Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/2 lb sweet Italian Sausage Link, casings removed,crumbled

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper flakes 

1/4 cup diced onion

1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes, drained,coarsely chopped

3/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon Salt

6 ounces Pasta

1 1/2 tablespoons minced Parsley  

grated Cheese 

1. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.

2. Add sausage and crushed red pepper.

3. Cook until sausage is no longer pink, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes.

4. Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook until onion is tender and sausage is light brown, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.

5.  Add tomatoes, cream, and salt.

6.  Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, about 4 minutes.

7.  (Can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and chill.).

8. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water. Drain.

9. Bring sauce to a simmer.

10. Add pasta to sauce and cook until pasta is heated through and sauce thickens, stirring ocassionally, for about 2 minutes.

11. Serve and garnish with parsley and parmesan cheese.  

Smores With Reese's Cups

1 (10 and 1/2 ounce) bag of Reese's peanut butter cups (large size not the miniature size)

16 marshmallows

16 graham crackers



1.Split or break the graham crackers into twos and set aside.

2.Next, you need to heat the marshmallows. There are several ways to do this:

       - If using the broiler: you need to place the marshmallows on top of 1/2 graham cracker and put under the broiler for a few seconds or until golden brown and toasted. Remove the Graham and place a Reese's cup on top then place the other 1/2 graham crack back on top and press it lightly to flatten the marshmallows.

      - If using a campfire/fire-pit: Prepare the graham cracker in an area near your fire, and using a utensil (such as a tree branch or your marshmallow roasting sticks) roast the marshmallows until golden brown and toasted. Place the marshmallow on 1/2 of the graham cracker, place a Reese's cup on top, and the other 1/2 of graham, light press down to flatten the marshmallows.

     -  If using a gas stove-top or grill: Prepare graham crackers near the stove top, place a marshmallow on a fork (you can use your tree branch or marshmallow roasting sticks) turn on flame to highest setting and let the marshmallow brown, being careful not to let it catch fire. place the browned marshmallow on 1/2 graham cracker and place Reese's cup on top, with the other 1/2 of graham. Lightly push down on to flatten the marshmallow.

Good ol' Chicago Hot Dog!

The Chicago Dog is a Windy City classic, and a big favorite with sports fans! The frank must be all-beef, the bun must be poppyseed, the ingredients must be piled onto the bun in the order specified. And whatever you do, don't spoil the splendor with ketchup!

• 1 all-beef hot dog
• 1 poppyseed hot dog bun
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon sweet green pickle relish
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 4 tomato wedges
• 1 dill pickle spear
• 2 sport peppers
• 1 dash celery salt

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, place hot dog in water, and cook 5 minutes or until done. Remove hot dog and set aside. Carefully place a steamer basket into the pot and steam the hot dog bun 2 minutes or until warm.
2. Place hot dog in the steamed bun. Pile on the toppings in this order: yellow mustard, sweet green pickle relish, onion, tomato wedges, pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt. The tomatoes should be nestled between the hot dog and the top of the bun. Place the pickle between the hot dog and the bottom of the bun. Don't even think about ketchup!

Enjoy! 

Xo-Kelly

Dill Pickles!

If anyone knows me i kind of have an obsession with pickles!! =) these homemade ones are my favorite ones!!

Serves:32  Yield: 7 Quart jars

• 7 wide-mouth quart jars, lids & rings
• fresh dill
• cucumbers, washed, scrubbed
• 1 Garlic (or more)

Brine

• 8 1/2 cups water
• 2 1/4 cups white vinegar 
• 1/2 cup pickling salt

NOTE: We did NOT list an amount for the cucumbers since we never measured how many pounds we use--sorry! SERVING SIZE is the number of ounces in a quart jar.

GET ALL OF THIS GOING BEFORE FILLING THE JARS.

Wash 7 quart jars in hot, soapy water (or dishwasher), rinse and fill with hot water; set aside.

Fill canning kettle half-full with hottest tap water; set on burner over high heat.

In a medium saucepan, fit lids and rings together, cover with water, bring to a simmer.

In a large saucepan, bring water, vinegar and salt to boil; turn off the heat; set aside.

FILL JARS: place a layer of dill at the bottom of each jar, along with one garlic clove (if used), then TIGHTLY load the cukes into the jar to the NECK of the jar (depending on size you may get two nice layers with a few small cukes in the top--)---squeeze cukes into the jar tightly--uniform size helps; add a few TINY spriglets of dill at the top, too, and another garlic clove if desired.

Once jars are loaded, pour in the brine leaving half-inch head space in each jar.

Add lid and ring to each jar, tightening evenly.

Place jars into canner with water JUST to the necks of the jars.

Bring water ALMOST to a boil (about 15 minutes--depending on how fast it heats up).

Remove jars, set on a dish towel on the kitchen counter, cover with another dish towel & let cool.

Check for seal (indented lid), label jars or lids, store in cool dark cellar or cupboard.

NOTES: When washing/scrubbing cukes, sort them into piles by size. This really helps make your jars look nicer, if you have uniform sizes (and this impresses the judges too!). And makes for easier packing, too.

