Roasting peppers isn't a new concept for me. I've roasted all colors of bell peppers, jalapenos, sweet peppers, habaneros, anaheims, pablanos, and even 25lbs (with a single iron skillet... Why yes! You may call me super woman!) of new mexico green chiles before. However, Roasting 60 lbs of chile is a new endeavor. Ah the joys of New Mexico! :) We bought our Chile Saturday morning and (the easy part) had them roasted in the large drum roaster while we waited. This was a lot more convenient than using an iron skillet or even the grill, oven, or anything else that gets hot enough to blister a chile.
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One thing that we haven't been eating as much as normal is Asian food. We both love it, but it just seems that during our first few months here we always opt for southwest food when we're eating out. We've ordered Chinese food one time since we've been here <Gasp!> I've been thinking about some good Chinese food for a few weeks now. Even though I don't have some of the basic ingredients for an Asian meal, I have soy sauce, some thin sliced beef Milanese, garlic, green onions, and peanut butter. I'm sure I can get close enough to hold me off for a little while longer. Oh man, Now I'm thinking about Sushi... Yesterday I forgot to pull some meat out of the freezer again. In fact while I'm thinking about it I'm going to go do it right now! Ok, that's done! :) Last night I scoured the fridge for something to throw together. I came across some jarred spaghetti sauce, cream cheese, sausage, and pasta. So I whipped up a creamy tomato pasta dish. The Recipes: 1/2 lb Breakfast Sausage 1 Tbsp butter, or spread (I use ICBINB) 1 8oz block of Cream Cheese 1/2 Jar Newmans Sockarooni Spaghetti Sauce (I think out of the jarred tomato sauces this one has the best, closest to homemade flavor.) 1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese 2 tsp Worstchestershire Sauce 3 servings, by weight of dried pasta Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil, In a seperate Medium Sauce pan I browned the Sausage until it was just cooked, then stirred in the 1/2 the cream cheese. I wanted the sauce to be more creamy than tomato-ey so once the cream cheese was melted down a little bit I add 1/4 jar of the sauce to the pan. I was pleased with the overall flavor of the sauce but it was thick and I wanted to double the amount once I saw how much it made so I tossed in the other 4 oz of cream cheese and another 1/4 jar of the sauce. When I tasted it again I added just a little more tomato sauce and then added the worcestershire and parmesan cheese. When my sauce was finished I turned the heat on low to keep it warm and cooked the pasta. I used a quick cook 3 minute pasta that I had left over from a previous sale (which I'll add that I won't be buying again), I usually go for Whole Grain pasta because it is more forgiving if you don't catch it right at 8 minutes. When the pasta was complete I sauced it on individual plates. The Reviews: I liked the dish. It was just missing some things. Since this was the first time I've made something like this I expected it though. It was heavy, a definate filling comfort food. First I would have loved a big Greek Salad with it. For the sauce, I think adding some vinegar/brine packed artichoke hearts, capers, and/or olives would be perfect for this dish. It's definately a sauce I'm going to continue to make and tweak until I get it just perfect! I definately think it would be better on the whole grain pasta I'm used to versus this quick cooking white flour enriched stuff that has no nutritional value at all :) Also next time I'll start it with 1/2 the amount of cream cheese and thin it out with some milk so the sauce isn't so thick. The other option is to keep the cheese amount the same and add more tomatoes if you want more tomato flavor. Jerry had a late night at work so I'm not even sure if he warmed any up when he got home. That's a perk of working at the restaurant he works at is one free meal per shift. So on his late nights I don't have to have something waiting for him. Since he doesn't get home til 2am on some weekend nights, that is definately ok with me! LOL Scotty, our roomie, (everyone calls him our son!) Got home a little later than normal and he heated some up and really liked it. He's pretty picky, just think typical bachelor food, no veggies, and that's what Scotty eats. Although I have been able to sneak in some veggies on the occasion :) I'm going to be making a princess birthday cake today for my beautiful niece. Look for the full post with picture tomorrow!
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Mandy GarciaHey! I'm Mandy. I am an avid home cook, Chicago Bears fan, UK Wildcats fan, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Comedy, Show tunes, animal loving, crafting, "be the crazy aunt" kind of gal. Born and raised in the Blue Grass state I now call The Land of Enchantment home. My sense of humor is a little dry and I'm definitely sarcastic. So come on in and hang out with me for a little while. It should be fun! Archives
October 2013
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