firehouse spaghetti

Well..... I don't really have a clever story for this dish, but it's delicious! It will definitely become a regular in this household, and I got to use up some deer meat, and it didn't taste like deer meat! It's a great creamy, cheesy spaghetti, with a little heat....mmmm. We can always use more heat in Texas. Ha.

I also like this recipe because it's one of those "dump" recipes, where ya' just DUMP the whole can in. It's especially therapeutic when you're irritated, lazy, or short on time. Maybe I should start a cookbook on "dump recipes".... hmmm..... My brain's gone to thinkin' again.

You'll need:
1 pound your choice of ground meat
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
salt/pepper to taste
2 jars of Old English cheese
2 cans rotel
1 can of cream of mushroom
12 oz spaghetti sauce
parmesan for garnish

First, if you've never heard of Old English cheese (nor seen it in Grandma's fridge), it is a processed cheese product found near the Velveeta - it comes in small glass jars, perfect for a pimiento cheese sandwich.

Brown your ground meat over medium heat, add in your diced onion, garlic, and salt/pepper. I do believe I add garlic to every savory dish I make. It cleans the heart, you know! Sautee for 5-6 minutes until the onions are soft, and the mixture is fragrant. Add in your liquids and cook for another 20-25 minutes, slow and low baby.

Meanwhile, boil your water, and cook your noodles. I chose to balance out my creamy sauce with WHOLE WHEAT noodles! They're delicious I think, a little "nuttier." (he hee, I said the same thing about my crock pot oatmeal)

Once you drain your noodles, return to the pot, add your sauce, stir and serve! Garnish with (lots) parmesan! Molto Bene!! (that's Italian for "very good")

steel cut. oatmeal.

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It's the steel cut breakfast of champions. Oatmeal. If you've never had steel cut oatmeal, stop what you're doing, run to HEB (pronounced aaaych-uheee-buheee), or Safeway or Albertson's, whatever grocer you got. I promise to make you regular as a goose. My dad always said that. Actually he said "poop like a goose," but I thought I'd save you the descriptors. I guess I didn't save you anything though. he hee. Ok, are you ready for the greatness??? It's made IN THE CROOOCCCKKPPOTTTT (that's crockpot). If you make steel cut oats on the stovetop, it takes roughly two hours to cook thoroughly, without breaking your teeth. I'll give you a second to google "steel cut oat" images, it's just like regular rolled oats, but it's not ROLLED! That's it! Cut off the grain, and more roughage for your digestive system. Practice your poltergeist lady ~ This intestine is cuuuh-leeaann! Now that I've probably scared you away from ever touching the stuff, let me remind you how yummy this is. Tastes like regular oatmeal, maybe a little "nuttier." Imagine waking up at 6:00 to a house smelling of warm cinnamon, vanilla, and brown sugar....mmmmm. I was a happy girl. Breakfast immediately, then put the rest in the fridge for later in the week! Here's the recipe, inspired by a good friend, and tell me YOUR favorite add-ins!


Oh yeah, warning, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITH ROLLED OATS. You'll end up with soupy glop and your family will never love you nor eat your food again. Done.

OK ingredients:

1 cup steel cut oats (NOT REGULAR)
4 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbl butter

Add all your ingredients to the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours! In the morning, add a little more butter, or milk if you wish. I found it perfectly sweet the way it was, and had a very delightful breakfast!!

sticky finger rolls.

Cinnamon rolls. You will never eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast again. Given that you have 3 hours weekly to bake this, and then assuming you can make them last all week. Ahhhh. But they're so good. So moist. So tender. So.... sticky. And with the tang of cream cheese frosting. Makes that case of the Mondays feel like you're ten and woke up on a Saturday morning at Grandma's house with cartoons and cinnamon rolls. Ok, ok, so my grandma made rolls out of a can, but she'd be proud of me for perfecting this recipe. I based this off P-Dub (Pioneer Woman) but I like mine with brown sugar vs. white sugar, and cream cheese frosting. The dough really is quite easy, just takes time in between to rise. Which is the perfect excuse for a game of Forkel. Or laundry. Tell me what you think. You're going to love it. People will want to be your friend. They'll offer to clean your house. Do ANYthing, but don't give away the recipe ;) It's power. 


I digress.


This recipe makes about 7 small square foil pans. Perfect for friends, family, neighbors, bosses to impress. Let's bring community together again :)

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• 2 cups softened butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down). I put mine in the fridge overnight. In the morning, take the dough out, punch it down, and let it rest and warm up a little before working with it.... 30 minutes.

When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Spread 1/2 to 1 cup softened butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of brown sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 minutes.

For frosting:

1 brick cream cheese

1 stick softened butter, I like unsalted

2-3 cups of powdered sugar

1 cup approx. milk

Blend all ingredients with hand mixer, adding more sugar to thicken or milk to thin, until desired consistency. This time I made it thinner to pour and spread, but usually I make it thicker and spread while hot out of oven.  

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