Spaghetti with LIME Butter Sauce

So... I totally forgot to buy a lemon! hehe. So I improvised! And let me tell you what, IT WAS GOOOOOOD! I used lime, Key lime that is. Here is the Recipe.

Serves 3-4

1/2 package or 8oz Spaghetti cooked "al dente" (the dish tastes better with a bit more texture, so try for al dente, instead of softer noodles) Here is the National Pasta Associations directions for al dente
1 small yellow squash, or half of a larger one, 1/2 inch dice
1 small zucchini, or half of a larger one, 1/2 inch dice
1/2 medium yellow onion, 1/2 inch dice
2 Roma tomatoes diced
2 cloves diced garlic
1 tbs olive oil
4 tbs salted butter
2 slices turkey bacon, crumbled (okay, let's be honest, turkey bacon doesn't crumble the same as pork bacon, so once you have them crisped up (or before you cook them), stack 'em and give them a really good chop. Your looking for "bacon bit" size pieces)
4 tsp Key lime juice (I totally used the little lime shaped juice concentrate from the fridge)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Red Pepper Flakes to taste


Take a breath, here I go.

While the spaghetti is cooking, dice up your veggies and place them in a bowl. Dice your garlic, add half of it to the veggies. Reserve the other half for the lime buttery goodness. In a large saucepan, on medium high heat, cook your bacon, take it out of the pan, set aside (chop it once it cools). Add your veggies to the pan, along with the olive oil, a pinch of salt (to be honest, I LOVE salt, so if you are not as big of a fan, opt not to add it here. You can check the flavor at the end and see if you want to add any more once the butter sauce is on the noodles and veggies) and some pepper. Cook them until onions are transparent and squashes and tomatoes are starting to break down, but are still holding their shape. Place them back in their bowl, and set aside. Now is the time for the lime butter sauce. Add the butter, bacon, and garlic into the same pan. Turn heat down to just above medium. Once the butter has loosened the goodies on the bottom of the pan and has turned a light caramel color, add the lime juice. Let it cook for 1 minutes or so. Then turn off the heat. Once the noodles are done, you will drain them, and add the noodles to the lime butter, coat them really well, and then add in the veggies! This is where you want to taste it, for seasoning. And there you have it folks, Spaghetti with Lime Butter Sauce!

p.s. I also am a huge fan of red pepper, but those who eat my food, are not all fans, so I opted to add the red pepper flakes to my own plate and, it was good!
p.p.s. I didn't have any Parmesan, but, it would have been super tasty with that added in too!
p.p.p.s I know, I know, there are a lot of these, but I wanted to tell ya something... I did cook a whole package of spaghetti for this, but I was afraid the flavor wouldn't spread out as well, that's why I only used half the package. If you want to serve 6-8 though, you can cook the whole package of pasta and just add a couple more tablespoons of butter and a few more teaspoons of lime juice to the lime butter sauce before you add the noodles and you're good to go. There is enough bacon, garlicy goodness to spread out on the added noodles too.

White Bean Chili Crock Pot Style

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

1lb uncooked white beans (or 2-3 cans, drained)
1 28oz can El Pato, RED Enchilada Sauce (I used mild, but kick it up to your heat preference)
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (drained)
1 lb ground beef (or you can  use ground turkey or ground pork, or go vegetarian and add more veggies)
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced dehydrated* onion or 1 medium diced yellow onion
1/3 cup diced dehydrated* green bell pepper or 1 medium diced bell pepper
* I have some dehydrated vegetables in my food storage that I try to rotate in and use. They work perfect in the crock pot or even in lasagnas because they absorb the "extra" liquid.
2tsp chili powder
2-4 tsp kosher salt (this is completely to taste. I would start with the 2tsp at the beginning when placing everything in the pot, and when it's done, taste it; add more salt if needed.)
2 tsp black pepper

