Brown Butter Cream Sauce

 This is my favorite recipe to use with pumpkin or squash ravioli. It just melds so well with either ravioli.  

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp Chopped Sage
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 cup Tuscany cinnamon cheese (Trader Joes)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp Chopped Parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Cook pasta according to package directions.  

Melt the butter in a large skillet heated on medium heat.  Continue to cook the butter until it becomes a golden brown color, about 5-8 minutes.  Add the cream and sage and simmer for about a minute.  Add Parmesan, pepper, and parsley.  Simmer for another minute.  Plate and add sauce and sprinkle with toasted walnuts.  

*Fresh Sage and Parsley are the best but dried works awesome also.  

*I also toast the walnuts for a few minutes to release the aroma.

Sweet Potatoe Casserole

 I was never a big fan of sweet potatoes till I believe my sister-in-law Shari made them one Thanksgiving. They say your taste buds change every 7 years and I believe it.  As a kid I turned my nose up at them, now I will eat them any chance I get.   Honestly, I am not for sure of her recipe but this is one I make a lot as it is my favorite.  Hope you enjoy it also.  

Sweet Potato

• 4 large sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter softened
• 1/4 cup-1/2 cup milk (depending on how soupy you like)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

PECAN STREUSEL TOPPING:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter softened
• 1 cup chopped Pecans

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add cubed sweet potatoes. Return to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer sweet potatoes until tender (15-20 minutes). Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk, and vanilla. Add in cooked sweet potatoes and use a hand mixer to mix until smooth. Spray 9x13 inch baking dish, then transfer to the dish.
4. In a medium bowl prepare the streusel topping. Mix the sugar and flour together. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Rotini Salad

This recipe came from my friend Jill Burgart.  This is one of my favorite pasta salads to make.  It is so easy and can be made up ahead of time.  That's one of the wonderful things about this salad.  

• 1 lb rotini cooked, drained, and chilled
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 carrots, cleaned and grated
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3/4 cup vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1. Mix thoroughly the milk, sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar, and mayonnaise.
2. Pour over vegetables and pasta
3. Toss to coat
4. Chill before serving
5. Best if chilled 2 days before serving.

Zuppa Soup

 I was hesitant to make this soup but let me tell you - you won't be disappointed!!! This is an amazing soup that tastes pretty darn close to the original.  The best thing about making it at home is you can control the sodium.  When I get it in the restaurant I feel it is so salty.  So let me know what you think!!!

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Butter

1 1/2 lbs Italian Sausage

1 small onion (chopped)

1 Tbsp Minced garlic

5 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 tsp Pepper 

1 tsp Seasoning Salt

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1.5 lbs of white potatoes, sliced into quarters with the skin still on

2 cups Kale

2 oz  Cream Cheese

1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Add the olive oil and butter to the Instant Pot and hit "Saute", add in the onion and saute for 3-5 minutes until they are soft and translucent.

Next, add the sausage and break it down with a wooden spatula/mixing spoon until crumbled (like ground beef) and sauté (stir & set) for another 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic about 1 minute after the sausage is cooking and stir it in.

Pour in the broth and let simmer for about 3 minutes and follow with the seasonings. Stir well

Lastly, add in the potatoes, top with kale, and DO NOT STIR (leave the kale right on top as it will cook down into nothing). Secure the pressure cooking lid, hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” or “Stop” and hit “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” high pressure for 10 minutes (it will take a solid 10 minutes or so to come to pressure due to the amount of volume in the pot). Quick-release when done

Stir in the cream cheese until melted and then add the heavy cream.

Ladle into bowls and serve with some breadsticks. 

Enjoy!

Homemade Bread

1 cup hot water (110 degrees)
1 package yeast
2 Tbsp sugar

Add yeast, hot water, and sugar to the mixing bowl.  Set timer for five minutes to make sure yeast is active and foamy.

Melt 4 Tbsp butter in microwave till melted liquid.  Add 1/4 cup milk to butter and stir.

Now is the time to add the remaining ingredients and get mixing.

