The BEST NEW LUNCH IDEA...

One of my boys is super picky and so finding new Kosher, peanut free lunch ideas that he will ACTUALLY eat is difficult. We have branched out from organic pizza rolls to the Organic Nacho bean and Cheese rolls...totally stoked about that. We have even added banana mini chip waffles to the rotation...but this...this is totally Stupendous! A must try...EVERYONE in the family is gorging!....Are you ready?... wait for it...WAIT for it...

                                              WAFFLED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Yep, you heard me right! Ever had those cheese mac & cheese balls...these are like those times ten! One hint...Spritz your waffle maker with olive oil after every waffle! Check them out! We even froze a bunch for quick lunch and snack ideas.

***AND if you wanna be healthy...add some baby spinach or broccolli. The possibilities are endless!

Spaghetti a la #1

Spaghetti a la #1 is my own recipe for a meat filled spaghetti sauce. It has been adapted from the recipe my dad used to make when I was younger. My family LOVES this sauce. You can use any combination of meat that you have on hand. It is a great way to clean up a bit of this and a dab of that!

Spaghetti a la #1

2 chicken breast
2 boneless pork chops (or boneless pork ribs)
1/2 lb gound meat (pork, beef, chicken..your choice)
1-2 sausage (remove casing of spicy, italian...your choice)
1-2 cans Tomato Sauce
3 cans petite diced tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper
1T paprika
2 t pepper flakes
Veggies: broccolli, red peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini, ect...

1. Brown all your meat. Then, add to a large pot along with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic and seasoning. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer.
2. Steam veggies. Then, place in a food processor and process until it turns to mush! Add your veggie mush to your sauce.
3. Simmer sauce until meat is tender (1- 1.5 hours). Remove meat chunks and shred. Then, return to pot, stir and serve over pasta.

Eggplant Parmesan

I LOVE eggplant, but I don't get to cook it very often because my hubbie won't eat it. Eggplants are rather large,so, to make it for just me...it make way to much! Yet, I figured I would take one night and go all out. I started the sauce at 3:45 and finished everything by 5:30. Not too bad considering the massive servings I made.

I found this recipe on a cooking message boards. I also made Chicken Parmesan for my hubbie using the same process as the Eggplant recipe. I also only made half half the eggplant...3 eggplants is def too much for one person!!!

**Tip: Read through the recipes for both before you start cooking. Your first step should be to slice and salt the eggplant before you start the sauce.

Scalini's Eggplant Parmesan


3 medium size eggplants
1 cup of flour
6 eggs, beaten
4 cups fine Italian bread crumbs, seasoned
Olive oil
8 cups of marinara sauce*
1/2 cup of grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 lbs of mozzarella cheese shredded
2 cups of ricotta cheese

After you wash the eggplant, slice them into 1/4 inch thick slices. You may choose to peel the eggplant before you slice it, however you may want to leave the skin on since the skin contains a lot of vitamins. Place the eggplant slices on a layer of paper towels and sprinkle with a little salt, then cover with another layer of paper towels and hold it down with something heavy. This will drain the excess moisture. Let them set for about an hour.

Working with one slice of eggplant at a time, dust with flour, then dip in beaten eggs, then coat well with bread crumbs. Saute' in preheated olive oil on both sides until golden brown.
In baking dish, alternate layers of marinara sauce, eggplant slices, ricotta, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses, until you fill the baking dish about an 1/8 inch from the top. Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 25 minutes in 375 degree oven. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

Scalini's Marinara Sauce

2 tablespoons of chopped garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil
8 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1 cup onions chopped
1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper (if you don't have use hot sauce)
1/8 cup of fresh chopped sweet basil
Pinch of thyme
Pinch of rosemary
One teaspoon salt
One teaspoon black pepper

Lightly sauté the onions in olive oil in large pot for a few minutes. Add garlic and saute' another minute. Add tomatoes and bring sauce to boil, then turn heat to low. Add remaining ingredients, stir, cover and let simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Cooking From the Couch:Manicotti

Today we master manicotti. This is a simplified recipe to accommodate my husbands ever expanding repetoire. It should be interesting to see how many of these noodles end up on the floor for the dog! Hope we have dinner tonight!

