Sausage and Onions wth Garlic & Herb Risotto

Finally I cooked! It seems like forever that I cut and chopped and was able to spend a long time in the kitchen cooking. I love to cook. I don't really like to bake but cooking is my thing.

When I was in the grocery store the other day I got some Italian sausage from the butcher and saw a box of risotto (with dry herbs and stuff) and thought "I bet I could add stuff to my risotto to make it a bit healthier without preservatives (which I am sure were in the packet). So I got a box of "real" risotto (the kind that takes forever to cook) and went on my way.

I was sitting watching Food Network yesterday and Guy Fierri (I think that is his name) was making a pasta sauce that had sausage and ribs in it and it looked great so I decided to do some of what he did. Not sure I would ever use ribs in a pasta sauce but I bet the flavors were awesome.

I didn't have any peppers, which would have been great with the sausage, but I did have plenty of onions and lots of cans of organic canned tomatoes. I knew I could make it work. I did have to run out and get some garlic as I realized I was all out!

I paired the meal with a nice Caesar salad and it was fantastic. Dan asked were I got the recipe and when I told him I made it up he told me I should probably write it down! Sweet guy he is.

Garlic & Herb Risotto
Box of Risotto
3-5 garlic cloves chopped
olive oil
basil
Parmesan cheese

In bottom of pan heat some olive oil and add the garlic to saute it. Add the amount of water that is recommended on he risotto box and then add some basil and the risotto. Bring to a boil and add the Parmesan cheese and follow the directions on the box for cooking. I added a bit more Parmesan cheese at the end of cooking and stirred it.

Sausage & garlic & onions
4 Italian sausage (I used hot but my dish was hot) try sweet if you don't like spicy
2 onions
5-8 cloves garlic
1 can diced tomatoes (with basil is great if plain add basil)
white wine
salt and pepper to taste




cook sausage in a bit of olive oil until done. Take them out of the pan and add the onions and garlic. (I actually ended up cutting up another onion for mine as this was only 1 onion and did not seem like enough.) (that is my $1.48 Santuko knife I got at Target on Friday!)

Saute the onions and garlic until they are done. In the meantime cut the sausage into pieces. When onions and garlic are done add some white wine to deglaze the pan and then add the sausage back in. Add the entire can of tomatoes and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Mine was not watery at all and was somewhat thick.

Place on top of the risotto add a salad and Mangia!



With a homemade meal like this and a holiday the next day Life is Good!

Dos and Don'ts & Some Bargain Hunting

I have not really cooked much this weekend. Friday night Dan went out so I ate a peanut butter and fluff sandwich with a few low fat tortilla chips and salsa. Turns out I am allergic to this salsa! I had it a few weeks ago with some Puerto Rican food that a friend gave us and broke out in an itchy rash. We blamed the Puerto Rican food! NOT! I got the same rash and severe itchiness on Friday night after my 10 chips with salsa. It is Ortega and I am going to call and see what "spices" and "other ingredients" mean. Not sure what it could be but it took a Zyrtec and 2 Benadryls to calm it down. On the plus side I slept well (2 Benadryls will do that to you).

Last night Dan cooked steaks on the grill and they were awesome. It has been a while since we had a good steak as last week they went up in flames and the week before we were out at Kiawah and did not bring the handy dandy Montreal Steak seasoning that we like so much. We had a baked potato on the side and it was a good meal.

I am cooking something yummy tonight so I will be here tomorrow to tell you all about it and include loads of pictures.

On Friday I was at Target and they have a lot of their kitchen stuff for 75% to 90% off. I got lots of handy little kitchen tools that I didn't have for $0.64 to $0.98 that were normally $5-$10. Felt like I got a good deal on stuff I would like to have but wouldn't pay full price for. I also got a Hello Kitty popcorn popper (the kind I had when I was a kid) and the kids loved watching it pop the popcorn. And I love fresh popped popcorn.

I am sitting here laughing because I was on facebook and it showed that a friend was tagged in a picture. I went to look at the album and it had a bunch of pictures of people at a black tie event called "Black and White Ball" that was held just recently. As I am scanning the pictures there is a picture of 2 girls and in the background is an attractive woman all dressed up in her cocktail dress and she has a HUGE tattoo on her arm. There is also a picture with this woman in it where she is posing with others and you can see this HUGE tattoo. I am sorry it looks ridiculous. I have nothing against tattoos. Go ahead and get them to your hearts desire but you have to know if you have a tattoo that spans the entire top half of your arm that some day it will come back to haunt you! I am saying this is a haunting moment for this woman. See below and I hope you get as big a kick out of it as I did. I am keeping this for my daughter when she goes off to college to show that in that drunken moment when she thinks it is funny and cool to get the tattoo like all her friends, some day down the road it will not be funny and cool.

