Aunt Amy's Spaghetti Sauce

This is it! the real deal from the woman herself...

o   1 lb. ground beef

o   5 or 6 sweet Italian sausages (opt.)

o   1 lg. onion, chopped

o   1 gr. Peppers, chopped

o   1 qt. whole tomatoes

o   1 lg can tomato paste

o   1 small can tomato paste

o   1 small can mushrooms

o   1 Tbsp. Basil

o   1 Tbsp. Oregano

o   1 Tbsp. Italian Seasonings

o   Dash of Worcestershire sauce

o   1-2 tsp. chili powder

o   2 bay leaves

o   1 garlic clove or garlic powder

o   Salt and pepper

o   Water or tomato juice to thin

 

Brown meat thoroughly and add seasonings and tomato paste. Combine rest of ingredients and simmer for ½ hour. Serve on any pasta! 

*If you prefer it to be thicker, throw the whole tomatoes into a blender minus half of the juice.

A great steak

This is my favorite staple:

Buy any steak that sells for under $3/lb. Buy some McCormick Grill Mates "Montreal Steak" seasoning. Sprinkle some on both sides of the steak. Fry it in a cast iron skillet for about 5 minutes per side. Toss in some onions while you're at it. Get some water boiling after you flip the steak and by the time the steak is finished, it will be ready to add some instant mashed potatoes. These are easy: You just pour in the flakes and mix it up until you like the consistency. Finally, put it all on a plate and you're good to go.

Hope you like it!

-Brad

Beef Stroganoff

Uncle Glen's fabulous stroganoff is no big secret--he likes to follow the McCormick sauce recipe, and adds some fresh mushrooms or some cream of mushroom soup. Also, once the meat is browned, just have it soak in the sauce for a few hours in a crock pot--great for sunday dinners!! (Sellers family needs 2-3 batches of this...)

YOU WILL NEED:
1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 package McCormick® Beef Stroganoff Sauce Mix
1 cup milk
1 cup regular or lowfat sour cream
Egg noodles, cooked

sliced mushrooms or c. of mushroom soup

DIRECTIONS:

1. CUT steak into thin strips. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add beef; sauté 3 to 4 minutes or until browned. Drain fat.

2. MIX Sauce Mix and water. Stir into beef; cover. Simmer 10 minutes. OR soak for hours (even overnight) in a crockpot on med. heat so the meat gets nice and tender...

3. REMOVE from heat. Stir in sour cream. Serve over noodles.

Aunt Tad's Scalloped Potatoes

This is a recipe Grandma Sellers passed on to me that she got through her sister. It's a classic. They are the potatoes Dad grew up on and probably the reason he still loves scalloped potatoes to this day.

• 4 large potatoes
• 2 c. white sauce (recipe to follow)
• 3/4 c. grated cheese (1/4 lb.)
• 3/4 c. buttered bread crumbs
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
• 1/4 c. minced green onions

Peel and dice potatoes (1/2 inch slices). Cover them with water (no salt needed). Boil until almost done. Drain off water. Make white sauce while potatoes cook.

White Sauce

• 2. c milk
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 1 1/2 Tbs. flour (heaping)
• 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Heat and stir sauce in pan until thick. Add Cream of Chicken soup.

Add alternate layers of potatoes, white sauce, cheese and onions (completing the rotation twice). Sprinkle buttered crumbs on top and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

*Note: The recipe doesn't explain what size pan to bake everything in, but I'm assuming from the amount of ingredients you probably need a 9X13 glass pan if possible.