Spaghetti Bolognese

Now most of you will say: who needs a recipe for regular old spaghetti? You may have a point, but since I get so many compliments on mine I'm gonna sock it to you anyway. Because I said so! (Hah, couldn't resist practicing for eventual motherhood.)
The funny thing about this spaghetti is that I didn't learn it from my mom, the big cook, but rather from my dad her dedicated sous chef. My mom pretty much hates ground beef and isn't huge on tomatoes either. Having spaghetti was a fun treat for us when mom was gone and dad was in charge. Much much better than his improvised Indian style shrimp. My poor dad, I guess I've always been a snarky know it all. He tried so hard, and was so proud that he was creative in the kitchen. I had like two bites and asked him for the recipe. He was so excited until I continued and ended my sentence with: "...so I can make it and feed it to my enemies!" Over dramatic 10-year-olds. Now I feel like I should call my dad and apologize for being a little shit and crushing his cooking creativity.

Anyway, maybe we should start with the cooking instead of rambling about my childhood.

Here's what you'll need:

Ground beef large pack (I prefer lean so my sauce doesn't get so greasy)
Spaghetti noodles (honestly you can make this with whatever noodles you have handy)
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
1 small can petite diced tomatoes (You can get them with Italian seasoning, or with chilies for an extra kick)
1 can tomato paste (they usually come in tiny and small, I like the bigger version)
2 cans mushrooms, or fresh when you can get them
Red wine (Can be omitted or substituted with white wine, red is just more traditional)
Worcestershire Sauce
Mustard
Italian Seasoning (or separate: oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, marjoram)
Paprika
Cayenne (You'll notice I pretty much put that on everything)
Salt & Pepper
(If you want, a shot of soy sauce, maggi, or both)

I make my sauce in a big dutch oven, as I only know how to make it in quantities that will feed armies... ;) I used to make it in a sauce pan, which you totally can, I just find this handier, since dutch ovens (or rather my french oven, oh, la, la) are really my go to work horse. Nowadays when I cook I almost always use my dutch oven, sometimes even in baking like this bread here. This bread would also be perfect to turn into garlic bread to go along with your spaghetti.

As usual I like to preheat my dutch oven and preseason my meat with all the dry spices (salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and Italian seasoning) on one side.

Now toss the meat seasoned side down into your dutch oven.

And add another layer of seasoning on top. I like to add lots of seasoning throughout the process.

Brown your meat until it's mostly cooked.

Now deglaze your pot with some red wine. A cup, more or less, however much seems right to you.

Let most of the alcohol boil off, so you have the concentrated flavors, but not the alcohol taste.

Now you can add your canned tomatoes (crushed and diced)

I now also add the liquid seasonings: mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce and/or maggi.

Now I add some more of the Italian seasoning, paprika, and cayenne because I like spices and herbs.

Just because I thought it was a little bit pretty you get a close up pic too.

Once that's all mixed in together, I add in the shrooms. You could add the mushrooms earlier, it doesn't really matter. But now seems as good of a time as any.

Now I also add my tomato paste. The purpose of it is, that it will help thicken the sauce.

Since I like a thicker chunkier sauce I will let it simmer for some time to help it thicken up. This particular sauce has a bit higher tomato to meat ratio than I would usually do, but they are making the meat packages a bit smaller at the store now. This is again kind of up to you to see what your personal preference is.

Serve and enjoy:

Quickie Summary:

Ingredients:
Ground beef ca. 2-3 lbs (I prefer lean so my sauce doesn't get so greasy)
Spaghetti noodles
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
1 small can petite diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste (they usually come in tiny and small, I like the bigger version)
2 cans mushrooms, or fresh when you can get them
Red wine (Can be omitted or substituted with white wine, red is just more traditional)
Worcestershire Sauce
Mustard
Italian Seasoning (or separate: oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, marjoram)
Paprika
Cayenne
Salt & Pepper
(If you want, a shot of soy sauce, maggi, or both)

Season, then brown meat..
Add more seasonings.
Deglaze with wine.
Let the alcohol cook out.
Add crushed and diced tomatoes.
Add more seasoning.
Add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and maggi if you choose.
Add your mushrooms.
Add tomato paste to thicken the sauce.
Simmer down until you've reached the desired consistency.

Shepherd's Pie

The first time I ever had Shepherd's Pie was when Brandy (My husband's brother's girlfriend and the mother of his child) made it. Apparently Brandy's sister Brittany taught her how to make it. I don't know if I make it the same way they do, but it reminds me of her. Sadly Brandy recently passed away in a horrific car accident, leaving her 3 children (Nita, Emma, and Carl) as well as my brother-in-law Joey behind. For me This dish is a good memory of Brandy to have and a way to honor her as a caring mother that she was. So here is my tribute to Brandy.
So, now that we're done with all the heavy stuff, lets get cracking!

