RetirementHomes.com - recipe

Make your own spaghetti sauce

aadmin — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 04:58:52 +0000

f you want to save a little money on pre-packaged spaghetti/pasta sauces, here is a good one to try. An extra benefit is that it won't have the preservatives or chemicals that a jarred spaghetti sauce would have. This is a recipe I created/modified from a lasagna recipe, which I also recommend.

This is meatless, but you can cook 1/2 lb to 1 lb of ground beef or ground turkey for a meat version, then add the following:

1 12-ounce can tomato paste
1-2 cloves garlic chopped (or 1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder to save time)
2 cups water
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar* (optional)

Mix all together, heat. Just like you would do with something jarred like Ragu or Prego, brown ground beef, drain, and mix with this sauce.

If your family is used to the premade-jarred sauces, they usually have sugar in them. That's why we must love them so much, eh? So you can put in a bit of sugar if you want, increase it or decrease it, based on what your family likes.

The consistency of this can be adjusted by the amount of water. If you find the sauce a little too thick for your liking, add water, or you can put a lid on the pot for 10-15 minutes. The condensation will make the sauce a little thinner. If you find the sauce too thin, then turn up the heat and leave top off to let the moisture evaporate from the sauce.

This costs about .80 cents or so to make. A jar of spaghetti sauce in the store will cost $1.50 on sale to over $3. It really is a no-brainer and takes very little time to make.

If you have them on hand, you can add chopped up green peppers or even carrots diced up very small. Just make sure you cook those al

Tags:

eating

food

recipe

Categories:

Cooking for Health

Health and Wellness

Recipe: Easy Cinnamon Twists

aadmin — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 12:08:56 +0000

This is one of our family's new dessert favorites. Perfect for the upcoming Canada Day and Independence Day long weekends.

All you need is a 12 ounce package of ready-made biscuits (we used Grands Jr), granulated sugar, butter, cinnamon, powdered sugar and water!

Ready? Here we go.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Prepare cookie sheets or baking pan with non stick cooking spray. We use baking stones that are non-stick.

Place the biscuits a few inches apart and flatten them with the palm of your hand until each one is about 4 inches in diameter.

Place a pat of softened butter on each round and spread with a spoon.

Mix 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon together then sprinkle evenly over all the biscuit rounds.

Cut each biscuit in half. Put the buttered and cinnamon sides together (so it's like a sandwich). Then twist a couple times and tuck the ends under.

Sprinkle any extra cinnamon sugar on top.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

While that's baking, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with a small amount of water and/or milk in a small bowl.

After the cinnamon twists have cooled a bit, spoon drizzle the sugar topping over them. Serve warm.

Tags:

Categories:

Entertainment and Hobbies

Hobbies

Recipe: Burgers for the BBQ

aadmin — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:02:11 +0000

This is a recipe I found and modified. I like my barbeque burger to be a little special, but I do NOT like them to taste like grilled meatloaf. I like it to be a BURGER.

Also, if I am going to grill, I feel like I might as well make a good quantity for the trouble. So I adjusted this to make 8 burgers & if there are extras, package them and freeze them for later delicious reheating.

This recipe got rave reviews.

2 lbs ground beef (I used 80% lean)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 TBSP dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning
1 TBSP ketchup
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry onion soup mix

Mix all well, make patties & grill/cook until internal temperature reaches 160 F.

If you don't have the Montreal Steak seasoning, you can replace that with 1/2 seasoning salt & a dash of black pepper, but I think the steak seasoning is worth it. If you are out of Italian bread crumbs, you can replace that with quick cooking oats.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think of it and any modifications you make.

Tags:

Categories:

Recipe: No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

aadmin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:10:11 +0000

I am a big fan of any recipe that doesn't require turning on the oven, especially when the temperature here in Georgia is in the high 90s this week. Whew!

I've made this cookie recipe twice so far this summer.

You'll need:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick butter (the real stuff)
1/2 cup milk

3 cups quick cooking oatmeal* (uncooked)
1/2 cup peanut butter

Wax paper or non-stick cookie sheets.

Pre-measure the oatmeal and peanut butter and set aside.

Combine the 1st 4 ingredients in a saucepan. Stir almost constantly, until boiling. Keep stirring 1 more full minute while boiling then remove from heat. Mix in the oatmeal & the peanut butter until all is well-blended. I mix it together in the same saucepan, to make clean up easier.

Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper sheets. Shape them a bit with the spoon if needed.

If while you are setting them out the mixture gets a bit dry, add up to 1 teaspoon of milk & mix well. Let them sit and harden for 30 minutes.

*If you don't have any of the "Quick Cooking" type oatmeal, you CAN use the regular oatmeal, but keep in mind that the cookies will be chewier in consistency. The consistency can be improved if you put the oatmeal in a food processor and blend it for a bit to make the pieces smaller.

Tags:

food

recipe

Categories:

Entertainment and Hobbies

Hobbies

Recipe: Blueberry and cherry muffins

aadmin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:55:16 +0000

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1 egg
1/4 c cooking oil
3/4 c milk
1-1/2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c blueberries

Beat egg, oil and milk together lightly. Sift dry ingredients together/ blend lightly. Do not beat. Fold in blueberries. Bake for 25 minutes at 375. May be made in greased muffin pans or paper lined pans. Fill 2/3 c full. Makes 24 small muffins or 12 larges ones.

CHERRY MUFFIN VERSION

I decided to increase the sugar amount, because fresh cherries are generally more sour than blueberries. It worked great.

1 egg
1/4 c cooking oil
3/4 c milk
1-1/2 c flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped fresh cherries

I figured out a quick and easy way to mix this together:
I use a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup to measure out 3/4 cup milk, then added vegetable oil until the level of all the liquid hits 1 cup. Then I added the 1 egg and lightly mixed with fork.

Then I took a large mixing bowl and put all the dry ingredients in. I did not sift, the flour is pre-sifted. I did mix all the dry ingredients together very well, then poured in the liquid. Folded in the cherries, put into greased muffin pan

Tags:

recipe

Categories:

Cooking for Health

Health and Wellness

Recipe: Denver Bean Soup

aadmin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:38:21 +0000

Across much of the United States and Canada, January 2013 has proven itself to be a frigid month, so here is a recipe that should keep you warm this winter.

1 lb ham
2 cloves garlic, crushed (note that crushed is different than chopped - for this recipe, you crush it for the right amount of garlic taste).
1 small onion, chopped
1 can chicken broth
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 red potatoes, cut into cubes
1 can great northern beans (undrained)
1 can red chili beans (undrained)
1 can mixed vegetables (drained)
2 cups shredded cabbage (optional)

In a large soup pot, saute garlic, onion and the ham. I used fully cooked ham, so this was a quick process. I saute'd until the onions look kind of translucent. If you use uncooked ham, then be sure to cook it thoroughly then add in the garlic and onion at the end of the saute process. Add remaining ingredients, except for the cabbage. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the cabbage, and sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste. Cook 20 more minutes.

Tags:

Categories: