Sausage Cabbage Skillet

I had bought a cabbage but didn't really know what to make with it other than coleslaw. We have been trying really hard to eat more vegetables with our meals (I think I've said that many times, but oh well!!!) and this was a good opportunity to make a good meal with it.

I started searching for the perfect recipe, one that both of us will enjoy. My husband is not a fan of sausage but in this case he loved this because I didn't put a lot in it. 

This is what I found on my search for the perfect recipe.

Ingredients

1 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 large head cabbage (4 pounds), coarsely chopped

2 medium onions, chopped

3 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon paprika

3 to 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

Directions

In a Dutch oven, brown the sausage in 2 tablespoons butter; remove and set aside. In the same pan, saute cabbage and onions in remaining butter until onions are tender.

In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce, sugar and paprika; pour over cabbage mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the potatoes and reserved sausage. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Yield: 8-10 servings.

I for sure added a couple more things to this recipe and made it my own. I didn't use sugar, simply didn't see the need for it. I added pepperoni and instead of 3 cans of tomato sauce I used real tomatoes and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce. I cooked the potatoes separate and mixed them with the cabbage after the were cooked. But I want to remind you that you can adjust the amounts just like I did, because I didn't want to make this for 10 people when we're only 2.  It came out really good!!! 

Enjoy and happy cooking!!!!

Meatloaf and The Best Mashed Potatoes Ever

Yesterday was my birthday!!!!!

I got to go shopping!!! How exciting :) My husband took me to a fancy restaurant and we had so much fun. I am so blessed!!!!

OK, so Thursday night I made a really good meatloaf and the best mashed potatoes ever and I know you want to know the recipe so here it is.

Ingredients:

1 egg, lightly beaten

2/3 cup 2% milk

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup finely shredded carrot (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

Ketchup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine first eight ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into a loaf, pour some ketchup on top and spread over loaf. Place in a greased 9x5-in. loaf pan. Bake for 60-75 minutes and let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

The mashed potatoes are so easy to make but I'm going to give you the link from where I got it so you can see it done step by step. You won't be disappointed!!!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/11/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/

Pepperoni Lasagna Roll-ups

One of the recipe books I bought had a picture of this awesome looking dish and when my husband got home and saw the book the first thing he said was "AWWWWW, I want this!!!
Now, what do you do when you get such a reaction?!! Of course, you go out of your way to make it and put some extra loving in it. I know that's what I did!!!

What you'll need:
3 servings
Prep: 25 min-Bake: 25 min
3 lasagna noodles
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced chives
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
24 slices pepperoni
3 slices Swiss cheese, cut into thirds
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook the noodles according to package directions; drain. Combine the ricotta cheese, chives, oregano and basil; spread 1/4 cup over each noodle to within 1/2 inch of edges. Top with the pepperoni and Swiss cheese; carefully roll up.

Place seam side down in a greased shallow 1-qt baking dish; top with spaghetti sauce.

Cover and Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle roll-ups with the Parmesan cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

OK, now let me tell you some changes I made to the recipe. I mixed shredded mild cheddar cheese into the ricotta mix instead of using the Swiss cheese, added some tomato slices to the roll-ups, didn't use chives (didn't have it at home) used pepper and salt instead and added some dried parsley to it. I also doubled the recipe because I wanted to have left overs for the next day.

Let me tell you that it was soooooo good that my husband enjoyed every bite of it. The flavor was exquisite and all the other tasty words you can find. The veggies you see in the picture I baked them with salt and pepper and a little bit of olive oil covered for 45 minutes or until they are soft enough for you.
The next day I went to my parents and took some of the left overs to them. Later in the day my mom sent me a text telling me they were very good and that my dad ate almost all of the pasta. Great compliment from the person that taught me all the basics, my mom!!

Have an awesome day and happy cooking!!!!

Spinach & Cheese Empanadas

I'm becoming such a housewife and cooking lover that the menu for the next day comes to my mind so easy. Well, I think it comes easy because I buy recipe books on sale :) and look through them with such an excitement.

I paid less then $6.00 for each of them. I was so excited!!

OK, let me get back to the real reason of this post, my empanadas or hot pockets. 

Thursday night I already had planned Friday's dinner and I was so excited about it that I even woke up earlier and went grocery shopping (by the way, buying your groceries in the morning is the best time). When I got home immediately went to the kitchen and started getting these delicious pockets full of deliciousness made. 

What you'll need:

5 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, drained and crumbled (drippings reserved)

1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach leaves, washed

1/3 cup minced onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup cottage cheese, farmer's cheese, or ricotta cheese

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup shredded cheese (any type)

1 pack frozen dough for pastries 

Directions:

Cook your bacon in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and reserve the drippings. Heat 1 teaspoon of the reserved bacon drippings in a medium nonstick skillet and, when hot, add the spinach. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach is wilted and has released its liquid, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the spinach to a colander to drain. When the spinach has cooled enough to handle, squeeze to release any excess water, then transfer to a cutting board and finely chop. Set aside.

Add 2 more teaspoons of the bacon drippings to the same skillet, then add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the reserved spinach, crumbled bacon, cottage cheese, salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a mixing bowl and allow to cool thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Divide the spinach filling evenly among the dough circles and add one tbs of shredded cheese to each one. Using your fingers, lightly moisten the edges with some of the beaten egg, then fold 1 side over so that the edges meet, and press to seal. Crimp the edges using the tines of a fork and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all of the empanadas are assembled. Brush the tops of each empanada with some of the beaten egg and fry or bake uncovered until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. I fry my empanadas they come out crispier then when you bake them. 

It sounds like a lot of work but it's worth every bit of it. This empanadas look so good and they are not even fried yet!!! I placed them in the refrigerator until it was time for dinner and 20 minutes before I fried them, they turned out delicious.

Every bite of it was a burst of flavor in my mouth, bacon makes everything taste better. My husband really enjoyed it and took one to work the next day. 

You really don't need anything else to go with them but if you want a side, I would recommend baked beans, just a simple salad or potato salad but again you can play around with it, it's your dinner!!

Let me tell you something before I go. You can buy the pastry dough and fill them with whatever you want. Meats, cheese only, sweets, really!!! anything you know you will enjoy. 

Have fun, enjoy them and happy cooking!!!!

My Version of Eggs Benedict

Breakfast!!! Sunday has come and I usually like to make a sit down breakfast for me and my husband. We normally have cereal during the week cause he goes to work pretty early.

Today I decided to surprise him with something different and made my own version of Eggs Benedict.

What you'll need:

Serves 8

1 can flaky biscuits or english muffins
8 eggs
4 slices of bacon (cooked and cut in small pieces)
1 roma tomato (cut in small pieces)
1/2 sliced onion
1 pack country gravy

Directions:
Cook your biscuits according to the instructions on the can. Follow the instructions on the pack to prepare your gravy. Cook your bacon until crisp or how you like them best and throw in the onions and tomatoes.Fry your eggs until they are over easy.

Assembly:
Put one biscuit in a plate, pour some of the gravy on top of the biscuit , put a fried egg on top and top it off with some of the bacon mixture. You can add cheese to eat as well but to be honest it really doesn't need it. Do the same with all of the other biscuits (I only made 4)

This was delish!!!! We enjoyed it sooooo much and it was very tasty. I would definitely make this breakfast over and over again.

Have a restful Sunday!!!

Pork Chops Italiano

We bought our first patio set and I have been wanting to use it and eat dinner outside but something always happens and we have to change plans. 

Yesterday I had planned to make it happen and even went out and cleaned the table, set the lamp and had the perfect picture in my mind on how I wanted everything to look. One of the things I wanted to do was grill some pork chops while enjoying our new chairs, but something happened; yes, the sky got super dark, rain started to pour down and  my perfect picture seemed very blurry :( .  

I had to go to plan B and make my pork chops inside differently then the ones I had planned just in case  it wouldn't stop raining. As I was almost done cooking my pork chops on the stove top the rain stopped and the sky seemed relieved and of course I was "Oh man!!!! I should've waited"

Here is the recipe for my Pork Chops Italiano:

3-4 bone-in pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick and 8 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
4 slices mozzarella cheese
1 medium green pepper, cut into rings

Directions:
Sprinkle pork chops with pepper. In a large skillet, brown chops in butter on both sides; drain. Combine the tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning and basil; pour over chops. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until meat juices run clear.
Top each pork chop with cheese and green pepper. Cover and cook 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

  The only thing I didn't do was the cheese and pepper because I didn't have mozzarella at home. But it was delicious!!!!

To finish of my eating out story, let me tell you that everything worked out OK and we had an awesome outside dinner.

The rain cooled down the 90 degree weather we had and made it more enjoyable. We could here the birds singing and the rain drops from some of the trees around us. The Lord always goes ahead of us!!!

We enjoyed our pork chops with some raw broccoli and cauliflower dipped in green onion dip. It was delicious and healthy.

Enjoy your day and happy cooking!!! 

Vegetable Stir Fry and Oven Baked Chicken

Not much to say about this other than "It was delicious and super healthy"

This is one of the reasons I like to have different kinds of fresh vegetables at home, I like to make healthy choices once in a while.

Here's what I used for my stir fry: carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms. My husband is not a fan of mushrooms so whenever I cook them I get to eat them all ( yummy!!!).

As you can see I have my chicken seasoned and ready to go in the oven. I always like to get my ingredients ready so when it's time to start making dinner I just have to pop in the oven and get my pots and pans.  

 For my chicken I used a little bit of lemon juice, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Ahhh!!! I also used a little bit of my Dominican seasoning and placed it in the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Your house will smell so good like mine did. When my husband got home and opened the door the first thing he said was "it smells so goody in here, I can't wait to try that"

 This is how my veggies looked while I was cooking them. I used one tablespoon of butter to fry them but you can use olive oil. I also added salt and pepper to taste. Doesn't it look good!!!!

And when it was time to sit at the table this is what we had in front of us.

YUMMY!!!!!! The chicken was so tender,tasty and moist and the veggies were full of flavor. I will definitely make this again and again.

Enjoy!!!! Have a good day. :)

Filipino Beef Steak

If you're looking for a different way to make steak, you have found it. This is easy and very tasty if you live it marinating over night. 

I was going to cook this steak on Monday but my plans shifted and we ended up eating out. I already had my meat seasoned and just ready to cook so I just put it back in the refrigerator and used it yesterday night for my guests. It turned out great!!!

Filipino Beef Steak

Ingredients:

 1 lemon, juiced

 3 tablespoons soy sauce

 1 teaspoon white sugar

 Salt and pepper to taste

 4 pounds New York strip steak, sliced thin (any steak will do)

 1 tablespoon cornstarch

 1/4 cup vegetable oil

 3 tablespoons olive oil

 1 onion, chopped

 2 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions:

Whisk the lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Place the sliced steak in a large bowl; pour the lemon juice mixture over the steak and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the cornstarch and lightly mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, up to overnight.

Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a large skillet. Remove the beef slices from the marinade, shaking to remove any excess liquid. Fry the beef slices in batches in the hot oil until they start to firm, and are reddish-pink and juicy in the center, 2 to 4 minutes per side(Don't over cook it because they will turn out very hard.). Remove the beef slices from the skillet and set aside on a serving platter.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion and garlic in the hot oil until the onion is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes; pour over the beef slices.

As usual I made some changes to make it easier for me. Instead of whisking the ingredients for the marinade I just pour all of them in the meat and mixed it. I also added some of my special seasoning. Another thing I did was cook the onions in the same pan I fried the meat so the onions got all the flavor too. 

My husband enjoyed it very much and my brother in law ate them and asked for seconds. I recommend this dish, it's really good. We had it with roasted potatoes covered with cheese and bacon, a salad and biscuits.

Have a good day and happy cooking!!!

