ARE YOU READY FOR DINNER? -- SWEET ITALIAN SAUSAGE WITH PENNE AND BROCCOLI

 Hello, friends!  Happy Sunday.  I hope you have all been having a good weekend.  I am sitting here at home with the fire stove going and a campfire scented candle burning.  It smells so good and is so relaxing with the crackling sound it makes.  It's like a real campfire.

Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes on my tooth.  I am glad to tell you that the antibiotic seems to be working and I am MUCH better.  I went from taking painkillers four times a day to three and haven't taken any today -- so far.  I am not a martyr and if I am in pain I will definitely take them.  My jaw is a little swollen, but nothing like it was.  I am still going to eat soft food for a few days yet, but I am definitely on my way to getting well.

I called the emergency dentist yesterday and was told all the appointments for the day were filled.  I asked if I could make an appointment for today and was told they don't make appointments ahead of time and to call as early as possible today because they fill up fast.  OK.  I decided that this was not the place for me.  There is a dentist in the neighborhood that is a 24 hour emergency dentist.  I have never gone to her, but I figure it is worth a shot.  And the new insurance I have that begins in January covers her.  So even though I like the dentist I've been seeing, I think I will give her a try and see if I like her too.  If so, she is only 8 blocks from my house.  It is certainly worth a try.

At any rate, I have decided to stay home from church today.  I don't remember when I have missed so much church.  My health just seems to be against me lately.  To top it off, I woke up this morning in a lot of pain and it seems that in my sleep I either pulled or tore a tendon in my right knee.  I can hardly walk and I certainly can't drive.  I have a knee brace on it and hope if I stay off of it I will be better by Tuesday to go to the last Bible Study of the year.  *sigh*

I went into the freezer last night looking for something soft to eat for dinner.  I had half of a package of sweet Italian sausage and lots of left over rigatoni.  There was a head of broccoli in the refrigerator too.  So I googled some recipes and came up with this one.  Here is the link for it:  Pasta recipe.  I took a photo of mine but haven't downloaded it yet, so will show you when I do my "What's for Dinner?" later this week.  Here is the picture from the website.  Mine looked very similar.

It's good when you have everything in the house to make a dinner.  Joe really liked it and said I could make it again.  It is easy and tastes great.  I'm so glad I tried it.

It is a beautiful sunny day and I hope I can get out into the yard later (if the knee lets me) and take some pictures to show you.  There is a lot of work to do to get it ready for winter and I hope I have time to do that next week.

So until later, have a wonderful day.

Kathy

ARE YOU READY FOR DINNER? -- PASTA WITH PEAS AND BACON

Hello, friends!  How are you all doing?  Today was such a beautiful day.  There was bright sun and it was up to 74*F (23*C).  I had a doctor's appointment today and even put the air conditioner on in the car.

My appointment went so well.  She gave me a different blood pressure medication which I start in a couple of weeks after I wean myself off of the one I am on now.  She also spent 30 minutes with me talking about my last blood test, the ear ache I have, my general health and the coronavirus.  When I left I was feeling so much better about things.  It was a very profitable appointment.

I went to Rite Aid to get the medicine, but it wasn't ready.  I can get it on Friday.  But I found...  toilet paper.  Even though we don't need it immediately, I got a package.  We might not be able to find it when we do need it.  I also got some Easter candy.  I would show it to you, but I took the picture on my tablet and it is out of power so I can't download the pictures.  I will do it later though.

So many people have asked me for the recipe I got off of Good Morning America for Michael Symon's pasta.  I found it at https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/food/story/silky-glossy-pasta-peas-bacon-chef-michael-symon-69955026.  But let me show you how I did it.  This is how I copied it down as he was doing it.  The full recipe is at the link above.

The good thing about this recipe is that you can substitute whatever you have in the house.  It is great for using up things or for times like now when you can't always get to the store.  And that is just what I did.

MICHAEL SYMON'S PASTA WITH PEAS AND BACON

Take one half pound of bacon, slice it into small pieces and fry it.  I had five slices left which wasn't quite a half pound, but I made do and it was just right.  If you don't have bacon, you can use ham, hot dogs, whatever.

Boil one pound of rigatoni.  I didn't have rigatoni, but I had half a box of penne.  That's what I used.  I didn't need a pound of pasta anyway with just the two of us.

Add 1 cup of peas to the pasta.  I had frozen so that is what I used.  And I added only one-half cup.

Add 2 cloves of minced garlic.  I didn't have any garlic, so I used garlic powder.

Add about 6 ounces of pasta water to the bacon mixture.

In a small bowl beat three eggs.

Add 1/2 cup of a hard cheese.  I had shredded cheddar, so that's what I used.  I didn't even measure.  I just threw about four handfuls into the bowl.

