Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Small steps in the kitchen

Have I mentioned I had forgotten what this particular antibiotic does to me... as in causing a combined sleepiness and that loopy feeling?  At least I am having two steps forward for every one step back in the healing process.  I'm able to talk again (albeit a raspy sound) and my ears clear up once in awhile.  However, even though there is a little congestion left and a slight cough... I can breath.  I heart oxygen.

I am well enough to fix simple meals in the kitchen.  The guys have missed having healthy snacks so I made the next best thing this morning, my pumpkin muffins which are made by combining one box of yellow cake mix and one can of pumpkin (I added a cup of chocolate chips today).  They are pictured above and are quite good considering one starts with a cake mix.  You can find that recipe... here.  I'm not quite up to baked goods "from scratch" yet but these are better and cheaper than store bought.

The aroma of pasta sauce simmering on the oven is making me hungry already.  I used to use at least one pound of ground beef in my recipe but now I brown one half pound of sausage (the other half pound of sausage is used for an egg and potato scramble on another day), add one large can of tomatoes with garlic and basil (or Italian style), and one small can of your favorite pizza-pasta sauce (or a small can of tomato sauce, adding your own herbs).  I add two hole cloves of garlic and let it simmer covered on low for about an hour.

When there is time (like today), I take it off the heat and let it just sit and cool down for awhile... letting the ingredients marry even more. I've made pasta sauce all kinds of ways through the years but this ended up being what we liked the best... and it has a meaty flavor with a lot less meat.  I'll add an actual recipe to the recipe blog soon.

I have already mixed together soft butter with dried garlic granules and Lawry's seasoned salt to use on sliced French bread I bought on clearance at Wal Mart over the weekend.  I find it almost always available on the clearance rack and since I use it for garlic bread or French toast... stale is good... and cheap.  :)

I don't mind using white bread products once in awhile since I serve a regular diet of whole grains.

5 comments:

Becky K. said...

That sounds so good. I can almost smell it. Some of my favorite summer days were the ones where Mom was canning spaghetti sauce and had it reducing on the stove. That is what this post reminded me of.

Becky K.

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Glad you are able to get around a bit again. Trust you will be completely well again, soon!

Vee said...

Those muffins sure look delicious and I'm all about easy. Thanks for the recipe. You keep taking good care of yourself.

Anonymous said...

I have intended to try that recipie with the pumpkin and keep forgetting. I'll have to wait until it cools off cause we just can't use the oven now cause of ac expense. Glad you are feeling a wee bit better!

Unknown said...

I've been "a lurker" for quite some time now, but those pumpkin muffins absolutely demand a comment. :-) I tried them last week and they are absolutely amazing. My boys gobbled them up...I believe my 4 year old may have eaten a half dozen in one day! I used squash that I had frozen from last year's harvest and after making the first batch, still had 2 cups left. So, I experimented a little. I'm thrilled to report that using a chocolate cake mix yields a lovely chocolate muffin that reminds us of chocolate zucchini bread. Well worth a try if you like heavy, moist chocolate bread! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Lisa