Tomato Sauce:
28oz can diced tomatoes
28oz can tomato sauce
2 T olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t salt

Ricotta Filling:
3 c ricotta cheese
4 oz Parmesan cheese
8 oz mozzarella
2 large eggs , lightly beaten
salt and pepper
 
16 lasagna noodles
 
1. Boil a pot of water and cook noodles until al dente.Once cooked, fill pot with cold water.
 
2.Saute your garlic in the pan with oil until light brown. Careful not to burn. Remove from heat and add all the remaining ingredients. Return to heat, cover and simmer.
 
3. Make Ricotta filling by mixing together: Ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, salt, and pepper.
 
4. The Assembly: Put 1 cup of sauce at the bottom of a baking dish. Spread 3 spoonfuls (about 1/4c) of ricotta filling on each cooked noodle. Roll up the noodle and place seam down in the baking dish. Then, cover pasta rolls with remaining pasta sauce (making sure to cover each roll completely). Then, cover dish with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Remove foil and add the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake a few minutes longer until cheese is melted. Allow to cool a bit and serve.

Cooking From the Couch: Ravioli Casserole

We made the Ravioli Casserole tonight and it was super easy and really yummy! I would definitely recommend trying this quick and easy recipe out! It is a great spin off of the traditional spaghetti and meat sauce. Not the most dietetic dinner, but it sure was good!

Cheese Ravioli Casserole


1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1 T olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 c heavy cream (I used milk)
salt and ground black pepper
1lb frozen cheese ravioli
1 c mozzarella cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil. In another pan, brown the sausage. Make sure to chunk it up as it cooks. If it doesn't chunk up small enough, put the cooked sausage in the food processor for a bit until it looks like ground beef. Remove and set aside.

Once water is boiling, cook ravioli according to directions. I cook to al dente.

In the same pan, add oil, garlic and tomato paste. Saute for a minute or two and then add tomato sauce. Allow to simmer for a 3-4 minutes. Then, add milk and seasoning. Simmer a few minutes longer.

Combine drained ravioli and sauce in a baking dish...cover with mozzarella and bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. (This step can totally be skipped)

Cooking from the Couch: Spaghetti and Meatballs

One think my hubbie can make is spaghetti...I mean boiling water and setting a timer is right up his alley. So, I decided to make a very simple spaghetti and meatball recipe. It did not have all the glorious veggies hidden in the sauce like I usually do, but it was still simply delicious. Plus, all you non cooks out there won't have any more excused for takeout with this simple menu.

Spaghetti and Make-Shift Bolognese

First make the meatballs:
My hubbie brought me a huge bowl with:
1/2lb of extra lean ground beef
1/2 c bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
1 egg
1/4c milk
1/4c Parmesan

Once I mushed everything, I formed into1.5-2 inch balls. I placed each ball into a lightly greased cupcake pan. I have a huge 24 cupcake pan, so, I filled each cup. My hubbie put it in a 400 degree oven for about 7 minutes while I got up to wash my hands.

While it cooked, he started the water boiling in one pot. In another pot he poured in 1 large can of tomato sauce...you can use any spaghetti sauce unless you have a super picky eater like my hubbie. So, he put the sauce in a saute pan and turned on low. As it heated up he mixed in 1/2c chicken stock (I had him use the leftover veggie chicken stock from the chicken pies) and 1/2 c milk.

Once the meatballs are done, remove from the oven and carefully place in your sauce. I always encourage my hubbie to roll the meatballs around a bit to cover in sauce. Then, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or so.

You pasta should be ready now, so drain and add a splash of oils to avoid everything sticking together. Then put into individual pasta bowls with a meatball or two and slather in sauce. Garnish with a little bit of Parmesan! Mission accomplished..easy and delish!

Chicken and Gravy Dinner with Homemade Noodles

This is an awesome recipe. I made a huge helping of it! I took some over to my in-laws, some to a sick friend and still had enough for dinner AND a freezer meal! This is a great simple freezer meal. You do not have to go through all the effort to make the homemade noodles, but it is def. worth the extra work. If you do not make the fresh pasta and decide to freeze...I would recommend freeze without pasta. Make fresh before serving.

Easy Italian Skillet

This is a super simple recipe. It calls for Hamburger meat, but you can use any kind you would like. I decided to make spicy sausage meatballs this time. I used spicy sausage and mixed with breadcrumbs and an egg. I also used Rigatoni. That seems to be the only pasta Ante will eat. (I used some of the left over Ricotta to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes the next morning!)

Here is my recipe card: (You can click on the card for a full view)