Marinara - Skinned Tomatoes with Style

Ms. Shirley wanted Red Sauce for her birthday, so she gets Spaghetti and Meatballs. I ended up making it twice since I listen to my husband about how many tomatoes to buy. The good part about not buying enough tomatoes the first time is that I ended up with a more realistically portioned recipe. With minimal further ado, Spaghetti with Meatballs for 4-6 people - when they have salad and bread on the side.

Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
5 Cloves of Garlic, minced
6lb Roma Tomatoes, skinned and crushed
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1 c Dry Red Wine
1 Tbs Fresh Oregano
1 Tbs Fresh Basil
1 Bay Leaf
Cooked Noodles

Use enough Olive Oil to lightly coat the Onion and Garlic. Cook the Onion and Garlic in the Olive Oil over medium-high heat until softened. Add the Roma Tomatoes; stir to combine; and cook on high heat until the sauce begins to bubble. When the sauce begins to bubble, cover the sauce and turn the heat to medium. Cook the sauce covered for an hour, stirring every 5-10 minutes. After an hour (the previously mentioned hour), remove the cover and add the: Bell Pepper, Dry Red Wine, Fresh Oregano, Fresh Basil, and Bay Leaf. Stir to combine and cook uncovered for another 1 - 2 hours, until most of the water boils off. Serve over Cooked Noodles.

Notes:
One chopped onion, in the south, is generally about 3/4 cup.
The 5 minced cloves of garlic are 1 1/2 - 2 Tbs of Garlic.
To skin a tomato:
Boil enough water to cover the tomato.
Add the tomato.
When the tomato's skin splits, put it in ice water.
Once the tomato is cool enough to touch, the skin should come off.
If the skin doesn't come off, repeat the process.
One chopped Bell Pepper is usually about 1/2 cup.
Dried herbs can be used. For me it's worth the extra money to buy fresh herbs, since it takes 3 hours to make this sauce.

In The Joy of Cooking, I used the "Italian-Style Meatballs" recipe for the meatballs in my "Spaghetti and Meatballs."

Happy Birthday, Ms. Shirley and I hope you enjoy your meal! :)

Chicken Enchiladas Christy-style

So I was making an old recipe I have for enchiladas, but I had to modify it for my diet. It originally called for canned soups and so I made a replacement for the canned soups. My husband thought that the replacement sauce was blog-worthy so here is the whole recipe.

You need flour tortillas for this recipe and I like to make my own.

Flour Tortillas - 8
2 c Bread Flour
1/4 c Fat (Lard, Butter, Shortening, etc.)
1 tsp Salt
3/4 c Warm Water (105-115 degrees)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in either a mixer with a bread hook or by hand until smooth. Separate dough into 8 balls and let rest for 10 minutes or so. Roll the balls in rounds (they won't be perfect but who cares) - if the balls resist being flattened, let them rest for longer. Cook the tortillas on a cookie sheet for 4 minutes (you'll have to cook them in separate batches).

Chicken Enchiladas - 6 - 8
9x12x2 Baking Pan
Oil
2 Chicken Breast, cubed
1/4 c Taco Seasoning
3/4 c Onion, chopped (about half an onion)
1/2 c Black Olives, chopped
3/4 c Onion, chopped (the other half of the onion)
1/4 c Carrots, chopped
1 Tbs Garlic, chopped
2 Tbs Water
2 Tbs Chicken Glaze/Bullion
1/4 c Flour
2 c Heavy Cream
16 oz Sour Cream
4 oz Mushrooms, sliced
1 c Cheddar, grated
1 c Monterey Jack, grated
6-8 Flour Tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat Oil, Chicken Breast, Taco Seasoning, Onion, and Black Olives in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the chicken is cooked and the onions are soft. Set Chicken Mixture aside. Cook the Oil, Onion, Carrots and Garlic over high heat until softened. Add water and Chicken Glaze; stir until combined. Add Flour and stir to combine. Add Heavy Cream and cook until heated. Put the Cream Mixture in the blended and blend until smooth. Add the Sour Cream and Sliced Mushrooms to the Cream Mixture. Cook the Cream Mixture until heated. Add 1 cup of the Cream Mixture to the Chicken Mixture and stir to combine. Put 1 cup of Cream Mixture in the bottom of the baking pan. Set Aside Cream Mixture. Combine the Cheddar and the Monterey Jack. Roll the tortillas with Chicken Mixture and Cheese Mixture and pack into the pan once rolled. Add the remaining Cream Mixture and Cheese Mixture on top of the rolled tortillas and bake for 30 minutes.

I hope you enjoy them :)

Modified Baked Potato Soup Recipe

I finally made my baked potato soup recipe and I made some changes, more green onions and less cheese. I baked the potatoes and then scooped out the insides. I cooked the green onions and garlic until they were soft then added the potato innards. I added enough chicken stock to make the potato mixture wet then added the cream. I cooked that until it got warm (about five minutes) and added the cheese. I let the cheese melt and then added the bacon. I used hickory smoked bacon and only 2 slices. It only made two smallish servings, but the biscuits made the meal complete. The biscuits came out richer than I like my biscuits so next time I'm going to put less butter (1/4 c instead of 1/3 c) and add some milk (about 1/4 c).

So an organized version of my rambling:
Baked Potato Soup:
2 lb White or Yukon potatoes
1 Tbs Butter
1 1/2 c Green Onions, chopped
2 Tbs Garlic
1/2 c Chicken Stock
1 c Heavy Cream
1/2 c Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 Slices Bacon, cooked and chopped
Salt
Pepper

Bake the Potatoes at 400 degrees for an hour. Melt the Butter in a pot on med-low heat. Add Green Onions and Garlic and cook until the Green Onions become soft. Chop the Potatoes. Add the Potatoes and Chicken Stock to the Green Onions and Garlic. Add the Heavy Cream and cook until hot over medium heat (about 5 minutes). Add the Cheese and stir until melted. Add the Bacon and stir to mix. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper and serve.