Let's give a big hand for our two winners,

Michelle R. of  California

Nikki C. of Maryland

WOO HOO !!!
CONGRATULATIONS !!!

I just want to thank everyone who participated in this giveaway.  The honesty of your opinion is so valuable for the growth of Simple Daily Recipes.  Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me and thank you for making these giveaways so much fun.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

This meaty pasta sauce recipe has come to be my husband's FAVORITE red sauce.  It's become my favorite as well.  Each time I make it, I innocently think I've made enough to make two full meals.  The flavors that come out of this sauce reach down to our inner child and make us ask "Please sir, may I have some more?"  Sadly, we will eat up so much at dinner that there is just enough for a light lunch the next day. But oh what a lunch it is.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES
Makes about 4 cups of red sauce, enough for a pasta dinner for four friends.

• 2 tablespoons bacon drippings
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 10 whole garlic cloves
• 2 heaping teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage

• 1 pound fresh ground pork

• 1- 28 ounce can of San Marzano Whole Tomatoes
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

In a dutch oven over medium heat, melt bacon drippings.  Add onions, garlic cloves, oregano and sage.  Cook until the onions begin to soften, stirring constantly about 5 minutes.

Add in ground pork and continue to cook until meat has browned and there's no sign of pink.

Using a hand blender, puree the whole tomatoes until smooth.  Pour sauce over cooked pork.  Add salt and pepper.  When tomato sauce begins to boil, REDUCE heat to medium low, cover with lid and simmer for 30 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and use with any pasta.

This sauce keeps very well in the freezer.  It would be very handy to double this recipe and put up half the sauce in the freezer for a future meal.

Treat Yourself to the Best KitchenAid Tool from Amazon.

Let me start by making your stomach ache for a slice of this heavenly apple pie recipe.  Are your cheeks filling up with saliva? Do you wish you could pick off that bit of crumble that has fallen to the side?  Look at those chunks of tender apple suspended in the brown sugary glaze, reclining on the thin and tender buttery pie crust.  The crumble topping with fresh heavy cream baked right in, will make you think you're eating an apple crumble with melted ice cream.  I'll let you in on something right now before you run off to the store.

• Buy enough ingredients to MAKE TWO PIES!

The first pie will be history after one meal.  If you're family can manage to restrain themselves to save half of the pie for the next dinner, they will no doubt race through that dinner just so they can be first to get the next slice.  I've seen it happen.  You should have see me go.  I've never eaten so fast in my life. ;D

Okay, now one note on my use of the word 'organic' in this recipe.  The apples, the fresh heavy cream, and butter used in the crust were as close to organic as I had on hand.  I have no idea where someone finds organic cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar.  As for organic flour,  I haven't come around to buying it.  It's not easily available to me and I honestly forget that it exists. I used the term 'organic' in the recipe because my apples were organic.  So I didn't lie, but I want to be clear that I couldn't make the entire recipe strictly an organic one.  If you have all the organic ingredients on hand, then you know what to do.  Enough said.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, PIE CRUST MADE FROM SCRATCH

I've already written to you about making pie crust that won't let you down.  Go ahead and measure out enough ingredients for two 10-inch crusts.  Even if you don't plan to make two apple pies, you'll have an extra crust ready for the next time.  Go here to print off the pie crust recipe...

• Simple Homemade Pie Crust That Won't Let You Down

HERE'S ALL YOU NEED TO FILL
ONE 9-inch PIE

• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 6 cups thinly sliced pared organic apples
• 2 tablespoons butter

Crumble Topping Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firm butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Cream Topper for the Topping

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

HEAT OVEN TO 425ºF.

Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in apples.

Turn into pastry-lined pie plate.

MAKE THE CRUMBLE TOPPING
Mix and press together, using just your fingers, until all the flour and sugar are absorbed into the butter and there are large flat flakes.

Use the crumble to cover the entire pie.

Tuck the over lapping pie crust under to make a nice ridge.  Later on, right before the pie is finished baking, you're going to pour heavy cream over the top.  It's a good idea right now to make the crust sit up high on so it can keep the cream from spilling out.

Make a foil pie ring to keep the pie crust from burning during baking.  You can remove it 15 minutes before the pie is finished baking.  Baking the crust until it is golden brown.

BAKE the pie 40 to 50 minutes, until the juice begins to bubble through.

Five minutes before all the baking is complete, slowly pour 1/2 cup fresh heavy cream over the top of the pie.  Return to oven for 5 minutes.

Allow the pie to cool down to a warm eatable temperature before serving.

You're ready to take your first bite.

Treat Yourself to the Best KitchenAid Tool from Amazon.

Last Summer, I bought an entire bushel of pinto beans in the shell from my local farmers' market.  Knowing that my family loves pinto beans and we eat them often, I couldn't go wrong buying them in bulk.  Also, pinto beans have a short harvest time, I have to stock up on them while they were available.

After getting my very large purchase home, I realized it was going to take me awhile to shell all those beans, even with my family's help.  As timing would have it, I had a Italian dinner planned with 6 adults and their kids coming over that night.  As my guests arrived, they all took notice of the large bag of beans.  Every one had a fond childhood memory of shelling beans or peas that came rushing forward in their minds and happily shared it as they starred into the bag.  Right away, I knew how I was going to get those beans shelled.

