Pasta with Lentils

Pasta with Lentils  was a favorite in our home kids love it and good source  of iron I always made sure that my children had legumes once a week best way to make it with pasta kids like pastas you can use any one you like with this dish or on its own my grandson loves it

 it

Ingredients

               

• 1 onion (chopped)
• 1 tomato (seeded chopped)
• 1 carrot (chopped)
• 1 celery (stalk chopped)
• 3 garlic cloves (chopped)

                        

• 71/2 cups water
• 13/4 cups lentils (rinsed drained)
• 500 gr         fusilli (freshly cooked)  or what you pasta               
• olive oil

 

Saute onion, tomato, carrot, celery, garlic In a large pot Saute 6 minutes. Add water and lentils; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until lentils are tender and mixture thickens, stirring often, about 45 minutes. Mix in pasta; simmering 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper

Stuffed Artichokes

STUFFED ARTICOKES WERE A FAVORET WHEN I WAS GOING UP MY MOM LOVE THEM AND SO DID I > WHEN MY CHILDREN WHERE GROWING UP I MADE THEM WHEN I FOUND GOOD ARTICOKES THERE ARE A GREAT HEALTH FOOD LOTS OF IRON AND TASTE GREAT  WHEN THEY WERE IN THERE TEENS I MADE IT A LOT THATS WHEN THEY NEED THE IRON THE MOST < THEY LOVE THEM EASY TO MAKE GREAT DISH

    Servings
4




       4 medium

fresh

artichokes

       2 -3 cups


Italian style breadcrumbs     


       2 -3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese or 2 -3 tablespoons

        romano cheese


       1 tablespoon

        dried parsley

       1 teaspoon

       garlic salt   

       1/2 teaspoon
        fresh ground black pepper


       1/4 cup

         olive oil

       1 -2 tablespoon

        olive oil

(for drizzling)


 Directions:


   1 Rinse artichokes well, tugging leaves outward to loosen slightly for stuffing.

2 Trim off stems so artichokes sit on a flat surface.

3 Trim off the pointed tips of each leaf.

4 Set aside. I put them in bowl of( salt water and lemon juice
 they take bitter away,)
   5 In a large bowl combine bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, garlic salt, and pepper.

6 Mix well; slowly add the oil till the crumb mixture is moistened enough to stick together.

7 You may need to adjust the amount of oil depending on the type and amount of bread crumbs used.

8 Stuff each leaf of the artichoke, starting from the bottom and working your way around, with crumb mixture.

9 Stuff desired amount of leaves and shake off excess mixture.

10 Continue this step with remaining artichokes.

11 Place artichokes in a large baking pan and fill bottom of pan with 1/2 to 1 inch of water.

12 Drizzle olive oil over top of stuffed artichokes and cover tightly with heavy duty foil.

13 Cook on 375 degrees for approximately 50-60 minutes (depending on size of artichoke) or until leave comes out easily.

14 Cool for 10 minutes; serve and Enjoy!( tips) or you can put them in a crockpot for 6 to 8 hrs low, or on top the stove in a big stew pot with a lid on low  water and little oil cheese salt and pepper to taste 2 fresh or plum tomatoes sprinkle cheese  or add little stock  injoy

home made pizza dough

To make the dough;

• 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 3/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup semolina flour.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast

Oil a 14″pizza pan 

Directions:

Stir the crust ingredients together to form a slightly sticky, soft dough.

Let the dough rise, covered, for 30 minutes.

A little trick, I learned to get an evenly thick pizza, is to let it rise, a second time, in the pizza pan before adding any toppings.

Place the dough in the oiled pan and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes, then pat and stretch it to cover the bottom of the pan. Let it rest, covered, for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Add the topping, plum tomatoes,mozzarella cheese,or use pizza sauce,add any topping you like

Bake the pizza for about 25 – 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown.

how to make Tiramisu cake

Tiramisu is ubiquitous in restaurants within Italy and around the world. The translation literally is “pick me up”. Idiomatically it means something like “make me happy”.

