Sonya's Sesame Cold Noodle

What to do with those left over spaghetti noodles?  Make some Cold Noodle.  George, my hubby, makes his own good cold noodle.  His are good too.  But here is my creation.  Often with these homemade recipes, it's a splash and a dash here and there and this is no exception.

Just toss something like this onto your refrigerated cold left over noodles:

White wine vinegar
Olive oil
Dash of Sherry
Sesame Seed Oil
Hot Chili Oil
Red Pepper Flakes
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Basil
Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Romano Cheese

Experiment with your own!  

Spanish Rice

1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion
1 medium green pepper
1 can (15 oz) tomato suce
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 2/3 cup cooked brown rice

(I added Soy, Sugar, and a little MSG to make the flavors pop).

In a large skillet, cook beef, onion and pepper over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender, breaking up beef into crumbles, drain.

Stir into tomato sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings, bring to a boil.  Add rice, heat through , stirring occasionally.

English Pea Casserole

English Pea Casserole

2 Cans drained English Peas
1 Medium Onion
1 Stick Butter
1 can pimientos
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

Saute a medium onion in 1 stick of butter, add peas, chop and add 1 can of pimientos, and add 1 can cream of mushroom soup.
Bake in a casserole dish at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly.

Mississippi Mud Cake

This was my Mom's recipe.  It was passed to her from someone at church I think.  I fixed it and it was a real crowd pleaser.  I copied exactly as I had copied from hers.  It's sortof listed in step by step format as far as ingredients so be sure to read throughout as not all of the ingredients are listed at the top. 

MISSISSIPPI MUD

2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Wesson Oil
4 Eggs


Mix above mixture and beat until smooth.
Sift and add 1 1/2 cups of self rising flour. 
Then add the following:  

1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup evanporated milk
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup nuts (if desired)

Mix well and  bake in greased 9 x 11 1/2 pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and cover with a package of miniature marshmallows.  Return to oven 10 minutes until marshmallows brown just a little. 

Ice Cake with:

1 1/2 stick melted margarine
1 lb box confectioners sugar
1/3 cup coco
1 cup nuts (if desired) 
Gradually add milk

Chicken Basting Sauce

I fixed this sauce to pour over chicken and bake it.  We really liked it and I wanted to save it. Just a splash of this and that.  I didn't have ingredient amounts.  Have enough butter to basted it with and just pinchs and splashes of everything else.

Butter
Real lemonjuice
Sugar
tarragon
hot pepper flakes
garlic powder
salt
black pepper
oregano
basil
onion powder

Additions:  You know you can make it what you want based on flavors you like.  Suggestions/variations would be:  white wine, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, hot sauces, any kind of sauce you like in your fridge or pantry.  This is what makes cooking fun.  Experimenting.

And I've found that chicken cooked in a clay pot OR even in a pyrex dish with the cover on - allows more of the juices and flavor to be kept, whereas a metal pan often dries it out.  Learning this has really made a difference in our chicken dinners.  We used to always use a metal pan. 

Sonya's Balsamic Cold Noodles

Well, I just throw this together.  No measurements.  Any kind of noodle.  I usually make this with leftover spaghetti noodles b/c you know there's NEVER enough sauce!  So just add the following ingredients (as per your taste and fancy) to your favorite noodles:

Chopped tomatoes
Feta Cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Scallions
Pepper flakes
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Sugar
Then add Parmesan Cheese atop!

Refrigerate!

Thai Peanut Marinade for Chicken

Ok so perhaps you may have to buy a few ingredients for these.  Some ingredients here are not what the average person keeps in their pantry. It is well worth your time.  This is some of the BEST chicken I have EVER had.  What makes cooking and eating fun, is by experimenting with new flavor combinations.  George took a recipe and twisted it a bit and came up with his own.  And let me tell you, it was heavenly.  It was not too "peanutyy" as many thai peanut marinades can be.  It was just the right flavors.  George tried to re-create for me the ingredients he used. I will put the real recipe here and put George's substitutions in parenthesis. Here goes. 

Thai Peanut Marinade

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar (George used a mix of rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, and white wine vinegar)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (George used the bottled lime juice)

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (George used lite brown sugar)

1/2 Asian or domestic cold-pressed peanut oil  (George used ginger oil but said any oil would do)

1 tablespoon sesame oil  (George said this was very important - no substitution here!)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh lemongrass (George used coriander seed instead)

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed, about one tablespoon

2 tablespoons chopped shallots or green onions (white onion was used)

1 cup of peanut butter

1-inch cube fresh ginger root, diced (George used ginger powder)

1 tablespoon curry powder or Garam Masala** (George used a mixture of these both)

For the chicken he cubed up some chicken thigh meat and marinated the cubes for several hours.  Recipe recommends at least six hours, preferably overnight.  
Then George put them on skewers and grilled them.  However, you can fry them in peanut oil, after coating them with flour, peanuts, and garam masala all shaken in a paper bag.  I loved the grilled version and the taste was awesome.  I'm sure fried would be good too.  But grilling may actually keep that flavor alive!  ENJOY and I hope you fix this b/c it was special.  I'm keeping it on my blog for reference for myself!

**Garam Masala - is an Indian sweet spice used in curries and marinades and gives off a sweet exotic fragrance. There are many variations of this, but you can make your own or buy a blend already made.  

We use Penzey Spices for any exotic spice blends.  It's just easier!  Get on their mailing list and you will get a catalog periodically with all their spices and spice blends one thing we like is that there are lots of neat recipes in their catalog.  When you order, they always send a free gift.  We have really enjoyed trying their various spice blends on chicken, meat, fish, potatoes.  Fun to taste varied flavors.  We will stand at the kitchen and smell the spices and try to pick which one to use by eliminating one at the time.  lol

Bottom line is ENJOY.  Penzey's motto is "Love People.  Cook them tasty food."