Please welcome my guest poster Amanda!

I LOVE spaghetti! I seriously could eat it every other night! Here is my favorite way to make it fresh and organically! This recipe is for a family of 11, so adjust to your family size.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 16oz boxes of Spaghetti Noodles
• 2# Natural Beef
• Dash Italian Seasonings
• Stock Pan
• Wok Pan
• Food Processor
• Parmesan Cheese

Boil water for spaghetti noodles in stock pan. Put two pounds of natural beef in Wok pan to brown with Italian seasonings and salt.

For the sauce you will need:

• 3 28oz. can of organic diced tomatoes
• 1 clove of organic garlic
• 1 half of organic onion
• 2 pieces of organic lettuce
• 2 tbsp of water
• 2tbsp of natural evaporated cane juice
• 1 tbsp raw honey
• 1 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Put 2 cans of tomatoes, onions, garlic, lettuce and water in your food processor and puree. Pour into Wok pan with completely browned meat. I rinsed out the food processor cup with water as well as the tomato cans into the pan. It is going to be really watery, so you want to bring to a boil and cover so some of the water will vaporize out. Add in honey and olive oil. Boil for about an 30min til sauce is the consistency you like.

Put in last can of diced tomatoes. Add about 2tbsp of natural evaporated cane juice. Bring to a slight boil on high and bring to low. Simmer on low til finished. This recipe tends to be more watery than THICK.

Make sure you set the timer for the noodles, because you don’t want them to get mushy. I cook mine for about 8min at the most. They should come out to be a little hard, but still tender enough that if you pinch them they squeeze.

Put some noodles on your plate, pour the sauce on, and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top and voila! Serve with your favorite veggies and these breadsticks.

Amanda is an 19yo homeschool college student, columnist and assistant editor for Growing In Grace Magazine and oldest of 8 children. She is chief errand runner, grocery menu maker and shopper, laundry queen, and organizational gal. She enjoys secretary work, site designing, movies, and blogging. She will remain home until the Lord brings her Man of Steel. Find out more at The Daily Planet.

Guest Post by Nan Slaughter of Pots and Pins

There is a definite chill in the air, and I’m not just talking about the mister opening his checkbook either! Winter is upon us up here in the Great Northwest…no snow yet but when the temperature dips below our average (50 degrees) it’s time to break out the comfort food! And nothing says comfort like risotto! Even my mister would agree, and he is most disagreeable…his favorite food is boiled chicken and mashed potatoes and serving him anything colorful and flavorful is always risky so you know it’s good when someone with his bland-as-mush-palate will eat risotto! But then, this is no ordinary risotto! It’ll have your taste buds doing a feel-good dance in no time with it’s creamy, cheesiness and the freshness of the tomatoes – to say nothing of the subtle hint of saffron…guiro su dio!…Cross my heart and hope to die! Break out the pots and give this one a try…it’ll cure what ails you and then some!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tomatoes, (about 2 lbs.) flesh scooped out and skin discarded
• 1 (32 oz.) container chicken broth
• 2 pinches saffron threads
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces
• 2 cups baby spinach (a few generous handfuls)
• ½ pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup Parmesan, grated

DIRECTIONS:

Using a food processor, puree the tomatoes. Pour into a medium saucepan and add the chicken broth and saffron. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then keep warm over low heat.

In a deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the rice to coat with the oil, increase the heat to medium-high and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until slightly evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir in a couple ladlefuls of the warm tomato broth, stirring constantly until absorbed, about 1 minute. Continue adding the broth, a couple of ladlefuls at a time, stirring after each addition until absorbed and to prevent sticking. Cook until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy but not soupy, about 18 minutes. During the last two minutes of cooking, stir in the butter.

Remove from heat and toss in the baby spinach and Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Recipe Adapted from Everyday With Rachel Ray Magazine, November 2008, Serves 4.

I told you I would have something AWESOME for you guys in the final stretch of the Velveeta Challenge and I wasn’t lying!  I did a twitter poll asking people what their favorite small kitchen appliance was and these 3 had an overwhelming majority.  SOOOOOOOO, I decided to let the winner choose their prize!  OH YEAH BABY!   Umm, yeah, I have some very cool sponsors:)

Here’s what you can choose from:

Yep, that’s right folks….you get to choose from a Kitchenaid Immersion Blender, a Cuisinart Food Processor, or a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer!  HOLY COW!

I really, really, really wanna win this challenge so I hope that you please, please vote for me.  BUT, that’s NOT a requirement into entering this contest.

HOW TO ENTER:

There are 4 ways to enter this fantastic giveaway..or at least I think it’s fantastic.  You can do 1 or all 4….it’s up to you.  The more you do, the more chance you have at winning.

• 1. Leave a comment telling me which one you would choose.
• 2. Vote for me to Win a Wii!  You simply click and vote on LORI FALCON.
• 3. Twitter this giveaway.
• 4. Blog about it.

Please leave each entry in a separate comment!

This giveaway ends on Nov. 23rd which is the day the contest ends for me as well at the Velveeta Challenge website.

No matter who wins, it was a great run and I had a blast giving out prizes right before the holidays and I appreciate the support that everyone has given me.  You all RAWK and I’m grateful to have such a awesome group of readers/friends.  THANK YOU!