Pasta and Shrimp with Marinara - Warning Below

Before I tell you about the delicious dinner I made tonight I have to post a warning.

This meal could cause some serious addictions! LOL.  But in all seriousness it is quite delicious and I thought I would share it with you.  Before I do, though, I must add that I am Italian. Born and raised.  My grandfather was from the old country and came over in the early 1900s.  He taught my very Italian grandmother how to cook and she in turn taught me as much as a young girl could handle.  That said, I have gone through several different styles of marinara sauce from her as well as with my own spin and think I have finally mastered a sauce that is not only delicious but easy to make in just a few minutes time.

Enjoy!

Marinara sauce

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
Fresh basil
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (optional)


In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. After the vegetables are cooked through add chicken broth over medium and stir until the broth reduces to half.  In the meantime squish the tomatoes and juice in a bowl with your fingers until the tomatoes are all broken up and in very tiny pieces (I don't use a blender as I like the texture of the tomato bits). Add the tomatoes and juice, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens.  While the sauce is cooking, heat a skillet with a few drizzles of olive oil.  When the skillet gets hot, add the shrimp and saute them until pink. When the sauce is done, season with more salt and pepper, to taste.  Add the basil and shrimp.

Add garlic bread:

I love my basil plant!

Most Delicious Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Ever!

If you smell banana bread in my house it usually means one thing.  My oldest boy who goes to college is either on his way home or his mom is getting ready to send a care package.  I don't know when he started loving my banana bread. He was never a banana lover.  But one thing is for sure...he cannot get enough of this banana bread. And in all honesty neither can anyone else in the house.  It is THAT good.

Many people ask me to post the recipe and I have since agreed.  So without further hesitation, here is the recipe for the most delicious banana bread ever.

(This recipe is for 2 loaves)

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more depending how chocolatey you like it)
add 1 cup nuts if desired

Heat oven to 350.
Grease bottom of two loaf pans.  (I usually use a glass loaf pan because it cooks more evenly).
Mix sugar and margarine in large bowl. 
Stir in eggs until well blended. 
Add bananas, milk, and vanilla.   Beat until smooth. 
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until incorporated.
 Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. 
Pour into loaf pan. 

Cook about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. 
Cool 5 minutes.

Enjoy!!

How To Make A Rue

Back by popular demand...

Last weekend when I posted my recipe for Mac n Cheese I promised to write a little bit about how to make a rue.

It's a few days late but it's here...my basic recipe on making a rue. A rue is very easy to make and extremely versatile. The most popular things that you can use a rue for is gravy or soup. But in reality a rue is a thickening agent because it's a flour base. What that means is that you can thicken any liquid with it to make the sauce or gravy. For example, if you make a rue and add chicken stock to it and stir until the stock and rue is incorporated and heated through it will turn to a nice gravy. Add some sauteed mushrooms and you have mushroom gravy. Add cheese to it and you have the base sauce for macaroni and cheese. You can also add mustard and it makes a really good mustard spread for sandwiches. You see, it's all about the method. You can get as creative as you want for a variety of dishes.

So without any more hesitation here is the recipe:

olive oil, one turn of the pan
3 pats of butter
3 tbsp flour
1.5 - 2 cups of stock or milk (see HINT below)
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir in with a whisk. When butter is melted, add the flour and whisk the flour in with the butter until the flour cooks fully and no longer looks white. The flour might clump up but that is ok. Add the liquid and whisk to incorporate until all the lumps are gone and the sauce starts to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the sauce is at the desired thickness remove from heat and add to the dish you are making.

***HINT*** If you want to make a milk based rue or gravy (for mac n cheese for example) then use milk as the liquid. If you want to make a stock based rue or gravy (like for chicken or turkey gravy) then use chicken stock as the liquid.



Good Luck!

Easiest Chicken Soup recipe ever

If you have a crockpot you won't want to pass up this quick and easy chicken soup recipe. And if you don't have a crockpot, you need to go out and get one. It is the best investment any busy mom who wants home cooked meals can make. And this is coming from a person who doesn't have a lot of kitchen gadgets.

I made this soup last night for myself and my better half because both of us are fighting terrible colds and I thought chicken soup would be just what we needed after a long day of coughing and working.

