Often, you’ll find that ingredients go on sale at different times. The canned tomatoes on sale a different week than the pasta. Or, as in my case, peppers going on sale in the week the dish I’ll use them in is not on the menu. So today, we offer a bit of preparing ahead. We don’t see much change in onions, but those peppers go on sale when in season, and we can’t walk away.

So take two large onions, slice them up, and saute, low heat, stirring every five minutes or so. When they start to brown, add 4 red peppers, cut into strips and cook at low heat until they are soft. This bowl shows about 2 cups of these peppers and onions, and they freeze very well for a future dish, which is just where we’ll use them in out next recipe which we’ll post Monday. Have a great weekend!

written by admin \\ tags: onions, recipe, red peppers

You may have been using the jarred sauces, and we’ll admit to using them as well, from time to time. But there’s nothing like the taste of homemade. This is the next recipe in our “cooking for the week” series, as you can use this sauce for multiple meals during the week and/or freeze a portion for another time. Next week we will use this sauce to make a lasagna.

3 cans (28oz ea) tomatoes (whole or crushed)
1 large onion
1 tbl garlic
1 tbl oregano
1 tbl basil
1/2 tsp black pepper

Cut onion, I like it chunky, so it’s cut top to bottom (like you’d cut an orange) into 8 sections. You may prefer it minced. Then fry in olive oil. As onion starts to brown, add the garlic and continue to fry a few minutes more, then add the tomatoes, and the spices. Let this simmer on low for about 3 hours. Yes, 3 hours. Use a screen if it splatters. Stir every 15-20 minutes. For a meat sauce, add 1-1/2 lbs or so of ground beef or ground turkey. This is a pretty basic sauce, and takes on additional ingredients pretty readily, add peppers, carrots, peas, or other garden vegetables if you wish.
Back next week with the lasagna.

written by admin \\ tags: cooking for the week, italian cooking, pasta sauce, recipe

Between the current economy, with incomes down and money tight, and people finding themselves with less time to cook during the week, I’ve been giving more thought to meals that can be made in larger quantities and frozen in portions to serve at a later time. The next few recipes posted will expand on this concept, and you will have a number of different dishes to choose from, cooking them all at once on a weekend afternoon, and free up some time when you need it most. Of course, this will also help you cut back on the number of take out or restaurant meals you’re buying. Enjoy the weekend, the first recipe in this series will post on Monday.

written by admin \\ tags: frugal cooking, recipe

This recipe comes from my childhood, my grandmother, who passed away over 25 years ago used to make this, and I still remember the recipe.

2 lbs dough (you can buy pizza dough in most supermarkets)
1 lb sausage, sweet or hot
1/2 lb shredded mozzarella or grated cheese
few tablespoons olive oil
pepper to your liking

First, roll the dough out with a rolling pin, pretty thin. Rub the olive oil, leaving just the top edge dry. Cover with raw sausage. In this picture it looks like pepperoni, but this is link sausage squeezed out and spread out over the dough. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper.

Cut into sections, about 4 inches long, and press between your hands (end to end, don’t squeeze out the filling.)

Cook at 350F for about 30 minutes until browned. If you don’t eat sausage for whatever reason, you can substitute ground beef, turkey, or other filling. This is a fun recipe for the kids to help with and to tinker with the filling. Enjoy! Note – when I tried to confirm the spelling of this dish, I couldn’t find anything close. The recipe itself is called ‘bogliolati’ on other recipe sites, but my family never heard of that dish. Different parts of the country I suppose.

written by admin \\ tags: dough, italian food, italian sausage roll, minuloti, recipe