Today is Good Friday, one of the most important days of the year for Christians. My son has arrived home and tomorrow my other two children will once again fill my house with laughter and love. Tonight’s meal was a quick, meatless meal that can be cooked on any weeknight after work. I came across this recipe a few months ago on the website – Laughing Spatula. I just haven’t had the opportunity to make it, but my son loves seafood so tonight it finally made its debut in our rotation. There are absolutely no leftovers, so I’m guessing it’s a keeper for us.
In addition to the shrimp, I cooked a homemade pizza because it wouldn’t be Good Friday without pizza. I didn’t make the dough from scratch tonight as my husband happened to pick up a fresh pizza dough in his travels. If you are buying pizza every Friday night, consider making one with your spouse, or children. It’s super easy and fun and honestly, if you have good sauce, more delicious.
We are having our Easter dinner and birthday party for my husband tomorrow. We are having Prime Rib and I’ll capture some photographs and share the recipe for that at some point. I’m happy to have a full house to cook for and share this Easter holiday and birthday with.
Roasted Shrimp, Peppers & Onion
Ingredients:
1poundraw deveined shrimp, without tails
1red pepper, sliced
1yellow pepper, sliced
1 Vidaliaonion, slicedlarge
1/4cupolive oil
2limes1 juiced, 1 sliced for condiment
2garlic cloves, minced
1teaspoonchili powder
1teaspooncumin, ground
1/4teaspooncrushed red pepper
1teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonground pepper
Directions:
Pour a small glass of Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition, turn on Alexa for dancing in the kitchen.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line baking sheet with aluminum foil
Mix olive oil, chili powder, crushed pepper, cumin, garlic, juice of 1 lime, salt and pepper in small bowl or measuring cup.
Add sliced veggies and shrimp into large bowl and toss with olive oil mixture
Spread onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until veggies are soft and starting to brown and shrimp is cooked through.
Serve with remaining lime slices.
We didn’t, but the original recipe said you could roll this mixture in a warmed tortilla. Recipe adapted from – Sheet Pan Chili Lime Shrimp, Laughing Spatula
Make sure you have something cold to cool the heat this packed. Enjoy!
My daughter Catherine moved out almost one year ago and lately she’s been calling me to ask about cooking. How do you make this?, What can I do with these ingredients? This makes me happy, as I guess she was watching after all. These calls bring me full circle to myself when I moved out of my parents’ home when I was a mere 18 years old. I had just graduated high school and gotten a job working in Human Resources at Morgan Stanley in midtown. I was attending college at night, working full time and living under my own roof. I was super excited to have my own place and after about the same amount of time as my daughter, started calling my mother to ask these same questions. I still have the index cards I typed at work after speaking to her, all those years ago, to get treasured family recipes. (Yes I know I spelled potato wrong back then.)
My mother was a creature of habit, as was my dad. We ate dinner at the same exact time every single night. We ate the same meals in a weekly rotation and my brothers and I could tell you that Friday was spaghetti night. My Nanny came for dinner after work on Thursday and we usually ate stuffed pepper or meatloaf and had chocolate cream pie for dessert. Grandma came over on Saturday and we always had fudge ripple ice cream for dessert and Goulash for dinner. We had bagels on the one Saturday each month that my dad worked the graveyard shift. He picked them up on his way home, hot from the bagel store. Every Tuesday in the summer we went to Rockaway Beach with the ladies and kids on the block. You could literally set your calendar and watch by the routines my family had. That’s likely why I rebel so much when it comes to structured routines and like to do things differently each week.
Today, on Sunday sauce day – gasp – I was planning to make chicken cutlet. When I opened the package, I noticed the breasts were left whole. I had just seen an idea shared on another website – Cooking with the King Fish – about stuffing these breasts rather than trimming them up for chicken cutlet. I decided to give this a shot today. I had some turkey sausage that I planned to cook with the cutlets and some beautiful mushroom for a gravy. This meal is one of those – a little of this and a little of that and maybe we have a new meal for our rotation.
Change is good and experimenting with cooking is fun. There are just so many meals to try, why limit yourself to the same thing each week. I’m not sure why my mom felt the need to have such a strict schedule. I know she was on her own a lot with dad’s work schedule and likely needed to have a routine with her three young children at home. I also know as she got older she did not enjoy cooking at all. So, maybe it was that all along, maybe she didn’t like to cook and just had her favorite recipes that she kept making. I’m not really sure, but she was such a great cook and I hope she found joy in it.
Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients:
2 whole boneless chicken breasts
mozzarella cheese cubed
hot turkey sausage (1/2 link removed from casing for stuffing)
1 mini red pepper cubed for stuffing
baby spinach rolled and sliced into strips for stuffing
1 mushroom chopped (white) for stuffing
Hot turkey sausage – 5 links sliced (uncooked)
Chicken broth 1 cup
1 medium onion chopped
cooking twine
Directions:
Pour glass of Chardonnay and turn on Alexa for dancing in the kitchen.
Trim the cutlet almost in half and unfold.
If still thick start at middle and trim to outer edge but not all the way through. Unfold.
Repeat on other side
Cover with plastic wrap and pound to even out
Place layer of stuffing on in this order, sausage, mushroom, pepper, spinach, mozzarella cheese.
Roll breast and secure with cooking twine
Add olive oil to bottom of baking pan
Place chicken breast in baking pan
Add chopped onions around
Add sliced turkey sausage
Add garlic
Add chicken broth – 1 cup to baking pan
Bake for one hour at 350 degrees
Mushroom Gravy
I used my Schnitzel mushroom gravy recipe to make a nice pan gravy for this meal. The recipe can be found here – Chicken Schnitzel with Mushroom Gravy & Spaetzle . What I don’t use with this meal I can freeze in a container and have on hand for quick meals during the week. There’s something comforting about having a nice mushroom gravy to top off our chicken cutlet, or steak.
What were the weekly meals your family ate? Please share as I love to try new recipes out. If you try any of these recipes, please drop me a line and let me know how you made out.
We were out Saturday night for dinner with some friends. We ended up going out to a German restaurant on Long Island and I ended up eating pork loin, which happened to be on the menu for Sunday dinner this week. I prepared the loin to cook this morning, but decided to wrap and hold it in the refrigerator for Monday instead. This meal is one generally reserved for holidays, but my husband has been asking me to make it since I didn’t make it on our last holiday. He purchased the meat and brought it home, so how could I possibly say no.
My dinner friends have been friends since we were in kindergarten. These are the best kind of friends to have, as you have so many shared memories. We went all through schooling together K – 12, so there’s nothing we didn’t experience together growing up. I’m thankful we have kept in touch through our adult years and truly enjoy the times we spend together. I wish we lived closer to each other, but we still manage to see each other several times each year. Each time we meet, there’s tons of laughter and reminiscing of days gone by. Gail is the memory keeper who inevitably cleans a closet and finds a photograph, or note we wrote each other back in junior high school. This was the 1970s version of a group text. It’s so much fun to read something your younger self wrote. Marianne was always the level headed one in the group, whose current self loves to call to question that label. Barbara, who couldn’t make it this time, was and continues to be the wild child who keeps us laughing all night. These ladies have shared much of my life journey and I’m thankful to have them still in my life.
Circa 1971 – The girls
Laura & Barbara
Marianne, Laura & Gail
Gail, Marianne, Joe & Laura
Sunday morning we decided to hold off on our roast, but I still needed to prepare it for cooking. I came across a cooking page – Cooking with the Kingfish – recently that showed an easier way to cut a roast for stuffing. I decided to try that out with this roast and it worked out well, super easy. I prepared my sausage stuffing, cut the roast, pounded, stuffed, rolled and tied it for roasting It was then placed in a roasting pan and wrapped for overnight. On Monday, my husband will place it in the oven while I am at work for roasting.
Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
Onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
Sausage meat (I used sweet removed from casing)
Rye bread (half loaf)
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 egg
1 tbsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
Directions
Chop celery and onions small and saute in tablespoon of unsalted butter until soft (4 minutes)
Add sausage meat and brown
Add chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute
In separate bowl place cubed bread
Pour sausage and vegetable mixture over bread
Add egg and spices
Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock
Mix with hands until fully blended and set aside.
Stuffed Roast Pork Loin
Ingredients:
5 lb boneless pork loin
1 onion chopped large
olive oil
4 sweet potatoes chopped into large pieces (1 – 1/2 inches)
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp paprika
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Pour cup of coffee because it’s far too early for wine and turn on Alexa for dancing in the kitchen.
Rough chop onion and place in roasting pan
Wash and pat dry roast and place on cutting board
Slice gently with sharp knife the long way, almost in half but do NOT cut all the way through.