Ingredients

Whole or cut up chicken
Cut up pieces of carrot
Cut up pieces of potato
One or two medium onions peeled and cut up into sections
Salt and Pepper to taste
Macaroni or noodles

Instructions
Throw all of the ingredients into the crockpot
Turn on the crockpot to slow for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours
Pour water into the crockpot until the ingredients are covered or semi covered
When soup is ready to eat, cook up macaroni or noodles for the soup.

This is so easy. It takes 5 minutes to get it all together and tastes delicious and you don't have to slave over a hot stove making dinner which is so helpful when you are feeling sick.

Enjoy.

Easy Pot Roast Stew

I was flipping through my crockpot cookbook to find the easiest crock pot recipe for over the holidays that would cook enough food for my big family but be so easy so that I would not be slaving all day over the stove. I found the easiest pot roast recipe EVER. The best part is that it takes no measuring. Here is how it goes:

Ingredients:

White potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces
Carrots peeled and cut up into small pieces
Large pork roast or beef roast (doesn't matter what cut or size, whatever you like and the size you want it)
Jar of mango salsa
Frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the roast and put in the crock pot.
Add potatoes and carrots to the crock pot.
Pour the salsa on top of the meat and veggies.
If the salsa is a bit too thick add a little bit of water to it and stir to thin out the salsa.
Turn the crock pot on to MEDIUM for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Before you are ready to serve, add the frozen peas.
Serve over rice or noodles.

So Delicious!

Make A Rue With Me

Last year I posted this and it has to do with making a rue. I think at the time I was doing some cooking posts and thought that learning how to make a rue was one of the better pieces of knowledge I had as a cook.

What I didn't know at the time was that this post would be BY FAR my most googled and hit on post. When I look at my page summaries this one comes up over any of the others combined. And all week I have been looking at my stats and it is off the charts this week. Of course, it is Thanksgiving week and probably a lot of people are looking for gravy recipes.

So I do a little experiment and I go to google and I type in "how to make a rue" and lo and behold, my post is the first hit to come up! No wonder so many people are hitting my blog.

Now if I could only figure out a way to get my jewelry blog to come up as much. Still figuring that one out.

In the meantime if you want to know how to make a rue, just come here.

How To Make A Rue

A long time ago I blogged about making a rue which is a base for sauces or gravy. You can pretty much add anything to a rue to turn it into gravy. If you add cheese to it and macaroni you have a great macaroni and cheese dish. If you add chicken stock and mushrooms you have a wonderful mushroom gravy. The possibilities are endless.

I never imagined that this post would turn out to be the most popular page in the history of my blog. Back then I just posted the recipe but this time I am posting it again but with a video showing the method live and in person.

The quality of the video is pretty good but keep in mind that I am video taping and making the rue at the same time so if the camera is a bit shaky please understand this. If you have any questions regarding rue please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Here it is:

olive oil, one turn of the pan
3 pats of butter
3 tsp flour
1 - 1.5 cups of stock or milk (see HINT below)
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir in with a whisk. When butter is melted, add the flour and whisk the flour in with the butter until the flour cooks fully and no longer looks white. The flour might clump up but that is ok. Add the liquid and whisk to incorporate until all the lumps are gone and the sauce starts to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the sauce is at the desired thickness remove from heat and add to the dish you are making.

***HINT*** If you want to make a milk based rue or gravy (for mac n cheese for example) then use milk as the liquid. If you want to make a stock based rue or gravy (like for chicken or turkey gravy) then use chicken stock as the liquid. Enjoy.

Fish Wednesday

The Catholics are handing out ashes today so in honor of today, I am posting a wonderful fish recipe that is so easy that you really cannot call it a recipe.

That said, are you one of many people who don't cook fish because you are either intimidated or can't get to the fresh fish market or you just don't know how to handle it? I used to be one of those people until I took a look deeper into the fish.

It all really happened when I went shopping at my favorite grocery store. It was having buy one get one free (BOGO) frozen tilapia fillets. I had heard on the news that frozen fish is really very healthy and fresh so I decided to buy a few packages of the fish. The fish is packaged very nicely in individual air-tight wrappings that thaw in just about 15 minutes (perfect for quick cooking).

