Pasta Carbonara

This is a restaurant favorite that I finally made a decent version of at home.

1 lb pasta (I like rigatoni)

5 eggs
2/3 cup half and half (or 1/2 c. heavy cream)
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 to 3/4 pound bacon, cooked and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Olive oil
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. butter

Cook pasta in salted water.

Combine eggs, half and half and salt and pepper and set aside.

Warm olive oil in skillet. Add garlic and bacon pieces and saute for 5-10 minutes being careful not to overcook the garlic. Just before the pasta is done, add the butter.

 Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and add the bacon mixture. Off heat, add the egg mixture, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese and stir until it thickens and is heated through. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

 Notes: if possible, the eggs and half and half should be room temperature. If the mixture heats on the stove, the eggs will cook and make the mixture look curdled.

Based on a recipe from Cooks.com

Red Beans and Rice

Red Beans and Rice

1 onion, chopped
1 pound small red beans
1 cup chopped celery
3 quarts stock
1 pound smoked sausage
1 small ham hock
2 T. minced garlic
2 bay leaves
2 T. Joe's Stuff seasoning

6 cups cooked rice

Soak beans in water overnight to soften. Drain beans and place in crock pot with all other ingredients except smoked sausage. Cook for 8 hours or until thickened. Grill or saute smoked sausage and add to beans in small chunks. Remove bay leaves before serving over rice.

Notes:

This recipe is adapted from Class Act, Simple, Authentic Recipes from the New Orleans School of Cooking. It is cooked on the stove in the original recipe, but the crockpot works better for me. But, it did not thicken as much as it should have, so I put it on the stove for an hour or so.

You could probably substitute any Cajun type seasoning for the Joe's Stuff.

It is not overly spicy at all, and was fantastic with the Smoked Tobassco sauce added at the table.

Pork Chops and Stuffing

Pork Chops and Stuffing

4 small to medium pork chops or pork loin chops
butter
1 package pork stuffing mix (ex. Stove Top)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 soup can of milk

Lightly brown pork chops in a small amount of butter. They do not have to cook through, just brown them.

Prepare the stuffing mix according to package directions, but do not cook, just mix the ingredients together.

Combine the soup and the milk.

Spray a casserole dish with Pam. Pour enough of the soup mix in the pan to coat it thoroughly. Add the pork chops, then cover them with the stuffing mix. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the stuffing.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Notes:

This works great with chicken too.

Olivia really like it.

Easy Mock Lasagna (aka Italian Noodle Bake)

Easy Mock Lasagna

1 pound Italian sausage (hot or sweet to preference), browned and drained
15 ounce container ricotta
1 egg
3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/8 tea. nutmeg
black pepper
8 ounces small egg noodles (or pasta of your choice - see notes), cooked to package instructions
1 25.6 ounce jar pasta sauce

Combine ricotta, egg, 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, nutmeg and black pepper to taste in a bowl.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with Pam (see notes). Place cooked noodles covering the bottom of dish. Top with ricotta mixture.

Combine sausage and pasta sauce and put it on the ricotta in casserole dish. Top with remaining 2 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until cheese begins to brown and is hot all the way through.

Notes:

The little egg noodles worked great in the dish because they were nice and soft and did not add a distinct flavor, like a wheat penne or the like would. But, the instruction said to cook them 10 minutes. They were PLENTY done at 6, so if you use them, watch them closely. I would recommend cooking any noodle you use no longer than the short end of the cooking time because they will cook more in the oven.

I used my 8 1/2 by 10 inch dish for this recipe. It would work in something slightly bigger, but I would not go smaller. If you go a lot bigger, you may want more cheese on top.

We really like this - it had all the flavor of lasagna with MUCH less work and mess. I would make this again in place of lasagna any time.

I might add some Parmesan cheese next time for a little stronger cheese flavor.

Sausage, Cabbage and Apples

As part of this weeks menu plan, I looked around and found a half a head of cabbage that needed to be used up. We also have some "church" sausage still from last year and the sausage dinner is less than a month away, so our old supply must be gone by March 1. So, this was the result

Sausage, Cabbage and Apples in the Crockpot

1 pound home style sausage links (or bratwurst)
1/2 a medium head of cabbage, wedged
3 apples, quartered and cored
1/2 onion
1 tea. Penzey's bratwurst seasoning

Put everything in a Crockpot and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Notes: I thought this turned out very good for something simple and with few ingredients. Of course, I love cabbage, so you could hardly go wrong. The sausage was pretty well done, but it still tasted really good.

You could substitute salt, pepper and your favorite seasoning for the bratwurst seasoning.

Lo Mein

Olivia loves lo mein. This recipe is adapted from the Yan Can Cook by Martin Yan cookbook. It does not seem to have a lot of flavor to me, despite some additions that I made.

Lo Mein

1 1/4 pounds of pork loin, sliced in 2 by 1/4 inch pieces

5 T. Oyster sauce

2 tea. sesame oil

2 T. rice wine

black pepper

Combine all of the above and marinade 30-60 minutes (while preparing the other ingredients).

3 - 6 T. oil

1 large carrot, cut into match sticks

2 cans bamboo shoots, roughly chopped

5 cups chopped cabbage

1/2 ounce package dried woodear mushrooms, reconstituted according to package and chopped

4 cups fresh bean sprouts

2 cups snow peas, halved

1 and 1/2 packages of rice noodles (14 ounce packages) prepared according to package directions, rinsed then tossed with:

3 tea. sesame oil

2/3 cup light soy sauce (or more to taste)

1/3 cup oyster sauce

3 T. sugar

2 tea. sesame oil

fresh or ground ginger (optional)

2 tea. garlic

2/3 cup chicken broth

black pepper

After marinating the pork, and preparing all of the other ingredients, heat a wok on high and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the pork and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove from wok and add carrots and snow peas. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the pork, bamboo shoots, cabbage and mushrooms. Heat all of it through - 5 - 7 minutes.

Combine the last eight ingredients (light soy sauce through black pepper) and add to the wok along with the bean sprouts. Heat to boiling and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and add the noodles. Cook until the noodles have absorbed most of the remaining moisture.

Notes: This makes a huge amount - at least 10-12 servings.

Joanie's Pork Roast

This rocks!!! It is amazing!!!

3-4 pounds pork roast
1 onion, roughly chopped
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (optional)
3/4 can or bottle of beer
1 T. garlic salt or more to taste
black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a Crockpot and cook 8-10 hours. Shred with a fork before serving.

Notes: I made this a few weeks ago for Bunko and nearly every person asked for the recipe. It is great served with bread or buns and your favorite sauce. You could also use the drippings to make gravy.