• 4 egg yolks
• 160 g sugar
• 330 g mascarpone
• Up to 20 Savoiardi biscuits /also known as ladyfingers
• Enough strong unsweetened espresso coffee  to dip the biscuits in, allowed to cool
• Unsweetened cocoa powder to dust the top
• 
  
• Whip the egg yolks together with the sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is stiff
• .Fold in the mascarpone.
• Dip half of the biscuits into the coffee. Be careful not to make them too wet / Arrange them in a single layer in a dish.

Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the biscuit.

Repeat to form a second layer./ Dust the top liberally with cocoa powder.

Chill the dish in the fridge for several hours, preferably overnight.

• 
  

Pasta and potatoes

This soup is another classic Bari dish. If you ask a Barese what their favourite dishes 

• 500g potatoes, peeled and diced
• 200g small pasta
• 100g   tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 celery heart, chopped
• 1 clove  garlic,  squashed (but still whole)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Brown the garlic in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Remove the garlic and discard.
2. Add the potatoes and celery and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper
4. Add water so that all the ingredients are covered
5. Cook until the potatoes are starting to fall apart.
6. Half cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water
7. Add the pasta to the potato mixture and continue cooking until done.
8. If the soup is too thick, add a little of the pasta cooking liquid.

Scalloped Broccoli

Nanny?s Scalloped Broccoli

2 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of chopped onion
1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
1 can of cream of celery soup
1/2 cup of soft bread crumbs
2 pimientos, chopped
1 teaspoon of salt

Beat the eggs in large bowl.  Mix in all of the remaining ingredients.  Pour into a buttered casse-
role dish and set in pan of boiling water and bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes or until
firm.
_

Potato Dumplings

Potato Dumplings

6 diced medium potatoes
2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 stick of butter
3 cups of whole milk

For the dumplings:

1/2 cup of flour
Milk
5 tablespoons of shortening

Cut the shortening into the flour until crumbly.  Add enough milk so that the dough sticks to-
gether.  Roll out the dough and cut into small pieces.

Cook the potatoes in the 2 cups of water, salt, and pepper until tender.  Add the 3 cups of whole
milk and the 1/2 stick of butter and bring to a rolling boil.  Quickly drop the dumplings into the
potatoes, cover and cook for about 10 minutes more.

Quick Corn Chowder

Quick Corn Chowder

1 strip of bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 ? 14 1/2 ounce can of chicken broth
2 cups of water
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1 ? 15 ounce can of whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup of milk, divided
1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
Chopped fresh parsley, optional

In a 3-quart saucepan, cook the bacon until crisp and remove onto a paper towel to drain. Cook
the diced onion in the bacon drippings until tender and add the chicken broth, water and
potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the po-
tatoes are tender. Add the salt and the black pepper and mix well. Next, add the corn and 3/4
cup milk. Mix the flour and the remaining 1/4 cup of milk until smooth and add to the soup. Bring
the soup to a boil and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Garnish with bacon and parsley if desired

Lemon Cranberry Muffins

Lemon Cranberry Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup cranberries, halved I used dried soaked, you can use blue berries. fresh frozen or dry

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
  2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix lemon juice and milk in a measuring cup, to sour milk; beat eggs, oil, and milk mixture in a bowl. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened; fold in cranberries. Fill prepared muffin cups two-thirds full; sprinkle with almonds.
  3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack. my up stairs oven takes 30mins my gas little less depends on your oven till littly golden
   

Orecchiette pasta alla Pugliese

Orecchiette pasta alla Pugliese

Making orecchiette pasta

Orecchiette  barese style pasta ears traditional recipe from Puglia. Easy and delicious;
you can make your own pasta or buy it in local super market,# de,cecco,# barilla pastsa # fortinos  super markets

!500g of orecchiette  pasta ideally fresh,mince garlic, 200g of tomato pulp, bunch of fresh basil, olive oil, grated pecorino cheese, salt, pepper, dried hot pepper to taste.

making it

saute mince garlic with the olive oil. 

