Posts tagged parsley
Murdering Mac and Cheese
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On most days of the week, I send my sister off with food to help her (and a few of her fellow RN buddies) get through the long night shifts. She doesn’t know it, but I leave my phone on just so I can get the call from her telling me how awesome the food was. Last night, I sent her with a new Mac n Cheese recipe I tinkered around with. She saw me as I was packing the food and I could tell that she was a little skeptical about it. It was understandable. After all, it was a white sauce recipe, involved rigatoni pasta (extremely large, ridged, tubular noodles) and panko bread crumbs. A far cry from the bright orange and yellow dish with macaroni noodles to which she’s accustomed. To add insult to injury, when she questioned the “green stuff” I’d mixed in, I told her that I thought a few scraps of the uncooked collard greens from my mom’s dish would be a “good touch”. You should’ve seen her face!! lol. I could not bring myself to tell her that it was actually parsley. In spite of my laughter, I took her scrunched up nose as a challenge.
I got my phone call around 1:42 a.m., pretended that I hadn’t been sleep since 10 and listened. A smile crept across my sleep-deprived face as she recounted how she began apologizing to her friends for my experimentation on them; promising that there was a bottle of hot sauce on hand to mask my mistakes if needed. She said that she was cursing me for the embarrassment she was sure to suffer even up until she placed it in the microwave. She watched its rotations with indifference (more…)
Of course I make my own marinara sauce!
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Don’t be so easily impressed, lol…It’s waaaay easier than standing in the tomato sauce aisle trying to recall which brand you love and which you abhor. But, just like you hated my sauce-making behind 2 minutes ago, your unknowing diners will too. Make sure you mention it at least twice during the meal. 
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 large yellow onion
1/2 c. olive oil
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 cans (28oz) crushed tomatoes (I used Publix’s brand)
3 tbsp. fresh parsley
3 tea. dried oregano
1 tbsp. crushed red pepper
1 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
salt
pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Grate the onion. This will release more of the juices and give you smaller onion pieces. If you are not in the mood for it, by all means, chop it.
Heat the olive oil and add onions until translucent. (3 – 4 minutes) Add garlic and cook for a minute or two longer.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust. Cook, uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes.
Cook’s Notes: Personally, I like a little sweetness to my sauce but find your balance. I added more than the recipe I gave you. A little sugar is definitely needed to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. This isn’t needed when using jar sauce because there is a large quantity already in there…trust me. Well, you really don’t have to; check the label. Lol. Anyway, I used 3 to 4 tbsp if you wanna keep it fierce…lol.
Roasted Red Potatoes
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Here is a quickie but goodie. This is a GREAT side to go with just about anything. Variations would include garlic, thyme, dill, butter and other herbs and spices. Very versatile…like ya gurl!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds medium red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Parsley
- 1 cup grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Directions
- Heat oven to 400° F. In a large roasting pan, toss the potatoes, rosemary, parsley, parmesan, oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Roast, stirring once, until golden brown and crisp, 45 to 50 minutes.
Chicken n Dumplings
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(Slightly adapted from “The Neelys”)
Dish Ingredients:
8 chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
8 cups chicken broth
1/2 bunch thyme
1 bay leaf
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