Spaghetti and Meatballs by Emeril

I made this recipe last week and my hubby LOVED IT!


10 cups Simple Tomato Sauce for Pasta, recipe follows, or store-bought pasta sauce

For the meatballs:
1 large egg
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped basil leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Emeril's Original Essence, recipe follows
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
For the Spaghetti:
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente according to package directions
Salt, for seasoning cooking water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Place the Basic Red Sauce in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Place all the remaining meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon to combine, then form the meat into balls by rolling about 2 tablespoons of meat between your hands. Place meatballs on a plate as they are formed. (Hint: if your hands are slightly damp, the meatballs will roll more easily and will not stick to your hands!) When all the meatballs are formed, gently place the balls into the sauce 1 at a time using a long handled spoon. Be careful - bubbling sauce splatters! Simmer the sauce uncovered, and allow the meatballs to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes before stirring. Stir the meatballs into the sauce when they rise to the top.
Simmer for an additional 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
While sauce is simmering, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Strain and toss with the olive oil. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Simple Tomato Sauce for Pasta:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 medium)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves garlic)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 (3-inch piece) Parmesan rind
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
Heat the olive oil in a 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, oregano and black pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and squeeze to break into small pieces. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and sugar to the pot with the onions, and stir well. Add the Parmesan rind. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally with a long-handled wooden spoon, until flavors have come together and sauce is thickened. Stir in the basil and let sit for 10 minutes before using.
Remove from the heat, and use as needed. You can store this sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Yield: 10 cups, 2 1/2 quarts

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup

Frosted Banana Cookies

So....I found this recipe from my Kitchen Klatter cookbook that my mom found me. They are so to YUMMY!!! I can't say enough about them....makes me drool! ha!

3/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1/2 tsp. banana flavoring
2 mashed ripe bananas
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
2 c. flour

Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg, flavorings and banana and beat well. Sift and add dry ingredients. Drop by teaspoon onto a greased cooky sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. This makes about 40 nice, soft cookies.

Icing (which I didn't make)

6 tbsp. brown sugar
4 tbsp. cream
4 tbps. butter or margarine
powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

Combine brown sugar, cream and butter or margarine. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and add enough powdered sugar to make frosting a nice consistency to spread on cookies. Lastly, stir in vanilla flavoring.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Another recipe I used from Money Saving Mom's blog. These are really good and are great frozen too!

4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 (16 oz) can pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 c. oil
3 c. flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 package chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 16-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes 24-30 muffins.

Banana Bread

I wanted to try the Money Saving Mom's favorite banana bread recipe. It is good, but I still prefer my mom's recipe better. Try it out and see what you think.

2 c. flour (all purpose, whole-wheat, or a mixture of both)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 bananas, mashed
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp. milk

Stir together dry ingredients. Beat together remaining ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into bread comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Noodle Bowl

Found this recipe online from Southern Living. In order to serve both my hubby and I, I doubled the recipe.

1 (3 oz.) package of Oriental-flavored ramen noodle soup mix
2 cups water
1 chopped green onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
½ c. fresh snow peas, trimmed
6 peeled and deveined medium-size raw shrimp (26/30 count)
¼ c. shredded napa cabbage
1 to 2 Tbsp. chopped peanuts

Stir together flavor packet from ramen noodle soup mix, 2 cups water, chopped green onion, and chopped fresh cilantro in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; add noodles and snow peas. Cook 1 minute, and stir in shrimp. Cook 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and top with shredded cabbage and chopped peanuts.

Note: You can substitute ½ c. chopped cooked chicken for the shrimp.

Bubba's Creamy, Spicy Seafood Pasta

My sister gave me the Paula Deen Family Cookbook for my birthday and I tried this recipe for dinner tonight. Tasted just like a restaurant in Jersey! So good! If you are not a pasta lover, you can substitute with sausage, hamburger, chicken.

2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. vodka
1 - 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste
salt and pepper
1/2 pound bay scallops
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut crosswise into thirds
1 pound uncooked linguine

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the vodka and turn the heat up to medium-high; cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, cream, pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened. Add the seafood and cook for about 3 minutes, until it's just opaque.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to the package directions. Drain and transfer the pasta to a large bowl, pour the sauce over it, and toss to combine.

Serve immediately.

Strawberry Pie

I got this recipe from Tammy's Recipes. So good!

3 T cornstarch
1 c sugar
1 c cold water
2 T white corn syrup
2 T strawberry flavored gelatin
3 drops f red food coloring (optional)
about 3 c. washed strawberries, sliced or diced ) - I used 4 cups
one 9 inch baked pie pastry

Combine and cook first 4 ingredients for 5 or 6 minutes, stirring until thick to prevent lumps.

Remove from heat and while still hot add strawberry gelatin and red food coloring.

Pile strawberries high in baked pie shell and pour glaze over strawberries. Chill and serve with cool whip!

YUMMO!