Shellaroni!

Okay for anyone who went to St. Mary's High School I believe Shellaroni was served on Wednesday for lunch... or was it Thursday. No matter, it was my favorite school lunch. I use to beg my mom to let me not bring lunch on Shellaroni day. Tonight when I went to grab a bag of pasta from the pantry I  saw the shells and the memories came back. I think the meat sauce I used was probably better then whatever was served to us in the cafeteria.

And here is the recipe from my Mom's Meat Sauce -

Ingredients  -
onion, chopped
olive oil
ground beef, sausage, ribs or any meat you like
crushed tomatoes, canned
tomato paste
parsley
oregano
salt
pepper

Method - 
Heat oil and saute onion until translucent. Add the meats. Cook until meat begins to brown. Drain off any fat from the pan. Add the crushed tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours, depending on the type of meat that is used. If the sauce is thin add tomato paste. Season with parsley, oregano, salt and pepper.

I usually use 4 cans of crushed tomatoes and end up with 4 to 5 freezer bags of sauce.



What did we have for dinner a year ago?
Spaghetti Squash Gratin with Chunky Tomato Sauce

What did we have for dinner 2 years ago?
Lidia!

What did we have for dinner 3 years ago?
Curried Potato and Spinach Soup

Sausage with Escarole and White Beans

If I were to make a "best of " list at the end of the year this would make the list. I found this on RealSimple.com. I adjusted the recipe for our tastes, really the bread should not be optional!
We really enjoyed this. The sauce was delicious. I used a pinot grigio for the wine, a personal favorite.


Ingredients -
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage
2 small onions, cut into wedges
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 19-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 small head escarole, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
crusty bread (not optional)

Method -
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Cook the sausage, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Transfer to a cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Add onions to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 6 minutes.
Add the wine and broth and bring to a boil. Add the beans, escarole, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the escarole wilts, 3 minutes.
Spoon into bowls and top with the Parmesan. Serve with the sausage and bread.

Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Pancetta & Swiss Chard

Well we got our power back early last night. Today was spent tossing things that did not fit in the ice chest and giving the empty refrigerator and freezer a good cleaning. Then it was off the the store to replenish the necessary items you need in the fridge, honestly I am sure I need to have orange marmalade in there, you never know when you may need to glaze something.

Tonight's dinner is a slight variation of a recipe from Eating Well. Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Pancetta & Swiss Chard was suppose to be made with Watercress, well they did not have that at the store so I opted for the Chard.

This was really good. It was nice and spicy. Perfect for the first night that it is dark by 5pm.


Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Pancetta & Swiss Chard

Ingredients -
2 ounces pancetta, chopped
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound gnocchi
4 ounces Swiss chard, tough stems removed, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method -

Put a large pan of water on to boil.
Cook pancetta in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes are almost completely broken down, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and salt. Add the Swiss chard. Cook until tender. Remove from the heat.
Cook gnocchi in the boiling water until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Add the gnocchi to the sauce in the pan; toss to combine. Serve immediately, with Parmesan.



So what did we have for dinner a year ago?
No Post : (

So what did we have for dinner 2 years ago?

Mom's Baked Macaroni

So what did we have for dinner 3 years ago?

Drunken Cheesy Bread and Vegetable Stew

Hurricane Sandy

I am typing this post from my sister's house. We lost power on Monday at 1:20pm. We had a lot of branches falling on our house throughout the storm but the house was not damaged. I had thought Irene was scary. But Sandy topped that storm.

Once it was over and we saw the reports from other areas of our town and state we realized that we were very lucky. Then when the images from New York and New Jersey came in it was shocking. So many people lost so much. Yes we are really inconvenienced by the power outage but it sounds and is petty compared to what others are facing.

If you can make a donation to the Red Cross please do.

I am sure there will be other donation opportunities for food, clothes, and other everyday necessities.

Here are some links with information on Hurricane Sandy donations -

CLOSET CLEANUP: 5 Tips For Donating To Victims Of Hurricane Sandy

7 Ways to Help Victims of Superstorm Sandy Online

Also if you visit your iTunes store there is a link located in the middle of the page on the right side to make a donation to the Red Cross.

Will be back soon with more dinner adventures. Stay safe.

Lucia

Hurricane Sandy Day 1

This one was really scary. The wind was so strong. Fortunately our house did not sustain any damage. But of course we lost power at 1:20pm. Ah bring on the disposable utensils and blue solo cups.
Now I knew we would loss power. The utility company was spot on in their prediction.

So for dinner after the obligatory hurricane cocktail we sat down to sandwiches of Boar's Head London Broil, on sale this week with American Cheese. The side dish was Lay's Potato Chips.

But now onto the wine. Chris picked up a bottle of Dogajola Toscano 2010. The description said it would be good with cold cuts! Perfect. It was a nice wine and even tasted good in the blue solo cups!

