Sausage with Cream Sauce

Hot Italian Sausage
Salt/pepper
Fresh parsley
Heavy cream
Grated Parmesan cheese

Watch out RR, this was ready in 20!

Sausage Bolognese with Penne

After our holiday eating and recovering from some kind of stomach flu we have been working on eating healthier. I think for the most part we have a good diet but there is always room for improvement. I found this recipe in Family Circle and it seemed like the perfect meal to work into our weekly menu. Lots of veggies and still very taste too. The only MAJOR change I made was to use mini Penne instead of Linguine. I didn’t really use exact measurements but very close. Anyway, this is a great dish, easy to make, fast with a processor and low cal too. I included the nutritional facts just so you could see how low cal it truly is.

Adapted from Family Circle, Jan 2010

Ingredients

• 3 medium-size carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 package (20 ounces) sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 box (13.25 ounces) low-carb linguine (such as Dreamfields)
• Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Pulse carrots, celery and onion in a food processor until finely chopped.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add vegetable mixture and cook, stirring, 6 minutes. Rinse food processor bowl; set aside. Crumble sausage into skillet and cook for 3 minutes.

3. Add wine to skillet; bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Drain tomatoes and save the liquid. Add tomatoes to food processor bowl; pulse until finely chopped. Add tomatoes and their liquid to skillet; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium; cook for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in milk and cook another 8 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions in salted boiling water, about 12 minutes. Serve pasta with sauce, and Parmesan, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Facts

Servings Per Recipe 8 servings

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• Amount Per Serving
• Calories 289
• Total Fat (g) 6
• Saturated Fat (g) 1
• Cholesterol (mg) 38
• Sodium (mg) 536
• Carbohydrate (g) 39
• Fiber (g) 3
• Protein (g) 17

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Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Pioneer Woman's Lasagna

Our house is on the mend…I think. The concrete is cold and not very pretty to look at but with love from friends, family and each other we are winning the battle. I would say that our boys seem to like the adventure. Each step brings new equipment and people to explore.


Our kind and loving friends brought us lasagna for dinner one night while we were in the thick of it. Cindy, you will never know how much we appreciate your kindness. It was SO nice to have a homemade meal. And I didn’t have to jump over fans and woodpiles to prepare it.

Cindy shared that her recipe came from Pioneer Woman’s blog. If you have a friend in need or a hungry family, give it a try.

Pioneer Woman’s recipe

Ingredients

• 1-½ pound Ground Beef
• 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• ½ cups Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
• (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

To assemble:
Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat mixture over the top.

Repeat, ending with meat mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

As most of you know, I’m a bit of a ravioli nut. I love everything about ravioli. I love it so much that it’s the one and only food that I can eat and not think once about the number of calories in each bite. I love to see flour all over my kitchen, my 7-year-old turning the crank on the pasta press, the smell of the dough, the way they float to the top of my pot and the versatility of fillings. My blog dream is 30 days of ravioli. I could go on and on but I’ll spare you the bore and get to the recipe.

Pasta

• 1 ¼ C All purpose flour
• ¾ C Semolina
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 4 tbls Warm Water
• 2 Eggs

Directions:

• I dump all the ingredients into my food processor equipped with the dough hook and let it do its thing.
• Allow the dough to sit for 30 minutes before shaping.

Filling

• 1 peeled, diced and roasted Butternut squash
• 5 –6 Cloves Roasted Garlic
• 1C Ricotta Cheese
• Fresh Sage (didn’t measure, just dumped)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Dump and mix.

I served the ravioli with a bacon béchamel sauce, Roasted Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, spring salad and homemade wheat rolls. YUM! I love ravioli.

You guys thought I forgot didn't you?

Ingredients:

• Marshmallows
  
• Chocolate chips
• Oreo Cookies
• Icing pen

Directions:

• Melt the chocolate.
• Separate the Oreo. Don't toss the filling side, we'll make turkeys with those.
  
• Hold the marshmallow with a toothpick, dip and cover it with chocolate.
• Place the marshmallow on the cookie.
• Cool in the freezer.
• Draw the buckle on with the icing pen.
  

