Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion small yellow chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 carrot peeled & chopped
2 small stalks celery chopped
1 lb ground beef or small meatballs
1-2 teaspoon Italian seasoning to taste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
1 quart bottled or crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can Tomato soup
2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 can cannelloni beans
1 can red kidney beans
2 cups small pasta
Parmesan cheese and chives for serving


Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium high heat. Add the diced onion and cook until it just begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots; cook, stirring frequently, for another 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the hamburger or meatballs to the pot, if you use hamburger, crumbling it as it cooks. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in Italian seasoning and red pepper. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato soup and stock.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir in the beans and pasta. (Add an extra cup of stock or water at this point if it's boiled down too much.) Simmer for 6- 8 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Serve piping hot with Parmesan cheese and chives.

Hot Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Toss Together Tuesday:

This recipe makes a large batch (about 50 teaspoon sized dough balls)

For the cookie dough:
1 Chocolate Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Mix all together and chill for a least 30 minutes before rolling into dough balls. Next roll and place dough balls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake At 350* for 6-8 minutes. The cookies should be soft and doughy to the touch.

For toppings:
1 cup melted chocolate chips
Mini marshmallows
Melt chocolate chips and put small amount of melted chocolate in center of cookie and place marshmallows on top of melted chocolate.
I also added toffee chips to mine with marshmallows. Then the other plate of cookies have white chocolate, cherry chocolate chips and red colored coconut flakes.

Sweet Pea Salad

Fruitful Friday: Sweet Pea Salad

It one of those Christmas looking salads that I have wanted to try for a long time and knew that I needed the right combination at my table. Last night was perfect... meatloaf, baked potatoes and a good friend.

The recipe is really easy to make and if you have a stocked pantry you should be good.

2 cups frozen sweet peas (thawed)
1 can water-chestnuts (sliced thin)
1 green onion chopped fine
1/2 red pepper diced (I used radishes)
1/3 cup mayo ( you can use light mayo)
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon plain salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup diced ham (optional)

Mix all together and let set at least 1 hour before serving to allow for the flavors to come together. It serves 12 (2oz servings)

Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Using Homemade peanut butter make them so good. 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:

In a large bowl, cream together butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and eggs; cream again. Next, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to peanut butter mixture; Roll into balls; place on cookie sheet and press with a fork to flatten. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.

Makes about 36 cookies

Getting ready for Fall & Winter

Fruitful Friday:

It's that time of year again, when we do our six month pantry review. We clean, rotate, check dates and reorganize. This is also the time of year when we make our fall and winter seasonal needs list. So wether you grow your own garden or not take advantage of your local farmers’ markets and farm stands Durning this time of the year and stock up on locally grown crops for your winter food storage. 

also now is a great time to start your $5.00 / 52 week buying plan for your pantry. You can find the list below. 

BCM: Lavender Galettes

It's been awhile since I baked any goodies with my "Tuesday's with Dorie" group. Today our challenge was Lavender Galettes and I learned something new. I always thought that a Galette was like a rustic style fruit filled tart, but today I discovered that sometimes they are also listed as cookies. They looked so yummy I had to try them. The recipe called for lavender, I didn't have any and since I am serving them tonight with Teriyaki Chicken, I decided to make mine "Lemon & Toasted Sesame Seed". They are very tasty... you can find the recipe on page 312 in "Baking Chez Moi" by Dorie Greenspan.

GARLIC BEEF AND VEGGIE RAMEN

Ingredients

• ¾
  cup + 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce separated
• 2
  tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2
  and ½ tablespoons minced garlic separated
• 3
  tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch separated
• 1
  pound flank steak
•   3-5
  tablespoons vegetable oil separated
• Assorted veggies: 8 ounces sliced mushrooms,
                                8 ounces snap peas,
                                1 cup shredded carrots,
                                 1 red bell pepper
• 2
  packages 3 ounces each ramen noodles
• 2
  tablespoons sesame oil
• 1
  cup low-sodium beef stock or broth
• 1
  tablespoon minced ginger
• ½
  cup brown sugar* packed
• ½ - 1
  full teaspoon red pepper flakes
  
  

  Directions

  1. marinade the meat. Toss together 1/4 cup soy sauce,uce, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic. Very thinly slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4th inch thick strips and then into 2 inch pieces. Place the steak pieces in the marinade and set out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. OR cover tightly and place in the fridge for up to 8 hours. If you want this to be a true 30-minute dinner, skip this step! 2.While the meat is marinating, prep and cook the veggies. Place 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet or wok and add in the sliced mushrooms, snap peas, shredded carrots, and chopped red bell pepper. Cook over medium high heat until crisp tender and transfer to a bowl/plate.
  3.Remove the meat and drain off any remaining marinade. Toss the meat to coat with the cornstarch in a large plastic bag. Alternatively use your fingers to work the cornstarch into the meat. Make sure all of the meat is well coated in cornstarch. 4.Add another tablespoon of oil. Heat until the oil is shimmering and then add in 1/2 the beef so it can be in a single layer. Cook without moving until the beef is well seared, about 1-1/2 minutes. Continue cooking while stirring until the beef is lightly cooked but still pink in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. 5.Add in the last remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Add the remaining beef and cook without moving until the beef is well seared, about 1-1/2 minutes. Cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer the rest of the beef to the plate.
  6.In that same skillet or wok, add in the sesame oil, remaining 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons soy sauce, beef stock or broth, remaining 1 and 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic, minced ginger, brown sugar* (add to your taste preference, we like a lot of sugar in this dish), and red pepper flakes. 7.Stir and cook (uncovered) over medium heat until sauce thickens a bit and reduces by about a third (about 10-12 minutes). You don't want to reduce it too much so it can still generously coat all the noodles & veggie
  8.In a small dish, whisk together remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 teaspoon water until smooth. Whisk into the sauce. 9.While the sauce is reducing, boil a small pot of water and cook the ramen noodles for exactly 2 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.
  
  10.Add the cooked veggies, cooked meat, and drained ramen noodles into the sauce. Toss to coat and top with green onions. Add some cracked pepper and additional red pepper flakes if desired. Enjoy immediately.