Quick Directions:
First cook the beans. I don't do the soak over night kind of bean. I do the; rinse, put into a pot with 6-8 cups of water, bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes, take off of the heat, let soak for 1hr, rinse again. Place swelled beans in another 6-8 cups of water with about 1tbs salt added in, and simmer for about 2hrs, or until beans are cooked. I'm sure there is a way to put the beans in the crock pot too, I just haven't played around with it that much. I do find it easy to just set them on the stove, set a timer, and get ready for the day while not worrying about them :)

Then, place your ground beef, carrots, onions, green peppers, and seasonings into the crock pot. Follow with the drained beans, El Pato, and diced tomatoes. Stir them all together, place the crock pot on LOW and within 3 hours, you're ready to eat!

Enjoy it with some cornbread, biscuits, or crackers!

Dinner Meal Plan for August 28-September 3

This week, I am going to try and do something different... I'll try and post the ingredient list for each meal, along with a "quick" how to. I'll go into further detail with the "Video of the week" dinner though. 

Sunday: White Bean Chili with Cornbread
Monday: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese with Grilled Tomato Sandwiches
Tuesday: Spaghetti with Lemon Butter Sauce
Wednesday: Fried Chicken with Coleslaw
Thursday: Tacos and Stuffed Jalapenos (Video of the week) side note: I did just make these a week and a half ago, but I like to make new recipes again, so I can get the "how to" down.
Friday: Chicken Kabobs with Rice
Saturday: This dinner, is the start of my fast (a religious observance in my faith), but I will be going to a fun new restaurant for lunch, so I'll give ya a Restaurant Review for Joe's Real BBQ in Gilbert, Arizona

This week is going to be FUN! I am really excited! Sorry for not getting this up sooner. I'm going to also try and change my posting day to Wednesdays or Thursdays for the following week. Let me know if you have any suggestions for my blog, or questions that I might be able to answer. Have a great week!

Kitchens = Peace. Comfort. Creativity. And Love!

Better perspective of me, Sarah, the food blogger.

This week, like I said, school started. My art class was my first class (which I was super excited about and still am), and it was the class that I finished the first homework assignment for.

The first assignment was to choose a location, explain what I see, and how I feel in it. The location needed to be somewhere that expresses who I am and be somewhere that for you, the reader, allows you to experience being there from my view. The first "place" that popped in my head, was... the kitchen! Of course. lol. I don't think anyone who knows me at all would be surprised about that one, so I wanted to share my first completed assignment with ya'll. Just so, that you know, I am in LOVE in the kitchen and what that all encompasses. You may think it's weird, and I'm okay with that. haha.

Here ya go...

Hi. My name is Sarah and I am a kitchen addict. Not just addicted to my own kitchen either, most kitchens will do, well almost. I do need order and cleanliness to function at my fullest. When those things are in place though, I find peace, comfort, and creativity there. I experience my thoughts deepen on many subjects while I am working in the kitchen. I also feel I can express a part of my love through my sacrifice of time; not only in the time preparing the meal, but in the time I take in learning and improving my skill. I am also able to express myself with the décor, food choices, and flavors that I choose to work with.

I truly love that, in a kitchen, there are colors everywhere! From the containers my foods are stored and cooked in, to what the foods are plated and presented on, to a beautiful rainbow of color in the food itself. It is my goal, to not only make the meal delicious, by using the right combination of flavors, but to make it just as delicious visually; Which is how I feel we truly “taste” anyway, by using all of our senses. I try to keep things interesting too, by using a combination of colors, shapes, sizes, and textures in all aspects of the kitchen.

Picture this… Bright red, imperfectly, diced tomatoes, slices of vibrant yellow and orange peppers. Dramatic green; fragrant basil, shredded Parmesan cheese, that not only adds the right flavor, but adds the right texture, for the taste buds and visually. Combine all of that color and texture together with some fresh cooked linguine, a few pinches of deep, dark, spicy crushed red pepper, a dash of pure, white, sea salt, and a drizzle of beautiful, rich green olive oil in a beautiful handmade saffron colored bowl… Oh the goodness that is in that dish!