Roasted Cauliflower with pasta and Witch Hats

So simple, so beautiful and so tasty.

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower
• 2 Ripe Roma tomatoes
• 3or 4 links of sweet Italian sausage
• Fresh Parsley
• Fresh grated cheese
• 1LB pasta

Directions:

• Clean and remove the cauliflower florets from the stem, sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil.
• Roast at 400 until tender but not mushy.
• Sauté the sausage in a small fry pan while the pasta is cooking.
• Add chopped tomatoes to the cooked sausage.
• Add the roasted cauliflower to the sausage and tomato mixture.
• Toss with the pasta.
• Sprinkle with parsley and cheese then serve,

Witch Hats

Ingredients:

• 1 Package of croissant rolls
• Cinnamon sugar

Directions:

• Unroll rolls.
• Roll wide end and shape the pointed end.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake according to package directions.

Baked Spaghetti, Witch Fingers and Monster Teeth

3 recipes 1 post

It’s been raining and cold here and this baked spaghetti was a great meal to warm us all up. It’s the ultimate comfort food, fast, easy, yummy! We had ours with a nice spinach salad and warm fresh homemade bread. Life is good!


INGREDIENTS
Adapted from All-recipes
· 12 ounces spaghetti
· 1 cup chopped onions
· 1 cup chopped green bell peppers
· 1 pound lean ground beef
· 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
· 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
· 1 teaspoon dried oregano
· 2 cups shredded mild Cheddar cheese
· 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
· 1/4 cup water
· 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onions, green peppers and ground beef. Once beef is brown and onions and peppers softened, add the tomatoes, mushrooms and oregano. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place half of the cooked spaghetti into the prepared dish. Top with half of the meat mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the mild Cheddar cheese. Repeat. In a medium bowl, mix together cream of mushroom soup and water until smooth; pour over casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Monster Teeth
These are a fast and easy snack to prepare for all the little monsters in your life. They always get a big smile.


Ingredients

• Red Apples, any variety will do in fact green would be fun too.
• Mini Marshmallows
• Peanut Butter or almond butter
  

Directions

• Core and section your apples
• Spread peanut butter on one side of all the slices.
• Stick 5 to 6 mini marshmallows on half of the apple slices.
• Top with the other apple slices and serve.

Witch Fingers

I was not going to post these as they can be found all over the Internet and blogosphere but I’ve had too many people ask for the recipe and this is an easy way to mass distribute it.
A fun variation is to add a drop or two of green food coloring to the dough to give it a more sickly hue.

Witch Finger Cookie Recipe
Yield: 5 dozen
· 1 cup powdered sugar
· 1 cup Butter, softened
· 1 Egg
· 1 tsp Almond extract(I stopped using this)
· 1 tsp Vanilla extract
· 2 2/3 cups Flour
· 1 tsp Salt

· 3/4 cup whole Almonds, blanched

· 1 tube red decorating gel

· green food coloring

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla; beat in the flour, and salt. Add a couple drops of green food coloring to dough, until it has a light green tint. Divide the dough into four equal parts, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325F. Take one quarter of dough at a time from the refrigerator. Break off one heaping teaspoonful and roll it into a finger shape, then press an almond firmly into one end for a nail. Squeeze in around the middle of the finger to create a knuckle shape. Using a butter knife, make indents in several places to resemble a finger. Repeat with rest of dough. Place cookies on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool three minutes. Gently lift up the almond; squeeze red decorating gel onto the nailbed and press the almond back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. Remove cookies from baking sheets and let them cool on wire racks.

Leftovers Lasagna?

After a small impromptu BBQ this weekend we found ourselves with too many leftovers. With some of the leftover corn on the cob we made delicious lasagna. It took almost no time to cook and was such a great way to change up the leftovers.

Ingredients:

Grilled Corn on the Cob, removed from cob

Ricotta cheese

Mozzarella Cheese

Onion

Spinach

Lasagna noodles, cooked until slightly tender

Sweet Italian Sausage

Salt/pepper

1 egg

1 can of chopped tomatoes

Fresh Parsley

Directions:

Combine Corn, onion and salt and pepper and allow to sit for at least an hour in the refrigerator.

