I Cooked!!! - Recipe Inside

No, seriously, this is a big deal for me (and not just because I never
cook). It's a feat for me to even get up and down the stairs much less any
physical exercise once there. Actually, when I feel like admitting to a
deep, dark secret, I *do* know how to cook well, I trained at the knee of
New Orleans' best, but least known chef, my mom. If you'd like, here's the
recipe I use for spaghetti with meat sauce.

First, let me say that my mom had to feed 2 teen-aged boys, so she always
cooked enough to feed an army. For a couple or just one, be prepared to
have several containers to be frozen for future meals.

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. ground beef (use lean if you're being health conscious - since I
need to gain weight so desperately I don't use the lean)
- Pompeian Imported Classic Mediterranean Virgin Olive Oil (enough to cover
the bottom of a *large* sauce pan)
- 3 *heaping* tbsp. plain white flour (probably works out to about 6 level
tbsps.)
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped (if you're not a fan of garlic you may
want to pare this down to a couple of toes and chop it finer, Ben and I both
like hunks of garlic in our sauce)
- 3 heaping tbsp. parsley, coarsely chopped (dried will do, but fresh is
better, but if you use fresh you may want to put a bit more since it will
"water down" when it cooks)
- 1 heaping tsp. basil (or to taste - Ben and I like spicy, not hot, just
spicy)
- 1 heaping tsp. oregano (or to taste)
- 2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- 2 tsp. pepper (or to taste)
- 1 6 oz. can Contadina tomato paste (I don't scrape the can clean, a
little gets left in the can because too much will make your sauce bitter)
- 2 28 oz. cans whole, peeled tomatoes (store brand will do, tomatoes are
tomatoes)
- 1 small package of fresh, sliced mushrooms

Preparation:
As with all "Nu Awlins" recipes, first you start with a roux... ;
- prepare/measure all the ingredients beforehand and make sure they're
easily reached with one hand as you'll be doing some constant stirring
- to prepare the whole, peeled tomatoes, take a sharp knife and cut them
into halves or large pieces, to preference (
Ben and I like the tomatoes in large hunks, I use a long knife and cut them
up while they're still in the in the can, if you take them out to slice them
smaller be sure to keep the water from the cans, you'll need it later)
- with the burner on high, put ground beef in a large sauce pan and brown
(don't cook through and through)
- pour ground beef into a stainless steel colander and drain the cooked off
fat into another bowl (keep the fat, you might want to use it later)
- get all the meet and fat out of the sauce pan and wipe it with paper
towels to "clean" it (I don't wash it with soap and water because it just
doesn't taste the same if I do)
- cover the bottom of a large sauce pan with olive oil - not deep, but the
entire bottom of the pan should have oil with no bare spots)
- with the burner on high, let oil become very hot (test by putting in just
a pinch of flour to see if it sizzles)
[During the next steps, keep stirring mixture vigorously - don't allow it to
burn black on the bottom of the pan.]
- add 3 *heaping* tbsp. plain white flour (probably works out to about 6
level tbsps.)
- let flour brown to a nice golden brown (not as brown as you would for
beef gravy)
- add onions and let the onions cook down a bit (when the smaller bits
start looking clear through and through they're done)
- add garlic and allow to cook down a bit (2 or 3 minutes)
- if using fresh parsley put it in at the same time as the garlic
- add basil, oregano, salt and pepper
- stir for a bit (about 2 or 3 minutes)
- add the tomato paste and brown it until the "bitter" taste is gone (about
3 - 5 minutes)
- add the two cans of whole, peeled tomatoes using the water they come in
to thin your roux, but *don't* add any extra water yet
- add the drained ground beef back into the pan and bring to a rolling
boil, let boil, stirring constantly for 2 or 3 minutes
- add mushroom slices, as many as to preference (Ben and I like mushroom so
we use the whole package)
- if you like extra fat for flavor, add back some of the drained off beef
fat
- put the burner on medium or lower, bring the sauce down to a simmer and
let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes
- check to see if the sauce is too thick, (after about 5 minutes of cooking
the mushrooms should have released whatever water they were holding) if
needed, add enough water to thin it down a bit
- allow to simmer for 1 hour or more, to taste
- prepare whatever type of spaghetti you prefer and strain, add sauce to
preference

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.com/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
No, seriously, this is a big deal for me (and not just because I never
cook). It's a feat for me to even get up and down the stairs much less
any physical exercise once there. Actually, when I feel like admitting to
a deep, dark secret, I *do* know how to cook well, I trained at the knee
of New Orleans' best, but least known chef, my mom. If you'd like, here's
the recipe I use for spaghetti with meat sauce.

