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Homemade With Love by Jennifer Perillo

 

I first met Jennie a few years ago. She's beautiful and inspiring, and I couldn't have been more thrilled for her when her book Homemade With Love was published.

Corn, Zucchini and Spinach Orzo Salad

 

Note: This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad.

Ingredients:

• 1lb Orzo
• 3 Zucchini (sliced)
• 3 cups Baby Spinach
• 3 cups Corn Kernels
• 1 Serrano Chili (finely chopped)
• 6oz crumbled Feta Cheese
• 3tbs Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• Juice and zest from 1 Lemon
• Salt & Pepper (pinch of each)

Prepare the orzo according to the package directions.  While the orzo is cooking, steam the zucchini and corn for a few minutes.

Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the orzo from cooking any further.  Return to the pot, tossing with the olive oil.  Add the zucchini and corn, along with the chili, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper and toss together.  Once cooled add in the spinach leaves and feta, gently combine.

Serve.

Tip: This is a great salad to serve for lunch, or as a side salad when grilling.

Happy World Pasta Day

In honor of such a great day I give you

Barilla Lemon Spaghetti

Recipe from: Barilla - The Modern Family Pasta Cookbook

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Barilla Spaghetti
• 2 fresh lemons
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

Preparation:

Grate lemon peels and place lemon zest in a small bowl. Juice the lemons into a separate small bowl. Whisk the oil, lemon juice, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and blend. Set the lemon sauce aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the spaghetti to the lemon sauce, and toss with the basil and lemon zest. Toss the pasta with enough reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Season the pasta with more salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to bowls and serve.

This meal was served with Pear Parmigiano Reggiano Salad and Focaccia with dipping oils for a family dinner night. I loved that the salad also used lemon and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, so it was the perfect accompaniment for the pasta.

We eat dinner together as a family at least five nights a week, with at least two of those nights being a pasta night, which the twins' absolutely love seeing as pasta is one of their favorite foods. One of the best parts of having pasta nights in our house is that I always make extra to give to the kids in a thermos the following day for their school lunch. 

Did you know that:

• 88% of parents are reliant upon multi-tasking each day and more than half (58%) say their life is more hectic now, than a year ago.
• Pasta is recognized by parents and non-parents as a tasty (88%) and easy (87%) meal option and one that can be prepared using on-hand ingredients from a pantry (82%).
• Other benefits of pasta that help alleviate chaotic schedules include that it is versatile (52%), a quick go-to meal (51%) and allows for multitasking while it’s cooking (44%)
• Leading contributors to a hectic lifestyle, making meal-planning and preparation a challenge are: work, household chores, errands, kids’ after school activities, and kids’ homework

(statistics and information provided by Barilla)

 

Stay up to date with all things pasta by liking Barilla on Facebook and following Barilla on Twitter.

On World Pasta Day (October 25) visit Barilla on Facebook to 'Share a Hug' to fight hunger and help Barilla reach their ultimate goal of donating 200,000 meals.  For simply 'sharing a hug' with a click of a button, the first 25,000 people will receive a product coupon and everyone gets a copy of The Modern Family Pasta Cookbook download. 

 

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Barilla. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank-you for participating. #BarillaWPD

Turkey and Sun-Dried Tomato Lasagna

This was delicious.  Really, it was.  I made two large batches, serving one lot for dinner, then slicing the remainder and wrapping each slice individually to freeze for later.  The kids devoured it.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg ground turkey
• 1 yellow onion (diced)
• 1 punnet grape tomatoes (sliced in half)
• 1 jar sun-dried tomatoes (roughly chopped)
• Whole-wheat lasagna noodles (cooked)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 2 heaped tbs tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 large tub of ricotta cheese
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
• 3-4 cups grated mozzarella
• pinch of salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Using about 2 tablespoons of the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar cook the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.   Add in the ground turkey, and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes.  Combine the red wine, tomato paste, and broth in a jug and gradually pour, gently mixing as you go.  Add the dried thyme, salt and pepper, and turn down to simmer for approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a bowl combine the ricotta, egg, and one cup of parmesan cheese.