After they are thawed, I sprinkle the fillets with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. If I have some lemons handy I grate some zest over them as well. Place the fillets in a heated, non stick skillet and cook the fish for about 5 minutes on each side. That's it. You are done.

To make the meal more complete, microwave a couple of baked potatoes or cook up some rice and serve with a veggie or salad.

Bon Appetit

No Fail Rice Dish

Here's to my brother who reminded me of how yummy this dish was growing up. And it is oh so super easy!

Rice and Peas

Cooked Rice
1 small can of Campbell's Chicken Gravy
couple handfuls of thawed frozen peas

After cooking as much rice as you need for your meal, add chicken gravy and mix well. The amount of chicken gravy will vary depending on how much rice you cook. You want to coat the rice and not make it soupy. Add the peas and serve.

Throw a couple of pork chops on the grill and you have a quick and easy meal.

Easier Than The Last Recipe

If you thought the last recipe was easy, here is an even easier one. This one requires a crockpot.

Sausage and Peppers - Italian Style (feeds 2)

1 bell pepper sliced or diced
1 onion sliced or diced
2-3 Italian sausage links (can be frozen)
28 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Combine and cook high in the crock pot for 2-3 hours

Serve over cooked pasta with a side salad or garlic bread.

Now wasn't that easy!

Meal In A Jiff

I was at it again in the kitchen. My better half calls me "the short order cook." I guess growing up in a family of six and learning how to cook from my mom and grandmothers, I am able to now spin a meal around modern style. My mom and grandmothers did not work outside the home so they seemingly had the resources to get a meal done without worrying about leaving the house with the stove on. Welcome to my life of quick, easy homemade and fresh tasting meals. It's my daily challenge not only to provide something nice for my family but to stay out of restaurants as much as possible.

At times I find myself coming home from work often staring at the refrigerator wondering what on earth do I whip up tonight. Occasionally I have it all sorted and planned out ahead of time via crockpot cooking or something a little less spontaneous. But then there are those days where my mind is elsewhere and what we eat for dinner has not been thought of that day.

Today was one of those days. I hadn't thought of it until I came home from work at 5 pm. When I opened the refrigerator I was pleasantly surprised to find leftover chicken breast, broccoli, mushrooms, and green peppers. I had plenty of pasta in the pantry with newly purchased tamari sauce. It popped into my head.

Chicken Lo Mein

And within 30 minutes I had chicken lo mein on the table. Very tasty. It was really quite easy and here is how I did it. Excuse the lack of measurements. I usually eyeball those.

Leftover chicken breast
One green pepper, chopped
A handful of mushrooms, sliced
Head of blanched broccoli (blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes only...drain and shock it in cold ice water to stop the cooking process)
Two beaten eggs
Tamari soy sauce
Peanut Oil
1/2 lb of angel hair pasta (or spaghetti)

Boil pot of water for the pasta. While water is boiling, heat a wok or large frying pan with peanut oil (enough to thickly coat the bottom of the pan). When pan is very hot, add eggs and scramble. After eggs are scrambled, add remaining ingredients except for the tamari. Stir the vegetables and chicken for approximately 5-10 minutes until the dish cooks and develops flavors. While that is cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until done. When pasta is done, drain and add to the stir fry. Incorporate the pasta and stir fry until fully combined. Sprinkle tamari sauce on the dish and stir in until there is a slightly brown color to the dish or when it suits your taste (usually about 5-6 shakes of the bottle).

You are now finished and have a really lovely dish that tastes even better than take out and much healthier for you.

Bon Appetit

Sauce Purist

I am a second generation Italian-American which means I know good spaghetti sauce. Whether you call it sauce or gravy or whatever, it doesn't matter because I know how to make it and trust me when I say that it is really easy.

But first a quick story. The other day I was at the store and there was a buy one get one free Prego marinara sauce on sale. I bought it because there are always those rush times in my life when I need a really quick meal. The other day I experienced just one of those days and I grabbed for that jar of sauce while pasta was cooking. The sauce was just "OK". In other words, I ate it but I really don't dig it. It's just not the same as homemade. When I went to wash the dishes in the sink I noticed that the sauce had stained my sink! Egad. Real tomato sauce just doesn't do that! It was then that I realized I am a sauce purist. No phony baloney anymore.

