Buttermilk Syrup

Oh WOW!!! Today I went to a friend's house for lunch and she had pancakes with home-made syrup. It was so wonderful!!!! I will never buy syrup again:

1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 Tbsp of corn syrup
3/4 cup buttermilk (1 Tbsp lemon juice - add milk until 3/4 cup)
1 teas baking soda
1 teas vanilla

Combine all but vanilla in soup pot (this bubbles up so you need a bigger pot than you would think). Bring to a boil for approx. 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Stir. Makes about 2 cups. My friend said that she doesn't know how long it keeps because it never lasts long enough to go bad.

Beef Minestrone

In your pot, brown together:

1/2 lb ground beef
1/3 lb italian sausage
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 zucchini, finely chopped

Once meat has lightly browned (you may want to drain fat if your beef is high in fat content at this point) and onions and zucchini look transparent add:

dash of salt and black pepper
1 teas garlic powder
1 Tbsp of Basil or Italian seasoning
3 cups of chicken or beef broth (we always use water with bouillon)
1 can of diced tomatoes undrained
1 can of red kidney beans

Once this come to a slow boil, add:

1 cup uncooked macaroni

Once macaroni has cooked, about 10 minutes, it is finished and ready to serve. We love this served with garlic bread or fresh rolls.

tip: I've been adding italian sausage to spaghetti sauce for spaghetti and lasagna and as a topping for pizza lately. I buy 1 pounders then cut into thirds and freeze.

Chicken Cheese Steaks and Rosemary Parmesan French Fries

Yesterday we used our left over fajita meat, onions, and peppers for Chicken Cheese steaks!

Chop up left over meat very fine and heat it up with left over veggies in a skillet.
Put cheese on a roll before filling roll with hot meat and veggies. Put more cheese on top if you desire!

We made french fries as a side. Just cut up a few potatoes length wise and into strips. Oil a cookie sheet with Olive oil and coat the potatoes strips in oil on sheet. Bake for 18-20 mins at 400 degrees. salt while still hot to taste. Cover in rosemary and grated Parmesan cheese for a yummy alternative to ketchup.

Eggplant Parm... yummm!

For Dinner tonight we had Eggplant Parm. It was so good!

one Med. Eggplant
Spaghetti sauce
Provolone or Mozzarella cheese
Italian Bread Crumbs
Egg wash
One greased pan of your choice (I used a bread pan)

Rinse and skin the Eggplant ( i use a potatoes peeler)
Cut the eggplant length wise and very thin
Bread the eggplant (dip in egg wash then in bread crumbs)
Layer in pan : Eggplant, sauce, cheese and repeat until you get to the top of the pan. Pour remaining sauce over top and then top with grated cheese. Cover with tin foil to keep cheese from burning.

Bake 375 Degrees for 30 mins. Uncover and then bake for an additional 5 mins. Eggplant should melt in your mouth. Serve with pasta of your choice and something green!

Leftovers idea: Make an Eggplant Parm hot sandwich! Yumm! It's better the second day!