A Few Cheater Ingredients

I don't make my own pastas. I have no time to make pasta from scratch. Barilla is my favorite pasta to use. Gelson's Market sometimes has gourmet pastas. I love Celentano's large jumbo frozen ravioli. They are as close to home made as I have ever had. I don't like the tiny little square raviolis.

I use pasta for large parties because it is easy to make and not mega expensive and you can "dress" them up. And who doesn't like pasta. I will do my own sauces when I have time and my own meatballs.

If I am in a hurry I will make a cheater sauce. I will use Prego Mushroom Sauce and add to it. Add fresh tomatoes, extra spices, Worcestershire sauce and my meat. Prego makes a really decent sauce.

I'll even use it as a starter sauce, or add it in if I didn't make enough sauce or if my sauce is too thin, too close to serving time, I will use it for thickening. Just grab a jar of Prego and fix it!

I will reveal my own sauce soon...

4th of July BBQ

Since everyone asked me how and what I did to the meats I cooked up on the BBQ, I thought I would share with everyone.

Chicken Marinade:

• Salt
• Lowery's Seasoned Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Juice from 1 1/2 large navel oranges
• Paprika

Left the chicken to marinade over night. Yum!

Pork Marinade:

• Trader Joe's Fire Roasted red and yellow peppers
• Sliced Onions
  
• Garlic Powder
• paprika

I cut a pork tenderloin into thin pieces and then left it to marinade over night until the BBQ.

Steak Marinade:

• Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Diced Onion
  
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Paprika

Leave the meat to marinade over night.

Enjoy...