Classic Dinner Night

Chicken parmesean with spaghetti and roasted asparagus served with garlic bread

Apple-Pear Pie

Find your classic apple pie recipe...subsitute 3 of the 6 apples to pears (peeled and sliced like the apples)

Green Spaghetti with Cheesy Sausage

Ingredients:
1 lb spinach spaghetti or any kind of spinach/green pasta
1 lb mild sausage (if you want it spicy, then get spicy; if you want it sweet, then get sweet)
a small pint of half and half
a bag of Sargento cheese (I used the 6 cheeses: Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina, Romano and Asiago)
1 onion (yellow or white)...or 1 shallot, chopped finely
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped finely or grated
Salt & Pepper
Extra-Virgin Olive or Vegetable Oil (eyeball)
a couple of tablespoons of butter (eyeball)

Method:
Boil water, salted and then toss in spinach spaghetti till al-dente

In a medium to large skillet on medium to low-heat on the stovetop, heat up oil to saute onion and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add sausage (taking them out of it's casings if came with), season with salt and pepper, cook until brown.

Once you add the spinach spaghetti to the boiling water, heat up a medium size sauce pan with some butter and half and half to a simmering boil (but not too much!) and whisk in slowly the cheese by handfuls until the sauce is thickening.

Drain the spinach spaghetti and put it back to it's pot. Pour in the sausage mixture and cheese sauce into the spaghetti pot to mix well before pouring it into the serving bowl.

Warm Brussel Sprouts 'Salad'

Ingredients-

-1 bag/pint (about 1 lb) of brussel sprouts, sliced

-pancetta, diced (found in package form; if not at least 4 slices)

-EVOO

-small handful of dried cranberries

-garlic, sliced into chips

-balasmic vinegar (eyeball)

Method-

saute pancetta in EVOO till brown, take out on paper-towel covered plate. Saute sliced garlic clove in pancetta/EVOO till brown, take out on paper-towel with pancetta. Saute sliced brussel sprouts, season S&P, stirring till browning careful not to burn. Put in reserved pancetta & garlic and a small handful of dried cranberries. Stir few minutes and add about two shots of balasmic vinegar for a few more minutes and then serve. Add a little more of EVOO if looking little dry as brussel sprouts will absorb while cooking.

For Vegetarians-

just leave out the pancetta; you can also swap or use 1 onion sliced and saute after browning the garlic into chips

Walnut Chicken with Gorgonzola-Dried Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients (I eyeball everything):
-boneless chicken cutlets
-about 2-4 cups of walnuts
-panko bread crumbs, about same amount as walnuts
-vegetable oil
-S&P
-palmful/tablespoon of dried sage
-pinch of paprika
-flour for dredging & rue
-3 eggs
-about half stick of butter
-heavy cream
-gorgonzola cheese
-nutmeg
-handful and a half of dried cranberries

Walnut-crusted Chicken:
In a frying pan, fill a good inch of vegetable oil and set on medium heat
Put the walnuts in the food processor and turn them into crumbs. Combine them with panko in a bowl and start the breading station steps-
3 bowls for 1-flour (mixed with S&P, paprika, and dried sage), 2- 3 eggs whisked, and 3- walnut-panko breading
once the oil is hot enough, start frying for about 5-10 minutes- depending the thickness of the cutlet/breast. Work in batches if needed
Heat the oven to 350° and set a cooling rack in a cookie sheet to place the cooked chicken to keep them warm while cooking other batches and cooked through. If all done, have paper towels ready to drain the oil and let them rest for a few minutes

Gorgonzola-Dried Cranberry Sauce:
In a medium sauce pan, make a rue with butter, flour, and about a cup of heavy cream. Add gorgonzola cheese and whisk till melted. If it's too thick, add more heavy cream. Add in little salt, average pint of pepper, pinches of nutmeg and dried sage, and dried cranberries.

Spinach-Artichoke Manicotti

Preheat oven 400° F and grease 13x9 baking pan with butter

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Filling:
-1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
-1 package of frozen artichokes, thawed and drained
-2 cloves of crushed garlic
blend in the food processor before adding in the cheese filling bowl

-1 cup of parm cheese
-1 cup of mozz cheese
-1 cup of asiago cheese
-1 cup of fontina cheese
-1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
-1 egg
-pinch of nutmeg
-pinch of salt
-3 pinches of pepper

With either a piping bag or a ziploc bag with a corner cut small, filled in the bag with the filling and fill in the cooled manicotti. Place the filled manicotti in the baking dish till the baking dish is full.
Meanwhile make the sauce

Sauce:
-1/2 cup of mozz
-1/2 cup of fontina
-1/2 cup of asiago
-3 tablespoons of flour and butter
-2-3 cups of milk (eyeball)
-pinch of nutmeg, pepper, and salt
Make rue with butter, flour, seasonings, and add milk while whisking. Add the cheeses till thick and pour the sauce over the manicotti.

Topping:
-1/2 cup mozz
-1/2 cup parm
-1/2 cup asiago
-1/2 cup fontina
Sprinkle the cheese over the top before putting the baking dish in the ovwn for 30-35 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes before serving

My Chili

For saute pan:
-extra virgin olive oil, about twice turns around the pan
-1 onion
-1 pound of ground beef
Heat oil over medium high heat and saute onions for a few minutes, season with S&P. Add ground beef till brown

Meanwhile...
I use my crockpot for this

For crockpot:
-1 red pepper*
-1 yellow pepper*
-1 pint of cremini mushrooms (or button)
-1 pint of cherry tomatoes
-1 can of cannellini beans, drain
-1 can of black beans, add along juice
-a couple of cloves of garlic, 2-5 (I do love garlic)
-1-2 poblano pepper*
-2 fresno chili peppers*
-1-2 cubanella pepper*
-1 jalapeno pepper*
-small can of tomato paste

I've use McCormmick's original chili spice mix before or can make your own (I measure by eyeballing by my palm of my hand)
-chili powder
-paprika
-cumin
-italian seasonings (herbs)
-beef bouillon cube, crushed into a powder form
-S&P

combine all in the crockpot, sauted beef and onions included. Set the crockpot on medium or high for 6 to 12 hours (if you want it as tonight's, or tomorrow's dinner, make it during the day like in the morning, early afternoon)

Once you are ready to eat, I tend to use cheddar cheese for the topping

You don't like beef? Use chicken or put no meat at all to make it vegetarian- just double the veggies and beans

*- If you don't want the heat, take out the ribs and seeds out of the peppers