The irony is that the sauce I make really doesn't take any time at all either and if I really wanted to I could probably make my own and can it all myself (though I have no clue how to make can food). So without further delay I am posting my easy-peasy spaghetti sauce recipe here for you all to try out. And then you can tell me which is better...mine or Prego.

Easy Spaghetti Sauce

1 diced onion
olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic (or palm full of garlic powder if you don't have fresh)
can of tomatoes (whole, cut, or diced - it doesn't matter because you are going to blend it in the end)
a few sprinkles of dried oregano
palm full of dried basil (4-6 leaves if you are using fresh)
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium pan, heat up 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium flame. Add diced onion and cook onions until golden (2 minutes). Add garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and turn down heat to low. If you have whole canned tomatoes, break up the tomatoes with a spatula. Add the spices and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Let the sauce cool down for a few minutes and then transfer it to a blender or food processor. Puree the sauce in the blender and serve. (Be very careful with hot liquids in a blender because the hot sauce has a tendency to boil over in the blender when you turn it on).

Bon Appetit!

Couscous

This has to be the yummiest dish I have ever made. Not only because it tastes good but because it is SOOOOO easy and I love the way it tastes.

I picked some out of a salad bar I was eating at the other day and it prompted me to blog about the versatility of this easy dish.

The key to really good couscous is to cook it with chicken stock NOT water. It is very simple too. All you do is heat the stock in a pan and when it is boiling, add an equal amount of couscous to it and cover (1 cup couscous to 1 cup of liquid) . After approximately 5 minutes fluff the couscous with a fork and serve. It is just THAT easy.

What I like to do is add different things to my couscous. For example for an Italian variety I chop up a tomato and red onion and add a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and stir in with the couscous for a yummy flavor.

For a sweet flavor I add in some raisins, dried fruit and nuts with the liquid and then add that to the couscous.

You can add cheeses, spices, fruits, nuts, chicken, shrimp, cut up little pieces of raw veggies and it ALL tastes great. I have even added baby spinach to the liquid and it will cook down in the liquid and add a delicious taste to the couscous.

Try this yummy dish and it will always be a cheap and easy go-to meal any day of the week.

How to make a rue

Last weekend when I posted my recipe for Mac n Cheese I promised to write a little bit about how to make a rue.

It's a few days late but it's here...my basic recipe on making a rue. A rue is very easy to make and extremely versatile. The most popular things that you can use a rue for is gravy or soup. But in reality a rue is a thickening agent because it's a flour base. What that means is that you can thicken any liquid with it to make the sauce or gravy. For example, if you make a rue and add chicken stock to it and stir until the stock and rue is incorporated and heated through it will turn to a nice gravy. Add some sauteed mushrooms and you have mushroom gravy. Add cheese to it and you have the base sauce for macaroni and cheese. You can also add mustard and it makes a really good mustard spread for sandwiches. You see, it's all about the method. You can get as creative as you want for a variety of dishes.

So without any more hesitation here is the recipe:

olive oil, one turn of the pan
3 pats of butter
3 tbsp flour
1.5 - 2 cups of stock or milk (see HINT below)
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir in with a whisk. When butter is melted, add the flour and whisk the flour in with the butter until the flour cooks fully and no longer looks white. The flour might clump up but that is ok. Add the liquid and whisk to incorporate until all the lumps are gone and the sauce starts to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the sauce is at the desired thickness remove from heat and add to the dish you are making.

***HINT*** If you want to make a milk based rue or gravy (for mac n cheese for example) then use milk as the liquid. If you want to make a stock based rue or gravy (like for chicken or turkey gravy) then use chicken stock as the liquid.



Bon Appetit

Mississippi Mud Cake

Happy Birthday to Greg who turned 41 today! The only thing he requested for his birthday was that I make him Mississippi Mud Cake. I had no idea what that was but he found a recipe online and printed it out. I made it and it was a hit. We all went into sugar-induced comas. I have decided to attach the recipe here if anyone dares to try it.