Add parsley, pepper, nutmeg, and extra virgin olive oil.  I didn't measure any of these either.  I just put in what I thought would taste good.  The original recipe calls for mint but I didn't have any and I don't like it anyway, so I used parsley.

Temper the egg mixture with some of the pasta water.

Put the cooked pasta into the bacon mixture.  Mix together.  Then put in the egg mixture and stir together until the eggs are cooked.

Spoon onto a plate and top with more cheese and olive oil.

It was so good!  I have to get more pasta when I go food shopping next week and make it again.

If you try it, please let me know if you like it.

And now it's time to get ready for bed.  I will talk to you soon.

Kathy

ARE YOU READY FOR DINNER? -- IRISH STEW

Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a good day.

Are any of you getting rude comments on your blog?  I had one yesterday from an anonymous person.  Of course they wouldn't want to put their name on it because it was awful.  I won't even repeat the terrible things this person wished on all of us baby boomers.  And if you happened to see it, I am sorry.  I took it off as soon as I noticed it, but it was put back on an hour later.  I removed it the second time and have been watching my comments closely ever since.  If it keeps happening I will monitor my comments, but I hate to do that.

In any case, it's a beautiful day today.  The sun is shining, the temperatures are in the 70s, and I am going to share a recipe with you.  This is the recipe for my famous Irish stew.  At least it is famous with my family and friends.  It is a good stew.  I got it out of the newspaper when I was about 17 years old.  They printed it on St. Patrick's Day along with a recipe for Irish Soda Bread.  I made the bread for many years but have since lost the recipe.  I copied them down in a recipe book since after lots of years of use the newspaper crumbled.  When I moved 40 years ago, I lost the book.  But I had shared the recipe for the stew with my sister and she shared it back to me.  So here is the Irish stew recipe for you.

KATHY'S FAMOUS IRISH STEW

1 1/2 lbs. lean boneless lamb or beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes OR ground beef shaped into mini-meatballs
1 1/2 cups water
1  8oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
1/2 cup celery & leaves
1/4 cup parsley
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 beef bouillon cube
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 carrots, sliced
8 small potatoes, peeled & diced
1 tsp. cornstarch

Combine lamb, water, tomatoes, onion, celery, parsley, garlic, bouillon cube, salt, thyme, & pepper in a Dutch oven.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cover & cook slowly for 1 1/2 hours.  Add carrots & potatoes.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cover & cook 30 minutes.  Blend 2 tablespoons of broth into cornstarch.  Pour into remaining broth mixture.  Cover & cook 5 minutes more until stew is thickened.

Hope you give it a try and enjoy it.

Stay safe,
Kathy

ARE YOU READY FOR DINNER? -- BEEF AND MACARONI CASSEROLE

Hello, friends.  I hope you are having a good day.  Of course I began this week with church.  We had an wonderful service last week and this week promises to be just as good as we continue on through the book of Romans.

I thought I would begin the week by sharing a new recipe I made for dinner last night.  I have been watching vlogs every morning and one leads to another which leads to another.  Yesterday I found two new ones that I am really enjoying:  "Cora Sue's Cozy Castle" and "Mandy in the Making."  Both are lifestyle vlogs and both are good cooks.  This is a recipe that Mandy made for her family's dinner one night.  I made some changes to it to suit my needs.  A big one was that she used jarred spaghetti sauce.  I don't use that (I usually get sick on it), so I was going to use tomato sauce.  It turns out I didn't have that either.  So I used tomato soup.  And it was good!  So here's how I made this Beef and Macaroni Casserole.  Mandy called it Red Macaroni.  Either one works.

Begin by browning 1 pound of ground beef in a skillet.

Chop up one onion.  I used a half an onion and it was enough for us.  I think it depends on how big the onion is and how much you like onions.  I found that if you and onions are not friends, you could omit this step and it would still be good.  They really didn't add that much to the dish.

Mix them together in the pan and brown the together for a few minutes.

Add the can of tomato soup or a small jar of spaghetti sauce.

Add Italian Seasoning to taste.  We like it so I added about a tablespoon.  I didn't measure, just shook it in.

Add salt and pepper to taste.  I didn't use nearly as much as I did the Italian Seasoning.  Maybe a teaspoon of pepper and half a teaspoon of salt.  But make it the way you like it.

Stir in a cup of water.  I put it in the soup can to get the last of the soup out.  If as it cooks it begins to look too thick, add a bit more water.  I didn't need to.

Finally, add one cup of elbow macaroni to the mixture.

And stir everything together.

Cook on medium heat until it bubbles.  Then turn it down to medium low.

Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

After 20 minutes check to see that the macaroni is cooked.  Put it into a casserole dish and top with shredded cheese.  Mandy used cheddar.  I didn't have any so I used up the mozzarella and provolone I had in the refrigerator.

