Italian Wedding Soup

We got 5 inches of snow today so it seems like a perfect day for soup. I love everything from this soup; it is more of a hyped up chicken noodle soup that is better. Little round noodles, pork meatballs, spinach, egg all floating around in a wonderful warm chicken broth. This is a new all time favorite and will be adding this to the menu list. I hope you and your family enjoy this as much as mine did.

Ingredients: 

Meatball:

1 lbs Ground Pork

1 Tablespoon Onion Powder

1 Tablespoon Parsley

1 Large Egg

1 Garlic Minced

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/3 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs

Broth:

12 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Cup Chopped Spinach 

1 Cup Acini de Pepe Pasta

2 eggs (mixed)

2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Instructions: 

Make your meatballs by mixing the seven ingredients into a bowl. Scoop up 1 Tablespoon or any bite size, form into a ball and set aside.

Place your broth and spinach into a pot and bring to a boil, Add in your uncooked meatballs and simmer for 20 minutes; stir constantly.  Mix the eggs and parmesan cheese together in a separate bowl and slowly pour into soup while mixing the soup into a circle. Add in your Acini de Pepe pasta and cook on medium for another 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Adapted by

giada de laurentiis

Italian Hoagie

Well hello all long time no talk, finals are slowly happening and I have been busy doing homework and studying, where I have not been able to make anything new and it is also my worst time of year for photos because of the yellow overhead light and how it gets dark at 4 p.m., but I could not let you miss out on this one. My special guy's favorite subway sandwich "Italian BMT" so I decided to create my own and it turned out great. Just a little hit of spice, melted cheese, and a herb butter spread. If you are wanting to make something easy, quick, and delicious for lunch or supper and if you also love the Italian BMT. This sandwich is just for you

Ingredients:

6 Hoagie Buns

6 slices Mozzarella Cheese

Sliced thin: Ham

Sliced thin: Salami 

Sliced Pepperoni

1/4 Cup Pepperoncini Peppers, sliced

4 Tablespoons butter, soft

1 Teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400

In a small bowl mixed together, butter, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Spread butter mixture on both top and bottom, inside of hoagie. Place ham, salami, pepperoni, cheese and pepperoncini onto hoagie in that order. Take a square of tin foil and roll and wrap your hoagie and place onto a pan and bake for 20 minutes. Unwrap and enjoy.

Italian Sausage Pizza Hoagie

So it is the summer time and it has been super hot and I mean hot.  Maybe not Texas or Florida hot but when it is in the high 80s before the first day of summer it is hot for Wisconsin.  So with that I haven't made many new things except for some quick dinner that do not involve the oven or stove just the grill, but it did go back down to the 70s and I needed some more recipes for the blog so I sharing this recipe that i have never shared before and for that I am sorry.

So enjoy this flavorful Italian sausage, sauteed onion and green pepper with melted mozzarella cheese and of course what could be better than cooking it all in sauce and putting it in a hoagie?  Lots of things but that isn't the point.  This is good, make it.

Ingredients 

6 Italian Sausages *cut in rounds*

2 Green bell peppers *sliced*

1 Large Onion *sliced*

1 Jar of spaghetti sauce

Motzarella Cheese *sliced*

2 Tablespoons Butter

Hoagie Buns

Instructions

Preheat oven 325*

Place butter, onions and peppers in small sauce pan and cook on low for 30 minutes.

While that is cooking place your sauce and Italian sausages in a pan and cover and leave on med heat.  Stir occasionally for 20 mins.

When done place the amount of sausages you choose in your hoagie with some extra sauce, place some onions and peppers over the sausages and top off with cheese.  Wrap each sandwich with tin foil and place in oven for 15 minutes.  Unwrap and eat right away.

Makes 4-5

Bacon Risotto Stuffed Mushrooms

Creamy, cheesy and full of bacon, a risotto that is full off flavor and stuffed into a portobello, perfection!

12 oz Abrorio Rice

3 Cups Chicken Stock

4 Tablespoons Butter (separated)

1 Cup Parmesan Cheese

6 Strips Bacon (crispy and crumbled)

Portobello Mushrooms 

Place rice, stock and 2 tablespoons butter into pan.  Stir while boiling for boiling, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.  

Cook bacon and place into rice when rice is done cooking, salt and pepper to taste, fold in cheese and set aside.

Place 2 tablespoons of butter into pan and place mushroom in pan and cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until mushrooms are done cooking.

Stuff risotto into mushrooms and serve.

Birds Nest

So this one is a new favorite loved by everyone it will be perfect for a quick morning breakfast or  brunch for family and no one will know that you are using last nights left over spaghetti noodles.

