Gluten Free Fettuccine Alfredo with Mushrooms and Broccoli

This dish is traditionally pasta, cheese and butter.  Any mother of young children will know why the Italians started with a dish like this.  Children love spaghetti with butter.  Add a tad of parmesan and they will gobble it up.  History does not say that kids were the original reason but, as  mommy, I am positive kids had SOMETHING to do with it.   As we Americanized this dish over the years a touch of cream was added.  I'd venture a guess at saying it was to make this dish a tad bit more saucy.  Eventually a squeeze of fresh lemon. 

Now I am going to warn you. You are going to wrinkle your forehead and cock your eye at me when you see my "surprise" ingredent in this new twist on a traditional recipe.  This is the reaction my brother had anyway when he annonced that this was the best Fettuccine Alfredo he ever ate.  BUTTERMILK he says?!?!?!  I explained to him that I wanted it to be a tad bit more saucy and replaced the lemon with the tang of buttermilk.  Why not.  It sort of gives you the same tang that cream cheese would.  You have seen this cream cheese version before right?  I think the buttermilk gives it more depth of flavor.

Try it, you will like it! 

14 to 16 ounces Fettucini Noodles
      or Thai Kitchen Flat Noodles or Spaghetti    

6 tablespoons Butter

16 ounces Sliced Mushrooms

4 cloves fresh Garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder

1 Tablespoon Corn Starch

1/4 cup Water

1 pint Heavy Cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated

1 bunch steamed broccoli (cooked)

• In a large pot, add water and boil.
• Add noodles and cook until just done.
• Remove, rinse with hot water and drain.  Meanwhile...
• Melt butter over medium heat in skillet.
• Add mushrooms and garlic. Lightly sauté until cooked through.
• Pour in pint of Heavy Cream and bring to just about simmer.  Steam will rise from the mixture but it will not boil.
• Add salt, garlic and onion powder.  Stir in to fully incorporate.
• In a small cup add water and corn starch and water,  Mix to dissolve corn starch.  Pour into cream.
• Add buttermilk and stir until sauce just starts to simmer.  
• Stir in cheese until melted.
• Steam Broccoli in microwave unti fully cooked and stil into dish with cooked noodles.

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Italian Vegetable Stew (Giambotta)

My mother and brother are in town this week.  What did they decide upon for our first Sunday family dinner in a long time?  Italian Stew of course.  This is the one dish of my mothers that my brother loves the most.  She serves it on top of Pasta.  It cooks down to be a tomato based sauce.  Traditionally it is a chunky Vegetable Stew.

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Cloves Garlic, chopped ($.20)
2 Onions ($1.00)
1 large Eggplant, skin peeled and diced ($1.54)
1-pound Zucchini sink peeled and diced ($3.78, could be free if you grow your own)
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
1 28-ounce Tomato Sauce ($1.72)
1-Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1-Tablespoon Oregano
1 Pound Penne Pasta ($2.08)

• Put on a large pot of water to boil for pasta.
• In a large dutch Oven add Oil and diced Onions, Zucchini, Eggplant and Garlic.
• Season with Salt and Pepper and allow to cook over low for 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Add pasta to boiling water.
• Once veggies start to cook down slightly, add tomato sauce and additional garlic powder and oregano.
• Stir and cook until vegetables are cooked down and soft but still maintain their shape.
• Drain pasta.
• Serve vegetable stew on top of pasta and top with Parmesan and Romao cheese blend.

I will be sharing this with:

• Homemaker Monday
• Mouthwatering Mondays
• MMMMonday
• $5 Dollar Dinners
• Tempt my Tummy Tuesday
• Tuesdays at the Table
• Tasty Tuesday
• Tasty Tuesdays
• Tasty Tuesday 
• Delicious Dishes
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
• Hearth and Soul
• Tuesday Night Supper Club
• Works for me Wednesday
• What's on the Menu Wednesday
• Gluten Free Wednesday
• Ultimate Recipe Swap
• Foodie Friday
• Food on Fridays
• Family Food Fridays
• Vegetarian Foodie Fridays
• Recipe Parade

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Super Secret Spaghetti Sauce

Inspired by Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and the fact that I have more zucchini and peppers now that I know what to do with.  I'm now stuffing it all into my tomato sauce.  If my son even suspected that this sauce had veggies in it besides tomatoes, there would be no way he would eat it.  So I'm going to puree it into oblivion and he will be none the wiser.

