Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Keeps gettin' better...

This week is ridiculous...last night's dinner was great, tonight's totally hit the spot, and I can't wait to try tomorrow's! Thursday is the icing on the cake cause it's something I don't make very often but I absolutely love it...Friday I will be in a food coma for sure. :)

So I promised I would share tonight's recipe for Italian Tortellini Soup from the Dierberg's cook book (via my sister, Carrie) and I'm not one to disappoint so here it is! The best part about this soup is that it automatically makes three dinners! Read on to find out more...

Here's how it works...

Italian Tortellini Soup

Buy It...
2 pounds bulk Italian sausage (I bought salsiccia cause I couldn't find bulk mild Italian)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) shredded carrot
2 medium onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
4 cans (14 oz. each) beef broth
2 cans (16 oz. each) kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 pkg. (20 oz.) frozen cheese tortellini

You will also need...
2 Tbls. Italian seasoning
3 (6-cup or larger) reusable freezer containers (tupperware)
3 (1 qt.) freezer-weight reclosable plastic bags

Cook it...
In large soup pot or Dutch oven, brown sausage and drain off excess fat. Combine cooked sausage with veggies and cook until veggies are tender. Add broth, beans, and seasoning.

Divide and freeze...
Divide mixture among three 6-cup (or larger) freezer containers. Divide tortellini into three 1 qt. freezer bags. Label each container with recipe name, date, and "heat it" instructions. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Heat it...
Defrost container of soup in microwave on 50% power for 20 minutes. Place soup base in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Add frozen tortellini and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.

I froze two containers and went ahead with the "heat it" directions tonight for our dinner and it was delicious! Served it up with a little cheddar beer bread made from Homemade Gourmet's World Vision Basic Bread Mix and it was the perfect fall meal! And now I can have it two more times with very little effort...BONUS!! :)

Monday, November 2, 2009

Holy Eggplant Batman!

My first attempt at eggplant parmesan turned out absolutely delicious...and was SUPER easy! Add this into your rotation (if you have one) cause it's a keeper!

Eggplant Parmesan (adapted from several different recipes)

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup water
1 stick butter, melted
Italian breadcrumbs (about 2-3 cups)
1 jar of marinara sauce (your choice)
parmesan cheese
mozzerella cheese
spaghetti or fettuccini noodles, cooked

Peel eggplant and slice into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Rinse in cold water. Place eggplant in a microwave safe bowl with 1/2 cup water and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Grease a 9x13 glass casserole dish and spread a small amount of sauce along the bottom. Dip eggplant slices in butter, then dredge in breadcrumbs, stacking two slices high in dish. Pour remainder of sauce over slices, coat generously with parmesan cheese then mozzerella. Bake in 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serve over cooked pasta. Serves 6.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did...look out work buddies, I'm bringing leftovers for my lunch tomorrow. :)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Hey good lookin', whatcha got cookin'?

So this is just a brief post to let you know what we'll be eatin' this week now that I have had to go back to the grocery store. I was totally uninspired by what was on sale in this week's grocery ads (ugh) so I turned to some of my other favorite sources for food inspiration...Homemade Gourmet, Cooking Light, my sister Carrie....just to name a few. :)

Monday: Eggplant Parmesan (I picked up an enormous eggplant for a buck while on a field trip to a farm last week with my kiddos from school)
Tuesday: Italian Tortellini Soup (I'll definitely blog about this later this week...it's FABULOUS!)
Wednesday: Black bean burgers and sweet potato fries
Thursday: White Chicken Chili (Tom's request)
Friday: Either a frozen pizza (easy) or out on the town...we'll see what we're up to.

Now that I've been to the store and am looking back at this menu, I'm thinking it might be a bit ambitious...but delicious at the same time. :) So check back later this week to hear a little more about some of these yummies AND to hear about cake decorating course 2....Tuesday night couldn't get here fast enough!