Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara sauce

Marinara sauce is a base for almost every italian dish. I figured...why should I buy this sauce if I can make it at home and it will be better and it will contain less sodium and less preservatives?!
So, here is it...

1/2 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a saucepan sauté onion and garlic over medium-low heat until they start to become clear. Combine in a pot, diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, mushrooms, oregano, parsley, basil and olive oil. Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for at least 40 minutes.
You can use it with spaghetti or on pizza. You can freeze it or use right away
I made marinara with ground beef.
makes 4
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Your marinara sauce
spaghetti

Boil spaghetti...meanwhile, in a deep saucepan, sauté onion and garlic for about 5-6 minutes, add ground beef. Cook for another 10 minutes on low heat. Add marinara sauce, stir well.
That's it! Done! Serve it with your spaghetti and Parmesan cheese on top.

Spanish mixed paella

First time I tried paella during my first visit to Spain ( I think I was 14)! And I fell in love with this dish! I remember there was a  little seashore family restaurant. The food there was so good, that my mom and I couldn't stop eating ....  Paella was the dish I ordered almost every night!!!

Paella (Valencian: [paˈeʎa], Spanish: [paˈeʎa]) is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain.[1] Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish. Valencians, in turn, regard paella as one of their identifying symbols.
. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella)

So, this is my recipe of making this amazing dish!
Ingredients -
2 Italian sausages, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 whole cloves garlic, peeled
28 ounces can whole tomatoes
2 cups Arborio rice
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup of your favorite red or white wine
1/4 t spoon saffron
1 spring fresh rosemary
1 red pepper, seeds removed and chopped
1 pound of shrimp or 1 pack of seafood mix

Heat a large deep pan or traditional paella pan. Add a splash of oil and begin to brown the sausages. Once they have browned set them aside on a plate. Add the onions to the hot pan and a small splash of oil, sauté until golden. Add the garlic and stir for a few moments. Add tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon.
Add rice, stock, wine, rosemary, saffron, the reserved meat and the shrimp.
Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat until the liquid has absorbed and the rice is tender, about thirty minutes.
That's it! Pretty easy, eh?

Delicious oven baked steak

I created this recipe after a dinner with our friends. We actually baked the steaks but I made some changes and added some herbs and sauce, so now I can tell that it's kind of my recipe :-)
The steaks turn out to be juicy and tender, so let's begin -

Ingredients for 2 -
2 steaks
2 tbl spoons BBQ sauce
salt, pepper
herbs (like rosemary or oregano, I added italian spices)
foil
 Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the steaks and marinate for 2 hours at room temperature.
In a large skillet heat 2 tbl spoons olive oil and fry the steaks about 1 min on each side.
Lay the steaks on a aluminum foil and fold/scrunch up the sides – to catch the fat. Place on a shallow baking sheet.
Cook at 200 degrees  for about 12-15-18 mins depending on your desired pinkness.
Rest for 10 minutes in th aluminum foil.
Serve with oven baked potatoes and carrots.

Oven Baked BBQ Ribs

Hi !
What can be better than BBQ ribs? Well, what if you are like us...live in the apartment building and don't have a BBQ?! You still can enjoy delicious BBQ ribs but baked in the oven. It takes a little bit longer but trust me, the ribs taste amazing and come out tender and juicy.

Easy to marinade -
1 rack of pork ribs
1 can tomato paste (156 mL)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
Salt

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
Put ribs into a large roasting pan. Whisk together the tomato paste, orange juice, brown sugar, Dijon, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, chili powder and salt. Pour over the ribs. Cover with foil and bake until the ribs are fork tender, about 2 1/2 hour.
Serve with rice or mashed potato and with your favorite vegetables.

Russian Cutlet (authentic russian dish)

Russian Cutlet, known as “Kotleta” in Russian, is a pan-fried minced meat dish that contains onions, garlic and various herbs. It is definitely one of the most popular house dishes in Russia, served with side dishes such as mashed potatoes, fries, pasta, buckweat and barley.

