Tomato Florentine Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 25 min

A wonderfully, rich-flavored tomato soup with some delicious additions. This soup is gluten-free adaptable. See notes at the end of the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup dry red wine
2 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
2 cups low sodium beef broth
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes + their juice
1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
6 ounces fresh baby spinach, rinsed & stems removed
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot over medium heat, warm oil. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in spices and then wine. Add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered, until macaroni is tender, about 10 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in vinegar.
2. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe

1 pound pasta, whatever shape you like (but chunky ones will match up better with the rabe)
1 pound broccoli rabe, heavy stems removed, remaining stems and leaves cut into 1- to 2-inch sections (I attempt to match my pasta in length)
1/2 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more or less to taste
About 1 heaping teaspoon Kosher salt (or more to taste)
To serve: Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Bring a huge pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and five minutes before its cooking time is up, add the broccoli rabe. It will seem like too much for the water, but with a stir or two, the rabe should wilt and cook alongside the pasta. Drain rabe and pasta together and pour into serving bowl. In the same pot or a tiny one, heat the olive oil with the garlic, pepper flakes and Kosher salt over moderate heat, stirring frequently for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the garlic becomes lightly golden. Pour mixture over pasta and toss to evenly coat. Shower with freshly grated cheese and eat at once.

Delicious Dinner Rolls

This is my family’s very favorite dinner roll recipe. My mom,  sister, and I are always asked to bring them to events. They are so easy and they turn out beautifully. No one will believe you MADE them!

The ingredients you will need:

1 1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups of warm water
about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
at least 1 cup of butter

To start out: Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.

We are going to add yeast to this hot mixture, but it will be too hot to just dump the yeast straight in (it would kill it!). To cool it down stir in 1-2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.

**Keep track of how much flour you are adding!!!

Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture!

Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added to cool it earlier). I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.

At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it raise.

When your dough is close to raising completely, butter 2 cookie sheets and set them aside.

Let the dough raise until it has doubled in size.

Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect.

Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.

Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter.

Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough.

Make sure you spread plenty of butter when using these notes, It will prevent them from sticking!

Whether or not you include a thankful note, you will roll the dough starting with the wide end of the triangle.

Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls!

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven ’till they are golden brown. About 10 – 15 minutes, It may take longer depending on how hot your oven cooks. Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second.

While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.

I came across this fun Thanksgiving idea on Pinterest – for Gratitude Rolls. I thought it was so cute and wanted to show you all how it’s done! Gather a list of things for which your family is thankful. Type it up in columns, then print it out. Yes, my 3-year-old said he was grateful for chocolate milk.. but I’m pretty sure we can all agree

Cut the list into strips with scissors or a paper cutter. Then set them aside.

If you would like to add the thankful notes, now is the time!

Place one thankful note lengthwise on the triangle of dough.

Pork Chops Alla Pizzaiola

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 45 min

This is such a simple recipe that I didn't really have high hopes that it would be that great. Hubby loved it, and even my picky kids ate it!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Four 1-inch-thick bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (about 12-ounces each)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, thinly sliced
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper flakes, or more to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, optional

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add 2 pork chops to the skillet and cook until they are browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into the chop registers 145°F, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the pork chops to a plate and tent with foil to keep them warm. Repeat with the remaining 2 pork chops, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
2. Add onions to the same skillet and sauté over medium heat until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices, herbes de Provence, and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend and the juices thicken slightly, stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt and more red pepper flakes if you like is spicier. Return the pork chops and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet and turn the pork chops to coat with the sauce. Heat until warmed through, a minute or so; do not overcook the chops!
3. Place 1 pork chop on each plate. Spoon the sauce over the pork chops. Sprinkle with the parsley (if using) and serve.