Flat Bread Pizza and Rocket Salad

Do you know those nights where you are desperate to order out?
But if you did you would not have that extra couple bottles of wine, or the money to have friends around on the spur of the moment?
Here is the best thing I have right now.
Flat bread Pizza.
It doesn't matter if it is Pita, Greek, or whatever.. no money or effort at all and chuck a few of these flat breads into the freezer when you find them on sale and you can whip them out and cook them FROZEN!!!!  This is a recipe that is great to teach kids of all ages too!

All photos are pre-cooked

Mozzarella and Tomato Sauce and Sauteed Mushroom, tomato sauce and Mozzarella

This one has olive oil and garlic salt,mozzarella and Parmesan cheese,sauteed mushrooms and fresh rocket

1 to 2 a person

Feeds 8
Ingredients

2 packages of flat bread (most come in 6 per pack)
1 26 Oz jar of tomato sauce
8 oz of Pepperoni
1 Lb shredded mozzarella
2 tsp of more of dried Italian seasoning
2 tsp or more of garlic salt
1 bag of rocket salad or whatever salad
1 small box of sliced mushrooms
3 tsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Prepare

*Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
*Place flat bread on a cookie sheet
* With a TBS put sauce on flat bread
* Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic salt
* Add generous amount of mozzarella cheese
* Add 5 or 6 slices pepperoni
*Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until bubbly and brown
* Mix salad with mushrooms and balsamic and olive oil

* ADD ANY TOPPING!!!
Black olives, Onions, Red peppers, Ham etc..whatever you have around!!!!!! Be creative!!!

Jacket Potatoes and Rocket Salad

While we lived in England we were introduced to a very simple yet strangely wonderful, satisfying meal....The Jacket Potato.
All it really is a an over sized baked potato with yummy fillings which can vary depending on how much you have in your fridge or pantry. Fantastic for a family on a budget, but as you may have guessed by some of the other meals, they will never feel like they are being fed on a budget!

1 Large Potato per person or 1/2 for little guys and girls

Ingredients

Large Potato washed and poked with a fork, and wrapped in aluminum foil
Bag of mixed salad
Shredded Cheese ( we like cheddar )
Pat of butter
Bacon- try turkey bacon if you don't eat pork!
Mushrooms
Onions
Baked Beans
Sour Cream
Sea Salt
Black pepper
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar


Prepare

* Pre Heat your oven to 350 degrees
* Put Potatoes that are covered in foil in for about 1.5 hours
* Fry your bacon, place on a paper towel and set aside
* Slice the onion and mushrooms, place in a pan on medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and piece of butter, salt and pepper and sautee until soft, about 10 minutes
* Place mushrooms in a bowl with foil on top to keep them warm
* Heat your beans
* Put your salad on the plate you will have the potato on
* Put cheese, sour cream, bacon crumbled, beans into bowls and let people dress their own potato.
* Cut potato criss cross, add a bit of butter if desired and dress!!
* Add olive oil and vinegar to your salad with a bit of pepper

ALSO TRY
Lunch meat cut up, ham, turkey etc
Tuna fish salad ( mixed with Mayo)
A dab of ricotta
Sliced chives
Avacado diced


Have fun! You will be shocked at how wonderfully yummy and filling these potatoes are!

Cottage/ Sheperds Pie - Cooking Class Recipe 2

Our family had the absolute privilege of living in the UK for 4 years. Our son Sam was born there and we left knowing the rumor that the English produce bland food was laughable!!!

Here is a recipe that at least 3 friends brought around after Sam was born... Comfort food at it's best!!

 

Serves 6  ( but doubling or even tripling this recipe is SO easy! )

Ingredients

2 1/2 to 3 pounds of either hamburger/mince or ground or lamb/mince or ground   (lamb is shepherds- hamburger is cottage)
8  big potatoes
1 onion minced
3 carrots chopped
3 TBS butter
1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt
pinch pf pepper
1 cup of peas
1 cup shredded cheddar
2 TBS all purpose flour (optional)
1 Can tomato paste
2 TBS of Worcestershire Sauce
1 Cup beef broth


