A sauce to go with almost anything!

Okay, so over the years I have attempted to a make simple marinara sauce and some of the recipes I've tried have left me wanting. So I finally just decided to make up my own recipe since they are all pretty much the same until you get down to the spices.  I think I have found a winning combination, I hope you enjoy it.

Amber's Marinara

FYI- This makes around 10 cups of sauce

• 78oz Diced Tomatoes with juice (I can my own tomatoes but canned will work)
• 16 tsp minced Garlic
• 2 minced medium Onions
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 Tbsp Parsley ( I use dried parsley but if you have fresh use 1/2 cup chopped)
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 2 Tbsp Sweet Basil
• 1/8 tsp Thyme
• 1/8 tsp Rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• * optional- add a pinch of red pepper flake if you really want some heat
• * optional- adding some grated Parmesan is super tasty too!

In a large pot saute garlic and onion in the olive oil. This should only take a minute or two make sure not to only brown the garlic and not burn it.

 

 

Next add in the tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for around an hour.

 

 

Now the marinara is ready but I am not a huge fan of chunky marinara so I whip mine through a food processor until its smooth and then jar it up.

 

Not to toot my own horn but this marinara is so good with everything, pastas, breadsticks, chicken nuggets, beef, you name it. Let me know what you try it on and what you think.

What a cookie for Breakfast?

Who doesn't love having sweets for breakfast?  I know I will always jump at the chance to have something sweet and chewy for breakfast. These are a great choice for on the go healthy breakfast alternatives. Tell your kids it's a breakfast cookie and all they think is "sweet, a treat for breakfast" but you'll feel great because it chalk full of bananas, applesauce and oats.

 

 

Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies

• 3 ripe bananas mashed
• 2/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup peanut butter (I prefer creamy but crunchy would work also)
• 1 2/3 cups quick oats
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
 

 

 Mash the bananas and applesauce together until they are fairly smooth.

 Next add in the peanut butter and the vanilla. Mix well.

Then pour in the oats, chopped nuts, and chocolate. I know, I used whole peanuts in my picture shame on me, but I was in a hurry this morning.

Once thoroughly mixed allow to sit for several minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the oven is preheated take a medium cookie scoop or heaping spoon full of batter and drop onto a parchment lined or greased cookie sheet. Flatten out the batter and cook for 25-30min until golden brown.

Grab a few of these and a glass of ice cold milk for a quick bite in the morning packed full of healthy yumminess!

Valentine's Day Poke Cake

Seriously the easiest dessert recipe ever! Not to mention my kids love the whole "poke" part of making it. Once you get the basic idea for this dessert the flavor combinations are pretty endless.

Valentine's Day Poke Cake

• 1 red velvet cake (box or homemade works great)
• 2 boxes jello cheesecake pudding mix
• 4 cups of milk
• 1 small tub cool whip
• 10-15 crushed Keebler Grasshopper cookies

First step, bake your cake either according to your recipe or according to the box. Allow to cool for a few minutes and get your poking stick ready.

 I feel like such a bone head for not taking a picture of the best part of this recipe but to be perfectly honest with all the little helpers I had it would have been a challenge even if I had remembered. With the handle of a wooden spoon you want to poke several holes all over the freshly baked cake. Make sure to go all the way to the bottom of the cake pan. Next mix up the pudding and the 4 cups of milk. Once that has reached a thickened state, pour over the "holy" cake, making sure to get into all the holes. I like to take my wooden spoon and gently press the pudding over the holes just to make sure its in there. Now place in the refrigerator for at least 2hrs.



 After at least 2 hrs you can top the cake with the cool whip and the crushed cookies.

Now dig in and enjoy!!!

 

Creamy Mushroom & Chicken Skillet Pasta

I have used this recipe over and over again. It is super quick to throw together and is always so filling. The sauce has just the right amount of garlic flavor to really make the chicken and  mushrooms super flavorful.

Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Skillet Pasta

Adapted from: www.eatliverun.com

 

• 16oz dry farfalle pasta (the bow tie ones)
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cubed)
• 1 small onion minced
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 20 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
• sprinkle of parsley

I start by actually pounding my chicken out so its thinner and cooks a bit quicker. Next place chicken into the skillet on medium heat with the oil. Cook on each side for around 6 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove the chicken from the skillet and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the dish. Just before you add the chicken back to the skillet, chop into 1 inch chunks.

While your chicken is resting add a bit more oil to the skillet and toss in your onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Continue to heat on medium-low heat for around 5-6 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and moist.

 Slowly mix in the beef broth and cream and then bring the mixture to a low simmer for a few minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper.

 Now add in the chopped chicken and allow to simmer while you get the pasta cooked.

In a separate pot cook the farfalle pasta according to the directions on the box. When cooked, strain and add to the skillet. Stir in the Parmesan and then dish up.

I like to top my pasta off with a little sprinkle of parsley but this could be omitted for younger taste buds. 

Not really a recipe but, OH so yummy!!

Okay this is by far one of my favorite dressings. I use it anytime I am making Chinese cuisine. The other night I was really in the mood for Chinese Chicken Salad, so I grabbed my trusty dressing and got cooking. It turned out fantastic and totally satisfied my craving.

