Posts tagged freezer friendly

Chicken Pot Pie

As the rainy spring days fade away and the summer heat envelops the South, my herbs struggle to find enough shade and water to prevent wilting. A small snip here and there for a sauce, biscuit, or soup leaves my herbs looking like a four-year-old accidentally found a pair of kitchen shears. This chicken soup is packed with herbs from my garden and showcases some of my favorite herbs in the garden. While not as delicious as my mother’s chicken pot pie, this one will do.

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Lasagna

For me, the Italian American classic weeknight dinner staple is inevitably intertwined with an orange cartoon cat. Perhaps the manufacturers behind Stouffers frozen lasagna had invested in the constant lasagna feeding frenzy present within nearly every Garfield episode in the late 1980s. If they weren’t behind all the direct consumer marketing, then they should have been because I requested lasagna more than my brother requested canned spinach (thanks Popeye). The lasagna of my childhood was mostly noodles with marina and a small amount of cheese and meat sprinkled inadvertently throughout the layers upon layers of noodle.

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Italian Sausage Pasta

I accidentally made this pasta one night when I came home from work, a little late, and didn’t have enough time to make my usual marinara sauce. I also didn’t have any red wine around…but luckily did have an already open bottle of sauvignon blanc. I wouldn’t normally think to combine white wine and Italian sausage, but the Romans often combine guanciale with white wine to make an amatriciana sauce…so why not?

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Oat Pancakes with Blueberries

I grew up on Bisquick pancakes. In the Giurintano house, the most coveted pancake was the first pancake. I know what you are thinking – this is counterintuitive. The first pancake lacks the delicious, browned butter flavored coating. But in a kaleidoscope lens that only a child can see through, the first pancake was a prized possession that we all fought to win. It had the most perfect light brown hue around the edge – as if a young tree had just been cut down and you could count the rings. And the intense liquid butter flavor was mouth wateringly good.

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Bacon and Swiss Chard Quiche

Quiches are a perfect way of repurposing leftovers from dinner into a delicious breakfast. The leftover caramelized onions and thyme from a chicken entrée the night before blend nicely with the leftover cheese from homemade macaroni and cheese. Feel free to substitute the cheeses for whatever you have in the refrigerator. In fact, this whole recipe is nothing but a framework for repurposing leftovers. Endless creative quiche-friendly ingredient combinations await you in your refrigerator.

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Sweet Potato and Pimento Cheese Frittata

One of my favorite things to do with holiday leftovers is make quiche. And what more perfect of a leftover to be used for quiche than honey baked ham?This recipe is a perfect example of a “what’s in my refrigerator” frittata.This recipe is a perfect example of a “what’s in my refrigerator” frittata. Susan had brought me a large serving of her pimento cheese (which is delicious on a ritz cracker with a glass of cabernet sauvignon). I also happened to have a mountain of sweet potatoes on my kitchen island. And since sweet potatoes go with anything, why not combine them with pimento cheese and eggs?

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Marinara

While my marinara differs from Clemenza’s and most traditional Italian recipes, it has evolved over the last twenty years into a flavor that is woven into the proverbial fabric of my kitchen. I like the sweetness that the onions and carrots give to the acidic tomatoes and wine. I have made this sauce without the wine just to meet comments that my sauce tasted less delicious.

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