Italian Wedding Soup

Always during the winter I have memories of cold days being warmed by my Dad making a big pot of Italian Wedding soup.  We always look forward to enjoying this soup at a holiday or on a winter afternoon. Perfectly served with some crusty bread and a sprinkle of parmsean cheese on top.  This past Thanksgiving I think I finally got it right.  And received my Dad and family's seal of approval. This is a simple soup packed with tiny pasta, bite sized meatballs, chicken, and vegetables.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and meat shredded
bite sized meatballs (recipe below)
1 head of escarole
2-3 carrots diced
2 stalks of celery finely diced
1 onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of onion powder
3 chicken broth
approx. 1/2-3/4 cup of acini de pepe pasta (I can only find it by Ronzoni) or other tiny pearled pasta

Bite sized meatballs:
1/2-3/4 lb of chopmeat or meatball mix
1 egg
1/2 breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of parsely
1 teaspoon of parmsean cheese
splash of milk (just enough to moisten)

Mix all meatball ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and roll into bite sized meatballs.  Small enough to fit on spoon.  Put to the side.

In a large pot heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Over medium heat cook onion, carrot and celery till tender.  Add in the garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper.  Stir, cook about 1-2 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil.  Drop in the meatballs.  When the meatballs are cooked add in the chicken and the escarole.  Allow to simmer.  I like to cook the pasta seperately then add just before serving. But you can cook it in the same pot, just have some extra broth on hand if too much is absorbed by the pasta.  Allow all to simmer a few minutes.  Serve with grated cheese and crusty bread!

Creamy Tortellini with Asparagus

 

This is a quick easy creamy pasta dish that can be served as a side or a full meal.  This is also a nice change up from regular marina sauce.  We ate this along with some stuffed flank steak, so definitely a treat night for as we don't always eat red meat or a creamy alfredo sauce.  I had a bunch of asparagus on hand so used that along with the pasta, but peas or any other vegetable would work well. 

 

Recipe:

 

1lb. of tortellini pasta

1 bunch of asparagus trimmed and cut into pieces

1 cup of milk

1 shallot thinly sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Bring pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta.  In a medium sauce pan heat olive oil.  Saute shallot and asparagus for 2-3 minutes until golden and soft.  Stir in flour.  Whisk in milk slowly and bring to boil.  Add cooked pasta, cheese, and salt and pepper.  Serve.

 

 

 

 

Eggplant Lasagna

So far this summer my husband's garden is not yielding a lot of produce. One thing we seem to have a lot of every week are plum tomatoes.  Making me crush and make lots of homemade tomato sauce.  We have had pizza a few nights to enjoy that sauce.  This week also he plucked an eggplant from the garden.  A recent cleaning out of the pantry I discovered a box of lasagna noodles hiding in the back.  And it was that box that prompted this meal.  It was also the perfect time in the week to make a bigger meal that would yield plenty of leftovers for us since I know tomorrow night our schedules will not match up and we would each be on our own for dinner.  Also looking at the basket of tomatoes and the eggplant on my counter I knew I had to do something with it all since we had some plans to eat out this week it was now or never before the produce went bad.  And I could not let that happen.  So we instead enjoyed this wonderful meal.  And as my husband noted he did not miss the usual meat that was typically found in lasagna. 

Lasagna Recipe:

28 oz tomato sauce

1-2 eggplant thinly sliced (depending on size) *I like to peel mine but you don't have to

1 15oz. container ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 box no boil lasagna noodles

1 teaspoon oregano

1  egg

1 cup mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a foil lined baking sheet place eggplant slices sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast ten minutes, flipping halfway through

Preheat oven to 370 degrees. In a medium bowl mix ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup parmesan, and oregano.  In a lasagna pan (I only had an oval casserole dish so I wound up breaking noodles to fit) place sauce in bottom of dish to coat.  Place a layer of noodles. Layer with eggplant.  Spread some cheese mixture on eggplant then coat with sauce.  Repeat this process.  Make sure to top with a layer of lasagna noodles covered with sauce, then remaining parmesan and mozzarella.  Bake about 50 minutes covered with foil until bubbling. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Homemade Tomato Sauce:

plum tomatoes ( I had a colander full)

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 onion diced

5-6 leaves fresh basil

1/2 tablespoon oregano

pinch of red pepper flake

salt and pepper

In a pot of water boil tomatoes about 10 minutes or until skins crack.  Drain.  Place tomatoes in a mill and churn until only skins are left.  In a skillet heat olive oil and add onion, cook about 203 minutes until softened.  Add garlic cook another minute.  Add rest of spices.  Add tomato sauce.  Simmer 15 minutes.  

