Are you a fan of hearty Italian cooking? Do you love pizza and pasta? Well we’re big fans of Italian cuisine and pizza and pasta are our favorites, specially those with marinara sauce!
Sure we have our favorite Italian restaurants both here and abroad. But nothing beats home cooking! And a bowl of spaghetti is comfort food at its best.
Pastas and pizza have 2 basic ingredients; dough in the form of noodles or crust, and sauce. So making it at home should be easy, specially since you can buy pasta, crust, and sauces dried, frozen, or bottled from any grocery store. But why settle for boxed sauces (or pasta or crust) when making it from scratch is so simple?
Ok maybe making pizza dough is a bit time consuming and so is making pasta, but the sauces, well that’s pretty easy! (If you want to make homemade pasta check out my review of the Philips Pasta Machine). Marinara
One of the easiest and most versatile sauces is Marinara Sauce. You can use it for pasta, think spaghetti marinara; pizza, think Margherita; sandwiches, think meatball subs; and as a dip, think fried mozzarella sticks!
So today I’ll share my Basic Marinara Sauce Recipe. Believe me it’s super easy!
I use canned Fire Roasted diced tomatoes to give it that homemade taste. Sugar cuts the acidity of all those diced tomatoes so don’t leave it out even if you think it’s weird. And lastly I add some spice with crushed red peppers, yes, the the stuff you sprinkle on your pizza; you can add the tablespoon or more if you like spicy or omit it if you don’t.
Purée diced tomatoes in a blender, you will have to purée in 2 batches
Heat olive oil in large pot
Sautée garlic for about a minute, do not allow them to brown or even burn as it will make sauce bitter
Add Italian seasoning and crushed pepper, mix well
Add puréed tomatoes
Stir in salt, sugar, and bay leaf
Let boil then turn down heat to low
Simmer sauce for about an hour
Serve over pasta or use in pizza and sandwiches, or as a dip
You can brown ground meat then add marinara sauce to make a meat sauce
You can also use it in your favorite pasta dish like Chicken or Eggplant Parmesan and spread it on your lasagnas!
Store in mason jars or sealed plastic containers in the refrigerator for about a week. Or store in freezer safe containers in your freezer for about 3 months.
Whether you’re looking for a perfect dinner for your cozy night in or looking to impress that hot date, this is THE pasta. It’s warm and cozy and filling, but not heavy. If you want to make it vegetarian you can totally skip the sausage. There’s plenty of squash in there to fill you up!
Love an easy pasta recipe? Try out some of these appetizers ideas!
INGREDIENTS:
1 large butternut squash, peeled, halved and seeds removed
1/2 medium red onion
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. bucatini
1 lb. sausage, casings removed
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. freshly chopped sage
2 tsp. freshly chopped thyme
1/4 c. shaved Parmesan
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425°. Cut squash into 1/2 “ cubes. In a large bowl toss squash, red onion, and 2 tablespoons oil together. Divide between two large baking sheets and season with salt and pepper. Roast until fork tender and golden, 30 minutes, tossing halfway through.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add sausage and cook, breaking meat up finely with a wooden spoon, until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from skillet and place on a plate to keep warm.
Return skillet to heat and add butter. Cook butter until foamy, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue to stir until butter starts to smell nutty and turns a deep golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, sage, and thyme and cook until fragrant, 1 minute, then remove pan from heat.
Add bucatini, sausage, squash, and ¼ cup reserved pasta water to skillet and toss to combine. Add more pasta water to help sauce come together as necessary.
This dish too was caused my desperation to own Pancit Palabok. Now, within the Philippines you’ll get this noodle dish nearly anyplace. It’s additionally extremely popular for birthdays. However in my desperation this weekend to own this dish.
I had to form it from scratch. Pancit Palabok or Pancit Luglug (they are just about a similar dish except Palabok uses a thicker noodle) is seasoned with prawn gravy thickened with corn flour or flour and poured over rice noodles (bihon). What i like most concerning this dish ar the toppings – it’s a matter of private alternative however the foremost common toppings embody prawns, pork, hard-boiled eggs, smoke-cured fish, bean curd and my personal favorite, crushed pork crakcling (chicharon)!
