OVEN-ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE!

Used over spaghetti with hot Italian sausage!

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against pasta sauce that comes in a jar, but once in a while we like to make this homemade pasta sauce that I got from a magazine sample that I received in the mail called "Cuisine at Home" (which I was VERY tempted to subscribe to, but didn't because I barely get through the cooking ones that I have!).  It was in there for use as the sauce for pizza, but it's great for a simple yet delicious pasta.  If you have the time to wait for it to roast, totally worth it!

Makes 5 cups; Total time: 50 minutes
(I make about half of this recipe for 3-4 servings of pasta, but you could always save some sauce for another day)

Ingredients:
4 lbs. Roma tomatoes, quartered (8 cups)
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup snipped fresh basil (if I don't have it, I use dried and it works out okay)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt, pepper flakes, and sugar in a large baking dish.  Toss tomato mixture with olive oil.
3. Roast until tomatoes soften, 35-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and mash with a potato masher, keeping tomatoes a bit chunky.
4. Stir in basil.

This time we threw in some cooked hot Italian sausage to add a little spice and meat, but we've had pasta a couple of times with just the sauce.  We've also tried it on pizza and it's delicious!

JALAPENO POPPERS! BAKED!

Baked jalapeno poppers!  Yes, I would make them again!

Indulgence before food restrictions!  We had leftover jalapenos, and I had been wanting to try making jalapeno poppers, so why not??  Since we were having them with quesadillas, I figured I should bake them instead of frying them.  Still delicious!

Makes 6 jalapeno poppers
6 good-sized jalapenos
4 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened
Dash cayenne pepper
1/2 chopped green onion
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wrap foil over a shallow baking pan and spray lightly with cooking spray.
3. Slit jalapenos down the center on one side, do not cut all the way through.  Remove seeds and membrane.
4. Mix together cream cheese, cayenne pepper, and green onion in a small bowl.
5. Stuff the jalapenos with the cream cheese mixture and press the slit closed.
6. Mix the egg and milk in a bowl, and place the bread crumbs in another bowl, and the flour in a third bowl.
7. Carefully dip each jalapeno in the flour, then the egg mixture, then the bread crumbs and place slit-side up in the baking pan.
8. Bake for 30 minutes until the outside is golden and crunchy.

We ate them with sauteed onion and cheddar quesadillas, served with cilantro sour cream!  Indulgence on cheese to the max.  Perhaps these will make an appearance during football season!... if we have one.  

Slit and seeded

Coated and going in the oven!

Served with quesadillas, salsa, and cilantro sour cream

DEVILED BEEF SHORT RIB STEW

Tender and flavorful!  When I get the chance, will DEFINITELY make it again!

I had the day off a few weeks ago and going along with playing housewife for the day, I realized I had time to actually prepare a slow-cooked meal for dinner!  Although it's made in the slow cooker, the prep beforehand and the sauce afterwards makes it a little more involved than other slow cooker recipes.  This recipe comes from the Cooking with Beer recipe book that David got from his parents.  Great stuff from that book so far!

Modified to make 3-4 servings
2 pounds beef short ribs, trimmed
1 pound small red potatoes, scrubbed and scored
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
6 ounces beer
4 tablespoons French's Spicy Brown mustard, divided
1.5 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Broil ribs 6 inches from heat on rack in broiler pan 10 minutes or until well browned, turning once.  Place vegetables in bottom of slow cooker.  Place ribs on top of vegetables.
2. Combine beer, 3 tablespoons mustard and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire in medium bowl.  Pour into slow cooker.  Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 5 hours or on LOW for 10 hours or until meat is tender.
3. Transfer meat and vegetables to platter; keep warm.  Strain fat from broth; pour broth into saucepan.  Combine cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water in small bowl.  Stir into broth with remaining 1 tablespoon mustard and 0.5 tablespoon Worcestershire.  Heat to boiling, reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring often.  Pass gravy with meat and vegetables.  Serve meat with additional mustard.

There was enough sauce that we didn't need additional mustard to serve it, and we had a little piece of toasted french bread to go with it.  Slow cooker dishes and short ribs are fantastic!  The meat was so tender and the flavors in this dish were great.

After the short ribs were broiled and first placed in the slow cooker.

Done in the slow cooker!

Cut into pieces and kept warm on the side while the sauce was being made