This vegetable soup is a delicious blend of different vegetables brought together in a delightful tomato broth. Very easy to make and you can freeze a few containers and have wonderful soup whenever you’d like it. Of course you can change any of the vegetables for veggies you may have in the house and want to use. If you don’t have a russet potato use a different one. You can add beans such as kidney, chickpea or my personal favorite cannellini beans — just rinse a can of beans and dump it in. Or add some pasta , 1/2 cup would be fine just make sure there is enough broth at the end of cooking bring to a boil add the pasta and cook for about 15 more minutes or till pasta is done, you may have to add water/broth before or after you add the pasta. You can add some spinach, kale, Swiss chard or escarole as well. Many many different variations. I make the basic soup and when I defrost I usually add something new like beans or pasta or kale. It’s a very delicious soup and very hearty and very healthy.

*Slow Cooker Directions:

If you’d like you can also make this in the slow cooker. I would saute the onions, carrots and celery in olive oil first though. Then place in the slow cooker along with garlic, salt, pepper, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, vegetable broth and potatoes. Low heat for 4 hours. Then add the corn and green beans cook for about 10 more minutes and serve. At the end check for liquid before adding the corn and green beans you may need to add some water or broth.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/2 cup finely diced onion– yellow or white onion

3 carrots , peeled , halved lengthwise and sliced

3 stalks celery, thinly sliced and then cut in about 3 inch pieces

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Kosher Salt and Coarsely Ground Black Pepper to taste

20 oz. can of diced tomatoes– Do Not Drain

8 oz. can Tomato Sauce

1 1/4 teaspoons Italian Seasoning

6 cups Vegetable Broth — and you may need more or add water if too thick at the end — I added about 1/2 cup of water

1 large Russet Potato peeled and cut into 1/2 ” cubes

3/4 cup frozen corn

3/4 cup cut up frozen green beans or fresh

*extra liquid — you can use water or broth if you still have on hand

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion , carrots and celery to the pot.

Cook for about 5 minutes till veggies are softened. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute or so. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, broth and potato to the pot and bring to a simmer.

Cook for about 1/2 hour at a low simmer or until potatoes are tender. Taste and add salt and pepper . Soup will probably be ready in 1/2 hour but I let it simmer for a full hour. I added some liquid as a lot of the liquid evaporates and gets absorbed the longer it cooks.

Stir in the corn and green beans and cook for another 10 minutes or so. If you’re adding any other ingredients this would be a good time. i.e. beans, kale, pasta etc. See notes above for *slow cooker directions.

• Perfect for freezing — just will have to add some liquid as you heat it up. Broth or water is just fine.

• 

• 

• 

• 

It’s Fall and this is the most perfect dessert while apples and pears are abundant . Baked with brown sugar and oat topping served warm with vanilla ice cream and it’s perfection on a plate. This is what I did and it really is pretty easy and not very technical for those of you who want to bake a great dessert but don’t want to fuss with cakes and frosting etc. and special equipment. Most perfect!!! Can be made ahead of time and even frozen . Perfect Thanksgiving dessert and if you like just use all apples and omit the pears doubling up on the apples. But Pears are so wonderful — just saying.

Can easily be cut in 1/2 for a much smaller gathering. You can even put into small ramekins and bake like that for individual servings.

Delicious Easy Dessert.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from my kitchen to yours.

Ingredients:

Fruit Mixture:

3 ripe firm pears peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced

3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

3/4 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

*Vanilla ice cream for serving — obviously optional but in our house it’s a must

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I spray a 9 – 10 inch deep dish pyrex type of dish or any baking dish you like — set aside

In a large bowl combine pears, apples, orange juice, sugar , flour , cinnamon and vanilla — All the fruit mixture ingredients

Dump all the ingredients into your prepared baking dish.

Make the topping in a separate bowl . Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add in the melted butter and stir until combined, using your clean fingers crumble the mixture over the fruit. You’ll want to press some of it together to form clumps.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until topping is golden brown, and fruit is tender and it is bubbling all around the edges.

Serve warm with ice cream.

*I put into oven when we sat down to dinner and let it cook so it was ready for dessert. Let it sit for awhile to set.

You can also make ahead and then just re-heat for 45 minutes to an hour . I cover with aluminum when re-heating.

Enjoy!!

Chicken Scarpariello could easily be one of my most favorite dishes to order in an Italian Restaurant. The translation is Shoemaker’s chicken and it is a classic Italian-American dish of chicken, sausage, onions and peppers . The flavors are layered and spicy and sweet and this recipe often has potatoes in it but this time I left them out and we didn’t miss them. I made this for 2 people so used only 1 lb. of chicken. Recipe is for 2 – 3 pounds of bone-in skin-on chicken , you can use whatever pieces you like but if you’re using breasts have them cut in 1/2. I also made whole recipe in my Le Creuset Stockpot because I cut recipe for just the two of us. If you make whole recipe you’ll want to transfer to a large roasting pan before putting in the oven. I didn’t because I only used 3 pieces of chicken and 2 sausage links so I kept it all in the Le Creuset dutch oven .

