Accidently Awesome!!

Tonight I was going to make Vegan Dad's Italian Meatballs. I thought that I had all the ingredients, but it turned out that I didn't. So I tried it anyway. When it came to making the meatballs, they would not stay together. They kept falling apart. I did not have anymore BBQ sauce, so I used a little ketchup. I don't know if it made that big of a deal or not. I ended up spreading the mixture out on a cookie sheet and baking in it the oven. Once it was browned I added it to my homemade spaghetti sauce. My family loves thick sauce. It was the best spaghetti sauce that I have ever made! My family devoured it. They all complimented the chef. Well..it was an accident that turned out awesome. Of course our spaghetti was not vegan because we used Parmesan cheese. I need to get dh to make some more vegan parmesan sprinkles.

Italian Eggplant

I cubed one mammoth zucchini, one eggplant and one orange pepper. I sauteed the zucchini, eggplant, and pepper until everything was cooked. I poured Italian dressing over the veggies for a sauce. I then served it over buttered linguine and topped with Parmesan & shredded mozzarella cheese over. I served it with cheesy garlic bread.

Messy Lasagna

My kids named this dish Messy lasagna. It was a result of finding a great eggplant & spinach lasagna recipe and not having all the ingredients. I also made a bread stick recipe that was just ok. If anyone has a tried & true bread stick recipe, I would love to try it.

Valentine's Day Cooking

DD & I made some Valentine's Day Cupcakes. We just used a white cake mix that I needed to use up. She did most of the work herself. I did learn one thing though. If you don't want red & pink sprinkles ALL over the place never leave a 6yr to decorate the cupcakes. LOL.


For dinner we had heart shaped pasta with veggies. I made a butter sauce(that is what my kids call it). I take minced roasted garlic, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder(we LOVE garlic here) and mix with melted butter. Then I toss the pasta in it and add parmesan cheese. I put mixed peppers, baby bellas & broccoli on top of the pasta. I served spinach and olive bread on the side. It was delicious! Personally I thought that it was the best sauce that I have ever made.

Butternut Squash Ravioli Filling

I made this last week for dinner. It was Oooh soo good. They were a hit.All three of my children loved them. I served this with dinner rolls and green beans.Next time I am going to try and toast them.

I found this recipe at CD Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound butternut squash
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese, must be fresh(I didn't have fresh)
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, scant; go very easy on nutmeg
****sauce*****
3 tablespoons butter
4 fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Cut the squash in pieces and put about 1 inch water in the bottom of the baking pan. Bake squash at about 400ºF for about 45 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. After it is baked, cool the squash for 5 minutes and then scoop out of the shell and mash thoroughly with other filling ingredients.

Bring an enormous pot of (salted) water to boil. When at a full rolling boil, use a spatula to drop no more than 10 ravioli at a time into the water. They should rise immediately to the surface. Give them enough room so that they don't stick to each other or accidentally get punctured and leak the filling. Cook in batches for 3 minutes only and remove to a warm plate. Meanwhile, melt the butter over very low heat until just bubbly, but do not let it brown. Mince up fresh sage and add with salt. Pour butter sauce over ravioli when you serve.

Serves 6.


*****Chrissy's Notes*****
I didn't use fresh Parmesan cheese because I didn't have any. I used wonton wrappers instead of pasta. I doubled this recipe and I had just enough left that I tried to freeze them. They did great! Next time I make this I will make more of the sauce. It was just too good.