Pesto Cheese Stuffed Shells in Marinara Sauce Pesto Cheese Stuffed Shells ~ pasta shells stuffed with creamy ricotta, Italian cheeses and basil pesto, baked in marinara sauce. I found myself staring at one of my last jars of homemade marinara, wondering what I should make. Then I remembered a baked pasta dish I made years ago in Chicago. I would come back …
Pumpkin Sausage Lasagna Pumpkin sausage lasagna ~ creamy layers of pasta, pumpkin parmesan cream, Swiss chard and Italian sausage. I don’t know about you, but I’m a pretty good home cook who learned from my parents, friends, cookbooks, food magazines and cooking shows ~ just to mention a few things. Isn’t that how most of us learn how …
Pasta with Bacon, Onions and Mushrooms Quick and easy Pasta with Bacon, Onions and Mushrooms, all in one pan and on the table in 30 minutes. Adapted from Martha Stewart. I remember clipping this recipe out of Martha Stewart Living and tossing it in my recipe drawer. Rummaging through my drawer a few months later, it caught my eye and I thought it’d …
Italian Baked Spaghetti Granddad’s Spaghetti, my favorite comfort food of all time. This is a baked spaghetti dish that my great grandfather made, and my grandmother and mom and aunts continued to make it and pass down the recipe. Kind of an interesting story behind the origins of this Italian baked spaghetti recipe. My great grandparents lived on …
Mom's Lasagna My mom’s lasagna recipe, classic beef lasagna with cottage cheese and mozzarella. I got a text the other day from Always Hungry in New York. “Can you put your lasagna recipe on your blog soon? I’m craving it.” She read my mind as I was planning to make it that weekend. This is the lasagna …
Creamy Italian Sausage Peasant Pasta My love for one-pot meals has no end. I used to make this peasant pasta dish, from Rachael Ray, all the time. I haven’t made it in awhile, and for some reason I started craving it. It’s loaded with Italian sausage, Meathead’s fave, and it’s a little creamy, but not overly so and gloppy. Creamy …
Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta with Sausage A spicy and creamy Cajun pasta dish with blackened shrimp and andouille sausage. Do you have a dish that you always order at a favorite restaurant? I do, and it’s Creole Pasta at this lovely little bistro in our new neighborhood. I crave it and I wish I could try something else from the menu, but I …
Spaghetti with Mussels and Chorizo Hands down, this is one the best new dishes I’ve made in a long time, spaghetti with mussels and chorizo. I got the idea from the new recipe app called Yumavore, from the user Light yet Right. She posted a recipe for mussels and chorizo that caught my eye. If you haven’t already, you need to …
Nana's Ravioli My great-grandparents lived in a German neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago. My Granddad loved the food at an Italian restaurant he frequented. When he asked how to make the spaghetti and ravioli, the restaurant owner wouldn’t divulge the recipes. So Granddad invited him out for a drink and managed to get him drunk, well, …
Orecchiette with Cauliflower Have you noticed how cauliflower is kind of hot right now? I have, and I admit I almost never make it. I tend to conjure up the image of a bad veggie tray with bad ranch dressing when I think of cauliflower. But then, I remembered making this pasta dish a few times, and it’s delicious …