Sauté onions and sausage until the sausage is no longer pink. Add the tomatoes and parsley, simmer until the pasta is ready.

Mix ricotta, egg, mozzarella, salt and pepper until combined.

Layer in casserole dish as follows. Pasta, corn mix, cheese mix then another layer of pasta. Repeat this process until the cheese and corn are all in the dish. Then layer spinach and mozzarella cheese topping with the sausage tomato mix.

Bake at 350 for about 45 mins.

Let it rest for about 10 mins then serve.

Meatballs, Green Beans and Mushroom with Spaghetti

Have you ever had one of those nights where cooking was more of a chore than a joy. Well Last night started that way for me. My husband was working late (again), the kids were well GRUMPY and the grocery fairy was a no show (again).

I had a pound of ground beef thawed out, no plan and no real desire for anything. My first thought was to go with my dad’s old stand by recipe, gruel. Gruel is ground beef mixed with cream of mushroom soup served over mashed potatoes or rice. Gruel was a favorite of mine as a kid and my kids like it but it seems so heavy and it’s 100 degrees here in Texas. So here is what we ended up having.

Ingredients:

• 1lb Ground beef
• Basil Pesto
• Salt/pepper
• Garlic
• ½ a Red Onion, chopped
• Fresh Green Beans
• Fresh Baby Bellas, sliced
• Edam Cheese for topping
• 1 lb Whole wheat spaghetti

Directions:

• Boil salted for the pasta. Add Pasta when the water boils.
• Mix the beef and pesto in a bowl and roll into mini meatball. I ended up with about 20 meatballs.
• Brown the meatballs in a splash of olive oil.
• Add the onion, green beans and mushrooms then simmer over low heat, cover until the pasta is al dente.
• Drain the pasta and mix with the meatball veggie mixture.
• Grate the cheese on top and serve.

My 6-year-old had three helpings and I had very little clean up. A 20-minute meal and one happy family.

Pasta salad with Fava Beans

I love to cook and I love to have my children in the kitchen with me. Having time and something entertaining enough to keep the kids from making me crazy can be a challenge. The other day my son and I made a pasta salad with Fava beans, which worked out well for a rushed weeknight meal. I love the cumin/mint combination. After the pasta had marinated overnight, my 4 year old and I made chicken nuggets while my 6 and 2 year old worked on a salad. My 4 year old was so impressed that his mom could teach him how to make chicken nuggets. I hope I’m his hero for the rest of his life or at least the rest of the week. Having the yummy pasta ready gave me time to invest in my children.

Pasta salad with Fava Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Acini Di Pepe Pasta
• Fava Beans (hulled, boil and skins peeled)
• Cumin
• Fresh Mint (chopped)
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Sherry Vinegar

Directions:

Cook the pasta, combine all the ingredients and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

OH! My Best Friend stop over today.

She gave us this special treat to make our weekly celebration of Pancake Sunday a bit easier and funner!

Thank you and you know we love you! Remember that always(especially as you see this and your picture)!

Spaghetti with Two Tomatoes and Shrimp

Here is a fast, easy and low-heat meal that is quick enough to be a weeknight meal and pretty enough to be a Sunday dinner.

The pesto can be frozen and used again with just about any pastas, meat or bread. I love this tossed with shrimp but it’s also good alone. Perfect for summer nights when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen.

Recipe adapted from “La Cucina Italiana”

Ingredients

• 1 C Sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• ½ C Olive oil
• 1 tsp Capers, rinsed, soaked and rinsed again
• 2 C Cherry tomatoes
• 3 Tbls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 Tbls chives, chopped
• 1 lb shrimp
• 1lb Spaghetti

Directions for Pesto

• Puree sun-dried tomatoes, oil and capers until well combined.
• Add cherry tomatoes and puree again until smooth.
• Add 1-2 tablespoons of water if necessary.
• Transfer pesto to a large serving bowl; stir in cheese and chives

Directions for Shrimp

• Peel and devein.
• Grill for a few minutes until pink.