Now since tattoos were not popular when I was in college I am thankful and Life is Good for me since I can show my daughter that since I didn't get any she should not either (and if she does get one it should be in a very discreet place so that no one will see it when she gets a job and goes out in the real world!)

Food Photography

I really have nothing to say about cooking today. Last night I baked a whole chicken and made oven fried potatoes. I was smart and put it in the oven before picking the kids up and set the timer so that it would start cooking while we were gone and be done by 5:45. When we got home at 4:40 the house smelled great and I had much less pressure on myself to get things started. It was great and everyone loved it.

I don't have pictures but I did get my camera battery back and will be back in business and trying to improve my food photo skills. Good luck to me. So in honor of me trying to become a better food photographer I will be checking out some websites that help you. Wish me luck!

Now I doubt I will get this creative but the idea is cool.

Look for future photos like this from me. With the fresh herbs and wine glass in the background. Because really, what good is a nice bowl of pasta without a nice glass of red wine?

I am already learning and it is all free at this website so click here if you want to read about it or watch videos on it. And when my photography is looking great and the food tastes divine you know that Life is Good!

Sort of Sheperds Pie

My husband found his way to my blog yesterday. It must have been the self promotion on my facebook status that gave away the address and said I was back up and running. He gave me some constructive criticism and told me the food pictures do not do my food justice (I think that is a compliment!). So I will try to do better with pictures in the coming year but today no picture as I am waiting on my battery to be mailed to me. Hoping it gets here today. I have not tried to hide my blog from him but when I have taken pictures of our food in the past he certainly has looked at me strangely. Now I think he gets it!

Yesterday I was on the phone with a friend and she was talking about crockpots. I love my crockpot. I would put it right up there in my top 3 appliances with my food processor and bread machine (oh and my Kitchen Aid mixer). Food is so easy. I also love the cookbook Fix it and Forget it. I happened to be trying to clean out my recipe cabinet and get rid of recipes I had printed off the Internet that I would not make again, get rid of a cook book or 2 (didn't happen). And there looking at me was Fix it and Forget it and my friend telling me about crockpot macaroni and cheeses (which by the way is yummo!).

I looked in the freezer and had some ground venison and frozen corn and of some potatoes in my vegetable bowl. So I decided on Shepard's pie or something like it.

Crockpot Layered Sheppard's Pie - Adapted from Fix It and Forget It

6 potatoes -sliced thin (perfect from the food processor)

1.5-2 pounds ground meat - cooked

Frozen or canned corn

Frozen or canned peas (I did not have any so only used corn)

half an onion (I went light on the onion because my kids pick them out!)

1/4 cup beef broth (or water)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Spray the Crockpot with Pam. In layers ad

1. Potatoes 1/4

2. onion 1/2

sprinkle salt and pepper on layers

3. corn

4. potatoes 1/4

5. corn or peas if you want to add them

6. potatoes 1/4

7 onion 1/2

sprinkle salt and pepper

8. potatoes 1/4 and add beef broth or water

9. ground meat

10. cream of mushroom soup (spread this over the top so it is not a big blob)

Turn Crockpot on low and bake for 5-6 hours (or however long you would like). I put this in at 10 am and did not eat until 5:30 and it was perfect. I sprinkled cheese on it for the kids and they loved it too. And I think Dan ate a hearty helping when he got home after 9:00!

In the cold winter months with a Crockpot of hearty food and an appreciative family Life is Good!

Since my camera battery is dead here are a few pictures of us from our recent trip to Kiawah.

Dan and Lucy riding bikes on Kiawah

Me and Cambridge riding bikes on Kiawah

Soup for a Cold Winter's Night - Potato Leek Soup

I have to admit...I love soup. I love soup for dinner as it is hearty and can be low calorie and healthy. When I go to the grocery store I am always looking at vegetables wondering, can I make a soup with those? I buy vegetables I have no idea what to do with but when they are organic and on special I have a hard time resisting. Enter the bouquet of leeks I bought the other day. I have never had leek soup but thought it sounded good. I had seen a Knorr package for leek soup so I knew that I could throw something with it.