Cake:
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, cut into big chunks
1/2 c. cocoa
4 eggs, beaten well
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Frosting:
One 16-oz box confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 c. mini-marshmallows

1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan. In a small saucepan combine the butter and cocoa and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the butter is melted and the mixture is well blended. Stir in the beaten eggs, vanilla, sugar, flour, salt and pecans and beat with a wooden spoon or a spatula or with a mixer at low speed until the batter is well combined and smooth, and the flour has disappeared.

2. Quickly pour the batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until the cake springs back when touched gently in the center and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan.

3. Prepare the frosting while the cake bakes so that you will be ready to pour it over the hot cake. In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and the cocoa, and stir to mix them well. Add the melted butter, milk, and vanilla and use a large spoon or a mixer at low speed to beat everything together well. Set aside until the cake is done.

4. Remove the cake from the oven, scatter the marshmallows over the top of the cake and return the cake to the hot oven for about 3 minutes to soften the marshmallows.

5. Place the cake on a wire rack or a folded kitchen towel. Pour the frosting over the marshmallow-dotted cake, cool to room temperature, and then cut into small squares.

Bon Appetit

An All-American Classic - Mac -n- Cheese

This has to be the easiest recipe that I have ever made for my family. The best part of it is that it is so versatile. You can add meat, veggies or just about anything you like to provide a variety. You can also switch out the cheeses and add a more exotic cheese for an even fancier dish. It's a favorite in my house with everyone, not just kids.

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil, 1 turn of the pan in a slow stream
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups whole or 2 percent milk
3 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, a couple pinches
Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked 8 minutes or to al dente, with a little bite to it

Heat a medium, deep skillet over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts into the oil, add flour and combine. Gently cook, whisking flour and butter together, until smooth and flour has had a chance to cook, about 3 minutes. Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Gently bring milk to a bubble while stirring frequently. Allow the milk to thicken a bit, then stir in 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese a handful at a time. Season sauce with nutmeg and cayenne. Taste and add a little salt, if you like. Add cooked pasta to sauce and coat completely by turning over and over in the cheese sauce. Transfer to a baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place baking dish under a hot broiler and brown the cheddar cheese on top.

P.S. The bolded part of this recipe is what is called "making a rue." It is so simple that anyone can do it. I am going to post this weekend all the different things you can do with a basic rue base.

Great Recipe for a Hot Day

I have decided to post a recipe each week of some yummy dish that I love a lot.

Today I am going to write about the power of a Cobb Salad.

I love Cobb Salad because it has the potential to become anything you want it to be. It doesn't require a lot of cooking so you don't have to get all hot and sweaty slaving over a hot stove to enjoy a nice, relaxing meal. The basics for this salad are as follows:

Lettuce
Any kind of Salad Veggie that you like
1 hard boiled egg
Bacon (if you prefer but feel free to leave it off)
Chopped Walnuts
Boneless Chicken Breast
Your favorite salad dressing

First fire up a large saute pan over the stove on medium/high heat(this is the only real cooking I do for this salad). Sprinkle olive oil on the bottom of the pan to coat. Dress the chicken simply with a little salt and pepper. Once the pan gets a bit hot put the chicken in and cook on both sides approximately 6-8 minutes on each side depending on the size and thickness.

While that is cooking, toast up the walnuts by placing a few handfuls in a small saute pan and for just a minute or so heat up them up over a medium flame. You don't want to overdo this because the nuts will burn. You just want to warm them up to bring out the flavors in the nuts.

Assemble your salad with lettuce on bottom and then add to that the rest of your favorite salad veggies such as onions, shredded carrots, celery, tomatoes, or mushrooms. You can even add thawed frozen corn for an added flavor. The key here is that there is no limit to your imagination and you can also clean out the leftover salad stuff in your refrigerator.

After the veggies are added I cut up the chicken and add that on top of the veggies. On top of that goes the egg cut up and the nuts. Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing and serve with a nice hunk of bread and you are good to go.

Bon Appetit!

C is for Cookie

...and that's good enough for me!



Ryan's favorite cookie recipe:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: PREPARE dough as above. Spread into greased 15"x10" jelly-roll pan. Bake in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.