Unfold the roast.
Starting at center and moving toward outer edge slice in half without cutting all the way through and unfold
Repeat this step on other half
Place plastic wrap over roast and pound to even out
Place stuffing on top of flattened roast and spread evenly
Roll roast long way much like you would a jellyroll cake.
Tie roast with roasting twine
Rub pork with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.
Stir together the flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the seasoned flour mixture evenly over the pork loin. (I didn’t put the flour on yet in the photo below. I’ll do that tomorrow, just prior to roasting.)
Place on top of onion and sweet potato in roasting pan
Add 1 cup of chicken stock to bottom of pan
Roast in oven at 450 degrees F for about 10 minutes.
Reduce oven to 350 degrees F and continue to roast for 60 minutes
Insert meat thermometer into pork – not stuffing – ready when 150 – 155 degrees F
Let pork rest for 10 – 15 minutes. Temperature should be 160 degrees F
Slice with sharp knife and serve
In the past I just cut the roast almost in half and stuffed. Rolling it made distribution of stuffing more even and presentation was much nicer. Delicious and enough for my dad and leftovers.
Most of you know I have been training for the NYC Marathon for a few years now. I’ve had ankle tendon surgery and two stress fractures as a result and haven’t toed the line yet. This week, I received my acceptance to run the 2018 New York City Marathon. I’ve been resting, cross training and working on my strength as I recover from the femoral stress fracture that resulted from last year’s attempt. Suddenly, March has arrived and it’s time for me to begin running again. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about it, especially since I’m carrying an extra twenty or so pounds right now. But, March is the target month to begin running as I’m healed. Currently, I am 43 days into an 80 day strength training program and feeling stronger each day. Tomorrow morning it’s me and the road, or treadmill, depending on the weather.
My nutrition needs to change when I am running and in training. I’m not quite as free with my choices and very focused on using food to fuel me, rather than soothe me. This requires both soul searching and action. The switch also requires mental focus and tenacity, especially on days when I just want to eat and drink a glass of wine. I am aware of what is making me stress eat and know what I need to do about it. Taking a page out of my favorite reread – The Four Agreements, I’m plan to take control of my thoughts and get back to focusing on me.
I have written about the Four Agreements several times already, but here is my original post, from 2016, that describes what the agreements are – Life Change .
Specifically, at this point in time, I need to work harder on these two agreements:
Don’t take anything personally; and
Don’t make assumptions
Both of these are very hard considering my career is one in which everyone feels they have the right to make judgements about me. Every decision I make, every word I say is looked at and scrutinized. But, at the end of the day, my decisions are connected to me and other’s are connected to them. My decisions are not personal, they are always made in the best interest of those I represent – children, parents and teachers. I need to continue to remind myself that responses to these decisions, should also not be taken personally. These are two agreements I work hard on each and every day, as I’m sure many people do.
As I enter this training cycle anew, I will once again reflect on the strong connections between the principles of exercise and education. I’m looking forward to many long runs, which I find challenging, but therapeutic. Today is my last supper in some ways, as it’s the last one outside the training window. I have prepared three meals today that will get us through the week, but I will be focusing on a more balanced approach to eating. My food choices have to be more about fueling and rebuilding this tired, yet capable body.
As I did my menu planning for the week, I was conscious of the days I will be running and what I plan to eat. Tonight’s dinner for my husband and I will be Sunday Sauce, with homemade pasta, but I also prepared a healthy chicken dish that we will pick on during the week. As I searched for some new recipes and inspiration, I came across the site – Laughingspatula.com. There was a treasure trove of easy, quick and healthy meals for the week on the site, many Whole30 and Paleo friendly. The chicken dish I cooked today comes from her collection, with some minor tweaks.
One Pan Roasted Chicken with Sausage & Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, bone in
1poundsmall red potatoes halved
6 sweet Italian sausage links
1inlarge red onion cut large chunks
1 bag baby carrots
Marinade
1large lemon – juiced
1/4cupolive oil
4cloveslarge garlic – chopped
1tablespoon rosemary
1 tsp red pepper chili flakes
salt & pepper to taste
Instructions:
Pour a glass of Chardonnay and turn on Alexa for dancing in the kitchen.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all marinade ingredients, stir and set aside.
Brown sausage, then cut into pieces
Arrange chicken, sausage, potatoes and onion in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Combine marinade ingredients in small bowl.