Later on, after the dessert dishes had been put away, along with a few bottles of wine, I dug out all the large bowls I could find and made a few make-shift trash cans.  I hauled that large bag of beans right into the middle of the living room and dispensed with the shelling bowls and trash cans.  Everyone laughed at the thought of me putting them to work for their supper.  But you know, not one person hesitated to grab up a bowl and went to shelling straight away.  It took us maybe 25 minutes to shell a whole bushel of beans.  We were all amazed at our speed and at the same time, sad that the fun was over so quickly.

The whole experience was one to be remembered and repeated.  I can't wait for the coming harvest to be here.  I'll know just what to do AND who to call over for dinner. 

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES TO COOK FRESH PINTO BEANS

• 3 cups fresh shelled pinto beans
• 4 to 6 whole garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• enough water to cover the beans with 2-inches of water

In a large dutch oven or cooking pot, add all the ingredients and bring water to boil.  REDUCE heat to a simmer, cover with a lid.  Simmer, stirring occasionally and checking water level, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  If the water becomes level with the top of the beans, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups more water; continue cooking until beans are tender to the bite.

Keeping the pinto beans mildly seasoned makes them versatile for other dishes.  If you know that you'll want them for Tex-Mex meals, than add 2 teaspoons chili powder and 1 teaspoon cumin with the other ingredients before cooking.

If you're wondering what I did with all those extra shelled pinto beans, I bagged them- 3 cups per freezer bags and stored them in the freezer.  I can't tell you how nice it is to go to the freezer and pull out a bag of Summer goodness in the middle of Winter.  We have really been blessed to have a farmers' market in our small town.

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Spinach and Tabouleh salad is what happens when I get a craving for my favorite ingredients all at the same time.  As you may already know, I'm a HUGE spinach eater.  Blanched, baked or fresh, I'll eat spinach anyway, anyday, it's served to me.  I'm also a big fan of mushrooms.  In much the same way, I will eat them anyway they can be cooked.  Tabouleh or bulgar wheat is fairly new to me.  I've eaten it quite a bit over the last year, but not beyond the cold salad serving.  It has a mild nutty grain flavor that's makes it a versatile ingredient for other dishes.  But like I said, I haven't used it beyond the salad recipe.  I'm the only one in my house that will eat tabouleh,  that's the root of the reason why I haven't explored more dishes using it.  None the less, I like it!  And I KNOW I have SDR friends who like it, too.

HERE'S WHAT I THREW TOGETHER

• 2 cups fresh spinach, washed and torn into bite size pieces
• 1/2 cup white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup prepared tabouleh
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Toss all the goodies in a medium bowl.  You're ready for a light lunch or healthy afternoon snack to tie you over until dinner.

If you like making tabouleh, what recipes do you suggest I try?  Got any that will win over a couple of picky eaters?  I'd like to know about them.  I don't mind eating alone, but it's more fun to share.

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Go easy on yourself tonight and make crunchy, delicious tacos for dinner.

For the kiddos that don't like spicy taco meat filling, feed them bean & cheese tacos. Grown ups can enjoy crunchy tacos loaded with meat, beans, spicy salsa, sour cream, lettuce and jalapeños!

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1/2 pound fresh extra lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder & cumin, as much as you prefer
• salt & pepper

• 1 box of taco shells
• 1 (15oz.) can of pinto beans, drain & reserve liquid
• 1 (2 cup) package of shredded cheddar cheese
• shredded lettuce
• lite sour cream
• jalapeños
• your favorite salsa

Preheat oven for heating taco shells (see directions on box).

Start by browning beef in a medium size skillet over medium heat until fully cooked (there's no pink meat); stir occasionally. Add onions, chili powder, cumin, pinch of salt and pepper, and approximately 1/4 cup water; cook until onions are translucent; stir occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

Between the moments of stirring and cooking the beef, blend pinto beans in a one cup food processor until semi-smooth with chunks of beans here and there. If the consistency is too thick, stir in the reserved bean liquid a tablespoon at a time to thin. Careful not to add too much liquid or it gets soupy after it heats up. Move the blended beans to a microwaveable bowl and heat until hot, 1 to 2 minutes depending on your microwave.

Whether you stick clean spoons in the salsa, sour cream and jalapeno jars or you put each in their own small bowls, prepare a taco assembly line so everyone can build there own tacos.

Once the meat mixture is ready, fill taco shells with beans or meat or both, and shredded cheese and lay them on their sides on a cookie sheet. Bake for the amount time designated on taco shell box, 6-8 minutes usually. Then it's time to EAT!

For dessert, serve up fat free Vanilla Yogurt with a crushed cinnamon granola bar sprinkled on top.

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HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED FOR SLOPPY JOES

• 3 cups precooked ground beef
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• salt to taste
• 2-3 dashes Tabasco
• 6 hamburger buns, toasted

Cook over medium heat all the ingredients, excepts the buns, 10-15 minutes, until the sauce has thicken.  Remove from heat, allow to set for a few minutes before serving.

If you have them, heat up some Tater Tots in the oven while you're cooking the Sloppy Joes.  They should finish up about the same time.

Enjoy!