Pesto Pasta Salad

Sometimes when I am making pasta salad it becomes a matter to use whatever I have on hand and just throw it all together. As was this case with this recipe.  Kidney beans make this a very fulling and satisfying salad.  As usual when cooking I make too much especially since there are only the two of us in the house.  So this made a tasty and fulling lunch the next day. 

Recipe:

1/2 lb of pasta: bowties, ziti, rotini whatever you like

1 15oz can drained, rinsed kidney beans (or cannelli, or chickpeas)

1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers

1/4 chopped olives (I had a mixture on hand from the deli counter)

1 1/2 tablespoons of pesto

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil to thin and to taste

Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.  Strain pasta and rinse with cold water.  Toss with all other ingredients. Taste.  add more pesto, olive oil, or seasonings to taste.

* I also had a few slices of fresh mozzarella on hand I chopped it and threw it in too, but feta would also be a good cheese to add.

This pasta salad made a great side to some crab cakes and salad

Lobster/Crab Ravioli with Veggie Pink Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup vodka
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 16 ounces lobster/crab ravioli
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 zucchini sliced into half moons
• 1 portabello mushroom cap sliced

Directions

Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.  Add the zucchini and mushroom allow to simmer in sauce.  About 3-5 minutes until vegetables soften slightly.  (you don't want them too soft or they will turn to mush!)

While sauce simmers, cook ravioli in salted boiling water until cooked.  They should float to top.

Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Plat the ravioli and top with sauce and vegetables.  Serve with fresh basil on top and freshly grated cheese.

Ravioli with Sausage and Brussels Sprouts

Ok are you ready for another quick meal?  This one literally takes 20 minutes!  It could not be easier. If you can boil water you can make this simple meal.  I found this one in the January issue of Woman's Day magazine.  Which yes it is now April, apparently I have a problem.  One where I have many magazines that I rip recipes and ideas out of and let them pile up around my house. Well recently I organized them and pulled three recipes to make this week, starting with tonight! I update it a little.

Recipe:

1 lb of cheese ravioli
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 lb Italian sausage, casing removed
12 ounces of Brussels Sprouts, cut and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flake
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon of oregano
salt
pepper
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1/4 cup chicken broth
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Boil water and cook ravioli according to package directions.  Over a medium high heat olive oil, cook Italian Sausage until no longer pink and cooked through, beaking into pieces with spoon as it cooks.  Once sausage is cooked add in the brussels sprouts and cook for about two minutes.  Add in all the spices and cook another minute.  Add the tomatoes cook another 1-2 minutes until tomatoes begin to break down.  Add chicken broth and allow to simmer.  Serve with grated cheese. 

Swiss Chard and Sausage Pasta

This is a hearty meal on a chilly evening.  It's also pretty quick to make perfect for a weeknight dinner. I know I posted about a sausage and escarole meal earlier, this meal was to start as that this evening but then I just kept on adding things to it as I cooked.  And my husband had put a request for Swiss Chard. As it is something he grew up eating.  One thing led to another and this was the outcome.

Pasta:

1 bunch of swiss chard chopped (escarole or spinach will also work)
2 tablespoon of olive oil
1package of Italian sausage casings removed
1 can rinsed cannelli beans
1 red bell pepper
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon of red pepper flake (optional)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 shallot sliced
1/2 pound bow tie pasta
1/2 cup chicken broth
crusty bread and grate Parmesan cheese (optional to serve with)

In a pan heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Brown sausage breaking into small pieces.  Once sausage is cooked and no longer pink remove from pan using a slotted spoon and allow to drain on paper towel covered dish.

Bring salted pot of water to boil and add pasta, cook until al dente.

Wipe pan out and heat another tablespoon of olive oil.  Cook shallot and garlic for about 1-2 minutes until tender and fragrant.  Add red bell pepper, beans, itailian seasoning, and red pepper flake.  Cook about 2-3 minutes to allow pepper to soften.  Add tomato paste.  Stir around pan.  Add chicken broth.  Add sausage back into pan.  Add swiss chard and allow to wilt in pan.  If more liquid needed add a little of the pasta water in.  Drain pasta and toss in pan.  Serve with grated cheese on top and crusty bread on the side.