Pour marinade over chicken and toss to coat.
Bake one hour or until chicken reaches 165 degrees and potatoes are tender.
Please let me know how you like this one pot meal; and if you have a recipe to share I ‘d love to try it out. Your family recipe could be featured here on the blog, along with the story of your loved one. Leave me a message below and I’ll get back to you.
Yesterday, we went to Philadelphia to see our oldest son, Robert. We hoped it would be a beautiful day so we could walk around the city, but the weather just did not cooperate. It doesn’t really matter that much to us though, as we were happy to just be down there with him. Our youngest niece Stephanie was looking at colleges, hard to imagine that she’s college bound, and one college was in Philadelphia. We made arrangements to meet up with her family and share the beauty of this city with them. We had a lovely day at my son’s home and a delicious lunch.
Robert’s street in Philadelphia
Stephanie is my youngest niece and the youngest grandchild in our family. This week, she received an award from her high school – Heart of a Champion – for her work in her high school marching band. When she sent me a photograph of her award, I told her that receiving an award like that says a lot about her character. There are so many people in this world who find it impossible to be kind to others. In my opinion, being recognized for having a strong heart is worth more than anything else. How we treat others says a lot about who we are and who we want to be. Obviously, my niece has received a good foundation from her parents and is ready to now leave the nest. I look forward to hearing about her final college selection and we wish her well these next four years. My three children will tell you going away to college was the best growth experience of their lives and one they treasured.
Stephanie 2005, youngest in the family
Today, I need to get myself ready to return to work following my mid-winter break. I planned to work this week, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me. I ended up being home all week and once that happens, I settle in to a nesting routine. The weather wasn’t great so it was easy to just relax at home. We had some delicious meals and binged on some great shows. I read a few books and now that it’s over, it’s time to get back to my normal routine. Cooking a few meals today to prepare for the week helped me get myself ready.
A few weeks back, when we had a snowstorm, I posted photographs of our storm meal – Chicken Schnitzel with Mushroom Gravy and Spaetzle.
I shared the recipe with those who asked and today decided it was time to make it again. It’s super simple and delicious. As it poured outside, I was happy to have all the necessary ingredients on hand. Cooking in pajamas is quite fun!
Chicken Schnitzel with Mushroom Gravy & Spaetzle
Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter
½ onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
8 oz. Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced (Can use white mushrooms too)
3 tablespoons flour
½ cup of white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Pour a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and turn on Alexa for dancing in the kitchen.
Heat butter over medium-high heat in a medium skillet
Saute onions for about 4 minutes
Add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute.
Add the mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes.
Add the wine, stirring to deglaze the pot and combine with the flour
Add the stock, and stir until it thickens.
Bring to boil, then reduce heat
Stir in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat, thickening if necessary.
Cover and set aside, keeping warm
SCHNITZEL Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 cup panko
1 tsp hungarian sweet paprika
½ teaspoon of caraway seeds
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet
Thin slice chicken if not already thin. Place between two pieces of Saran wrap and pound the cutlet with your rolling pin.
Place the flour in one bowl, eggs in another and panko in a third with paprika and caraway seeds.
Place each cutlet in the flour, then dip into the egg, then dredge in the panko mix.
Fry each cutlet about 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
Serve with gravy poured over top and spaetzle.
Spaetzle Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in bowl. Mix together to form dough.
Place dough in spaetzle maker over pot of boiling water
Cook until spaetzle rises to top (2 minutes)
Remove from water and serve immediately
This recipe made enough to serve 4 people. I served it with spinach. The food reheats beautifully for lunch and a quick dinner during the week. If you try it, please let me know how you like it.
If you have a recipe you’d like to share, please send me a note below. I’d love to hear the story of your family recipe and try it out. We can feature your recipe on an upcoming blog, along with your story and memories. We love trying out new recipes and hearing the stories attached.
When I was a little girl nothing disgusted me more than meatloaf. There was nothing about my mom’s meatloaf that appealed to me. Seriously, who puts ketchup and raw onion in their ground beef? I hated onions as a kid and putting ketchup on anything grossed me out – just ask my cousin how her dad tortured me with that one. As meatloaf was a favorite of my father, it was in mom’s weekly rotation. Gosh how I remember feigning sickness every time it came around on the menu.
