Tuesday Tastes - Sunday Dinner

On Sunday the Hubby and I went to his parents’ house for two reasons.  One – to do laundry.  Our washing machine died on us a few weeks ago, so we’ve been going there every two weeks instead of paying at a laundromat.  Thankfully we can afford to buy a new washer once I get paid on Friday.  Yay!  The other reason we went to the in laws’ was to celebrate Mother’s Day.  Instead of going out to dinner, we came over and I made a meal.  Originally it was going to be just the four of us, but one of Hubby’s sisters and her family came over as well, so I made dinner for eight.

After a few discussions as to what to make, Hubby and I decided to make spaghetti.  Nice and easy.  Of course, I can’t just use a jar of sauce without doing something to it.  Using a jar of Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic red sauce as a base, I added the following to it: 1 large can of crushed tomatoes with basil, 1 bag of frozen roasted peppers and onions (from Trader Joe’s), 1 large Vidalia onion, 1 ½ pounds of sliced baby Bella mushrooms, 1 ½ cups shredded carrots, ½ pound sweet Italian sausage, ½ pound hot Italian sausage, minced garlic, Italian seasonings, and red pepper flakes. 

So. Very. Delish.  Seriously, I love my pasta sauces.  I rarely brag about myself and really mean what I am saying, but this is one case where I really do believe it.  My pasta sauce rocks.

In addition to spaghetti, we had cheesy garlic toast and a large salad with my homemade vinaigrette dressing.   It’s so easy to make.  I don’t know the exact measurements as I usually just go with how it looks and/or tastes.  The main ingredients are: balsamic vinegar, Mrs. Dash seasoning, garlic (minced and/or powdered), and extra virgin olive oil.  I will sometimes add flavored vinegars, such as raspberry, or some honey and mustard. 

For dessert we had fresh red raspberries and strawberries with vanilla sugar over vanilla bean iced cream with whipped cream. 

Of course, I don’t have any photos of the yumminess.  Instead I am going to share the recipe and photos for Garlic Croutons.  I made these with bread leftover from Sunday’s dinner.

Mmmmm. Roasted Garlic bread

Garlic Croutons

Ingredients:

• Dense bread (my local grocery store sells a roasted garlic bread that is perfect)
• Olive oil
• Garlic powder
• Italian seasonings
• Onion salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400*F
Cut the bread into cubes

Cut the bread into cubes

In a quart or gallon sized storage bag, put olive oil, garlic powder and Italian seasonings.  The amount depends on how much you are making.  I used about 1/3 cup of oil and a teaspoon of each garlic powder and Italian seasonings.


Add bread to the storage bag and close bag.  Coat bread.

Coat with olive oil and seasonings

Place bread cubes in a single layer in a baking dish or sheet pan.  Sprinkle a bit of onion salt on top.  For a more garlic taste, use garlic salt instead.

Single layer in a baking dish

Bake for approximately 10 minutes. 
Let sit to cool.  Once cool put in a storage container or bag.  Enjoy.

Ready to eat!