For each 1/2 lb of ground beef, you will need…

• 1 egg
• 3-4 slices of white bread or 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 half onion, minced
• 3 tbsp garlic
• 1/4 Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp oregano

1. Heat 1-2 tsp of olive oil in a large saucier or sauce pan
2. Dump all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, wash your hands and get to mixing with your hands. If you are using the bread, make sure it’s well broken up and mixed in.
3. Form balls the size of a golf ball and brown on all sides in the pan.

At this point, you have several options.

1. You can finish the meatballs in the oven and freeze them.
2. You can add a can or two of spaghetti sauce (I doctor mine with garlic and italian seasoning) and either
   • Serve over pasta
   • Serve on a roll with a slice of mozzarella or provolone.
3. Continue frying until done, slice in half and serve in a pita.

You can also make them half-sized and serve them as cocktail food with warmed tomato sauce. Or leave out the garlic and parmesan and serve them with sweet and sour sauce or…

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• 1 packet instant ramen
• 1 cup shredded, cooked chicken (yay, leftovers)
• 1 small cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• 1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1 small red pepper, cut into matchsticks
• 2 tbsp kecap manis

1. Boil the ramen according to directions, discard flavor packet.
2. Place all ingredients in bowl and mix well.

Of course, all the vegetables/chicken can be substituted for whatever you want.

Read my Recipe Manifesto

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1. Recipe Manifesto and Index

The most important thing to remember with a stir fry is to keep freakin’ stirring. Stir fries use very little oil and high heat; if you stop stirring, things WILL stick.

As usual, the measurements are all vague and approximate. Serves 2-4

Sauce/Marinade
~ 1/2-1 cup good quality soy sauce
~ 1/2 cup water
~ 1 tsp sugar
~ 1 tsp mirin
~ 1 tsp rice vinegar
~ 1-2 tsp finely minced ginger (I use a jarred ginger)
~ 1- 2 tsp finely minced garlic

Meat
~ .5lbs meat of choice

Veggie
~ 2-4 cup vegetable of choice (I use frozen, fresh works too)
~ 1 onion sliced

Other
~ .25 cup sesame seeds
~ 1 tsp red pepper flakes
~ 2 tsp minced garlic
~ vegetable oil
~ cornstarch
~ steamed rice for serving

Marinade

1. Mix the ingredients for your marinade.
2. Slice your meat into about 1″-2″ pieces
3. Dump your meat into the marinade and refrigerate for ~ half an hour

Veggies

1. Chop your onion
2. Heat ~1tsp oil in your wok at about medium high
3. Add garlic, sesame seeds, red pepper
4. Add onion and cook until beginning to soften
5. Add veggies and cook until just thawed (for frozen) or barely tender (for fresh)
6. Slide veggies into bowl.

Meat

1. Separate your meat from the marinade and add to pan
2. Cook just until fully brown, then add marinade.
3. Turn heat to high and boil meat/marinade for full minute (this is important because the marinade could be contaminated by raw meat)

Finishing

1. Add your veggies back into the pan, stir to coat with sauce
2. Sprinkle corn starch over mixture (~1-2tsp), mix
3. Cook until sauce begins to thicken. Stir fry is done when veggies are tender-crisp

There ya go. Easy, and only takes about 15-20 minutes to cook.

Read my Recipe Manifesto

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Hummus

• 16oz can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
• 1/4 liquid from beans
• 1.5 tbsp tahini (optional)
• 2-3 tsp lemon juice (optional)
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• salt to taste

Whirl all ingredients in blender until smooth. Will keep for 2 or 3 days in fridge or about 1 month in the freezer.

Other things to add: olive oil, roasted red peppers, spinach, more garlic…

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These are so easy, but so yummy as a party food. You could deep fry these, but I find these are just as tasty without the added fat.

• Ravioli, any filling – Fresh or Frozen (thawed)
• Bread Crumbs
• Egg(s)
• Garlic Salt
• Basil
• Oregano
• Parmesan cheese (grated)
• Prepared tomato sauce (out of a can works fine here)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease baking sheet.
• Add a little water to your egg(s) to make an eggwash (1 will coat about 24 small ravioli)
• Pour your bread crumbs into a shallow bowl, add Parmesan. (I like a 3 to 1 mixture, about 1 cup will coat 24 ravioli. You can add more breadcrumbs later, but you have to chuck any eggy extras.) Mix in your seasonings.
• Dip your ravioli into the eggwash, then coat in breadcrumbs before placing on the baking sheet.
• Bake for ~12-14 minutes or until the ravioli are browned.
• While the ravioli are baking, warm up your sauce.
• Serve immediately!

Read the Recipe Manifesto

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The title of this recipe is a lie. We will be using penne, because it holds its shape and texture better.

This recipe will make two 9×11 pans, which will feed about 6 hungry people each. I recommend using disposable pans, because likely you will need to freeze one pan unless you are really feeding a crowd. Heavy-duty is a must because the weight of all these tasty things will actually collapse cheap pans.

