Sunday, January 15, 2012

Tribute to Utah


Well it's Sunday again and this Sunday finds me in our new home state of Maryland. I thought it was appropriate to share with you 2 of my favorite recipes from Utah.

Fry Sauce-

Get a glob of mayonnaise
squirt some catchup

Mix, dip french fries!

Alternatives-
Use BBQ sauce instead of catchup
add a splash of Tabasco sauce
mix in pickle relish
stir in a dash of mustard

Enjoy your fries with good ole' Utah fry sauce!

Funeral Potatoes-

6-8 potatoes pressure cooked to fork tender
about 1/2 lb cheese grated
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 a tub sour cream
1/2 a stick butter cut into pats
shake of onion powder, salt and pepper

pressure cook potatoes, peel and mash in 9x13 baking pan, add butter, cream of chicken, cheese, sour cream and seasonings and stir well. smooth out and place in 350 degree oven until everything is bubbly.

Now the great debate is to add corn flake or not to add corn flakes, I have like mine sans corn flake I think they are unnecessary. I have also seen bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, and one time though I think it was a mistake I had some with frosted flakes (EEEWWWWWW!)
SO if you come down on the pro corn flakes side here's the drill-
place 1 or 2 cups of corn flakes in a zip lock bag, mash to crumbs, add melted butter and mix some more, pour out of bag onto top of potatoes before going into oven.

I hope you all have a fantastic week and enjoy a few of Utah's claim to fame.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Special request


I had a request for my pasta sauce recipe, this is a dump and stir contribution from my husbands time in Italy. He got it from a lady named Anna so we call it...

Anna's Magic Red Sauce

1 can whole tomato's
4-5 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
splash olive oil
pinch red pepper flakes
handful of chopped fresh basil or half a handful dry
a few shakes dry parsley

Warm olive oil, add garlic about 30 seconds to 1 minute (don't burn the garlic, dump in can of tomatoes, red pepper, basil and parsley. Mash tomatoes (I use a potato masher but a fork, spoon or any other implement of destruction will work), cook for about 3-5 minutes and serve over angel hair pasta.

That's it! Easy huh!

I sometimes add some browned Italian sausage to it and then serve it over penne pasta or bow ties.

I hope you enjoy, please feel free to ask questions or make requests and suggestions.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Sunday recipe


From spicy salsa to dessert...

This weeks recipe is for peach cobbler another one of those dishes you can make as much of or as little of with a few minor adjustments to the amounts. The recipe I am going to give you is for a 9 x 13 pan that will make enough for a family or a small party. I will also post the recipe for vanilla sauce a great alternative to the traditional vanilla ice cream usually served with cobbler.

Peach Cobbler
3 16oz cans of sliced peaches in syrup
small pearl tapioca (enough to cover the spaces with syrup when you dump the peaches in your pan)
about 4 Cups baking mix (bisquick or jiffy whatever)
4 Tablespoons sugar (a little more if you like yours REALLY sweet)
1 Cup milk
appx 1/3 Cup veg oil

Open and dump your peaches in your pan then sprinkle the tapioca over the syrup areas in the pan so you have just a single layer. Mix together your baking mix, sugar, milk and oil (it will be gooey) drop globs(yes that is a dump and stir technical term) over your peaches mixture, make it as even as you can but this isn't a huge deal its going to flatten and spread some so don't loose sleep over it.
place this in the oven at 350 for about 30 to 40 minutes. Its done when the top is golden brown and the syrup/tapioca mixture is bubbly.
Serve with ice cream or better serve with vanilla sauce

Vanilla Sauce
1 1/2 C sugar
4 T cornstarch
2 1/2 C hot milk
4 T butter
1/2 tea vanilla
pinch salt

mix cornstarch and sugar in sauce pan, heat milk (I use a microwave for this but hey if you want use another saucepan)and add to sugar mixture, cook on med heat until thickened add salt, butter and vanilla stir well.

Carin's tip of the week
I always use the best vanilla I can buy, it makes a difference! I love Watkins double strength The flavor doesn't cook out so it's my favorite for any baking. You can buy it online, through a dealer or I have found small bottles at my Walmart store.

Enjoy, Carin
It was Sunday when I started to post this ;O)