 

Crock-pot Chinese Chicken Salad

• 2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame dressing
• 1/2 cup water
• 1pkg rice noodles
• 2-3 large cans of Mandarin oranges
• sliced almonds (optional)
• 1-2 pkg. Romain lettuce

Okay so this is a super simple recipe. Place your chicken in a greased crock-pot. Pour dressing and water over the top and set on Low for 6-8 hours. When completely cooked, shred and return to the sauce in the crock-pot. Now construct your salad. I like to do lettuce, chicken, oranges, rice noodles, and then top off with a little more dressing. Anyway you do it it is sure to be a hit!

Who doesn't love cookie dough?

Do you ever have those days when your mouth is just salivating for a soft warm chocolate chip cookie, but you don't want to fully commit to making them? I am seriously have one of those days. This is a great quick recipe to satisfy that cookie craving without feeling like your playing Russian roulette with raw eggs.

 

Egg-less Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 tsp salt

Cream the softened butter and brown sugar together.

 Next mix in the milk, vanilla, and salt. Finally mix in the flour and chocolate chips.

 When completely mixed grab a spoon, spatula, or whatever you want and enjoy your sweet treat. This is great on top of some vanilla ice cream too!

Scrumptiously Sweet Cinnamon Rolls

This is honestly one of my favorite recipes. My wonderful step mom gave me her recipe and after a few tweaks I have turned into our traditional holiday breakfast treat/weekend treat/midnight snack.

 

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinnamon roll dough:

• 3 tsp yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 cups flour

Cinnamon Smear:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8oz. cream cheese
• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon juice

In a large bowl mix sugar, yeast and milk. Allow to sit for 5 min. Next mix in the vanilla, cinnamon, eggs, butter, and salt. It won't look very pretty but it will taste so yummy once it is baked.

Messy mix

Mix in the flour until it is no longer sticky. Allow the dough to rest in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. This is the part where I like to cheat a little, I preheat my oven to 200 degrees F and then turn it off once heated and place the dough in the oven. Using this method the dough has usually doubled in an hour.



non- sticky dough





dough has doubled in size.

Place the dough onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangular shape. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13 casserole pan.

In a small bowl mix up the cinnamon smear. Once the smear is completely mixed, try to spread an even layer on top of the dough.

brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon.... YUM!

cinnamon smear on the dough

This next step takes a bit of finesse, but roll the bottom edge of the dough up to the top so that you have a long log of dough. Then taking a serrated knife cut 12 equal pieces, depending on the size of your log. Mine tend to be about 1 1/2- 2 inches thick.

 Place pieces into the greased casserole dish and place into the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown on top.

 Allow them to cool for several minutes before frosting or the frosting will just melt off.


golden brown cinnamon rolls

While the rolls are cooling, make the frosting but creaming the butter and cream cheese together.

 

 Next mix in the vanilla and lemon juice. Finally add the powdered sugar until it has a smooth whipped texture.

 

 Now for the best part, top the cinnamon rolls with the frosting. These scrumptious treats are so hard to resist and go great with a tall glass of ice cold milk.

Chicken soup, good for the soul

The snow is falling outside and I have two sickies in my house so, when it comes time to figure out what's for dinner, my first thought is Chicken and Noodle Soup. Now I have tried so many different recipes for this but have ultimately come up with my own concoction that I love. The broth is so flavorful that I could honestly just drink that rather than eat the veggies and chicken. Hope you love it as much as I.

Chicken and Noodle Soup

• 3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 8 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup chopped squash
• 8oz. Diatali pasta

In a large pot cook chicken breasts, chicken broth, onion, garlic, and seasonings on medium-low heat for 40min until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

 

Remove chicken and shred. Return to the pot and add carrots, celery and yellow squash. Allow to simmer for an additional 30 min.

While the vegetables are cooking, in a separate pot cook pasta according to box and then drain.

Right before serving dump the pasta into the chicken soup and stir. Dish up and serve with some warm crusty bread.

The smell alone could cure the common cold, so savory!

 

Changing up the typical Spaghetti Night

Like I said in my previous post, this week is just super crazy so I have been in a major time crunch to produce some healthy quick dinners. This one is a great change up from the traditional spaghetti night.

Quick and Easy Baguette

recipe from (www.thesisterscafe.com)

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp. salt

Start by mixing the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to sit for 5 min until it becomes frothy.

 

Next mix in salt and flour. When well mixed, roll out the dough onto floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle and then roll lengthwise and pinch the ends under. I slit the dough with a serrated knife to make it look pretty.

 

 

Let rise for 30 min and honestly, keep an eye on it because it really does rise quickly. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 min. Around the 8 min mark pull the bread out and brush melted butter on the top, then allow to bake for the last 7 min.

 Place on cooling rack and get ready to enjoy!

Now for the main course, this has become my new favorite pasta dish. It's the perfect combination of creamy, saucy and cheesy pasta.

Two Timing Pasta

adapted from (www.pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.com)

• 1 box whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 (15 oz.) jar Alfredo sauce
• 1 (24oz.) jar Marinara sauce * I make my own marinara while the pasta cooks
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

This is a super easy recipe, it's hard to mess it up. Cook the pasta according to the box. Drain pasta and place into a large bowl. Next dump in Alfredo sauce, marinara, and mozzarella. Mix well so that each noodle is covered in saucy goodness.

 Next place into a greased 9x13 casserole dish and top with Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until nice and bubbly. Dish it up with a slice of fresh baked bread, a little salad and your set for a yummy, comforting, quick dinner.