Dreaming of backyard pizza parties? Your dream can now be a reality!

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basil, cheese, comfort food, cooking, delicious, dough, easy cooking, easy dinner, eat, eating, entertaining, food, fresh, fresh cooking, italian, kid friendly, Neapolitan pizza, Ooni, ooni pizza oven, Parmesan, pizza, pizza oven, quick cooking, simple entertaining, summertime, tomatoes

I have always dreamed of having a backyard with a huge stone pizza oven. But I’m afraid it’s going to be baby steps for me to get to my dream, so I started my journey on Mother’s Day when I treated myself to an Ooni Koda gas pizza oven from Capital BBQ.

This pizza oven has changed my life. It is portable, meaning I can pack it up and bring it to a friends house for dinner. It weighs 12 pounds, the design is sleek, I can store it in the off-season in my kitchen. It is powered by a propane tank and it only takes 15 minutes for it to come up to 930° and it cooks delicious Neapolitan style pizzas in 60 seconds.

The high temperatures help pizza dough quickly transform to a perfectly chewy-but-crispy crust, all while drawing any excess moisture out of any sauce, cheeses & toppings you have on your pizza. The result? Crispy crust, with no sogginess. A pizza lover’s dream!

I do have a couple of tips I have learned in the 5 times I have used my pizza oven.

• Use only quality ingredients – I make my own dough and sauce and boy does it make a difference!
• Use a wood pizza peel to put the pizza in the oven and the metal one to pull it out
• Do not multi task when you are making the pizzas, they take 60 seconds and every 20 seconds you turn the pie in the oven
• The less toppings the better. Since this cooks quickly you need you keep the toppings light
• Try new things! I created a Flammkuchen style pizza that is the 💣
• It is not just for pizza! With a cast iron pan you can look steaks and chicken in it too!

The cost. My Ooni koda cost me 499$ CDN plus tax. I would say it was the best money I ever spent.

Pizza dough, sauce and recipes coming soon!!

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Leftovers… are awesome! Try this penne with sausage in a whisky cream sauce done in 9 MINUTES!

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asparagus, BBQ, cheese, cooking, corn, cream, cream sauce, delicious, easy cooking, easy dinner, easy dinners, easy pasta, eat, entertaining, food, fresh, garlic, italian, leftover, light dinners, pasta, quick cooking, simple entertaining, whisky

What exactly are leftovers? Leftovers are the uneaten remains of a hot or cold meal after the meal is over and everyone has finished eating.

As a kid what did that mean? It meant a gross dinner was around the corner. 😬 My mom was an excellent cook but even leftover night was a food bust.

No. Anymore.

Today is Labour Day in Canada or (Holiday Monday) and all the stores are closed. So dinnertime rolled around and I had no idea what to make. So I opened my fridge and grab a ton of leftovers and made a wicked dinner.

Here is what I used:

• 2 cups cooked penne pasta
• 1 bunch of asparagus which I cooked in garlic and oil
• 1/4 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 smoked Serrano chili ( or a chipotle if that is what you have )
• 2 cobs of corn – kernels cut off
• 3 BBQed Italian sausages sliced
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• Splash of whisky
• Parmesan
• Salt and pepper

What did I do?

Melt a bit of butter in a pan, add onion and asparagus after a few minutes add garlic and corn. After 1 minutes add chili, sausage and pasta. After 2 minutes add splash of whisky and stock and cream. Simmer 3 minutes and viola. Season with salt and pepper and top with Parmesan.

You won’t believe this is leftovers!

Soup Addict – Italian Wedding Soup

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basil, butter, cheese, comfort food, cooking, delicious, easy cooking, easy dinner, easy dinners, easy pasta, eat, fall, fall dishes, food, fresh, italian, Italian wedding soup, Italy, kid friendly, leftovers, make ahead meals, Parmesan, pasta, pork, quick cooking, simple entertaining, soup, soup recipes, wedding soup, winter, winter soups

When you live in Ottawa, and it’s the winter and it’s cold than Mars (true story) I crave soup. This delicious Italian Wedding soup always makes feel cozy and warm. Italian wedding soup is a combination of a killer broth, mini tasty meatballs, a small pasta, veggies and greens.

I honestly adore soup.  I love it for lunch with a piece of crusty bread and it makes a great appetizer before dinner. My youngest Holly loves this soup (she loves meat) my oldest Chloe avoids meat like the plague, so I wanted to create a version that would appeal to both kids. Chloe just eats hers minus the meatballs.

