Stewed Tomatoes & Hot Dogs

...turned Stewed Tomatoes & Sausage

I love the zesty Italian flavor of this dish and paired with the Jasmine rice, it's absolutely delicious. Best of all, it's fast and easy, making it a great summertime meal served with corn on the cob and some crusty french bread

• 1 pkg. (16 oz.) Smoked Sausage, sliced (think ring bologna style, only NOT bologna).
• 2 cans (Contadina Italian Herbs) Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, minced w/ garlic press
• 1/2 tsp. basil (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. oregano (or to taste)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Jasmine rice, prepared according to pkg. directions. (I usually start w/ 2 cups of uncooked rice for our family. But if you make more and it's too much, leftover white rice is GREAT for making homemade fried rice.)

Brown sausage. Add stewed tomatoes, garlic, oregano, basil, and sugar. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve w/ white rice.

*****

As per the title, this was originally intended to be made with hot dogs (1 pkg. per 2 cans of stewed tomatoes). And it's very good that way as well - but preferably with a good hot dog. Vollwerths natural casing, for example. Although, our local grocer has their own very delicious hot dogs and sausages; which I was pleasantly surprised to have discovered last summer!

Edited to add: You can click on the word 'Recipes' below this post to see previously posted recipes.

*Riss ~ heard this is your favorite thing to eat. ;) Lol! You're missing out. :) (Just teasing.)

Knit Cupcakes!

You've got to check this out! This lady made the coolest cupcakes I've ever seen. Knit Cupcakes. There are tutorials for anyone wanting to try their hand at "knitting" marzipan. Aren't they beautiful?! Yes, these are real AND edible!

http://veganyumyum.com/2007/06/knit-night-cupcakes/

Addicted

I am taking a temporary leave from blogging.

If anyone has been enjoying my life updates, I will be back on Wednesday or Thursday. That is, if I can hold to a little self-discipline and stay away from my computer!! I can't promise this but I'm certainly going to try... :)

I'm doing this to gain a little more sanity in my day-to-day routine. Meaning, I'm going to try to pack up some of the extra junk around the house that we are constantly tripping over! :) More than likely, I will continue to check up on other blogs during this time.

Our rental is very tiny and I started packing extra dishes and stuff from in the kitchen and haven't finished the task due to being sidetracked by my need to blog. :) It's such an addicting and fun thing to do but I've got to get some order around here. So, I've decided to check myself into blogging rehab for a few days and the first step is to make a clean break. ;)

I'll leave you with an awesome recipe that I made the other night. Shelley (Pennala) sent it to me. She got it from her sister Kristy (Huotari) who got it from their mom. So, basically it sounds like it's Carol's recipe. It's a light recipe and it tastes delicious!

PASTA PRIMAVERA

Saute the following ingredients until vegetables are to desired tenderness:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 12 oz. fresh mushrooms, halved (I sliced them w/ my egg slicer)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot, julienned (I used a handful of matchstick, precut)
• 1 red pepper, cut into thin stips

Meanwhile, in a measuring cup combine the following ingredients and add to the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute.:

• 12 oz. reduced fat evaporated milk (I couldn't find reduced fat so I used regular - but Shell said it's just as good with the reduced fat). :)
• 2 tsp. chicken bouillion
• 1 1/4 tsp. corn starch
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Fold in the remaining ingredients:

• 16 oz. linguini, cooked
• 2 c. broccoli, cooked
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 2 T. parmesan cheese, shredded
• 2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

Note: She added chicken that she had steamed in garlic. (I boiled chicken and chopped up 2 - 3 chicken breasts that I added).

I've never done the steam-thing before, but I plan to! She said it's very flavorful this way. You place your chicken in a single layer in a frying pan. Add about 1/2 inch of water and drizzle with olive oil. Do NOT cover the chicken completely! (Also, be sure water doesn't completely evaporate, add more as needed during cooking). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Press a fresh garlic clove over the chicken. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 20 minutes, or 'til cooked through.

Easy Recipe

As supper time rolled around, I figured it was getting to be 'bout that time. Figuring I'd just wing-it and come up with something, I boiled chicken thighs in some garlic salt and simmered the Jasmine (white) rice. Meanwhile, I sifted through the thousands of recipes available on the web (my go-to recipe book, these days) and came up with *nothing*. So...

