Spaghetti Sauce from the Crockpot

I love a good homemade spaghetti sauce, and what's easier than throwing all the ingredients in the slow cooker for the day? I liked this recipe, but I was surprised the house didn't smell better when I first came home. It has a slightly strange aroma (probably from the herb combination), but it still tasted good so I'd probably make it again. Serve over pasta, with garlic bread and a green salad.

Meat Lover's Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 small onions, chopped

1/4 pound bulk Italian sausage

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon white sugar (I omitted)

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions and Italian sausage until the sausage is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage and onions to a slow cooker. In the same skillet, cook and stir the ground beef, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and marjoram, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the ground beef into the slow cooker.

• Stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, thyme, basil, oregano, and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder. Set the cooker on Low, and cook the sauce for 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the sugar. Serve hot.

Buttermilk Chocolate Bread

I was on the lookout for recipes requiring buttermilk (since I had so much of it left over), and when I came across this recipe I knew I had to make it. This bread was really rich, and we very much enjoyed it. We couldn't decide if we should call it dessert bread or cake bread, but either description fits!

Buttermilk Chocolate Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Fold in pecans.

• Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

(Easy) Ratatouille

I LOVED the movie Ratatouille, and ever since seeing it I have wanted to try the signature dish, which of course is Ratatouille. This version of the recipe is not authentic, but that's OK. Also, I couldn't find eggplant so I substituted butternut squash. This dish turned out so amazing, you have got to give it a try! I served this with couscous and it went together surprisingly well.

Ratatouille on the Run (by Cheap Healthy Good)

Ingredients:2 Tbsp olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 large eggplant (unpeeled), diced (I used squash)
2 green bell peppers, diced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 ounces goat cheese

Directions:
1) Heat oil in big Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add eggplant, green bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, zucchini and basil. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn heat to low or medium-low and cover. Simmer until veggies are cooked through and tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.2) Take cover off pot and reduce for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar and season to taste. (You can make this 2 days ahead of time. Just remember to refrigerate.)

3) Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread ratatouille in 9-inch pie dish or an 8x8 Pyrex glass dish. Top with cheese, if you like. Bake about 20 minutes, until center is heated.

It's better than it looks

This dip looks rather disgusting, but it actually tastes really good! I sometimes make it for breakfast, as it's very high in protein and keeps me full till lunch. Don't be put-off by its unattractiveness - give it a try!

Cottage Cheese, Avocado, and Black Bean Salsa Dip

Ingredients:

1 can corn

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (16 ounce) container 1% fat cottage cheese

1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced

2 roma (plum) tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes)

2 cups salsa

1 (13.5 ounce) package tortilla chips, if desired

Directions:

• Cook the black beans in a small saucepan over medium heat until warm and tender, about 10 minutes. Strain, and rinse under cold water to remove liquid and excess sodium. Set aside.

• Place the cottage cheese in a mixing or serving bowl. Peel, pit, and dice the avocado into bite size pieces, and add to the cottage cheese. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, remove seeds, and dice into bite size pieces. Add to the cottage cheese along with the corn, black beans, and salsa. Stir until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips, if desired.

Shamrock cookies

My family is (very) Irish, and my mom had a celebratory dinner for St. Patrick's Day. I wanted to make a dessert, so I settled on making shamrock-shaped sugar cookies. Believe it or not, this was the first time I've made sugar cookies by myself (when I was little I frosted cookies, but I never made them from scratch on my own). These turned out really well (I received a lot of compliments on how great they tasted), and I had so much fun making them! My husband even helped me cut them out and frost them!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients for cookies:

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

3 cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients for frosting:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough for 8 hours, or overnight.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8 inch thickness, refrigerating remaining dough until ready to use. Cut into desired shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
  

• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light and golden brown. Cool cookies completely before frosting. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Frost your cookies, and enjoy!

A calorie-heavy pasta dish :)

Sometimes you just want to indulge, and this recipe is a great way to do that. Is there anything better than heavy cream, cheese, and pasta? The only way I can justify eating this is if I eat a big serving of veggies on the side to balance out all those calories - so that's just what I did!

Giada's Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

• 9 ounces fresh fettuccine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cups grated Parmesan
  
• 1 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Drain.

Stir the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy large skillet to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Add the pasta and toss. Add the Parmesan to the cream sauce in the skillet. Add the lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Toss the pasta mixture over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

Notes: I made this a little lighter by halving the butter, and using a little less heavy cream (only because I didn't have it, but it really wasn't missed).

My new favorite restaurant!

March is a special time for foodies in Seattle - it's the time when 3 for $30 (aka Dine Around Seattle) happens. Participating restaurants offer 3 selections (appetizer, entree, dessert) for just $30/person. It's a great way to experience more expensive restaurants, and this year we had dinner at Cutter's Bayhouse. The Bayhouse is right next to Pike Place Market, and it has a beautiful view of the water.

We were seated quickly and while we didn't have a table along the window, we could still see the water and the ferries floating by. Here's a picture of all the different menu choices:We had complimentary focaccia bread, then for appetizers I had the fried cheese platter, and the husband had the salad. The salad was the hands-down winner - it was sweet, crunchy, and tangy.For dinner I had the steak, and the husband had the seafood fettuccine. The pasta was good, but the steak was out-of-this-world. It was truly unbelievable, and is probably the best steak I've ever had in my life. I still dream about this steak, that's how good it was.

We barely had room for dessert, but somehow we managed to eat it anyway. I had the Key Lime Pie, while the husband had the Volcano cake. Both were excellent.I can't wait to go back to this restaurant, and you can bet I'll be having that steak again. :)