Now mind you I picked up ingredients before I looked at a recipe to get the basics. I did take a peek at the Knorrs package yesterday when I was running in to get a few items and saw that you could add potatoes. So that is where I started. I came home and googled leek potato soup and came up with 2 from the Food Network, Alton Brown (whom I really like) and Emeril (who I can tolerate). I chose the Emeril recipe for my basics as I had nearly every ingredient in the list (Yeah for me!!!)

I knew my kids wouldn't eat it so they got a piece of ham from the slice that I used and some veggies and a quesadilla. Now don't get me wrong. I am all about the family eating the same meal but I will not force the kids to eat something that I know they will not enjoy. You gotta give Lucy credit though as she is a soup lover and eats from the soup bar at school every day but this was "not to her liking." (Kind of like the day I went to school and ate lunch with her and she got the she-crab soup, I was shocked, and tasted it and told me "it's too crabby!" give the girl credit for trying). Just so you know I do not normally make 2 meals but this was one that I was sure they would not eat. Oh and just so you know it is not a pretty soup. It is actually very blah looking and looks something like liquidy paste but it tastes way better.

photo from here it is not my photo and here is credit for where I got it (I did not have all that stuff on top but the soup looks the same)

Potato Leek Soup (adapted from Emeril Lagasse)



3 Leeks
dash thyme
olive oil
ham, sliced into small pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken stock
1 to 1 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream - I used fat free half and half!
2 tablespoons snipped chives - for top I forgot these and had them in my herb garden



Cut the white part of the leeks in half, length wise and rinse well under cold running water to get out any sand and dirt. Slice thinly crosswise and set aside.

In a large soup pot over medium heat, put a little olive oil and the ham (you can do bacon here as Emeril does in his recipe but I used ham) and add the ham. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the ham is warm. Add the chopped leeks and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes (I added a bit more olive oil as the ham did not have fat in it and needed a little help). Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, salt and white pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart and the soup is very flavorful.

Working in batches, puree the soup in a food processor or blender (my blender is still broken and this made my food processor hard to open - FYI). Stir in the cream (or fat free half and half - I promise the benefits without the fat and guilt!) and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately.


I actually had the soup made about a half hour before we were to eat and let it sit and them put it back on low right before we were going to eat and added the cream. (Don't add the cream until you are ready to eat it). We had a nice slice of hearty bread with this and that was dinner.


Now if my camera battery wasn't dead and I had not left my charger at the house on Kiawah last week life would be divine and you would be looking at a picture of my divine soup that I made last night. But instead you have to look at a stock photo and hope that my charger gets here today or tomorrow!


With a warm bowl of soup on a cold night and your family gathered around the dinner table talking about their day Life is indeed Good! Enjoy

Dinner on the Cheap - My Mixed Up Stromboli

Happy New Year! I can not believe it has been nearly 3 months since I blogged here. Life has gotten so busy with school and travel (7-day Disney Cruise, a week on Kiawah Island, SC) the holidays and now getting back in the groove. However, I am back. I promise to come here everyday and give you a recipe or food tip.

Yesterday afternoon I was looking through the refrigerator, freezer and pantry and trying to figure out what I could make without going to the grocery store. My daughter is currently obsessed with garlic bread (homemade). So I decided to use this as the start. I grabbed the ingredients to make a loaf of bread and put them in the bread machine on the dough cycle and set that going. I then found a nearly empty package of pepperoni (one of children's favorite proteins!) and some chicken breasts and frozen spinach and a few kinds of cheese. I was trying NOT to cook pasta as we had it at least 2 or 3 times last week (it is mine and my daughters favorite meal).

I came up with an idea based on a Stromboli and it came out really good. I actually made one side with no spinach as I knew the kids would not eat it if it was in there! And if I do say so myself it looks good and tasted great and is also great for leftovers.

Mixed up Stromboli

3 chicken breasts cooked and cubed

pepperoni slices

mozzarella cheese (provolone or cheddar work well too!)

frozen spinach (defrosted and drained) - as much or little as you like

bread dough (homemade or from the grocery store)

roll out dough into rectangle and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle a bit of garlic salt over the dough (optional). add the ingredients in any order that you like. From the long end, roll like a jelly roll and pinch the ends together and place the seam on the bottom of a cookie sheet. (I used a Silpat so it would not stick). Bake at 350 about 30-45 minutes (until it is brown on top and bread looks done). Let sit about 5 minutes when it is done and cut into slices. I served this with a Caesar salad and everyone loved it. Again, one half had more pepperoni and one half had the spinach so you can put whatever you want and mix it up for different tastes in your family.

