Chocolate Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

1 package regular Oreo cookies (Not Double Stuff) – about 36 cookies
6 Tablespoon butter, melted
1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
... 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cold milk
1- 12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided
2 – 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding.
3 1/4 cups cold milk
1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. I used my food processor for this, but you could also place them in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.
2. Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to incorporate the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.
3. Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk, and sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.
4. In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer. Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further.
5. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

Baked Italian French Toast

1 Loaf of Italian bread Soft crust

1/2 stick of soften unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1  2/3 cup of whole milk

 
Cinnamon

6 tablespoons of sugar

Your favorite Maple Syrup

Cut 12 thick on inch slices of Italian bread, butter one side of each slice well and arrange slices up in a buttered 13x9x2 inch baking dish, just one layer, and the can fit tight in the baking dish. 

Mix well eggs, milk and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon until well mixed, then pour slowly  and evenly over Italian bread.  Let sit for about 5 minutes until the bread is has absorbed the egg mixture.

Preheat oven at 425 degrees.  Now sprinkle the bread with the sugar and more cinnamon if you would like.  Bake the French toast uncovered on the middle rack of your oven until you notice the bread is puffed and golden on top.

Cook for about 25-30 minutes. Many like the ends of the bread so you them if you like as well.

Serve hot with your favorite Maple Syrup.  This can be prepared the day before and refrigerated.  Just let the baking dish stand for about 1/2 in order for it to get to room temp. before putting in oven.  You can also top the with strawberry's or blueberry's.

 

Pulled Pork

3 pounds of Pulled Pork
1 package of slow cooker BBQ Pulled Pork seasoning
1/3 cup of Ketchup
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar


Place 3 pounds of pork in slow cooker

Mix seasoning packet, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar until well blended. Pour over pork and cover. 

Cook for 9 hours on low for 5 hours. once cooked remove from slow cooker and shred pork with fork/  Once shredded place back in cooker.  Mix well and heat with sauce from cooker before you serve it.  Serve on your favorite rolls



 

Sloppy Joe

 

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 1/4 pounds of lean ground beef

1/4 cup of dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon of Montreal seasoning

1 medium chopped onion

1 small bell pepper (Red)

1 tablespoon of red wine

2 cups of tomato sauce (puree)

2 tablespoons of tomato paste (none seasoned)

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

 

 

In a deep pan, cook over medium heat, add the olive oil and ground beef to the pan.  Use a large fork to mix and break the meat up. Add in the brown sugar and Montreal seasoning and combine well. Once your meat is browned, add the onions, and red pepper to the pan.  Lower your heat and cook the onions, peppers, add the red wine and Worcestershire sauce to the meat and cook for 10 minutes.

 

Add the tomato sauce and paste to the pan, and stir well to combine and season the entire mixture, and reduce to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.

 

This mixture can be spooned onto hamburger buns or a crusty roll, or over cooked rice of even a pasta of you choice.

 

 

 

Italian potato Cakes

Thanks to my Mom who never wasted anything! Mom would use leftover mashed potatoes and season them to her liking and made Italian potato cakes.

2 cups of Mashed leftover potatoes (or potatoes you made the night before for this purpose)
3 tablespoons of canola oil
1/2 cup of flour
1/8 teaspoon of ground pepper
1/2  teaspoon of Mrs. Dash Italian melody seasoning

Divide your mashed potatoes into 1/2 inch patties.  Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot.

Mix the flour, pepper, and Mrs. Dash in a pie dish.  Coat the potato patties in the flour mixture,  Add the potato cakes to the pan and lower the heat to medium-low.  Cook until the potato cakes are golden about 15 minutes on each side.   Once golden add to serving dish. 

Season once cooked with more pepper, salt optional.

 

 

Cucumber Salad

1/2 cups of cucumbers sliced thinly

2 1/2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons of ranch dressing

1 small green onion chopped

1 teaspoon of fresh parsley, divided

1 teaspoon of snipped fresh dill divided

1 hard cooked egg sliced

 

 

Arrange cucumber on a serving dish

 

In a small bowl, mix the sour cream, ranch dressing, and onion, 1/2 teaspoon of parsley and 1/2 teaspoon of dill.  Sprinkle over cucumbers.  Add the egg slices arranged over the top and garnish with rest of parsley and dill.