Directions for Spaghetti

• Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add pasta and cook until al dente.
• Drain and toss with pesto and grilled shrimp.
• Garnish with chives and Parmigiano cheese.
  

Whole-Wheat Pasta with Fava Beans and Tomatoes and some Root Beer!

What to do when you spend three and half hours of your afternoon at the dentist with three hungry and grumpy children? Macaroni and cheese, pizza, a drive through or sacrifice the Fava beans you have been saving for a special and yummy meal? Now, I love my children but I spent too much money and time on my Fava beans to just waste them on grumpy kids. Oh how I wish I took my mom’s advice and ate them one by one when everyone was sleeping. I know the cost and labor that went into each and every bean. I could appreciate and savor every bit. BUT, like all good and lazy moms I made a quick dinner and shared them with my family. Dinner was very good although not the dinner I had planned in my head.

Whole-wheat pasta with Fava Beans and Tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat pasta
• Fresh Fava Beans
• Tomatoes, chopped (canned or fresh)
• Basil Pesto
• Paprika
• Cumin

Directions:

• Cook pasta until al dente.
• Simmer bean, tomatoes and spices together.
• Combine pasta and bean mix.
• Sprinkle with fresh grated cheese.

Yesterday was also National Root Beer Day so, following the lead of Tina from Mommy’s Kitchen, I made homemade root beer. We have made root beer many times but never as easy as Tina described. As soon as I read her recipe I made a batch of my own. I have to tell you I was a bit concerned that the root beer didn’t need to ferment in the closet for 3-5 days as I’m accustomed to. After dinner I pulled my root beer mix out of the refrigerator, added the water AND the taste test results…YUM. I will replace our recipe with hers and enjoy root beer more often. Thanks Tina and Happy belated Root Beer Day to everyone!

As Seen at Mommy’s Kitchen.

Homemade Root Beer

1 1/2 - cups water

3/4 - cup sugar
1 1/2 - teaspoons root beer concentrate
1 - bottle (1 liter size) cold soda water, seltzer or club soda


Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add concentrate; stir until well mixed. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slowly pour soda into root beer mixture until well blended. I used seltzer. Makes 6 cups.

Back on Track and Not Your Mama's Mac and Cheese

Dear Blog and Blog Friends,

Please accept my apology for the tragic neglect and lack of involvement I've given you all and myself over the past few months. I would love to give you the simple version and say "I told you I was a Foodie with Little Thyme" but I feel I owe you and me more than that. I'll try to be brief and still give you the full run down. I think the best way to tackle this pile is with bullet points just like I would a recipe. So here goes...

• Lost my camera.

I don't know why but for some odd reason losing my camera really derailed me. I thought I could work through it until I found a new camera but half the fun of cooking is taking pictures. Strange??? I know you guys all get what I'm saying and take the same sick pleasure out of food pictures as I do.

• Bake Sale

I joined the Sharing our Strengths Great American Bake Sale. With the help of family and friends we were able to pull off a couple of bake sales and raised more than 500 dollars towards feeding hungry children in the US.

• Swimming

The end of Kindergarten marked the beginning of my son's love for competitive swimming and the rebirth of my own. I swam competitively for more than 15 years. I walked away from swimming because it's hard to build a life and still swim and run competitively. Running I can do no matter what state I live in or where I vacation and with little effort. With some pressure from a good friend and a six-year old boy, I entered the pool again. I competed in 4 meets and regionals. I walked away with 9 first place ribbons, 1 second place ribbon, 1 forth place ribbon, a bronze medal from regionals and a seat to swim in the Summer Games(state). More than anything I walked away with my love of swimming renewed. Anthony and I are looking for a club team to join so that we can continue to train and compete together. I do still have the problem with THYME! I'm looking for a way to make gym work-outs, swimming, running, blogging, mothering and being a friend, daughter and wife fit into the day.

• Stitches, Ear Trouble and the loss of Noel.

Finally, we have had a set of stitches. It's true don't run around the pool or you will fall and bust your lip open. My children like to learn the hard way. I think they must get the hard head from their father.

