MY EGG ROUND ROAST

The other night I wanted to use the round roast I had in the freezer. I decided to make it the way my mother would make it.
Boil an egg, peel it, wash it off then put it in the middle of the roast. Cook the roast either in the oven or on the stove in a covered pan.

Slice it so there is a piece of egg in each slice.

Add some gravy and side dishes of your choice. I used some leftover sauce making a few noodles.  Rapini with olive oil and garlic, and sliced anise with red vinegar made the additional side dishes. Salt and pepper to taste. Not bad for a week night meal!
#eggroast#mama'sspeciality#weeknightfood#roastwithanegg#rapini#anise

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

I had some canned tomatoes left over from my meal with mussels and tomatoes on Friday night. So I decided to make chicken cacciatore on Saturday night to use up the tomatoes. Cacciare means to hunt and cacciatore means hunter. So in English does this dish mean the chicken of the hunter? Well I did not hunt my chicken but bought it at the grocery store.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken Thighs. ( or you can use any part of the chicken you want like breast, leg etc.)
Can of whole tomatoes.
Olive Oil.
Garlic- a couple of buds chopped. Parsley- some sprigs or dried-a tablespoon.
Oregano tablespoon or two.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mushrooms if you have some. Fresh or canned.

DIRECTIONS

Take the chicken and fry it in olive oil with chopped garlic and  a sprig of parsley.

Using canned tomatoes.

Mash the tomatoes adding them to the pan of chicken. You can drain some of the oil off the chicken if you wish to reduce calories and fat. Some people like to keep the oil-your choice!

Add oregano. If you grow it in the Summer, fresh oregano is best.  Salt and pepper to taste. Cook the dish until done. The chicken should be cooked completely. Usually 20-30 minutes.

It looks rather lonely on the plate. You can serve the chicken and tomatoes over a long pasta like spaghetti or linguine. Or with a side dish.

For our Saturday night meal along with the chicken cacciatore, I made rapini salad with farfalle pasta.  Not a meal for a king! But for this peasant it was very tasty. Barb topped it off with some chilled white wine. And yes- some dessert! A bowl of ice cream!  It was Saturday night!

#chickencacciatore#leftovertomatoestoagooduse#sidedishwiththechickencacciatore#garlicoreganoparsley#grapalovestocook#adolphdimambro

A TYPICAL DINNER FOR A WORK NIGHT-TURKEY AND VEGGIES

Every day cooking can be routine. Like turkey on a Thursday night.

A turkey thigh roasted in the oven with peas, carrots and mashed potatoes topped with turkey gravy as side dishes makes for a good wholesome week day meal. We call it Turkey Thursday at our house!

A STORE BOUGHT ZEPPOLE

I promised Barb I would buy her a zeppole for St. Joseph's Day-March 19.

Fresh from Longos, they were delicious with coffee. Cream filled with a dusting of icing sugar and some cherries on top. Not a bad Italian pastry!

PEAMEAL BACON CANADIAN STYLE

Okay peameal bacon is not Italian. It is even not American. If you wanted to name Canadian foods-well this ranks high! It can be enjoyed many ways. On a fresh bun or served with eggs. Barb likes a couple of slices with a couple of slices of tomato for breakfast. My Uncle Joe or Zio Giosue who lived in Detroit Michigan used to love this bacon. Whenever he would visit, he would buy a good supply so he could freeze it. I think he liked to visit us not just to see my Mom- his sister- but restock his supply! It is one Canadian food I really love too!

SHRIMP PASTA FOR A FRIDAY NIGHT

Friday night is usually steak night at our house. However, I did not find any on sale nor my preference is not cooking steak  indoors. It is always better on the barbecue. Looking forward to Spring! So what did I have on hand! Well Barb likes to buy the shrimp rings from Shoppers Drug Mart when they are on sale. We had several available- big large shrimps. I took one ring as well as a small package of little shrimp. Defrost to air under cold water. In a frying pan saute butter with chopped garlic. Meanwhile get a pot of water boiling to cook some store bought spaghetti or you could use linguine or fettucine. I used regular spaghetti. So back to the shrimp- put in your butter/garlic mixture. Add some milk or cream to the mixture- stirring until cooked. Put aside until the spaghetti is ready. Drain the water from the spaghetti, then add to the shrimp, garlic butter, milk mixture stirring and blending well.  Add some parmesean/parmigiano cheese, pepper and hot peppers to taste. With side dishes of green beans and red roasted peppers, it was a good meal to the end of a work week. Barb even commented it smelled so good when she entered the house. Of course she topped her meal with a chilled glass of White Wine- a pinot grigio! Sometimes the cook just has to look around the stocks available to make a good meal!

A FEAST FIT FOR A KID

Kids eat differently than a king. They like the same foods over and over. So Barb suggested I make my ragu sauce with some meatballs for dinner for my grandchildren's sleepover.  Put on some store bought penne lisce- very tasty. With a platter of cheddar cheese and crackers, a platter of pineapple and cantaloupe and veggies-carrots, cucumber, green peppers- to dip as side dishes, the dinner was a hit. Added some green beans for another veggie for Barb and me. After bath time, a simple dish of ice cream and later some pop corn. Children have simple tastes so a feast for them takes little effort. Oh, of course a cup of milk with the meal helps to fill their nutritional requirements.