Add the tomato, basil, salt,  and cook for 5 minutes.

Prepare the pasta until it is 'al dente'.

Drain and thrown it into the pan with the other ingredients.

Mix with the any grated cheese you prefer cheese and serve immediately

tip little pasta water in sauce, put pasta in sauce pan to cook to blend  flavors ,few mins i make sauce in a wok or big frying pan to do that

L

Stuffed Mussels

Stuffed mussels are a really tasty dish and a great way to cook these molluscs, the main ingredient in many other recipes from Puglia, the filling is made with bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, pepper, cheese and eggs and is used to stuff the mussels open from raw.

Ingredients

• 1 kg. mussels
• 1 lt. tomato sauce
• 400 gr. bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 3 cloves garlic
• 60 gr. grated  cheese
• chopped parsley to taste
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• extra virgin olive oil to taste

Instructions

1. To prepare the stuffed mussels, started to soak the bread in water and in the meantime chopped parsley and 2 cloves of garlic.
2. Once softened, squeeze well the bread crumbs and add to the grated  cheese, salt, pepper, eggs and parsley and minced garlic before.
3. Mix the ingredients with your hands until the dough is smooth and compact that you will leave aside.
4. Now scrape and wash the mussels raw and open them holding the fruit on one side and not doing completely separate the two halves.
5. Once all the mussels open, take small amount of dough and stuffed every single mussel to finish them.
6. After filling, take each mussel and close it with kitchen twine or cotton, eliminating any excess dough that comes out. NOTE: If you use cotton  sewing thread,  several times around the mussel, tightening and knotting, if used instead of the string, just one lap around the mussel.
7. Remember to remove all excess dough before cooking the mussels so as not to soil the sauce.
8. In a pan, put a clove of garlic and extra virgin olive oil, garlic and let brown, add the tomato puree.
9. As soon as the sauce begins to boil, add the mussels one by one gently with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes.
10. Serve the mussels and stuffed with a boxcutter or a pair of scissors cut the thread. The sauce can taste it with the excellent Altamura bread, or use it to dress pasta.

WORK AT HOME: Creating Newsletters

WORK AT HOME: Creating Newsletters: Creating Newsletters Now comes the tricky part. How do you make such an automated approach to business SEEM personal? The personal connec...

low carb Fauxtato salad

 Fauxtato salad



1/2 large head cauliflower

2 green onions 

2 stalks celery

2 radishes

2 hard boiled eggs

3 large tablespoons Hellman's lite olive oil mayo

1 tsp Mount Olive sweet relish (available from Ontario Nutrition Store)

1/2 tsp dried dill (can use fresh if you have it)

ground pepper

Steam cauliflower until just tender crisp.

Set aside and allow to cool. Cut into pieces

Chop onions, dice celery, and finely dice radish

Mash the eggs with a fork. Add just enough of the mayo to meld everything together. Unlike potatoes, you will use much less mayo.
you can add tuna to make a full meal or slice your eggs

APPLESAUCE BRAN MUFFINS

APPLESAUCE  BRAN  MUFFINS

1 c. Bran Buds or 100% Bran
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
Liquid sugar substitute equal to ¼ c. sugar (optional)
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. water
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. soda
2 tbsp. dry buttermilk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

BANANA RAISIN CAKE FOR DIABETICS

BANANA  RAISIN  CAKE  FOR  DIABETICS

2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
 6 tsp. Sweet & low
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. diet margarine
1 c. banana, about 3 mashed
1 tsp. lemon peel grated
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 c. white raisins, chopped optional, or walnuts 1/2 c. nuts, chopped fine
Blend together margarine, banana and egg.  Sift flour and all dry
ingredients together.  Add them to mixture, stir in vanilla and fold in
raisins and nuts.  Bake in a well greased floured  pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 1 hour 20 minutes or until
done.

