Meaty Spaghetti Sauce

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Ahhh... home cooked meals. Traditional goodness passed down from generation to generation. This was the spaghetti sauce I ate growing up. It's thick and chunky, and full of amazing flavor. After trying this, you'll never go back to canned sauce again!

You'll notice that the recipe allows for a few hours of simmering time. This is to get the best taste out of the herbs. Your house will also smell amazing! However, this spaghetti sauce is amazing after a short cooking time as well. Brown the beef, drain, and cook everything together for 30 minutes or so. Serve over hot noodles with warm bread and a salad!

Meaty Spaghetti Sauce
The Double Dipped Life


1 lb Ground Beef
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper
1 TB Basil
1/4 teas minced garlic
2 TB chopped (or dried) parsley
1 bay leaf
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
spaghetti noodles
Parmesan or mozzarella cheese

Brown meat, drain fat. In the same pan, add in onion, celery, and mushrooms. Cook until soft.
Add browned meat and remaining ingredients and simmer 2-3 hours until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally. Add water if too thick.

Serve over hot noodles! Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and/or mozzarella cheese.
Enjoy!

Thai food at it's finest

Yes, I know. I quit. But... the very next day I made this dish. And oh, how delightful. 

Picture from Thelontfamily.blogspot.com

I can't tell you how good this dish it.  The flavors of peanuts, limes, ginger,  curry, cilantro all stand out, yet manage to blend together to make an amazing bite. 

The original recipe is from  Love at Home, and is a crock pot dish. However, I just couldn't manage to get it going in the crock pot, so I made it on the stove top. And you know what? I really think that method is better. I think that's why the individual flavors stood out so much. 

Thai Peanut Chicken

Adapted from Love at Home

2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges

1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (3 medium)

1/2 to 1 red sweet pepper, cut into bite sized pieces

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

3/4 cup chicken broth

3 Tb peanut butter (I used crunchy, smooth is fine as well) 

1/2 teas finely shredded lime peel (Mine were rather large, but I actually sought them out- so good!)

2 Tb lime juice

2 Tb soy sauce

**If you are slow cooking, include 2 Tb quick-cooking tapioca. I did not use this for the stove top method.

1 Tb grated ginger (Ginger freezes well, so you don't waste the rest!)

2-3 teas red curry paste

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup frozen peas (I omitted)

Hot cooked rice

Chopped Peanuts (Optional, but so good! Adds texture and salt to the dish)

Chopped Fresh Cilantro (Optional, but come on, you need it!)

 

**Stove top directions (Prefered):  

Heat a few Tb oil in a large sauce pan.  Saute' onions, carrots, and sweet pepper until soft. I was working with frozen chicken, so I boiled that in water while the veggies were cooking. If your chicken is ready to go, add it to the veggies, set the stove top to medium low, and cover.  Cook until chicken is done.

In another pan combine broth, peanut butter, lime peel, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, curry paste, and garlic; stir until combined. Bring to a simmer.  One comment- at this point, the dish does not look very appetizing.  Stick with it, you'll be so glad you did! 

Add in the coconut milk and the peas if using. Cook until heated through, but do not boil. Add in the chicken and veggie mixture.  

Serve the chicken and sauce over hot cooked rice. Top with peanuts and cilantro. 

Enjoy!   

 **Crockpot directions: Place onions, carrrots, and sweet pepper in the crock pot. Add chicken. In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, peanut butter, lime peel, lime juice, soy sauce, tapioca, ginger, curry paste, and garlic, until smooth. Pour over the chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Stir in coconut milk and peas. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. 

Is this the end?

Good Morning! All of my life, I have always switched passions frequently. My passions and interests come and go due to different circumstances, or maybe I'm just fickle. Who knows! What I do know is that it makes for some interesting learning experiences!

I'm bringing this up now because my blog is dying. You've probably noticed that all I seem to post nowadays is my Secret Recipe Club assignment. I started this blog after my candy business ended. It was suddenly fun to be in the kitchen. But now... it's fading. I still love to cook and bake, but not on a schedule. And then I feel guilty that I haven't posted for so long! I'm just so busy with family and school that it's hard to keep up a blog as well. I've got to focus more on these little people:

I will also be focusing more on simple meals that are cheap but nutritious. I'm spending too much money on the "new" recipes, and often my kids won't even eat them! Time to refocus my meals so I won't go crazy like this:

So... I won't be shutting down completely, but I probably won't have new content unless something changes. Life is too short to stay in one place too long!

Thank you for all of your support and love, especially those who have been around since Double Dipped Sweets. I'll still be visiting  you!

Love you,
 Krista