Yummy Banana Pudding Milkshake

Banana Pudding Milkshake (makes 1 serving)
1/4 cup plain soymilk
1 1/2 Tablespoons banana cream instant pudding mix
1 cup Homestyle, Vanilla ice cream
4-6 vanilla wafers, crushed
diced banana (optional)
Cool Whip (optional)
Cherry (optional)

1. Pour soy milk into a large bowl. Add in the banana cream instant pudding mix.Stir and combine. 

2.Add in ice cream, stir until creamy and everything is combine. this is has the texture of a wendy's frosty. *add more soy milk if you want a more thinner shake*

3. Add in your crushed, vanilla wafers, stir them in.

TALK ABOUT HEAVEN IN A GLASS!!! =) 

Chile Colorado

This stuff is my father in laws FAVORITE thing I make. Every time he hears that I'm making it, he's right over. =) I always make it on a really cold or rainy day.. Goes GREAT with some red rice, beans and tortillas. I like to top it off with some onion, green onion, cheese and sour cream! You can cut back on the beef broth, to make it more thicker, but you can do it either way =) 

Ingredients

• 9 New Mexico dry chiles - washed, with stems and seeds removed
• 3 cups water
• 5 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat (you can also you stew meat.)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 garlic cloves 
• garlic salt to taste ( for the red sauce) 
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups beef stock or water
• 
  
• Directions
• Place chiles, garlic and 3 cups water into a medium stockpot, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and steep for 30 minutes to soften. Strain into a bowl, reserving the cooking liquid. Place the chiles, garlic, garlic salt and some of the liquid into a blender, and puree until smooth. Add more liquid as necessary to form a smooth sauce. Pass sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove any seeds and the tough skins; set aside.
•   
• Cut the roast into 1 to 2 inch chunks. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the beef chunks in the seasoned flour; shake off any extra flour on the beef, set aside. But you can also use stew meat to pass time =) 
• 
  
• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add beef chunks a few at a time, so as not to overcrowd the pot, and cook until evenly brown. Remove cooked meat, and continue browning remaining meat. Return reserved cooked meat to the pot. Stir in pureed chile mixture. Add beef stock to just cover beef chunks, or to personal preference. ( we love extra sauce so i add more)  Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to lowest setting, and simmer for 3 hours, or until meat is tender. If necessary, adjust with more stock during cooking as it does reduce in cooking =)

Enjoy!!!

Xo-Kelly

My Husband's FAVORITE Green Chili Stew!!

My husband is your typical "meat and potatoes" kind of guy.. If you make something that has HUGE chunks of veggies in it, you'll see him sit there and pick out every chunky piece before he even touches his food or not even touch it at all!!
Beef stew is one of my favorites growing up. I always said my grandpa makes the best stew ever, i still believe til' this very day that it's the best!! I was talking with my mom one day last year and asked her what i could do to a beef stew that Peter (my husband) won't sit there and pick out everything but the meat and potatoes.. She told me she use to make this green chile stew all the time along time ago. it had meat, potatoes, the onions disappear while cooking, it had corn, the tomatoes were chopped small enough, and it had chile. ALL THE THINGS HE LIKES!! is what came to my mind.. So I scribbled down the recipe as she was telling me the recipe.. and gave it a shot!! I had his family over when I made it that night. Everyone loved it, including Peter.. He was mad when he went for his 3rd!! serving, it was gone. so i have to double the recipe now.
This is my doubled version..

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 pounds cubed beef stew meat
• 2 onion, chopped
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chile peppers ( sometimes when i don't have a can of rotel on hand, I'll chop up some tomatoes with either a Serrano or jalapeno) 
• 4-5 small cans of beef broth ( i buy a few extra) 
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers ( I use New Mexico Green chile) 
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin (optional) 
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 Can of corn 
•  -    In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil and brown the stew meat and the onions until onions are translucent; about 5 minutes
• 
  
• -    Pour in the diced tomatoes with chiles, beef broth and chile peppers. Stir in the garlic salt and cumin. Salt and pepper to taste.
• 
  
• -   Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add a little more beef broth or water if needed during simmering
• 
  
• -  Stir in corn and cubed potatoes to the mixture and simmer for an additional 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

I like to serve this with some red rice and fresh tortillas and a squeeze a lime for me!! ;)

Enjoy!!

Xo-Kelly

The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup In The TOWN!

The name says it ALL! I remember when I first started getting interested in cooking, My friend from high school gave me this recipe and told me to just throw it in the crockpot and LEAVE IT ALONE! I thought, ok, thats easy! So a few days later, I went to the grocery store with my then boyfriend ( and now husband ) and gathered all the ingredients. I did what my friend told me to do, chop everything up and throw it in! Easy enough. Ever since then, I fell in LOVE with this soup and I now make it all the time, And I still do. Sometimes when I don't feel like using a rotisserie chicken, I like to buy some chicken breast  and cook it with the olive oil, garlic and onions seasoned with some lemon pepper and garlic salt =) You can also add anything you want to you this soup.. sometimes ill toss in some black beans and some corn. or whatever you have on hand..  If you DO decide to try out this amazing recipe please don't skip the garnishes! they're for sure the icing on the cake!!

Ingredients:

1 (46 ounce) can chicken broth

• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes 
• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I use rotisserie from the deli)
• 2 anaheim chiles , diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 -4 large tomatoes, diced
• 2 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chili powder ( but i always use about 1/8 - 1/4 of a teaspoon of cayenne powder)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 
  

Garnish

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, pulled from stem
• a couple of lime, cut into wedges
• 2 cups of crushed tortilla chips 

- Throw everything except the garnishes in your crock pot and let it cook on high for 5-6 hours.

- Dress with garnishes and give it a squeeze of lime (a must:-) and you're good to go!

OR! 

If you are not using a crock pot, saute the garlic and onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil before adding the remaining ingredients.Let it simmer for at least an hour so that all the flavors mix together!!  I like to serve it with some red rice on the side OR in the soup :)

ENJOY!! 

xo-Kelly