Taglierini Alla Chitarra

Okay, trust me on this one...it is delish. It smells heavenly. It sounds fancy, It looks fancy. But easy enough for a weeknight dinner and delicious enough for company! Don't let the unknown ingredients scare ya...Pancetta is similar to Canadian bacon and you can get Pecorino cheese at Kroger.

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
7 oz. Pancetta, cut into julienne strips (found packaged in deli meat section of Kroger)
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
¼ cup small fresh basil leaves, chopped
ground pepper
3 oz. pecorino cheese (found near fancy cheeses in deli at Kroger)
fresh Parmesan cheese (wedge)...optional
Pasta of your choice (angel hair is nice)

Heat oil in saucepan over moderate heat, add the onion and pancetta and brown for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer, covered, over very low heat for 1 hour. Just before removing sauce from heat, add the basil and a good pinch of pepper. Serve over cooked pasta and sprinkle with **grated Pecorino or fresh parmesan cheese.

**The Microplane Zester is one of my favorite kitchen tools, and it is fun to use! You can find them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or any gourmet cooking store.

Serve with your favorite baguette bread and a nice red wine for an extra special easy, lovely meal!

Freezer Biscuits

5 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup shortening, butter or a combo of both
1 envelope yeast
2 Tbsp warm water
2 cups buttermilk

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Cut the shortening into the flour with a pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse sand. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add both the yeast water and the buttermilk to the flour. Knead the dough until it is no longer sticky and feels elastic. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into circles and lay on a cookie sheet.

Freeze until hard and then place into a freezer container. To use: bake at a preheated 425 degrees until tops are light brown...about 15 minutes. You can bake these either frozen or unfrozen. If you let them thaw, they will rise a bit because of the yeast

Mark's Magnificent Meat Rub

From:  http://singingwithbirds.blogspot.com/

Combine:

• 1 cup of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup of white pepper
• 1/4 cup of Lawry's Garlic Salt.

Add it to a cute jar, add a label, and Ho! Ho! Ho!, I'm thinkin' a bow for a fabulously inexpensive, fast and easy Christmas Neighbor Gift....yes, it's that good and that cheap. I'm lookin' for jars on sale!



Sprinkle it on your meat before grilling and rub it in. Slap it on the grill and....

you will have the most delicious, well seasoned steaks...no steak sauce needed!

http://singingwithbirds.blogspot.com/2010/08/fire-up-grill.html

Cajun Seasoning

• 2 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Optional: garlic and onion powders

Combine the salt, oregano, paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in a plastic bag and shake to mix.

Tartar Sauce

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1 tablespoon minced capers
• 1 hard-cooked egg, chopped
• salt to taste
• salt and white pepper to taste
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, capers, and egg. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a dash hot pepper sauce. Stir. Chill.

Best Ever Popcorn Balls

• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 2 teaspoons cold water
• 2 5/8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup marshmallows
• 5 quarts plain popped popcorn

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, margarine, cold water, confectioners' sugar and marshmallows. Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Carefully combine the hot mixture with the popcorn, coating each kernel.

• Grease hands with vegetable shortening and quickly shape the coated popcorn into balls before it cools. Wrap with cellophane or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

Love this soft chewy recipe!!!! EASY!!! A quick way to make balls is to oil a cup(measuring cup works well) ans stuff coated popcorn in. A tap to the bottom of the cup onto waxed paper leaves beautiful balls! Yum!! I've made them a few times and love them but add 2 teaspoons of vanilla to flavor Remember to butter hands before playing in coated popcorn or it'll stick!.

Using the insert for crock pot sprayed w/cooking spray and 1 1/2 bags of popcorn, used 1/2 of hot syrup mixing w/sprayed spatula and 1 measuring cup for shaping balls as well as spatula. I just sprayed one hand and rubbed hands to help further shape if needed. The syrup mixture was then reheated and process was repeated. It came out perfect, little bigger than baseball about 22 servings. Used zip sandwich bags to hold and give out.

Florentine Artichoke Dip

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 7x11 inch baking dish.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Mix in the artichoke hearts, spinach and Parmesan cheese. Season with garlic and lemon juice. Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish.

3. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove the cover, and let the dish bake uncovered for 5 more minutes, or until the surface is lightly browned.

To be perfectly honest, this dip tasted better than the ones I've eaten from restaurants.........seriously. You can definitely make some changes to it, but once you find your perfect combination, you'll be extremely satisfied. First alteration I made was halving the cream cheese. Second, I halfed the mayo and added a little sour cream. You will definitely want to do something with the artichokes if you don't purchase marinated ones, or even if you do. I chopped mine up some more after they were drained and seasoned them with two kinds of seasoned salt, onion and garlic powder, a little black pepper, a small dash of italian seasoning and a couple of drops of hot sauce.   I also mixed a little garlic powder with the spinach after it was drained. Didn't use garlic cloves however next time, I will use only a couple and they'll be diced. Make sure you grease your dish with a non-stick cooking spray as well as a little Country Crock and you'll have one of the best spinach dips you've ever tasted.

This recipe was outstanding! I took the advice of others and used only 1 block cr.cheese, 1 jar marinated artichokes(cut up),1 box spinach, 1/2 cup mayo, 1/3 cup sour cream and shredded parmesan cheese. Save a couple tsps of the artichoke marinade and add to dip, too. I serve it w/blue corn chips. Everyone has loved this dip and wanted the recipe. I even make it the day before my party and refrigerate. Then I bake it for about 40 mins if it's coming from the frig. This recipe is a winner for sure!! No fail!!

Wow--This recipe is fabulous. I followed the recipe mostly--but since I tend to like things with lots of garlic and a bit spicy-hot, I added an extra clove of garlic and some red pepper flakes. I was also pleased with how easy this recipe was to make; I had never made a dip like this and was extremely pleased at how simple it was. My only warnings are: (1) unless you are taking this to a large gathering, you may want to half it because it makes a ton of dip! (2) even though you may purchase chopped spinach--chop it again to avoid large pieces. The brand I bought said chopped on the package but there were many whole pieces included