Category Archives: Recipes

Stuffed Peppers

This takes some time and a little effort to prepare, but it is well worth it.

What you need

  • A nice sized stew pot and cover
  • 4 well shaped, symmetrical peppers (green, red, yellow or a combination)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup of Progresso Italian Style breadcrumbs
  • 2 Garlic cloves
  • 1 cup of chopped spinach (frozen works great – thawed and drained)
  • 2 cans of chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1tsp of black pepper
  • 2tsp of parsley flakes
  • 1tsp basil
  • Olive oil

Serves 4

First

Cut the tops off the peppers and core them. Be sure not to leave any seeds or white spines. Rinse thoroughly and set aside.

Second

Finely chop the garlic and combine with eggs, breadcrumbs, spinach, cheese, salt, pepper, parsley, parmesan and basil. Knead into a moist, well mixed mound.

Third

Stuff each pepper to about a 1/4 inch below the top. Insert a sliver of garlic in the center of each pepper and sprinkle some grated parmesan on top.

Fourth

Pour the broth into the stew pot and place the peppers upright in the pot and drizzle some olive oil over each one. Cook 30-40 minutes over medium heat until the peppers are soft but not mushy. The pot must be covered and the peppers basted frequently with the broth. Remove the peppers and let them settle for a few minutes.

This dish is very, very filling and need only be served with a salad, French or Italian bread and a nice Chianti

divertiti!

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Caprese Salad

I love this dish! It is so very easy to prepare and very satisfying as either an appetizer or entree.

What you need

  • A nice sized serving platter
  • 1lb of fresh mozzarella
  • 3 Large , ripe, firm tomatoes
  •  A fistful of fresh basil(enough for about 12 good sized leaves)
  • 24 black, pitted olives
  • A small jar of sliced roasted peppers in olive oil
  • 12 Artichoke hearts in olive oil
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Salt
  • Ground pepper
  • Oregano

Serves 4-6

First

Cut the mozzarella into 12 slices about 1/4 inch thick and distribute the slices evenly around the serving platter. Sprinkle with a little salt and ground black pepper.

Second

Cut the ends off of the tomatoes and put them aside. Carefully slice the tomatoes into 4 thick quarters so that you are left with 12 healthy slices.

Third

Place the sliced tomatoes on top of the mozzarella slices and sprinkle with a little salt and some oregano. Place a leaf of fresh basil on top.

Fourth

Chop up the ends that were cut from the tomatoes and use them as a base for the black olives. Place the black olives and chopped tomatoes, roasted peppers and artichoke hearts in the center of the serving platter. Coat the basil, tomatoes and mozzarella with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and you are ready to serve. You’ll need steak knives and forks.

A nice crusty loaf of warm bread and a bottle of wine tops things off.

Enjoy!

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Baked Chicken With Onions, Peas and Potatoes

 A Great Summer Dish

I inherited this recipe from my mother a long time ago. It’s been tweaked a little bit over the years and the result is a tasty  and fairly easy to prepare meal.

What you need

  • A broiler pan (the kind you find in most ovens)
  • Aluminum foil
  • Canola oil cooking spray
  • 4-Good sized bone-in chicken breasts
  • 2-Large baking potatoes
  • 4-Cloves of finely chopped garlic
  • 1-Can of peas
  • 1-Large sweet onion
  • Olive oil
  • 8-Thin pats of real butter
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • Oregano

First

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Very important!

Second

Line the bottom of the broiler pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Spray with the cooking oil so that the breasts don’t stick.

Third

While the oven is heating up, rinse each breast under cold running water and pat the excess water off with paper towels.

Fourth

Place the breasts on the cooking spray coated pan and pour some olive oil over each breast and rub it in.

Salt and pepper to taste. Add some of the chopped garlic on top of the breasts and sprinkle with oregano.

Fifth

Cut the potatoes into quarters leaving the skin on. Slit each piece and place a small pat of butter in the slit. Distribute the potatoes among the chicken breasts.

Slice the sweet onion into rings and put the rings in with the chicken breasts and potatoes.

Place the pan in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes pour the peas and the liquid in the can over the everything and cook for another 15 minutes. Start checking the chicken breasts at this point. You don’t want them to overcook or undercook. Make a small cut at the meatiest part of one of the breasts. The chicken should be moist but, not pink.

You really don’t need a side dish with this as everything is right there in the pan.

A good white wine adds the finishing touch.

Enjoy!

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Tasty Tilapia

Healthy and Delicious

This dish takes about 45 minutes from prep to finish. Tilapia does not have its own distinctive taste and lends itself well to whatever seasoning and flavoring you choose. This recipe is straightforward, easy to prepare and low in calories.

What you need

  • A broiler pan (the kind you find in most ovens)
  • Aluminum foil
  • Canola oil cooking spray
  • 4-good sized tilapia fillets or loins (I like the frozen variety, after defrosting, they taste more fresh).
  • 4-Cloves of finely chopped garlic
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 8-Thin pats of real butter
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • Parsley flakes
  • 1-Lemon

First

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. This is a very important step.

Second

Line the bottom of the broiler pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Leave the top grate uncovered. Spray the top grate with the cooking oil so that the fillets don’t stick.

Third

While the oven is heating up, rinse each filet under cold running water and pat the excess water off with paper towels.

Fourth

Place the fillets on the cooking spray coated grate and drizzle some olive oil over each filet.

Salt and pepper to taste and add some of the chopped garlic on top of each filet.

Place 2 pats of butter on each fillet and then sprinkle some parsley flakes on top.

Squeeze the lemon juice over the fillets

Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and cook for 30-35 minutes.

This is nicely served over a bed of rice with cooked green veggies on the side.

A good pinot grigio adds the finishing touch.

Enjoy!

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Italian Style Pork Cutlets

Easy and Delicious

Here is a great recipe that you can make in 30 minutes or less. I fooled around with this a few different ways and settled on the ingredients and techniques listed.

What you need

  • A large frying pan
  • 4-boneless pork chops 1-1/12″ thick (you could use 8-1/2″ bone-in chops but, they won’t make good sandwiches the next day)
  • salt and ground black pepper
  • 4-cloves of garlic
  • 1-23.5 oz jar of Prego Italian Sausage & Garlic. (O.K. I know some of you purists might gag on this. But, trust me, it works great. If you can’t bring yourself to use gravy out of a jar, use 1-can of peeled, crushed tomatoes, 1-can of tomato paste.)
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil (not extra virgin)
  • 1/4 cup of chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup of white wine
  • 1-tablespoon of dried parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Pork Cutlets
Boneless Pork Chops Cut In Half

Continue reading Italian Style Pork Cutlets

Pignatelli’s Eliis Island Gravy

An old family recipe, circa1896

This is the real thing.  And yes, we call it gravy not sauce.

The Statue of Liberty as seen by immigrants as the ships that brought them to America entered New York Harbor
The first glimpse of The Promised Land

Ingredients

2-cans of large peeled tomatoes

1-can of tomato paste

1lb-eye round

1-small slab of beef ribs (10) cracked and split

6-sweet Italian sausages

1-handful of Fresh basil

1-tsp Fresh oregano

1-tsp Salt

1-tsp Pepper

2-Tablespoons of sugar

1-Tablespoon of fresh Romano cheese

1-small onion (cut into medium thin rings and then cut the rings in half)

3-cloves of fresh garlic (chopped, but not too fine) Continue reading Pignatelli’s Eliis Island Gravy