Chicken and Vegetable Soup
(In a Crock pot)

Ingredients:

2 (48oz.) Chicken Broth

3-6 oz. of tomato paste

Seasonings: ½ Tbs. Of poultry seasoning

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Baby Cut Carrots

6 Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes (cut in half)

1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables

3 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts (whole)

1 lb. of your favorite soup noodles/pasta

Directions:

1. Simply add all the ingredients into the crock pot. Set on High and cook for 2-4 hours. (Check on your soup. All crock pots are different. Some like to cook their soup on High while others may cook their soup on Low.)
2. After about 2 hours of cooking, remove the chicken breasts and shred. They should be tender enough and will probably fall apart. Add the shredded chicken back to the crockpot and continue to cook for another hour.
3. Most importantly, taste your soup! You might need more salt or seasonings. Everyone has different taste buds. About halfway through cooking, we do a taste test and decide if it needs more tomato paste or other seasonings.
4. With our soups, we like to cook a different type of pasta or noodle each time. We have eaten this soup with Ditalini, Pastina, Rice, Soup Noodles and Tortellini. Cook what you prefer. ** Don’t add the pasta to the crock pot...the pasta will get soggy...instead, put some pasta in a bowl and then add your desired amount of soup.
5. To top off your already delicious bowl of soup...add some Grated Romano Cheese….yummy!

Strawberry Granita

Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar

2 tbs. Lemon juice (use fresh, squeezed)

1 pound of strawberries (sliced thin..hull it!)

1 cup of HOT water...don’t burn yourself!

Directions:

1. Stir together the sugar, lemon juice and HOT water. Let it all dissolve together. Set aside.
2. Blend the strawberries until they are as smooth as possible.
3. Then add your sugar mixture into the blender. Blend it up!
4. Pour the mixture into a nonstick 13x9 pan...place it in the freezer.
5. Now, here comes the fun part...I don’t necessarily like this part because it bothers my teeth...so I make my husband do it. After the mixture has been in the freezer (about 25-30 minutes), use a fork to stir the icy edges to the middle of the pan. Return it back to the freezer. Repeat this process every 30 minutes for about 2 hours. It should be ready...use your best judgement...it may need to freeze a while longer. Just make sure you keep scraping the icy parts to the middle of the pan. Once the mixture looks completely flaky, cover it and freeze overnight.
6. The next day, scrape the granita into bowls and Enjoy!

• We made this recipe last summer, so I don’t have an original photo. This is a photo from the internet. I wanted you to see what it should look like. We will be making this over the summer...I’ll post it again when we make it.

Pasta alla Russa     

A wonderful recipe from Chef Nick Stellino. Dad loves watching his show each week, he enjoys when Nick speaks to his food in Italian. Now, Dad loves to speak to his food….in English. Photo courtesy of Vincent Maltese. We hope Nick Stellino would be proud!

Ingredients

• 3 quarts water (salt optional)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped shallot
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 6 ounces smoked salmon, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons vodka
• 4 tablespoons whipping cream
• 3/4 cup clam juice
• 3 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 5 tablespoons frozen peas, thawed
• I pound dried pasta—penne rigate

or farfalle (bow tie)

• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)

Directions

In a large pot, bring the water to a boil with or without the optional salt.

Place the butter in a large skillet set on medium-high heat and cook until it sizzles,

about 2 minutes. Add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, salmon and salt, and cook 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Pour in the vodka carefully, as it may ignite. Add the whipping cream, clam juice and tomato sauce, and bring to a boil. Add the peas. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to package directions until just tender.

Drain, and place it back in the pot. Add the sauce and cook over medium heat,

tossing until the pasta is completely coated and most of the sauce is absorbed, about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, if you wish.

OUR PERSONAL NOTES

• Be extra careful pouring in vodka sauce
• Serves 3-4 people
• Total time for us was around 25 minutes
• We had cooked the sauce a little too long, and it started to evaporate. Keep some wet ingredients incase you need to add more at the end.  
• 10-15 Minutes of prep, make sure to have everything prepared before, because the process becomes quick.
• Drain pasta, then keep in pot, and pour the sauce in and stir together.
• We used hot pepper to serve
• Try sprinkling goat cheese on the pasta to serve

Rae’s Flatbread Pizza

Easy! Easy! Easy! When you don’t have a lot of time, put this together and your family will love it! You can add any toppings you want! These are our favorites…

Ingredients:

Any flatbread...frozen or fresh...I make 4 at a time

Pizza sauce or your own pasta sauce

Seasoned artichokes (in a jar)

Black and Green olives (cut in half)

Cooked chicken breast...shredded or cubed

Roasted Red peppers (in a jar)

Mozzarella Cheese...as little or as much as you want!