Prepare

* Boil the  potatoes (peel on or off up to you!!)
* Soften the carrots and onion in a splash of olive oil or butter
* Add the mince (meat) to the  mixture and brown adding the Worcestershire sauce
* Mash the potato with butter and milk - cover and put aside
* Add the Beef Broth to the Mince(meat) and add the Tomato Paste and flour if desired
* Simmer another 5 minutes
* Heat the oven to 350 Degrees or 176 Celsius
* Put mince (meat) mixture on the bottom of a 13 inch baking dish
* Add peas and Veg
* Put the mashed on top
* Add the shredded cheese
* Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is  light brown

Bangers and Mash with Leeks

We spent 4 years living in Bristol, England and a summer living in London.
One of the dishes that I was thrilled to learn to make was this one.. as sausage is quite inexpensive and so are potatoes.
And you can glam it up so easily!
Another fond discovery for us has also been the leek. Rich in nutrients, and not really used much in dishes while I was growing up , we try to incorporate them into our menu because we love them so. You  simply sautee them  a bit and add them too the mashed potato and you are going to be in heaven...
Bangers are what the English call sausage..this dish is a staple in the Traditional English Pub where  we spent lots of happy times.. a wonderful community experience, one which we don't have any likeness to here in the States.

Feeds 6 - or divide up for less people...


Ingredients

12 Sausages ( you can use Pork, Beef,Turkey or Chicken... as you like)
6 Large Potatoes
1 Stick and 2 Tbs of butter
Splash of Olive oil
1/2 cup milk or 1 pint of sour cream/cream fresh  if you don't care about fat
3 Leeks, rinsed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces ( start cutting under the leaves close to the light green part where it isn't so tough)
 2 Tsp Sea Salt
1 Tsp White Pepper



Prepare

* Depending on if your crew like peel on or off, rinse and peel the potatoes, and quarter them
* Add them to a pot of boiling water with a pinch of Sea Salt and cook until tender, about 45 minutes
* In a sautee pan on medium low heat, add a splash of olive oil, 2 Tbs of butter and the leeks, at the end when they are looking soft, add a pich of salt and a twist of white pepper.. cover and turn heat off
* In a large sautee pan, or under a broiler, cook up the sausages, make sure they aren't pink! Remove from heat
* Drain the potatoes and put back into the pot, add the stick of butter and cover and let butter melt
( about 5 minutes )
*Add milk ( or sour cream!) and with a potato masher mash the potatoes until creamy, add a dash of salt and pepper
* Add the sauteed leeks to the mash
*Put a mound of mashed potatoes on the plate and place the Sausages on the mound to the side

Jacket Potatoes and Salad

While we lived in England we were introduced to a very simple yet strangely wonderful, satisfying meal....The Jacket Potato.
All it really is a an over sized baked potato with yummy fillings which can vary depending on how much you have in your fridge or pantry. Fantastic for a family on a budget, but as you may have guessed by some of the other meals, they will never feel like they are being fed on a budget!

1 Large Potato per person or 1/2 for little guys and girls

Ingredients

Large Potato washed and poked with a fork, and wrapped in aluminum foil
Bag of mixed salad
Shredded Cheese ( we like cheddar )
Pat of butter
Bacon- try turkey bacon if you don't eat pork!
Mushrooms
Onions
Baked Beans
Sour Cream
Sea Salt
Black pepper
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar


Prepare

* Pre Heat your oven to 350 degrees
* Put Potatoes that are covered in foil in for about 1.5 hours
* Fry your bacon, place on a paper towel and set aside
* Slice the onion and mushrooms, place in a pan on medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and piece of butter, salt and pepper and sautee until soft, about 10 minutes
* Place mushrooms in a bowl with foil on top to keep them warm
* Heat your beans
* Put your salad on the plate you will have the potato on
* Put cheese, sour cream, bacon crumbled, beans into bowls and let people dress their own potato.
* Cut potato criss cross, add a bit of butter if desired and dress!!
* Add olive oil and vinegar to your salad with a bit of pepper

ALSO TRY
Lunch meat cut up, ham, turkey etc
Tuna fish salad ( mixed with Mayo)
A dab of ricotta
Sliced chives
Avacado diced


Have fun! You will be shocked at how wonderfully yummy and filling these potatoes are!

