Buffalo Burgers

Mom's critique:  You can add more pepper sauce if you like it more spicy.  This amount in this recipe makes it a medium-hotness.  My husband gave this recipe an A++.  This was pretty easy and can be made ahead.  Even my "non-blue-cheese-loving" son had some blue cheese on it, and said it made the difference.  Final grade: A-

Wade's critique:  I love spicy foods, so for this one I was ready to take on a gallon of spice. When I saw the recipe calling for so little (1/8 tsp.) I grabbed the bottle and put a lot more in. But this recipe is very good it has a unique taste and it gets a : B+

  1 lb. ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Tomato soup
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese 
4 hamburger buns 


Shape beef into 4 patties, 1/2" thick. 
Cook patties in skillet until browned. pour off fat.
Add soup and hot pepper sauce. Heat to boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 mins. or until done. Top with cheese.
Serve on rolls with soup mixture. serves 4.

 

Pizza-style Pasta

Mom's critique: This is the first time making this, even though it has been in my recipe stash for a decade.  All I can say is WOW.  This was SO SO easy, and so SO good.  If you like a little extra spice, use the hot Italian sausage instead of the mild. This one will be on our regular "do over" list. Final Grade: A

Wade's critique: This is a very easy recipe it requires you to be there the whole time  doing something for the recipe. In total this recipe takes about 28 minutes to make, bake,  and serve. It is really good with raspberry lemonade. This get an : A-

    

Pizza- style pasta
1(16-oz.) package mostaccioli, cooked and drained as package directs.
1/2 lb. italian sausage 
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1(14 1/2-oz.) can fresh cut diced tomatoes
1 T dried italian seasoning 
2 cups shredded mozzarella 

Preheat oven to 450* F. In nonstick skillet, over high heat, brown sausages and mushrooms about 8 minutes. add tomatoes and Italian seasoning; cook an additional 2 minutes.  Place half cooked pasta on 12" round pizza pan, or in 13x9" baking dish.  Sprinkle with 1 1/2 c. cheese, then add remaining cooked pasta.  Top with tomato mixture and remaining cheese.  Bake for 5 minutes and serve immediately.  Refrigerate leftovers.  Serves 4-6.

Brazilian Lemonade

We had several attempts at making this, the first failed miserably (apparently you aren't supposed to blend up the ENTIRE lime... peels and all).

We tried the recipe from here.

Moms critique:  If you are a fan of Tucanos, and like their Brazilian Lemonade, you will love this.  This is an almost SPOT ON replica of the great drink, and the sweetened condensed milk is what makes this recipe great.  A+

Wade's critique: I thought that this recipe had a very nice taste. If you have ever been to Tucanos, they serve these (although theirs may taste better than this recipe, most likely they have a secret recipe.) This recipe quickly became our families favorite. As a drink it goes along with almost any dinner.  A


Brazilian Lemonade:

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they're the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk




Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you're using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.

Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.

Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you'll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn't test it and it came out a little bitter. If it's bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don't make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.