With a mixed up easy dinner like this like is most definitely good!

Garlic Chicken

I have been making a ton of fun foods and just have not had time to post about them. I made this garlic chicken the other night and it was great. Not so much from the kids perspective but for me and my husband it was a good meal. I had nearly all the ingredients in my house when I decided to make it. I would have used more zucchini (since I didn't have enough green onions) as I prefer more vegetables to meat.

Garlic Chicken

Ingredients
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 whole medium chicken breasts 1 1/2 pounds total (skinned and boned)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
10 green onions, bias-cut into 1 inch pieces (1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
1 medium zucchini
2 cups hot cooked rice

Directions
For marinade, in a bowl stir together water, soy sauce, white wine, and cornstarch. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch pieces. Add chicken to marinade; stir to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Drain chicken, reserving marinade.

Preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat, add oil. (add more oil as necessary during cooking) Stir-fry green onions, mushrooms, and garlic in hot oil for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender. Remove from wok or skillet. Add zucchini and saute for 3 minutes. Remove from wok or skillet. Add chicken to wok or skillet; stir-fry for about 4 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Push chicken from the center of the wok or skillet. Stir reserved marinade, add to center of the wok or skillet. Cook and stir til thickened and bubbly. Add onion mixture, zucchini and water chestnuts. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until heated through. Serve with hot cooked rice.


Main ingredients


Chicken marinating

Cooking in the wok


Finished product

Here is a preview of some of the yummy things to come in my blog in the next few days.

Life is Sweet Cereal crunch (used this for my cinnamon life cereal)
Jalapeno cornbread
Crescent Mummy Dogs (huge hit with the kids!)

Now with all these predetermined blog posts my Life is Good!

Baking for Breast Cancer Awareness

Ley at Cilantro and Lime is hosting Baking for Breast Cancer Awareness. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. The event is to raise awareness of Breast Cancer. Ley is encouraging bloggers to bake and make others aware.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, it's estimated that About 178,480 women in the United States will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2007. About 40,460 women will die from the disease this year. Right now there are slightly over 2 million women living in the United States who have been treated for breast cancer.

One of my best friends lost her mom to breast cancer. I never met her mom but feel that I somehow know her and her kindness through my dear friend Parrish. My friend is my sons Godmother. My daily prayer is that this will never happen to her. Through her, I have become more aware of breast cancer and I got my first mammogram at 35 and since I am so lucky to be over 40 (43 to be exact) I get a mammogram each year. They are easy and painless. I encourage anyone that is scared or too busy to bother to go get one. It could save your life.


Now I am not a baker as I have stated before but I did "bake" a portion of the dish. I made a roasted beet and goat cheese salad with shrimp cocktail and split an organic steak with my husband. I love fresh beets. I had never had them until a few months ago. I only thought they came in a can! I used a recipe from Giada DeLaurentis for a Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad but when I saw the beets yesterday at the grocery store I decided to make it not knowing what else I had. I knew I had goat cheese and knew I also had some type of organic lettuce but was short a few of the other ingredients so I made it my own. I will post the recipe for the original salad as it is so good but know that I did not have arugula and used a spring mix of lettuce, no walnuts so used pecans and instead of making the homemade dressing since I didn't have any balsamic vinegar I used a raspberry walnut vinaigrette. I also did not have any avocado or shallots. My version was tasty but the original is awesome.


The beets are red and their cooking juice is red/pink! They are so healthy and are said to fight cancer and birth defects.



Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 medium beets, cooked and quartered
6 cups fresh arugula
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Directions

The original recipe does not tell you how to cook the beets. Wash them and cut off most of the stems leaving the top and bottom on the beet (this will keep more nutrients in it - just learned that now while googling beets so I did not do that!) Place in pot and cover with water, bring to boil and cook for 40-50 minutes. Take beets out of water and run them under cold water and while doing this rub your hands over them and the skin will peel right off.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Whisk the vinegar, shallots, and honey in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper. Toss the beets in a small bowl with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Toss the arugula, walnuts, and cranberries in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad atop 4 plates. Arrange the beets around the salad. Sprinkle with the avocado and goat cheese, and serve.

Now if we could find a cure for breast cancer life would be really good but in the meantime if we can educated enough people to be aware then Life is Good!

