Before we get into spring and warmer weather, I wanted to share with you one more delicious one-pot supper. The key to this delicious stew is to use good quality pasta and fresh vegetables. While there might be some chopping necessary when using fresh vegetables, it is so worth the effort in the end.
Continue reading “Warmly Satisfying Chicken Cheese Tortellini Stew”
Here is it Day Three of the Lenten Season, the Friday following Ash Wednesday. Any way you slice it, today is a meatless Friday in our house.
Have you ever bought pasta at Costco? My spaghetti purchase lasted our family for six months – eight 1-pound packages of Organic Spaghetti Noodles. Wow, it just dawned on me, we eat over a pound of spaghetti a month! And then there are those variety packages of Penne, Casarecce and Rotelle. We are big pasta eaters in this house. I think we eat more pasta and rice than we do potatoes.
Continue reading “Mozzarella Chicken Marinara over Rotelle (Corkscrew Pasta)”
Hubby, Kiddo and I have been talking about our next family vacation. We want to return to Florence (on the Oregon Coast). There is something about the rugged Oregon coast, with its wild beauty that is unparalleled. Oregon’s beaches are clean and open to all. Unlike some of the western beach towns, Florence is not one of the more popular destinations for tourists, and that has allowed the town to retain some of its simple beauty. The town is situated between miles of sand dunes and the Siuslaw River. One of my favorite spots is the Siuslaw bridge across the mouth of the river. Oregon has some of the most spectacular bridges in the country, and Florence is no exception. Thinking of Florence brings to mind another Florence – in Italy. And that makes me yearn for Northern Italian dishes with their rich sauces.
Continue reading “Beautiful Florence and Spaghetti Carbonara”
Of all the types of pasta on the planet – at lease of those we’ve actually tried from the 350 or so in existence – Hubby’s favorite pasta has to be a toss-up between Penne and Rigatoni. If I had to pick between the two, I like Rigatoni for the ridges that seems to help whatever sauce used to cling to the pasta better.
Continue reading “No Muss, No Fuss Rigatoni with Meatballs”It seems that lately I’ve been in an Italy frame. This light yet delicious Tortellini Supper is the perfect end to a long work week. So light – so flavorful. It invites the diner to kick of their shoes, breath deep and say “oh yeah, it’s time to unwind”. I simply adore “browned butter” for that nutty flavor. There is something about browning the butter that brings a whole new level of flavor to everything.
Continue reading “Three-Cheese Tortellini in Sage Browned Butter”
Those of you who have been around a while might recognize this recipe for Asparagus with Lemon and Olive Oil. It’s a recipe I’ve shared before, as part of last year’s Bistro Style Birthday Menu. Italian foods are my all time favorites, although French foods are a very close second.
This recipe was inspired by Italy’s popular Porchetta; a savory pork roast originating in central Italy. Unlike the “authentic” Porchetta, the fatty pork roast has been replaced by a leaner cut, the tenderloin. While this rendition will not develop the same brown crust of the fatty pork butt traditionally used throughout Italy, the leaner tenderloin is still well-spiced and delicious.
Continue reading “Herb Rubbed Italian Pork Roast Bursting with Flavor”This rendition of Campbell’s Lemon Chicken Primavera is over 20-years old. The current recipe from Campbell’s uses garlic powder instead of minced garlic, and their Cream of Mushroom Soup rather than Chicken Gravy. The one thing I did like about the more modern take is that the breasts are served whole rather than cut into strips. Also, the older recipe has the Primavera served over a bed of Spaghetti Pasta. That’s fine, but if you leave the breast whole, you could serve with a creamy Risotto instead. This is a combination of the things I like in both recipes. If you have people who will refuse to eat anything that includes cauliflower, use a bag of the Green Giant’s Broccoli Steamers and add some carrots to the mix. The vegetable combination is really just a matter of convenience and personal preferences.
Do you adore wonderful, tender, flavorful potatoes? So bright and colorful – the perfect accompaniment to many a main dish. Potatoes are great to bring to a potluck, too. Especially casserole and crock pot potatoes – they travel so easily!
Continue reading “Crock Pot Italian Herb Potatoes that Truly Rock”
Kiddo made supper over the weekend. Whenever I print out recipes for him to follow, I don’t include photos. Most of the time, he doesn’t need pictures. Kiddo knows his way around the kitchen well enough not to require visual aids. This time around, it was a mistake. Not that the finished dish in any way suffered, but he would have been spared the need to be creative.
Continue reading “One-Pot Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil”
This spicy Pasta dish has been one of those recipes that has been on and off my menu planner for weeks now. Most of the ingredients are those that are always on hand. You would think it would have been a snap to make. Convenience made it just the opposite. Since I didn’t need to shop for anything, it was easy to push this meal out when life does what it does and things got in the way.
Continue reading “Conchiglie (Shell) Pasta Kissed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Red Wine”
Have you ever had a Lasagna Roll-Up? These things are awesome! Great for supper time, pretty as an appetizer or to serve up something different at your next pot luck. I’ve made Lasagna Roll-Ups using just an Italian Cheese filler, with Italian Sausage, a traditional meat filling and with today’s share, cooked chicken. Any cooked chicken will do, from last night’s left over roasted chicken to a rotisserie chicken from your local deli.
Continue reading “Chicken and Italian Cheese Stuffed Lasagna Roll-Ups”
Aren’t these stuffed pasta shells pretty? These delicious shells are bursting with beefy goodness rather than swimming in a pool of pasta sauce. Don’t get me wrong. I love a good cheesy stuffed shell the same as the next guy. I also love to change things up a bit and that’s just what these shells do.
Continue reading “Diabetic Friendly Beefy Stuffed Shells – now We’re Talking!”
Cacio e Pepe is a pasta dish of Roman Cuisine. Cacio e Pepe means cheese and pepper in several central Italian dialects. Just as the name suggests, the main ingredients are pepper and Pecorino Romano cheese over an egg-noodle pasta. Cacio e Pepe is one of the most ancient dishes of the Roman Empire. For centuries, this simple dish was a stable among Roman shepherds. Dried pasta, aged cheese and black pepper are easy-to-carry ingredients that are hard to spoil in the fields. Today we have the convenience of butter to enhance the creaminess of the sauce.
Continue reading “Cacio e Pepe, a Dish as old as Rome Itself”
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