Our 4 year-old was deaf at birth and we have been battling his ear structure ever since. He can't hear unless he has tubes to create an opening to his ear drum and his little body does not like to keep the tubes in. You guys may remember he had ear surgery a few months ago and already he is losing his hearing again. The good news is that we will stay on top of the issue and find a way to keep him hearing.

Our 12 year old greyhound Noel passed away after a long and mostly happy life. If you ever have an chance to know a greyhound, enjoy it. They are such sweet and gentle dogs. Their life on the track is hard and they are left with a life time of track related illnesses that they handle with such grace and elegance.
Noel is missed. I long to hear her toe nails tapping on the wood floors.

OK, now back to the blog. I have been following your blogs. I have read about all your vacations, puppy up dates, street work, new jobs and new recipes. I have made many of your recipe and have some new favorites too. I will get back to posting my monthly blogger finds to feature them. Thank you for your encouragement as I started back swimming. We are back on track! I even have a new camera.

I will leave you with a easy comfort food recipe. I've debated sharing this with you but if the big guys can do it so can Foodie with Little Thyme!

Not your Mama’s Mac and cheese

This is my Mama and my two-year old.

It’s seems to me that every cookbook and professional chef has a macaroni and cheese recipe. So I’m jumping on the bandwagon and my soapbox, and sharing my macaroni and cheese with you guys. I’ll go on record to say that as a child I never had Mac and cheese from a box and my kids have never had it either. I have never understood the mass appeal of boxed pasta. I cook macaroni and cheese using fresh ingredients in the same amount of time that it takes to cook the boxed kind. The great thing about making fresh/non-boxed is you can use and add all kinds of different ingredients with none of the additives and yucky stuff. You can use homemade pasta, fresh or frozen veggies and even leftover meats. The possibilities are endless.

Here is how I make Mac and cheese at our house.

Cook pasta in salted water until al dente.

Any pasta will work but I stick with the smaller pasta for the simple fact that the kids can feed themselves.

When the pasta is finished, drain the water from the pan but leave the pasta in the pan.

Return to the burner (burner on or off, it doesn’t matter), add milk, butter, cheese, salt and pepper to the hot pasta and stir until you have a nice smooth, creamy and cheesey macaroni and cheese.

The key to success is to have fun and get creative. OH! and use shredded or grated cheese. This whole meal takes 20 minutes and always turns out perfect. You can use any cheese and it’s always yummy. Come on people just say NO to the box!

Creamy Prawns with Fettucine

Keeping with my cooking style of fast and easy, here is great recipe that only takes minutes to prepare and cook. Enjoy!


Creamy Prawns with Fettucine
Adapted from "The Essential Pasta Cookbook"

Ingredients

• 1lb Fettucine

• 1-2 lb Shrimp, peeled and deveined

• Butter

• Olive Oil

• Green Onions, chopped

• 2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced

• 1 C Heavy Cream

• Fresh Parsley, chopped
• Salt and Pepper
  

Directions

• Cook Fettucine in salted water until al dente
• saute in garlic and onions in the melted butter and oil.
• Add shrimp and cook just until they turn color, 2-3 mins, then remove just the shrimp from the pan.
• Add heavy cream to the fry pan. Bring to a boil the reduce the heat and cook until cream starts to thicken.
  
• Return the shrimp to the cream, add salt and pepper and simmer for 1 minute.
• Add the shrimp and cream sauce to the fettucine and toss gently.
  
• Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans

This is a quick but yet very satisfying recipe. Great dish to serve now that the weather is warmer, or hot if you are in Texas. If you think you need some meat added, sausage would be nice.

Recipe adapted from All-recipes,SUBMITTED BY: Joelene Craver

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 10 ounces fresh spinach, washed
• 1 Onion, Chopped
  
• 1 lb penne pasta
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  My folders:

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
2. Saute Onion until soft in a large non-stick skillet.
   
3. Combine tomatoes and beans bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
4. Add spinach to the sauce; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly.
5. Serve sauce over pasta, and sprinkle with feta.

p.s. still no camera.