 

This salad is for 2 servings

 

 

Summer Broccoli Salad

 

 

1 head of broccoli

8 slices cooked crumbled bacon

1/2 red onion chopped

8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese (cut in small chunks)

1 cup of mayonnaise

2 tablespoons of white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes sliced in half

Salt and pepper

 

 

 

 

Trim off the large leaves from the broccoli stem and remove the tough stalk at the end and wash broccoli head thoroughly, cut the head into flowerets and the stems of the broccoli into bite-size pieces.

 Place the broccoli into a large bowl. Add the bacon, red onion,  and cheese.

 In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, stirring well. Add to broccoli mixture and toss gently.

Grilled Fish

Fish steaks, cut 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick

You can use your favorite cuts, such as swordfish, halibut which grill really nice.
When purchasing fish, buy 1/4 pound fish per person


1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup of orange juice of white wine
1/2 teaspoon of balsamic  vinegar
1 teaspoon of rosemary, dill, parsley, and basil and a pinch of oregano chopped
!/2 teaspoon of black pepper
Lemon wedges
Based on 2 pounds of fish

Combine all the ingredients except fish and lemon wedges and mix well. Using a pastry brush, paint the fish steaks liberally on both sides and set them aside, lightly covered with a piece of aluminum foil, to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Build up a fire, using good hardwoods if you're cooking in a fireplace or the best hardwood charcoal (not fake-wood briquettes) if you're using a grill. Let the fire burn brightly and die down until you have a nice bed of hot coals or embers. Large pieces of fish can be set directly on the grill, but to prevent smaller ones from falling through and burning up, you may want to use a special grid made for fish.

When you're ready to cook, brush a little plain olive oil on the cooking surface and set it 4 to 6 inches from the source of heat. Arrange the fish steaks so that they have equal access to the heat source. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side, turning once. Test for doneness—fish should be opaque all the way through—by inserting the tip of a sharp knife near the bone or in the center of a boneless piece of fish. Remove immediately to a hot platter.

The remaining marinade should be heated just to the boiling point and either poured over the cooked fish or passed at the table along with lemon wedges.

 

Italian Ricotta Rice Pie

2 pounds ricotta cheese
4 cups cooked rice
12 eggs, beaten well
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of orange extract

Preheat oven at 350 degrees

Beat all ingredients together, and then pour into a buttered 9 by 12 size baking dish.  Top with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake about 1 hour or until a nice golden brown.


  Variation #1:       Add a crust

  Variation # 2:      Add 1 12 ounce bag of chocolate morsels

  Variation #3:       1 small can of crushed pineapple

  Variation #4:        1/2 cup raisins  

Italian Angeinetti Lemon Drop Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

3 large eggs
2 teaspoons of lemon extract
2 cups of flour
2  teaspoons baking powder
Preheat oven 350

Cream the sugar and shortening, add eggs and lemon extract and beat well.  Add the flour, baking powder and mix well.  The dough should feel sticky and soft.

With a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, space them apart about 2 inches.

Bake the cookies about 11-15 minutes, or until firm and very lightly brown.  Once cooked remove from cookie sheet and cool on wired racks.

 

 

Cookie Frosting

3 cups of confectioners sugar

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon of lemon extract

 

Add more confectioners sugar if you feel the cookie frosting is too thin

 

Mix confectioners sugar with water and lemon extract and mix well with spatula until smooth and lump free, then frost the cookies freely using the spatula.

 

 

 

 

 

Baked ham my way!

8-10 pound Spiral cut ham that is fully cooked  (I use  smoked ham)

1/2 cup of ginger ale

1/2 cup of orange juice

1/2 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup of pancake syrup (do not use lite syrup)

Preheat oven to 375

 

Place your ham once unwrapped in a large deep baking pan

 

Mix ginger ale and orange juice in medium size bowl, bake ham as directed for weight, basting often with this ginger ale and orange juice mix. 

 

Mix the brown sugar and pancake syrup together in a small mixing bowl, basting with this mixture the last 1/2 of baking.  Make sure the ham reaches 140 degrees.


I use ginger ale which is an old trick, it cuts the salty flavor from ham.

Cover ham with foil until last 1/2 of cooking time.

 

 

 

 

Italian Amaretto Cheesecake

Crust:

  2/ 1/2 cups of crushed graham cracker
  2/3 cups melted butter
  1 teaspoon cinnamon
  1 teaspoon granulated sugar




Combine crust ingredients and mix well, press onto the bottom and about 1 inch up sides of a 10 inch springform pan.  Place crust in refrigerator and it will set while making the cheesecake filling.


