I know… It’s been a while..

But I’m back 😉

Ok, so today I am going to share my super easy tomato sauce recipe. This is the sauce that I use for dipping, pizza pies, parmesan dishes and pasta. It is also perfect as a start off sauce. Feel free to add meatballs, seasoned cooked chop meat, seafood and even some yummy cooked veggies.

Here is what you will need:

• 2 – 28 ounce cans of San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes
• 2 heaping tablespoons of tomato paste
• olive oil
• 4 large cloves of garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• generous sprinkling of kosher salt ( you will most likely add a little more after sauce comes to a boil)
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of dried basil
• 1 tablespoon of dried parsley

Here is what you will need to do:

Coat the bottom of your pot with olive oil and mince in the garlic. Stir it together and then cook on low heat until the delicious smell of garlic cooking takes over your kitchen.  Make sure to keep an eye on it. No one likes burnt garlic!!!

Drop in the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and mix all together. Cook for about 2 minutes continually stirring.

I just love these tubes of tomato paste that you can store in the refrigerator. They are available in most supermarkets, so definitely pick this up when you see it.

Time for Tomatoes

And these are hands down my favorite!!

Add the 2 cans of peeled tomatoes to the pot and then use a potato masher to break down the tomatoes and mix all the ingredients together. Give a good stir and bring to a boil. Once the sauce is boiling, lower the heat to simmer, taste for any extra needed seasoning and then cook for about 30 minutes with a vented cover. Make sure to give the sauce a good stir from time to time.

And there you have it….

Hope you like it

xoxo

Jill ♥

Yum!!

I love, love love cheese of any kind!! I especially love hot melted cheese on everything from veggies to pasta.  These fried mozzarella patties are a cross between a mozzarella stick and an Italian recipe called mozzarella en carrozza and I just can’t get enough of them…

Here is what you will need.

• Package of Fresh Mozzarella

( I like to use this brand because it is easy to find and comes pre-sliced, but whatever you find will be great )

• 1 cup of italian style bread crumbs.
• 1 cup of flour.
• 2 beaten eggs.
• olive oil for frying.
• sprinkle of salt and pepper.
• sprinkle of dried basil and dried parsley.

Here is what you will need to do.

Get your ingredients measured out and mozzarella ready for some dipping.

Coat a slice of cheese in the flour.

Then dip it in egg followed by the breadcrumbs. Repeat with the rest of the slices.

Get your oil nice and hot and fry each patty until they are golden brown and crispy.

Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper and dried basil and parsley.

Serve it up with your favorite marinara sauce and…

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

P.S. My favorite quick and easy Marinara Sauce will be coming soon

With potatoes on the side….

In my opinion, nothing is better than a big warm dish of beef stew on a chilly winter night. I love it even more when I get to throw everything into a slow cooker in the morning and end up having a clean kitchen and a wonderful meal ready for my family in the evening. I do not include potatoes in my stew because I don’t like how they come out. But every good stew needs a potato, so I love to serve it up with either mashed or scalloped potatoes on the side.

Here is what you will need:

• 2½ – 3 lbs of beef stew meat
• 1 medium spanish onion – chopped
• handful of baby carrots
• handful of baby bella mushrooms
• 3 cloves of garlic – minced
• 2 bay leafs
• generous sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 4 cups of beef broth
• 2 beef bouillon
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• sprinkle of dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Here is what you need to do:

Chop the onion, clean the mushrooms and mince the garlic. Toss into a slow cooker along with the stew meat and baby carrots.

Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper and toss in two bay leafs.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the beef broth, bouillon, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and italian seasoning.

Pour broth mixture into slow cooker and..

Give a good stir to mix all the ingredients together.  Set to cook for 4-6 hours.

An hour before your stew is set to be ready, mix flour with the tablespoon of butter and pour a little hot broth from the slow cooker over it. Mix it all together and add flour mixture into your stew. Give it all a good mix and continue cooking.

You can serve it up with yummy buttered noodles or crunchy warm bread. Me, I’m a mashed potato kinda girl. 😉

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

Sometimes you just need a cookie…

I have to confess, I have been really bad this summer and indulging in all the yummy food that Georgia has to offer.  I’m probably going to have to try to fit back into my jeans soon, so I’m thinking it’s about time I get back on track with my diet.

