I know it is hard to believe but sometimes I get cook’s block. It is like writer’s block except I can not think of a single thing to make for dinner. So earlier this week Dana requested something from chicken and something from ground beef. I went to the store and picked up the basic [...]
This week Dana got a year older. For her sake, we will not divulge the exact age. However, her only request was to have lasagna made with beef and not Italian sausage. So I whipped up some homemade noodles and put together her Birthday Lasagna. It was a great little lasagna. I may not be Italian, but I [...]
I like to keep fresh produce lying around, but it spoils so quickly. So I have determined a few ways to keep fresh produce on hand but have it last as long as possible. First tip, cherry tomatoes. They keep for a long time and you can use them for everything from sandwiches to pasta. [...]
Posted in All, Chicken, Garlic, Grilling, Italian, Recipes 
Tags: basil, Chicken, Garlic, Italian dressing, parmesan cheese, Pasta, spinach, tomato 
1 Comment »
Dana’s favorite meal of all time is baked ziti. I have never made it, so I decided to tackle it. I used a basic marinara sauce and then went from there. My first problem was that the local grocery stores did not carry ziti. They carried penne and rigatoni. I opted for the bigger rigatoni [...]
Posted in All, Italian, Recipes Tags: baked ziti, Italian, mozzarella, parmesan, Pasta, ricotta, ziti 2 Comments »
When I was a kid we used to get Strombolis’ from a little pizza place near our house. They were not rolled like typical a Stromboli but were folded in a half-moon shape like a Calzone. However, the biggest difference was that the stromboli had sauce inside of it and the Calzone had sauce on the side. [...]
Every once in a while Dana and I go out for dinner. When we do, I always see Dana ordering Penne alla Vodka. So I figured I should tackle this recipe. I wanted to make the sauce from scratch and have that great vodka flavor. Although the alcohol burns off, not all of the flavor [...]
Posted in All, Italian, Recipes Tags: Italian, penne, penne ala vodka, penne alla vodka, sauce, vodka 1 Comment »
The other night I asked Dana what she would like for dinner and she immediately said, “Spaghetti and Meatballs”. Easy, however, Dana is Italian and I did not want to offend her. So I asked if she had a recipe. She said, “meat, egg, bread crumbs and spices”. That left just a little bit to [...]
I received my Christmas present a tad bit early from my soon to be in-laws. They got me the KitchenAid pasta roller and cutter attachments. Basically the perfect gift for a food blogger. I have been wanting to make pasta from the minute that I unwrapped the present. Luckily within a few minutes I was [...]
Posted in All, Italian, Recipes Tags: homemade noodles, kitchen aid mixer, kitchenaid, noodle, Pasta, pasta attachment 3 Comments »
Last week I made an impromptu dinner for Dana. I wanted to make pasta, but I did not have a bread side. So I looked through my fridge and found an extra pizza dough. I know, yes, I have pizza dough in the fridge. I decided to make it into a garlic bread-like swiss roll. [...]
Posted in All, Baking, Italian, Pizza Dough, Recipes Tags: garlic bread, Italian, rolled garlic bread, side dish, ultimate garlic bread 1 Comment »
Last week was Dana’s Birthday and I wanted to make her favorite meal. Lasagna! So I looked around and found completely flat sheets of Lasagna noodles by Barilla. They fit almost perfectly into my individual oven safe bowls and they also do not require pre-boiling. For that reason I decided to make individual lasagnas. This [...]
Posted in All, Italian, Recipes Tags: flat lasagna noodle, Individual lasagnas, lasagna, Marinara, personal lasagnas 5 Comments »I was looking for a meat free dish the other day and Dana suggested manicotti. I have had this stuffed shell dish, but have never attempted to make it. So here is my attempt and ultimate success. They were delicious. The cheese and spinach stuffing was the best. Served with a basic marinara these manicotti [...]
Posted in Italian, Pasta, Recipes Tags: Baked manicotti, cheese, Marinara, Pasta, spinach 4 Comments »Italian food is one of my vices. I love the sauce, the pasta and the bread. The main problem is that my favorite recipe chicken Parmesan takes a while to cook, it requires a full chicken breast per person. Doesn’t seem like that big of a problem, but when you start cooking a bunch and [...]
Posted in Chicken, Italian, Recipes, Sauces Tags: chicken parm, chicken parmesan, easy, one pan meals, quick, recipe 1 Comment »I am a huge fan of garlic bread and I am always looking for a new way to make it. I took this idea from the bread at the local grocery store. They make a tear apart cheese bread that is pretty good. The concept however, is awesome. No need to cut the bread and [...]
Posted in Baking, Bread, Italian, Recipes Tags: braided garlic bread, garlic bread, pull apart garlic bread, recipe, Recipes 10 Comments »
