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Think Outside The Box Spaghetti

Spaghetti with 'Meat' Sauce

Spaghetti with ‘Meat’ Sauce

I’ve mentioned before that my mother was NOT the most adventurous cook. It wasn’t that she was a bad cook – she was just a nervous cook.  Afraid to try new things.  Plus, she was a product of the modern world of boxed, canned, and frozen foods. She bought into the idea of why take the time and trouble to make something yourself when a large corporation (whose only concern was to make a profit) could do the work for you.

We kids didn’t mind.  After all, we could pick out specifically what frozen dinner we each wanted – some of them even had a little dessert! The only fresh vegetable we ever had was corn on the cob – when it was in season. The rest of the time we had canned green beans or peas. I’d never even heard of broccoli or cauliflower before I left home.

Which brings me to my spaghetti story.

As probably most of you know, when you have to start paying your own bills you really take notice of how much things cost. Fortunately, I was born with a dominant frugal gene (yeah- cheap, okay?). I figured out pretty quickly I was going to have to learn how to cook.

One thing my mother made was spaghetti. She used Kraft Spaghetti, which came in a box, and she added ground beef. It was good, and all I knew. So I decided to make spaghetti and bought the box of Kraft, the ground beef, and made my spaghetti. It was good – again, it was all I knew.

Then one day in the supermarket I happened to notice plastic bags full of dried spaghetti noodles.  What the heck was this? Why are these spaghetti noodles all by themselves and not packaged in a box with a can of sauce?, I wondered.  (You’ll be happy to know this was only said in my head…THAT time, anyway.) It took awhile, but it eventually dawned on me:  I could make the sauce FROM SCRATCH and buy as many noodles as I wanted. (It took many more years to figure out I could actually make the pasta, too.) It honestly never occurred to me people made spaghetti sauce.

Once enlightened, I tried various spaghetti sauces through the years. When I became a vegetarian, the problem became that without the meat, it was really just a marinara sauce.  Having grown up with a nice hefty meaty sauce, plain old marinara sauce just seemed kind of empty. It was tough being a vegetarian in the early days.

Fast forward to my discovery of fake meats (‘faux’ to you posh people), which greatly expanded my vegetarian recipe repertoire.  I’d already started using Loma Linda’s Redi-Burger in my ‘Beef’ Salsa Burritos (remember, quote marks denotes FAKE) and my Navajo Tacos. But it didn’t seem like a good choice for my spaghetti sauce.

I guess good things come to those who wait because, low and behold, in the frozen food section I found Morningstar’s Griller’s Recipe Crumbles.  They come in a pouch and are like ground beef that’s already stir fried (minus the fat).  So it’s a snap to use – no frying, no wondering what to do with all the grease.  Just open the pouch and pour out the ‘ground beef’.

Thanks to these Crumbles, my family can now enjoy a delicious Spaghetti With ‘Meat’ Sauce. I’ve come up with a recipe in which I  simply throw everything in the stockpot and cook for an hour.  As always, when I make something that freezes well, I make a vat of it and freeze it in meal sized portions.  No point in cleaning the pot and utensils more than once.  Making a multiple batch is not that much more work.  Once I’m done, I have enough spaghetti sauce for months!

I’ll give you the recipe for both one batch and six batches (that’s what I make).  I would suggest you make the one batch version first, just to make sure you like the recipe.  If you’d like to see my video of me making this dish, click on: Spaghetti With ‘Meat’ Sauce.

NOTE:  If you want to save about 20 minutes, and are NOT obsessive and paranoid like I am, then buy the canned tomatoes diced instead of whole.  I buy the whole so I can inspect each one and cut off any imperfections and the stem end. Also, you can buy garlic already minced in a jar. It took me 35 minutes to put all the ingredients in the stockpot. You can see where most of the time was spent.

ADDITIONAL NOTE:  It doesn’t matter what kind of red wine you choose.  Just make sure it’s a wine you would actually drink because the flavor will come through.  I usually use Black Mountain cabernet sauvignon – it’s reasonably priced and has a nice taste.

WILL SHE EVER STOP TALKING ADDITIONAL NOTE:  You can either buy vegetable stock OR do what I do and make your own.  Click on: Back To Basics: Vegetable Stock for my recipe.

SPAGHETTI WITH ‘MEAT’ SAUCE 

1 BATCH VERSION – makes 3 cups

  • 1 pouch (12 oz / 340 grams) Morningstar Griller’s Recipe Crumbles
  • 1/3 cup (80g) extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup (125 ml) vegetable stock
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed
  • 1 tsp each of dried oregano, dried basil, and salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ cup (122g) tomato paste
  • 2 cups (528 g) canned whole tomatoes
  • ½ cup (125 ml) red wine
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

6 BATCH VERSION – makes 18 cups

  • 6 pouches (each pouch is 12 oz / 340 grams) Morningstar Griller’s Recipe Crumbles
  • 2 cups (475 ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 cups (720 ml) vegetable stock
  • 2 T minced garlic
  • 2 T each of dried oregano, dried basil, and salt
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 4   6 oz (170g) cans tomato paste
  • 4   28 oz (793g) cans whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 bottle red wine (YES – a whole bottle!)
  • 1 T red pepper flakes

Throw everything in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Lower flame enough so the sauce continues simmering. Cook for 1 hour, stirring often – you don’t want the bottom to burn. Done!!!

IMPORTANT NOTE (this is the last note, I promise):  Make sure you remove the bay leaves before serving the ‘Meat’ Sauce.  Actually, I kind of enjoy the fishing expedition I go on trying to find my 6 leaves. (Shows you how exciting my life is!)  The last leaf is always the hardest to find.

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Beer & Cheese Omelette Casserole – Perfect For Brunch, Lunch, Or Dinner!