Stir in the following ingredients:

3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Then add the milk mixture.  Once the mixture starts to come together add more flour if needed.  Watch for the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl and is only slightly tacky when touched with your finger.

Let the mixer need dough for 5-7 minutes.

Turn dough into an oiled glass bowl. Cover with saran wrap or press and seal.  Let rise for approximately 1 hour.

Punch down your dough after the first rise.  Roll the dough out into a rectangle and roll up the dough on the short edge and place in a greased loaf pan for its second rise. Spray the same saran wrap or press and seal with pam so when it rises it doesn't stick to wrap.  Let rise till just a little above pan. 

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Stroganoff - Instant Pot

This recipe is amazing.  Tim's grandma used to make the best stroganoff ever, until this one.  This is full of flavor and making it in the instant pot really brings out the flavor and makes the meat so tender.  Some of us had it over noodles and some had it over rice.  A personal preference for sure!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 oz package of wide ribbon-like egg noodles, cooked separately
• 1.5-2 lbs of beef stew meat
• Kosher salt, a few generous shakes for seasoning the meat
• Black pepper, a few generous shakes for seasoning the meat
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of salted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 16 oz of Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced (you can use 8 oz instead if you want fewer mushrooms but I prefer it loaded with them)
• 1 tbsp of crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine (like a Chardonnay or you can use white cooking wine too)
• 1 Tbsp of dijon mustard (like Grey Poupon – and don’t worry, for if you hate mustard, you won’t taste it. It simply brings out more flavor in the sauce once combined with the other ingredients)
• 1 tsp of seasoned salt
• 1 1/2 cups of beef broth 
• 1 tsp of dried thyme
• 2 Tbsp of cornstarch + 2 Tbsp of water
• 1 packet of Lipton dry onion dip/soup mix 
• 1 cup (8 oz) of sour cream
• 5.2 oz of Boursin Garlic & Herb (SECRET INGREDIENT! If you can’t find the Boursin which is usually located in the deli section of your supermarket near the fancy cheeses and cured meats, use 5 oz of a brick of cream cheese )

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the egg noodles or rice on the stovetop according to package instructions while the meat’s cooking and strain and set aside (Note: you can also do this during Step 7 while the Stroganoff is pressure cooking, but just make sure you do it separately on the stove and don’t add the noodles directly into the pot while pressure cooking or they will absorb too much of the liquid and will become mushy)
2. Season the meat with the kosher salt & pepper (about 1-2 tsp of each should be fine)
3. Add the olive oil and butter to the Instant Pot and hit “Sauté” and adjust so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting. After about 3 minutes (and once the butter’s melted and oil’s bubbling), add in the meat and sear on all sides so it’s lightly browned (about 2-3 minutes total; the meat shouldn’t be fully cooked at all)
4. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl for the time being
5. Now, add the onion to the pot with the already heated oil and butter and let cook for 2 minutes and then add the mushrooms and let cook for 3 minutes more. Then, add in the garlic and cook for another minute
6. Next, add in the white wine and stir for a minute followed by the dijon mustard and seasoned salt, stir well and deglaze (scrape) the bottom of the pot so nothing’s stuck to it
7. Lastly, add in the beef broth and thyme and stir well followed by adding back in the browned beef
8. Secure the lid, hit the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button followed by the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button High Pressure for 7 minutes for firmer meat and 12 minutes for more tender meat. Do a quick release when done OR allow a 10-minute natural release (meaning you do nothing for 10 minutes when done and the timer count up to either “00:10” or “L0:10”) followed by a quick release if you wish it to be more tender – this goes for either cooking time you choose
9. When the lid comes off, hit the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button and then hit “Sauté” again and adjust so it’s on the “More” or “High” setting. Bring the pot to a bubble and add in the cornstarch slurry and stir immediately. Then, add in the onion mix packet and let bubble for a minute and then turn the pot to “Keep Warm” so that the bubbles die down
10. Once the bubbles have mostly subsided, add in the sour cream and Boursin. Stir well until they are both totally melded into the sauce and it will be ready!
11. Place some noodles or rice in individual bowls and then follow with some the beef and plenty of sauce
12. Enjoy!