WHY CHILDREN'S PARTIES ARE FUN!

The fun part about being a granpa is eating the food at a child's party.

From popcorn-

to cheesies-

to chips!

Great appetizers. Of course, healthy food was served. I had my share of salad with the chicken and potatoes. And only one cupcake!

Lets me be a kid again! There are more parties to come! And lots more fun eating!

FOCACCIA-FUN FOOD FOR A SATURDAY NIGHT

One of Barb's favourite stores is Grande Cheese. Not only do they have many different kinds of cheese and Italian products, the ladies there make focaccia the way my mother used to make it.

The tomato one is quite tasty. The plain one with some garlic and rosemary is simple. Focaccia is a great bread substitute with a meal. With some salad and a meat of choice, it rounds out the food groups. It is good for snacking later in the evening too.

RAGU ALLA BOLOGNESE

Ragu or meat sauce is always a welcome addition to a meal. Bologna- a city north of my region in Italy- is the home of this tasty sauce.

INGREDIENTS

Ground meat- 1/2 kg ( 1 lb) each of veal, beef and pork. Less or more depending of the amount you want. It's a 3 meat sauce.

1 onion-chopped.

3 garlic buds-diced.

Parsley- few sprigs. Fresh is better. Chopped.

1 can of plum tomatoes.

2 bottles of Pomodoro/ tomato Passata.

Olive Oil.

Salt, pepper.

Optional-tomato paste.

DIRECTIONS

Add olive oil to a large pot.

Saute the chopped onion for about 4-5 minutes adding the garlic buds diced..

Add the meat- salt and pepper to taste.

Brown thoroughly.

Add the chopped parsley.

Add a can of plum tomatoes crushed.

Add 2 bottle of tomato passata.

Salt and pepper again to taste.

Some  cooks may want to add 1/2 can of tomato paste.

Simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

This sauce is best on homemade fettucine. Penne and ziti are other dry pasta that work well with this sauce.

For an easy meal, this sauce  on pasta can serve as the meat portion. Served with a  salad, it is a complete meal. For the busy cooks- make a large portion so it can be used for more than one meal during the week. I usually make enough to give a portion to my two working daughters to help with their meal planning in their busy work weeks. My second cousin- Roberta, who lives in Cassino loves this dish. During her birthday on a Canadian visit in 2009, it was her request for this sauce so it was a big part of her celebration.
#ragubolognese#3meat#Cassinocooking#eatingwellItalianstyle#penne#ziti#homemadesauce#helpingthetwoworkingdaughters

THE GARDEN NEEDS WORK

Every cook loves fresh produce. It just makes the meals tastier. So with the arrival of April, some small containers are started with seeds to grow some cucumber and zuchini plants for the coming vegetable garden. The soil is too cold and can not be ready for planting until May. I was busy this week with a minestrone soup for my daughter sick with a cold and some Bolognese meat sauce for a rigatoni dish for Barb. No time for a recipe as I am busy outside-puttering, trimming branches and the usual yard work that most people are starting to do once the snow has melted. The garden needs work!

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!