Penne With Non-Vodka Sauce

A couple of weeks ago I made Penne with Vodka Sauce, but I didn't have any vodka. I was so certain that we did have vodka, that I didn't even think to check. No Vodka? ....Really? As I was choosing between substituting gin or tequila (I was sure gin would do the trick...), Greg suggested that we actually look up substitutes online. Surprisingly, there are many substitutes, gin not being one of them.  Water was one substitute (no way), or I could just omit the ingredient (that's no fun), or I could use red wine (um, yes please). Of course I always have cooking wine handy, so that was no problemo. This meal was so delightful that I made it again last week. I didn't want to mess up the the good thing I had going, so I used the red wine again. Great decision. Sorry vodka, you've been replaced.

Make your own no-vodka sauce:

Ingredients- 

1 Onion

3 tbsp Cooking oil

1 tsp. Minced garlic

28 oz. Can of plum tomatoes

12 Basil leaves

1/4 tsp. Red pepper flakes

1/2 cup Cream

1/3 cup Red cooking wine

Instructions:

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil. Add 1/2 of a diced onion and cook until translucent. Add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic. Chop up the plum tomatoes after draining the can, then add to the skillet. Add the red wine and red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add the cream. At the end, add the chopped basil. Mix well.The sauce should be a pinkish-orange.Toss the sauce with just cooked penne pasta. Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezey

 Now that school has started again, I'm finding myself looking for simpler and quicker recipes. If you're in the same boat, here are some things that you might like.

Lettuce from a box

 Once again, I neglected the veggies in my planning this week, but luckily I had purchased a box, yes a box, of lettuce at the store on Sunday. It was super easy to use because it also came pre-cut and pre-washed (and was only $1.50 from Safeway). It tasted so much more fresh than the salad from a bag. For this knife and fork salad I used two whole romaine leaves, red onion, garlic croutons, and Caesar dressing. How simple was that?
 

I have made the following dish twice recently. Greg likes it (almost) as much as the Shrimp and Orzo. It is inexpensive, quick, easy, and delicious. I already had most of the ingredients in my cupboard.

Ingredients:

• 4 4-ounce beef cubed steaks
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of chopped onion
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 14.5 ounce can tomatos with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
• 1 10.75-ounce can reduced-fat and reduced-sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 3 cups of hot cooked noodles

First brown the cube steaks on both sides in hot oil.Then set aside and add the garlic, mushrooms, and onion to your pan.

Cook until the onion is tender. Then stir in the can of tomatoes with the juice and the mushroom soup. Return the steaks to the skillet, turning to coat them in the sauce. I bury them in the skillet under all of the sauce. Then, bring to boiling; reduce heat, and simmer covered for about 30 mins. I only simmered mine for about 15 minutes, but I only used two steaks.  Also, I added pepper to the recipe for more flavor.

Serve with noodles. 

Take a look at some other things that can make cooking so much easier!

Start saving your pocket change for this little sucker! 

My bestie, Melanie, might like this automatic cake decorator.

I must be an uber-nerd but this mat would make perfect sized pie crusts every time!

Hmmm, cool idea!

A Way to a Man's Heart...

...Is through his stomach. It's true, Greg is pretty happy that I like to cook, but he would like macaroni and cheese with chopped up hamburger in it just as much as the more time-consuming meals I try out on him.  But I will say I did win his heart/stomach with this one.

I used Ellie Krieger's cookbook called The Food You Crave. It has recipes that are more healthy versions of comfort food. She even has recipes for things like chicken pot pie and mashed potatoes. Her vegetable chapter is great because she gives simple ways to make vegetables taste delicious without using gobs of butter. I cook from it all the time.

I started with some Orzo. I added some feta  and parsley to the pasta.

I sauteed onions and garlic in olive oil. Then I added diced tomatoes with the juices, canned or fresh. Then let it all boil and thicken for about 5 minutes. Next, I tossed in my peeled shrimp and feta, and salt, pepper and herbs/spices and baked for 12 minutes in the oven at 425.

I made sure the shrimp looked totally done and delicious...

Like I said, Greg raves about this dish, even though it does come from the "health" cookbook that he's a little bit wary about after I cooked mashed sweet potatoes with orange juice and buttermilk, which I'll admit was kind of a disappointment. But, most her recipes are really amazing. I love the sage-rubbed pork chops with apple slaw. I made that last fall for some friends and it was to die for! I didn't think I could make my own apple slaw from scratch, but I did it and it was incredible! I also like that Krieger gives all of the nutritional facts to each recipe so you know exactly what you're eating. So, all in all it's a good book to put on your shelf. I hope that maybe you'll try this dish or check out the cookbook! Thanks again for reading my thoughts about food!