We had chicken

and

rice.


(That's it. I mean, you've gotta give me some credit - I did cut up the chicken and mix it with the rice. And in case you didn't catch the sarcasm - that title's a joke).

Chicken Wings

Sounds like Heidi made these for Amanda the other night. They're awesome! In fact, after reading that, I just might have to make them next week. Haven't made them in years! Here's the recipe.

May 27: These were not, in fact, the ones Heidi made - but they're really good!

Grandma Torola's Marinated Chicken Wings

• 40 Chicken wings (can use more)
• 1 c. Water
• 1 c. Soy sauce
• 1/4 c. Vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. Garlic powder
• 1 c. Sugar
• 1 tsp. Ginger
• 1/4 c. Sweetened pineapple juice

Place chicken wings in a 9 x 13 or other container (w/ a cover). Combine all other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Transfer to bar pan (I use Pampered Chef Stoneware).

Bake 350 for 45 minutes. (I serve this with Rice Pilaf. Or for a quick summer meal, make Chinese Chicken Salad and corn on the cob. And there you have it.)

Acorn Rocks

I tried a new recipe tonight. I thought it looked like something you could serve the queen of England or at the very least, her butler. :) It's a Tyler Florence recipe. For those who may not know, he's a celebrity chef and has created a lot of new recipes for Applebee's. After going there and trying some, I went online to see what I could find. That's when I came across this one.

Roasted Acorn Squash stuffed with Cheese Tortellini

The video is online here. #18 (unless the numbers change)
http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=16

Now, I've never made squash in my life. But the recipe called for roasting it for about 30 minutes.

An hour and a half later...and it finally looked and felt like it was 'done'. Then I talked to Shell and found out that it's usually helpful to start with a 'ripe' squash. lol.

I had figured squash must be like pumpkins or watermelon and it never occurred to me that it should yield to gentle pressure when ripe. These two were hard-as-rocks! Had a hard time cutting them open, even.

Thought it seemed odd... Never had so much trouble cutting a pumpkin before.

Anyway, the recipe was delicious! We all love tortellini in this house and it was awesome with the parmesan sauce. BUT....

I don't like squash. I'm thinking, maybe...it could be an acquired taste? Like coffee. It was more sweet and 'rich' tasting than I'd expected.

Binder Bound

I love junking but my second favorite thing in the world is cooking. I can't wait to have my new kitchen. It may take a couple of years but it'll be fun to work on. I'm planning to 'assemble' it with vintage cupboards and cabinets. I want them mismatched...to a point. I want them all to be the same color though - white or cream. But that could change. Anything could change. I have so many ideas for our house and any of them could change at any point. But I feel so lucky to have the liberty of figuring it out as we go.

I love cooking and I love to try new things. I've found many awesome recipes by trying new ones. I've made my share of 'blah' ones too. Those ones just get tossed.

I have a binder that I'm suppose to put my recipes into. The idea is to have them all neat and organized - and easy to find. Hasn't happened yet.

Recipe for Disaster

These are my recipes.

There must be hundreds and hundreds of them that I've clipped from magazines or printed from the computer. This doesn't include my cookbooks and recipe cards! I've never made any of the ones that are laying on the table. The stack in mid-air are the ones I've tried and liked. (If I try one and we don't like it, it gets tossed.) I love to cook and especially love to try new recipes but I think this is getting a little carried away!

I've had intentions.....for years, of going through them, sorting them and organizing them. Never happens. I think I need to make an appt.....with myself...and soon, to go through these. I try to toss some each time I look for a new recipe but the pile seems to get bigger and bigger.

After several recent, frustrating occasions of rifling through them trying to find a particular recipe that I liked, it occurred to me that I should separate the ones that I've used before. Now, there's an idea! [Sometimes it takes me a little longer to figure things out.] LOL. I had no idea there were so many in here that I hadn't tried before! That was an eye-opener. I haven't even tried a quarter of the recipes!

Time to get cookin'.

2 Feta Recipes

Right up there with cilantro, Feta is one of my favorite flavors in the whole world.

