Sausage and Pepperoni Pasta Bake

I picked up some ground sausage intending to make biscuits and gravy for breakfast over the weekend, but everyone slept late and it never happened.  The sausage was thawed, so I needed to use it, which is where dinner tonight came from.

I may post a carrot cake recipe tonight or tomorrow, depending on whether or not I still feel like making it later =P.  I bought a 2 pound bag of carrots the other day and I need to use them before they're all fed to the dogs.  Yes, my dogs love carrots and, after finding out that they were not only good for them as food, but that they helped keep their teeth clean, too, I give them as treats every other day or so.  But, I do want to make that cake...

The pepperoni is optional, I just had a opened pack in the fridge and wanted to use it up.  I used my quick spaghetti sauce, which is a can or jar of store bought sauce with diced tomatoes and tomato sauce added, then I add the spices, wine, and olive oil.  If you have a sauce you like as is, you can omit all the rest.

Sausage and Pepperoni Pasta Bake

1 pound ground sausage, browned, drained, and rinsed
3 oz. sliced pepperoni
16 oz. penne pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can-16 oz- diced tomatoes
1 can-16 oz- tomato sauce
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1 t. dry minced onion
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried Italian seasoning
1 T. olive oil
1/4 C. red wine
2 C. shredded mozzarella

Heat oven to 350

In a large sauce pan, combine the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, all spices and seasonings, the oil and wine.  Mix well and simmer over medium-low heat for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta and sausage.  Drain both and mix into the sauce along with the pepperoni.  Mix well.

Pour into a large casserole dish (I use a 10x14" pan), top with mozzarella and bake 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and everything is nice and hot.

Tacos

When we were at the store yesterday, they had cilantro on sale.  My husband saw it, grabbed two bunches, turned to me grinning, and said, "Pico!"  *sigh*  So, last night I made him his pico de gallo.  He would live on that stuff if I were willing to make it all the time.  I keep saying that I need to get one of those little chopper things.  You know, where you put the item to be chopped in a little container, or on the counter, and smack the plunger thingy down and blades go down and chop the item?  My mom had one years ago and it was handy.  She mostly used it t chop pecans for pecan pies, but it would save me a LOT of time in pico!  Like I said, I keep saying it but just haven't gotten around to getting one.  So I dice everything by hand.

Since hubby had to have pico, we had to have tacos for dinner tonight.  I'm not posting a recipe for tacos, however, because, really, who needs one?  Seasoned meat, veggies of your choice, salsa, sour cream, pico, and/or refried beans, all on tortillas or crunchy shells, or even in a taco salad (which here means crushed tortilla chips).  Pico isn't difficult, but I started out with someone's recipe and ended up with my own.  Which is how most of the things I make came to be.

Today would have been a better day for chili or stew than tacos, but I guess if you use enough pico or salsa, it could warm you up too!  At the present time in northeast Iowa, it's slushing.  That glopy, nasty rain/snow mix that feels like someone it dribbling a Slurpee from the sky.  And someone said something about Spring?  Seriously??  What planet are they on?  *sigh*

 

Pico de Gallo
This should be made the day before it is to be use...or at least in the morning before evening use.  That gives the flavors time to mingle.

5 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (you can use the jar stuff)
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 - 1 jalapeno pepper, minced (jar stuff is ok, use 5-6 slices)
juice of 1 lime

mix all the chopped and minced ingredients in a bowl (one large enough to allow you to shake it up) with a lid.  Roll the lime on the counter until it softens up, cut it in half, and squeeze all the juice that you can out of it, onto the pico.
Mix everything up very well and chill overnight, or at least all day, shaking the bowl once in a while to make sure the flavors are well mixed.

This last picture is after it was decimated at dinner.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops

Wow!  Seriously.  This dinner was a homerun! 

