My nonna used to make pasta e patate when I was little because dad and I loved it.  I’ve tried to replicate her recipe, and I think it was pretty close.  Being Calabrese, she always added a little bit of hot peppers or flakes to make it taste better.

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2   I love buying premade meatballs and sauces so when I know I have little time to cook; the meal comes together quickly.    Ingredients Basmati rice for 2 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp vegetable broth 100 gr sliced onions 350 gr fresh turkey and pork meatballs Vegetable broth as required  Teriyaki sauce   Directions Cook rice per directions on package In a coverable skillet sauté oil, broth and onions until they start to turn golden Remove

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2   A wrap with a salad is an easy and light dinner.  I used store bought chicken strips and baked them with the peppers and onions before putting it all together in a wrap. Easy and delicious!   Ingredients 1 yellow bell pepper cut into strips 1 red bell pepper cut into strips 2 small onions cut into wedges Garlic salt or salt and pepper to taste Olive oil 5 chicken strips 250 gr Greek yogurt 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey Chili powder or

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2   Fresh pasta with a creamy turkey spicy sauce is perfect to pair up with some bread to ensure you scoop up all the delicious sauce.    Ingredients 1 tbsp vegetable broth, plus as required 200 gr ground turkey 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp vegetable broth 70 gr sliced onions 120 ml vegetable broth 140 gr frozen peas – thawed out 1 tbsp hot pepper paste Garlic salt or salt and pepper to taste 150 ml heavy cream 80 gr shredded cheddar cheese

I had left over potatoes, meat/veggie mixture, yogurt, lettuce and guacamole from my “Potato Taco Bowl” recipe and used it to make this Taco Tart recipe.  

Puff pastry is always a great thing to have in the house when you just don’t know what to make.  Today I made these ham and cheese pockets and my Caprese Salad for two and it was a perfect light meal. 

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2 - 3   I love it when I can put everything in a container, shake it up and marinate for a few hours and then bake and have a complete meal once cooked.  This has so many sweet and savory flavours that combine well together.    Ingredients 4 chicken thighs, skin and fat removed 75 gr chopped carrots 130 gr sliced onions 145 gr canned pineapples – no juice 1 tbsp capers Green pimento olives to taste 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp I

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Makes 24 rolls   I found lemon spread at the grocery store and since Ariana was over and wanted to make cookies we put together these lemon coconut and pecan rolls.  I always have puff pastry in the fridge so it is easy to make these with her.    Ingredients 2 round puff pastry rolls Lemon cream Finely chopped pecans Shredded coconut 1 egg Fancy sugar sprinkles Icing sugar   Directions Preheat oven 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment p

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 4   Today full chicken legs were on sale and I wanted to make a creamy style recipe that I could pair with a plain rice.  With Gianni’s diet that I have to mitigate as much fat as possible, I boiled the chicken for 15 minutes prior to making the sauce so I could easily remove the skin and fat.  This is also good because with bone-in chicken like this it takes a long time to cook on the stove.   I served with cheesy garlic focaccia.   In

This is a decadent soft banana cookie bursting with coconut, crunchy pecans, and yummy chocolate chips. Sweet, nutty, and impossible to eat just one.   Today Ariana my granddaughter helped me make these.  She loves to help nonna in the kitchen.  Great recipe to get kids involved.

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2   With family coming to visit I made a big batch of my Turkey Cutlets for Freezer  which today made 36 cutlets. Therefore, I froze 32 of them and made this cutlet salad meal for dinner tonight.  Any type of cutlets are great to have in the freezer because we can easily make a full meal out of them by adding veggies and a salad.    Ingredients 1 bunch of asparagus tips 1 red bell pepper cut into slices Cauliflower florets to taste Garl

I love the custardy Portuguese Nata but I know the authentic ones are a lot of work.  Being in Italy, I have access to really good puff pastry therefore I created this recipe that is simple to make, not the authentic but still delicious.

I could buy brioche bread at Cobbs in Maple Ridge and made this vanilla toast as a treat.  This week is “France” week at Lidl, our nearby grocery store and they had the most delicious brioche bread I have ever tasted.   Therefore, I had to make this breakfast treat!

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 3 – 4   Tortellini alla Panna has always been a pasta that the whole family loves.  To the roux I add onions, whip cream, layers of cheese and peas which makes this pasta very creamy and delicious.   Ingredients 500 gr tortellini 50 gr butter 50 gr diced onions 50 gr flour 250 ml whip cream Milk – as required to get the consistency you want 2 slices processed cheese 50 gr grated Pecorino Romano cheese Garlic salt or salt and pepper to t

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 2   We just love hot sandwiches with a salad for dinner and when we roast the ingredients it makes it for a healthier meal.    Ingredients 70 gr sliced onions 240 gr sausages 1 tbsp olive oil Garlic salt or salt & pepper to taste 1 tbsp dried oregano 2 red peppers Garlic salt or salt & pepper to taste Dried oregano to taste 2 large buns 6 slices provolone cheese   Directions Preheat oven to 390°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum fo

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 2   BLT or the bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich on toasted sliced bread began appearing in American cookbooks around the early 1900s after mayonnaise was adopted to make sandwiches better.  By 1910, versions of bacon–lettuce–tomato sandwiches were increasingly recognizable as the BLT and with the rise of lunch counters, cafes and hotel dining rooms it became the Standard American lunch sandwich.   Today, the BLT is both the benchmark s

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2   There are days when we just want a light meal and for me that is usually a sandwich with a salad.  Today I had some broccoli and cauliflower in the fridge therefore I boiled them or you can steam them, then I strained them and let them cool and made a cold salad out of the to accompany my quickly cooked pork filets to make it a hot sandwich meal.    Ingredients 80 ml olive oil 60 ml apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp honey 1 tsp Dijon musta

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 2   I made a big batch of homemade chicken cutlets and decided to make a cutlet sandwich with a side salad for dinner. Truly a delicious meal!   The store didn’t have turkey therefore I bought chicken and made the cutlets the same way I make my Turkey Cutlets .  Turkey or Chicken, cutlets are delicious!   Ingredients 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp vegetable broth, plus as required        2 or 3 chicken cutlets Juice from 1 lemon Juice from 1 oran

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 2 (2 wraps per person)   We love wraps any time of year and today Gianni asked to have a wrap therefore I created this Greek wrap however I substituted feta cheese for mozzarella balls as Gianni isn’t allowed to have feta.  You can use feta instead to make it truly Greek!     I served the wraps with a simple green salad to make this a complete meal.   Ingredients 300 gr chicken breast cut into small cubes 100 gr sliced onions 100 gr pee

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 1   I wanted a hot sandwich and I had some left-over focaccia so made this thick and delicious sandwich.    Ingredients 2 eggs 2 tbsp milk Garlic salt or salt pepper to taste 4 slices salami Shredded mozzarella to taste   Directions Beat together eggs, milk and garlic salt Heat a skillet and dip both sides of the focaccia in eggs and place in skillet Cook both sides of the focaccia On the inside bottom of the focaccia add slices of sala