Dish | Weeknight Spaghetti

I know it's starting to get hot outside but sometimes I have those moods where I want something that reminds of home. When my mom makes spaghetti she lets the sauce cook the day before and simmer throughout the day before we actually eat it. I don't know about you but sometimes I just don't have the patience or the willpower to let that tasty aroma taunt me! So I came up with a faster alternative, while it may not be better then Moms (let's face it nothing ever is!) it helps to calm my cravings! :)

Ingredients
(1) Pound Ground Turkey
(1) Package of Johnsonville Italian Sausage- Hot
(1) Medium Onion
(1) Can of Tomato Paste
(1) Small Can of Tomato Sauce
Heavy Whipping Cream (You can use Evaporate Milk if you want to go healthier!)
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan Cheese

Start by cutting up the onion and sauteing over medium heat, once this is done set aside. I cook the ground turkey and the Italian Sausage all together until they are no longer pink and then drain all of the grease!
Next combine your meat, sauteed onion and can of tomato paste stirring constantly until the paste is evenly distributed. Once this is done pour in the can of Tomato Sauce and stir, then I pour in about 1/4 of a cup to 1/2 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream into the mixture, this adds a little more flavor to the sauce!
While the sauce simmers a little bring a pot of salt water to a boil and add pasta of your choice, I use spaghetti noodles but you can really use whatever you prefer the most!
Combine the noodles with the meat sauce, salt and pepper to taste and top off with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Mangia!

Dish | Chicken Cacciatore

A quick Italian- American dish! I took a day trip to Myrtle Beach this past Saturday to visit one of my college roommates and when I got back into town my boyfriend suggested that we cook something instead of going out for dinner. However, he didn't want to come up with what we were going to cook. So using my all recipes app on my ipad I plugged in what I had in my pantry and voila Chicken Cacciatore! I changed up the original recipe, taking out the Mushrooms and tweaking the measurements based on my taste and the end result was the perfect Saturday night meal!








Ingredients
Olive Oil
1 Pound Chicken
1 Red Onion
1 Yellow Pepper
3 Cloves of Garlic
Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Cup Red Wine
1 Cup Chicken Broth
15 oz Can f Diced Tomatoes (with Juice)
Basil
Rosemary
Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
Spaghetti Noodles
Parmesan Cheese

Heat about 2 tables of olive oil over medium high heat. Cut your chicken into smaller pieces and season all sides with salt and pepper, I like a lot of pepper so I was very generous with it! Place the chicken in the pan and cook until golden brown, then turn over and do the same to the other side. Once the chicken is browned, remove to a plate and set aside.
Add about another tablespoon to your pan and throw in your diced onion and yellow pepper, sauteing until transparent, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about another minute. I'm not a huge fan of red pepper flakes so I didn't add too many to mine, but you can use your best judgement! Then stir in the wine and cook until the mixture is almost completely reduced (aka the liquid has almost completely evaporated). Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and a couple sprigs of rosemary and bring to a simmer. Once the mixture is bubbling a little add the chicken back in, reduce the heat to medium/low, cover and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the mixture and increase the heat to high, stirring occasionally until the liquid has thickened. Season with salt, pepper and add in the Balsamic Vinegar and chopped basil. Then combine with your chicken and serve over spaghetti noodles with grated Parmesan cheese!   

Mangia!

Turn Your Leftover Wine Bottles into Custom Vases

Can't afford to buy new vases? Have a couple of friends who enjoy their wine? Then what better solution then to make your own vases from wine vases!

Start by cleaning and DE-labeling your left over bottles. I filled up my sink with soapy water and let the bottles soak overnight, that way when you go to remove the labels they just kind of peel off and leave no glue residue.
Now comes the fun part, pick out the spray paint color of your choice and take your wine bottles outside. I put down a layer of newspaper and began spraying. It takes an hour or so for the paint to dry so I would continue to go out until I felt I had layered the paint enough so you would not see the wine bottle anymore, in total I did about 3 layers!
Once the bottles were completely dry I did run them under the water gently, just to get any of the dust that may have blown on them off!
Then just add the floral arrangement of your choice and voila! you have homemade (and cheap) vases!!