Short Ribs with Caramelized Onions

When we were at the Four Seasons we tried their Short Rib Fondue one night with some drinks. This is a photo of what we had. It was taste of heaven.

When we got home I wrote and asked for that recipe along with the Eggplant Parmesan recipe. They sent me both of them!

This was my version. I did not add the cheese but we did have it with toasted Italian bread. Not the same as theirs but pretty darn good!

With the upcoming storm I decided to use a small dish of Baked Macaroni from the freezer as a side dish. Really hoping we do not lose power!

Hope everyone is safe during Hurricane Sandy.



What did we have for dinner a year ago?
No Post  : (

What did we have for dinner 2 years ago?
This and That

What did we have for dinner 3 years ago?
Pasta with Meat Sauce...

Easy Pork Chop Saute with Cranberries & Zucchini Chips

Yeah so this thing called Sandy has become a potential problem.  For me, I usually do my cooking for the week on Sunday. Today as I left the deli counter at Stop and Shop I thanked the girl behind the counter for doing my cooking this week. I see no point in cooking for this upcoming week when we will most likely lose power. Sigh...
But there is still tonight and the storm is at least 2 days away.

Tonight's recipe is from Eating Well. It was not bad. The meat was nice and moist and the cranberries were good but it was not an over the moon dish.

Now the zucchini chips were another story. They were in the oven less than 5 minutes when Chris walked in and said something smelled delicious. I expected them to be more chip like, more crunchy perhaps. I think I should have kept them in the oven longer. Must remember that the next time.



What did we eat a year ago?
Thursday, October 27, 2011
No Post  : (




What did we eat 2 years ago?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Roasted Vegetables and Chicken Sausage

What did we eat 3 years ago?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Shepards Pie

Flounder Piccata with Fresh Spinach and Sandy?

I can not believe I have not posted all week. This week has been a blur. This name keeps popping up - Sandy. When I hear it I think of that Springsteen song. Other than that I have been crocheting up a storm, no pun intended.

Let's stay focused and move on to dinner. Flounder Piccata with Fresh Spinach is a recipe I picked up at the fish counter at Robert's Food Center when I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. Perfect for a quick meal.

Ingredients
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 (6-ounce) flounder fillets
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon drained capers, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups fresh baby spinach

Preparation
Sprinkle fish with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Dredge fish in flour.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.
Add wine, juice, and capers to pan; cook 1 minute. Add butter to pan, stirring until butter melts. Remove fish and sauce from pan; keep warm. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel. Add spinach to pan; saute 1 minute or until wilted. Top each serving with about 1 tablespoon sauce.

I made Red Quinoa as a side dish, I thought the color would look nice on the plate. I also picked up a couple of the store-made jumbo crab cakes. Not bad but I like the ones I make for Christmas Eve better!

What did we eat a year ago?
Friends and Company and Jacques Pepin

Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friends and Company and Jacques Pepin

What did we eat 2 years ago?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Rigatoni with Meat Sauce and Meatballs


What did we eat 3 years ago?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Southwestern Turkey Chili

Chicken Bacon Ranch Bakes

Tonight's dinner is from the Frieda Loves Bread blog. These were very good but we had one request. That the next time they be made with a phyllo dough. Yeah I am married to a foodie! The dough came out quite good, very good actually but it was a little too much bread. Wait did I just type that something had too much bread! Phew I think I need to check my temperature. The filling was good. I would add more cheese next time.

Of course if there is a next time I will make a homemade ranch dressing. When I was picking up the bottle of dressing at the store I just heard a voice saying, "no make your own." And then I had the guilt of serving Chris a meal with a processed food in it. Love being Catholic!

Want to try this recipe... Click here.


So what did we have for dinner 1 year ago?
Pork Chops With Roasted Beets and Oranges

So what did we have for dinner 2 years ago?
Venetian "Mac and Cheese"

So what did we have for dinner 3 years ago?
No Post

Pancetta Wrapped Polpettone In Red Wine Tomato Sauce

Other possible blog titles - "I have had dreams like this."
Or "Winner!"
Yeah this is a meatball wrapped in bacon. What's not to like about that. I found this on Italian Food Forever. With a pound of meat you make 4 giant meatballs. You wrap them in Pancetta or bacon, I did them both ways because I ran out of Pancetta! You brown the meatballs in olive oil then you make the sauce and put the meatballs in the sauce and let them cook. So darn easy and so amazingly delicious. The only part I had trouble with was turning the giant meatballs to brown on all sides.
Click Here for the recipe and plan on spending a lot of time on this site, lots of good recipes there.


So what did we have for dinner 1 year ago?
Friday, October 21, 2011
Risotto With Chicken and Arugula

So what did we have for dinner 2 years ago?
October 21, 2010
No Post

So what did we have for dinner 3 years ago?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Squash and White Bean Soup