Cheesy crunchy noodles, eggs and pancetta? Sounds crazy but it is crazy good.

1 Cup leftover Spaghetti noodles

1/2 Teaspoon butter *room temp*

1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese

1 Egg

2 Tablespoons chopped crisp Pancetta 

1 Tablespoon Oil

Green onions and Sriracha *Optional*

Place noodles butter and cheese in a bowl and mix until noodles are covered.  Place oil in pan and put on medium heat.  Place noodles in pan leaving a 1"-2" circle in the middle.  Let sit on medium heat for 5 minutes or until noodles are at a brown crisp, flip over and do the same.  When sides are brown add egg in the middle and cook until liking.  

Place on plate and sprinkle on Pancetta, chopped green onion and Sriracha.

Chicken Florentine Lasagna

So let me tell you about this amazing dish that is amazing, did I say that it is amazing already?  

Chicken and bacon you cannot go wrong and covered with an delicious creamy garlic sauce that will blow you out of the water, couch, kitchen table, where ever you are reading this and of course turning chicken Florentine into a lasagna is genius.  This might be the only lasagna I will make for now on.

 Creamy Garlic Sauce *recipe below*

12 lasagna noodles, oven ready or cooked

1 pound chicken breast cubed

 3 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups bag baby spinach, raw

12 strips bacon, cooked crispy

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Garlic Sauce

 6 cups milk

 2 tablespoons natural chicken base *Better Than Bouillon*

 8 tablespoons butter

 5 Garlic cloves minced

   10 tablespoons Flour

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Teaspoon black pepper

1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese

Add the milk and the chicken base to a large saucepan or medium pot, whisk  and bring to a simmer then turn off the heat.

While the milk is off heat add the butter to another pot, along with the garlic, and place over medium heat and stir the garlic into the butter to soften.

Sprinkle the flour into the melted butter/garlic, and stir to combine; stir for about 1-2 minutes

Next add garlic mixture to the milk mixture whisking constantly to avoid lumps form forming, and allow the sauce to simmer for a few moments until thickened.

-Once thickened, turn off the heat and finish by whisking in a pinch or two of salt, the black pepper,and the Parmesan cheese; keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 350°, and lightly grease a 9x12 baking dish.

Add thin layer of sauce to bottom of the baking dish

Add 4 lasagna noodles over the sauce, and add in another, more generous, layer of the sauce.

Next, sprinkle over about half of the diced chicken, followed by about 1 cup of the shredded Parmesan and 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella.

Sprinkle over 1 Cup of spinach  followed by about 1/3 of the chopped bacon.

Repeat with another layer of 4 lasagna noodles, more sauce, the rest of the chicken, another cup of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, the remainder of the baby spinach, and another 1/3 of the chopped bacon; then, cover with the last layer of four lasagna noodles.

Finish by topping the noodles with sauce, then sprinkle over the last cup of Parmesan cheese, the last 2 cups of mozzarella cheeses, and the teaspoon of Italian seasoning; bake for about 30-minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Tuscan Soup

So this soup is amazing is so many ways, the flavors are so outstanding it is down right redonkulous.

So I saw someone post a similar recipe to their Facebook that they made and I said to myself "oh my goodness, this could be 10x better!"  So I playing with ingredients and changed a lot around and I thought I created a master piece but only to find out there are tons of other versions of this every where on the foodie internet.  So here is my version of the "Tuscan Soup"

Now I like to cook my meats into the soups because well it adds more flavor but with doing that you have to let the soup cool down and then render the fat off the top or you could cook the meat first then add it to the soup, your choice.

32 oz Chicken Broth

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Cup Water

4 Italian Sausage Links * Cut in chunks*

2 Large potatoes *Cut into smaller chunks*

1/2 Cup Chopped Onion

1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Fresh Spinach Leaves

Place chicken broth, water, onions, sausage, and potatoes into large pot.  Let boil and cook sausage and potatoes until done.  Let soup cool and then render the fat off the top or as much as you can.  Bring soup back to boil add in cream, onions, garlic, and flakes.  Boil for 15 mins and stir constantly.

Take a hand full of spinach leaves in bowl, pour soup over spinach leaves, drool, and enjoy

Crock Pot Coke Ribs

Oh I love ribs and I haven't had them in years.  I live with a man who hates BBQ but since he is gone working I took advantage and finally made some ribs.  I was scared to make them since I really never made them before but they turned out amazing and were falling right off the bone, I will be keeping this in my keep book.

1 rack pork ribs

1 can coke

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Cup BBQ Sauce

Rub rack with salt,pepper,onion and garlic powder and place into slow cooker.  Pour your coke into the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

When 8 hours is done uncover and smother with BBQ sauce, place lid back on and cook for 1 more hour.