When we were first married, my husband mentioned to me that he liked meatloaf. I thought I had escaped this meal, but it was rearing it’s ugly head again. I said I’d look around at some recipes and see what I could find. I hoped he’d forget all about it, but he brought it up again a few weeks later. I knew that I loved meatballs, so there had to be a way I could like meatloaf. I vowed to have an open mind and give this meal another try.
We don’t eat meatloaf often around here, maybe once or twice a year. After a lot experimenting I found a recipe we both can agree on. Thankfully, it doesn’t require ketchup or raw onions, though that likely wouldn’t bother me as much anymore. This recipe is very simple to make and we have had many different variations of it. Depending on your tastes and side dishes you can change the filling to whatever you’d like. Be creative and have fun with it.
My version of meatloaf is more or a stuffed meat log. We’ve used chopped turkey or beef, but both prefer beef. When we are in the mood for roasted potatoes, I fill the log with feta cheese and spinach. When, like today we want a little sauce I fill the log with mozzarella cheese and spinach. Either way you make it, there’s likely not going to be much left.
This recipe as written was enough for two, with a care package for my dad. Even though it’s not my mother’s meatloaf, dad still really enjoys it.
Ingredients
1 lb grass fed ground beef
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup flavored bread crumbs
1 medium egg
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese chopped
Fresh organic baby spinach
Directions
Pour a glass of Malbec and turn on Alexa for dancing in the kitchen.
Mix ground beef, egg, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and crushed tomatoes in Kitchen Aid mixer with paddle attachment.
Spread mixture onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Put layer of chopped mozzarella and baby spinach on top of beef, spreading evenly. Leave about 1/2 in border clear.
Lifting parchment paper, begin rolling beef into a log. End with seam down.
Place on greased, lined baking sheet. Be sure the tray has a lip to prevent grease from dripping in oven.
Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, or until cooked through.
Serve immediately with or without sauce.
We ate ours tonight with homemade potato gnocchi and a touch of Sunday sauce. Delicious!
I had some dental work done yesterday and really needed something soft, comforting and delicious to eat today. I have a few recipes my cousin Kathy sent me from her home in Italy to try out and there was one that I definitely had my eye on. Yesterday, while my mouth was still numb, I went shopping. I was worried that today I might not be up to going out, so I picked up some nice, fresh shrimp. I was planning on making Kathy & Pete’s Garlic Parmesan Shrimp Scampi Pasta dish. It had caught my eye when I received her recipes.
This morning, my husband and I decided to take a ride to see my mom and dad at mom’s nursing home. I was feeling better and we wanted to see them before the coming snowstorm. I had some meals prepared for my dad and wanted him to have them for the week. On the way home, we stopped over in Williamsburg to see our daughter. It was a great day. It’s always so good to see my family – true medicine for the soul. There’s nothing like spending time with my family to cure all that ails me.
I thank God everyday for my family. I was so fortunate to be raised by two people who know the definition of unconditional love. My parents, George and Else, have been married for over 60 years. They are totally devoted to their marriage (in sickness and health) and their family. Dad was a policeman and was on the job for over 30 years. Mom was a homemaker most of her life, but she was a hair dresser prior to marriage. This career fit her well as she was always so stylish and beautiful. Both of them taught my two brothers and I so much about life. They worked extremely hard and saved to make sure we were well provided for growing up. We didn’t have a ton of money back then, yet we never felt poor. My parents supported us in many ways and always encouraged us to try anything we wanted to do. They were always there for us and I appreciated that support, especially as a young stay at home mother of three children.
Mom and Dad, 2016
As soon as we got home today from our visit, I pulled out the recipe I wanted to make. I made a batch of pasta dough and while it rested I did the same. This recipe is quick and delicious and carries a slight kick. It was cooked and on the table in 30 minutes, so it will make a nice addition to our work week rotation. One change I made to the recipe was to put a small amount of fresh baby spinach in at the last minute. I felt I needed a vegetable and thought this would be the perfect addition.
Pete’s Garlic Parmesan Shrimp Scampi Pasta
8 ounces linguine ( I made homemade pasta noodles)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning*
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup white wine OR chicken stock if you don’t want to use alcohol
Pour a nice cold beer, as it goes great with this meal. Turn Alexa on for dancing in the kitchen.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions and drain well. (Homemade takes 2 minutes)
In a large, deep skillet, melt the butter over a medium-high heat.