Dump Cake

Yes, the name says it all. Dump this and dump that!!!

Yesterday I had my sister and her family come over for dinner and I wanted to make a quick but yummy dessert to enjoy with them. Looking through my favorites online and my pinterest I came across this recipe that I tried making one time while dating my husband but it didn't come out right, so I said this is it, it's time to redeem myself.

I got busy and went to Walmart to get all my ingredients which were only four; yes!!! besides easy it's also inexpensive.

This all you need:

1 can (21 Oz) cherry pie filling
1 can (15 Oz) crushed pineapple
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 1/2 stick of butter or margarine (I used 1 stick margarine and 1/2 stick butter)
Whipped Cream (optional)

Preparation Instructions:

Dump cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple into baking dish. Stir together.

Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top of the fruit. Slice margarine and butter and distribute over the surface of the cake mix.

Bake this delicious dessert at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

Then, to redeem myself from the first time I made this I got some whipped cream and put a dollup on top. My husband, guests and I enjoyed it very much and I for sure will be making it again.

I know it's not the healthiest dessert on planet earth but pretend it’s cobbler if you want. But most importantly: enjoy! That’s all I ask of you.

Cheesy Bacon Biscuits Pull-Aparts

Let me start my post by saying, SUPER EASY!!!!!!

OK, now that I got that out of my system I also have to tell you that besides easy its very good. You can have it as breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner which ever you want it's perfect for any occasion.

I made it for dinner with a small salad and of course I also made my own little changes on the original recipe.

Easy Cheesy Bacon Biscuit Pull-Aparts

2 tablespoons melted butter

One roll refrigerated biscuit dough, 8 count

6 thin slices fresh mozzarella, 1/4-inch thick

1 cup Smithfield cooked, crumbled bacon

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and brush a 9-inch cast iron skillet with melted butter.

Unroll biscuits from can and place into bottom of skillet. Top with slices of mozzarella cheese, bacon crumbles then shredded cheddar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and biscuits are cooked through. Serve warm.

I just gave you the original recipe but here is what I did with my biscuits.

First, after unrolling my biscuits from the can I placed them in the baking pan. I used 2 rolls instead of one because my biscuits were small.

Second, I used some chopped onions and sprinkled it on top of the biscuits, I didn't have bacon so I used ham or lunch meat. Also sprinkled some dry parsley and a little bit of garlic salt. Ohhh!!! and I also spread one beaten egg on them.

Before spreading the cheese I added two tablespoons of butter cubed so the biscuits wouldn't stick on the bottom of the pan and so they could come out very moist ( which they did).

And after spreading cheese, yummy cheese on these delicious dish I put it in the oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes. 

And Voila!!!!! 20 minutes after :)> Ready to serve and be eaten by me and my hubby.

This was soooooooo good and tasty that I wanted to eat more and more but only had one serving and saved the other one for tomorrow's lunch. My husband really enjoyed it and saved some for his lunch too. 

This is crazy good specially if you like bread and cheese like I do. 

Beefy Mac & Cheese

Yesterday I was planning on making a lasagna for dinner and even got my beef out and seasoned it like I always do. When it was time to start making dinner I realized I didn't have enough tomato sauce to make it so decided to go another route. I had elbow shape pasta and plenty of cheese so my plans changed and decided to make a beefy macaroni & cheese. It sounded delish to me!!!

There are several ways of making this dish but I did it my own way which I thought it was pretty easy. 

I basically cooked my pasta in boiling salt water, and in another pan cooked my meat. Then in my baking dish layered everything. First the pasta, then sprinkle some salt and pepper for more flavor, then the meat,then some cubed butter, then lots of cheese and repeat the steps again. Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

This is how it should look after you layered it. I didn't give any amounts because it varies on the amount of people you want to feed or the amount of ingredients you have at home. Also you can add more things if you want, I cooked some onions with my meat but you can add peppers and so on. 

This is the top of my dish before it went in the oven. I love cheese so I put a lot of it. 