Dish | Mom's Pasta Recipe

This past Saturday I was in the mood for some comfort food so I decided to make my Mom's favorite pasta...or as she fondly calls it "Goshy pasta". If you're looking for a healthy meal then I would go ahead and close this page! However, if you're looking for the perfect rainy night, comfort food then see below!














Ingredients
Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage
Heavy Whipping Cream
(1) Onion
(1) Cup White Wine
Salt
Pepper
Penne Pasta
Parmesan Cheese

I start off by dicing the onion and sauteing it until it's transparent, I then set that aside so I can brown the sausage (Don't forget to take off the casings before doing so!) Once the sausage is browned, use a colander to drain the grease and I usually wash the pan that I cooked the sausage in as well. Next combine the sausage, sauteed onions and (1) cup of white wine in a pan. I let the wine simmer a little bit before turning the heat off and letting the mixture sit in the wine for 20 or 30 minutes so it can soak some of it up!
Now comes the fattening but oh so good part! Pour (1) small container of Heavy Whipping Cream into the white wine mixture making sure to stir constantly so that the sauce will begin to thicken. When my mom makes this dish she constantly stirs so that the sauce will thicken itself, I haven't quite learned the patience needed to stir for this long so I usually take 1 TBSP of butter and mix it with 1 TBSP of flour to create a rue. This generally speeds up the process a little!
While your sauce is thickening bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water does boil, add your penne pasta and cook according to the pasta instructions or until it is al dente. When pasta is almost done cooking reserve about 1/2 cup of water and then drain.
Mix the sausage, sauce, and pasta together in one bowl adding the pasta water until everything is evenly coated! Serve pasta with salt and pepper to taste, topped with Parmesan cheese.
It may not be the healthiest meal but it's so good I always come back for seconds!

Mangia!

Friday Favorites

After a 3 day work week, which has felt absurdly long! The weekend is finally almost here...come on 5 o'clock! This weekend will most likely be spent- running errands, catching up on sleep and soaking up the warm weather. Here is just a glimpse at a few things that are currently making me happy...

Favorite Outdoor Space

 

(The Perfect Backyard)

Favorite Cuff

(Tory Burch Cuff)

Favorite Recipe

 

 (New Orleans Style Jambalaya)

Favorite Place

 

(Wrightsville Beach at Sunset)

Favorite Picture

(Hanging Out with Friends)

Have a Great Weekend!

Dish | Empanadas

In honor of Cinco De Mayo I decided to make empanada's! Growing up my mom use to make these during the week and I LOVED them! She would always make comments about how much of a pain they were and how messy they made the kitchen but I think half of the fun is the mess!
Enjoy!








Ingredients
Ground Turkey
Spicy Italian Sausage
A Small Can of Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
Mexican Cheese
Onion
Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits

Pre-Heat oven to 350
In a large sauce pan saute the onions until they are transparent and set aside. Once this is done brown the ground turkey and Italian Sausage together (I usually cut up the sausage as it cooks). After the meat is finished cooking drain the pan of any fat that may have cooked out and return to the stove top. Pour in the small can of Tomato Paste and mix thoroughly. After this is mixed pour in the the tomato sauce slowly, I don't like my empanadas to have a huge amount of sauce in them, just enough to coat everything so use your best judgement when pouring the sauce! Next combine the onions with the meat mixture and set everything aside!
Now comes the fun part!! Pour a small amount of flour onto the counter while taking out one of the Pillsbury biscuits and start working the dough! I usually pull the dough until it is approximately the size of my hand then I place the biscuit on top of the counter and put my rolling pin to work (I also coat the rolling pin in some flour so it does not stick to the dough). Roll the biscuit out until it is large enough to fold over evenly but not to thin that it will break. Now your ready to stuff your empanada!
I put a decent amount in each of mine, because I like them to be a little fatter then most, I'd say about a cup per biscuit. Then sprinkle some cheese on top of the meat mixture and fold the dough over, I wet the edges of the dough so that they will stick to one another and press your fingers firmly around the edge to close the pocket!
Bake empanada's in pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Allow to cool a little before serving, top with sour cream and salsa and enjoy!

Mangia!