This soup is made on the stove 🙂 sorry Instant Pot lovers this is old school 🙂 This soup will keep in your fridge for 5 days and freezes superbly well. Rolling the meatballs are the most time consuming part of this recipe so if you have child labor kids to assist you, use it.

Ingredients

Ingredients for Pork Meatballs (can be done ahead of time and frozen):

• 1 pound ground pork (makes a tender meatball, but you can also use beef)
• 1/2 cup onion , finely diced (about 1/2 medium onion)
• 2 cloves garlic , peeled and minced (or use a rasp)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs or seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons mixed fresh herbs (parsley, basil, rosemary)
• 1 egg

Ingredients for Soup:

• 1 tablespoons butter or oil
• 1 cup onion , finely diced (1 medium onion)
• 1 cup carrot , peeled and diced (1 medium carrot)
• 2 cloves garlic , peeled and minced
• ~3 liters chicken broth – organic if you can (or homemade… I don’t have time for that though :)…)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• 1 cup orzo, seme di Melone or acini di pepi
• 1 pound fresh tender spinach
• 2 tablespoons finely diced mixed herbs

Instructions

Meatballs:

1. In a large bowl, mix together pork, onion, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt, bread crumbs, herbs, and egg until combined
2. Shape into tiny bite-sized meatballs, roughly 1/2 inch in diameter; place onto parchment covered cookie sheet and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Luckily if you live in Canada during the winter you can put these babies outside to freeze while you prepare your broth 🙂 * Refrigerating is important as it will keep them from falling apart in the soup. You need a minimum of 30 mins to set up.

Soup:

1. In a large stock pot, melt butter; add onion, carrots, and garlic. Saute until tender, but not soft (about 5 minutes)
2. Add chicken broth; bring to a boil. Turn to simmer, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.
3. Taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste
4. Drop meatballs into broth; cook 7 minutes. Add pasta of your choice and cook 5 minutes
5. Add herbs and simmer for 30 minutes to meld flavours, adding more broth, if needed. Add spinach for the last few minutes.
6. Serve with crusty bread, or garlic bread (my kids favourite) and top with additional Parmesan cheese. I also love to add a bit of Sriracha to my soup too.
7. Enjoy!

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The Best Bolognese sauce, hands down. Instant Pot Recipe.

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basil, comfort food, cooking, easy cooking, easy dinner, easy dinners, easy pasta, eat, entertaining, fall dishes, food, fresh, fresh cooking, fresh pasta, gluten free, instant pot, italian, Italy, kid friendly, make ahead meals, Parmesan, pasta, penne, pork, quick cooking, sauce, sausage, simple entertaining, spaghetti, sugar, veal

I can’t say enough good things about my Instant Pot. I bought the 8 quart one this winter and I can’t get enough of it. 

I typically make my bolognese sauce on the stove and it takes roughly 6 hours on a slow simmer to come out perfectly. 
Using my instant pot it took 35 minutes on high pressure and viola my sauce is ready!

The sauté feature is a huge time and prep saver as you can sauté in the actual pot. 

The key to this sauce is the meat ratio and I blitz all the vegetable in the food processor before I add it into the meat. This bolognese sauce is more of a ragu than your typical spaghetti sauce. Also another tip I don’t use beef, I only use veal and pork and prom sausage. This makes the sauce much more mild. 

What you need:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
• 1 1/2 pounds ground veal
• 1 pound Italian sausage meat (casing removed)
• 1 large white onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 celery heart stalks
• 4 garlic cloves 
• 3/4 cups of sundried tomatoes
• 1 huge handful of fresh basil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 28 oz can tomato purée (try to find San Marizano tomatoes)
• 1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
• Parmesan rind
• Dried Bay leaves (4) 
• 1/3 red wine
• Splash of heavy cream 

In a food processor add all the vegetables and basil and sun dried tomatoes. Blitz until their are no chunks and you have a very finely diced mixture. Set aside.

Plug in your Instant pot and press the sauté button – it will take a few minutes and it will beep and say hot.

Start sautéing the sausage meat so some of the fat renders down, once crumbly add the  ground pork and cook down and then add the veal. This whole process will take about 10 minutes to brown the meat. 

Once no longer pink, add in the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, basil and sundried tomatoe purée. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Then add in the 2 cans of tomatoes, salt and sugar and bay leaves. Throw in the Parmesan rind and 1/3 cup of good red wine. 