The pictures below I used fresh garden tomatoes. You can click here to see how I preserve those red beauties. I just de-skin and seed the tomatoes, puree them in the blender and add the tomato puree into the crock pot 3/4's of the way up.  Then toss in 3 or 4 cups of the tomatoes whole.  If you do not have fresh tomatoes, do not sweat it.  You can use canned.  I myself have used canned products in the winter.

All ingredients added to Crock Pot.  Looks nice and chunky.

Puree until smooth.  All the evidence is gone.
Notice the darker color. That is the zucchini
adding its sweetness.

1 big gallon bag of Zucchini, grated

4 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 large Onion, finely chopped

2 Red Peppers, finely chopped

2 Carrots, grated

1 Tablespoon Basil

1 Tablespoon Oregano

2 Tablespoons Parsley

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 12 oz. Can Tomato Sauce

1 12 oz. Can Tomato Paste

1 12 oz. Can Tomato Puree

1 28 oz. can Whole Tomatoes

1/2 cup Water (if using Canned Tomatoes)

1. Add two tablespoons of oil to bottom of a large dutch oven.  Add garlic, onion, pepper and onion as well as herbs into the pot and sauté on medium low until vegetables are soft.
2. Add all the tomato products and sauteed vegetables into crock pot and simmer on low 6 to 8 hours.
3. Add zucchini with 3 or 4 hours remaining.

I will be posting this to:

• Gluten Free Wednesdays
• Works for me Wednesdays
• What's on the Menu Wednesdays
• Ultimate Recipe Swap Thursdays
• Pennywise Platter Thursdays

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Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti Con Burro e Pomodori

This is a simple fresh tomato sauce that was inspired from the tons of fresh tomatoes we have been harvesting.  There are very few ingredients but do not let that fool you.  The flavor is simply wonderful.  

1 pound of Pasta (of our choice)

1/2 cup Butter (no diet food here, I have used Olive Oil too as well as 1/2 butter and 1/2 oil)

4 Cloves Garlic (minced) - or more.  Depends on how you feel!

28 ounces or so of tomatoes (I was using fresh so I just added enough to be 1/2 inch up my 12" skillet)

Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

• Put pasta water on to boil.  Salt it generously.
• When water boils add in package of pasta.  Careful not to overcook.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in saute pan over medium heat.  
• When butter starts to melt and foam, add minced garlic.  
• Cook until you can swell the aroma of the garlic though-out your kitchen.
• Add fresh, chopped and de-skinned tomatoes.  Or you can add them whole and smash them as they cook.
• Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss with Hot Pasta and pass the freshly grated cheese.  

Notes:

The sauce is thin.  When I first served this to my husband he handed it back and asked for me to add more.  Its very flavorful even thin, I assure you.

Even your children will eat this.

To de-skin a tomato just submerge in boiling water for 1 minute.  Immediately plunge into cold water and remove skin with a knife.

Posted to:

• Tempt my Tummy Tuesday
• Tuesdays at the Table
• Tasty Tuesday
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

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Gluten Free Italian Meatballs

Please enjoy this recipe that is a part of my make ahead series.

2 1/5 pounds of Ground Beef

2 Tablespoons Parsley

4 Eggs, beaten

2 Tablespoons Milk

2 Tablespoons Red Cooking Wine

3/4 cup Romano Cheese

3/4 teaspoon Salt

3/4 teaspoon Pepper

2-3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped

1 Onions, finely diced

Combine all ingredients and incorporate well.

Roll a small hand full of meat in palms to form a ball.

Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool and freeze in a single layer until fully frozen.

Toss in a Ziplock.

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Bolognese Meat Sauce

This is the recipe my husband and I created while cooking together in our tiny apartment in Delran NJ. Check out the kind of tomato products we used. I am not even sure they sell that still? Well one thing is for sure, they don't sell it here in the south.

Bolognese Meat Sauce

1 pound Italian Mild Sausage

1 pound ground Beef

1 Onion, chopped

2-3 cloves Garlic

28 ounces Crushed/Whole/Diced Tomatoes

12 ounces Tomato Paste

12 ounces can Sauce

12 ounces can Puree

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 tablespoons Parsley

1 tablespoons Basil

1 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Thyme

1 Tablespoon Oil (to coat pan)

In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until browned. Stir in tomato products, water and seasonings. Simmer covered for 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

I usually double this recipe and get 8 large family servings for the freezer.

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