemade Hot Pockets

Ingredients:
1 can of store bought cresent rolls or a batch of 40 Minute Hamburger Rolls dough.
Leftover Sloppy Joe meat, BBQ Chicken, Scrambled Eggs & Bacon or any other filling you like. Leftovers are fine or you can use sliced ham and cheese, roast beef and cheese. If it's in a commercial Hot Pocket, you can make it! Or better yet, dream up your own favorite fillings! My kids used to love pepperoni, cheese and leftover spaghetti sauce in their pizza pockets.

Open the can of rolls and flatten carefully. Don't break the triangles apart. Cut the sheet of dough into four pieces.
Put your filling on one side of the rectangle. Fold the other side over and seal by pressing with your fingers or use a fork to make a cute rippled edge.
Bake 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes on a cookie sheet lightly sprayed with a non-stick spray like Pam. These can be reheated in the microwave or frozen for later use.

Homemade Watercolor Paints

Here is what you need: baking soda, white vinegar, light corn syrup, cornstarch, food coloring, a container to make your paints in (plastic egg cartons work great), and wooden skewers or popsicle sticks for mixing.

The half dozen plastic egg crate is perfect for making your paints in.

 

And the bonus is that you can get two sets out of one plastic half dozen egg crate, just cut to separate.

 

First, 4 TBSP of baking soda with 2 TBSP of white vinegar. Your kids will love to see the fizz!

 

Check out the complete recipe and instructions at Pie Birds. Absolutely going to make this with the grandkids when summer is here again. It looks like it'll be a blast!

 

 

 

Cinnabon Clone

Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45degrees C)2 eggs, room temperature 1/3 cup margarine, melted 4 1/2 cups bread flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup white sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast 1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon1/3 cup butter, softened 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.	Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2.	After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3.	Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4.	Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving

Chocolate Covered Raspberry Sticks

Chocolate Raspberry Jelly Sticks Recipe
First layer:

• 6 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or pieces
• 2 Tablespoons shortening
• 2 ounces paraffin, optional

Second layer:

• 1 cup raspberry puree, canned or homemade
• 2 cups water
• 5 - 3 oz. packages raspberry flavored jello mix

Third layer:

• 12 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or pieces
• 3 Tablespoons shortening
• 4 ounces paraffin, optional

**The paraffin helps the chocolate set better and gives your chocolate raspberry jelly sticks a firmer finish.
Step 1. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil or waxed paper.
Melt the ingredients for the first layer in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth.
Remove melted chocolate from heat and allow to cool slightly. Pour chocolate in prepared pan and spread it evenly. Place in refrigerator to cool completely.
Step 2. In a saucepan combine raspberry puree and water. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Stir in jello until completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Pour jello mixture over bottom layer and refrigerate, uncovered, until set. This will probably take about 4 hours.
Step 3. This third layer can be finished two different ways, depending on what you want for your finished candy.
The quick and easy way is to simply melt the ingredients like you did for the first layer, cool slightly, and pour it over the top of the jelly layer. Chill until set, and slice into squares or sticks.
The second method is a bit more fiddly, but looks nicer. Instead of pouring the melted chocolate on top of the whole pan, you need to remove the candy from the pan to a flat surface. Cut candy in pieces and then individually dip each piece and place on a waxed paper lined tray to set. This way your chocolate raspberry jelly sticks will be completely covered in chocolate. You could also just set the pieces slightly apart on the waxed paper and spoon a bit of melted chocolate over each piece to cover. Chill until set.
Try it both ways and see which you are more comfortable with.
Tasty Tip: You can make different flavors by simply changing the puree and jelly flavors to suit your taste and mood.

 For picture frames with two holes, hang them evenly and easily by placing a single strip of masking tape over the back covering the two holes. Mark each end of the tape where the holes are located for hanging the frame. Take the tape off and place it on your wall. Make sure it is level then hammer a nail in at each pen mark. Go to Adventures in Creating for the entire step by step tutorial.

Bargello Quilt

Tutorial by Big Horn Quilts

40" x 60" before borders

This quilt will use two 2-1/2 inch strips of 20 different fabrics from your stash. So, cut pairs of strips, selvedge to selvedge.

To make a bigger quilt, decide how tall and wide you want it to be without borders. Each 2 ½ inch strip in your strata will give you 2" in length, each 4 ½ inch strip in your strata will give you 4 inches additional in length. Each strata set will give you about 30 inches in width but again, the strata must be identical!

Make two identical strata by sewing the strips together so that you get value runs from dark to light and back. Set your stitch length to about half your normal length, because you will be cross cutting small pieces and you don’t want them coming apart at the seams. The strata are most interesting when there are at least two light areas and two dark areas, and at least two color families. The top and bottom of your strata will be joined together, so consider that in planning your color runs. When fabrics next to each other have a sharp contrast, it is dramatic. You want a little drama, but not chaos. If you try to blend too much, you'll end up with mush. Since this is an exercise in using up scraps, have fun with it.

