Recipe-Spaghetti Leonardo

I was raised with home-made spaghetti sauce every week so, the smell of tomatoes and oregano  and basil is soothing to my soul.   I have re posted this recipe from  Kelly at the Spunky Coconut;  many  of her recipes are gluten-free.

Spaghetti Leonardo

Add to Crock pot:

4 cups chopped vine-ripened tomatoes

4 Italian sausage (casing removed)

1/2 an onion, chopped

1/4 tsp garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Set to 4 hours high.

After cooking throw in about 3 cups fresh chopped spinach to wilt.

I also added a drizzle of organic extra virgin olive oil, and a few cranks of fresh ground pepper.

Serve over noodles. I use Tinkyada.

She writes the reason why  she’s  calling it “Spaghetti Leonardo” .  Whilst looking for an Italian name, and who better to honor than this hero, Leonardo DiCaprio. No, it’s not his acting career, although  his movies are great.   It is  what Leonardo does in his free time. There’s  a link to one of  her  favorite organizations, the Natural Resources Defense Council. Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the board members of the NRDC, along with Robert Redford.  If you can, check them out and give them your support too.

Foodie Friday

MOM’S SPAGHETTI / MARINARA SAUCE

Mom's Marinara sauce recipe and meatballs

On one of the last warm days of August, I craved the taste of homemade meatballs simmered in home-made sauce, so I spent my afternoon cooking this recipe.

Inhale, and  as you do, imagine the smell of tomato sauce simmering on the stove, it is my favorite comfort food along with pasta.

   Growing up in my house,  every Saturday, my mom had a huge stockpot of tomato sauce simmering on the stove, all afternoon it seemed.   For a snack , mid-afternoon, while this was  simmering, we’d get a small plastic plate, place a piece of Wonder bread, (white bread) , and ladle some tomato sauce on it, slice it up and eat  it that way.   Sauce and bread!  My mother’s sauce  was delicious just  like that;  we couldn’t wait for the meatballs.  LOL.

Mom’s Spaghetti sauce

Into a large stock pot, add:

2 (28 ounce) cans Tomato Puree
1 can water
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 small onion

1 stalk of celery with leaves
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 potato ( raw)- Cut-up and cleaned (a thickening agent)
1 tsp basil

I added 2 cloves of garlic, whole and 1 raw carrot that was scrubbed to the large stock pot.
oregano
parsley (add at the end of cooking)
dash of olive oil
1 pinch of baking soda

Directions:

Cook on stove on low heat for 3 – 4 hours. If sauce gets too thick as cooking, add water.

After simmering one hour, add cooked meatballs, or sausage or cooked pork chop with bone in.

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb ground pork or veal
1 egg
1 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
chopped onion or 1 TBSP Lipton brand Onion soup mix
ketchup
microwave 5 minutes and turn.
or cook in iron pan on low to medium heat slowly and turn until all sides browned.

Today, I baked the meatballs in a 350 degree F. oven on a cookie sheet with a little canola oil for 20 minutes. Then after draining meatballs on paper towels, I placed in the tomato sauce and left to simmer on the stove for 1 hour on low heat.

< Mom’s Tomato Sauce recipe-by “luvsclassics”

Eat Pray Love Italian Challenge

My challenge was to finish reading Eat, Pray, Love before the release date of the movie, August 13,2010 and now  I am inspired to post an Italian themed recipe and photo for Valli’s Eat, Pray, Love Italian challenge.

The challenge is open to any “foodie”, one who likes to cook.

You are welcome to go to  Valli’s website to read her  post and perhaps get in the kitchen and cook up something Italian to share with other foodies.

Valli of ” More Than Burnt Toast” blog has an Italian food recipe challenge inspired by the upcoming movie release of EAT,PRAY,LOVE on August 13, 2010.

You can find her post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com.
If you would like to join Valli  simply prepare an Italian dish from antipasti, primo, secondo, contorno to dolce and send the link with photo to eatchallenge(at)gmail(DOT)com before the opening of the movie ,  August 13, 2010.

She writes:

Eat , Pray,Love is Elizabeth Gilbert’s wonderfully crafted book about life changing experiences when she trades in her previously perfect life to travel the world “to find herself. ” After a heart wrenching divorce she spends a year traveling in Italy, India and Indonesia. Each word in the title Eat, Pray, Love is expanded by her experiences in three countries.

In my next post, I’ll  add my Italian themed recipes and continue reading Eat Pray Love.

Talerine Beef Casserole

Talerine Beef Casserole Talerine is Italian word for Tagliarini-
ribbon-like pasta noodle

The spices and tomatoes

This is for dinner!

Ingredients:
12 ounce bag egg noodles
1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded, ribs removed, chopped fine
3 minced clove of garlic
Olive oil for sauteing ( olive oil has a high burning point-so watch it)
1 1/2 poinds ground round beef ( I substitue ground turkey, it’s leaner, hence healthier)
pinch salt
4 ounces mushrooms, slice
1 28 ounce can tomatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (can use canned corn or creamed corn)
1 15 oz can of pitted black olives, strained and chopped
1 pound cheddar cheese, grated
Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the egg noodles.
2. Heat the 2 Tbsp of oil on medium high heat in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Add the onions and green bell pepper and saute until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with your fingers or a knife, if you are using whole canned tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to warm.
3.     In a separate skillet, heat to medium-high. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil  to the pan and brown the meat, working in batches. Break up about half of the ground beef into the pan. Do not stir, but let it cook for a minute, or two until brown.  Sprinkle a little salt over the meat while cooking.  Once brown on one side, stir the meat a little to get the sides browned.  Once the meat is thoroughly browned, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and put it in with the tomatoes, onions, and gren bell peppers. Brown the second batch of ground beef the same way.
4. Using the same pan that you had used for browning the beef, saute the mushrooms in the remaining oil and beef drippings. Once browned, add the mushrooms to the beef and tomato mixture.
5. While the mushrooms are cooking, add the egg noodle pasta to the boiling water. Cook as directed., about 4-5 min.(or according to Egg Noodle package directions).  Strain when cooked, but still a little firm (al dente).
6. Add egg noodles, corn, chopped olives, and about 2/3 of the cheese to the large pot of beef and tomato mixture. Gently mix in.
7. Transfer mixture to a large casserole dish, or to two casserole dishes if you don’t have one that is large enough. Sprinkle remaining cheeese on top of casserole(s). Place in the oven for 30 minutes (can go as long as an hour.
Serves 8
Delicious. Egg nodles cook up faster than regular pasta, and are fortifed.
I have for couple days. Sometimes, I omit the green peppers, and onions
Can be made without the green peppers and onions.
When using ground turkey, I add Italian Seasoning, basil, oregano or a mixture of these to add more flavor. Ground turkey need a boost for flavor, but is healthier for you.
From Simplyrecipes.com