OLD FASHIONED POTATO SALAD

"This is potato salad the old fashioned way - with eggs, celery and relish. It's really good to serve with chili."

PREP TIME 45 Min

COOK TIME 15 Min

READY IN 1 Hr

INGREDIENTS:

5 potatoes

3 eggs

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup sweet pickle relish

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, peel and chop.

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil; cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, celery, onion, relish, garlic salt, celery salt, mustard, pepper and mayonnaise. Mix together well and refrigerate until chilled.

OLD FASHIONED POTATO SALAD

"This is potato salad the old fashioned way - with eggs, celery and relish. It's really good to serve with chili."


PREP TIME 45 Min
COOK TIME 15 Min
READY IN 1 Hr



INGREDIENTS:

5 potatoes
3 eggs
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup mayonnaise


DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, peel and chop.
Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil; cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.
In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, celery, onion, relish, garlic salt, celery salt, mustard, pepper and mayonnaise. Mix together well and refrigerate until chilled.

GARDEN FRESH PASTA SALAD

Plenty of fresh, crunchy carrots, celery, cucumber, green pepper and onions are tossed with tomatoes, zesty Parmesan and cooked pasta and coated with your favorite Italian-style salad dressing. Chill and serve this bright and flavorful salad.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked tri-color spiral pasta
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 (16 ounce) bottles Italian-style salad dressing
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until al dente. Rinse under cold water, and drain.
Mix chopped carrots, celery, cucumber, green pepper, tomatoes, and onion together in large bowl.
Combine cooled pasta and vegetables together in large bowl. Pour Italian dressing over mixture, add Parmesan cheese and mix well.
Chill for one hour before serving.

Company Pot Roast by Barefoot Contessa

Prep 20 min …Cook 3 hr 0 min = Total: 3 hr 20 min

Ingredients

1 (4 to 5lb) boneless beef chuck roast or pot roast cut of meat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Good olive oil
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup beef stock
3 branches fresh thyme
2 branches fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, beef broth, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.
Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.

Tracy's Minestrone Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced or finely sliced
2 carrots chopped
1 to 2 potatoes chopped
1 yellow or green squash chopped
1 tablespoon each of dried basil & oregano crumbled
2 bay leaves (leave whole)
1 large can crushed tomatoes with juice
(sometimes I will add some diced tomatoes with it)
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 large can or 1 package of frozen greenbeans
4 ounces small pasta (tubettini, ditelinni, etc...)
1 large can of northern white beans drained
(optional for topping soup grated parmesan cheese & minced parsley)

DIRECTIONS:

In large/medium-large pot heat olive oil over low heat for 1 minute, add onion & cook until soft, add garlic & cook for 1 minute. Raise heat to medium & add carrots, potatoes, squash, basil, oregano and whole bay leaves. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes & stock, bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so you have a gentle bubbling and cook uncovered 20 minutes. Add green beans, remove bay leaves, add pasta & cook until tender (add more water if needed). Add northern beans cook 3 to 5 minutes. Put soup into bowls & add Parm. cheese & parsley if you like. (really good w/ parm cheese on top). Enjoy!!!

Chicken Scarpiello

INGREDIENTS
• 1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1.Cut chicken breasts into 1 x 3 inch strips, and dredge in flour.

2.In 10 inch skillet, heat oil and butter. Add chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides (3 to 4 minutes). Using tongs, remove chicken from skillet. Set aside and keep warm.

3.To same skillet, add shallots and garlic. Saute until softened (1 minute). Add water, wine, broth mix, and seasonings. Mix well. Cook, stirring frequently, until liquid is reduced by 1/2 (3 to 4 minutes). Return chicken to skillet, and cook until sauce is thick and chicken is heated through (2 to 3 minutes).

Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

 

½ gallon milk

1 cup long grain white rice

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon anisette (optional)

1 teaspoon Orange zest (optional)

½ cup Raisins (optional)

Nutmeg

Directions:

In large pot, add milk and rice. On low heat, cover and simmer. Stir every 5 minutes.

When pudding starts to thicken, add sugar & vanilla and optional ingredients.

Cover and continue to stir every 5 minutes.