Real Sicilian Meatloaf

Where has the time gone. Last week flew by in a world wind of me trying to get the house ready and menu planning for a surprise dinner party for my husband's 40th birthday. He turns 40 on Saturday but is taking the kids to Charlotte with one of his best buds and his kids. (they were born on the same day in the same hospital and that is how their moms met and he is now my daughters Godchild and husband to Under the Red Tin Roof! Hiya Anne!).

I was going to make the meatloaf for Friday night but my husband thought there was only going to be one other couple for dinner and he wanted a new grill for his birthday so I bit the bullet and bought him a new grill and I got steaks for the dinner party and paired them with a spinach salad that a friend makes and will not give out the recipe and also had the brussel sprouts that I talked about last week. They are so good and who ever knew that so many people actually like brussel sprouts. Such an under appreciated veggie!!!

I did a fall inspired table with little metal buckets that were silver, black and orange and I put votive candles in them. For the place cards I printed each persons name so it was curved (think top half of a circle) and did the men in black and the women in orange. My dinner plates were see through and I placed the name cards under the plates. I thought it was clever! Needless to say I had bought the ingredients for the meatloaf of Thursday before changing to steaks on Friday so I had to make it. We had a traditional Italian Sunday dinner with the meatloaf on Sunday night (with leftover brussel sprouts!). This is the first time in a long time I have actually had the meatloaf with red meat in probably a year! YUM-O is all I can say.

As for this week I have been bogged down with Halloween carnival planning at my son's preschool and yesterday was his trip to the pumpkin patch. It was fun and when the sun was behind a cloud there was a chill in the air!

Sicilian Meatloaf
2 lbs ground beef
bread crumbs
2-3 eggs
grated Parmesan cheese
ketchup or tomato paste
Italian seasonings
salt and pepper to taste
4-8 thin slices prosciutto
6 slices of provolone cheese
3-6 bacon slices

In a bowl combine ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, Parmesan cheese, ketchup/tomato paste and seasonings and mix. If too moist add more bread crumbs. If too dry add more egg and/or more ketchup/tomato paste. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with Pam.

put the meat on the cookie sheet and and spread out to fill it up.

Place the prosciutto and provolone cheese on top of the meat.

With the longest end of the cookie sheet facing you, grab the edge of the tin foil and pull up and start to roll the meatloaf like a jelly roll. When the meatloaf is rolled pinch the ends and the long seam and roll it so the seam is on the bottom.

Weave the bacon over the top (I didn't have any bacon so I used prosciutto which actually turned out good!)

Bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes (until meat is cooked thoroughly). Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting. Manga!

Now with a crisp in the air and hearty food like this Life is Good!

Cambridge at the Pumpkin Patch 10.07.08

Greek Stuffed Peppers & Chicken Sausage

Does it seem there is a Greek theme this week? Lots of Greek inspired foods but I am an American of Italian descent but know there is a tiny tiny itsy bitsy piece of Greek in me somewhere (which would explain why I ate my weight in Feta cheese during my pregnancy with my son!). Last nights dinner, again, came from Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine. Have I said how much I love this little book that comes about every 6 weeks? (and no they Martha Stewart is not paying me for all this free advertising!) The recipes are so easy and, most of the time, really good. And if they don't look "to my taste" I don't make them. The most recent issue had a whole section on crockpot foods and that is where the stuffed peppers were. Who knew it could be so easy and so good and I didn't use any oil to cook them, just sprayed the inner liner of the Crockpot with Pam. There was really no difference (although my great aunt Sue's were awesome and hers were cooked in loads of olive oil!) from a regular stuffed pepper and the stuffing was so different and just plain ole yummy!

I paired these with a chicken, spinach, fontina cheese and roasted garlic sausage. I got these at Costco, Han's All Natural Gourmet Sausage and they have no antibiotics, no added growth hormones no MSG, nitrites, or nitrates and they are gluten free (not that we eat a gluten free diet but I love the no nitrites and nitrates). These are so good and only 3 Weight Watcher points each. My son ate 3! YIKES. I only ate 1.


Now I must admit, I am an awful food photographer. I don't know how some people get such great pictures of their food. It could also be the quality of the camera (I have a good one but not a great one). And....I had 2 glasses of wine while cooking dinner so I only have before pictures and no pictures of the actual food right before we ate it! But suffice it to say the Crockpot cooked the peppers to perfection. I also stuffed a tomatoe as the reciped was to stuff 4 peppers and I only had 2 so I had extra stuffing and used a yellow tomatoe. It looks great as well and will be my lunch today.



