I find this to be the most perfect and delicious meat sauce to accompany my al dente spaghetti noodles. Keep in mind that I naturally do not use measuring utensils for my cooking. You will get the hang of it and you will get better over time. And remember, it is easy to add some salt and pepper to a bland dish but it is very hard to impossible to take it back out of a dish.
1lbs ground beef
1 small onion (about the size of a large egg), finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 cup carrots, shredded (I'd recommend to use baby carrots)
1/2 cup dry red wine or cooking wine
3oz tomato paste, plain
28 oz can crushed tomatoes, plain
1/2 tsp all season salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp curry
1/2 to 1 tsp of italian seasoning
bouillon cubes to taste
3 Tbs Olive Oil
1.) heat the olive oil in a large pot and add all season salt, pepper and curry. Let the dry seasonings cook in the hot oil for about 30 seconds so that the curry can develope it's full flavor. Do not let it burn! Now add the beef, stir a few times so that the seasoning get's mix in and cook until well browned
2.) when the meat is browned add the onions, carrots, garlic and cook for about 3 more minutes
3.) add Italian seasoning, red wine, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes, turn stove on low and let simmer for at least 1 hour
4.) after 1 hour of simmering and combining it's flavor give it a taste sample. You may now add bouillon cubes to get the desired flavor or level of saltyness. Sometimes I need 2 cubes and other times it's perfect without having to add bouillon cubes at all.
5.) makes about 6-8 servings
Friday, April 29, 2011
Nutella & Peanut Butter Brownies
Oh, now these really are super dangerous for your waist. They are soft, gooey and have the perfect combination of flavors. Just exactly what my sweet tooth is usually looking for. According to my husband they are even better with coffee ice cream, whipped cream and some chocolate syrup but I make sure to stay away from those extra calories....
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ cup + 3 Tbsp Nutella
½ cup + 3 Tbs Peanut Butter
-Preheat oven to 350ºF
-lightly grease a 9" x 13" glass or ceramic pan with cooking spray and set aside
1.) In a medium bowl combine all-purpose flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt / sift to get rid of lumps. Set aside
2.) Melt the butter over low heat, then stir in sugar and vanilla extract and beat with a mixer until it appears to be foamy and well combined.
3.) Keep mixing the butter-sugar mixture and add the eggs/ one at a time. Work quickly to avoid cooking the egg in the warm butter-sugar mixture.
4.) Now whisk in the cocoa-flour mixture with a wire whisk until fully combined. Don't use the mixer for this or else the batter looses it's fluff
5.) In a microwave safe bowl add Nutella and peanut butter and heat in 15 second intervals until it reaches a runny consistency. Then pour it into the batter and combine with wire whisk until well blended.
6.) Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 30 minutes
7.) Take the pan out of the oven immediately to avoid overcooking and place it on the kitchen counter to let it cool off
8.) DO NOT cut the brownies until they are completely cooled off or else they will turn into a pile of crumbs
9.) Makes about 24 brownies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ cup + 3 Tbsp Nutella
½ cup + 3 Tbs Peanut Butter
-Preheat oven to 350ºF
-lightly grease a 9" x 13" glass or ceramic pan with cooking spray and set aside
1.) In a medium bowl combine all-purpose flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt / sift to get rid of lumps. Set aside
2.) Melt the butter over low heat, then stir in sugar and vanilla extract and beat with a mixer until it appears to be foamy and well combined.
3.) Keep mixing the butter-sugar mixture and add the eggs/ one at a time. Work quickly to avoid cooking the egg in the warm butter-sugar mixture.
4.) Now whisk in the cocoa-flour mixture with a wire whisk until fully combined. Don't use the mixer for this or else the batter looses it's fluff
5.) In a microwave safe bowl add Nutella and peanut butter and heat in 15 second intervals until it reaches a runny consistency. Then pour it into the batter and combine with wire whisk until well blended.
6.) Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for 30 minutes
7.) Take the pan out of the oven immediately to avoid overcooking and place it on the kitchen counter to let it cool off
8.) DO NOT cut the brownies until they are completely cooled off or else they will turn into a pile of crumbs
9.) Makes about 24 brownies
Thursday, April 28, 2011
How it all began
Okay. I have been urged by several friends, family members and other people to start my own blog about my cookings and my recipes. Personally I don't find my cooking special and I can also tell with honesty that I somewhat dislike cooking. The problem here is the fact that I had a very loving and caring, 100% full blood German/Silesian grandmother named Elfi who enjoyed "stove duty" more than anything else. My brother and I grew up in Germany and we did stay at grandma's almost every other weekend as well as for a big portion of all our school breaks. We got to eat all sorts of home cooked meals which sometimes even included roasts and cream pie for breakfast.
Of course that was fantastic growing up but it didn't make things any easier when I finally started living on my own. The first time I bought a box of instant mashed potatoes I wanted to compare it's flavor and nutritional value to that of a bowl of mushy card board, the frozen pizza I had bought was greasy and contained more artificial ingredients than real stuff (hell, it probably even glowed in the dark) and eating cereal every day was also not an option.
WHAT TO DO?!
There isn't much to do if you are spoiled rotten when it comes to food. You can either find a kick ass job which allows you to go to your favorite restaurant every day, you can move in with Oma Elfi or you start cooking your own meals and hope it all turns out good.
Obviously I have chosen to start cooking my own meals. I am still not anywhere near "Oma Elfi's" cooking skills but it worked out pretty okay for me thus far.
Of course that was fantastic growing up but it didn't make things any easier when I finally started living on my own. The first time I bought a box of instant mashed potatoes I wanted to compare it's flavor and nutritional value to that of a bowl of mushy card board, the frozen pizza I had bought was greasy and contained more artificial ingredients than real stuff (hell, it probably even glowed in the dark) and eating cereal every day was also not an option.
WHAT TO DO?!
There isn't much to do if you are spoiled rotten when it comes to food. You can either find a kick ass job which allows you to go to your favorite restaurant every day, you can move in with Oma Elfi or you start cooking your own meals and hope it all turns out good.
Obviously I have chosen to start cooking my own meals. I am still not anywhere near "Oma Elfi's" cooking skills but it worked out pretty okay for me thus far.
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