32 ounces of cream cheese
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoons almond extract
16 ounces of sour cream
1 tablespoon of orange extract
1/4 cup of Amaretto liqueur


Hot water

Filling

With electric mixer, cream the cream cheese until smooth, add eggs and beat until they are well mixed, add all the remaining ingredients and blend all together until nice and smooth.

Pour the filling into crust and place the springform pan into a roasting pan which is filled  half way with water.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until center is set and a very light golden. 

Once cooked remove from heat, and then remove from roasting pan and cool on rack. 

Chill before serving, but can be served right out of oven.

 

A Sicilian Pasqua

Easter is a time of rebirth, both in our faith as well as the Spring and all its beauty.  Easter is also a time celebration and tradition and food and lots of it.  The Easter cake of Sicily is Cassata, which is made of sweetened ricotta cheese, marzipan and candied fruit.

One of the most well known devotions is Sicily is the "Mysteries" of Trapani on Good Friday, in which people of the town carry statues through the streets, and each statue represents one of the stations of the cross.  The towns people line the streets awaiting the arrival of the Virgin Mary who is searching for her son.  The towns throughout Sicily have similar celebrations, such as the in many of Palermo's suburbs, towns and villages,

 Easter week is celebrated with costumed recreations of Christ's arrival at Jerusalem, thousands of the locals attend these devotions. On Easter Monday another small village named San Martino delle, were a Benedictine Monastery is located celebrate Easter and Spring by freeing the birds that have been saved from the mountain winters days.  They say the birds are released as part of a tradition that dates back over 300 years, and there are many concerts and Gregorian chants which are heard throughout the village.

In Catania and some surrounding areas, Easter Sunday is celebrated in the triumph of good over evil.  The costumes are colorful, and the main event is to make the Devil and his demons say the words "Viva Maria". 

In Bronte Good Friday is marked by the Passion of Christ, which includes a costumed procession, re-enacting the Stations of the Cross as well. Were silence is observed by its towns people and the only sounds heard are beating drums.  Similar processions and events also take place in Ragusa and its surrounding towns and villages.

 

 

 

Italian Easter Bread

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

4 eggs

1 teaspoon  almond extract 

1 1/2 teaspoons  vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour,  more if needed

 

 

 

 

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with a pinch of granulated sugar. Let stand for 15 minutes. Whisk in the remaining ingredients, except the flour.

 

                    Stir in flour, one cup at a time to form a wet and  noticeable sticky dough.

Turn dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 7 minutes, adding flour as needed to keep the dough from remaining sticking on the surface of the area.  You will  form a smooth and elastic dough feeling dough.

 

 Place dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Lightly oil  surface of the dough, and cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Place in the oven and turn the light in the oven on. Let the dough rise until doubled in size,  8-12 hours.

 

                  This is a  slow rising dough so I would make it and let it rise overnight. 

 

In the morning the dough will be doubled,  punch dough down, and then turn onto a lightly floured surface again.  

 

Divide in four pieces, and shape into four small oval loaves or each piece can be cut into three strips and braided in order to make  traditional Easter bread. You can also add boiled colored Easter eggs to these. Add them to the braid before baking.

Place loaves on parchment lined baking sheets. Cover very loosely with  saran wrap, and let rise for 2 hours more.

 

        Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes  until golden brown, once baked cool on wire racks.



 There is a saying in Italian: Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con qui voi. Which means: Christmas with your family, but Easter with whoever you want!

Easter Sausage Frittata

1 pound sweet ground Italian sausage
4 onions, chopped
6 jumbo eggs
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
 1/4 cup milk
4 Tablespoons of  fresh Italian parsley, washed and chopped
1/2 cup 6 cheese Italian blend of finely grated cheese

Cook sausage in medium non-stick frying pan over medium-high until nicely browned,
break up the sausage into small pieces, add chopped onions into the sausage and cook about 10 longer, then drain off the fat

In a medium size bowl beat the 6  eggs with the milk and add the chopped Italian parsley.  Pour the egg mixture evenly over cooked sausage and onions

Sprinkle the grated cheese on top, gently blending into the egg and sausage mixture

Cover and cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes, keep an eye on the bottom lift up with a spatula to make sure that it does not burn.

Then remove from stove and broil the frittata in same pan, on the lower shelf of your oven until gold brown, keep an eye on it so it does not burn.

 Let  for 5 minutes before serving.