Beer & Cheese Omelette Casserole

Beer & Cheese Omelette Casserole

Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE Beer Bread.  But you can only eat so much of it before you start wearing it…on your hips.  You know what I’m talking about.  You keep eating something because it’s going to go bad if you don’t.  And, of course, it really tastes better slathered with butter (well, what doesn’t?).

I made Beer Bread the other day (click: Beer Bread – No Need To Knead) and there was still half a loaf left.  I thought about freezing it – I AM the queen of freezing, after all – but wondered if I could use it for dinner somehow.  I perused my recipe cards (for you young folks out there, recipe cards are what we used before the internet).  When I came upon Briggs House 24-Hour Wine And Cheese Omelet I had a ‘hmmm’ moment.  The recipe was an egg casserole with pieces of day-old French bread and white wine, among other ingredients.  I said to myself (and, yes, I talk to myself), ‘How would this taste if I replaced the French bread and wine with beer bread and beer?’  The recipe also called for Swiss cheese.  I wasn’t sure how Swiss cheese would taste with the beer flavor, but I did have jack with jalapeño.  ‘Hmmmm’ (once again – this time with an added ‘m’)….’now that might give it a bit of a kick’.

The final change was made out of necessity.  As the name indicates, you put together the original in advance and then let it rest 24 hours before baking it.  (It’s one of those handy recipes for brunch when you won’t have time to cook.)  It was coming on to the dinner hour so I didn’t have time for it to even take 40 winks, let alone a 24 hour rest.  Once I put it together, into the oven it went.

The final verdict?  It was good.  Very good.  But I have to say, I prefer the French bread and white wine taste.  Maybe next time I’ll split the difference and use beer bread with white wine.  My husband will appreciate that – I had to beg ¼ cup of the beer he was about to drink. The jalapeño jack was great, although so is the Swiss.  The Swiss is more subtle, but the jalapeño really wakes your mouth up.  I guess I’ll just have to see what I have in the fridge next time I make it.

Here’s my version of Briggs House 24-Hour Wine And Cheese Omelet.  Of course, as with most recipes, tweak it to suit yourself.

BEER & CHEESE OMELETTE CASSEROLE

  • ½ loaf beer bread, torn into 1″ cubes
  • 3 T butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup jalapeño jack cheese, shredded
  • 8 eggs
  • ¼ cup beer (I used Hefe.  Use a brand you like since the flavor will come through)
  • 1½ cups milk (I used organic nonfat)
  • ½ T dry mustard
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Butter a casserole dish.  I used a 6″ x 11″ dish which makes a thicker casserole.  But you can use the standard 9½” x 13″ casserole dish if you prefer a thinner omelette (or if that’s all you have).  Spread the beer bread evenly in the dish, then drizzle with the melted butter. Sprinkle on the cheese.

In a medium sized bowl beat the eggs.  In a small bowl put the dry mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour in a little of the beer and, with the back of a spoon,  make a smooth paste. Add this paste, the remainder of the beer, and the milk to the eggs.  Beat until foamy.  Pour evenly into the casserole dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes covered, then remove foil and continue to bake another 10 minutes, until the top is browned.  Let rest at least 10 minutes before serving.

NOTE:  Next time I make this, I’m going to add in Morningstar’s Veggie Sausage Patties. They would go really well with this dish – and they’re so good, your carnivores will love it!

 

 

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Beer Bread – No Need To Knead

BEER BREAD

BEER BREAD

Home made bread is one of those things that everyone loves to eat, but most people shy away from making.  Well, have I got a bread for you:  BEER BREAD!   It’s only got 3 ingredients and – like my extremely clever title promises – no need to knead!

Who doesn’t stop in their tracks when they get a whiff of bread baking in the oven?  This is inevitably followed with an audible ‘aaaahhhhh!’  Add in the aroma of beer and people will be lining up for a slice.

This is a super fast and easy bread to make.  For those of you who like to ‘watch’ recipes rather than read them, you can click on: BEER BREAD and watch my how-to video.  (I like the way my hair turned out in that video, btw!)

One of the odd things about this bread is that even if you don’t like to drink beer, you may still enjoy eating Beer Bread.  When I started making this bread, I couldn’t stand the taste of beer (although, oddly enough, I liked the aroma), but I really liked the bread.  Over the years, I’ve grown to like drinking a pale beer now and again – especially on a hot day.

You’ll notice that the recipe calls for self-rising flour.  Make sure you don’t use anything else.  Otherwise your bread won’t rise.  This is one of those specialty flours I keep on hand, stored in the freezer.  (Did you know freezing flour prevents bugs?  I store all my flours in the freezer.)  As far as I know, the smallest size bag of self-rising flour you can buy is 5 lbs. That’s a lot of flour, especially when all you need is 3 cups.  Just suck it up and buy the bag – you’ll eventually use it up.  Once the self-rising flour is awaiting use in the freezer, you can make Beer Bread at the spur of the moment (as long as you have beer on hand….which is a given in my house).  It only takes a few minutes to get it into the oven.

BEER BREAD

  • 3 cups (453g)  self-rising flour
  • 3 T (30g) sugar
  • 1 bottle beer, room temperature and sealed

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

With a spoon, mix the flour and sugar together in a bowl.  Open the beer and pour into the flour all at once.  Immediately begin incorporating the beer into the flour with the spoon. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.  Bake for 45 minutes – until golden brown on top.

Take the loaf from oven and let sit a few minutes. Then run a knife around the sides and remove the Beer Bread to a wire rack to cool.

A word of caution:  tempting as it may be to slice into the hot loaf – restrain yourself! Cutting into a hot loaf of bread causes it to fall apart.  And ladies, keep your husband away from it – the aroma of hot bread combined with beer draws them like a magnet.