Root Beer Glazed Pork Chops

Pork chops and root beer?  Who would have thought this combination would be amazing, it is savory and sweet all at the same time which is the most perfect combination.  It takes a while to make this dish but it will all be worth it, this may be my new favorite comfort food item

Chick's pork chop seasoning

2 Tablespoons Paprika

1 Tablespoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

1 Tablespoon Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Onion Powder

1 Tablespoon Oregano

Combine all together and rub into pork chops and set aside

Root Beer Glaze

2 Cups Root Beer

2 Cups Chicken Stock

Put root beer and stock into heavy sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and let softly boil for 50 minutes to an hour or until becomes a syrup.

Pork Chops

4 Bone In Pork Chops

1 Large Onion

1/2 Stick Butter

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Saute Sliced Onions for 1 hour or until golden brown on low simmer.

Heat up oil in pan and place pork chops on medium heat, cook for 10 minutes or until thermometer reaches 150*

Place onions and syrup over pork chops and serve over mashed potatoes.

Breakfast Casserole

What else is better in the morning than a delicious breakfast casserole.  The flavor is amazing, peppers, Italian sausage, eggs, cheese and more.  Everything in this casserole is amazing and will make the bellies happy in the morning.

1 pound Italian sausage 

1 medium white onion, peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, cored and diced 

6 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1 (20 ounce) bag frozen hash browns, thawed

2 cups shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Add the sausage to a medium saute pan. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, crumbling the sausage with a spoon as it cooks. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of sausage grease in the saute pan, discarding the rest.

Add the onion and red pepper to the saute pan, and saute for 5 minutes until cooked. Add the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant. (If using the jarred roasted red peppers, wait to stir them until after the garlic.) Pour the vegetable mixture into the mixing bowl with the sausage.

Add the hash browns and 1 1/2 cups cheese to the mixing bowl with the sausage and veggies. Stir to combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and black pepper until combined. Then add them to the hash brown mixture, and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into a baking dish, and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes and the top of the potatoes begin to slightly brown.

Remove and let the casserole rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions and serve!

Recipe From

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com

Sausage Gnocchi

I try to fit in gnocchi whenever I get the chance to.  It is such a simple,amazing delicious dish that can be made with almost anything.  This round I made a recipe with sausage with a hint of spice that the whole family enjoyed.  Nothing can ever go wrong with gnocchi unless you were to cook it wrong and that is kind impossible.

1 round of Kalbasa 

17.6 oz Gnocchi

15 oz Diced Tomatoes with Italian seasoning

2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

8 oz Tomato Sauce

1 garlic clove minced

1/2 Teaspoon Red pepper flakes

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Pre heat oven to 350*

Bring water to boil and cook your Gnocchi.

While the Gnocchi is cooking, place your garlic in a pan with a splash of EVOO and let simmer for 2 minutes.  Place sauce,paste,tomatoes, pepper flakes, and garlic all in the pan and bring to a boil then turn down to a low heat and add in kalbasa.

When fully heated through and gnocchi is done, mix together in 9x13 dish and top with cheese.

Place in oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly

One pot cheesy sausage ravioli

One pot meals are a life saver and this one is amazing flavor wise and who doesn't love ravioli!  Cheesy goodness with the spiciness of Italian sausage.  Another family favorite I am sharing with you.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (16-ounce) package cheese-filled ravioli
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup basil leaves

Preheat oven to broil.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks.
Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in ravioli and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until ravioli is tender, about 8-10 minutes.
Remove from heat; top with mozzarella and Parmesan. Place into oven and cook until melted and golden brown, about 2-4 minutes.
Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.

Recipe from

http://damndelicious.net/

Smothered Pork Chops

So I may or may not have an obsession with mashed potatoes but every week I like to make a meal with mashed potatoes so yea I may have an obsession.  These pork chops had such amazing flavor and they were oh so very simple to make.  If you want some amazing comfort food you will have to try this for sure.

4-6 boneless pork chops

salt

pepper

dried basil (crushed not the leaf)

1/4 Cup chopped onion

1 garlic minced

2 Cups Beef Broth

3 Tablespoons Butter

3 Tablespoons Flour

Melt butter in pan.  Put salt, pepper and basil onto pork chops and place them into pan until both sides are browned but not cooked through.  Take out pork chops and place aside.

Place onions and garlic and simmer for 15 mins.  Place flour into pan and mix until everything looks dry.  Slowly add broth, bring to boil and mix until mixture thickens. Salt and pepper gravy to taste.

Place pork chops in gravy mixture, cover and place on medium for 20 mins or until done.

Serve over mashed potatoes or rice