Ingredients:
1,5 lbs ground beef
4 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 large onion OR 2 small
2 cloves of garlic
1 eggs
2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of black pepper
1,5 cup of oil to fry
Chop onion and garlic, place them in a large bowl, add your ground beef, egg, tomato paste, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, mix it all together very well.
Heat the skillet on medium-high heat, add oil, wait until heated. Portion the meat equal to a tennis ball and shape a nice patty out of it. Place on the skillet until the skillet is full with the first batch.
Turn over once the bottom side is nicely brown and cover your skillet with the lid. Fry until the other side is brown. Do not forget that you are using relatively high heat.
I usually have some mashed potatoes, barley and buckwheat and a salad as sides for cutlets. Pickled vegetables will do too!!!
Enjoy!

Yummy Baked Potato Skins

I haven't tried this dish before I came to Canada. And God knows how much I like it!!! So, here is my version of this yummy dish!!! I like it with sausages and vegetables! :-) Yummers!

2 large baking potatoes
1 t spoon butter
1/2 t spoon salt
1/4 t spoon garlic powder
1/4 t spoon paprika
1/8 t spoon pepper
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
4 green onions, sliced (optional)

Microwave the potatoes on high until they are soft;
Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp and put the pulp in a separate bowl.
Combine potato pulp, 1/2 your shredded cheese, sour cream, butter, salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper and fill the potato skins. Sprinkle them with remaining cheese.
Put the skins back to the microwave for another 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve hot with sour cream.

Our Sunday homemade breakfast! :-) Yummy!

I love weekends!!! Waking up at...whatever o'clock...going to the kitchen, making coffee while yawning and looking through the window.
I just love it!
And of course Sunday breakfast-lunch! It's the most delicious breakfast during the week. Eggs, bacon, potatoes, pancakes. Yumm....
 I'm not going to write here how to fry bacon or eggs but I will tell you about my pancakes and potato wedges.

I will start with potatoes...
3 potatoes. peeled, cut in wedges
1 t spoon paprika
1 t spoon garlic powder
1/2 t spoon oregano
2 tbl spoons olive oil
salt, pepper

So, place your potato wedges in a bowl, add all the other ingredients, cover the bowl and shake it well, so all the oil and herbs marry together. Take a shallow baking sheet, cover it with foil and place your wedges on it. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Hmmmm...pancakes...yummers!
I love blueberry pancakes!!! So does my husband!

What you need -
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons white sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. In a small bowl, beat together egg and milk. Stir milk and egg into flour mixture. Mix in the butter and fold in the blueberries. Set aside for 1 hour.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with Maple syrup, honey or blueberry jam. Enjoy your Sunday breakfast!!! :-)

Famous russian dish - "French meat"

What can I say? Russians love this dish, it's actually a casserole .
Pretty easy to make.

Here what you need -
3 potatoes, peeled and cut in thin slices
2 onions, peeled, cut in rings (devidev into 2 portions)
400 g ground beef (pork)
100 g mushrooms, cut
100 g shredded cheese
3 tbs mayo
salt, pepper
olive oil

In a deep backing dish, covered with foil and greased  put the layer of potatoes, add salt and pepper.
then a layer of 1 portion of onion rings, then a layer of mushrooms, a layer of mayo.
Next layer is meat but before that mix it well, add salt and pepper.
and put it in one layer spread it all over your mayo layer
then another layer of onion rings.
Cover all your layers with foil, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake your creation for 35 minutes.
After that, remove the foil and put shredded cheese all over your casserole, bake another 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
I would advice to serve it with vegetables - like green beans, corn and tomatoes.

Sausage pasta (My husband's signature recipe)

When we just started dating my husband decided to make his signature pasta for me...I was so impressed!!! I think after that I understood that I was in love!
This dish is so easy to make and it is so delicious!!!!! Bravo!!!!

Makes 2-3 servings.
What you need is -
1/2 package of pasta (it's better to use rigatoni)
4 cheese sausage (cut in thin slices)
1 bottle rose or vodka sauce
2 tbs olive oil
Grated Parmesan
First start boiling pasta. Then heat a large skillet on medium heat and add the oil. Put the sausages and fry them stirring and turning from side to side, until fried evenly. Add your sauce and stir.
After your pasta is ready, drain it and mix pasta and sauce together! Done!
Serve hot with grated Parmesan on top.

We like to eat this pasta with home made garlic bread.

All you need is -
1 baguette
3 tbs butter or margarine
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t spoon oregano
1 cup shredded mozzarella

So, just melt the butter with garlic and oregano, cut the bread lengthwise and cover it with garlic butter. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake it at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.
That's all!
Bon appetite!