Ingredients:
Cream (heavy whipping)
Butter
Potatoes
Shredded Cheese
Ground Beef
Green Beans
Soy Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
Ketchup 
(Maggi if you can get it)
Paprika
Cayenne
Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper

First you need to make your mashed potatoes.

You'll need: cream, butter, and potatoes.

I peel my potatoes and boil them whole. If you're in a hurry and want them to be done faster you can cut your potatoes into smaller pieces.

Make sure you add salt to your potatoes while they are cooking, as potatoes will absorb a lot of salt. That is why you can add a potato to soups or sauces that you've accidentally oversalted in order to absorb exes salt.

While my potatoes are on the stove I begin cooking my meat. As you may know by now I'm a big fan of seasoning, so I get this whole load ready:

Ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce, Maggi, Paprika, Cayenne, Italian Seasoning, Salt, and Pepper.

I like to preseason my meat on one side with the dry seasonings before I throw it into my preheated pot/pan,

The black stuff on here is actually salt.

Charlie's oldest brother Clint and his family gave us this Hawaiian black salt for Christmas amongst other things. It tastes mostly the same as regular salt, but it looks way cooler! Shout out to Clint, Brenda, their daughter Gaby, and especially to their son Justin who picked it out!

OK, back to cooking. I'll stop bragging about my cool family! So you threw your meat into your pot seasoning side down.

Add your second layer of seasoning.

Start breaking up your meat into smaller pieces as you brown it.

Once you've gotten it mostly browned...

...add your liquid seasonings

Ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce, and Maggi if you have it.

I just throw in a bunch of squirts of all of them.

You could also add some mustard if you feel like it. I like to cook it down some, so it isn't too liquidy, but I do want there to me some, so it stays nice and juicy. As you will be baking this for half an hour, and you don't want it to dry out.

Once you cooked the meat all the way through, put it in your casserole dish. Your first layer is complete.

Nomms.

Next we are adding the green beans.

So, I used fresh beans. They didn't cook all the way through in the oven, but I like the crunchiness. If you however don't want that texture, you can parboil your beans or use canned ones.

Layer them on top of your ground beef.

You could also use different veggies if you choose. Carrots are really good too, or peas, or anything else you can think of.

Now your potatoes should be cooked. Time to mash those suckers! I'm a big cheater because I have lovely kitchen appliances. I stick it into my kitchenaid and whip it. That makes the potatoes super light and fluffy. However you can totally use a potato masher and do it by hand.

I add a bunch of butter, cream and a bit of salt. I just keep adding butter and cream until it reaches the desired consistency.

See how fluffy it is?

Now layer your mashed potatoes on top of your green beans.

I add globs of potatoes all over the top, and then smooth it out. If you try and spread it, the beans will stick to the potatoes and get dislocated.

Last layer: Add copious amounts of cheese, 'cause cheese!

Stick it in the oven at 350 for half an hour. (Please don't judge my oven, it has spots that can't be cleaned off, believe me, I tried!.)

Now look at your ooey gooey goodness!

My husband holding his first bowl full of Shepherd's Pie.

It's easily reheatable in the microwave and makes for great leftovers! You could also make this whole dish in advance and refrigerate it till you're ready to make it. Just up the cooking time in the oven a bit to make sure it gets heated all the way through.


Quickie Summary:
Ingredients:
Cream (heavy whipping)
Butter
Potatoes
Shredded Cheese
Ground Beef
Green Beans
Soy Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
Ketchup 
(Maggi if you can get it)
Paprika
Cayenne
Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper

Make your mashed potatoes.
Boil your potatoes.
Whip with butter and cream.

Cook your ground beef.
Season it with your dry spices. (Cayenne, Paprika, Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning)
Brown the meat.
Add your liquid seasonings. (Ketchup, Soy Sauce, Worcestershire, Maggi if you have it)
Cook it down a bit.
Layer the meat into the bottom of your casserole dish.

Layer your beans on top of the meat.

Layer your mashed potatoes on top.

Sprinkle cheese liberally on top.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for half an hour.

Bacon-Chicken-Corn-Chowder

This is one of my absolute favorite dishes. My mom made it for me twice and I've just adapted it somewhat. It is also my boss's favorite dish that I make. It's great to make for larger gatherings because you can make it in large quantities. You may have noticed, that I only cook for armies. It might actually be more necessary to adapt it for smaller quantities. It is also easy to freeze.

Anyway, time to get started. These are the ingredients you'll need.

