Penne w/ Sausage, Potatoes & Green Beans

This dish was very good. I didn't expect it to have much flavor, but I was wrong. It was very flavorful. Simple. Comes together quickly. The potatoes worked perfectly and added to the recipe. I will make again.

Recipe: The Food Nanny

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
4 small red potatoes, quartered
8 ounces Italian sausage
1/4 cup minced yellow onion
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 lb. green beans, cut in half
1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Romano, Asiago, or
Parmesan cheese, plus additional

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain.

2. Steam the potatoes or cook them in boiling salted water until tender. At the same time, steam the beans or cook in the microwave until tender, 6 to 12 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion is soft and the sausage is completely cooked. Pour in the broth and simmer for 3 minutes.
Stir in the oil and butter until the butter melts. Add the green beans, potatoes, and pasta. Mix well with a large spoon. Add the parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Decrease the heat to low and sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cheese over the mixture. Cover the pan and cook a few more minutes until the cheese is melted.

5. Serve immediately in the same pot or spoon the mixture into a large, shallow serving bowl or deep platter. Pass the extra cheese.

Peaches and Cream Pie

This was a pretty tasty pie. Warning: must like peaches in your food. The crust was interesting - obviously different from a normal flaky pie crust. It was more like a cake. But, the star of this pie is the cream. Mike liked it, so I'll probably end up making it again at some point.

Recipe: All Recipes

3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 (3 oz.) pkg. non-instant vanilla pudding mix
3 TBSP butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 (29 oz) can sliced peaches, drained
3 TBSP reserved syrup from canned peaches
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 TBSP white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease sides and bottom of a 10-inch deep dish pie pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and pudding mix. Mix in butter, egg and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into pie pan. Arrange the peach slices on top of the pudding mixture.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 3 TBSP reserved peach syrup. Beat for 2 minutes. Spoon mixture over peaches to within 1inch of pan edge. Mix together 1 TBSP sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle over top.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Chill before serving.

White Sauce for Pizza

This sauce was pretty good. It basically tastes like ranch dressing, because it is ranch dressing. Very simple to mix up. Nothing spectacular, but works in a pinch.

Recipe: Real Mom

1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

Mix all ingredients together and place on your pizza crust.

Williamsburg Butter Frosting

This frosting was delicious. Very heavy, rich frosting. I had to add extra liquid to it. Will probably make again. It worked perfectly to frost a cake I covered in fondant. The stiffness of it worked perfectly and didn't slide or melt when I put the fondant on.

Recipe: All Recipes

1/2 cup butter, softened
12 TBSP orange liqueur (I used orange juice)
1 TBSP orange zest
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, blend butter with powdered sugar. Stir in orange liqueur/juice and orange zest. Beat until light and fluffy. Use to frost cooled cake.

Yellow Cake Mix

Recipe: All Recipes

This cake mix recipe was pretty good. I did try the orange variation using orange juice and it did not have any orange flavor whatsoever. So, stick with the yellow cake. I couldn't put my finger on the flavor. I mean, it tasted like cake, but it wasn't really sweet tasting, if that makes any sense. The recipe makes a thick batter and dense cake, which is perfect if you're using it for decorating or shaped cake molds. Works a lot better than cake box mixes.

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening until fine crumbs are formed. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat at low speed for 1 minute, then high for 2 minutes, scraping bowl frequently.

Pour batter into greased and floured 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Pesto Chicken Roll Up

This recipe is pretty good. Simple to put together. Plan some time for the puff pastry to thaw. I will probably make again.

Recipe: The Hub Café/Fox News

1 package of puff pastry (2 sheets)
pesto sauce (7 oz. container or 1 cup of homemade)
2 cups of baby spinach
2 cups of cooked chicken cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tsp garlic salt
1 egg, lightly beaten

Cook chicken in a little bit of oil and season with pepper and garlic salt. Drain and set aside.

Roll out pastry sheets onto a cookies sheet. Divide all ingredients into two and evenly use on both sheets.

Spread Pesto over both sheets. Top with mozzarella, 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese, spinach and chicken. Roll the pastry sheet into itself until it is into the desired shape. Place the seam on the bottom and adjust it on the cookie sheet.
Do this with both rolls.

Brush each roll with the egg and then sprinkle it with the rest of the Parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Make several slits in the top of the roll to vent. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Slice into individual servings.

Ross Becker's Ultimate Golf Course Tuna Sandwich

This sandwich was really good. It has a lot of flavor. Way better than boring plain tuna. I agree with Ross -- everybody should make their tuna this way.

Recipe: ABC 4

1 can of tuna in spring water
1 half cup of chopped green onions
1 half cup of chopped carrots
1 half cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon of fresh dill
1 teaspoon of fresh basil, chopped
Salt, pepper, garlic salt
2 tablespoons of mayo or salad dressing
juice of one half lemon

Drain the tuna and using a fork flake the tuna into a mixing bowl. Make sure you don’t have any large pieces. Add the onions, carrots and cheese and combine the ingredients. Add the fresh dill and basil

Add one tablespoon of the mayo and mix with the other ingredients. After they are combined, add salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste and then add the final tablespoon of mayo and continue mixing the tuna with the other ingredients.

Squeeze the lemon into the tuna and mix again.

Toast sourdough bread. Butter the bread lightly and spoon a tennis ball size portion of the tuna on the bread. Cut and serve with a dill pickle.