Pizza Casserole

3 cups Rotini Pasta (white or whole wheat)
12 oz Can Red Pasta Sauce of your choice
1/4 cup Diced Onions
1/4 cup Diced Green and Red Peppers, Mixed
1/2 lb Raw Italian Sausage (mild or spicy, depending on your tastes)
1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Boil water and cook pasta to al dente texture.  Drain, do not rinse, and pour into a 9x13 cake pan.  Cover noodles with sauce.  Sprinkle onions and peppers over the sauce. Break Sausage into very small chunks and spread evenly over mixture.  Spread Cheese over mixture.  Cover and bake 15-30 minutes at 400 Degrees Fahrenheit, or until Cheese is all melted and sausage is cooked all the way through.

This very simple casserole is great warm and, like pizza, is even better reheated the next day.  Great with some breadsticks or garlic bread.  One of the greatest things about Pizza Casserole is that, also like pizza, you aren't limited to the ingredients listed in the recipe.  This is just how I like to eat it, but you can just as easily throw in Mushrooms, Black Olives, Pineapple, Pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, Chunk Chicken, Bacon, or anything else you like on your regular pizza.  It goes together really quick at the last minute and I have no problem getting five huge servings out of it, so it will easily feed the whole family, too. 

Banana Salsa

This is a great recipe for everything.  I found this as a garnish for a fish entree, but I quickly discovered it goes great on chips and pretzels, too.  Any place you can use salsa you can use banana salsa

2 Medium Chopped Bananas
1/2 cup Green Pepper
1/2 cup Red Pepper
3 chopped Green Onions
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
3 tablespoons Lime Juice
1 tablespoon Softened or Melted butter
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Small Seeded and Finely Chopped Jalepeno Pepper

Put it all in the blender or food processor and blend it until it's uniform.  The recipe I found said to chill it for 2 hours before serving, but I promise you that it will be better if you leave it overnight

This is the recipe it came with

Potato Crusted Grouper

1 lb Snapper, Grouper, or Tilapia fillets
1 1/2 cups Crushed Potato Chips
1/4 Cup Parmesan
1 Teaspoon Ground Thyme (this will make your house smell great while it's baking)
1/4 cup Milk of Choice
The Banana Salsa you made yesterday

Combine the chips, parmesan, and thyme.  Dip the fish in the milk, then dredge it in the chip mixture.  Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees Farenheit or until the fish is completely opaque, white, and flakes in the middle.  

• 2 Medium chopped ripe bananas
• ½ Cup chopped green bell pepper
• ½ Cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3 Green chopped onions
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
• ¼ Teaspoon salt
• ¼ Teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Small jalapeno seeded and finely chopped

- See more at: http://www.painlesscooking.com/entree-recipes.html#sthash.BTLOXTVS.dpuf

• 2 Medium chopped ripe bananas
• ½ Cup chopped green bell pepper
• ½ Cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3 Green chopped onions
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
• ¼ Teaspoon salt
• ¼ Teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Small jalapeno seeded and finely chopped

- See more at: http://www.painlesscooking.com/entree-recipes.html#sthash.BTLOXTVS.dpuf

A Chef's Prayer

It's been quite a while since I have written to this because I have had so much to say on my other blog, but as I ease back into this, I felt like starting with a prayer I wrote about the business I want to go into.  I'll be following with three recipes.

A Chef's Prayer
Dear Father. Please guide my hands to make sure all of my food tastes great and is wholesome. Grant me the wisdom to know that food and money are only a small part of my business. May I always put the basic needs of my employees before personal gain, but let them also know that I must profit in order for me to help them. Let my food be used to bring family and friends closer together, and my establishment be a favorite for dates. And if it is your will, may it never be used for breakups or family fights. Also, let me stay stable enough that I can give freely for benefits and charities when the call comes up.

Finally, and as always bless all the food and the people that cook it, serve it, and clean the dishes.

Amen