When rice is still somewhat soupy, add beaten egg and remove from heat

Bacardi Rum Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 18-1/2 ounce yellow cake mix
1 1-3/4 ounce (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs

1/2 cup cold milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Glaze:1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Directions:
Cake:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the nuts on bottom of pan. Combine all cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan. Invert on serving plate. Prick top all over with a fork. Drizzle glaze over top of cake. Use brush or spoon to put extra dripping back on cake.

Glaze:Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. ***At this point I melt a about 1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips with a little butter, wait until the cake cools, and I drizzle the melted chocolate back and forth all over the cake, then top with the rest of the crushed walnuts. It makes a beautiful apprearance, really dresses it up!!

Aunt Eleanor's Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

2 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
2 bags of sharp shredded Cheddar cheese
8 tablespoon butter
6 cups Whole Milk
8 TBS Yellow Mustard
4-5 shots of Hot sauce (optional)
2 TBS Flour
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Pour pasta into a greased 2-quart casserole dish. In a large saucepan, on med-hi heat, melt butter, add flour whisk together with a little milk, until blended, slowly keep adding milk whisking together, until it starts to thicken up. Whisk in mustard, and hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste, and all the rest of milk gradually. Turn off the stove and add in one bag of the shredded cheddar. Whisk in until melted and creamy.

When all is blended and sauce has thickened, pour over pasta in dish. Mix well to combine. 

Top the whole thing with the rest of the shredded Cheddar, and bake, uncovered, for 35-45 mins, or until top is golden brown.

NOTES: I usually make double the recipe, I cook for 6 people, plus a few neighbors and like to have tons of leftovers (it freezes well).

Darlene's Grandmother's Italian Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

4 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tbs chopped Garlic

3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4  Large Basil leaves, ripped into pieces

2 Cans Crushed Tomatoes (28 oz)

1 Small Can Tomato Paste

1 Cup Water

½ Cup Red Wine  (only when they had some left over)

3 TBS Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese

1 Tbs Oregano

1 Tbs Parsley

A good Pinch of Hot Pepper Flakes

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Pepper

Directions:

Saute' the garlic in olive oil on medium/high in the bottom of a heavy bottomed sauce pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  After a minute or two stir in the tomato paste, then add the crushed tomatoes, water, red wine, basil, oregano, and hot pepper flakes.

 Put a lid on the pot and let come to a rolling simmer. Lower down to a light simmer, stir occasionally and let cook down for at least an hour, the longer the better.

Right before serving, take of the heat and add in the grated cheese. Enjoy!!!

This makes a big batch, it freezes well in an airtight tupperware container.

For more flavor, cook your sausage, meatballs, pork etc...in the pot first, remove the meats, most of the oil and start the sauce from there. Add the meats back in when the sauce is assembled and let them all simmer together. 

Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a very popular family dish, simple, not expensive and most kids love it, especially if you cover it in Ketchup or Barbecue Sauce! Our family also likes it topped with a brown beef gravy. Into the mix you can use any of the store brand ready made packets of meatloaf mixes or even cans of soup like french onion, cream of mushroom etc...

Basically, the recipe below is a flexible one. I put in whatever I have in the fridge (red peppers, onions, pickles etc...) This makes a large loaf but remember, Meatloaf is also one of the great leftovers. Slice it up cold and put it in a sandwich with a little mayo and ketchup.

Ingredients:

3 lbs chopped meat (or a mix of Veal, Pork and beef)
2 cups bread crumbs (plain or Italian)
3 whole eggs (generally 1 egg per pound of meat)
1/2 large onion (diced)
1/2 large red pepper (or green pepper)
1 medium carrots (diced)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of whole milk
2 TBS yellow Mustard
¼ cup Ketchup or barbecue sauce (plus 1/4 cup reserved)
¼ cup Parsley
Salt and Pepper
Herbs and spices of your preference
I use: Cumin, paprika, onion and garlic powder.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and lightly grease a over broiler pan. In a large skillet add about 1-2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and sauté the onions, pepper, and carrots until tender. Add in all the spices that you prefer last.

