Commentary: My mom typically makes a sauce for weenies from red currant jelly and mustard, but there was no red currant jelly to be found tonight. Not discouraged, I made my own version of sweet party weenies.

Skill Level: Beginner

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 12 oz. jar French's Horseradish Mustard
1 16 oz. jar apple jelly
2 pkg. Hillshire Farms Lil' Smokies with Cheddar


Preparation:
1. Combine mustard and jelly in a large pan over medium heat. Heat until blended evenly, stirring occasionally.
2. Add Lil' Smokies and coat with sauce. Simmer until Lil' Smokies are heated through.

Variations:
1. Another version of party weenies can be made with a jar of red currant jelly and a jar of plain mustard; a third version is made with grape jelly and chili sauce.

Commentary: Regarding the name, "Wookiee" is my pet name for my father, with whom in mind I created this recipe. If it's awkward, you can call it "Sausage and Rice Soup" instead.

Skill Level: Beginner

Preparation Time: 40 Minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
3 cans Campbell's Tomato Soup
5 Polish sausages
1 1/2 cups instant rice
1 large white onion
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 rounded tsp. garlic
1 tsp. sweet basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 T. butter
black pepper to taste


Preparation:
1. Pour the 3 cans of soup plus 2 cans full of water into a pot. Stir in basil, thyme, and garlic and simmer while you chop the ingredients in the next step.
2. Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces and finely chop the onion. Add both to tomato broth.
3. Add butter, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper to the broth and simmer until the butter has melted completely and is stirred in with the other ingredients.
4. Add rice and continue simmering until rice and onion are at the desired consistency.

Note: I highly recommend not adding salt to this recipe, because there is quite a bit of it in the cans of soup and the sausage.

Variations:
1. You can use Italian sausage, smoked sausage, bratwurst, or any other kind of sausage instead of Polish sausage if you prefer the taste. You can mix and match sausage types, too!
2. If you like spinach, try adding a can of it.
3. You can substitute 5-6 cups of bottled tomato juice for the 3 cans of soup and 2 cans full of water.
4. You can garnish this soup with cheese, crumbed crackers, or sour cream.

Commentary: For my mom's birthday, I made her favorite dessert: peanut butter pie. This is a quick and easy no-bake recipe.

Skill Level: Beginner

Preparation Time: 20 Minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients:
1 Oreo pie crust
1 8-oz. tub Cool Whip
1 8oz. pkg. Philadelphia cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T. milk


Preparation:
1. Combine Cool Whip, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and beat with a mixer until smooth.
2. Add milk and peanut butter and whip until smooth again.
3. Spoon peanut butter mixture into pie crust and smooth the top.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Variations:
1. For a lighter dessert, you can make this with reduced-fat peanut butter, cream cheese, and Cool Whip and sugar substitute.
2. For those that prefer a crunch, crunchy or extra crunchy peanut butter may be used instead of creamy, though this does prevent the mixture from smoothing completely.
3. Top the pie with extra Cool Whip, Hershey's chocolate syrup, Hershey's kisses, crushed chocolate or chocolate/peanut-butter candies, crushed peanuts, and/or shredded coconut.
4. If you need to store the pie for longer than a few hours, you can freeze it instead. Take it out of the freezer about half an hour before you need it.

Commentary: Because the only thing yummier than garlic bread is garlic bread with cheese.

Skill Level: Beginner

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes

Serves: 4 - 12

Ingredients:
1 loaf King's Hawaiian bread
1 stick butter or margarine
garlic powder
Parmesan cheese
shredded Mozarella cheese
shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt the stick of butter or margarine in the microwave. Meanwhile, slice the Hawaiian bread loaf into 1-inch thick slices. Cut the larger slices in half for convenience.
3. Dip the top side of each slice of bread into the melted butter or margarine. Do this quickly so that the bread does not absorb too much of the butter. Arrange slices on a cookie sheet.
4. Sprinkle each slice with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese to taste.
5. Cover each slice completely with a layer of Mozarella cheese.
6. Sprinkle a small amount of Cheddar cheese on top of the Mozzarella for color.
7. Bake until cheese is melted and beginning to brown (about 10 minutes).

This Recipe Goes Well With: Spaghetti

Commentary: For the first recipe in this blog, I'm recording the one that I get asked for most. It is my own version of a recipe my mother made often when I was growing up. The sauce refrigerates and freezes well, so if you're cooking for just yourself, go ahead and make a large batch of it.

Skill Level: Medium

Preparation Time: 1 Hour

Serves: 4 - 8

Ingredients:
1 lb. Italian Sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 12-oz. pkg. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 16-oz. cans tomato sauce
2 T. olive oil
2 heaping T. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. basil, dried
1/4 tsp. oregano, dried
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 can Campbell's cheddar cheese soup
1 8-oz. pkg. pasta of choice
1 tub shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1. Fill a large (4 quart or larger) pot or dutch oven halfway with water. Add sea salt to taste. Place on back burner on high heat to boil while you make the sauce.
2. Pour olive oil into another large pot or dutch oven and allow it to warm over medium heat for about five minutes. Add garlic and saute for about one minute, then add the Italian sausage and break up the meat so that it browns crumbled like ground beef instead of in patties or links.
3. When the sausage has begun to brown, add the onion and mushrooms. Continue cooking until sausage is browned, then drain grease.
4. Return to stove and add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Stir until heated thoroughly, then add the cheddar cheese soup. (Note: The soup serves to make the sauce thick instead of runny. If you want a thinner sauce or are watching your sodium intake, it may be omitted.) Allow sauce to simmer on medium-low heat, stirring periodically to prevent sticking.
5. The water in the first pot should be at a rolling boil by now. Add the pasta to it and boil until the pasta is the desired texture. Drain the pasta and toss it with a small amount of olive oil to resist clumping.
6. Serve the sauce atop the pasta and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Variations:
1. Use 2 jars Prego, Barilla, or Classico pasta sauce instead of the 2 cans of tomato sauce. If you make this substitution, use half the amount of Italian seasoning, basil, and oregano.
2. A pound of ground beef, ground pork, or ground turkey can replace the Italian sausage. If you make this substitution, use double the amount of Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, and sea salt.
3. Ordinary salt may be used instead of sea salt, but flavor-wise, sea salt is a good replacement for mineral salt in just about any recipe. It's a worthwhile investment.
4. You can substitute an 8-oz. jar of sliced mushrooms for fresh ones.
5. You can substitute a large can of diced tomatoes for the two medium chopped tomatoes. Beware of salt, though!
6. You can buy frozen chopped onions if you can't stand to chop the onion yourself, but they are much less flavorful than fresh onions.
7. If you like olives, add a can of them.
8. If you're not a big fan of cheese, try cream of mushroom soup instead of cheddar cheese soup.
9. If you're vegetarian, this sauce is just as rich and flavorful without the meat. Omitting the soup and cheese on top too makes it entirely vegan.

This Recipe Goes Well With: Cheesy Garlic Bread