This is one of my family's favorites.
I got it from Proud Italian Cook.
You'll want to serve good bread with it for dipping. The sauce is amazing!!!

Country-Style Rigatoni

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of Olive Oil

4 or 5 Cloves of Coarsely Choped Garlic

1/2 of a Thinly Sliced White Onion

1/2 to 3/4 lb. of Italian Sausage with Fennel, casings removed (I used Jimmy Dean sausage with sage)

8 large Basil Leaves, chopped (optional)

One can of Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed (I use navy beans)

2 cups of Chicken Stock

3tbl of Butter

1 cup of grated Romano Cheese

3 slices of Prosciutto rolled up and thinly sliced (optional)

12 ounces of Dried Rigatoni

10 Broccoli Spears, 3" long

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan, add the onions and garlic.

2. Add sausage, basil and parsley, cook till sausage is nice and brown. Raise heat, add stock and butter, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes till sauce thickens a little. Stir in half of the grated cheese and cook for about 3 more minutes till sauce thickens. Add beans, sliced prosciutto, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salted boiling water for only 4 minutes. Add broccoli and cook another 3-4 more minutes. Pasta will be nicely al dente. It will cook more in the sauce so don't worry!

4. Drain pasta and broccoli, add to sauce, now add more cheese!

Blueberry Buckle

This is the best blueberry cake EVER!!

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• TOPPING:
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup cold butter

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fold in the blueberries. Pour into greased 9-in. square baking pan.
2. For topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over blueberry mixture. Bake at 375 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

This is a recipe that I learned to make while in Italy. It is a family favorite and so delicious!!!

Pasta con Broccoli

serve 4

Ingredients: 1 large cup of broccoli per person

4 anchovy fillets or anchovy paste

2 cloves of garlic

hot chily peppers or red pepper flakes

1 cup of parmesan cheese

salt and extra virgin olive oil

short pasta like penne, ziti, fusilli...

Paste with the blade of the knife the anchovies (in case you don't like anchovies, don't use them...) and melt them in 5Tbs extra virgin olive oil into a frying pan (low heat). Add the pressed garlic and the chily, then when garlic is light pink, the olives.

In the boiling water for the pasta add salt and cook the broccoli florets for 3-4 min. Remove broccoli with a ladle, and put into the frying pan with a ladle of water from the pasta. cook pasta in the water and finish to cream the broccoli. Drain the pasta, put in the frying pan, add parmesan and sautè. Buon appetito

Finish to cream the broccoli mean that the broccoli need to cook and "melt": we want a creamy sauce, so cook them down until soft, adding a little water when needed (this pasta, as you remember is not dry, but a little soupy)

Chicken Marsala

• 4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
• 1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.

Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Slip the cutlets into the pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once – do this in batches if the pieces don't fit comfortably in the pan. Remove the chicken to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.

Lower the heat to medium and add the prosciutto to the drippings in the pan, saute for 1 minute to render out some of the fat. Now, add the mushrooms and saute until they are nicely browned and their moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Pour the Marsala in the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce the sauce slightly. Stir in the butter and return the chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Beef, Cheddar and Potato Pie

This is truly awesome!!!
and a favorite of the men in my life!!

1 lbs ground beef
2 carrots, cut into cubes
1/2 onion, cut into cubes
2 stalks celery, cut into cubes
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lrg baking potato, peeled and cut into cubes
1/2 cup beer
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt ad pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold
1 large egg yoke, beaten with 1 T water

Preheat the oven to 375. In a skillet, combine the beef, carrots, onion, celery, garlic and potato and cook, breaking up the meat, over med-high heat until the beef is cooked through and some liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, add the beer and cook for 10 minutes Add the cheese, salt and pepper. let cool.

on a floured surface, roll 1 puff pastry sheet into a 12 inch round. Place in a 10 inch skillet or deep pie dish. roll the remaining puff pastry sheet into an 11 inch round. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat mixture to the pie dish. Lightly brush the edge of the crust with some of the egg wash, then place the second sheet on top Press the edges to seal.