Hubby and I made a run into the grocery store after work and before dinner and I'm so glad we did.  We were both hungry, so, of course we bought more than we had planned to, but they had some pretty great deals.  Picked up some fresh asparagus for $1.99 a pound!  Thought that sounded like a great side for the chops I had out...and it was!

They also had deli ham on sale for $.99 a pound, so we loaded up on that.  While the butcher was getting that for us, my husband commented on some Cajun turkey they had, and he, the butcher that is, asked if we liked spicy food.  Um...YEAH! LOL  So there was a little back and forth on that and he asked if I had any spicy recipes.  Of course!  So now I have to print up my gumbo recipe (given to me by a dear, dear friend who was born and raised a Cajun), my chili recipe, which is posted on here, and, if I can find it, my jambalaya recipe.  I haven't made much jambalaya since I got the gumbo recipe.  I just prefer the gumbo.  Not that I'm complaining, because I LOVE sharing my recipes.  That's why I started this blog!

So.  The chops I made tonight.  I was looking through some pork chop recipes to get some inspiration and nothing really sounded right, so I looked at my spices, and just threw something together that, luckily turned out wonderfully.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Chops

4 pork chops

¼ C. brown sugar

1/8 t. cayenne

½ t. garlic powder

½ t. paprika

½ t. salt

½ t. black pepper

 

In a bowl combine the brown sugar and spices (salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika and garlic powder or whatever spice blend you like).

Rub the brown sugar/spice mix all over both sides of the chops. Use all of the spice mix.

 

Place the pork chops in a large skillet, over medium-high heat.  Cook the chops for about 10 minutes on each side or until they are nicely browned and cooked through.

Yes, I cheated and made a box of Au Gratin potatoes to go with it, but we were starving by the time we got home from the grocery store and put everything away! The chops and the asparagus look as good as they tasted!

I Love to Cook!

If I didn't why would I have started a blog about it? 

I have an aunt who also loves to cook, but it seems no one else in my family does.  No one at all in hubby's family.  I have learned, and it makes sense, that if a person doesn't like to cook, they're usually not very good at it.  Not that it's difficult, but when something is a chore that you just want to get over and done with, you generally don't put much effort into it.  Like me when I have to, say, make the bed.  *since the president probably won't be stopping by, I call closing the bedroom door "making the bed" a bit too often*  I think I said in my first post that I hated housework. 

I admit, I'm a bit of a food snob.  I do NOT consider boxed skillet "dinners" food.  They're crap I keep around (a box or two) for those days when I, for one reason or another, just don't feel up to cooking.  But even then, there are so many things you can throw together quickly and don't need to slave over.

Like...chili!

This is my chili recipe and I have yet to find anyone who doesn't like it.  Well, except for those people who just don't like chili...
The spices are educated guesses as I don't measure them when I make chili.  It makes a medium hot chili, so adjust them to your tastes.  Most of us think it's just right, but when our oldest son comes home on leave, he adds cayenne and hot sauce (of course he would add that to almost anything =Þ)

Rachel's Chili

2 pounds ground beef (or turkey)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cans chili beans in gravy
1 can spicy chili beans in gravy
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15oz can tomato sauce
2 15 ounce cans tomatoes (I use diced, but use whatever kind you like)
2 T Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning (I prefer this because it adds heat as well as a LOT of flavor)
4 T chili powder
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1/8 t. cayenne
1/4 t. garlic powder

In a large pot, brown meat until no longer pink, drain and return to pot.
Add all beans, tomato sauce, and tomatoes.  Stir to combine.
Add seasonings and mix well.
Simmer over medium-low heat for at least 2 hours, tasting and adding onions after 30 minutes to test the seasonings, and add more if needed.
Serve with crackers, cornbread, and/or cheddar cheese.

I like to add the onions while simmering the chili so they aren't too soft when the chili is done.  If you prefer them soft, add them with the meat while browning it.  If you prefer them really crunchy, add them at the very end.  Or, you can add some early and some late if you like them both ways!