Quick and Easy Tomato & Basil Pasta

This is one of my go to weeknight meals for my family. Everyone loves it and it makes enough for leftovers the next day! You can use ground beef if you don't want to use pork. I use whatever I have in the freezer/frige that day.

Quick and Easy Tomato & Basil Pasta

1 lb pork sausage (or ground beef, if you prefer)

1/2 white onion, diced 

8 cloves garlic, diced

1 cup fresh basil, (I roll the leaves up and cut them that way)

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1-28oz can diced tomatoes (I had the kind with basil and oregano, but you an use plain)

1-8oz can tomato sauce

2 lbs pasta (I use whatever I have. Tonight it was penne)

1 tbsp olive oil

Start water for pasta in a large pot. Cook pasta according to package directions. 

In a skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. To the oil, add the onion. Once the onion is translucent, add the pork. Cook until not pink anymore and add the garlic, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

After about 2 minutes, add the tomatoes and the tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer and add the basil. 

Simmer while the pasta is cooking. Drain the pasta.

Combine the pasta and sauce and serve with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese. Yum!

Tomatillo Salsa

I love salsa verde, but haven't ever tried to make it. I decided today was the day! This came out delicious, but if you want to thin it out a little, add 1/2 cup of water to the blender when you blend it.

Tomatillo Salsa

8 tomatillos (husks off)

9 cloves garlic (only 7 go under the broiler. Save the other 2 for after)

2 large jalapenos

1/3 white onion

juice from 1/2 lime

1 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Broil tomatillos, garlic, jalapenos and onion in the broiler on high. After about 5 minutes, take the garlic out. Finish charring the rest, flipping halfway through.

  When they are nice and charred, remove them from the broiler, remove the stems from the jalapenos, and put directly into the blender.  Add salt, 2 cloves of raw garlic and the juice from half of a lime.

Blend and put into the refrigerator to chill.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Yum!

Spaghetti alle Vongole (Spaghetti with clams)

Spaghetti alle Vongole (Spaghetti with clams)

2 lbs littleneck clams (when you get them home from the store, put them into salt water and refrigerate. This helps the sand to be pushed out of them so they aren't grainy in the dish. You can keep them overnight if you need to, also.)

1/4 red onion, sliced

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2- 4oz cans chopped clams

3 tbsp chopped italian parsley

3 tbsp olive oil

1 lb spaghetti (cooked about 3 minutes less than you would if you were fully cooking it)

1/2 cup white wine

Put olive oil into a skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion about 5 minutes, until soft. Add wine, parsley and 1/2 cup water and simmer about 3 minutes.  While that's simmering, take fresh clams out and rinse them. If any are open, throw them out.

Add fresh clams to the wine mixture and cover (about 5-7 minutes or until they open.) If they don't open, throw them out!

I took the clams out and put them into a separate bowl once they opened. I added the canned clams to the wine mixture and brought up to temperature. 

When the pasta is ready, drain it and pour right into the pan with the sauce/clam mixture. Stir to combine and add the fresh clams and stir.

Sprinkle with more chopped parsley before serving.

 

Sweet and Savory Hot Wings

I made these for one of the playoff games and we loved them so much, we overloaded on them! I bought a huge bag of frozen drumsticks, so it's hard for me to estimate how many hot wings go with this much sauce. My suggestion is just saving the excess sauce and refrigerating it, because you're going to want more, I guarantee it!

Sweet and Savory Hot Wings

12-24 chicken drumsticks (I used frozen and fried them, but you can broil or bake them according to the directions on the bag)

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 cup honey

4 tbsp Hoisin sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

 2 green onions, sliced

1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

Start with rice vinegar in a saucepan. Add the crushed red pepper and bring to a simmer. Simmer about 2-3 minutes.

Add honey, hoisin and soy sauce

Stir and bring to a slight simmer. 

When the drumsticks are completely cooked(I recommend frying them...it holds the sauce much better), put them in a large bowl.  Spoon sauce over them and toss until they are coated evenly. Use as little or as  much as you prefer.

Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds before serving.

 

Biscuits and Gravy

I am not a breakfast eater, but Biscuits and Gravy has always been one of my favorites, if I choose to actually eat breakfast......

Biscuits and Gravy

1 tbsp vegetable oil (I actually save bacon drippings, store in a jar in the frige and use it instead of oil)
1 lb Pork sausage (Jimmy Dean works well, but I used New York Sausage Co.)
1 package refrigerated biscuits
1 tsp sage
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk

Cook biscuits according to package directions. I brush mine with melted butter before I put them into the oven.
Brown pork. Add sage, crushed red pepper and thyme while it's cooking.
  When it's fully cooked (no longer pink), do not drain the fat, you need it to make the roux. sprinkle flour directly over the pork.  Stir it to evenly distribute the flour.

  Add 2 cups milk and stir to combine

. Bring to a light simmer and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes to cook out the flour taste. Keep stirring it so it doesn't stick to the pan. If it's too thick or you like more "juicy"gravy, add more milk a little at a time until it's your desired consistency.

Serve over biscuits!

"Verde" Chicken

I had a "picnic pack"of chicken that I thought I'd barbeque....at the last minute, I thought I'd try to make some shredded chicken-y thing to put in burritos or something....so I had some onion, garlic and chicken broth....figured I'd start with that.....what came out was so beyond my expectations...it was absolutely delicious! I had to post it.....You could probably use 8 chicken breasts in place of the thighs and drumsticks if you wanted to....Also, if you don't have a pressure cooker, I suppose you could throw the chicken, onion, garlic, green chiles, chicken broth and water into a crock pot and cook low and slow....on low for 8-10 hours until it shreds easily.

Verde Chicken

8 chicken thighs (skin off)

8 drumsticks (skin off)

1/3 white onion, sliced thinly

6 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 can chicken broth

1 cup water

2 small cans diced green chiles (I had whole chiles and just sliced them. You can do either)

 2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp salt

Put onion and garlic into a pressure cooker. Put chicken into the pressure cooker and add chicken broth and green chiles.

The chicken needs to cook in the pressure cooker on high for 9 minutes.  

Take the chicken out and shred it all....getting rid of the tendons and bones.

Put chicken into a large skillet with all the juice from the pressure cooker.

Bring to a simmer. Add salt.

In a separate bowl, add 1/4 cup water to the cornstarch to make a slurry.  Add to the chicken mixture a little at a time.  You can decide how thick you want it to be. Add half the cornstarch mixture, stir and see how thick it is after a few minutes. If you'd like it thicker, add the rest.

I made burritos out of this, but you could use it for tostadas, enchiladas, tacos....whatever you want!

If you prefer a less saucy mixture for your burrito, try leaving the water out and just using the chicken broth and green chiles in the pressure cooker, so it would be less saucy for burritos....but I like saucy...lol....If you'd like it less saucy, just omit the cup of water in the pressure cooker.  Try it once and then tweek it the way you like it! 

Enjoy!