Sausage, Mushrooms and Onions--Oh My!

I didn't like sausage growing up.  I didn't like onions, either.  I didn't even really like mushrooms.

I didn't like a lot of things.  But that's starting to change.  Did you hear that?  I think I just heard my parents' shout of joy.  Every time I came home from college, I'd have discovered a new food I liked...and that discovery still hasn't stopped.

I have discovered I like sausage.  I especially like it in this dish.  Noodles always make things better.

What you'll need:

4 sausages

1/2 a large onion

1/2 a package of mushrooms*

penne pasta

1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce

Oil

How you do it:

Start boiling water for noodles, follow the directions on the box.

Heat skillet and add a little bit of oil.  Cook sausage completely.  Cut into bite size pieces.  Add onions to the pan and cook until golden brown.  Add mushrooms and continue to cook until tender.  Add spaghetti sauce and let simmer for another five minutes or until sauce is heated.

Pour meat, veggies and sauce over cooked noodles.

Open a bottle of wine, take in the smell of yummy sausage and sauce, and enjoy!

*Note that the mushrooms can be substituted for a green pepper.  In my family, this is fondly referred to as "SPO" aka Sausage, Peppers and Onions.

Turkey...I Mean Corn

Do you watch Family Feud? Have you ever seen Family Feud's blooper clips? There's a really funny clip of a contestant giving "Turkey" for 3 out of 5 of the final questions. If you haven't seen it, click here.

That's what it was like in my apartment last week. Only instead of "turkey" my answer was corn.

"What smells so good?"

"Corn."

"What are you taking pictures of?"

"Corn."

"Has anyone had dinner? Tracy what'd you eat?"

"Corn."

It was really good corn...made in the oven. I would have rather made it on a grill, but remember I live in an apartment in NYC--with no outdoor space to call my own. It's really sad. But this corn tastes just as good as grilled corn and goes well with stoved cooked hamburgers!

What you'll need:

Corn on the cob

Olive Oil

Tinfoil

How you do it:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Peel off the husks. Place corn on a sheet of tinfoil and drizzle with a little olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Wrap each cob separately and tightly. Place each tinfoil wrapped cob in an oven safe dish with sides, just incase some of the oil leaks.

Cook for 30 minutes turning once.

Unwrap, watch your face for escaping steam, watch your fingers for hot tinfoil, and tell everyone you're eating corn!

Sunday French Toast

I know my parents probably, at some point, maybe, made me French Toast.

But I don't remember it.  Nope, the first memory I have of French Toast was with my G-ma Allred.  I remember thinking it was weird that she was putting bread into a bowl of eggs.  I think that's what I remember most.  That putting bread into raw eggs was weird.

Weird, it may have been; but delicious did it taste.  The final result was pretty much amazing.  

I still think of it every time I make it.

So Mom and Dad, if you made me French Toast before Grandma, and I just don't remember...I'm sorry.

I found this recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook.  I altered it slightly.

What you'll need:

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

4 slices of bread

vegetable oil

Suggested:

maple syrup

powdered sugar

How you do it:

In a medium bowl, beat first five ingredients until well mixed.

Heat skillet over medium heat.  Add a little bit of vegetable oil to the pan.

Dip each side of the bread into the egg mixture.  Place slices flat on griddle, cook each side for about 4 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve on a pretty plate with maple syrup and powdered sugar.  And make sure to clean your plate!

Margarita Steak

My mom and I were talking the other day about steak marinades. Well maybe that's not true, I think we might have been talking about margaritas.

Actually, I don't really remember what we were talking about. But whatever the conversation was, it left us wondering what a margarita marinated steak would taste like.

So I experimented. And it tastes pretty good! Next time, I'd slice the steak, mix it with some tortilla chips, cheese and guac and make Margarita Steak Nachos. Just thinking about the improvements makes me want to make it again!

What you'll need:

1 plastic bag that seals

1 steak

1/2 a lime

1 oz tequila

1 oz triple sec

salt

Suggested:

oil

tortilla chips

shredded cheese

guacamole

salsa

Place steak in plastic bag. Squeeze 1/2 lime into bag, add tequila, triple sec and salt. Let it marinate for at least an hour but up to 24 hours.

Remove steak from bag and cook as you would normally cook your steaks. I cooked mine on the stove. I used a hot pan with a little bit of oil, cooking each side for about 4 minutes, until it was done to my liking--medium.

Peanuts

This week, I went to my first baseball game of the season.  I got the standard beer and hotdog.

I also got peanuts.  I think they make a baseball game, a baseball game.  I even think they are better then crackerjacks.  Although, crackerjacks do come with those fun little surprises.

But don't discount peanuts and their surprises.  I love when I open a shell to three tiny peanuts in the pod.  

There's just something about sitting in hard plastic seats, an All-American game being played, and cracking open peanuts.

It's seriously one of my favorite things to do in summer.

Peanuts.  They mean summer and baseball and yummy-salty-ness. (If only the bag came in different colors...)

Cinco de Mayo

Is it bad that Cinco de Mayo surprises me every year?  I mean the holiday's name is conveniently the date, but every year I don't make the connection until someone says it or I read it somewhere.

Maybe it's because I'm just completely unreceptive to holidays that don't involve mythical creatures or beings.

But even without remembering, I made steak enchiladas.  Go me!  I guess my sub-conscience was trying to tell me something...or it could be that it just sounded good.

Either way, these are pretty delicious; plus, they make great leftovers.  Just don't forget the tortilla chips!!

What you'll need:

1lb steak, cut into thing strips

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 package of pre-washed, pre-cleaned fresh mushrooms

1 jar 15.5 oz salsa

shredded cheese

4 tortillas

olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Cook onion in pan with a small amount of oil until almost golden.  Add mushrooms and approximately 5 ounces of salsa.  Let simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.  When the onions and mushrooms look done, remove from heat and set aside.

2. Add a little more oil to the pan and cook the steak, about 5 minutes.  When the steak looks almost done, drain the pan of extra juices and add about 3 ounces of salsa.  Let simmer on low heat for about 3 minutes.  Remove the steak and add it to the mushrooms and onions.

3. Lay out the tortillas, add veggies, steak and cheese. Roll the tortillas so that there are no open sides.  This should make about 4 enchiladas.  Place each one in an oven safe pan.  Spread a little salsa on top to keep the tortillas from drying out, top with more cheese.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!!

Sunday Stir-Fry

Chicken Stir-Fry.  I'm pretty sure that it was one of the first "multi-step" meals I learned to make on my own.  Sure, I had helped with other far more complicated meals, but (if my memory is serving me correctly) this was the first dinner I cooked by myself and served.  I remember it being very salty, probably a little too much soy sauce and not enough chicken.  But as the years have gone by, my stir-fry has changed and developed, mostly by trial and error.

Things I've learned:

1.  I've learned that seasoning and cooking raw chicken is best.  
2. I've learned that if you are going to use packaged, pre-cooked chicken that it shouldn't be the kind that has Mexican seasoning on it; yes, you can really taste the Mexican seasoning and that doesn't go well with soy sauce.  
3. I've learned that ginger should be minced, once you've taken a big bite of ginger, you'll never do it again. 
   
4. Arrow root is amazing!
5. Pretty much anything goes...as long as you like it!

While browsing for new things to try, I stumbled across this recipe. I had never thought to add arrow root to my stir-fry before, probably because I'd never heard of it before. So, I googled it.  It's used mostly in Asian dishes to thicken the sauce without adding any additional flavoring.  It's incredible.  Seriously, go buy arrow root.

This recipe was a little bit too sweet for my taste, next time I make it (and there will be a next time) I'll go a lighter on the sugar.