Greek Stuffed Peppers
Recipe from Martha Stewart Everyday Food, October 2008


Ingredients
Serves 4
4 large bell peppers
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)
1/2 cup couscous (uncooked - they did not say this in the recipe but it was assumption and is correct!)
4 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced (I did not have these and didn't miss them)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Lemon wedges, for serving


Directions
Slice a very thin layer from the base of each bell pepper so they sit flat. Slice off tops just below stem. Discard stems; chop tops, and place in a medium bowl. Remove ribs and seeds from peppers.


To bowl, add beans, feta, couscous (uncooked), scallion whites, garlic, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Stuff peppers with bean mixture; place upright in slow cooker. Cover; cook on high, 4 hours. (I cooked on low for 6+ hours.)

Sprinkle peppers with scallion greens; serve with lemon wedges.

Stuffed peppers prior to cooking (ding bat forgot the after photo!)

Again these are great. Low fat, high fiber and again with the beans! The addition of the chicken sausage was great. Now after a meal like this and a morning filled with 4-year olds hugging me and asking me to read them stories... Life is Really Good!

Spinach and prosciutto lasagna & a whole lotta nothing

I a so busy this week! I am in charge of the Halloween carnival at my son's preschool and I am hosting a dinner party this weekend. (I need to come up with a menu YIKES!). I am also in the starting stages of a home remodel! We are tearing out our floors downstairs and also redoing the kitchen! My dream. The cabinet guy is coming over this morning to measure the kitchen. We picked out our floor wood color but might change it depending on the cabinets and counter tops we choose. I also replaced the 2 ceiling fans in our downstairs family room with these beautiful wood ones that has blades that look like large leaves! My house is finally starting to come together and we have only lived here 4+ years.

Last night I made a recipe from the most recent Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine. I love this magazine and have made many things from it. Me and my husband loved this but the kids picked out the spinach. The love lots of veggies but apparently spinach is not one of them. My son thought it was celery and ate a good portion but my daughter did the tongue out gag from the texture. Makes a mom/cook feel real good when that happens (sarcasm!).

While I thought it was good I would make it again, I would make it without the prosciutto the next time. You could not taste the prosciutto and therefore, to me, makes it a waste of calories and money. I served this with a side salad of arugul with very thin sliced red onion, dried cranberries and a tiny bit of goat cheese with balsamic vinegar and a tiny bit of olive oil. The salad was awesome!

Spinach and Prosciutto Lasagna
Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine Issue 65, October 2008

It is important to squeeze the spinach dry, or the lasagna may be watery
2 packages (10 oz each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta
1 garlic clove, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 1/2 cups jarred tomato sauce
4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, finely chopped
6 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (4 oz)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Make filling: In a medium bowl, stir together spinach, ricotta, garlic, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper; set aside. In another bowl, stir together tomato sauce and prosciutto

2. in an 8-inch square baking dish, spread 1/4 cup tomato sauce. Layer 2 noodles, 1/3 filling, and 1/3 remaining tomato sauce; repeat twice. Top with mozzarella. Bake until brown 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

There are so many good recipes in this magazine. Tomorrow night I am making the crock pot stuffed peppers (have cous cous in the stuffing and sound good and easy. I will let you know!)

My life is extremely busy right now but regardless, Life is Good!

Penne Puttanesca & Brussel Sprouts

I had friends over for dinner last night so the only photo I have is of the ingredients before I started cooking! We drank perseco (Italian champaign) and a nice Chiani and by the time dinner was ready pictures had slipped my mind.

Dinner was awesome. The penne puttanesca is a recipe from a friend that was actually eating with us last night. It is my sons Godfather. He is a incredible cook and used to come over and make this for us until I made him give me the recipe and I have been doing the cooking ever since. It is messy and I prefer to clean up as I go and when he would come over the dishes would pile up and it would be a long cleanup after dinner. Talk about beggars being choosers! I do appreciate when someone comes into my house to cook. Love it. But since I can make the meal just as good and clean up along the way I am somehow happier.

The brussel sprouts are probably the best that I have ever had. I got them from Judy at No Fear Entertaining but she adapted the recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen. Click on either of their names to get the recipe. They were awesome and I recommend them to anyone whether you like brussel sprouts or not!

Uncle Trey's Penne Puttanesca

1lb pasta

3tbs extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1 medium white onion (small/medium dice)

3-4 cloves garlic (chopped)

1/4 cup capers (straine)

1/4cup kalamata olives (strained, pitted, rough chopped)

2-28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes (chopped) -reserve liquid

3 anchovy fillets (I use the whole can!)