Put on the top of the Instant pot, press the meat/stew button (35 mins on high pressure) and sit back and relax! It will take about 5 minutes to come up to high pressure and then the timer will start counting down. Once it is finished, the Instant pot will shut off automatically. 

This sauce usually simmers on my stove for 4-6 hours. With this instant pot it now only takes 45 minutes! 

Typically a Bolognese sauce is served with a wider pasta noodle but you can serve it on whenever noodle you desire. Before serving add a splash of cream to the sauce. I can’t explain what it does to the sauce but it makes it amazing and rounds out all the meat and tomato flavour. 

This sauce freezes amazingly well (do not add the cream before you freeze it) and this recipe will give you roughly 10~12 cups. 

Mangia! 

Five Dinners to Make with Marinara Sauce

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5 meals 1 sauce, basil, easy pasta, eat, food, italian, marinara sauce, Parmesan, pasta, penne, quick cooking, sauce, sausage

So earlier this week I wrote about my simple and delicious marinara sauce. It is a staple recipe to have in your repertoire. Takes 30 mins to make, inexpensive and it freezes very well.

But I also wanted to show you how easy it is to change it up with a few simple ingredients to create 5 different meals. 1 sauce = 5 meals. Curious? I thought so.

First of all you start off with my marinara sauce. It is simple to make and extremely affordable. The whole pot, 8 cups of sauce cost me 8$ to make.

1. Arrabbiata Sauce (Arrabbiata means angry in Italian)

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 Tbs. olive oil over medium heat. Add  (1/2 cup) finely diced pancetta. If you can’t find pancetta you can use bacon or prosciutto. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 tsp. of red chile flakes; cook until the garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of marinara sauce and 1/4 cup torn basil leaves and simmer ~ 10 mins. Toss with 1 package of cooked and drained pasta. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Arrabiatta Sauce

 

2. Penne Alla Vodka

So I always have vodka in my house, but I have never used it to cook with until now. Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil over medium heat. Add  (1/2 cup) finely diced bacon, cook for 3-4 minutes until the fat starts to render out. Add 1 finely diced onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 tsp. of red chile flakes; cook until the garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups of marinara sauce and 1/2 cup of vodka and reduce for a few minutes. Add in 1/2 cup of heavy cream and a pinch of nutmeg. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat. Toss with 1 package of cooked and drained pasta (penne works well). Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Penne Alla Vodka

3. Rose sauce (pink sauce)

In a large sauté pan over medium heat add in 1 cup marinara and season with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Simmer until hot. Add in 1 cup of heavy cream and a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 5- 10 mins. You can use this sauce for pasta, on top of sauteed chicken breasts, on gnocchi, on spaghetti squash. It is so versatile.

Rose sauce on gnoochi

4. Mussels Marinara (Fra Diavolo)

Heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a large sauce pot and sauté 3 cloves of minced garlic for about 2 minutes, being careful not to brown it. Add 1 cup of white wine (Pinot Grigio works well) and bring the heat up to high. Bring the wine to a boil and simmer for another two minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and add 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and 1/2 tsp of crushed red chile flakes. Once the sauce is at a light simmer, add the mussels (4 pounds of cleaned mussels), give them a stir, raise the heat to medium and cover the pot. Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until all of the mussels have opened, then stir in the parsley. Transfer mussels to a platter. (Discard any mussels that do not open.) Serve with the warm baguette.

Mussels Marinara

5. Sausage and Peppers

This is a classic dish and super easy to make. In a large saucepan with a lid, heat 2 TBS olive oil over medium heat. Cook 4 Italian sausages to brown all sides. Remove and set aside. Turn heat to high. Add 1 sliced pepper and 1 sliced onion, cooking until slightly tender and browned, about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Stir in 1 cup of marinara sauce and a pinch of pepper flakes. Reduce heat to a low simmer and return sausages to the pan. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until sausages are cooked through. You can serve the sausages whole or  sliced. Serve with polenta or pasta or on a fresh crusty roll.

Sausage and Peppers

As you can see you can make 5 dishes with one sauce. Enjoy!

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I am a girl who loves food. I grew up with a Mom who was an excellent cook. She wrote a cookbook when I was a child, and as they say, the rest is history. Started a catering business in 2005 and haven’t looked back. I am a mom to 2 beautiful girls and I want them to love food as much as I do. In the meantime, I love life and love my job @ http://www.monicaskitchen.com