Put into a 350*F (180*C) oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.  Rather than heat the oven for 5 minutes, I put mine in the microwave for 2 minutes until the cheese was melted.

It was very good.  We both liked it.  I liked that I could change things, make it my own, and it still turned out good.

Here's what Joe thought about it.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe.  I can't wait to try some more of Mandy's creations.

Until next time...

Kathy

CROCKPOT BARBEQUED CHICKEN

Hello, friends!  It's Friday and it's time to think about some easy weekend recipes.  Here is one I got from the vlog "Shelly's Home Life."  I am sharing it because (1) it's really good and (2) Shelly no longer has her vlog.  It is completely gone so I am not stepping on her toes.  We had it a couple of weeks ago and Joe asked when we would have it again.  The recipe calls for chicken breasts but I used thighs which we like better and it was just as good.  I hope you enjoy it.

CROCKPOT BARBEQUED CHICKEN
Spray your crockpot with a non-stick cooking spray.  Put in two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  In a small bowl mix 1 cup of barbecue sauce (whatever your favorite is -- I used Sweet Baby Ray's original), 1/4 cup zesty Italian salad dressing, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.  Pour over chicken breasts.  Cook on high for 6 hours.  (I found I didn't need that long.  The thighs were finished in 4 hours.)  Shred the chicken and serve on rolls.

If you try this, let me know if you like it and how it turned out for you.

And now to clarify one thing that I didn't really say well on yesterday's blog.  Although I ordered my groceries online, I went to the store to pick them up.  You can have them delivered to your door and I know several people who are homebound and do that.  But the charge for that is an additional $20.  If you go to the store and pick them up, it is only $10.  And I had a coupon that gave me $5 off yesterday so that was a real bargain.  I don't use this service often, but it is handy to have when I need it.

Hope you all have a great Friday.

Kathy



Google image from carlsbadcravings.com

ARE YOU READY FOR DINNER? -- ROASTED CHICKPEAS

Hello, friends!  I have a new recipe for you this week.  Only it really isn't a dinner recipe, it's a snack.  And don't worry if you don't like chickpeas (or garbanzo beans as some call them).  You will like these, I promise.

I saw this recipe on the vlog "Shelly's Home Life" and knew I had to try them.  Then when I was given a can of chickpeas I was SURE I had to try to make them.  So here's what I did.

Take a can of chickpeas.

Drain them and rinse them in cold water.

Place the drained chickpeas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat.

Bake at 450* for 30 minutes.

Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Stir together 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1-1/2 teaspoons of brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar or sugar substitute in a small bowl.

Add to the roasted chickpeas and stir together.

Enjoy hot or cold as a snack.

Store in a covered container at room temperature.  

These are good the day you make them, but will store 3 or 4 days.  I had to make myself stop eating them.  I could eat the entire thing in one sitting.  These are going to be my new go to snack.

 (I had a video here of Shelly making them, but it has been removed.)

One thing I noticed is once I put them in the jar and sealed it, the warm chick peas began to soften.  Next time I will leave them open until they are completely cool so that they stay crisp.

I hope you try this.  Enjoy!

Kathy

ARE YOU READY FOR DINNER? A RECIPE FOR CONCHITAS CON CARNE

Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a good weekend.  I thought I would start another now and then series on recipes I have made and enjoyed.  You might like to try them too.  Although I prepare quite a variety of food, everything I make is easy and quick.  With all my health problems I can't stand at the stove very long.

Tonight I made Conchitas con Carne.  It is so easy anyone can make it.  I will give you the recipe here, but it is also on my food blog under the subheading "ground beef."

CONCHITAS CON CARNE

1 lb ground sirloin

2 cups uncooked small pasta shells (or any pasta you would like - I usually use whatever I have on hand)

8 oz can of tomato sauce

1/4 small onion chopped

1/4 bell pepper sliced

4-5 cups water

1 beef boullion cube

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Brown the beef over a medium heat in a Dutch oven.   Drain, then add the shells and stir it around a bit. Let them fry a little with the beef.   Add all the remaining seasonings along with the onions and bell pepper.   Add the tomato sauce and stir.  Add the bouillion cube and cover with water.  Simmer for 5 minutes, then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until the shells are tender.  Serve and enjoy!
I am unable to eat bell peppers so I leave them out and it's still good.  And I usually don't use as much water as the recipe calls for.  As long as the pasta is covered so that it cooks, it is fine.

Here is a picture of my bowl of dinner tonight.  Sorry it's a little foggy.  The steam coming off of the bowl fogged up my camera lens.

And here's what I had for dessert.  Nothing says fall quite like spiced wafers.  Yum!  It's the taste of fall to me.  And you can get them only during September, October and November.  I usually buy an extra box to have in December.

Hope you have a great Sunday tomorrow.

Kathy