Shell these recipes are especially for you. The chicken one is the one I was talking about the other day but this shrimp one is awesome too. Hope you try them and like them as much as I do!

Roasted Tomatoes with Shrimp & Feta

• 5 large tomatoes, cut into eighths
• 3 T. olive oil
• 2 T. (about 5-6 large cloves) garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled & deveined (tip: prep the shrimp ahead of time & store in frig no more than 24 hours)
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 T. lemon juice (I just squeeze a half of a lemon over the dish)
• 1 block of Feta, crumbled (not sure of size, don't have the container in front of me...maybe 8 oz??)

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Place tomatoes in large baking dish. Spoon olive oil & garlic over tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, toss.

Place on top rack of oven and roast for, no more than, 20 minutes. Remove dish from oven and stir in the shrimp, parsley, and lemon juice. Sprinkle with Feta. Place back in oven, on top rack, for another 10 - 15 minutes or 'til shrimp are cooked. Serve warm.

Serve with whatever sides you'd like. (I've served both of these recipes with a nice crusty bread like baguette and a side of veggies. Rice Pilaf would be good with both of these recipes too. - p. 193 in the Heinonen cookbook.)

Easy Feta Chicken Bake

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 lb.)
• 2 T. lemon juice, divided (as in the above recipe, I just use a half of a fresh lemon)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1-2 c. (4-8 oz.) block of Feta, crumbled
• 1/4 c. diced red pepper
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 F. Arrange chicken in a 13 x 9 baking dish.

Drizzle with 1 T. lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper. Top with Feta, drizzle with remaining lemon juice. (You can add the red pepper at this time or wait until the last 15 - 20 minutes of baking, like I do.)

Bake 35 minutes or 'til chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley.

Both recipes are farely easy to 'alter'. Mark doesn't like feta as much as I. So when I make the chicken I don't put feta just the lemon & seasoning on his. It tastes like lemon-pepper chicken. And if your kids are picky about the parsley & red pepper, you can easily take it off or skip it on theirs.

Corned Beef

I should NOT be on here right now. I've only got about a quarter of the things done today that I wanted to and the day's not getting any younger.

I just had to let you know that our supper was awesome! I tried a new recipe. I'm not going to post the whole thing but it's on page 124 of the March 2007 issue of Country Home magazine, called simply: Corned Beef. It also says it's in the slow-cooker cookbook called Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly. Which makes me assume it's a light(?) recipe.

After tasting it, I'd beg to differ. I've rarely had a light dish that was so tasty. So if it is, that's a bonus. I was only disappointed by the fact that most of the corned beef brisket itself was made up of fat. Here's hoping a different brand will have less.

Country Home is one of my new favorite magazines. It's right up there with Country Living, which has been my fave for years.

The Big 3-0

I'm going to be 30 in a few weeks! Crazy.

I'm actually looking forward to it. I know most of you old farts, who turned 30 already, were kind of freaking out about it but I'm excited. It's a milestone. I'm aging and I don't care.

I'm hoping that as I get older, less and less people will think I'm a teenager. Many of you can relate to that. Some of you don't care. Some of you probably get annoyed at times, as I do. It doesn't always bother me but, mostly, it does because I don't like when people just assume I'm a "kid". (No offense to any of you teenagers who are reading this because you should enjoy these years - it's a fun time.)

But when you are an adult, it would be nice to be seen as an adult, for a change. I know this won't happen overnight. I realize that I'm not going to wake up on May 12 and everyone will suddenly respect me. But as the years go by, I can only hope that it will start to happen. So I'm excited to turn 30.

I've got to admit that's a big change for me. (Looking forward to getting older). I never wanted to grow up when I was in my teens/early twenties. Life becomes too "real" as you get older. More responsibilities, more challenges, more stress. Not to mention the fact that you notice more of what goes on in the world, and what awful things happen out there. You find yourself repeating over and over, "How can it get any worse?!" Yet, it does. And I know people were saying that same thing years and years ago. So, how can it possibly get worse? You don't even want to think about it.

Back on a positive note and a change of subject, Stephanie & Kevin brought Ian home from the hospital a couple of days ago. Very exciting. She said it feels kind of crazy to be taking such a small baby home with her. I can't imagine! I'm so excited to see him tonight. (I'm bringing them supper.)

