Marian's Sloppy Joes

I had to search for this one the other day so I will post here so it is easily accessible.

Dale's comfort food.

Marian's Sloppy Joes

(extra can be frozen)

Brown:

* 2 lbs. hamburger

* small/medium onion chopped (based on preference)

Turn to low and add:

* salt/pepper (based on preference)

* 2 cloves garlic cloves, minced

* 1/2 cup ketchup

* 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

* 4 to 5 drops smoke flavoring

* Tomato sauce -- enough to create consistency of cottage cheese

* 4 to 5 drops Tabasco sauce (OPTIONAL)

Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve on buns.

Papa Mack's Spaghetti Sauce

I can't believe that this one hasn't been posted yet. It has quite a history and contains a host of memories.

Growing up, this was Mom's famous spaghetti sauce. She actually inherited it from her father who received it from an Italian during World War II.

Mom fed large groups with this recipe. During high school, members of the football and soccer teams would "ask" to come over for dinner when she served this. It was always accompanied by her homemade bread.

Here is her recipe:

Papa Mack's Spaghetti Sauce

4-5 lbs. lean ground beef*

2 (14.5 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes

2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce

5-6 large cloves garlic

3 stalk celery

2 green pepper

2 large onion

1 Tbsp. oregano leaves

1 Tbsp. rosemary (No)

3 whole bay leaves

2 Tbsp. salt

2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

3 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste

1 can sliced mushrooms or 1 cup fresh mushrooms (**I omit this sometimes.)

Variations:
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

Brown ground beef and drain off fat. In blender, combine tomatoes, celery, pepper, garlic and onion. Do not blend too fine. Add this mixture to your ground beef in a 4 quart pot or a large crockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Best if you let it simmer all day or a minimum of 3 hours. Best if cooked a head of time and put in refrigerator over night or frozen and brought out another day. Seems to blend the flavors. Remove bay leaves before serving over pasta.

Note: I like to have it simmer for 6-8 hours in a crockpot.

* I reduce the amount of ground beef when I make this.

Easy Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

This is my favorite kind of recipe lately...fast, easy and on the table in less than 30 minutes. With baseball games often being scheduled during dinner time I usually need something fast and easy. No surprise it is a Rachael Ray recipe. She is the queen of 30 minute meals it seems.

We loved this one. It was posted by one of my favorite recipe bloggers -- Taste and Tell. Here is the link: http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2010/10/saturdays-with-rachael-ray-easy-chicken.html

Saturdays with Rachael Ray - Easy Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

Easy Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

from Every Day with Rachael Ray

serves 4

total time: 25 minutes

8 oz. fettuccine or spaghetti

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

1/4 cup Italian salad dressing

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 2/3 cup milk

4 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Cook pasta as directed on the package. Add the broccoli to the boiling water for the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking time. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the dressing in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Stir in milk, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and basil. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce is well blended and heated through.

Add the chicken mixture to the drained pasta and mix until the pasta is coated.