Need a special dish to take to a Potluck Supper or for a family reunion or for a special treat for your family? It’s Baked Ziti! This is a delicious casserole that is quick and easy to make. The cooks in my family would make Baked Ziti as often as people would fix Macaroni and Cheese. I always have some Marinara Sauce on hand and with just a few other ingredients, I am ready to prepare Baked Ziti. It can be prepared with whole wheat pasta as well as regular pasta and you can use whole milk ricotta, or part skim milk ricotta or even fat-free ricotta. Whichever you use, you are bound to get compliments. I am sure there will be those who will want second helpings when you serve this recipe for Baked Ziti. Enjoy!  Read more...

Sunday was the main day for a large meal with family members arriving to gather around the dining table and enjoy their one day of leisure. It started out with going to early church services, coming home and preparing a large meal (soup to nuts, as we would say). This chore was left to the women of the family while the men sat and visited, read the newspapers, or played Bocce.  Read more...

Summertime is here and time for fresh farm produce and good prices for fruits and vegetables in-season. I am always looking for a bargain and I take advantage of buying produce this time of year and doing more meal planning using fresh vegetables and herbs.

One dish I love to make and eat is a non-cooked tomato, mozzarella and basil topping for cooked pasta. It is based on a very popular appetizer called Caprese Salad. It is named for the island of Capri and is very popular all over Italy and increasingly so in the United States. This salad is a layering of sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil which is then drizzled with olive oil.  Read more...

This is a quick and easy recipe for marinara sauce. In fact, it is so easy that it was one of the first sauces my Mother taught me at an early age, twelve to be precise. The ingredients are few and found on most pantry shelves. It works as an excellent base for other tomato sauce dishes. For example, just by adding meatballs and simmering for half an hour to an hour, you have a delicious spaghetti sauce. To make my sauce even meatier, I often add, along with the meatballs, Italian link sausage, that I brown first and then add to the sauce. Also, sliced mushrooms are another addition.  Read more...

Chicken cacciatore is a simple recipe to prepare and uses just one pot (jump to recipe). I enjoy preparing this recipe as I can make it in advance and heat it up for dinner or refrigerate overnight, heat in the microwave and serve with cooked spaghetti or rice. You just need to add a salad and you have a complete meal to impress family and friends.  Read more...