Add in the shrimp, cajun seasoning, olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes.
Stir periodically, until fully cooked- about 3 minutes.
Stir in wine OR chicken stock and the fresh lemon juice; season with salt and pepper
Lower to a simmer; remove from heat and stir in pasta, lemon zest, HALF a cup of the parmesan cheese and mix until fully incorporated.
Top with the last half cup of parmesan cheese & chopped parsley
Serve immediately
This was just enough for two with no leftover. Sorry, I took the picture before I decided to add the baby spinach. Thanks to Pete and Kathy for sharing their favorite recipes. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did! Please drop me a note if you would like to share a story, or recipe from your family. I’d love to feature it on an upcoming blog post.
This weekend my husband and I are both under the weather. Bob has the flu and I had a root canal, neither pleasant or fun. We made the decision Friday to stay home this weekend and forego our visit to Queens. Neither of us want my dad or mom to catch the flu and my mouth is still sore from my date with an endodontist.
I look forward all week to cooking on the weekend and even though eating is hard right now, I need to prep meals for the week. I cooked a few meals for lunch and dinner for the week and made a nice pot of soup for the two of us for today. It was a perfect day for cooking, dreary, rainy and quiet.
When I was a kid my mother always made lentil soup. It was in her weekly rotation of meals. I was not crazy about lentil soup back then. In our house you were not allowed to leave the table until your plate was empty. When my dog Pierre was alive this was no problem, as I merely put it on the floor while mom was busy washing dishes. Pierre was my childhood dog, a black French Poodle that was bought by scraping together our money. My brother George paid the most, as he was the oldest and had a coin collection we could cash in.
The dogs of 72nd Street – Loretta & Rusty, Lianne & Rumple and Me & Pierre
Pierre wasn’t always the nicest dog to others, but he was sweet with me and he always ate what I didn’t like. He lived for 16 years, happily eating all the foods I hated. After he passed away it became tougher for this picky eater to finish her food. I remember many a stand-off at the dinner table over finishing my lentil soup. Who knew that all these years later it would become one of my favorites.
A few years ago, as an adult, I had a small bowl of lentil soup when out to lunch at Carrabba’s. This version was so different from the plain lentil soup I grew up on. It was super spicy and had a great kick to it. After that lunch, I experimented to get my lentil soup to taste similar. The recipe I use today is as close as I can get it. It’s hearty, spicy and just what we needed today. I paired it with homemade sweet potato gnocchi, adapted from my cousin’s husband Pete’s recipe shared last week. Usually, I serve this soup with small pasta noodles but wanted something a little heartier today, aka comfort food. It was quite delicious!
Spicy Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
1 medium Yellow onion chopped
1 cup carrots chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
2-3 hot Italian sausage links (removed from casing)
1 ham steak cubed
2 cups water
1 small can Muir organic diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 cups dry lentils
1/2 tbsp basil
1 bay leaf
Salt & pepper to taste
¼ tsp. thyme
Red pepper flakes
Directions:
Pour a glass of Chardonnay and turn on Alexa for dancing in the kitchen.
Remove hot sausage from casing and break apart in soup pan using wooden spatula. Cook until brown then remove from pot.
In same pot, sauté onion, carrot and celery over medium heat in olive oil 4 minutes until tender.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chopped ham, can of tomatoes, water, chicken broth, vinegar and lentils.
Add salt, pepper, basil and thyme and stir.
Bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are tender. About 60 minutes.
Serve immediately.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients:
4 Sweet potatoes halved
2 eggs
3 cups flour
salt to taste
Directions:
Boil sweet potatoes until soft.
Rice into large bowl using potato ricer.
Add eggs, salt and flour
Mix with hands until it no longer sticks. Add flour as needed.
Roll pieces into tubular shape the size of your finger and cut into one inch pieces.
Boil in salted water until they rise to top of water, under 10 minutes.
Serve on top of bowl of lentil soup.
Stir together and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan. This makes enough to freeze, or eat for lunch during the week. Either way, it’s delicious.
Do you have a recipe to share? Would you like to have your family recipe featured? Contact me to discuss sharing your favorite recipe on a future blog. It’s a great way to honor your loved ones.