I'm making Philly Steak Sandwiches for us tonight. Everything's in the crockpot and it's starting to smell so good! Cindy (Brian H.) made them for us when Nikayda was born. I had to have the recipe because it was so awesome. If you're looking for something easy & delicious, give it a try.

Philly Steak Sandwiches

• 2-3 lb. boneless chuck roast
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 can (10 1/2 oz.) beef consomme
• 1 can (10 1/2 oz.) beef broth (I use Swanson and use most of the can because it's bigger).
• 1 can (10 1/2 oz.) french onion soup
• Hoagie buns (I like any kind of 'crusty' rolls/buns.)
• Provolone cheese slices

In a crockpot, mix the soups, consomme and bouillon cube. Add the roast. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Remove meat and shred apart. Put shredded meat back into crockpot to blend with the soup mixture. Then place meat on buns with the cheese and place in a warm oven or toaster oven until cheese is melted and buns are lightly toasted.

*************************************************************

I had to go to Wal-Mart, yesterday, and it was such a treat to be able to go with only Carter. Mark had stopped home just as we were getting ready to go. And I was telling him that I wasn't looking forward to taking all three of the kids. And he said I didn't have to. So, he took Nikayda and Abo to the property and they had a ball. They've been waiting to go there but it's been too muddy and Mark kept telling them they had to wait until it dried up a little.

I feel like I really enjoyed Carter too. He was so sweet while we were shopping. If I stopped to look for something on a shelf, he'd lean into me and hug me with his little arms wrapped around me. And he'd want me to just keep holding him. I think he was eating up the attention and I was enjoying the time with him too. That was probably the easiest grocery-shopping that I've had in who-knows-when.

I usually have all the kids with me. Mark is always gone. Last week, he worked until midnight or later every night. He'd go from his job (John & Becc T.'s) straight to our house. It's so nice when he's working around here though because he usually makes it home for lunch and supper. At least the kids get to see him during the day.

Greek Quiche

For any of you who like Greek or Mediterranean-Style food, I have one word for you: Amers Deli. Okay. So that's two words but if you are ever in Brighton (MI) you've got to make a stop at Amers on Grand River. I've been craving it for a year! It's one of the big highlights for me on planning this trip home. I've only had a couple of things there (when we were in Michigan last year). They have THe BeST Pesto Tortellini and Greek Quiche ever.

I just made a Greek Quiche for the first time, last night. (Made up the recipe myself). It was really good but it wasn't the same as Amers'. And when I got home from our trip, last year, I tried to make Pesto Tortellini - good - but not the same. You've got to try it. (Amers, that is).

JENNIFER'S GREEK QUICHE

QUICK & EASY QUICHE CRUST

• 1 c. Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. ice water (I used really cold tap-water)

1. Mix flour & salt with fork.
2. In separate bowl, beat oil & water together with fork.
3. Pour into flour & mix with fork.
4. Press into 9" pie pan (I used my deep-dish baker from The Pampered Chef).
5. Fill with Quiche Mixture (recipe below) & bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until knife comes out clean.

Note: This recipe is not suitable for a pre-baked pie crust. I really liked this crust. This is the first time I've ever used it and it's nice & flaky.

QUICHE FILLING

• 3/4 c. Swiss Cheese, shredded (plus extra to sprinkle on top)
• 1/4 c. Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded (plus extra to sprinkle on top)

Sprinkle cheese onto crust. Then sprinkle on the following ingredients:

• 4-5 Cherry Tomatoes (more or less), sliced or cut in half (or not)
• 6-7 Kalamata Olives, pitted, and cut in half (Do yourself a favor here, make sure you buy ones without pits or seeds in them. I didn't.)

Next, saute the following ingredients until soft, about 3-4 minutes.

• 2 T. Olive Oil
• 1 T. Butter
• 3 Green Onions
• 1/4 c. sweet onions (yellow would work too).
• 1 clove garlic

Then add:

• 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen Spinach, thawed, drained, with excess water squeezed out.

Saute for about 2-3 minutes more, or until wilted. Then add:

• 1/8 - 1/4 tsp. black pepper, to taste (No need to measure, just crack the pepper over the other ingredients).