Directions:

1. I like to put the flatbread in the oven (400 degrees) for just a few minutes.
2. Remove the flatbread from the oven and spread the pizza sauce or pasta sauce over the breads evenly.
3. Add the rest…artichokes, olives, red peppers and chicken. (I like to cut the artichokes and olives in half.)
4. For a little extra taste, pour just a pinch or two of the liquid from the artichoke jar, over the pizza.
5. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes...remove...add as much mozzarella cheese you want...return it to the oven and cook until the cheese melts. Enjoy!!!!

Dan’s Italian Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup Arborio Rice

1 tbs. Butter

Pinch of salt

3 cups Fat Free Half and Half

2 Cups of Water

1 cup of Sugar

1 Cinnamon Stick

⅛ tsp. Cinnamon spice

1 ½ piece lemon peel

Directions:

1. Boil 2 cups of water...add the rice, along with the butter and salt. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer away until the rice is tender...maybe about 20 minutes.
2. Stir in the half and half and sugar. Make sure the sugar dissolves.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, ⅛ tsp. Of cinnamon spice and the lemon peel.
4. Bring the whole thing to a boil again….and then remove it from the heat.
5. Using a double boiler or a glass bowl on top of simmering water, pour the rice mixture into the double boiler. Important….keep stirring the mixture! This could take about 45 minutes. Play some Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra while you stir. Take turns with a family member so your arm doesn’t get tired.
6. Pour the rice pudding into a dish or ramekins. Throw away the cinnamon stick and lemon peel.
7. Let the rice pudding cool slightly...top it with more cinnamon spice and try curling a lemon peel. Good Luck!

Grandma’s Tuna Fish and Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 onion (chopped/diced small)

4 stalks of celery (chopped/diced small)

Family size Albacore Tuna (in water)

1 lb Small pasta shells (cooked)

2Tbs.Mayo

1Tbs.Thousand Island Dressing

Seasonings: ½ tsp.Salt, ¼ tsp.Pepper, ⅛ tsp.Onion Powder,½ tsp. Lemon Pepper, 2 packets of Splenda

Directions:

1. Cook small pasta shells according to the box and then set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the onion and celery together.
3. Add all the seasonings to the onion and celery...mix completely.
4. Add and mix the tuna to the onion and celery.
5. Add the cooked pasta and mix thoroughly.
6. Add the mayo and mix thoroughly.
7. Add the thousand island dressing and keep mixing!
8. Chill for a few hours or overnight! Enjoy!

Grandma’s Breaded Pork Chops

You gotta try this!

You will need:

2 Large Ziplock Bags

4 Pork Chops (boneless)

½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs

1 cup crushed regular potato chips

1 cup crushed “Rold Gold” pretzels

4 eggs

Seasonings: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Directions:

1. In your first ziplock bag, add the crushed potato chips, crushed pretzels, Panko bread crumbs, pinch of salt and pepper and ½ tsp. Garlic powder. Zip it...Shake it!
2. In your 2nd ziplock bag, add your eggs….let me rephrase, lol,...crack your eggs in a bowl and whisk first….then add the whisked eggs into the 2nd ziplock bag.
3. Wash the pork chops... and then wash your hands!
4. Add the pork chops to the egg..zip it...shake it!
5. Then put the pork chops in the bread crumb bag...zip it...shake it!
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5...they’ll get nice and thick.
7. You’ll want to brown your pork chops in a hot skillet...add a little oil to your skillet...heat it up...add your chops and brown them for 2-3 minutes on each side.
8. Finally, place the browned pork chops in a casserole, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40-45 minutes.
9. Remember….pork chops should be at 165 degrees….use a meat thermometer.

                       

One thing we LOVE to do is find new recipes from unique cookbooks. As a gift, we received The Mafia Cookbook, by Joseph Iannuzzi. It is awesome! Our favorite recipe is his Pasta Fagioli. We have been making this recipe for a long time. Try it, you'll LOVE it!