Pizza Meatball and Noodle Soup

This soup was amazing! And there was enough for leftovers. :) One thing I would say is it needed extra tomato sauce and maybe beef broth. After two bowls all the juice was gone and It was disappointing! :( Jeremy was sweet enough to buy another can of tomato sauce the next day for leftovers. I just cooked it again for 10 mins on the stove top. :) This was served with the Panini I made in the previous recipe and the bruschetta.

What you need:
1 can beef broth 14 ounces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
2 ounces uncooked whole wheat spaghetti, broken
1/2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
8 ounces frozen full-cooked Italian-style meatballs, thawed
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce (I'd buy an extra can just in case!)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Combine broth, onion, carrot in large saucepan. Add spaghetti. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 3 mins.
2. Add Zucchini, meatballs and tomato sauce to broth mixture. Return to boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer 8 to 9 mins or until meatballs are heated through and spaghetti is tender, stirring frequently. Ladle into bowls, Spring with mozzarella cheese.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Makes 2 to 4 servings


Here is a photo of all the things I made that night for dinner:

Photos from this recipe: Pizza Meatball soup

Panini with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil

This is the first Panini I have ever made. It was so yummy! At least I thought so. I made this with the three part meal I made a few weekends ago for Jeremy. I used his George Foreman  indoor grill to make this Panini.

1/2 Cup Vinaigrette
1 Loaf (16 ounces) Italian Bread cut in half lengthwise. (I just bought french bread and only used half the loaf.
6 Ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 slices (I just bought slice cheese and used two for each two Panini's
8 Ounces thinly sliced oven roasted deli turkey
12 to 16 fresh whole basil leaves
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion (optional)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. Preheat indoor grill.
2.Brush vinaigrette evenly over both cut sides of bread. Arrange cheese evenly over bottom half of bread; top  with turkey, basil, tomato and onion. Sprinkle evenly with red pepper flakes. Cover with top half of bread and press down firmly, Cut crosswise into 4 sandwiches or 2.
3.Place sandwiches on grill (family-size grill will cook two sandwiches at a time); close lid and cook 5 to 7 mins or until cheese melts.
4. Place on serving platter and cover lightly with foil. Repeat with remaining sandwiches if you choose to make more then 2.

Makes 4 Servings.


Photos from this recipe! Panini

Easy Bruschetta

Last Sunday night I cooked for my boyfriend and planned to make three things I have never made before. They were all successful! I am going to post each recipe in a new blog post. I am starting out with Bruschetta.
This was made first as an appetizer of course you have to like tomatoes to enjoy this. Which Jeremy isn't a fan but he ate some anyways to be nice. :) I also made 6 instead of 12. :)

Hunt's Easy Bruschetta


Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins
Makes 12 servings


1 French baguette (18 inches long), cut into 3/4 inch slices
1/4 cup virgin olive oil, divided
1 can (14.5 ounces) Hunt's petite diced tomatoes drained. ( I used a grocery store brand)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 package (2/3 ounces) fresh basil, chopped (about 1/3 cup)

Preheat oven 350. Place slices of bread on a baking sheet; brush tops with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake for 10 mins until lightly toasted.

Combine tomatoes, garlic, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and basil in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread tomato mixture evenly over toasted bread. Serve immediately.

Photos from this recipe Bruschetta Pics

Zucchini-Tomato Bake

This recipe was altered by my mom. So I have decided to just post the one from the book since I lost track of what she was adding. HA! The reason I made this was because we have so many zucchini and eggplants in the garden that we need to use some up. This called for both. I also used the cherry tomatoes we had grown. But I recommend the canned tomatoes so you can get the full juice out of them. I also served this over pasta and with take and bake cheesy bread from Harris Teeter

Note: This recipe is actually a side item! If you want to make it a meal for everyone double everything and serve it over pasta like I did. 
Ingredients:
1 pound eggplant, coarsely chopped
2 cups zucchini slices
2 cups mushroom slices
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel (optional didn't add this)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can 14 1/2 ounces) no salt added whole tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon no-salt-added tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar

Makes 6 servings (as a side dish.)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 3 sheets (18x12 inches) heavy-duty foil with nonstick cooking spray. Divide eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms into 3 portions. Arrange each portion on foil sheet.

2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, fennel (optional) and garlic. Cook and stir 3 to 4 mins or until onion is tender. Add tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, basil and sugar. Cook and stir about 4 mins or until sauce thickens.

3. Pour sauce over eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms on the each individual foils. Double-fold sides and ends of foil to seal packets, leaving head space for heat circulation. Place on baking sheet.

4. Bake 30 mins. Remove from oven. Carefully open on end of each packet to allow steam to escape. Open and transfer contents to serving dish. Garnish, if desired.



From the cookbook Incredibly Easy Italian

Photos from this recipe Zucchini Bake

Pizza Margherita

I am in love with this pizza! It's so healthy for you too! This was the first made from scratch pizza I have ever made (excluding making the pizza dough. That takes hours!) I made this for Jeremy and Asuka. It was so good there was no leftovers!

Fun Fact: This pizza was invented in 1889 and named after Margaret of Savory, the second queen of Italy. It's three colors-green basil, red tomatoes, and white cheese-represent the three stages of the Italian flag.

Ingredients:
1 can of pizza dough from grocery store
For the sauce:
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced (or a jar of minced garlic)
28-oz can whole tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano or 1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

For the topping:
4 oz. baby bocconcini, thinly sliced or sliced mozzarella (I use already sliced mozzarella)
4 large basil leaves, roughly torn.

1. Spread out pizza dough on the pan and put aside

2. Preheat the oven to maximum setting, up to 550

3. Make the sauce by heating the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes. Add tomatoes and break them up into small chunks with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 15 to 20 mins, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened. Add salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes (Optional it makes it a little spicy) to taste.

4. Spread evenly on the pizza and leave a inch border around the sides of the pizza.

5. Distribute cheese slices around the pizza. Bake for 8-10 mins on a rack in the lower half of the oven, until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. Sprinkle pieces of basil over the pizza. Slice into wedges and serve.

From cookbook: Mamma Mia - Frank Bordoni

New Feature! I have made a photobucket album with all the photos from my cooking experiences. This Recipe actually has a step by step like photos in this album. The Link is here Margherita Pizza Check out the photos!