Tag Archives: Italian

Mediterranean Shrimp and Feta

11 Sunday Nov 2012

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Mediterranean Shrimp and Feta

You’ll need: 2lbs of shrimp, EVOO, garlic, dill, black olives, feta and marinara {I use my from-scratch marinara.}

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

~ Coat the bottom of a baking dish with the EVOO. Add to it a dash of dill and 2-3 medium cloves of garlic.

~ Add the shrimp to the baking dish and mix around in the EVOO and dill until the shrimps are coated. While you can leave the tails on, I prefer to remove the tails before baking. The best way to remove tails from shrimp is to squeeze and pull the base of the tail from the meat.

~ Ladle enough marinara over the shrimp to thoroughly coat them.

~ Sprinkle sliced black olives and feta crumbles over the pan from end to end.

~ Bake at 425 for 20 minutes; serve over pasta and amaze your family!

The Best Alfredo in the World

11 Sunday Nov 2012

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The Best Alfredo in the World!*
…and it’s super easy to make, too 😉

You’ll need: 1/2 cup butter, 2 cups heavy cream, 3 large garlic cloves, 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Prep Time: 10 minutes

~ Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low to medium heat.

~ Add the cream, garlic and cheese and whisk quickly until the butter and cheese has been melted. Be careful not to get the sauce too hot because it can burn in the bottom of the saucepan.

~ Stir in parsley and serve. {The picture at the top shows the finished sauce served with chicken and linguine.}

*Normally I’m not a big fan of alfredo sauces. I think they are thick and disgusting. THIS SAUCE, on the other hand, is wonderful! It’s thin and flavorful. I’m a fan! This is the only alfredo sauce I’ll ever eat again.

Chicken Parm with My Sauce

16 Monday Jul 2012

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Chicken Parm
If you’re from Middle America, you might refer to this dish as NY-style chicken parm {I do.} Chicken parm in mid-Ohio is generally breaded and fried. NY-style chicken parm, a’la my Dad’s kitchen on Long Island, has no breading. It’s baked in a tomato sauce of some kind {here I used my homemade sauce} and served atop some sort of pasta.

If you’re making sauce from scratch, you’ll need: tomatoes!! And lots of ’em. I use a mix of vine-ripened and Roma tomatoes. You’ll also need garlic, a white onion, Italian spices, EVOO, salt, black pepper, sugar, a carrot, and a red pepper if you’d like to spice it up a bit.
Prep time is about an hour and simmer time is at least 2 hours; the longer it simmers together the better it will be!
~ Liberally coat the bottom of a large pot with EVOO. While on the lowest possible heat setting add diced onions, Italian seasonings and freshly chopped garlic.
~ Put a small to medium pot of water on and bring to a boil. Fill with tomatoes; as they heat their skin will crack. Once this happens, remove from the boiling water with a slatted spoon and drop into a bowl of cold running water. The skin will pull back farther from the tomato meat and will make peeling SO MUCH EASIER! Just don’t burn your fingers 😦 For a chunky sauce, put the tomatoes into your large pot to boil. For a thinner, smoother sauce, run your tomatoes through the blender before putting into your pot. Repeat as many times as needed to get through your tomatoes.
~ Once you start adding your tomatoes, toss in a pinch of black pepper and salt, a tablespoon of sugar, and a few grated carrot pieces. If you want a kick, add a few small pieces of red bell pepper.
~ Simmer 2+ hours and serve.

To make the chicken parm you’ll need: chicken, sauce, V8, garlic, Italian spices
~ Liberally coat the bottom of a baking pan with V8.
~ Cut chicken into small pieces and spread in the pan; pieces can touch but do not overlap.
~ Cover the chicken in sauce {here I used my homemade sauce}, garlic and spices.
~ Bake at 300 for 30 minutes.
~ After the chicken has been placed in the oven, bring a pot of water to boil and make a pasta of your choosing. Here, I used bow tie. The pasta will be done around the same time as the chicken parm.
TO PLATE: ladle sauce on top of your pasta noodles. Put a few chicken pieces on top, cover with more sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve!

Quickie Shrimp and Rotini

10 Tuesday Jul 2012

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Quickie Shrimp and Rotini
You’ll need: rotini, shrimp, V8, cherry tomatoes, FRESH GARLIC, pasta sauce and shredded cheese
Prep time: 5ish minutes; total cook time 20ish minutes
~ Put water in a large pot; bring it to a boil.
~ Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the rotini. Set your timer for 10 minutes.
~ While the rotini is cooking, coat the bottom of a sauté pan with V8.* Add garlic, cherry tomatoes and Italian herbs. Slowly heat {do NOT boil or you’ll burn the garlic.}
~ While the sauté pan is slowly heating, I strongly suggest removing the tails from the shrimp. It’s much easier to do BEFORE they get hot. If you’re cooking for small people who need help with their food…trust me…you’ll want to take the tails off before you burn your fingers!**
~ With 5 minutes left on the pasta timer, add the shrimp to the V8 and garlic mix.
To plate: I put a spoonful of pasta sauce on top of the rotini. Add another spoonful of the shrimp and sauce mix. Sprinkle Italian cheese on top. Voila! 😉
Add a lovely salad for a nice side and some color.

*OMG…V8 is kitchen wonder juice! It’s seriously the best cooking/baking juice ever invented. I use it all the time! It’s kinda my secret kitchen ingredient 😉 It’s packed with all kinds of vegetable juices {I think we can agree that we all need more vegetables} and it does an excellent job of keeping meats moist while they cook. It also adds the ~zing~ of tomato which, personally, I love.


**If you love shrimp as much as I do, you HAAATE having to leave that last little succulent morsel in the tail. GET IN MA FACE, little shrimpie! Here is the trick you’ve been looking for. Once the shrimp is thawed, all you have to do is pinch and pull. Hold the body of the shrimp, pinch down on the part of the tail that covers that last little piece of shrimp meat and pull. So easy! If I’m using shrimp in a recipe where it will be hot, I take the tails off before I cook them. If you don’t, you’re going to burn your fingers :/

Speaking of shrimpies! Something fun while dinner is cooking itself!
Sweedish Chef makes Shrimpies

Stuffed Chicken

14 Thursday Jun 2012

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Stuffed Chicken
You’ll need: chicken breasts, mozzarella cheese, Italian herbs, FRESH GARLIC, chunky tomato sauce, V8, and a pasta of your choice
Prep time: 5ish minutes
~ Coat the bottom of your baking dish with V8.
~ Take your thawed chicken and make a horizontal cut down the length of the meat. You’re making a pocket for the stuffing. Personally, I cut the breasts into servings BEFORE I make the pockets so that each person has their own stuffed chicken breast. It also makes the presentation look nicer.
~ Once your pockets are cut, fold the flap open and lay down a layer of mozzarella cheese. After the cheese, sprinkle your Italian herbs and your garlic. Close the flap.
~ Lightly cover the top of the chicken breasts with the chunky sauce. Drizzle the sauce with more mozzarella cheese, Italian herbs, and garlic.
~ Bake for 30min at 350
After the chicken has gone into the oven, put the water on to boil for the pasta. If you do this, your pasta noodles will be ready at the same time your chicken is done.
To plate: I put a little bit of pasta on the plate, covered lightly with spaghetti sauce, followed by the chicken on top. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
To get our veggie in, I serve a salad with this dish.