Braised Italian Beef

Here is the recipe for braised Italian beef. I actually saw this recipe one night on Symon's Suppers and thought "I have to make that!". It came out AMAZING. The recipe is here. But as always I tweaked it a little.

Ingredients

• 2.5- 3 pounds rump roast
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 -3 stalks of celery cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup beef stock/broth
• 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
• 1 1/2 pounds dried rigatoni, for serving

 

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven (or roasting pan) over medium-high heat. When the oil is on the verge of smoking, sear the meat for about 2 minutes per side. Move the meat to the side (or remove it from the pot altogether if necessary), and add the carrots, celery root and onions. Brown the vegetables for about 3 minutes, and then add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Pour in the wine and deglaze the pot, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. Add the tomato sauce, beef broth,1 cup water and the bay leaves (and the pot roast if you removed it). Bring the liquid to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if necessary. Cover the pot, or pan, and place it in the oven for 3 hours, basting the meat occasionally during cooking time.

When almost ready to serve, make the rigatoni, if using. Boil in salted water according to package directions until al dente.

Discard the bay leaves before serving. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and slice into bite-size pieces, or shred with 2 forks. Return the meat to the pot of sauce along with the drained rigatoni. Toss to coat, and serve. 

 

The recipie for my tomato sauce can be found here 

Crock Pot Roast Chicken

This is a recipe I found on Pinterest and it is amazing. I have tried a few recipes off of the site and had some hit and miss results... this one is definitely a hit! I found the recipe here, and to be honest I didn't change a thing.

Spice Rub

• 3 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Clean your chicken and remove giblets and neck.  Rub spice mixture all over the chicken, if you have the time you can let the chicken marinate over night but you don't have to.  Dice up1 onion and put at the bottom of the crock pot.  Place spiced chicken on top of onions.  There is no need to add any liquid.  As your chicken slow cooks you will be amazed on how much juice you will end up with.

Slow cook on low for about 8 hrs.  You can use a thermometer to check to see if your chicken is done.  It should read 180 deg.  Or even simpler, wiggle a leg and if it’s loose, it’s done!

This chicken was moist and had amazing flavor! We served it with mashed potatoes and corn :)

Mangia!

Beef Stew

When I make beef stew I am immediately transported back to my parents kitchen, watching my mom on a cold Saturday make this and thinking "I hope I can be that good one day". <3 My mom is really the reason I love to cook, because watching her you could tell she loved to feed people. So beef stew is one of those recipes I actually don't have written down, so dear blog readers this is a first :)

Ingredients

• 1-2lbs stew meat
• 2 tbs flour
• 1-2 tsp black pepper (you can add more or less depending on your taste)
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 2-3 potatoes peeled and chopped
• 4-6 cups beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp thyme

Directions

Put roughly a tbs of oil in a pan, when warm put in strew meat. Sprinkle with flour and pepper. Saute until brown. De-glaze with beef stock, make sure to scrap the bottom of the pan. Simmer for an hour and a half to 2 hours. Add in veggies and remaining spices. Simmer for another 30-40 minutes. Serve with pasta, rice or biscuits.



Mangia!

Soup!

I love soup! I don't know where this love came from but even as a kid I had a strong love affair with soup. I remember the first thing I ever cooked when I got an apartment was soup. As I got older I leared that homemade soup is SO MUCH better then the stuff out of a can. Since Fall has set in here in Southern NY and Winter is not far behind I  have broken out the big soup pot and started looking for new recipies. Recently I make Minestone soup, it came out great and it was so simple. I found the recipe here. The only think I changed was I added sausage (because Josh won't eat a meal with no meat) and a subsituted kale for the spinach as I think it holds up better in a soup. Oh and I did it on the stove and not in a slow cooker.

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini or navy) beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 small bunch of kale chopped
• 1lb sausage (or ground beef)

Directions

 Saute sausage or ground beef til brown. Add in carrots and onion and saute til slightly soft. Add in tomatoes, broth and spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer about an hour or so. 30 minutes before you want to serve chop zucchini and kale and add to the pot along with beans. Serve with any noodles you like or rice.

My best customer <3

Mangia!

Mason Jar Oatmeal

Good Morning!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it is amazing! It took me all of 20 minutes to set up and made for quick and easy breakfast for the whole family this morning. :)


I found the recipe here, I didn't do all the flavor options but I did try the blueberry, apple, chocolate banana and peanut butter banana. Yum!

Pasta a la Mama

Pasta a la Mama

 Today I took on the dreeded task of cleaning out the fridge, thanks to this hated chore I realized I had a lot of great summer produce that I needed to use up. So that's what I did :)

This whole pot came together in 30 minutes and it tasted pretty good!



