Snow Cream

Who's sick of snow and ready for Spring, raise your hand!!!  ME!!!!!

This kind of like, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.".

We were given snow and Kaitlin made snow cream. I made myself sick on this, it's so dadgum good!  It's so simple.  Kaitlin said she found it at the Food Network's site, but didn't remember who's recipe it was.

Put 6 cups of freshly fallen snow into a bowl.

Stir in 1 (14oz.) can of condensed milk and 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. Thoroughly combine.

Enjoy!!

Spaghetti Bolognese

I was looking for a recipe to use up some ground beef I had and knew I was craving something with an Italian flair.  I came across a recipe by Ellie Krieger that looked pretty good.  Ellie Krienger's recipes have always won over my heart  but then I read the reviews.  All 41 of them!  The majority said this was the biggest Ellie disappointment they had ever cooked; it was too dry, had no taste and tasted horrible.  Many people posted the changes they had made.  I went ahead and printed out the recipe anyway and adapted to our tastes and to use up a few pantry items.

This dish turned out phenomenal!  Another great feature is you can add or delete ingredients to suit your taste and/or pocketbook.

Here's my version:
3/4 pound thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 bell pepper, chopped 
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 sun dried tomatoes chopped
1 pound lean ground beef (90 to 95 percent lean)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons driend basil
2 (14 1/2-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes with juice
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup evaporated milk or regular whole milk
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Add the sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts garlic, ground beef, basil and thyme and cook until the meat is browned, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce and broth and cook for 5 minutes, or until sauce is thickened.

Stir in the milk and cook for 1 minute more. Season with sugar, salt and pepper.

Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil, cook and drain the spaghetti.

When the pasta is done, drain it, put it back in the pasta pot, add the sauce and stir the sauce and pasta together.

Put into serving bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.

Key Lime Pie Martini

This "Artic Blast" a lot of us are getting pummeled by has me dreaming of Jimmy Buffet songs, flip-flops, vibrant colors, the smell of meat on the grill and lots of alcohol  cute fruitty drinks with crushed ice and those cute little paper umbrellas in them.

Those of you that have read my blog for any length of time know I enjoy a glass or two of red wine in the evenings, it helps my creativity.  Every now an then I stray to the hard stuff.

To be fair to my mother who is a martini purist, this adult beverage is very loosely a martini.  You see, when I was growing up, my dad made a pitcher of martinis every night for as long as I can remember.  He and my mother would have two before dinner.  My dad would sit in the kitchen and he and my mom would talk while she cooked dinner.  

Their martinis we pretty weak by bar tending standards.  My dad put a lot of crushed ice in the pitcher.  My parents just wanted to relax, talk about the day's event and enjoy each others company, not get trashed by mealtime.  Their choice was vodka with a splash of vermuth garnished with a stuff olive and sometimes a cocktail onion or a little curley twit of lemon peel.   I acquired a taste for martinis in my college days but I like my very, very, very dirty.  I'm not big on the vodka taste but I love the salty taste of the olive juice.

So on to today's offering.  I can't say I came up with this drink.  My girlfriends and I concocted this back in the day.  One word of warning, this is one of those drinks that's really good, goes down smooth and fast.  Only drink one or you will get sicker than a dog.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Our cast of characters - grahma cracker crumbs, Ke-Ke Key Lime Liquor, Vanilla Stoli and heavy whipping cream.

Rim your martini glass with the graham cracker crumbs.  Put about 1 cup of crushed ice in your shaker, 1 ounce of Stoli, 2 ounces of Ke-Ke and gently shake.  Pour through the stainer into your rimmed glass.

Top off with a couple of tablespoons of heavy whipping cream and garnish with come graham cracker cumbs.  This tastes just like Key Lime Pie.

A couple of my other favorite warm weather cocktails using Ke-Ke are:

Limeade - this one is really good, especially if you've just finished doing some gardening!

2 ounces KeKe in a glass filled with crushed ice  (use a Tom Collins glass), then fill the rest of the way with Sprite or 7-UP, garnish with a lime wedge


Creamsicle - just flat out good anytime!
1 ounce KeKe in a glass filled with crushed ice, then fill the rest of the way with orange Crush.

Aren't you glad I spent some time in my 20's doing research for you, my dear readers?

Stay warm!

Cajun Pork Alfredo

It's Twelfth Night, Three King's Day and the beginning of the Mardi Gras Season!  Laissez le bon temps rouler! 

I'm working my way through the Newman's Own products and settled on the Alfredo Sauce in a jar.  Fettucine Alfredo has not been featured on this blog yet, but now I have a goal and will feature it soon.

