Chili Macaroni

Hello Everyone,

Here is a recipe I have made so many times I could make it blindfolded! Ok so maybe not blindfolded, but I have made it many times and never the same way twice! You will find in different parts of the country that it’s called by different names. American Chop Suey, and goulash are the other two names people call it. I have always called it chili mac, because to me it’s a mixture of chili, with macaroni added. It is my favorite one pot dish! Many years ago when I worked in home health, we had a client that lived with us and this was his favorite dish! He would eat 3-4 plate fulls of it and then would complain his stomach was too full! I would think well duhh, you ate too much! Sometimes you can’t tell people what to do! Wow, that was a long time ago!!! So here is the recipe, I finally took the time to write it all down, instead of just throwing it all into the pot! 🙂

Chili Macaroni:

1-1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce, low sodium

1 (14.5 oz.) can fire roasted tomatoes, chopped

1-1/2 cups low sodium beef broth

3 tbsp chili powder, more or less to your taste.

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

2 cups uncooked macaroni

Heat a large cooking pot, brown the beef in batches, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook just until brown. Add in the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic, cook until the onion and celery are tender, on medium-low heat, about 10 minutes. Stirring the mixture every couple of minutes. Add in the tomato sauce, tomatoes, broth, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil on medium heat, then add the 2 cups uncooked macaroni. Turn heat to medium-low, and cook until macaroni is tender and some of the liquid is evaporated, I leave the lid off. Adjust seasoning’s to your taste. Sometimes I add a can or whole kernel corn, sharp cheddar cheese, canned beans and sliced black olives. Enjoy! 🙂

I know it’s been awhile since I have posted, I have been really sick. My last Dr appt she told me I am anemic, and had low vitamin D. I have been in so much pain, that all I have been able to do, is some laundry, dishes, and I try to do some sweeping. I can’t believe, how simple little chores can be very hard on me or I can’t do them at all. I can’t go on the floor on my knees, because it’s very painful and sometimes I have a really hard time getting back up. One of these days I’m afraid I will fall and break my leg, back, or my hip, then I’ll be up the creek without a paddle… My feet are completely numb, whenever I walk around the house I wear house slippers, because if I don’t I step on stuff and can’t feel it. That’s part of the reason I don’t drive much anymore. Hopefully someday I will get better, but it my future doesn’t look to good. I have thought about moving into an assisted living home at times. I feel like a burden on Ray and my family can’t help or don’t want to. I don’t hear from them too much, except for a few of them. I know they are all busy with their lives, and some are sick, so maybe that’s why I don’t hear from them.. Well sorry for sounding sad, I just needed to vent a little I guess..

Until next time, if there is a next time…

Amanda..

P.S. I do really love our new home! It’s really nice to have all this space!!!

 

Pistachio Pesto

Hello everyone,

Awhile ago I bought some pistachio nuts for a Aarti’s recipe for Bombay Sloppy Joes. Well, I had a lot of them left and just didn’t know what do with them. They are not my favorite nut, that would be macadamia nuts! Yummy!! So I hunted around the web for a while to see what looked good and jumped out at me. This recipe is a modified versions of Alton Browns on Food Networks site. It is fantastic, not something I would have thought up on my own. I just don’t make pesto sauce that much..

Pistachio Pesto:

4 cloves garlic

4 cups fresh parsley

4 tbsp. fresh lemon thyme leaves

2 tbsp. fresh sage leaves

1 cup parmesan cheese

1-1/2  cups pistachio nuts

1-1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Finely puree all ingredient’s together in a food processor. Serve over hot cooked pasta.

I am going to Ronald McDonald house this Friday. They asked for something simple since they are having another group come in at 10 or 11am, to cook lunch. I thought I would make rice crispy treats and a chocolate peanut butter no bake cookie. Both are very easy and no hot oven to heat up the kitchen!!