Stuffed Chicken with simple Sauce

My husband brought home some boneless, skinless chicken breasts the other day from the grocery store and asked if I wouldn’t mind making stuffed chicken for dinner. Well I guess I didn’t mind because that is what we had that night. I usually have some frozen sauce which makes the dinner very easy and quick to prepare. I guess it’s been a little while since I made sauce because I had none on reserve. So, having committed to making the chicken and not having the 5 plus hours required to make my sauce, I had to make a quick substitute that didn’t taste like a last minute stand in. I also didn’t use basil to stuff the chicken as ours are just starting to pop out of the ground in our herb garden. The sauce and chicken turned out well. I do like my thicker, harder sauce better but this was a nice spring substitution.

Chicken Ingredients:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

Fresh Mozzarella (fresh mozzarella is so nice in this dish)

Parsley, chopped

Oregano, chopped

Salt and Pepper

Sauce Ingredients:

1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage

2 Cans Diced Tomatoes

3 or 4 Cloves of Garlic

Red wine

Onion, chopped

Salt and Pepper

Chicken Stuffing Directions:

Pound the chicken out and flip it over, lay mozzarella on top of the chicken, spread herbs on top of the cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roll the chicken up as tight as possible and hold closed with a toothpick or two. Set the chicken aside in a casserole dish until the sauce is ready to be poured over the chicken.

Sauce Directions:

Sauté the onion and garlic in the red wine until the wine is almost fully evaporated then add the sausage and brown. Finally, add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes. Try to avoid the urge to add more herbs to the sauce. The chicken has so much favor and you don’t want it to have to compete with your sauce.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake at 350°f until the chicken is fully cooked. I serve my on top of spaghetti.

P.S. I lost my camera and had to use my phone.

Gorgonzola and Toasted Walnuts on Gemelli

This is a nice pasta dish that easily transitions from the heavy winter dishes to the lighter spring/summer dishes. It’s light yet with the walnuts and Gorgonzola you feel as if you are having a special treat. This dish is quick to make and can be changed by using a different type of cheese. Try it with the Gorgonzola first, the blue cheese is nice with the walnuts.

Ingredients: Adapted from “the essential Pasta cookbook”
¾ C Walnut Halves
1 LB Pasta
2½ oz Butter
5oz Gorgonzola Cheese
2 TBSP Cream
1 C shelled Fresh or frozen peas.

Directions:
Lightly toast walnuts in a 350ºF oven for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Cook Pasta in Salted boiling water until al dente.
While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a small pan over low heat and add the Gorgonzola, cream and peas. Stir gently for 5 minutes until sauce thickens.
Add salt and pepper to taste, add in the walnut and gently stir to coat nuts.
Combine with pasta and serve immediately.

Note: If you use frozen peas, as I did, toss them in frozen.

Crab and Ricotta Manicotti

I’ve been looking for another non-meat dish to serve during Lent and this was perfect. This is elegant, easy and so yummy. We were at the circus all afternoon so I prepared this in advance and just popped it into the oven when we got home. It was a great meal after a belly full of cotton candy.

Recipe adapted from “Everyday Pasta” by Giada De Laurentiis. (my changes in red)

1 box of manicotti pasta (12 shells) or an 8-(ounce) box cannelloni 2 boxes
1 C Whole-Milk Ricotta Cheese 32 oz
¾ C Grated Parmesan Cheese, plus ¼ C for sprinkling
Mozzarella for filling and for sprinkling
1 Egg Yolk 2 whole eggs
½ C Chopped fresh basil
Parsley
Nutmeg
Sage
1 lb Lump Crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
¼ tsp Salt (no salt)

¼ tsp Freshly Ground White Pepper
Butter for Pan
Béchamel Sauce

Bring pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until tender but still firm, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes. Drain.

In large bowl, mix together ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, egg, Parsley, nutmeg, sage, basil, crab, salt and pepper.

Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Butter (Pam spray) 9X 13 X 2 inch glass baking dish.