My grandmother Catherine married very young and by the age of 17 had two children. When her parents passed away, she took in her younger brother George who became more like a brother to my dad than an uncle. When Uncle George married my Aunt Rose, they moved into the apartment directly across the hall from my Nanny. Literally, their doors faced each other and you could walk across the hall in two steps. Aunt Rose and Uncle George had two daughters, my cousins Kathleen and Rosemarie. Kathleen and I were the same age and graduated from the same high school.
Aunt Rose, Uncle George, Kathleen & Rosemarie
I have so many fond memories of family life on Seneca Avenue in Ridgewood, NY. My family was all in the same building, with other family members living in the next building over. It was so cool to be able to roam the apartment building and visit different homes during our many visits. I liked the sense of freedom we had there as a kid that I just didn’t have living in our one family home. With all apartments in the same building, there was no need for us kids to go outside to visit each other. This made our parents feel secure and we were allowed to go across the hall and downstairs to my Aunt Catherine’s apartment.
Kathleen married her husband Pete and for many years they lived in the neighborhood. When Pete retired, they returned to his homeland of Italy and have lived there ever since.
Kathleen & Pete, Italy
Kathy and Pete live in Lucca, Italy these days and have quite a beautiful place with a huge parcel of land. Pete has an extensive garden which is quite impressive and grows most of his own produce.
Pete in his garden
Most recipes Pete cooks use ingredients fresh from his garden, including tomatoes when making Sunday sauce. This chicken recipe calls for dried basil and lemon and is quite simple to make. The result is a light, refreshing lemon chicken sauce that will leave you wanting more. Pete’s recipe called for bowties and broccoli, which I substituted for his homemade gnocchi recipe and peas. This substitution fit what I had in the house and personally, I thought the peas would add a nice sweetness to the dish. It was delicious and light, leaving us feeling full but not bloated. I can’t wait to see how this tastes tomorrow when I eat the leftover for lunch.
This recipe is simple enough for a weeknight meal, taking about 30 minutes from start to finish. The gnocchi obviously adds more time, but is so worth it! I hope you give this one a try.
Pete’s Lemon Basil Chicken with Gnocchi
Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
¾ tsp dried basil
¼ cup olive oil
½ lb bow tie pasta or homemade gnocchi
1 head broccoli, cut into florets or fresh peas
2 cloves garlic
zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (I used 1/8 c and 1/8 c chicken broth to soften the lemon taste)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Pour a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and turn on Alexa for dancing in the kitchen.
2.Fill a large pot half full of water then bring to a boil over high heat. While you wait for the water to boil, season chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper and dried basil then set aside.
3.When the water reaches a rolling boil, add a large pinch of salt then cook pasta, or gnocchi, according to directions—until it is tender but still firm. Roughly 2 minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, add broccoli florets, or peas to the pot, allowing them to boil with the pasta for the remaining cook time and before draining everything in a colander. After draining, return the pasta and broccoli to the pot to keep it warm.
3.Place a skillet over medium heat then add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add chicken breasts then allow to cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked all the way through—about 8–10 minutes depending on thickness. When the chicken breasts are cooked through, transfer them to a plate and set aside to cool slightly.
4.Reduce the heat to medium-low then add garlic to the oil that remains in the skillet. Cook for about 1 minute to soften the garlic slightly. Remove the skillet from heat then add lemon zest and juice. Using a wooden scraper, scrape any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan then pour the sauce over the pasta and broccoli.
5.Chop the slightly cooled chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks then add them to the pot—stirring gently to combine. Sprinkle the entire mixture with Parmesan cheese then stir gently once more to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper then serve immediately. Enjoy!
This dish has a strong lemon flavor. If lemon’s not your thing and you would like to tone it down a notch, leave the zest in but replace the lemon juice with chicken broth. This will give it just a slight hint of lemon. I did 1/8 c lemon juice and 1/8 c chicken broth and found it to be just perfect.
PETE’S GNOCCHI
Ingredients:
2 cups of FLOUR
8 medium POTATOES
2 EGGS
SALT
Directions:
BOIL POTATOES TILL COOKED COMPLETELY.
MASH THEM WITH A HAND POTATO MASHER (NOT AN ELECTRIC MIXER) OR PUT THEM THROUGH A RICER.
PUT THE MASHED POTATOES ON A BOARD. ADD FLOUR, EGGS AND SALT.
MIX EVERYTHING TOGETHER AND CONTINUE TO MIX BY HAND UNTIL EVERYTHING IS INCORPORATED AND SMOOTH AND YOU ARE ABLE TO ROLL THE DOUGH INTO DOWEL STRIPS. ADD FLOUR UNTIL YOU REACH THAT CONSISTENCY .