I saw the new Dr. yesterday, she seems really nice and wants to help me.. She asked a lot of different questions about the Sarcoid symptoms I have been having.. They took 8 vials of blood and exrays of my ribs, hands and feet. One Dr. keeps asking me if I had ever broken a rib in my back. I said I don’t know??? I fell of the back of a horse one time when I was a kid and got the wind knocked out of me. There is one other thing that happened, that could have caused it. When I was 11, a person beat me with metal slotted spoon. I had welts from the back of my neck to the back of my knees.. I won’t say who did this to me, and no I didn’t get any medical treatment for this either.. I’ll know something next week I hope.. She said something about trying a different medication. I did get to the Y this morning, I really needed to go. I have been and am still in a lot of pain in my back and legs. I don’t know what happened, but I am so sore, it hurts to move. The water did help, I even sat in the hot tub for about 10 minutes. I have avoided the hot tub, mainly because there has always been a lot of old creepy men in there.. I wish they had 2 hot tubs, one for men and one for women. I can’t go in the sauna, it would take my breath away…

Well I better go for now.. I need to bake my husband some chocolate chip cookies, he’s been asking for me for a while to bake some.. I like baking something so simple for him. Makes him happy.! 🙂

Until next time…

Amanda 🙂

 

Cheeseburger Pasta and Idaho Steelheads and 3-D Care Bear Cakes.

Hello all,

I delivered the 2 cakes today, one was an Idaho Steelheads hocky player, the other was a 3-D Care Bears cake. The people loved them, I love seeing how there faces light up when they see there cakes. It made my day despite all the pain I’m in. I was up until 2am getting the cakes done. Thank goodness there wasn’t any more spills or mess’s ect… 🙂  The hocky cake was a spice cake with a creame brulee icing. The Care Bears cake was strawberry with buttercream icing. The cream bruleee icing tasted an smelled so good, I’ll post the recipe below for that one. 

I haven’t made anything else foodrelated this week, I have someting wrong with my right leg. Taking way to much pain meds and nothing helps. I’m seeing my Dr. tomarrow, and she shinks I might have a blood clot. If I do I’ll be in the hospital.. 😦  It’s very painful even to walk. This all related to the Sarcoidosis, it can effect your arteries as well. I  hope it’s nothing more that bad leg cramp!!! I want to bake my nephew’s Transformer cake tomarrow. He has been asking me about it for months. When we went to my mom’s house Saturday to decorate cookies, the kids were allready there. Abby jumped up and yelled my name and came running to hug my legs, and Bo yelled out our names and said he missed us. I’m still crying thinking about it… I am so frustrated with this disease and what it’s taken away from me,  my energy, eyesight, and I can’t have children…  That’s why I bake it’s all I have right now….

Here’s the recipe for the icing,

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted ***

1 stick unsalted butter, softened. No substitutes!

1/2 cup Crisco shortening

4-6 T. Cream Brulee liquid coffee creamer,more if needed, for desired consistency

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. butter extract

1/8 tsp. popcorn salt

Mix all ingredient’s together well. 

I have only used this on spice cake so far, I think it would be good with a butter cake as well. I’ll have to try it out and see!!! 

Note on powdered sugar: use only pure cane powdered sugar, some brands of powdered siugar is beet sugar and doesn’t dissolve well in icing. This will cause you alot of trouble with piping, like writing!! Beat sugar clogs up those small tips, and it’s frutrating to keep changing or washing tips.

Here’s another recipe for you all to try:

Cheeseburger Pasta

1 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

6 slices bacon, diced

1 (10 3/4oz.) can, condensed tomato soup, undiluted

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 Tblsp. dried minced onion

1 tsp. granulated garlic

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced no salt added tomatoes, undrained

In skillet cook beef with dried onion and granulated garlic, until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In the same pan cook the bacon until crisp; remove to paper toweling and discard drippings. Add all the ingredients back into skillet and heat through, until cheese is melted.

This one of my favorites!!