2 cartons of chicken broth (I used two 1-Liter tetra packs, I prefer this brand as it's local and organic)
Heavy whipping cream (I used about a pint and a half)
1 bag frozen corn (I use the slightly larger mediumish sized one)
1 bag frozen hash browns cubed (not seasoned - they are just so much easier and taste just as good)
1 2 lbs bag of fresh carrots
1 bag celery (it's like a head of celery)
Chicken (my amount was just under 3 lbs. I used skinless boneless chicken thighs. Chicken breasts work fine and I used them for this recipe regularly, but the chicken thighs have a bit more flavor.)
Bacon
Salt
Pepper
Italian seasoning
Chicken or vegetable broth cubes (I used two this time)
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Maggi seasoning if you have it

And there's one more optional ingredient:

White wine to deglaze your pot and add concentrated flavor.

So there are different ways you can do this.
I tend to peel my carrots, but it's not necessary if you scrub them very well. Most of the vitamins are right under the skin, I just don't like the texture that much.

Now chop them up into pieces. At the bottom half where they are skinnier I just cut them into coin pieces. The top half that is thicker I tend to split down the center and then cut them into half moon pieces

Now toss them in a bowl and reserve.

Next up is the celery. Make sure you rinse it really well. At the base where they connect to the roots dirt will accumulate and be pretty resistant to cleaning off. So take the head apart and clean the stalks individually.

Cut off the bases and tips. You can include the greenery (I.a. the leaves, they taste good, but can get wilted really fast, so it's a matter of preferences yet again.) I cut them as they are for the most part they automatically make the half moon shapes, but at the base where they are thicker I sometimes cut a slice half way through like this, so it halves the size:

Now chop them up. For some reason chopping celery is immensely satisfying to me. Maybe it's the crunch and resistance, but not too much resistance. Regardless, I love it!

Put the chopped up celery with your carrots. (You don't really need a pic for this, but I just like the colors, so fresh and healthy looking, so you get one anyway.)

Now it's time to chop up your bacon. You could do this first, but I like having my veggies ready. If you're great at time management you can do these two steps reversed.

I just cut it into thin strips. You can also use the weedwacker bacon I wrote about in my recipe for Bacon Pinwheels.

Begin rendering the bacon in the pot you are planing to use for the soup. In the past I've used my various dutch oven pots, but my mom picked up this fabulous stock pot for us after our wedding. It's perfect for my chowder.

While the bacon is rendering, I cut up my chicken. You will notice that I am using dark chicken meat. I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs this time. You can absolutely use chicken breasts, which I do most of the time, but the chicken thighs are more flavorful, however also more fatty. So if you are on a diet stick with chicken breasts. Well, to be honest, diet food this soup is not, it has tons of heavy whipping cream in it. But great for a warm, cozy, fall night where you're living in chunky sweaters. You can work out in spring. ^^

The reason you're rendering the bacon is because this will be the base fat for everything in the soup. You could use olive oil or any other oil instead of the bacon and the bacon fat. I like the bacon fat because it adds a whole new level of flavor. Multidimensionality.
Once the bacon has been rendered you can add your carrots and celery.

Toss them so they are all coated in the grease and sautee them.

Now I'm adding the two bouillon cubes. I prefer Knorr. They're a great brand and always available at my local Winco. I used to use them when I lived in Germany too. If you have a Winco here's an insider tip. Check out the Hispanic foods section. They have the same chicken bouillon for a cheaper price and a larger quantity. It's worth a gander.

If you use them it goes quite a bit faster if you also break them up with your wooden stirring spoon.

Now I use a lot of white wine to deglaze my pot. If you are omitting the wine, you can use the broth to deglaze your pan.

I used about half a bottle.

Cook it down until almost all of the wine has evaporated. Then add your chicken and cook it up some.

Add a bunch of your Italian seasoning. (Sorry for the blurry pictures, the steam really interferes with my picture taking process!)

Add the broth to your pot.

Add your corn, potatoes, more Italian seasoning, pepper, and some salt. Now add liberal splashes of the worcestershire sauce, the soy sauce, and the Maggi.

Last but not least, add a bunch of cream, I added about a pint and a half of heavy whipping cream.

I usually let it simmer for a good long time to ensure everything is fully cooked, especially since I usually make it in advance of when I want to eat it.
Serve it on its own, or with this delicious No knead artisan style bread.

My husbands not a huge fan of broth and likes his soups really chunky, so that's usually how I make them.

I hope you enjoy the food. I'd love to get some feedback on what you like and what not. Please feel free to leave me a comment or shoot me an email. I'm interested in any kind of feedback, whether constructive criticism or praise which is always nice too. :)