But…

Even people on a diet deserve a yummy cookie every now and then and boy do I have one for you.

Here is what you will need:

• 2 sticks of room temperature butter
• ¾ cup of brown sugar
• ¾ cup of white sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 2¼ cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup of chopped macadamia nuts

Here is what you will need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whip the butter, brown and white sugar together.

 Mix in the eggs.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

 Add the flour mixture, spoonful at a time to a slow-moving mixer.

Mix in the vanilla.

Toss in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and mix them into the batter by hand. Scoop out batter onto large baking sheets.

I like to use a small ice cream scoop, so the cookies turn out even in size.

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Serve them up with a big cold glass of milk and….

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

KK requested Soup….

I grew up eating chicken soup that was made up of left over chicken, soup greens, pasta and tiny veggies. My husband grew up eating a chicken soup called Sancocho which is a slow cooked soup that contains chicken, cilantro, yuca, plantains, corn on the cob and small pieces of potato. I love them both. My family, not so much.  So I came up with a recipe that includes everyone’s favorite from each soup that is easy to throw together and even better the next day.

Here is what you will need:

• ½ of a large spanish onion – Diced
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 chicken breast – skin removed
• 4 chicken legs – skin removed
• teaspoon of garlic powder
• teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 12 cups of water
• 3 packets of Goya chicken powdered bouillon
• large handful of chopped cilantro
• few pieces of frozen yuca
• 1 cup of frozen veggies
• 1 cup of tiny pasta

Here is what you will need to do:

Saute diced onion in olive oil for a few minutes until translucent.

Add in chicken pieces and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss everything in the pot around.

Add in water and packets of chicken bouillon. Give it all a good stir.

Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add your frozen yuca pieces, cover and boil for another 15 minutes.

Bring soup to a simmer.

  Remove cooked chicken from the pot, cut meat off the bones and cut chicken into bite size pieces.

Add chicken and large handful of chopped cilantro back to the pot. Give a good stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add in your pasta and veggies, cover and cook until pasta and veggies are tender. Remember to keep giving a good stir every once in a while, so the pasta pieces don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

And there you have it…

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

I ♥ Summer Time Fruit.

This dip is hands down my most favorite item to put along side a big platter of fresh summer fruit.  My very favorite friend from high school made this dip for me years ago and recently I made a couple of changes to it by adding a little diced pineapple and pineapple juice. I just love the little extra something the pineapple gives to the dip and hope you will like it to.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 tub of thawed Cool Whip.
• 1 package of instant pistachio jello.
• ¼ cup of diced pineapple.
• ¼ cup of pineapple juice.
• Fruit of your choosing for the platter.

Here is what you need to do:

Put all the ingredients into a bowl…

And give it all a good mix

Serve it up with your favorite fruit and…

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

Holy Hotness…

The last thing I want to do when it is really hot outside is turn on my oven or stand by a barbecue.  My slow cooker is probably most used during these hot summer months and these pulled pork sandwiches are so easy to throw together in the early afternoon and will turn out perfect by dinner time.

Here is what you will need:

• 2 good size shallots.
• Boneless Pork Loin Roast (Size depends on how many people you are feeding. I usually look for an 8 lb roast, but have used 2 small roast if I can’t find a larger one.
• bottle of barbecue sauce.
• ½ cup of low sodium chicken broth.
• ¼ cup of Dijon mustard.
• ¼ cup ketchup.
• teaspoon of garlic powder.
• big pinch of salt and pepper.

Here is what you need to do:

Slice up the 2 shallots and place in bottom of slow cooker.

Place pork loin on top of shallots.

In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, chicken broth, mustard, ketchup, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Pour mixture over the top of the roast, cover and set slow cooker on high for 4 hours or medium for 6 hours. When time is up, use to forks to pull the meat apart and give it all a good mix into the hot tangy sauce. I like to serve the meat on a seeded crunchy roll with a big dollop of cole slaw to top it off.

Yummy

Hope your having a great summer…

xoxo

Jill ♥