Weekend Roast

Marrying into a Sicilian family has had many wonderful benefits and some of my favorite memories are connected to our family meals together.
While we lived in Brooklyn, NY we would go and eat with our extended family at least 2 times a week, and ALWAYS on Sunday after church.
We made those wonderful family moments around the table a necessity for our family, and carried on with it even after leaving New York for England. And how wonderful to get to England and discover the Sunday tradition of the English Roast!!
Lovely food and tradition where ever we go!
Even though it isn't a typical Sunday lunch in Brooklyn, or in England, it is a meal we serve when needing to fill lots of tummies and the weekends are often packed with not just our 6.. and sometimes more...


Serves 10 to 12

Ingredients

3 Whole Chickens
3 Pounds of small white potaoes
8 oz of mixed salad
1 small box of heirloom tomatoes
4 oz of soft goat cheese
5 leeks
Asparagus- about 6 per person
About 1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tsp of Balsamic Vinegar
4 small lemons
1 generous handful of Fresh Thyme, or 1 package of Thyme from the store
Fresh ground Pepper
Sea Salt
2 Tsp of butter


Prepare

* Add the peeled small potatoes to a large pot of water that has a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt in it.
* Take potatoes off and drain when water comes to a boil for par-boiled potatoes

  (My favorite new way to make roast chicken, looks elegant and cuts cooking time in half!)

*Spit Cock or cut the back bone out of the chickens with a pair of kitchen scissors, press down on their backs to flatten, place in 3 large baking dishes with the inside of the chicken facing down
* Squeeze 1 lemon over each chicken, I use my hand as a sieve to catch the seeds
* Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the chickens
* Separate the thyme into 3 bundles, break up 1 bundle over each chicken
* Add a generous amount of sea salt and fresh ground pepper
* Rub those chickens like they are getting a massage to help the flavors get into the skin
* Add the potatoes around the chickens
* Put into a pre-heated 380 degree oven of 1 1/2 hours or until the juices run clear
* After 45 minutes turn the potatoes and start the next steps

* Prepare the Asparagus by rinsing in cold water and snapping off the ends ( hold the spear at the bottom and gently bend it and amazingly it snaps off where it is to hard to eat! )
* Add the asparagus to a shallow pan with about 1 1/2 cups of water and steam for about 6 minutes
* Drain and add a squeeze of lemon, a couple pats of butter and toss, sprinkle with salt and pepper

* Prepare the leeks by cutting off the really green parts and slicing into 1/4 inch pieces, add to a bowl of cold water and rinse and separate the pieces
* Sautee in a pan with 2Tbs of butter until soft, about 5 minutes
* Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and set aside

* Take the chickens out of the oven and put aside to cool down before carving, about 10 minutes

* Add the salad to a bowl, add your tomatoes and crumble your goat cheese, add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar , add fresh ground pepper

Finally, have a fancy table or serve it buffet style, I like to be formal and dress the table, the kids love it and think it is quite special as do our guests!!!
Carve your chickens, place the potatoes around your chicken and put everything on the serving dishes
and onto your table...

Wine Suggestion- Chardonnay or Pinot Noir


ENJOY YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cottage/ Shepherds Pie

Our family had the absolute privilege of living in the UK for 4 years. Our son Sam was born there and we left knowing the rumor that the English produce bland food was laughable!!!

Here is a recipe that at least 3 friends brought around after Sam was born... Comfort food at it's best!!

 

Serves 6  ( but doubling or even tripling this recipe is SO easy! )

Ingredients

2 1/2 to 3 pounds of either hamburger/mince or ground or lamb/mince or ground   (lamb is shepherds- hamburger is cottage)
8  big potatoes
1 onion minced
3 carrots chopped
3 TBS butter
1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt
pinch pf pepper
1 cup of peas
1 cup shredded cheddar
2 TBS all purpose flour (optional)
1 Can tomato paste
2 TBS of Worcestershire Sauce
1 Cup beef broth


Prepare

* Boil the  potatoes (peel on or off up to you!!)
* Soften the carrots and onion in a splash of olive oil or butter
* Add the mince (meat) to the  mixture and brown adding the Worcestershire sauce
* Mash the potato with butter and milk - cover and put aside
* Add the Beef Broth to the Mince(meat) and add the Tomato Paste and flour if desired
* Simmer another 5 minutes
* Heat the oven to 350 Degrees or 176 Celsius
* Put mince (meat) mixture on the bottom of a 13 inch baking dish
* Add peas
* Put the mashed on top
* Add the shredded cheese
* Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is  light brown