BREAK OFF PIECES AND ROLL INTO DOWEL STRIPS THAT ARE APPROXIMATELY AS WIDE AS YOUR THUMB.
CUT APPROXIMATELY 1 INCH PIECES OFF THE STRIPS. (I didn’t get fancy with the cutting as they taste just as good shaped like soft pillows. You can press them, or shape them any way you’d like.)
COOK IN SALTED BOILING WATER FOR APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES.
DRAIN WELL.
Serve chicken and pea sauce over gnocchi and top with fresh parmesan cheese to taste.
Losing a parent is one of the hardest things a person goes through in their life. Losing two parents and an only sister within three years is unimaginable to me. When one suffers such a loss, memories are often where they find solace. Photographs, songs, letters, scents and recipes keep us connected to those we miss the most. An old friend of mine, Joan often cooks childhood dishes to reconnect to happier times with her family. Living in Buffalo now, Joan’s food photographs pop up on my Facebook feed, often when she can’t sleep. On those days, I feel like I can smell her cooking right through the computer and wish she still lived nearby.
I met Joan back when our boys were little. Our boys attended elementary school together and were two peas in a pod, especially when it came to leaving their books at school. My son Robert used to inform me that Gary’s mother would go and make photocopies of missing homework pages at the nearest drug store. I told my son that was way too complicated for me with three young children, besides he needed to learn responsibility, right?
Joan was one of the first ladies I met when our children started Kindergarten. She was hysterically funny and a realist when it came to raising her children. We shared many laughs and cocktails together as our children grew up. When Joan’s children went off to college in Buffalo, she and her husband decided to pack up and move up there.
A few years back, Joan lost her mom and dad within one year of each other. When her mom was dying of cancer, Joan and her sister Barbara moved back into the family home in Brooklyn to care for her. Joan’s posts were often like Seinfeld episodes, in which she described going back to the old neighborhood. Throughout this most difficult time, Joan kept her sense of humor and helped her mom Diana keep her dignity. Anyone who has gone through this knows that is not an easy thing to do. Not long after Joan’s mom died, her only sister Barbara passed away unexpectedly. This came as quite a shock to all as Barbara was a healthy woman and left Joan understandably devastated.
Joan, Diana, Barbara
Yesterday, Joan commented on my sausage and peppers post. She shared how she too, cooks foods from her past to feel closer to those lost. She said she tries to make her mother’s recipes to hang on to her childhood memories. Her mother’s veal and peppers recipe was her favorite as a child. Every year for her birthday, her mom would let her request a special dinner and this is the one Joan picked. As she celebrates her birthday this weekend, Joan made her mom’s treasured recipe and kindly shared it with us.
Like most women of her time, Diana never wrote anything down. Joan said she often has the urge to pick up the phone when cooking to ask her mom how to make certain foods. I’m sure many of you know that feeling all too well. Here is Diana’s recipe as Joan makes it today.
Diana’s Veal & Peppers
Ingredients:
4-5 red peppers sliced
1 large onion sliced
3 cloves of garlic chopped
Red pepper flakes
Olive oil
1 1/2 lbs veal cubes for stew
Flour
2 small cans of DelMonte Tomato Sauce
Red wine
Directions:
I usually make the peppers in advance just to make life easier.
Slice up 4-5 red peppers and 1 onion. Place in pan with olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes. Mix it coating the peppers with oil. Cover with foil and cook at 400 hundred oven till almost soft. (15-20 minutes)
Mix flour, salt and black pepper in dish. Coat veal cubes in flour.
Brown veal in large frying pan with olive oil and minced garlic.
When brown add splash of red wine to deglaze the pot.
Then add 2 small cans of Del Monte tomato sauce and a little bit of water. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer about 1 to 1 1/2 hours till veal is fork tender.
Add peppers and onions and heat all together for 5 minutes or until hot. That’s it.
Serve on rice
Leftovers, if any, are great on Italian hero’s the next day
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment in the section below. We’d love to hear how you liked it.
If you’d like to share a special recipe from your family, please leave me a comment and I’d be happy to feature it here on the blog.
Stir together and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan. This makes enough to freeze, or eat for lunch during the week. Either way, it’s delicious.
Reclaiming My Health 