Dough-rrific

Things to ponder…
if you were ever in a quandary
about what to cook for dinner
or needed a side dish to go along with your meal…
and it just so happened that your pantry
was not stocked to its fullest…
I mean, theoretically...
surely this would never happen,
but MAYBE, just maybe it did one time.

And after much deep thought,
you realize that you might
could make up a complete meal….
if only you had some pasta.

SO, would you rather:
A: Get in the car,
drive five or ten minutes to a store
and pay five dollars for 'homemade' pasta,
then drive five to ten more minutes
back home and spend fifteen more minutes cooking it?
OR
B: Stay in your pajamas (that you’ve had on all day)
and make your own pasta,
basically for free in fifteen minutes or less?
Messier?  Maybe. 
More delicious-er?  Most definitely.

You can decide.
Really, there’s no pressure.
Please don’t hate.

I may have a sickness.

Okay, so maybe I've done this recently.
It was seriously not worth the makeup to go out
and it was seriously worth it when we tasted the pasta.

I hope you'll stay in your pajamas one day
and make some pasta.

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
Yep, we just chat it up all the time! ;)

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 eggs for every cup of flour

That's it.  That's all you need.
The Pioneer Woman says to figure
1 egg for each person you'll be feeding.
We found that we fed a little more than that.

My first go round, I used 3 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of flour.
Cut the pasta into skinny spaghetti shapes
and it made enough for a 9x13 pan of
chicken spaghetti.

The next go round, I made the basic recipe
and it fed 4 for dinner as a side dish.

WHAT TO DO:

Measure flour into medium size bowl 

and make a well in the middle of it.

Crack both eggs into the 'well'
and with one hand, begin to work in

the flour a bit at a time -

squeezing the eggs to break the yolks

as you go.  Nice and messy.

This is why you just want to use one hand.

Continue mixing the goo together until it is
completely combined.  Mix and knead

until it is nice and smooth -

adding a bit of flour in as needed
to keep from sticking.

Let the dough rest for 10 or 15 minutes.

Using a good heavy rolling pin,

begin to roll dough as thin as you possibly can.

(If you have a pasta machine, even better)
But this is not hard to do.  At. All.

Roll dough and rotate as you go,

adding a little flour here and there

to keep from sticking to the counter.

Using a very long knife, a pizza roller or a pizza cutter

cut the dough into the shapes you would like.

You could even make ravioli!

As the dough pieces sit and rest,

fill a large stock pot with a couple of quarts

of water and a few tablespoons of salt.

Place on high heat and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, slowly add pasta and begin to stir.

When water comes back up to a boil,

lower heat to medium.

Homemade pasta only needs to cook a couple of minutes.

For spaghetti, approximately 2 minutes!

 Drain pasta and eat to your hearts desire.

I really feared this pasta would be too delicate

for something such as chicken spaghetti

but it held up extremely well and was

most excellent I must say.

We also like it with just some butter
and olive oil - it's really great

served up with Baked Italian Salad

shown in the pic below! Yumm.

You could get so creative with this

and your kids would absolutely shout

if they got to participate!

ENJOY!!!

Bacon-aisse!

HE DID IT!
Oh yes he did. 
Your eyes are not deceiving you.  
 My mountain man searched and researched
and tweaked and measured
(well, maybe not so much measuring)
but he made homemade mayo out of bacon grease
instead of another oil, such as olive or veggie.

Make it if you dare – keep it in your man cave –
spread it on toast, biscuits, a spoon,
whatever men like with bacon…or mayonnaise. 

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 egg yolk per half cup of bacon grease

¾ teaspoon or so Dijon mustard

Salt/Pepper to taste

1 teaspoon lemon juice

(He tripled these ingredients
which made about a pint jar
of bacon-naise goodness)

WHAT TO DO:

In the small bowl of a food processor, 

process egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice 

and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.   

Have the bacon fat warm enough to be liquid, but not hot.   

With the machine running, gradually and slowly, 

drizzle in the fat into the processor.   

Emulsify for about 2 minutes.  

 Once it starts to emulsify

you can begin pouring the bacon fat more quickly.  

 If the ‘mayonnaise’ is too thick, 

just blend in 1 teaspoon of boiling water to thin it.  

 Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.   

Refrigerate in a good sealed container or Mason jar. 

By the way, if you want to make mayonnaise,

minus the bacon grease part -
just swap out the grease for a good oil
such as canola or olive oil.

ENJOY!

Stick Food Friday

Welcome back to Free Recipe Friday.
So sorry for the missing post last week,
we were off with a bunch of college kids
in Atlanta, Georgia for the Passion Conference.
A week long conference with so much worship,
so much Jesus, and so much to process.
There are really no words to describe it.

This week, as we approach another
nationally celebrated time to gather with friends
and eat - i.e., SUPER BOWL, we thought we would offer
an oh so easy and make ahead snack.
Antipasto Kabobs.
If you make these, you'll have more time
to enjoy the big game.

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 - 9 oz pkg Cheese Tortellini - cooked to al dente
40 large Black Olives
40 large Stuffed Green Olives
20 slices of Hard Salami - sliced in half
40 slices of Pepperoni
Flat Leaf Parsley
Appx. 3/4 cup of Italian Dressing, or
even better, a copycat Olive Garden Dressing

(found all over Pinterest)
40 small Skewers

WHAT TO DO:
Cook tortellini to al dente in a pot of salted water
according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water.
In a large resealable plastic bag,
combine the tortellini, olives and dressing.
Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for several hours
or overnight.
When ready to prepare these little yummies,
remove from fridge, drain and discard marinade.
For each appetizer, thread a stuffed olive,
folded pepperoni slice, tortellini,
folded piece of salami, a ripe olive and parsley sprig.
Now chow down!

These are so great and easy, 
great for any gathering
whether it be as an appetizer or
alongside a salad and good crusty bread for a meal.
I hope you can make these very soon!

ENJOY!