Rigatoni Rustici

We had this dish at Macaroni Grill a few years back and I think this comes pretty close.


Ingredients

32 oz can Hunt's Tomato Sauce
Olive Oil
Salt
1/2 C Crumbled Feta Cheese
14 Fresh Basil, chiffonad-ed!
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 small white onion, cut into small strips
2 Italian Sausage Links

Put 1 T olive oil in a sauce pan. Heat through and add tomatoes and salt to taste. Check sauce for acidity, adding sugar if necessary. Add feta and basil.

Stir fry bell pepper and onion in a separate pan until al dente.

Cook sausage (with casing) in a sauce pan with a few inches of water until the water boils off and the sausage is browned.

Slice sausage into bites. Add sausage and vegetables to sauce. Serve over al dente Rigatoni.

Zucchini boats with mushrooms and bacon

I got the idea for the zucchini boats from one of my favorite food blogs, For The Love of Cooking. But I had to use the ingredients I had on hand, so this is what I came up with. They were fantastic. My dear spouse doesn't like zucchini or mushrooms, and he had seconds!


Ingredients

1 zucchini
1/4 C Panko Bread Crumbs
Parmesan Cheese
Diced Mushrooms
Cooked and Crumbled Bacon
1 egg
Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper
Italian Seasoning

Combine Bread Crumbs, Parmesan, Mushrooms, and Bacon. Beat egg and toss with dry mixture to coat.


Cut Zucchini in half and scoop out the middle with a spoon. Lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Spoon mixture into zucchini.


Bake for 20 minute at 375 degrees.

Greek Couscous

Kathryn and the boys were up here last weekend and we stopped in at Sweet Tomatoes. They had the most delicious cold couscous salad and last night I tried to replicate it. It was good, but even tastier today after a night in the fridge.


Ingredients

1 1/2 C Couscous (I used white, but next time I'm going to try a mix of white and wheat)
2 1/4 C Chicken Broth
1 can garbanzo beans
1/2 C Feta Cheese, crumbled
diced tomatoes
diced cucumber
diced red bell pepper
fresh basil, parsley and oregano, minced
Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper
Fresh Lemon juice
Greek Vinaigrette

Bring chicken broth to a boil and add couscous. Remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff thoroughly with a fork and refrigerate. When couscous is cold, toss with drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, feta, vegetables, and herbs. Squeeze juice of half a lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Next time I'll try adding a little Greek Vinaigrette for a little more flavor. But it was delicious anyway!

Audrey's Pear and Blue Cheese salad with Candied Pecans

Check out my "salad hands". My sister-in-law first showed me these and I've been wanting them for years. I got them this week and they are as wonderful at tossing salad as I had hoped!

1 T Butter

1 C Pecans

1/2 C Granulated Sugar

1/8 tsp. Salt

1 bag spinach

2 ripe pears (or crisp apples -- pears are best)

1/2 C crumbled Blue Cheese

To make pecans: In a nonstick skillet using a wooden spoon (plastic will melt), over medium high heat, melt butter. Add pecans, sugar and salt. Move pecans in pan until sugar begins to dissolve. Once most of sugar is dissolved, let pecans cool on non-stick wax or parchment paper. It seems initially in this process that nothing is happening, and then the sugar dissolves all at once. At this point, it is very easy to burn the pecans, so be careful to stir constantly and remove from heat if pecans are getting too brown.

Place spinach in salad bowl. Top with pears (sliced thin), crumbled blue cheese, and pecans (slightly cooled and crumbled by hand) Dress salad lightly with vinaigrette recipe below.

Dijon Vinaigrette

6 T olive oil

3 T finely chopped onion or shallots

3 T white wine vinegar

6-10 T sugar (start with 6 and then taste. You want it to be tangy, yet sweet.)

1 T Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 t black pepper

In a blender combine

all ingredients. Blend until pureed. You probably won't need all of the dressing. Dress the salad first and then taste, adding if you need more.

Audrey's Shepherd's Pie

Okay, so first off, I have to say that these pictures do not do this Shepherd's Pie justice. I used (gulp!) INSTANT mashed potatoes and it lost a great deal of the delectableness, let me tell you! So, be forewarned. Homemade mashed potatoes make this dish out of this world!

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground Italian sausage
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 finely chopped carrots
1 can green beans, drained
1 large handful of frozen corn
1 jar marinara sauce

or
Homemade marinara sauce (1 can diced tomatoes, 2 cans tomato sauce, 1 can tomato paste, salt, basil,crushed pepper, garlic, sugar)

Sliced cheddar cheese (in spite of what the picture may suggest, I did NOT use processed cheese. Those are Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Slices from Costco)

6-8 servings mashed potatoes (we make our homemade with Yukon Golds, milk, butter, sour cream and salt. MMM BOY!)

In a sauce pan, brown meat, with onion, and carrots. Add green beans, corn, and marinara sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Even when I use jarred marinara I add a little more salt, basil and crushed pepper).

Place meat mixture in 9x13 pan. Place enough slices of cheese over the top. Finish with the mashed potatoes spread evenly over the cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until bubbly and toasted on top.

Michele's Basic Sweet Bread Recipe

I love that this recipe can make a great banana, zucchini, apple or pumpkin bread depending on the spices you add. I'm normally not a huge fan of banana bread, but this is as yummy as a spice cake!

Basic Sweet Bread--recipe is for one loaf

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (I often halve this and use applesauce for the other half, works great)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg (you will need to add an additional egg beyond the ratio when doubling)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 tsp cloves
1/3 tsp ginger

1 cups mashed banana (cinnamon & cloves only) OR
1 cups chopped apple (all spices) OR
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (all spices) OR
1 cups pumpkin (all spices)

Cream sugar and margarine in large bowl. Add vanilla and eggs. Add dry ingredients. Mix. Add fruit. Mix well. Pour into greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 325 for 35-45 minutes. (Usually closer to 45 or even a bit more).

Marylynne's Whole Wheat Bread

This is our family's favorite sandwich bread. It goes great with a hearty soup the first night, makes excellent toast the next morning, and then sandwiches for lunch.

4 cups Whole Wheat Flour (freshly ground)

1 Tbsp. Salt

1Tbsp. Dry Yeast

1/3 cup Oil

1/3 cup Honey

2 1/4 cups Hot Water

2 cups White Flour

Mix first three ingredients in a large metal mixing bowl. Into a medium bowl add the Hot Water. Using the same 1/3 measure cup, add to the water the oil first and then the honey.

Add White Flour 1 cup at a time, mixing in well after each cup. Mix last cup in with hands, kneading as you mix. When it is mixed in well enough that the dough no longer sticks to your hands, rub the bottom of the bowl with Canola Oil. Continue kneading just until mixed well and ball of dough is greased.

Turn over in bowl and cover with a piece of plastic wrap that has been greased or sprayed with Pam. Let rise until double in bowl, about 30-60 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn out on a smooth surface and knead until smooth ball forms.

Cut into two equal pieces and form two loaves, using a rolling pin to expel air bubbles.

Let rise just until even with top of pan, about 20-30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.