Fill the manicotti with the crab mixture and place in the prepared baking dish. Top the filled manicotti with the Béchamel sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until bubbly and the top is golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Farfalle with Broccoli

This time of year I look at and cook a lot of different fish recipes. This is one from Giada that I really wanted to try because it looked fast, easy and very tasty. If you guys don’t have any of Giada’s cookbooks, go grab one. Not only do they have wonderful recipes but also they are full of great tips.

The tip from this recipe page, in short, for convenience of entertaining prepare pasta earlier in the day then just reheat. Cook Pasta until al dente, scoop out of the pot into a colander and save the water. When ready to serve reheat the water, until boiling, add the pasta back to the water for 1 minute. Stir gently with wooden spoon to loosen, then toss with sauce and serve.

I love this tip. I never thought to reheat pasta in this fashion. This dish turned out very yummy and was easy to prepare and cook. My husband asked what I was making with anchovies and reminded me that he does not like anchovies. Well, he ate two servings for dinner and took some with him for lunch today. We had a big green salad with this dish, making this a perfect dish for the start of spring. For those of you that have young children or doubting husbands, no worries, the anchovies dissolve. They won’t even know they are in there.

Farfalle with Broccoli
Recipe from “Everyday Pasta” by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:
1 lb Farfalle Pasta
2 heads of broccoli, trimmed to florets (4 cups)
¼ C extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped I used 5 because they were the last from the head
5 Anchovy Fillets, Chopped
¼ tsp Red Pepper flakes
½ tsp salt I omitted the salt since the anchovies are so salty and the pasta water is salted.
½ tsp ground Black Pepper
I added a bit of white wine. Just because that’s how I roll.
½ C freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salt water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes add the broccoli florets to the pasta, stir and cook for another 4 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. I didn’t time my pasta I just cooked it until it was al dente.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the Olive Oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, anchovies, red pepper flakes and wine, and cook for 5 minutes. Add broccoli, pasta, salt and pepper and toss. Add some of the reserve pasta water, if necessary, to make a light sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

The following are a few pictures of spring flowers blooming in our yard.

This is Cross Vine on our fence.

I don't remember the name of this flower. It pops up every spring in our flower bed and I'm always happy to see it.

Happy Spring!

Day of "Rest" feast

Today, on my DAY OFF, yeah right, I kissed my husband good-bye and watched him leave for his trip to LAX. I should have known then that this would not be a typical Sunday but the sun was high and the day warm. Who could have guessed the mayhem to come.
Ten minutes after my husband left my 2-year-old daughter threw dirt in my 4 year-old son’s eye. He, Bryson, was rolling on the sidewalk screaming and crying. Keep in mind that he’s a middle child so all this is normal. After a minute of him not getting up I took him in to flush out his eyes. More crying and more screaming followed, again not too unusual for my boy.
Then, off to church, lunch, and dropping the 6-year-old off at religion class. An hour later I picked him up from his class and drove the 4-year-old to soccer practice. After 10 minutes in the sun I knew that I would be making a trip to the ER. So, I dropped the two other children off at mom’s house and headed to the ER with Bryson. 2 hours later I got back to mom’s to pick up the kids. While gathering shoes, my SWEET daughter runs as fast as she can to my parent’s bedroom. WHY? Well to consume a bottle of thyroid pills I guess??? I scoop the pills out of her mouth, throw the boys in the car and head back to the ER. So, a few hours later life is finally returning to “normal”. Normal…1 crying, 1 throwing up and 1 yelling “Mom what’s for dinner”.
IF your day went anything like mine then “what’s for dinner” seems a huge task but fast food even bigger. All I could think was that none of the drive- through restaurants offer wine and I sure could use a glass.

So if you spent your day shuttling kids to and from the ER, religion class and soccer then here’s a quick and easy solution to “mom, what’s for dinner?”

Ingredients:
½ diced Onion
1lb Ground Beef
2 Links of Hot Italian sausage
1 can of Great Northern Beans
1 can of Sliced Mushrooms
Fresh Parsley
Salt and Pepper
1 lb Penne Pasta

Direction:

Start salted water to boil for pasta. Brown onion, beef and sausage while pouring yourself a glass of wine. Add beans, mushroom and all spices to meat mixture. Simmer until the pasta is ready. Throw everything together and eat.