Remove from heat. In a large Mixing bowl, mix the meat, sauteed vegetables, breadcrumbs, eggs, cheese, mustard, and 1/4 cup of the Ketchup. Mix with your hands (dig in) or use 2 forks. Mix together well.

Place the mix onto the pan and shape into a loaf. Spread the remaining Ketchup or barbecue sauce all over the whole loaf (top and all sides). Bake about an hour or until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees, let sit 15 mins before serving.

Italian Wedding soup

Recipe courtesy of: Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients:

¾ cupChopped Onions
¾ cup Chopped Celery
¾ cup Chopped Carrots
3 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 cups Chicken Broth
½ cup White Wine
¾ cup Tubetini or Starts Pasta
1 Bag Baby Spinach

“Meatball ingredients”

½ lb chicken Sausage
¾ lb ground Chicken
½ cup Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
2 TBS chopped Parsley
1 Egg
½ cup Bread crumbs
1 TBS crushed Garlic
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Mix the Chicken mixture with the Cheese, Parsley, Egg, Bread crumbs, crushed Garlic, Salt and Pepper. Drop TBS onto a baking tray and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 mins
or until slightly browned. Meanwhile, sauté veggies in the oil until caramelized. Add in Chicken stock and wine. After a few mins, add the pasta, and cook for about 10 mins, then add in the meatballs, and the Spinach right before serving, after the Spinach is wilted, it’s ready to serve. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese when serving.

Almond Orange Biscotti

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds (toasted)
2 teaspoons milk

1 TBS Orange Zest (optional)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture. Stir in almonds. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease foil. Divide dough in half; spread into two 12-in. x 3-in. rectangles on foil. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees F. Lift rectangles with foil onto wire rack; cool for 15 minutes. Place on a cutting board; slice diagonally 1/2 in. thick. Place slices with cut side down on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake 10 minutes more. Turn oven off, leaving cookies in oven with door open to cool. Store in airtight container.

Optional: Melt some chocolate chips over a double boiler and dip cookie in on one side or the whole bottom of the cookie to make it look fancy.

Pizzelle (stuffed pockets with Escarole and Sausage)

Ingredients:

2 1 1b bags prepared pizza dough
(can also use pastry dough)
1 large head fresh Escarole (washed and chopped)
1 package sweet sausage (8 links)
1 package hot sausage (8 links)
3 TBS chopped fresh garlic
2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 egg
½ cup water
Dash of salt

Remove casings from Sausage, set aside. In a large sauce pan, sauté Garlic until lightly browned. Add the sausage, breaking it up in your hand as you add it. Break up the sausage into small pieces as you are cooking, until it is in reasonable chunks and browned well. Add in the water, and then the Escarole, stir to coat in the water. Let sit until the Escarole is completely wilted, and the water is evaporated, mix all together. Drain mixture and set aside to cool.

Roll out your pizza (or pastry) dough into a large sheet as if you were making pizza, and cut out circles about 6-7 inches round (I used one of Kaitlyn’s cereal bowls). Keep gathering up left over dough and re-rolling it out into to form more circles until dough is all used up. Put the sausage and escarole mixture onto a large cutting board and chop it all up well. Coat large cookie sheets with EVOO and lay out the circles, fill with 2TBS of the filling, fold over to form moon shapes, and crimp edges with a fork. In a small bowl mix the egg and a splash of water and the salt, and brush the whole Pizzelle with the egg wash. Bake at 375 for about a half an hour or until light to medium brown in color.

Mangiare il suo delizioso!

STUFFED SHELLS WITH CRISPY PANCETTA AND SPINACH

Ingredients:

Shells:

1 (12-ounce) package jumbo shells pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound thick-cut pancetta, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

2 pounds frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta

1 cup grated asiago cheese

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Sauce:

1 tablespoon butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup cream

2 cups grated asiago cheese, plus 1/4 cup

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. For the shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta. Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl. Add the spinach, ricotta cheese, asiago cheese, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Stuff the shells with about 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture each and place the stuffed shells in a large, buttered baking dish. For the sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to very low and add the 2 cups asiago cheese, parsley, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is dissolved. Pour the sauce over the shells. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup asiago cheese. Bake until golden on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.