1 cup white wine (or chicken stock)

Heat big saute pan to medium high add EVOO and onion. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and anchovy fillets (I put them in the food processor for a quick spin first since I use the whole can) continue sauteing (I'm sure that is a word) until anchovies have dissolved and onions are transluscent. Reduce heat tomedum/medium low and add liquid from can tomatoes - reduce liquid by 1/4 while stirring occasionally. Add crushd red pepper lakes, kalamata olives, capers and chopped tomatoes. Reduce again by 1/4 while stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup white wine (obviously any kind will wok) - redce again by 1/4 while stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to tast.

Boil noodles to al dente. Before straining pasta add 1/4-1/2 cup of noodle water to tomato sauce andstir to incorporate. Strain pasta and add to sauce - lightly coss to coat. Sprinkle with Parmagianno regianno.

Share/Eat/Enjoy...Now Life is Good! Manga!

Pork Chops Alla Pizzaiolla

I wanted to try a new recipe last night from my new issue of Everyday Food but did not leave the house (thank heaven for car pools) so I went with an old standard with ingredients I had on hand. What I came up with was pork chops alla pizzaiolla. The first time I made this was a few years ago as I had seen Giada DeLaurentis make it on The Food Network. It is so easy and good and actually low in fat and calories. I had a baby green salad on the side and it was a satisfying dinner.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 (1-inch thick) bone-in pork loin center-cut chops (about 12 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, in juice
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork chops to the skillet and cook until they are brown and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted horizontally into the pork registers 160 degrees F, about 3 minutes per side.

Transfer the pork chops to a plate and tent with foil to keep them warm.

Add the onion to the same skillet and saute over medium heat until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, herbes de Provence, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend and the juices thicken slightly, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and more red pepper flakes.

Return the pork chops and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet and turn the pork chops to coat with the sauce. Place 1 pork chop on each plate. Spoon the sauce over the pork chops. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Oops I took the picture before I sprinkled the oregano and a little fresh parmagianno reggiano on top. My husband ate 2! I am an awful food photographer but a wonderful cook! Tonight I am making penne puttanesca with these brussel sprouts I got from Judy at No Fear Entertaining. Although for some reason I thought there was bacon in them and decided on pancetta but now that I am actually printing the recipe I see I was wrong. I will let you know how it all goes. Now Life is Good!

My little helper in his apron!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Last night I made a recipe that I found on another blog. I found Wholesome Feasts through my statcounter as someone had clicked on my name in the Foodie Blogroll and come to check out my blog. The meal was awesome. So low fat and low in Weight Watchers points and so yummy, if you like spicy. Buffalo Chicken Meatballs were easy to make and the blogger said she got the recipe from a Rachael Ray cookbook. Not sure which one. I served it with celery and reduced fat blue cheese salad dressing and black beans and rice. (My husband always needs a starch and since it was so low in points I figured I would add some low fat rice with high fiber black beans!).

You can either click on Wholesome Feasts link above or I have included the recipe below.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (italicized words are my comments)


1 pound ground white meat chicken (I used Smart Chicken which is my favorite! 99% fat free)
1/2 small onion,grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s) (I used Frank's as this is one of my favorites as well)
Preheat oven to 400ºF.


In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken with the onion, garlic and parsley, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using a small ice cream scoop (I shaped them by hand), shape meat into balls. Arrange the meatballs on a nonstick sheet pan and drizzle them with EVOO. Place in the oven and bake until the meatballs are cooked through and golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the hot sauce and whisk to combine. Toss the baked meatballs in the hot sauce to coat. Serve with celery and blue cheese (I used blue cheese dressing).


I cheated on the black beans and rice and used Zataran's as I had the box in my pantry. It was good. Not a fan of boxed rices and pastas but in a pinch this was excellent. I did put vinegar peppers with the rice to give it an extra oomph and some additional flavors.

Now I still have all those hot peppers and wondering what to do with them!

After a great easy meal like that Life is Good!

Marvelous Meatloaf

Just the word meatloaf conjures up great memories of my childhood. We did not have the regular meatloaf that most Americans eat but we had what my Mom called Sicilian meatloaf. It was stuffed/rolled with prosciutto and provolone cheese and is still a favorite. Last night I did my best to pull this off with ground 99% fat free chicken and low fat sliced turkey and reduced fat provolone cheese. It was a hit. I served it with an arugula salad with goat cheese (feta for the kids) and had a nice low points, great tasting meal.