First, let me say that my mom had to feed 2 teen-aged boys, so she always
cooked enough to feed an army. For a couple or just one, be prepared to
have several containers to be frozen for future meals.

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. ground beef (use lean if you're being health conscious - since I
need to gain weight so desperately I don't use the lean)
- Pompeian Imported Classic Mediterranean Virgin Olive Oil (enough to
cover the bottom of a *large* sauce pan)
- 3 *heaping* tbsp. plain white flour (probably works out to about 6 level
tbsps.)
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped (if you're not a fan of garlic you may
want to pare this down to a couple of toes and chop it finer, Ben and I
both like hunks of garlic in our sauce)
- 3 heaping tbsp. parsley, coarsely chopped (dried will do, but fresh is
better, but if you use fresh you may want to put a bit more since it will
"water down" when it cooks)
- 1 heaping tsp. basil (or to taste - Ben and I like spicy, not hot, just
spicy)
- 1 heaping tsp. oregano (or to taste)
- 2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- 2 tsp. pepper (or to taste)
- 1 6 oz. can Contadina tomato paste (I don't scrape the can clean, a
little gets left in the can because too much will make your sauce bitter)
- 2 28 oz. cans whole, peeled tomatoes (store brand will do, tomatoes are
tomatoes)
- 1 small package of fresh, sliced mushrooms

Preparation:
As with all "Nu Awlins" recipes, first you start with a roux... ;
- prepare/measure all the ingredients beforehand and make sure they're
easily reached with one hand as you'll be doing some constant stirring
- to prepare the whole, peeled tomatoes, take a sharp knife and cut them
into halves or large pieces, to preference (
Ben and I like the tomatoes in large hunks, I use a long knife and cut
them up while they're still in the in the can, if you take them out to
slice them smaller be sure to keep the water from the cans, you'll need it
later)
- with the burner on high, put ground beef in a large sauce pan and brown
(don't cook through and through)
- pour ground beef into a stainless steel colander and drain the cooked
off fat into another bowl (keep the fat, you might want to use it later)
- get all the meet and fat out of the sauce pan and wipe it with paper
towels to "clean" it (I don't wash it with soap and water because it just
doesn't taste the same if I do)
- cover the bottom of a large sauce pan with olive oil - not deep, but the
entire bottom of the pan should have oil with no bare spots)
- with the burner on high, let oil become very hot (test by putting in
just a pinch of flour to see if it sizzles)
[During the next steps, keep stirring mixture vigorously - don't allow it
to burn black on the bottom of the pan.]
- add 3 *heaping* tbsp. plain white flour (probably works out to about 6
level tbsps.)
- let flour brown to a nice golden brown (not as brown as you would for
beef gravy)
- add onions and let the onions cook down a bit (when the smaller bits
start looking clear through and through they're done)
- add garlic and allow to cook down a bit (2 or 3 minutes)
- if using fresh parsley put it in at the same time as the garlic
- add basil, oregano, salt and pepper
- stir for a bit (about 2 or 3 minutes)
- add the tomato paste and brown it until the "bitter" taste is gone
(about 3 - 5 minutes)
- add the two cans of whole, peeled tomatoes using the water they come in
to thin your roux, but *don't* add any extra water yet
- add the drained ground beef back into the pan and bring to a rolling
boil, let boil, stirring constantly for 2 or 3 minutes
- add mushroom slices, as many as to preference (Ben and I like mushroom
so we use the whole package)
- if you like extra fat for flavor, add back some of the drained off beef
fat
- put the burner on medium or lower, bring the sauce down to a simmer and
let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes
- check to see if the sauce is too thick, (after about 5 minutes of
cooking the mushrooms should have released whatever water they were
holding) if needed, add enough water to thin it down a bit
- allow to simmer for 1 hour or more, to taste
- prepare whatever type of spaghetti you prefer and strain, add sauce to
preference

--
Hugs,

CatNipped


It's funny you should say your mom cooked enough to feed an army. I tend to
do that, too. I always cook as if there will be five people at the table.
I love my freezer and love leftovers! John is visiting at the moment and
it's like feeding two teenage boys. I go through more milk, bread, cheese,
eggs and peanut butter when he's here than I'd use in 6 months. Fortunately
when he's here he pays for the groceries and also washes the dishes I do
the cooking and the laundry. LOL

Jill