This is a great recipe to make when you want/need little hostess gifts to take to holiday parties, and such. You just fill small, pretty jars with this treat, decorate with a ribbon, a cute tag, and surprise your hostess. Also good for little gifts for casual friends and neighbors you want to remember.
Cinnamon-Roasted Almonds
1 egg white
1 teaspoon cold water
4 cups almonds
½ cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon, freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Lightly grease one 15x10x1 inch jellyroll pan.
Lightly beat the egg white; add water and beat until frothy but not stiff. Add the nuts and stir until well coated. Sift together the sugar, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the nuts and toss to mix. Spread on pan and bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Pepper Pasta
This is a recipe for a saving moment in the kitchen - translation: You need to feed the hungry hordes and you have minimum time in which to do it! Bacon will bring in the youth and the gourmet touch with the fresh Basil will impress your husband. Your budget savings for this day will please you.
Pepper Pasta
4 slices bacon, diced
½ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 pound uncooked linguine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil ( fresh makes a difference) or ½ teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Cook diced bacon in a saucepan over medium high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons drippings from the pan. Add onions, and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes, undrained; simmer 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of 4 quarts boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. Stir basil and cheese into the sauce, and then toss with cooked pasta. Serve with extra grated cheese.
Ideas . . .
Some people like to use diced ham instead of bacon.
Instead of linquine, use shell or tube noodles for an elegant side dish at dinner.
Pepper Pasta
4 slices bacon, diced
½ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 pound uncooked linguine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil ( fresh makes a difference) or ½ teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Cook diced bacon in a saucepan over medium high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons drippings from the pan. Add onions, and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes, undrained; simmer 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of 4 quarts boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. Stir basil and cheese into the sauce, and then toss with cooked pasta. Serve with extra grated cheese.
Ideas . . .
Some people like to use diced ham instead of bacon.
Instead of linquine, use shell or tube noodles for an elegant side dish at dinner.
Paper plate challenges!
Ran across this site which has a lot of cute ideas for children to make things out of ordinary paper plates. I don't think I can interest my almost-eighteen year old in any of the ideas so am passing the torch on to you mothers with more amiable children of the single digit ages!
http://daniellesplace.com/html/paperplate.html
http://daniellesplace.com/html/paperplate.html
There is intelligent life after homeschooling . . .
Not that I had any doubts about his intelligence, but it was nice to have my son's brains assessed in the public forum and found viable! In other words, he did great on his college assessment test. Language scores were high. Math was in line with the rest of our family none of which ever longed to be math majors.
My son mentioned that between the coffee drink and an energy bar, he felt good during the test although a bit nervous. It was a three-hour test and he finished in under an hour which made the protor wonder how he did. She was pleased that he was quick because he knew the stuff. A great session with a counselor and we are set and hopeful for getting a few classes in the Spring.
On the way home, we got another blessing of sorts. I treated him and myself to a drink and fries since we had missed the lunch hour with all this. The cashier at the drive-thru forgot our fries and the manager gave them to us for free!
As we approached our house, we got yet another blessing of sorts. We couldn't get into the garage because the city was fixing a water pipe leak in the street outside our house. They said they would only be another 20 minutes. Turns out that our day away from home was well-planned by 'someone' because the water had been off in our house for the two or three hours they were working on this . . . and we hadn't been home to be inconvenienced by it. God certainly gave us some great treats today. All this and Adoration, too, on a sunny Friday.
My son mentioned that between the coffee drink and an energy bar, he felt good during the test although a bit nervous. It was a three-hour test and he finished in under an hour which made the protor wonder how he did. She was pleased that he was quick because he knew the stuff. A great session with a counselor and we are set and hopeful for getting a few classes in the Spring.
On the way home, we got another blessing of sorts. I treated him and myself to a drink and fries since we had missed the lunch hour with all this. The cashier at the drive-thru forgot our fries and the manager gave them to us for free!
As we approached our house, we got yet another blessing of sorts. We couldn't get into the garage because the city was fixing a water pipe leak in the street outside our house. They said they would only be another 20 minutes. Turns out that our day away from home was well-planned by 'someone' because the water had been off in our house for the two or three hours they were working on this . . . and we hadn't been home to be inconvenienced by it. God certainly gave us some great treats today. All this and Adoration, too, on a sunny Friday.
Humbly yours . . .! :-)
My son is taking an assessment test for community college today. I promised to drop by the coffee shop on the way home and get him a caffeine drink of his choice to keep him engergetic and focused. Well, we got to talking on the way home and ended up pulling into the garage before I remembered the promised stop. My son was willing to forget it rather than put me to the trouble of driving back into town. My first thought was, "Oh, good! I don't have to climb back into the van, again!" My second thought was, "A promise is a promise." We headed back down the road where we found a long line in the drive through.