------------------------

Easy DIABETIC COOKIES

DIABETIC  COOKIES

THIS WEEK I WILL BE POSTING DIABETIC  
 recipes  my mom and dad were DIABETIC my son in law and i use these be cause I'm on a diet to lose weight for surgery there great


1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. quick oats
3/4 c. seedless raisins
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
3/4 c. nuts
Sugar substitute to taste

Mix all dry ingredients plus oats, raisins and orange peel.  Add orange
juice, egg, oil and vanilla.  Then add nuts. Mix to moisten and drop
onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. quick oats
3/4 c. seedless raisins
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
3/4 c. nuts
Sugar substitute to taste

Mix all dry ingredients plus oats, raisins and orange peel.  Add orange
juice, egg, oil and vanilla.  Then add nuts. Mix to moisten and drop
onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

. Spaghetti with mussels

Spaghetti with mussels

 

Ingredients

• 400 gr. Spaghetti
• 1.5 kg. mussels 
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• pepper to taste
• 7 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. To prepare spaghetti with mussels started by cleaning the mussels: remove the fine linen, scrape the surface with  a knife to remove the barnacles and wash them thoroughly under running water to remove all impurities.
2. Open them gently forcing the shell with a knife, collecting the water that the mussels will lose and being careful not to damage the fruit. An alternative to open them  put the mussels in a pot with a lid over high heat, without water  for a few minutes: heat the mussels begin to open  But beware: everything must be done in a very short time, 
3. In a wok pour 5 tablespoons of olive oil and then fry the chopped garlic with a tablespoon of parsley.
4. Fry until lightly brown the garlic and let down in both the mussels that their water (which will be salting seasoning) 
5. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat.
6. Put water on the stove, add salt and cook the spaghetti al dente and draining them by taking a ladle of cooking water.
7. Pour into the wok and finish cooking with the sauce stirring for a few minutes. If necessary, add a little of the cooking water aside earlier to moisten.
8. Complete with a handful of black pepper and serve. 

Fried Rabbit

 Fried Rabbit

2 young rabbits, washed and dressed
2 beaten egg yokes
3 cups of milk
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of shortening

Dry the rabbits and cut into several pieces.  Combine the egg yolks and 1 cup of milk and
gradually add 1 cup of the flour, then add the salt and beat until smooth.  Dip rabbit pieces into
the batter and fry in hot fat until brown, or about 15 minutes.  Reduce the heat and continue
cooking until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes, turning frequently.  To make gravy add the remain-
ing flour to fat in pan, gradually add the remaining milk and stirring constantly, heat to boiling
and season to taste with salt and black pepper.  Pour over the pieces of rabbit.

Tomato Soup Meatloaf

Tomato Soup Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
1 can of tomato soup
1 cup of small bread cubes
1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
A generous dash of black pepper

Thoroughly mix 1/2 cup of the tomato soup with the rest of the
ingredients and firmly shape into a loaf.  Place the meatloaf into a shallow baking pan and bake
at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15
minutes.  Blend the remaining soup with 1/4 cup of water and 2
tablespoons of the drippings from the meatloaf and pour this
mixture over the meatloaf and bake for another 15 minutes.
____________

Eggplant mushroom

Eggplant mushroom

The eggplant mushroom are a classic and tasty side dish to accompany the dishes both summer and winter. The name derives from the way to cut the eggplant into small pieces, and there are many variations of this recipe that is typical of the Apulian cuisine.

Ingredients

• 500 gr. egg plant
• 2 peeled tomatoes
• <
• 6 leaves basil
• salt to taste
• extra virgin olive oil to taste

Instructions

1. To prepare the eggplant mushroom, started washing under running water eggplants.
2. Then removed with a knife, the tip of the stalk and the final part, then cut the eggplant into slices about 1 cm along the length, cut them into strips and cut into cubes of 1.5 cm side.
3. Take a large skillet and pour plenty of oil, add the diced eggplant, peeled chopped tomatoes, basil, chopped garlic and salt.
4. Put to cook with a lid on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
5. When all the water has evaporated expulsion from the eggplant, remove the lid and cook on high heat for another 20 minutes.
6. Then turn off the heat and enjoy your eggplant mushroom warm or cold, as a side dish or to add flavor to the pasta.