Pasta a la Mama

• 1-2 medium zuchini
• 1-2 medium yellow squash
• 1 package of mushrooms
• 2 vine tomoatoes
• 1/2-3/4 of a box of pasta

1. Heat oil oil and a little butter in a pan over medium high heat
2. Slice the squash and zuchini on a mandelin
3. Quarter mushooms
4. Add veggies to pan
5. Sprinkle salt, pepper and a little onion powder to taste
6. Saute of slightly soft
7. Chop tomatoes and add to pan
8. Cook pasta according to box directions, drain and add to pot with vegatables
9. stir to combine

This recipie is great because you can really use whatever you have.

Mangia!

Greek Chicken

The other night I was in the mood for chicken. But being as it's summer I didn't want to do a whole roast chicken. I found some leg quarters at the store and thought, "this is a great alternative!". They came out really great and took no time at all.

Greek Roast Chicken

4 pieces of chicken leg quarters
2 Lemons
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

1. Put chicken in a greased or aluminum lined roasting pan
2. Cut lemons in half a juice roughly 1/2 a lemon over each piece of chicken, put lemon halves in roasting pan
3. Sprinkle spices lightly over chicken
4. Sprinkle olive oil over chicken
5. Put chicken, uncovered in a 375 degree oven for roughly 45 minutes to an hour
6. Check for doneness with a meat thermometer


Mangia!

Quinoa Salad

I was looking for an alternative to summer pasta salad the other day and I think I found a good one. Quinoa! I was a little nervous as I had never used it before but I found a great recipe, that I changed a little, and  it came out wonderfully! I got the recipe from here.
Here is my spin on it;

Salad Ingredients:
3/4 cup quinoa (rinsed if needed, check the package)
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 red bell pepper, chopped into small dice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Dressing Ingredients:
2 T fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. South west seasoning
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Check the quinoa package to see if it needs to be rinsed (it often does) and rinse in a fine-mesh strainer if needed.  Combine quinoa, water, and salt and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.  Fluff quinoa with a fork and let it cool while you prep other ingredients.

Drain the beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse well with cold water, until no more foam appears.  Let beans drain until they are quite dry (or pat dry with paper towels if you want to speed it up.)

Cut out the stem and remove seeds from the red bell pepper and cut into very small dice (about the size of the black beans.) 

When the quinoa is fairly cool, combine quinoa, black beans, diced red bell pepper. Add enough dressing to moisten all the ingredients. (Save any extra dressing to use later)

 This keeps very well in the fridge for several days.  The salad absorbs the dressing when it's refrigerated, so it's best with a little more dressing stirred in when you're eating the leftover salad.


Mangia!

Sauce

I grew up with two Italian Grandmas and a mom that loved to cook. I think that is really where my love of food came from. One of the first things I ever learned out to make was homemade pasta sauce and really it is one of the things I make that I am most proud of. It is really simple to do and you can add anything to it and make it your own. My husband loves meat sauce so that's what I made the other day but you can add veggies or keep it plain or do whatever you like. You can make this either in a slow cooker, which I tend to do in the summer, or on the stove. Here is the basic recipe;

• 1/2 a large onion
• 1 tsp  chopped garlic 
• 2  (29 oz) cans crushed, diced, or pureed tomatoes
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 to 2 tsp Italian seasoning

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium to medium high heat saute onions until tender.
2. Add in garlic and saute for roughly 1-2 minutes, just until tender but not brown
3. Add in tomatoes
4. Add in tomato paste and seasoning, cover and simmer for at least an hour or as long as 6 hours, stirring occasionally.

If you like your sauce less acidic add sugar about 30-40 minutes before serving.
If you wanted to add meat or veggies just saute them before you add the tomatoes.
To make this in a crock pot follow steps 1 and 2 and then place the onion mixture in the crock pot then add tomatoes, tomato paste and seasoning to the crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours or until you are ready to serve stirring occasionally.


Mangia!

Smothered Pork Chops and Orzo Salad

Yum

 I made this meal on somewhat of  whim. It was so hot I wanted to make something that didn't use the oven but still was satisfying and nutritious  .

I got the recipe from smothered pork chops here

Smothered Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Onions

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder chops
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Pat chops dry and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet (preferably deep) over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
3. Brown chops in 2 batches, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate.
4. Add remaining 2 tablespoon oil to skillet and cook onion and mushrooms with rosemary and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 7 minutes.
5. Return chops and any meat juices from plate to skillet. Add water and simmer, covered, until chops are tender, about 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes

And the orzo salad I had seen on a cooking show but just adapted to what I liked.
 Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of orzo pasta
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 a bag of frozen corn (thawed)
• 1 cup of feta cheese
• lemon juice
• olive oil 
• salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

1. Cook orzo according to box directions until just tender and drain   
2. Place pasta in a bowl wrap it and put in the fridge or freezer until cool 
3. Chop or dice tomato and put in the salad 
4. Add corn and feta
5. Add a splash of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper
6. Stir gently and refrigerate until ready to serve

Enjoy!

Mama

Hello!
  I am writing this blog to share something I love with the world... cooking. I am planning to post recipes of the meals I make for my family. I hope you like it! :)