Let Spinach mixture cool for several minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the following ingredients together in a bowl:

• 3 Eggs
• 1 1/2 c. half-n-half
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Next, mix the Feta (below) into the semi-cooled Spinach mixture and add to the Egg mixture.

• 4 oz. Feta Cheese

Pour Egg mixture (with Spinach & Feta) into crust. Sprinkle with Swiss & Cheddar, to taste.

Bake for 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean. (400 degrees).

Psycho Chicken

I was going to make Psycho Chicken for supper tonight (YES, that is the real name - now, doesn't that sound like something fun?) but the recipe calls for dry white wine. Anyone know a substitute?? I think I'll just make it tomorrow night. The recipe looks SO good and I can't wait to try it. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm assuming I can use chicken broth, but I was wondering if there were another substitute?

Supper, Last Night

This is my blog, so once again, I'm going to brag about something. ;) We had the best supper, last night! I made Meatloaf Wellington (recipe in blog archives) and mashed potatoes. It was so awesome, that I want you to make it. I PROMISE you will like it. It's a very flavorful meal. You will not be disappointed. I guarantee that. (I'm THAT confident).

I was disappointed that I didn't get to share it though. I have been wanting to have Hans and Janelle over for dinner. This meal was for them. I was planning to make it this weekend but that was before Annika passed away. It ended up being a busy weekend and because I don't have a freezer (just a little ice-box thing that doesn't freeze anything), I had to use the hamburger already.

Jennifer's Junk Sandwich

I am naming the following sandwich after myself because I just invented it and thought it was delicious!

Jennifer's Junky Pita Sandwich (for one)

• 1/2 whole-wheat pita bread, warmed up
• Small amt. of Ranch, thin spread of it on the bread (2 tsp.? - just to taste)

Fill with the following, in any order you wish:

• 1/4 of a ripe avocado, thinly sliced
• 1 hard-boiled egg, chilled & sliced
• 2 slices of bacon, cooked
• Sprouts, to taste (I love Alfalfa!)
• 1 oz. Feta cheese, crumbled

Recipe

In compliance of a recent request for this recipe, I have decided to post it. It's from my sister-in-law Christi whom I believe came across it in a Taste of Home magazine or some such as that. It's a favorite in our family. It makes two large loaves of meat loaf. I usually make a half recipe for our family. If you make it, let me know if you enjoy it! It may seem complicated but I assure you that it's not. I don't even like meat loaf (at least not that much) but I love this.

Meat Loaf Wellington

• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 c. ketchup
• 2 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt (Lawry's)
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground mustard
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 1/4 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1/3 c. chopped onion
• 3/4 c. dry bread crumbs
• 2 crust pie recipe (For half: I use one-crust pie recipe from Betty Crocker p. 117, in my book)

Madeira Sauce:

• 1/4 c. butter
• 5 T flour
• 2 c. beef consomme (I use Campbell's)
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
• Dash cloves
• 1/2 c. beef broth
• 2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (I use 8 or 16 oz. pkg. - Mark and I love mushrooms. If you (GASP) don't like them, you don't need to use them.)
• 2 T olive oil

In a bowl, combine 2 eggs, ketchup, seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pepper. Crumble meat over mixture and mix well. Add onion and bread crumbs; mix gently. Shape into two loaves, about 9-in. x 3-in.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each pie crust into an 18-in. x 16-in. rectangle. Invert meat loaves and place in center of pastry; fold short sides of pastry over loaf. Fold long sides over loaf and pastry; seal seams. Place seam side down on a rack in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Beat remaining egg; brush over crust. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 160°-170°.

Meanwhile, for sauce, melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour until smooth. Stir in the consomme, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary and cloves. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in broth.

In a skillet, saute mushrooms in olive oil until tender. Serve the mushrooms and sauce over meat loaf slices. (I usually serve this with mashed potatoes and use the sauce as a gravy.)*

Yield: 2 meat loaves and 2 1/2 c. sauce

*Note: The sauce has an ever-so-slight pink tone due to the tomato paste. This is normal and will not affect your enjoyment of it (I hope). If you wish, you can add 1/4 tsp. of browning sauce if that will make you feel better. :)