Spoon enough of the turkey mixture into a baking dish so that it covers the bottom.  Lay pre-cooked lasagna noodles over the top.  Add the ricotta mixture, then sprinkle mozzarella over that.  Repeat  (turkey mixture, lasagna noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella) one to two times depending on how deep your baking dish is.  I like to finish with a little of the turkey mixture.  Top with the last 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes. 

 

Blissfully Domestic: Simple Shrimp Salad

Looking for a super quick and easy dinner now that the warmer weather is here?  I've got a super simple shrimp and orzo salad recipe over at Blissfully Domestic.

Love shrimp? I have links to even more shrimp recipes too.

Recipe: Pasta and Vegetable Soup

I am often looking for ways to get my kids to try different foods.  If you were to ask the little ones on any given night what they want for dinner, the answer is sure to be pasta ... or cheese sandwiches, but most likely, pasta.

So when Miss M saw me in the kitchen tonight cooking dinner, the conversation went a little like this:

M:  "What are you making us for dinner?"

Me: "Soup"

M:  "But I don't like soup"

Me:  "You like pasta, sausages and pasta sauce though right?"

M:  "Yummy, but I don't like soup".

Me:  "You'll like this one".

She didn't quite believe me and stomped outside to report to her brother that I was making soup for dinner.   Who proceeded to announce his dislike for this to the neighborhood by screaming "Yuck".   Score 1, ME!  Neighborhood parents, looks like you'll just have to continue feeding your own kids because they won't want to come here now.

So when the soup was ready, here's what I do to keep the little ones happy.  I ladle out the pasta, sausages and just a little of the soup into bowls for the twins - in the small amount of liquid that I put in their bowl (not pictured below, that is my bowl) there is sure to be a little of the veggies.  And shh, don't tell them but I may hide a little spinach or tomato under a piece of pasta or sausage.  Then I top it with parmesan.  This way I only have to cook one meal, but everyone is happy.

So my thoughts on making this soup is I wanted to include as many of the ingredients as possible that I would normally use to make a pasta dish, but give it a new twist, make it a little fun, and have the kids try something new.

Ingredients:

• 3 Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausages
• 2 cups Pasta - I used Gigli Pasta
• 4 cups Vegetable Stock
• 4 cups Water
• 2 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 Zucchini - sliced
• 1 cup Mushrooms - sliced
• 2 cups Baby Spinach - stalks cut off
• 2 cups Mini Heirloom Tomatoes - quartered (I used the deep red/green ones with green centers)
• 1 Yellow Onion - diced
• 1/2 cup Ragú® Sauce (mushroom)
• 1/2 cup Red Wine
• 1 tsp Garlic - crushed
• 1 tsp dried Thyme
• 1/2 tsp ground Oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground Ginger
• 4 Basil leaves - roughly chopped
• Parmesan Cheese - freshly shaved
• pinch salt and pepper

Put the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute for a few minutes, then add the garlic and ginger.   Add in the sausage, vegetable stock, red wine, tomatoes and pasta sauce.  Bring to the boil, stir, then turn down the heat while you add in the next lot of ingredients.  Toss in the mushrooms, zucchini, thyme, oregano and water.  Bring back to the boil.  Once boiling, add the pasta.  Boil for one minute less than the time indicated on the packet.  Stir in the spinach and add a dash of salt and pepper, continue stirring for about a minute.

Ladle into soup bowls.  Top with freshly chopped basil and shaved parmesan.  Serve with warm bread.

Enjoy!

I am one of the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner ambassadors.  Moms the Word on Dinner is for real moms who want to have real conversations about what REALLY goes on at dinnertime.  Whether it is getting the kids to eat veggies, table manners, funny moments, or chaos.  We would love you to come by and join the conversation and tell us how dinnertime really goes in your house.

 

Disclosure: This post has been compensated in connection with my appointment as an ambassador in the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program.  Visit http://www.facebook.com/ragusauce to join the conversation.