Enjoy this hearty recipe and if I were making potatoes I might just roast some on the side and add in when I serve. Potatoes are totally optional. no

Serve with some good bread to soak up this delicious sauce.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. bone-in , skin-on Chicken I used thighs only this time,, use what you like but keep breasts small and cut in 1/2

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper ( or coarse black pepper)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil ( if you’re cooking up chicken and oil disappears add a little at a time)

4 links Italian Sausage — you can use 1/2 mild and 1/2 spicy whatever you’d like

2 large Bell Peppers and if you’re making for more people and transferring to large roasting pan you can use 3 Bell peppers — seeded and cut into thin strips

1 large sweet onion, cut in half lengthwise and sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic — probably 2 small cloves

4-8 hot vinegar cherry peppers or pepperoncini, left whole If you don’t like hot you can substitute with sweet cherry peppers in vinegar or peppadew peppers in vinegar( I know Trader Joes has these) Use what you like and what you can find.

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. season chicken pieces with kosher salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven style pot or use a large pot/pan for sautéing . In batches, ( don’t over crowd pot) brown the chicken , skin side down to start, you’ll probably want to sauté for at least 5 minutes or more per side and using tongs check for skin color to be golden brown, this may take longer or shorter and be careful not to burn the oil. I used a medium flame but if it starts to burn lower immediately . Remove the chicken to a plate when finished. Add the sausage to same pot and sauté until brown, about 3 -4 minutes per side. ( they will not be cooked through at this point– just browned. Remove with tongs , cut into 1″ slices and set aside along with chicken.

Now into the same pot sauté the bell peppers, onion and garlic until soft and beginning to brown , probably another 5 minutes or so. I sprinkled a little salt and pepper here while it was sautéing

Return the sausage to pot, add the cherry peppers or pepperoncini, chicken broth , wine, vinegar, oregano . Gently mix together, then transfer everything in the pot ( all liquid as well) to a large roasting pan. ( I always spray first for easy clean-up and easy removal of cooked food) use an olive oil spray if you have it and spray lightly) Nestle the chicken in the vegetables (skin side up) with sausage and roast in the oven until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced slightly, probably 30 minutes . If you are halving this recipe for 2 people you can put Le Creuset in the oven which is what I did but for larger amounts use roasting pan.

I served on plate and spooned a little of the sauce on top of chicken and vegetables.

Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

You can test done-ness of chicken with a meat thermometer.

*I prefer using dark meat here but that’s totally up to you

As I have posted another chicken cacciatore this recipe is made in the slow cooker and differs from the other one. Check both of them out– this one was a bit labor intensive but in the slow cooker by noon and cooked perfectly on low for 4 hours. It contains bacon and I wouldn’t omit it, you can substitute pancetta if you prefer and I would buy it in the container already chopped to make life easier. The bacon added that layer of flavor it really needed. The mushrooms, bacon and wine add a most perfect layer of flavor . I served over wide egg noodles but polenta would also be a wonderful option or just a hunk of crusty bread to soak up all the delicious juices. I made this on Sunday night and it was perfection on a plate. This recipe will be in rotation this winter as it is a most perfect recipe for the winter.

Big recommendation for this recipe which I got from The NY Times Slow Cooker Recipes. I did make a few changes to the original recipe but you may want to check out the original.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. bacon , preferably thick cut sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

1 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup dry red wine — I had a Malbec on hand so it was perfect

1 large yellow onion -thinly sliced

1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, thinly sliced

8 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained, app. 1 heaping cup

1 can crushed or diced canned tomatoes, 14 oz. can — I used crushed

2 Tablespoons drained capers

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 -2 1/4 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs

Kosher Salt and Coarse Black Pepper

*Grated Parmesan for serving

Directions:

Fry the bacon in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat until bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered, app. 8 minutes

Using a slotted spoon remove the bacon and place in the slow cooker which I sprayed first with cooking spray. Add the mushrooms to the fat in the skillet and let them cook down over medium-high heat, stirring only a few times until mushrooms shrink down and releasing their liquid and starting to turn lightly brown, about 8-10 more minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and tomato paste. Pour in the red wine and let it come to a bubble, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Scrape the mixture after 10 minutes into the slow cooker.

Add the sliced onion, bell pepper, roasted peppers, can of tomatoes, capers, vinegar, oregano, red-pepper flakes and garlic powder to the slow cooker and stir to combine.

Add the chicken, season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and a generous amount of black pepper– probably at least 1/4 teaspoon and maybe a touch more and stir to combine all ingredients and flavors.

Cook on low until the chicken is very tender and the flavors are blended, about 4 1/2 hours. And then you can leave slow cooker on warm for several hours.

I broke up chicken with a wooden spoon into larger chunks at the end. Taste for salt and pepper — I didn’t add any salt or pepper because it tasted perfect.

Serve over pasta or polenta or rice or alone with bread. However you’d like to serve it.

I topped with grated parmesan at the table.

this is a traditional Greek Green lettuce salad which is simple to make with just a few key ingredients. When I eat in a traditional Greek Restaurant this is my “go-to”. While I love a good greek salad there’s something about the combo of herbs and cheese and lemon here that I love.

I love a good herb flavor and this one is packed with delicious fresh dill. If you’re not a fan of dill this one’s probably not for you and stick with my Lemon Parmesan Salad.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 hearts romaine lettuce

4-5 scallions, diced

1 small bunch fresh dill, chopped

4 oz. Feta Cheese, crumbled

*feel free to add chopped cucumbers

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1 large lemon, juiced

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

*1 teaspoon dried oregano –also optional

*cracked black pepper to taste -also optional

Directions:

Rinse your lettuce –then thinly slice. Dry well.

whisk together the oil, lemon juice and salt until smooth. Can be made ahead .

Place the first 4 ingredients in a large enough bowl to hold salad and toss. Toss all ingredients together .

That’s it folks!

*dressing holds for a few days in the fridge – probably a week