We got our drink order and waited and waited for the person in the car ahead of us to get her order. It took so long, we could only imagine what she could have possibly requested. Finally, they handed her out a very small cup of coffee and she took off. Go figure on that.
Anyway, our turn and my son's cold drink was ready and waiting. I paid and as we are getting ready to drive off, the cashier said, "Oh, wait! We made a hot version of the drink by mistake. Do you want it?" I don't usually go for hot drinks but accepted with thanks. Turns out, after trying it, I do like the warm version so here I am enjoying the fruits of my kept promise to my son!
We got our drink order and waited and waited for the person in the car ahead of us to get her order. It took so long, we could only imagine what she could have possibly requested. Finally, they handed her out a very small cup of coffee and she took off. Go figure on that.
Anyway, our turn and my son's cold drink was ready and waiting. I paid and as we are getting ready to drive off, the cashier said, "Oh, wait! We made a hot version of the drink by mistake. Do you want it?" I don't usually go for hot drinks but accepted with thanks. Turns out, after trying it, I do like the warm version so here I am enjoying the fruits of my kept promise to my son!
More so, these days . . .
"We need anything politically important rationed out like Pez: small, sweet, and
coming out of a funny, plastic head."
-- Dennis Miller
-- Dennis Miller
Friday Challenges . . .
Fridays are the most challenging for me in the kitchen. Cooking something meatless that everyone likes can be difficult. I used to make cheese/spinach lasagna only to discover that after over 30 years of marriage, my husband doesn't care for it! Sigh . . . figures as it is my favorite Friday dinner. Only one of the children like macaroni and cheese. Spaghetti with tomato/vegetable sauce is favored by only two of my four children. I'm not even going to check with my husband on this one! :-) Cheese rice souffle is the preferred choice by only by the parents of this group. Don't get me wrong, I do not cater to the whims and dislikes of the individuals but I do try to space out the menu choices so everyone gets a turn at being happy to come to the dinner table.
I was thinking about making Cheddar/Broccoli soup for today's evening menu. Not sure how my teenage son will take it as anything with hot cheese doesn't thrill him. After reading through the recipe, I'm wondering about it, too. It calls for a Russet potatoe and a sweet potato in providing the texture and thickening agent. The sweet potato is an interesting component. Will it enhance the cheese flavor or will the cheese flavor have a sweet undertone that might not be terrific?
I'm still considering Cheddar/Broccoli soup for dinner but may leave out the sweet potato ingredient for two, important reasons: a.) it sounds weird and, b.) I don't want to drive to the store for just a sweet potato! Hey, it sounds reasonable to me. Of course, I will have that nagging feeling that my good bowl of soup this evening might have been fantastic if only I had gotten that sweet potato.
No catching up on quilting today. My high school graduate is taking the college assessment test for community college. No, there isn't any room for him to actually take a class but he needs to take the test in order to try and sign up for classes . . . and be turned down, in the Spring. He is a bit worried and I can't get him to understand that it is an assessment of what he knows that a test to grade him on his knowledge.
Late start to the morning so I will head out to morning Mass and spend a few moments pondering the value of sweet potatoes in my life!
I was thinking about making Cheddar/Broccoli soup for today's evening menu. Not sure how my teenage son will take it as anything with hot cheese doesn't thrill him. After reading through the recipe, I'm wondering about it, too. It calls for a Russet potatoe and a sweet potato in providing the texture and thickening agent. The sweet potato is an interesting component. Will it enhance the cheese flavor or will the cheese flavor have a sweet undertone that might not be terrific?
I'm still considering Cheddar/Broccoli soup for dinner but may leave out the sweet potato ingredient for two, important reasons: a.) it sounds weird and, b.) I don't want to drive to the store for just a sweet potato! Hey, it sounds reasonable to me. Of course, I will have that nagging feeling that my good bowl of soup this evening might have been fantastic if only I had gotten that sweet potato.
No catching up on quilting today. My high school graduate is taking the college assessment test for community college. No, there isn't any room for him to actually take a class but he needs to take the test in order to try and sign up for classes . . . and be turned down, in the Spring. He is a bit worried and I can't get him to understand that it is an assessment of what he knows that a test to grade him on his knowledge.
Late start to the morning so I will head out to morning Mass and spend a few moments pondering the value of sweet potatoes in my life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)