Sporcamuss pastries

Sporcamuss pastries

There is no restaurant in Bari province and that between the homemade desserts  the sporcamuss. The sporcamuss are the squares of puff pastry filled with custard and covered with a dusting of icing sugar. Special features of these sweets that are served strictly warm, almost hot, both winter and summer

Ingredients

• 500 gr. puff pastry
• 500 ml. custard
• 1 egg yolk
• granulated sugar to taste
• icing sugar to decorate

Instructions

1. On a floured surface, roll out the dough until it reaches a thickness of about 4mm (you can also use the already stretched and rolled up) and cut squares of about 6/7 inches wide.
2. Put the squares of puff pastry on a baking sheet with parchment paper, brush them lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with a little  sugar.
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the handles are not inflated and well-browsed. Remove from the oven, let cool completely and in the meantime, prepare the custard.
4. CREAM PREPARATION: Bring the milk to simmering point where you put the vanilla pod cut in half and the lemon zest. Leave to cool in a bowl and while working with a whip the egg yolks with the sugar and stir in the flour now. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and the lemon zest and add wire to the mixture of eggs, sugar and flour and stir. Transfer everything in a saucepan on the stove and put the cream and cook, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Allow to simmer until the cream thickens.
5. Cut the rectangles horizontally, fill them with the cream and, before serving, put them back in the oven for 5 minutes.
6. Before you bring to the table, sprinkle with plenty of icing sugar! Now eat them 

Blueberry Pound Cake

Blueberry Pound Cake

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of butter, softened and divided
2 1/4 cups of granulated sugar, divided
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 cups of all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries, well drained

Grease a 10? tube pan with the two tablespoons of butter.  Sprinkle the pan with 1/4 cup of
sugar and set aside.

Cream the remaining 1 cup of butter, gradually add the remaining 2 cups of sugar and beat
well.  Add the eggs, one at a time.  Add the vanilla, mixing well.  Combine 2 3/4 cups of flour,
baking powder and the salt.  Gradually add to the creamed butter mixture, beating well.  Dredge
the blueberries into the reserved 1/4 cup of flour to coat well.  Fold the blueberries into the bat-
ter and pour into the prepared pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 70 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10
minutes then remove.

Glaze:

2 cups of sifted 10x confectioner?s sugar
2 or more tablespoons of milk
1 tablespoon lemon extract

Mix until the right consistency and pour over the cooled cake.
____________________
Did You Know?

Lettuce loves fat.  You can easily remove
excess fat from soups and stews by drop-
ping a few lettuce leaves in the pot.  The
fat will cling to the lettuce leaves.

French Vanilla Cake

French Vanilla Cake

1 box of Graham crackers
2 boxes of instant French vanilla pudding
1 medium container of whipped topping
1 can of milk chocolate cake frosting
3 cups of cold milk

Mix the milk with the pudding mix until thick and then mix in the whipped topping.  Layer the
Graham crackers and the pudding until you have used it all, ending with a layer of crackers on
top.  Top with the chocolate frosting and refrigerate.

Caramel Apple Oat Bars

Caramel Apple Oat Bars

1 3/4 cups of unsifted flour
1 cup of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of cold butter
1 cup of chopped walnuts
20 pieces of caramel candy
1 ? 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 ? 21 ounce can of apple pie filling

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking
soda, and the salt.  Next, cut in the butter until crumbly.  Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture
and press the remainder on the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch baking pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Add
the nuts to the remaining crumb mixture.

In a heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt the caramels with the sweetened condensed milk, stir-
ring until smooth.  Spoon the apple filling over the baked crust and top with the caramel
mixture.  Sprinkle the remaining crumb/nut mixture on top of the caramel mixture and bake for
an additional 20 minutes, or until set.  Allow to cool or serve warm with ice cream.