500 grams rice noodles (bihon) 30 ml (2 tablespoons) cooking oil 10 grams dried prawns 5 cloves garlic, crushed 4 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon achuete powder 600 ml shrimp stock (see recipe below) 30 ml (2 tablespoons) fish sauce (plus more to taste) salt and pepper Toppings: grilled squid, prawns, pork belly, smoked fish (tinapa), crushed pork crackling (chicharon), spring onions, hard boiled egg (quartered)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. To make the prawn stock, peel the prawns and place the peels (including the prawn heads) them in a pot and cover with around 600 ml of water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Make sure to press the peels as the stock is simmering to extract as much flavour as you can. Continue to simmer for around 30 minutes and set aside. The peeled prawns can be used for the toppings. 2. Heat the cooking oil and saute the dried prawns and garlic until fragrant, around 2 minutes. Next, add the flour and the achuete powder. 3. Add the prawn stock, a little at a time as if making a roux and mixing well after each addition. The sauce should now be thick (like a custard or a thick bechamel). If you prefer to make it thinner, add some water to dilute. Add the fish sauce and some salt and pepper to taste. 4. For the toppings – this should be done to taste. Marinate the squid, prawns and pork belly in equal quantities of soy sauce and fish sauce for around 30 minutes then grill or pan fry. 5. Fill another pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the bihon noodles and cook for around a minute until tender. Strain then place in a bowl Top with the prawn gravy, and the toppings (see above).
Pancit Palabok (Philippine Style Noodles in a Prawn Gravy)
Italy is one of the most popular countries in the world with its best place and kind people, and not only that, Italy is a home of the bests and talented chefs in the world so no wonder Italy is famous with its Amazing Cuisines.
Travelers around the world dropped by in Italy just to dig and dive –in for an Italian Cuisine.
I think by now everyone knows that we host a barbecue just about every Sunday night. Sometimes deciding what to grill can be a problem and when we can’t decide what to grill we always go with steaks. It’s easy and most folks like steak, specially a good rib eye. My husband always makes an extra steak or two, just in case. This means we sometimes have left over steak, this can be a problem. I refuse to toss left over steaks, specially now that rib eye prices have gotten so expensive. But re-heated steak is nasty. So I find myself looking for ways to use left over rib eyes without them turning into dried leather. For the most part I turn it into some sort of stir fry.
This week I decided to make something with pasta. My son and daughter-in-law had given me a new Philips Pasta Maker for Christmas and I wanted to use it. So I came up with this Steak & Pasta recipe.
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This recipe is super easy to make. You can use it with any type of pasta, I used homemade Fettuccine. You can make your own or buy fresh pasta from your grocer’s refrigerated section, or use dried box pasta. The balsamic vinegar sauce gives it a nice flavor as does the grilled steak. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.
Ingredients:
1 – 2 left over grilled steaks, preferably rib eye sliced into strips
1 tbls. finely minced garlic
1 Medium onion, chopped
3 tbls. olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbls. Italian Seasoning
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 can beef broth
1 tsp. corn starch
Pasta
Directions:
Heat oil and add chopped onions. Cook until onions start to turn translucent.
Add garlic. Stir until garlic starts to turn brown.
Add steak strips. Stir for about 3 minutes.
Add 3/4 of the can of beef broth, reserve the rest.
Stir in Italian Seasoning and balsamic vinegar.
Simmer for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile dissolve cornstarch into reserved beef broth and cook your pasta.
Add mushrooms.
Gradually add cornstarch mixture to the meat, stir constantly, until the sauce starts to thicken.
Remove from heat and serve with cooked pasta.
Steak & Pasta
Print Recipe
Tasty and quick recipe using left over grilled steaks.
INGREDIENTS:
This week I decided to make something with pasta. My son and daughter-in-law had given me a new 
