Romas

Right from my garden! When thinking of a juicy tomato this one is probably not brought to mind. These are my favorite tomato just for that reason. I love the low moisture sweet meatiness of a Roma. Great for bruschetta but when your plants are this prolific you can only eat so much bruschetta. The sweetness of this tomato is great for sauces, no added sugar needed. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a pasta Sunday. It’s time! Be on the look out for my Calabrian Macaroni. Most ingredients are already in my garden. See you Sunday!


Cranberry Almond Biscotti

Goodness! We’ve eaten them all up and I have yet to post the recipe. I have to honest. I’m particular about my biscotti. Freshly baked gets thumbs up while store bought … can’t go there. The reason is obvious to me … dry toasted vs stale! Try this little recipe … gives you just enough for a day or two treat … simple … delicious & healthy fresh.

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Vegetarian Minestrone with Pesto

Some mornings I wake and am craving what I had for dinner. This is one of those mornings! Some prefer fruit for breakfast but give me a vegetable even if it’s V8! Yep! I had this for breakfast! Leftovers that is. Worried about the garlic breath? Well, only the pesto is garlic laden. And the garlic toast. Ha!

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Italian Meatball Soup

Mini-meatballs are ready to drop into the broth. Next on Kitchen Getaway! Using my meatball recipe. But if you need a 20 minute meal use store-bought meatballs instead. Trader’s is great at convenience, including turkey meatballs.

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Slow Cooker Soups

For A Month

If you’re like me and your soup recipes grow as you go you may want to start with a seven quart slow cooker instead of a four. I was definitely my grandmother’s sous chef … learning very quickly that measuring soup ingredients was overrated. Today’s soup recipe is no exception. Yep, it started overflowing. Just had to put in those extra veggies!  No excuse … I need a new slow cooker! Mine is a bit dated (still calling it a crock pot), not pretty like the new ones  And has only two functions, low & high heat.

If this looks like Minestrone it is! It’s the first of my month long slow cooker soup recipes. I love the homey feel of a soup simmering all day … And a fireplace with a crackling fire to scoot up by. I’ll be adding a few bread recipes along the way too. My Portuguese Rolls are perfect for tonight’s soup!

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Pasta “Fazool”

A Family’s Recipe

IMG_0898-2Pasta and Beans (Pasta Fagioli) is an economical dish with few ingredients. Eaten often by the Rizzo Family on meatless Friday’s and during Lent. When I assisted in putting this together I wasn’t sure just how flavorful the result would be. It is now on my list of favorite comfort foods. Vegan or vegetarian, or add a little Italian sausage if you must. It’s all perfectly good.

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Quick & Easy Bolognese

BologneseThere is nothing more delicious in the world of pasta sauces than a good bolognese. This sauce is often a long cook and if you have a “want it now” mentality like I do now and again, a four hour recipe is just not going to get it. You may even prefer this to a slow cook … maybe because the ingredients have not broken down in the cooking process. I love serving this sauce over tagliatelle pasta. I think you’ll like it!

Enjoy these recipes too, Spaghetti Sauces & Slow Cook Meat Sauce. Delicious Meat Sauces and More!

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Ricotta Stuffed Meatballs & Baked Spaghetti

Ricotta Stuffed Meatballs & Baked Spaghetti

Tasty best describes this dish. A little twist on meatballs and spaghetti. Pesto meatballs with ricotta stuffing top this baked spaghetti. The inspiration for the pesto comes from America’s Test Kitchen, here. The next time I give this a try, my favorite meatball recipe will top it off. Adding ricotta stuffing was my idea but not an original one apparently. These meatballs are made with lean beef and the texture is more firm than my favs. The ricotta stuffing might be tastier in a more tender meatball. This recipe just may become your family favorite.

Ricotta Stuffed Meatballs & Baked Spaghetti

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BBQ Pizza

BBQ PizzaPretty popular these days and you may have seen a recipe or two for BBQ pizza already. But I can tell you what ‘not’ to do! Because I did it all with my first try. This is going to be my fallback this weekend because my air is out. Sounds horrible, no air conditioning, with 105 temps. But these old houses (built 1927) are perfectly insulated with walls feet thick. If I avoid creating heat indoors the house remains a comfortable 80. Of course, I must follow my Mother’s wise words to my children when they complained about her house being too hot, be very still. That was impossible for my children and actually for me too today. It’s time to get out the short shorts. Ha! I’ll leave that to my daughter.

Get your favorite toppings and here we go!

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Filippo’s Tiramisu

Filippo's Tiramisu

 

Today’s my Daughter-In-Law Ann’s birthday. Happy Birthday Ann! Her husband’s (Ian) birthday is later this month and since this is a virtual birthday cake (They live states away.) I’m hoping they’ll share. Filippo is a friend of theirs. They met him while in the University of Illinois graduate school; or was it the graduate students Catholic group? Filippo and his bride have since moved away but Ann & Ian, both great cooks, have filed this recipe among their most favorites. Thank you for sharing. And thank you Filippo!

This is the second of two tiramisu recipes I’ve posted. Both recipes are from Italy. Here’s the first. They’re amazing yet different. Today I seem to gravitate to this recipe a bit more. I’m not sure if it’s the Bailey’s Chocolate Cherry or the creamy coffee taste. I have to admit I was a little too generous with the coffee & milk and didn’t refrigerate long enough before sampling … Not giving the ladyfingers enough time to absorb the liquids.

PS After a few hours in the refrig the dessert had the prefect texture. And it just got better the next day.

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