Don’t be dismayed by how the strata look, they are always pretty yuk. See how awful mine was:

The fabrics don’t have to all play well together, they just have to play well with the ones on either side of them. Iron all the seam allowances toward the bottom strip. Ironing well at this point will save you grief later. Check both the right side and the wrong side for pleats and goofy seam allowances. Then sew the bottom strip to the top strip, right sides together. This will make a big tube with all the seam allowances on the outside. Cross cut this tube into the following widths: 1", 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2", 3", and 3-1/2". You should be able to get about 3 of each width out of each of your strata tubes. These widths are not real important, you can do any widths, but what is important is that your cuts are at a good 90 degrees to your seam lines, and that the strips you cut are the same width at both ends. You may have to discard some ‘check slivers’ to keep everything perpendicular to the seam lines, and to flatten out places where the tube wants to twist.

Set your sewing machine back to normal length stitches, and turn the tubes right sides out. Now comes the fun. On your design wall if you have one, or on any surface, start designing your bargello. Pick up a strip, decide which fabric you want on the top right hand corner of your quilt, and lay the tube out with that fabric at the top. Pick up a strip that is similar but not exactly the same size and lay it beside the first, with that top fabric offset up or down ½ drop (one inch). This will mean folding a fabric at the top, midway between the seams. It is fun to go from about 2 inch strips up to the 3 ½ inch size, and then back down to the smallest, and then back up. If you do this, you get curves. If you put all your 2 inch strips beside each other, you will get a straight line. Go up for a while, then down for a while. Play with different arrangements. Don’t worry about the backs of the strips, which you cant see if the top looks good, the bottom will too.

When you like the design, cut the top of each tube. Every other one will be cut right on the seam line, and the alternate tubes will be cut exactly between two seam lines.

Sew them back together, and you have a bargello quilt! By having all the seam allowances pointing the same direction, it is easy to sew without having to fuss with them, they should always point towards your belly when you are sewing.

http://www.bighornquilts.com/inspiration/strip/bargello.html

Real Lemonade

Experience the flavor of real lemonade!

INGREDIENTS

4 lemons

1 cup raw brown sugar

3 3/4 cups boiling water

Makes about 3 3/4 cups.

Scrub lemons, halve, then squeeze out the juice. Place juice and pulp in a large jug or bowl with sugar and pour 1 1/4 cups boiling water over. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add lemon halves and another 2 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir well, then cover and let cool. Strain, squeezing out juice from lemon halves and serve.

Here are 13 amazing healing powers of lemons:

1. Bowel-Cleansing: The bitter taste of lemon gives these fruit the ability to increase peristalsis–a pumping-motion in the bowels–which helps to eliminate waste from the bowels and improve regularity. Add the juice of one lemon to warm water and drink first thing in the morning.
2. Cancer: Lemons contain 22 anti-cancer compounds, including limonene—a naturally-occurring oil that slows or halts the growth of cancer tumors in animals. Lemons also contain a substance called flavonol glycosides which stop cell division in cancer cells.
3. Colds and Flu: Lemons are rich in vitamin C and flavonoids that work in conjunction for a serious punch against infection.
4. Liver: Fresh lemon juice added to a large glass of water in the morning is a great liver detoxifier.
5. Nutrition: Lemons contain vitamin C, citric acid, flavonoids, B-complex vitamins, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and fiber.
6. Balances Body Chemistry: While lemons are acidic they interact with the body’s metabolism to have an alkalizing effect on the bodily fluids helping to restore balance to the body’s pH.

• Allergies: Lemons contain the phytonutrient hesperetin which has been shown in studies to alleviate allergic symptoms.
• Brain and Nervous System Disorders: Containing the potent phytonutrient tangeretin in the peel, lemons have been proven to be effective for brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
• Eye Disorders: Rutin, found in lemons, has been shown in research to improve the symptoms of eye disorders, including diabetic retinopathy.
• Anti-Viral: In addition to being effective against cold and flu viruses, terpene limonoids found in lemons have proven anti-viral effects on other types of viruses.
• Diabetes: In addition to improving eye problems linked with diabetes, lemons contain hesperetin which lowers blood sugar levels (when they are high).
• Gall and Kidney Stones: The citric acid found in lemon juice helps to dissolve gallstones, calcium deposits, and kidney stones.
• Anti-Aging: The vitamin C found in lemons helps to neutralize free radicals linked to aging and most types of disease.

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

4 to 6 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs or

4 chicken breasts

Marinade:

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

3 tsp honey

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp grated fresh ginger root

Directions

1. Combine the ingredients for the marinade. Cut each chicken breast into 4 strips and marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Soak 8 bamboo skewers in water to prevent them scorching.
3. Thread the chicken strips onto the skewers in the shape of wiggly snakes, then cook under a preheated broiler for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.
4. If using chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized cubes and trim away any fat (remove the skin, if you haven't bought skinless). Thread the chicken cubes onto the skewers.

40 Minute Hamburger Buns

These fluffy yet hearty buns are just right for their big appetites. I also serve the buns plain with a meal.

12 Servings

Prep: 20 min. + resting Bake: 10 min.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let
• stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a
• soft dough.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about
• 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces; shape each into
• a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
• Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes
• or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.
• Yield: 1 dozen.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 195 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 204 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 5 g protein.

© Taste of Home 2012

These are on my Quilt Bucket List!

I want to find the time to make these beautiful quilts. An idea presented to me to day is to start on page one of Hohn's Quilter's Cache and start sewing up blocks until I run out of patterns. Wow. If I were do actually do that (and I'd love to try) we'd have enough blocks for 1700 quilts or so! Woohoo!