Cajun Pork Alfredo turned out to be a quick, tasty and handy weeknight meal.  There is nothing healthy about it.  If you made a New Year's resolution to lose weight, you better turn around right now.  This is not for the weak.

Did I show you this yet?  My Mama sent it to me in a Christmas care package.  The homegirlz took it literally. 

This was my first time trying a jarred Alfredo sauce.  This sauce was creamy, light in texture but had the jar taste.  I didn't care for it and knew it needed to be "doctored" up a bit.

I used boneless center cut pork schops but bone-in chops, boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs would work equally as well.  Liberally season with your favorite Cajun seasoning.  Massage the seasoning into the meat and set aside.

Heat water to cook 1/2 lb. of your favorite pasta.

Dice 3 sun dried tomatoes.

Heat 3 tablespoons of butter over low heat.  Once butter is melted, add in 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes and the diced sun  dried tomatoes.

Add in juice from half of one lemon, about one tablespoon.

Reduce heat to low and allow flavors to infuse for about 10 minutes.

This is a terrible picture....add in the jar of Alfredo sauce.  Stir to combine and keep the heat on low. 

Heat a skillet to one notch below high heat, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and when oil begins to ripple, right before it starts smoking, carefully add the pork chops.  Cook about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

The sauce still needed something, so I added 1/3 cup of grated Peccorino Romano and 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, return the pasta to the pot and pour the Alfredo sauce over the pasta and toss to combine.

Turn the chops and cook for another 3 to four minutes.

Nest the pasta in a bowl with the pork chop on top, a side of garlic bread and garnish with sliced green onions.

That's how this Cajun made jar sauce taste fresh...I'm just sayin'.

Sockarooni Shrimp Parmigiana!

Happy New Year! 

I have a fantastic treat for all of you!  As a Featured Publisher for Foodbuzz, I was given the opportunity to try out a few Newman's Own products over the Christmas Holidays.  Look at the bounty below!

Trying to think outside of the box, I wanted prepare something different besides meatballs and spaghetti with Newman's Own Sockarooni Sauce.  Go get a napkin because you are going to seriously drool!   

Pour 1 cup of flour into a shallow dish.  Season flour with 2 tablespoons of your favorite Cajun seasoning.

In a second shallow dish, whish 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon of water.

In a third shallow dish, add 1-1/4 cups of Italian Bread Crumbs.

Peel and devein 1-1/2 lbs. of large shrimp.

Heat vegetable oil to 325 degrees.

Dredge the shrimp through the seasoned flour.

Then dip the shrimp in the egg wash.

Then dredge the shrimp through the seasoned italian bread crumbs.

Place the shrimp on a plate until the oil has gotten to temperature.  While you are wating for the oil to heat, Cook 1 lb. of spaghetti to al dente.  Warm your spaghetti sauce in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.

Carefully drop the shrimp a few at a time into the oil and cook for approximately 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. The shrimp will be cooked in batches.  (The surefire method is - when they float, they're done.) 

Place the cooked shrimp in a single layer in a shallow oven safe dish.  I wound up using 2 dishes for this.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano over the shrimp.

Ladle 1 to 2 tablespoons of spaghetti sauce over the shrimp.  Just enough to lightly cover the shrimp, then granish with a gnerous handful of grated mozzerella cheese.  Place the shrimp under the broiler for about 3 minutes - until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Toss the cooked spaghetti with the remaining sauce in a large bowl.

Gorgeous!

Place the coated spaghetti on a plate or in a bowl and spoon a generous helping of shrimp on top.

Now honestly, tell me you didn't drool - not even once!

Pecan Tassies

Judy Walker gets credit for introducing me to this new family favorite.  Well actually it's my husband's favorite.  If pecans are in it, he's all over it.  The homegirlz like to nibble on plain pecans. I like the Christmasy flavor of these tassies.  To be honest, I was swooning when I saw the dough was made of cream cheese.

It's three days before Christmas so let's get these baked!





Yield:  approximately 48 Tassies
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Pastry:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter
2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

3 large eggs, well beaten
2 cups brown sugar
4 cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Pastry:   Blend the cream cheese, margarine and flour. Divide into 6 equal portions, then divide each portion into 8. Spray tart or muffin tin with non stick cooking spray.  Press the dough into tart tins or small muffin tins.  The pastry will cover the bottom and sides of the mtart or muffin tin.  

For the Filling: Combine the eggs, brown sugar, pecans and vanilla. Pour into the pastry-lined tart or muffin tins.  Only fill 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

*After the tassies are baked and cooled, they can be frozen

Make these today so you can swoon too!!