So, yeah, I guess, that is the reason why I am a kitchen addict. I love to use all of my senses, so I am a "sensible" person you see. 

Here is hoping that my professor likes my angle :)

Apologies

Hello all! Apologies to everyone for not having more posts this week... I was a we bit busy. School started and I had a last minute trip out of state. I will be back on the ball by Saturday! Promise! Happy planning, cooking, and tasting til then!

Sarah

Dinner Meal Plan for August 21- August 27

Here we go for this week!

Sunday: Hawaiin Haystacks (Crock Pot Meal)
Monday: Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday: Bacon Wrapped Chicken with mashed potatoes
Wednesday: Chicken BLT Wraps
Thursday: Quiche (Recipe of the Week)
Friday: Lasagna with White Sauce, Chicken, and Spinach
Saturday: Homemade Biscuits and Gravy

Recipe of the Week: Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes!

This is a combo Recipe. I can't take credit for the Peanut Butter Pancakes or the idea to use Banana's in the way I did either. I know. I'm a cheater, but by golly, I know how to combine two amazing foods, to make an extra tasty one! Let me just tell you. These were FREAKING gooood! 

The Peanut Butter Pancake recipe, all props go to Sunny Anderson from Food Network. I found the recipe a few years ago, before she made a video for it. They are the fluffiest, best tasting pancakes ever! Here is the video in case you want to watch it too! Peanut Butter Pancake Video 

The idea to place sliced bananas and brown sugar on them before giving them their first flip came from the amaaaaazing Bobo's Cafe here in Tucson. They make the, Best. Breakfasts. Ever!

So tallah! The combination of these two things make these pancakes heavenly. Add a glass of cold milk and it's even better!

Here is the recipe!

 

Makes about 8 small pancakes, 4-6 medium

½ cup melted peanut butter

 1 cup flour

4tbs sugar

1/2tsp salt

1 tbs Baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk + more if you need it for the right consistency

2tbs canola/vegetable oil

 Cooked on Topping:

2-3 bananas

2-4 tbs brown sugar

You first melt the peanut butter. In the video, Sunny used the double boiler route. I usually use the glass bowl in microwave for 30 seconds route. Both methods work. You then want to whisk the warm peanut butter, egg, milk, and 2tbs of oil. Once the wet ingredients are mixed together, slowly combine with the dry ingredients. Living in the desert, I have found I generally have to add more liquid. So, if you're an Arizonan, you might want to automatically start with 1 1/4 cup of milk. You want it to be thin enough to pour out of a ladle and spread slightly, but thick enough that it will hold it's shape well in the pan. Thick like... a milkshake that has half melted and you stir the melting part with the solid ice cream left in the cup to "thicken" it up *grin*. FYI: You'll get a fluffier pancake if you don't over mix. It's okay to see a few small clumps.

Once you have the batter ready, get the pan heated up. Cast iron works the best, but a griddle pan, or saute pan will work too. Medium high heat. While the pan is heating up, you can slice your bananas and get them ready to go. Once heated, get a little butter and grease the pan. Then ladle/spoon your first pancake in.

Once the batter is in the pan, place sliced banana and sprinkle 1-2 tsp of brown sugar on each pancake (on the wet batter) The batter will not likely "bubble" like you are used to seeing with other pancakes because of the heaviness of the peanut butter, so check it often for done-ness and nice browning.

Once the first side is done, using a metal or thin plastic spatula, flip your pancake. Let the bananas and the brown sugar caramelize! My pancakes took about 1-1 1/2minutes per side.

Then you are ready to take out of the pan and plate up the goodness! I served them with a side of sausage and a glass of cold milk. Mmmmmm!

Also, from the recipe a few years ago, Sunny said you can make the batter the night before, which I have. I just thinned it out with milk in the morning. They were just as tasty too!

I hope you guys try these! They are my favorite!