Easy Spaghetti Sauce

This is a slightly changed family recipe. For one thing, the original recipe calls for lard to be added to the meat. Yes, you read that right. LARD! I have tweaked it here and there over the years to better match my taste. I CAN tell you that when I tell my family I'm making spaghetti with homemade sauce that I'm a hero! I once made this for company and one of the guests enjoyed it so much, that he wanted to drink the leftover sauce from his plate. Others at the dinner table got after him for "manners", but I was tickled that he enjoyed it so!

Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger or Italian sausage
1 sm. chopped onion
2 lg. cans tomato sauce
1 lg. can tomato paste
1/2 to 1 cup water
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tbs. salt
2 tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. allspice
1 bay leaf
2 tbs. dried parsley

Brown meat with chopped onion and drain. Put into a deep sauce pan and add remaining ingredients, stirring to blend well. Heat over medium low heat until it starts to bubble. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer at least 40 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf and serve.

SAUCY MEATBALLS

This is a terrific appetizer/snack/party food! This recipe is easy and delicious! Two things I absolutely love! The ingredients may make you go, huh? But trust me when I tell you that this is way big time yummy. And when people compliment you on it, it's fun to watch their faces when you tell them the ingredients! LOL

Ingredients:
Frozen meatballs (1 bag, 2 bags, or whatever your crockpot will hold)
equal parts chili sauce and grape jelly.

Place the frozen meatballs in the crockpot. Pour the chili sauce (you can find this in the condiments section of your grocery store. Usually next to the cocktail sauce) and the grape jelly over the meatballs and stir to coat. Cook on low for several hours until the meatballs are heated through and serve.

Lemon Bars

My longtime and best friend BJ gave me this recipe and I thank her for it EVERY single time I make it! Even if you are a committed chocoholic and cringe at the thought of a dessert that is NOT chocolate, you will LOVE this one! I'm telling you! I have never taken this dessert to a party, meeting or whatever where someone has not asked for this recipe and then given me a hug once I deliver it. The crust alone is heavenly! Then you add the lemon filling on top of that and then frost it with the homemade cream cheese frosting! I'm telling you! I am drooling just thinking about it. It is THAT good! So thank you again BJ for sharing this recipe with me!

Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter
2 cups flour
½ c. powdered sugar
Mix these together and press into an ungreased 9x13 pan or dish and bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes.

Filling
Mix 4 eggs, 2 cups granulated sugar, ½ cup flour and 6 tablespoons of lemon juice. Pour over warm crust. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Frost when cool.

Frosting
6 oz. softened cream cheese
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix well, till no lumps, spread over lemon bars.

Chicken Bog

For those who don't know what Chicken Bog is, it is chicken bogged down in rice. Get it? Paula Deen among others add in sausage and peppers and such. As for me? When it comes to Chicken Bog, I am a purist! Don't go gettin all fancy on me with this dish. The blended flavors of the chicken, rice, salt and pepper to me, are perfect just as they are. Chicken Bog with a side of homemade biscuits and I am SO there!

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (3 to 4 lbs is what I usually use)
8 cups water (a little more or less depending on the size of your chicken and how much rice you want to cook with it.
4 cups long grain rice (does not HAVE to be long grain. Medium is fine also. Just follow the directions on the package as you might need to adjust the amount of water to it in)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
Rinse your chicken and pull out the neck, heart, etc. Some people keep these and cook them up. I don't.:)
Place the chicken in a large stock pot. Add water, salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let it gently boil for about an hour or until the meat easily comes off the bone using a fork.
Remove the chicken and set aside to let it cool down a bit.
Add rice to the broth and cook as directed on the package.
After rice is done. (I like to cook mine until it's sticky because I hate to have grains of rice fall through my fork!) De-bone the chicken and add to rice. Stir and serve! This is not particularly salty. I do this because everyone's salt preference is different.

Texas Sheet Cake

I love this cake! It's a moist chocolate cake, but no thicker than a brownie. That way, you don't feel near so guilty if you sneak back into the kitchen for an extra slice! This cake travels well and is a great dessert to take for a big family picnic. Now for ME, I love nuts! However, there are some members of my family who don't. So when I make the frosting, I don't add the nuts. Instead, I sprinkle the nuts on half of the cake and pour the frosting over.

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup oil
1 cup water
4 tbs. cocoa
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk (yes, the fake kind where you add a little vinegar to regular milk works well too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. In a med. size pot, bring butter, oil, water and cocoa to a boil. Pour over the flour mixture and blend well. I like to use my Kitchen Aid for this. Stir in eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, baking soda and buttermilk and blend well. Pour batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet WITH A RIM. Bake for 20 minutes or until done. 5 minutes before you take the cake out of the oven, start making the frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:
1 stick butter or margarine
4 tbs. cocoa
6 tbs. milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

Combine butter, cocoa and milk in a sm. pot and bring to a boil, stirring so as not to stick. Combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well adding nuts. Pour over cake and spread to cover. Let cool, slice and serve.

Crock Pot Pork Chops and Stuffing

It might not look like much, but this is one of my family's all time favorites! It's easy, filling and most importantly, DELICIOUS.

Ingredients:
2 boxes of Stove Top Stuffing, cooked according to directions on the box.(It does not matter which flavor you use. When I cooked it this last time, I used one cornbread and one turkey mix and cooked them together. Yum Yum!)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
6 pork chops (1/2 inch thick)


Make stuffing and set aside. Heat about a 1/2 inch of oil in a frying pan. Salt and pepper pork chops. Dredge in flour and fry for about 4 or 5 minutes on each side. Place pork chops in the bottom of the crock pot. Mix cream of mushroom soup with milk and pour over pork chops. Top with stuffing and cook on low for 4 hour or until tender.

Be careful when serving, because the meat will fall off the bone and the bones can hide a little too well in the stuffing. Unless of course you use boneless pork chops. If so, then no worries!

Stove Top Mac and Cheese

This recipe is pretty easy and SO much better than anything out of a box. So cheesy and creamy! I believe THIS is where the term "comfort food" got it's start. It feels like a hug from the inside.

Ingredients:
7 oz. of elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 dash of black pepper
1 dash of white pepper
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of shredded pepper-jack cheese

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper, mixing well. Gradually add milk; cook and stir until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Drain macaroni and add to cheese sauce. Stir till it's well coated and serve.