Mom's Sauce Reviews

So, I'm sorry to say I have no picture of last night's meal, but only because we ate kind of differently for us as I was running out to work just as my husband came home with my daughter from dance class.

So, the sauce was really good.  I let it simmer for about 4 hours yesterday afternoon, and as I was busy, once in a while I would wait a bit too long to stir it, and it did catch on the bottom slightly.  But, it was still really good.  My kids say, "it was awesome" (but it is his favorite meal, and the first he had truly eaten in 3 days from being sick), and another who hates tomato sauce says "I tried it, it was really good".  Its a somewhat regular meal around here, but it will not appear monthly, unless i'm having a lasagna or meatballs craving.

Breakfast this morning got a bit overruled, but timing wise, that was okay.  Its another manic morning around here with another dance class, and another visit to the pediatrician's office.  So, we had Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. One of these days i'll make homemade, but it was definitely not the morning for that.  However, I am going to post my quiche recipe, though we're skipping that meal, and we'll probably cook the dutch apple pancakes for tomorrow instead of the breakfast burritos, but we'll work those in later this week.

So, now for the quiche recipe... once again, i'm not one to measure, but you can also add any ingredients that look good to you.  My kids will fight over what goes into it, so sometimes i'll do a half-and-half type of quiche.  My plan was just that...

Ham and Sausage Quiche:

I use a refrigerator pie crust, because its quicker if I'm making it in the morning.  They are also really good, so I don't find the need to make a homemade crust.

I will cook up the sausage in a pan to make sure its cooked through before adding it into a quiche.  The ham I just throw in since its precooked.  I use about 1/2 cup of each, in this case separated into each side of the pie pan.  I will then toss about 1 cup of cheese on top, sprinkled around(in this case mozzarella or mexican cheddar because that's just what I have on hand right now).  Then, I mix 8-10 large eggs and about 1/2 cup of either half and half or cream.  You can use less of the liquid and it makes it a bit richer.  Also, using cream with the eggs prevents it from turning green if you are making lots of scrambled eggs.  Pour the egg mixture over the filling and using your fingers, carefully mix it around a little bit, just to get some of the egg mixture under the filling.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until set in the center and enjoy.  A quiche will generally serve my family for 2 breakfasts, depending on the morning.

Now, i'm off to bake those meatballs from yesterday and throw them in the crock pot for this evening, with some of last night's leftover sauce.

Bon Appettit!

November's Menu is Up!

So, my menu plan for the rest of October and the month of November is up on the calendar on the left.  If you click on the day and item, it will take you to a link of the recipe.  If there is no link, rest assured, I will post the recipe on the site beforehand.

Please, I would love to hear your takes on the recipes, what you served it with or if your family enjoyed it (or not... some of my recipes are not keepers, that's for sure).  I will post pictures with the family's reviews tomorrow(after the party).

Today's recipes are Mom's Sauce and Meatballs.

Here is the recipe (this is a big, double or triple batch of sauce):

1 large onion chopped
3 garlic cloves crushed
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3 28 oz cans Hunts Tomato Sauce
6 small cans Hunts Tomato Paste or 3 large cans
1 28 oz can of water
1 cup of Romano cheese
1/4 cup each basil, oregano and parsley

Saute the onion and garlic in the pan with Olive Oil until softened.  Add the meat and cook until cooked through but not brown.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer, on low, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

Mozzarella stuffed Meatballs:

1 small round of fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2inch cubes
2 lbs ground beef
3 eggs
1 cup of Romano cheese
1 cup of cubed day old white bread or bread crumbs
1/4 - 1/2 cup skim milk

soak the bread or bread crumbs in the milk until soft.  Add all of the other ingredients except the mozzarella and mix until well mixed, but not tough (do not over mix).  Mold each ball around a cube of fresh mozzarella.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until browned.

Tonight we are having Penne with Mom's Sauce and a Caesar salad (my family's favorite).  Tomorrow the meatballs will be baked, put into a crock pot of the sauce and taken to a party, with sliced Provolone and rolls to make Meatball Subs.

What its all about

After posting to Facebook the other day that I was meal planning for the next month, many people were shocked and others asked me to send the plan along.  I plan a month at a time because I don't have time to plan each week, and I like variety.  Our family is unlike most... we eat together nearly EVERY night of the month, with only occasionally having plans that interrupt our menu plan.  Occasionally i'll trade one meal for another or swap them around in a week, but I plan in a certain way because of our schedule.  Its really important to our family to have a nice home-cooked meal most nights.  My kids will eat most of my meals, and after each meal we decide whether or not its a keeper.

Here's how I plan:

Each day of the week has a category:

Mondays are always chicken.  Tuesdays are fish or seafood.  Wednesdays are ALWAYS a crock pot meal (my daughter has a dance class that gets out at 5:30, and I cannot cope with trying to throw a meal together if I start cooking after 5:30).  Thursdays are usually Pork.  Fridays are Pasta, generally meatless.  Saturdays are pork and Sundays are vegetarian(though not always).  Sometimes my Thursdays and Saturdays get swapped, depending on the type of recipe I have.  Special occasions, like the upcoming Halloween, have special meals.

With the exception of my crock pot meals, most of the meals take 30 minutes or less to cook, come from one of a few cookbooks or websites (and I will give credit where credit is due) and are pretty simple.  I am a GOOD cook.  I can chop with the best of them, quickly.  I do not measure, will often substitute ingredients at a whim, but I love fresh and simple ingredients.  I do not prep everything ahead, sometimes burning the meal as I look for something, but I always read through the recipe ahead of time to make sure I have the ingredients (or substitutes) and try to pull them out ahead... but I chop as I go.

Tonight's meal is my husband's father's mother's spaghetti sauce recipe.  With that one, I always make a double batch and freeze half, to use with another meal later on in the week.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I loathe leftovers?  I also am totally adverse to mayo (gag!) and you will never see me use it in a recipe.

You will notice that for the most part I plan main courses, not sides or accouterments.  Those I have on hand and figure out what I have time to make with the recipe.

Another thing I will include is that I am making a concerted effort to serve my kids ONE meal for breakfast each day as well.  I don't like trying to decide each morning, so I have a list of standard breakfasts I will make each day, and I rotate them every day.  So, every 17 days, they will have the items repeated from the top.  I'll include that in my calendar too (that too I will sometimes swap... this morning I had leftover coffee cake from yesterday and my morning schedule was off, so we ate that instead).

So, that's it for now... I will post my menus shortly.