My daughter Lucy basically made the meatloaf. I bulked it up with celery, carrots and fresh home grown tomatoes and the entire family loved it. I like to do this with different types of vegetables so that the kids get an extra serving of veggies without them knowing (although they will eat salad until the cows come home.) And to top it all off it was only 3 Weight Watchers points per slice. Now it doesn't get any better than that!



Chicken Meatloaf

1 lb 99% fat free ground chicken (you can use beef or turkey)
2 medium sized carrots peeled
2 stalks celery
1 medium tomato
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese
Bread crumbs (I used some double fiber bread I had)
2 eggs
tomato paste or ketchup

Each seasoning to your taste
garlic powder
onion powder
oregano
parsley
thyme
basil
salt and pepper



Put the carrots, celery and tomato in the food processor and grind up until pureed. Put in a mesh strainer and drain the liquid out.

In bowl combine the ground meat, pureed vegetables, bread crumbs, eggs, tomato paste/ketchup and mix until blended. Add seasonings and mix again. Place a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. If you use aluminum foil spray it with Pam. Place the meat mixture on the sheet and spread out so that it is rectangular and about 1/2 inch thick. Layer the provolone cheese on top of the meat (kind of like covering a pizza) and then add a layer of the turkey breast or prosciutto. Take the end closest to you and start rolling like a roll cake until it is completely rolled and pinch the seam closed. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes (depending on thickness of loaf).


When I make the real Sicilian meatloaf (usually in the winter) I will surely post it. Now Life is Good!

See the cheese & turkey rolled inside and flecks of carrots & celery

Unispired Asian Stir Fry Dinner

Did you ever wonder if you and the rest of your family were born on the same planet? Last night I was so uninspired to cook something. We got home late after school as Lucy had gymnastics and Cambridge stays extended day on Wednesday after preschool and his manners class! We got home just before 5:00. I had spent the morning at the dentist and then cleaning up the house so never had a chance to peruse the fridge.

When my husband got home I looked through the fridge and had homemade pesto (from my basil in the garden) and also had some sauteed onions and peppers. I had some nice Italian sausage in the freezer and I figured I could do something with the sausage on either the peppers or the pesto. I also told him I had a stir fry bag in the freezer. (typically I buy these when they are on sale as they are an easy meal for me to make on a night that I am going to one of my book clubs. Truth be told I personally have never had one). Well the man opts for the bag of stir fry (huh?). He then reminds me that I have some rice in the refrigerator and can mix that in. Now you should all note that I am an American of Italian descent and was raised in New England. My husband is southern true and true. I never had rice growing up! Never had it until I went to college. Maybe once or twice we had Rice-a-Roni. We had pasta and all things Italian. Nope never had a meat and 3! Didn't know what it was until I met my husband. Being southern he likes rice and gravy (gravy? heck I never had turkey on Thanksgiving until I was in college and we didn't go to Boston to visit all of our family as the turkey was always second class to homemade lasagna, brocciale, stuffed peppers, sausage with peppers and onions - ok that is a post for another day!). To me gravy is red sauce. Tomato sauce. Spaghetti sauce. Get the picture?

So I make this frozen stirfry (wishing the kids hadn't eaten the leftover steak on Monday night as it would have been a nice addition). Well who would know that my family loved this. I chopped up some onion and added it to the stir fry bag (which consisted of steak, broccoli, water chestnuts, sugar snap peas, carrots, red pepper). When it was nearly cooked I added in the rice with the sauce mix that came with the bag and had a surprisingly good low calorie/low fat meal that was oh so easy to make.

I am such a "cook from scratch gal" that this did surprise me. My husband kept telling me how good it was! And to that I say yes it was good but I didn't really make it! Oh well I guess the main thing is that they enjoyed it and it was relatively healthy!

Tonight I am going to one of my book clubs. I will see if I can get a picture of my meal without my friends thinking I am crazy. My family will be at home celebrating my sons cast coming off this afternoon. It has been 5 long weeks in the thing and it is falling apart. My son does not want to go out to dinner (again was he born on the same planet as me? I keep saying "Dad offered to take you and Lucy to dinner" which he responds "I like eating at home" I think that might be a compliment). So they will have pizza (not homemade as I am taking the night off) and he wants a cake that is half Wall-E and half Tony Stewart (NASCAR driver). Lucy told him she was sure I could make one!!! Any suggestions??? I don't want to end up cakewrecks!

Tomorrow will bring crazy pictures is all I can say. Give me your ideas on the cake or what I can make that might work and have a great day. Life is Good!