Italian Night Soup

This thick, hearty soup was served at a church function and we all BEGGED (on our KNEES) for the recipe.  It’s delicious hot, my husband thinks I’m nuts, but I think it’s delicious cold, too.  You can probably only reheat it once because of the noodles, but good luck having leftovers.  I have modified it just a bit (to make it my own, of course).

Preheat: --
Category: Soup, Italian, Partially Homemade

Meat, cooked (I have used ground turkey, cut-up pork chops and both were amazing)
6 c. Water
1 can Diced Italian-style tomatoes, undrained
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 box Hamburger Helper – Lasagna
1-2 Tablespoons Olive oil
Zucchini, diced
Carrots, diced
Onion, diced

1.  Cook the meat in a small soup pot.  Or if you spill everything, like me, use a large soup pot.  Drain fat if necessary and set aside.  Also, I like to drain the juice from the can of tomatoes in to cook with the meat.  Yum!

2.  In the soup pot, add the olive oil and add diced vegetables.  Sauté until soft.

3.  Add the cooked meat, the water, the diced tomatoes, the Hamburger Helper seasoning packet, and the noodles.  Boil for 10 minutes, or until noodles are al dente.

4.  Turn the heat down to simmer and allow the soup to thicken for 5-15 minutes.  This is the perfect amount of time to throw together some AMAZING HOT BISCUITS (my mom’s recipe) and bake them!

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree

From my mom!

Preheat:  400*
Category: Eggplant, rigatoni, Italian

1 med. Eggplant, cut into 1" cubes
1 pint Cherry tomatoes
3 cloves Garlic, whole
3 T. Olive oil
1 t. Salt
1 t. Black pepper
1 t. Red pepper flakes
1/4 c. Toasted pine nuts
1 lb. Rigatoni pasta
1/4 c. Torn, fresh mint leaves
3 T. EVOO
1/2 c. Grated Parmesan cheese

1.  On sided cookie sheet, place parchment paper.  Spread out eggplant, tomatoes, garlic.  Drizzle olive oil and season with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Coat everything and roast for 35 minutes, or until eggplant is golden. 


2.  Roast pine nuts separately on next shelf down for 8 minutes


2.  While vegetables are roasting, boil pasta in salted water until al dente.  Drain.  Save 1 1/2 cups of pasta water.


4.  When vegetables are done, place in blender with EVOO and mint, then purée until smooth.  Transfer into bowl with pasta, add parmesan, stir to combine and get pasta saucy.  Sprinkle pine nuts to serve.

Baked Ziti

We had this when we had the missionaries over for dinner--and they loved it!  Yea for another successful dish! :)  I like this one especially because it makes a 9x13 pan... we ate half of it for one sitting and had it for even yummier leftovers the next day!  Plus, it's so easy to make that your KID can make it.  :)

Preheat: 350*
Category: Italian, Pasta, Freezeable, Casserole

1 lb. Ziti pasts, cooked al dente
1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked & chopped I used ground beef cooked with a little garlic/onion/basil/oregano stirred in and that worked great.
15 oz. Ricotta cheese Another substitution! 15 oz. Cottage cheese!  We use full-fat cottage cheese...
2 T. Fresh parsley Oops, I left this out altogether. But you can use 1 T. dry parsley.
1 Egg
1 1/2 c. Mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese I buy mine at Sam's Club in the huge tubs so it's super-inexpensive!
22 oz. Pasta sauce

1/2 c. Mozzarella cheese
3/4 c. (6 oz.) Pasta sauce

1.  In a large mixing bowl, mix ricotta, egg, parsley, 1 1/2 c. mozzarella and parmesan.

2.  Add and mix in cooked sausage, cooked pasta and 22 oz. pasta sauce.

3.  Put mixture in a 2-quart casserole dish.  Like I said before, I used a 9x13 pan. It fit great!

4.  Top with 3/4 c. sauce and 1/2 c. mozzarella. You can see I tucked mine in the refrigerator for tonight... It sure is nice to have dinner "made," and it only takes 30 minutes in the oven. :) :)

5.  At 350*, bake covered for 15 minutes, then bake for another 30 minutes uncovered. If you're like me, you'll want to broil on high for another five minutes. :)

TO FREEZE
Cover the unbaked casserole with foil and freeze IN THE PAN.  When it's completely frozen, pop it out and into a freezer bag.

TO HEAT AFTER FREEZING
Place frozen casserole into dish and thaw.  Preheat to 350*.  Cover and bake for 20 minutes; uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes more.

New York-Style Pizza Sauce

This is a new family favorite. It's soooo easy, and it's soooo good.

1 T. Water
2 T. Fresh basil, chopped (we used 1 T. dry basil)
1 1/2 t. Olive oil
2 t. Dried oregano
1 1/2 t. Sugar
1 t. Garlic, minced
1 (14.5-oz.) can Petite-cut diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6-oz.) can Tomato paste

1. Combine in a bowl & stir with whisk.  See!  I told you it was easy! :)