About Anita

Monterey Jack Cheese & Green Chile Sausage

David’s our family master chef. We’re lucky enough to have his two new sausage recipes. If this recipe is started early in the day it can be ready to eat by your evening meal. No marinating, and limited smoking time, about 5 hours. You’ve got to give this a try. Thank you David for such a delicious recipe. Enjoy these two recipes of David’s too, deep-pit-barbecue and wild duck.

Before beginning this recipe I recommend reading the directions for linguica making, here. This will acquaint you with supplies needed and casing, grinding and stuffing particulars.

Have fun and enjoy!

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Hummingbird Quick Bread

Sometimes you just want a fully loaded quick bread. If you love the cake you’re gonna love this! A mere 15 minutes to the oven. Yep, it does take an hour to bake but your kitchen will smell amazing while it bakes. I opt for light olive oil just because of the health benefits. There is reportedly more health benefits to extra virgin. I have used extra virgin without significant taste difference. But if you are baking this for a foodie with a very discriminating palate opt for the light.

Enjoy!

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Lemon Pastry Crust Blueberry Pie

Amazing lemon crusted blueberry pie needs no topper! This rich buttery lemon pastry crust is so easy. You’ll want to use it with other pie fillings too. Here it makes such a great combination with blueberries. To avoid a soggy crust I suggest baking the pie crust completely before adding the filling. You then can choose to add the uncooked sweetened berries and bake again, or you can choose to cook your berries stovetop and add to the baked pie shell.

There is no topper necessary for this pie but a dab of creme fraiche or whipping cream is always appropriate.

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Au Gratin Potatoes and Peas

This is a side dish with a main dish capability. It’s a great vegetarian meal. Add a hardboiled egg on the side per person for a hearty meal. The recipe comes together quickly with pantry ingredients.

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Linguica Kale Potato Soup

Another NYT recipe makeover. I’ve made this a couple of times and found the secret to perfection. The first time I substituted yams for the russets. My cupboard was bare. To remove the sweetness I roasted the yams first. It actually was pretty good. Next round I followed the recipe pretty closely but the ingredients seem to grow with my soup making. I found the soup really good but the bitterness of the kale was a bit off-putting. To perfect the soup I added a slice, or two if small, of rustic bread like ciabatta before ladling each serving. The bread was the secret. This is a great soup for those coolish evenings.

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One Pan Pasta

William Sonoma make over to fit my available ingredients and to serve the pasta and tomatoes al dente without high alcohol content for the kiddos. Vegetarian perfect with amazing flavor.

Add Anchovies if you like. And for my idea of a true puttanesca sauce add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes when adding the garlic.

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Cheese Dip Velveeta or Not

It’s really about Cheese Dip … not the meal I turned it into! Cheese Dip just sounded a perfect addition to Super Bowl Sunday. To use Velveeta or not? I went with the tradition but after tasting a slice I realized this isn’t the Velveeta of my youth. Now What? All this Velvetta! Here’s what I did.

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Baked Potato Soup

Easy delicious recipe! Really does taste like a baked potato with all the fixin’s. This recipe is inspired by the New York Times recipe with a few prep changes to help assure a smoother soup and no curdle. It’s a perfect super bowl addition. Leave those potatoes a bit chunky for the guys who need something to sink their teeth into.

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Super Bowl Perfect Soups and Beans

These are great options for Super Bowl Sunday. New Recipes to come soon!

Barbecued Brisket Soup

Portuguese Chili Beans

Cheeseburger Soup

Portuguese Beans with Linguica

Beef Corn Chowder

Rustic Bread White Bean and Greens Soup

 


Easy Baked Ziti

How about this for a Holiday Meal. So easy and So delicious. Another dinner prepped by my oldest! This recipe uses the canned tomatoes we had shipped from Italy. Check out how we found this delicious tomato sauce. Not to worry, Sclafani Crushed Tomato Sauce is also available on Amazon. It’s worth a try!

This is one of those meals that preps quickly then bakes ’til bubbly. If your family and friends are into pasta they’ll love this.

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