Meaty Spaghetti:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 medium onions, chopped
2 pounds lean ground beef
3 (16 ounce) cans whole tomatoes
3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
3 of the 6 ounce cans full of water
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
2 1/2 pounds spaghetti, cooked and drained
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy kettle, sauté garlic, parsley and onion until tender, but not browned. Add ground beef; cook over high heat, stirring to break up meat as it browns. Crush tomatoes in a blender or with a potato masher. Add to Dutch oven with tomato paste, water, sugar, salt, oregano, basil, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Taste and correct seasonings, adding salt, pepper or more sugar if needed.
Serve over cooked spaghetti, topped with grated Parmesan or Romano.
(This makes a lot of sauce, but it freezes well.)
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Herbed Corn on the Cob:
6-12 Mini Corn on the Cob
4 tablespoons of fresh Thyme
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) Real Melted Butter
Place cleaned corn on the cob into a large pot. Cover with cold water. Omit salt from boiling process (it tends to toughen the corn). Bring just to a boil and then let the ears stand in boiling water a few minutes. Mix melted butter, salt, and thyme together in a serving dish. Lay corn onto serving dish and roll to coat with butter mixture. Serve immediately.
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Cheese & Rosemary Breadsticks:
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup grated Gruyere
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 (11-ounce) container refrigerated breadstick dough (or make your own!)
Finely ground sea salt, optional
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with silicone baking sheets or parchment paper. In a food processor, chop the Parmesan, Gruyere and rosemary together until coarsely chopped. Set the cheese mixture aside. Separate the dough strips. Using a pizza cutter or a large sharp knife, cut each dough strip in half lengthwise to form thin strips. Working with dough strip at a time, coat each strip with the cheese mixture, pressing very gently. Twist each cheese covered dough strip and place onto prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with the salt, if you wish. Bake until the breadsticks are golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the warm breadsticks to a basket and serve.
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Fresh Lemonade:
6 lg. thin skinned lemons
About 8 c. water
1 c. (8 oz.) sugar
10-12 Maraschino cherries
2 tablespoons Cherry Juice
Roll the lemons on a hard surface to loosen the juice. Cut them in half and squeeze out the juice. Strain it into a large pitcher. Boil 1/2 cup of the water then add sugar. Stir until all sugar is dissolved. Add the mixture (called simple syrup) to the pitcher and also add the remaining cold water. Taste, and adjust the sugar or water. You may also need more lemon juice, it all depends on your individual taste buds. Add the cherries and juice for an extra special treat!
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:
1 cups butter
2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 cup sugar
2.5 cups blended oatmeal
12 oz. chocolate chips
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes about 5 dozen cookies. I divide the dough in half and bake one half and freeze the other for later!