And voila!!!!! Here is the finished dish ready to be eaten by me. I had it with some lettuce, pretty simple plus I didn't have any tomatoes to put together with the lettuce. 

It was very good and it had a really good flavor, but the best thing was that it was pretty cheesy. Let me remind you to season your meat pretty well when your cooking it because if you don't your dish might come out flavorless. Add your favorite dry seasonings and herbs, get creative I know it's in you!!!!

4th of July Celebration!!!

Yesterday was a very fun day, even though the forecast showed a lot of rain coming our way. We decided to do a small picnic at the beach and have some family fun time. It was awesome and it didn't rain!!!!

I was in charge of the desserts so I decided to bake a cake, after all it was USA birthday!! The cake was decorated with the american flag.

I also decided to bake an apple pie, an all time american dessert. That pie is always wanted by my very pregnant sis in law and she asks for it to be made with the granny smiths apple because she loves the tartness in them.

But I didn't just make desserts I also made a pasta salad to take to the beach and eat it together with the chicken and loaf of bread my brother and his wife had bought. It was so good that there was no left overs. Some people use tuna for this type of salad but I prefer chicken, it tastes better like that and not everyone likes tuna.

It was so good to have family over at our house and seeing their approvals on the apple pie and cake. Celebration ended with some small fireworks and laughter!!!! It was great. :)

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!!

Chicken Noodle Soup on A Rainy Day!!

We've had a rainy week and what's better then a delicious homemade chicken noodle soup!!! 

Besides the rain my husband has been sick with a head cold and I have been fighting something too, so yesterday I felt like having soup for dinner and that is strange for me because I'm not a soup eater. 

To tell you the truth it was my first time making soup and I was excited about it. I wanted to make a very traditional kind of soup that's why I decided to go with the chicken noodle. I was missing some ingredients so I went to Walmart to get them but while I was there I got into buying some other stuff  for my house, specially for my dining table. I was tired of the centerpiece I had on it so I decided to change it.

 

 




I got the table runner the vases and flowers, Doesn't it look nice!!!






As soon as I got home and set up the things I had bought on my dinning table, got busy with my cooking. The first thing I did was season my chicken so it could have a good flavor when I went to mix it in with the rest of the ingredients.

This a basic recipe for this soup, but you can change it a little bit by adding your own touch (just like I did to mine)

Ingredients:

 1 tablespoon butter

 1/2 cup chopped onion

 1/2 cup chopped celery

 4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

 1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth

 1/2 pound chopped cooked chicken breast

 1 1/2 cups egg noodles

 1 cup sliced carrots

 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

 Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes. Pour in chicken and vegetable broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving.

Let me tell you that it was soooo good and tasty!!! My husband enjoyed it very much and I did too. I sent a picture to my mom and she said that it made her mouth watery and one of my sisters in law ask me if I could send her some. Those were nice compliments :) :) 

Today is Wednesday and it still looks like is going to be a rainy day, but on the bright side the lawn and plants are getting beautified and fed. Thank you Lord for that!!!

Have a good day!!!!

Pulled Pork for Dinner!!!

Friday night is usually our date night, but this time we decided to eat at home since we were going to a resort for the weekend with the in laws. 

We love barbecue pulled pork and I wanted to surprise my hubby by making it for the first time. I had heard my sister's way of doing it in the slow cooker but since I have the Wolfgang pressure cooker I thought it would be easier to just put it in there, I just had to press meat and set the timer for one hour. 

Homemade Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs Pork Loin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of my special seasoning

1 cup of water

Directions:

Plug in your pressure cooker, put your meat, water and seasonings in the pressure cooker. Put the lid, set it to meat and adjust the time to 1 hour. Cook for 1 hour. Release the pressure and drain off juices, reserving about 2 cups. Shred the pork and mix with barbecue sauce, adding reserved juice if needed to reach your desired consistency. 

It came out so good that my husband's eyes rolled in every bite he took. I enjoyed it very much too, it was delicious. I would definitely make it again and I recommend you to make it too.

The 4th of July is coming, What are your plans?

Have a nice week and happy cooking!!!!