Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Dinner 031112
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Love Is...
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Spagetti Sauce
Mrs Guidicessi's Spaghetti Sauce:
2- 12 oz can tomato paste 1 medium onion
2- 15 oz can tomato sauce 1 tsp. sugar
1 - 2 lb good stewing meat salt and garlic salt to taste
(you may combine park neck, 1 jar mushrooms, whole or pieces bones, veal, or chicken)
Wash and dry meat that has been cut into serving size pieces and brown in 2 T oil in large saucepan, at least 4 qt. size.
Add chopped onion, cook until soft, watching constantly so it does not burn.
Add tomato paste with seasonings, be careful of salt, do not add too much, as you can add more if needed. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, then add tomato sauce, after it has simmered another 10 minutes.
Add two tomato paste cans of water and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours, checking it periodically. If it is too thick add a little water.
You may also add 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper and 1/2 black pepper for a spicier sauce. Better to have too thick as you can add water. Altogether cook the sauce at least 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours. slowly, covered. Add the mushrooms with the tomato paste and sauce.
That is the basic recipe. Instead of sugar I use 1 tsp. anise seed ground in a mortise and pestle. Instead of garlic salt I use 3-4 cloves garlic minced. I also add 2 tsp basil and 2 tsp oregano. I also do not use the stewing meat.
Meat Balls
1 lb ground pork butts, lean
1 tsp black pepper
2C bread crumbs
2 tsp sweet basil
1/2 C grated Romano cheese
salt and garlic salt to taste
2-3 eggs (according to size)
Place meat in a large bowl, season with salt and garlic salt. Pour bread crumbs over,add cheese. sprinkle black pepper and crushed sweet basil. Add eggs and mix as if you were mixing a meat loaf. If the mixture is too stiff, moisten with a little milk until it is the consistency to roll into ball. About an hour and 15 minutes before the sauce is to be served roll into balls about two inches in diameter using milk or water to moisten hands. Drop into sauce and do not stir until balls are nice and firm.
Instead I use 1 lb breakfast sausage from Fareway ( local midwest grocery store) and 1 lb lean ground beef. Four slices regular bread turned into crumbs in the blender. You can also make the balls smaller.
2- 12 oz can tomato paste 1 medium onion
2- 15 oz can tomato sauce 1 tsp. sugar
1 - 2 lb good stewing meat salt and garlic salt to taste
(you may combine park neck, 1 jar mushrooms, whole or pieces bones, veal, or chicken)
Wash and dry meat that has been cut into serving size pieces and brown in 2 T oil in large saucepan, at least 4 qt. size.
Add chopped onion, cook until soft, watching constantly so it does not burn.
Add tomato paste with seasonings, be careful of salt, do not add too much, as you can add more if needed. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes, then add tomato sauce, after it has simmered another 10 minutes.
Add two tomato paste cans of water and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours, checking it periodically. If it is too thick add a little water.
You may also add 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper and 1/2 black pepper for a spicier sauce. Better to have too thick as you can add water. Altogether cook the sauce at least 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours. slowly, covered. Add the mushrooms with the tomato paste and sauce.
That is the basic recipe. Instead of sugar I use 1 tsp. anise seed ground in a mortise and pestle. Instead of garlic salt I use 3-4 cloves garlic minced. I also add 2 tsp basil and 2 tsp oregano. I also do not use the stewing meat.
Meat Balls
1 lb ground pork butts, lean
1 tsp black pepper
2C bread crumbs
2 tsp sweet basil
1/2 C grated Romano cheese
salt and garlic salt to taste
2-3 eggs (according to size)
Place meat in a large bowl, season with salt and garlic salt. Pour bread crumbs over,add cheese. sprinkle black pepper and crushed sweet basil. Add eggs and mix as if you were mixing a meat loaf. If the mixture is too stiff, moisten with a little milk until it is the consistency to roll into ball. About an hour and 15 minutes before the sauce is to be served roll into balls about two inches in diameter using milk or water to moisten hands. Drop into sauce and do not stir until balls are nice and firm.
Instead I use 1 lb breakfast sausage from Fareway ( local midwest grocery store) and 1 lb lean ground beef. Four slices regular bread turned into crumbs in the blender. You can also make the balls smaller.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Dinner 012912
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
I had a serious craving for Pineapple Upside Down cake tonight, I handed John the recipe and he was off making it and with great joy! He used the recipe at the Betty Crocker site and it was yummy!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Black Eyed Peas with Greens Soup
We had this last night, and tonight, served with pumpernickle bread. Yummy and very satisfying during this cold snap.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Angel's New Bed
Polar fleece filled with polyfil. 24x34 inches and designed to make a sheltie oh so happy!
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Window Trim Colors 111411
House Update 111411
And now with more trim colors!
My clematis trellis has been removed so John can scrape, prime, and then paint the soffit on the west side of the porch.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
My $70 a Month Heat Bill
Everyone always wants to know how we can have a $70 a month heat bill in the dead of an Iowan winter - in a 1905 Victorian house - well this is how we do it. NOTE the house is 1105 square feet.
We keep the house at 65F during the day and 58F at night or when we are not home. Caulk around the outsides of every window, door, etc. and do this every few years, oh and LOTS of insulation! We use mortite on the inside for the windows, the windows are original except for two modern windows and it's the modern windows that leak like a sieve.
Make sure to change those furnace filters too. Another tip is to put insulation behind outlets and switches that are on outside walls, these are also major draft stoppers. Repair any storm windows with new spline and the fuzzy insulating stuff every 10 years or so.
It also helps that we are on budget billing, and the gas company keeps bugging us to pay the new rate which is $59 a month but John keeps refusing. November is our reconciliation month, and by paying the $70 a month we don't get a "suprise" spike in our heat bill.
edited to add: The orignal builder insulated the house and big time, way back in 1905, he filled it with woolrock from the basement all the way out the attic rafters. We're thinking he didn't like being cold. The house maintains and beautifully, it's been 65F in here for two weeks now.
We keep the house at 65F during the day and 58F at night or when we are not home. Caulk around the outsides of every window, door, etc. and do this every few years, oh and LOTS of insulation! We use mortite on the inside for the windows, the windows are original except for two modern windows and it's the modern windows that leak like a sieve.
Winter 2010
Make sure to change those furnace filters too. Another tip is to put insulation behind outlets and switches that are on outside walls, these are also major draft stoppers. Repair any storm windows with new spline and the fuzzy insulating stuff every 10 years or so.
It also helps that we are on budget billing, and the gas company keeps bugging us to pay the new rate which is $59 a month but John keeps refusing. November is our reconciliation month, and by paying the $70 a month we don't get a "suprise" spike in our heat bill.
edited to add: The orignal builder insulated the house and big time, way back in 1905, he filled it with woolrock from the basement all the way out the attic rafters. We're thinking he didn't like being cold. The house maintains and beautifully, it's been 65F in here for two weeks now.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Scaffold Shuffle
Monday, October 24, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
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