Place the pie on a baking sheet Brush the top with more of the egg wash and cut an "X" into the center of the pastry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, tenting with foil if the crust darkens too quickly. Transfer to a rack to cool for 15 minutes.

enjoy!!!

Crock Pot Carne Asada

I love Carne Asada, but I didn't want to grill it (as I normally do). So I search the internet for a crock pot recipe and found this one. It is a keeper!!! Very easy and so good! Especially good with the homemade tortillas I brought home from Tucson!



2 1/2 pounds lean stew meat (I used beef shoulder roast)
2 Tbsp chili powder (I used 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 Tbsp ancho chili powder, and 1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper)
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp salt
2 Tsp minced garlic
Juice of 1 fresh lime
12 oz dark beer or beef broth (I used beef broth)
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, chopped
1 small onion, cut into eights
1 Tsp dry oregano

In a ziplock bag combine the chili powder, cumin, salt, minced garlic, and lime juice until blended. Put meat in ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, put the meat in the crock pot, along with the beer/beef broth, onion, jalapeño peppers, and the oregano. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours. Shread meat with two forks and serve with your favorite garnishes in flour tortillas.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

I found this recipe on Pioneer woman's website and since I have all those wonderful blueberries I brought home from Indiana, I decided to try it!!! It is GREAT!

• ½ sticks Butter
• 1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
• ¾ cups Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 whole Egg
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¾ cups Whole Milk
• 2 cups Fresh Blueberries
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• ¾ sticks Butter
• ½ cups Sugar
• ½ cups Flour
• ¼ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt. Stir and set aside.

Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with cinnamon and sugar. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not over beat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Pour in batter.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using two knives or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve with softened butter.

Crab Louie

2 cups crab meat
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups chopped tomatoes
juice of 2 lemons
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chili sauce
2 T. chopped parsley
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 T minced parsley

2-3 hard boiled eggs, quartered
cucumber slices
boston lettuce
artichoke hearts

Mix crab meat, tomatoes, celery, parsley and lemon juice together. Mix in a separate bowl mayonnaise, chili sauce, onion and bit of parsley together and chill. Arrange the crab mixture on a bed of lettuce, pour mayonnaise mixture over tome and garnish with eggs, cucumber and artichokes!!!

This is the BEST ice cream.

I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman's website.
You do have to have time to prepare it because it involves cooking the custard! But it is soooo worth it!

Delicious Blackberry Ice Cream

2 pints fresh blackberries
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar

5 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Add blackberries to a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Cook over low heat, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Drain using a fine mesh strainer, pressing berries to extract as much juice/puree as possible. Set aside.

Heat half-and-half and 1 cup sugar in a separate saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated.

Add heavy cream to a separate bowl.

Beat egg yolks by hand or with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and slightly thick.

Temper the egg yolks by slowly drizzling in 1 1/2 cups of hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. After that, pour the egg yolk/half-and-half mixture into the pan containing the rest of the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat (depending on how hot your stove gets) until quite thick, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into the bowl with the cream. Stir to combine.

Add blackberry juice/puree to the cream/custard mixture and stir. Chill mixture completely, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick. Place container in freezer to harden for an additional two hours.

Raspberry Mojito


Many of you asked for this drink recipe after seeing it on my Project 365 post. It is a very light and refreshing summer drink!

Raspberry Mojito
Makes 1 serving

8 fresh mint leaves
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
2 ounces white rum
2-3 ounces seltzer
4-6 fresh raspberries

- Place mint leaves, lime juice and sugar in a highball glass (something tall and narrow is perfect). Using the straight end of a wooden spoon, gently press on leaves to release flavor (“muddle” is the official term).

- Fill glass with ice cubes. Pour in rum. Top off with seltzer. Drop in raspberries, and sip!