Ingredients

• ~1lb dry penne
• ~1lb lean ground beef (I use 90% or above)
• 2 26.5 oz cans Hunts Traditional Spaghetti Sauce (or plain spaghetti sauce)
• 1 8oz can plain tomato sauce
• 1 medium onion
• ~2lb part-skim mozzarella
• ~1 large tub ricotta
• ~2 eggs
• ~garlic (taste as you go. I use almost 1/2 c in this recipe)
• ~oregano (1-2 tsp generally)
• ~basil (1 tsp generally)
• ~olive oil

A few hours before serving time

• Drain your ricotta in a fine sieve or cheesecloth over a bowl in the fridge.

1 hour before assembly

• Dice and fry the onion in oil in a nice big saute or sauce pan.
• When onions are translucent, add the beef and half of the garlic, oregano and basil. Brown.
• When beef is browned, add 1 can of spaghetti sauce and the tomato sauce
• Let cover and let simmer until ready to assemble ziti. Stirring often.
• Start grating the mozzarella.

30 minutes before assembly

• Start your pasta water boiling.
• Mix drained ricotta, eggs, and rest of seasonings in a large bowl. Let come to room temperature.
• Preheat your oven to ~350.

10 minutes before assembly.

• Cook your pasta for 2-3 minutes less than the packaging recommends. It should be just barely cooked through and very chewy.

Assembly

• In each pan, layer in the following order: 1/4 of pasta, 1/4 of ricotta, 1/4 of meat sauce, 1/6 mozzarella, repeat once.
• Now mix it all together! (Why layer first? To make sure everything is evenly divided and mixed.)
• Split remaining can of sauce over the top of pans.
• If you are freezing one pan, pop it in the fridge now.

Cooking

• Loosely cover pan with tin foil.
• Bake in over until heated through. If all the ingredients were still warm when they were assembled, this may take 45 minutes. If they were allowed to cool first, this could be closer to 90 minutes.
• Remove foil and top with remaining cheese. Continue baking until cheese is melted.

Freezing and Thawing

• To freeze, cover with tinfoil and freeze until firm. When firm, reposition the tin foil to lay directly on the top of the ziti. This will allow you to stack these large, silver bricks.
• To thaw, place in refrigerator 48 hours ahead of time. Because of the density, these bricks take an eternity to thaw. Do NOT try to cook from frozen state.

Serving Suggestions

• Keep it simple. A large green salad and a loaf or two of garlic bread will satisfy everyone but the pickiest of eaters.
• To make garlic bread: Slice a loaf of Italian bread in half horizontally. Mash a stick of salted butter with a teaspoon or two of garlic. Spread on bread and broil until the edges of the bread start to brown.

See the recipe Recipe Manifesto.

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• 1 package hot dogs (I use Boar’s Head or Hebrew National, I won’t touch non-beef dogs)
• 1-2 tubes crescent refrigerated crescent rolls
• Condiments

• Wash your hands!
• Preheat your oven to whatever the directions on the rolls say, also make note of cooking time.
• Poke some holes in the hotdog packaging, put on microwave safe plate and nuke for about 1 minute.
• Open your tubes and separate the contents into rectangles made of two triangular rolls.
• Dry your hotdogs off (the rolls won’t stick if their still wet with juices) and wrap the rolls around the dogs. You’ll probably have to stretch the rolls a bit.
• Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for however long the crescent roll package recommends (the package is destroyed now, I hope you followed Step 2! The average is 10-12 minutes.)
• The dogs are done when the rolls are a nice golden brown.

If you’re truly lazy like me, serve these with a package salad (you know, the kind that comes in a bag) and you have a full meal.

The Recipe Manifesto.

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Manifesto

• I don’t normally measure things exactly, unless there is a chemical reaction involved. This is not because I think I am Rachel Ray, it is because I find it easier to taste things as I go.
• I don’t believe in “healthy cooking,” I believe in portion control and moderation. I don’t purposely do “low-fat” or “low-calorie” foods unless they happen to taste fantastic. Some of my recipes are full of butter, bacon, dressings, drippings, “white” carbs, sugar and other “bad” foods. The secret is to eat only small portions of these foods and only eat them occasionally.
• I do follow the federal guidelines for portion/serving sizes. This means 3-4 oz. of meat is a serving, as is 1/2 c. rice, 1/2 c. veggies, etc. If you want larger servings, my recipes will feed less people.
• My cooking times are very loose. My stove and oven are quite uncooperative and the times vary greatly. Please watch what you are cooking and use a thermometer to make sure meats are cooked to the appropriate level of doneness.
• I like a LOT of garlic and other seasonings. Don’t be afraid to tone down some of the seasonings. On the other hand, I rarely cook with salt, as I prefer to add it at the table. (I also cheat and use prepared garlic, ginger, etc. packed in water.)

• Best Baked Ziti
• Garlicky Meatballs
• Hummus
• Pigs In a Blanket
• Ramen Salad
• Stir Fry
• Toasted Ravioli

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