Cabbie’s Cooking

This is my daughter’s recipe.  Here’s what she says about it:  “I like to cook this in a crock pot on low all day while I’m at work, but you can also make it on the stove in a stock pot.  The girls love it!  We also make lasagna with this.  We layer the sauce with lasagna noodles, cottage cheese, and cheddar cheese”

LARISA’S SPAGHETTI SAUCE

2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
oregano, to taste
basil, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Brown and drain the meat, onion and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste. Serve over spaghetti noodles or ravioli.

Cabbie’s Cooking is less than a month old, and this is my second Thursday Thirteen.  Here are another thirteen of my favorite recipes:

(1) Chocolate Meringue Pie

(2)  No Sugar Peach Ice Cream

(4)  Monkey Bread

(5)  Grape Salad

(6)  Corn Salad

(7)  Tantalizing Taco Soup

(8)  Mexican Chocolate Pecan Riches

(9)  Sweet Potato Souffle’

(10)  Old Fashioned Tea Cakes

(11)  Quick and Easy Chicken Dumplings

(12)  Ruth’s Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches

(13) Lisette’s Apple Dumplings (made with Mountain Dew)

My Cotillion sister, Nicki, has a fantastic cooking website, Now We’re Cookin’, and she just posted a recipe for Thai Style Chicken.  Doesn’t this sound delicious?  I intend to try this ASAP!

Thai Style Chicken

Ingredients:

1/3 cup peanut butter (shown with creamy, use chunky if desired)
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
dash cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups uncooked pasta
2 boneless chicken breasts

Directions:

Take two cups of your favorite pasta and cook according to package instructions. I made mine with thin spaghetti. While that’s cooking, chop the chicken breasts into bite size pieces and cook until meat is no longer pink in the middle and the juices run clear.

To mix up the sauce, combine the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, garlic, chili powder, and cayenne pepper (optional) in a medium sized bowl. I found it easiest to mix with a small wire whisk to combine the peanut butter and wet ingredients first, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in dry ingredients.

When the chicken is done, toss in with peanut butter mixture until well mixed. Drain pasta, toss in olive oil (if desired).

Serve in a bowl with pasta topped by chicken and peanut butter mixture.

Go check out Now We’re Cookin’ for more delicious recipes!

I’ve been raiding my mother’s (Ruthlace) recipe book.  There are several reasons for this: I love to cook,  she has so many wonderful recipes, and people are always looking for good, tried-and-true recipes.  I’m not sure where she got this recipe, but I’ve made it and it’s wonderful and delicious.  It’s a great recipe to make with children because there’s no cooking involved (except for melting the chocolate/paraffin coating mixture),  and it makes such a great presentation. It looks MUCH harder than it is.  Here’s the easy (and delicious) recipe for candy.  Easy Christmas Candy

Christmas (or anytime) Candy

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 box confectioners sugar

1 stick margarine or butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Mix together well.  Roll into balls (marble-size).  Place in the refrigerator to harden for an hour.  Stick a toothpick in each ball.  In a double boiler melt the following:

1 cup chocolate (baking chocolate - semi-sweet is good but you could also use dark chocolate or white chocolate)

1 cup paraffin (equal parts to the chocolate). 

Dip each candy ball in the chocolate mixture, hold in the air for a moment to dry and place on wax paper and remove the toothpick.  Once you’ve dipped all the candy balls, you can use a small spoon to add a drop of the chocolate mixture to cover the hole made by the toothpick.  They’re ready to eat immediately.

This recipe is one that my mother-in-law has made for years, and it’s my daughter’s AND my son-in-law’s favorite.  As my daughter says, “It is OH SO GOOD!”  Not too difficult to make - and delicious and moist.

FRESH APPLE CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups oil

1 cup nuts, chopped finely

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 tsp. soda

3 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. baking powder

3 cups apples (peeled, chopped finely)

Preheat over to 350.  Grease three 9-inch round cake pans with Crisco and flour.  (I always line the pans with waxed paper, too). 

Combine sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla.  Beat well. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar/eggs mixture.  Finally add the apples and nuts.  Mix well. 

Pour into the cake pans and cook for approx. 30 minutes.  You can also make this in a bundt pan and cook for an hour.  (My daughter’s note: “It is the icing that is so good and you get less icing if you use a bundt pan).

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 cup finely chopped nuts

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 box powdered sugar

Let the cream cheese and butter soften.  Add the vanilla.  Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until well mixed.  Add the nuts. 

Once the cake layers have cooled, spread the frosting on them - one layer at time.  VOILA!  Delicious! 

A quickie meal - easy, only three main ingredients.

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

1 package grilled/diced chicken breast (or you can season, grill and dice your own)

6 large flour tortillas (more or less, depending on how hungry you are)

Grated or thinly sliced Mexican cheese (mixture of white and yellow cheeses)

Spray Pam in the bottom of a large frying pan and place a tortilla in the pan, fllat.  On one half, place some of the cheese and chicken.  Fold the tortilla in half.  Lightly brown each side.  I usually keep a pan in the oven to place the quesadillas when I’m finished with them.  It helps to finish melting the cheese and keeps them hot until I have enough prepared for everyone.  To serve, use a pizza cutter to slice each quesadilla into wedges.  Serve with sour cream and salsa.  Yummy!

The title of this recipe has been cleaned up a little as you can imagine.   This recipe came from my daughter, Stinkeroo, but I’ve seen versions of it all over the place.  The alcohol cooks off, but it leaves the chicken super moist.  I’ve made this chicken several times, and it’s true - it’s deliciously juicy and tender.  Stinkeroo knows people who cook several and then freeze a couple for quick meals later.  It’s that good.

Chicken With a Beer Up Its Booty

1 whole chicken

1 tsp. Liquid Smoke

1 tsp. What’s-This-Here Sauce

1 can cheapest beer you can find (pour half of it out - or drink it)

salt, pepper, Emeril’s essence, a litle bit of every spice in your cabinet (within reason!)

Poke holes in the chicken - a lot.  Season the outside of the chicken with the salt/pepper and Emeril’s Essence.  Place the giblets in the beer can.  Then add the liquid smoke, What’s-This-Here Sauce, salt, pepper and other spices to the can of beer.  The combination is not real important.  Set the chicken on the can of beer and place it on the preheated grill.  It looks like the chicken is sitting on the beer can.  You can set this on a cookie sheet to make it a little more steady so it won’t tip over on the grill.  Cook on low for one hour and fifteen minutes.  DO NOT OPEN THE GRILL LID DURING THIS TIME.  That is important or it messes up the way it cooks.  When done discard the can - and enjoy the delicious chicken.