this is one my grandma made.. Italian sausage stew ( sorry i dont have amounts.. she never measures, she just uses amounts according to how many people your feeding) brown some Italian sausage links in a little olive oil , remove and set aside, then add to the drippings, some chopped onion and a couple cloves of garlic( minced), cook till browned, remove and set aside, do the same with some cut up potatoes, then some cut up zucchini.. place all this in a pot big enough to hold it all... add spaghetti sauce to cover, and a bad of frozen green beans, simmer over low heat till potatoes are tender and sausage is cooked thru. serve with some salad and crusty bread you can also combine all this in a roasting pan and bake for about 1.5 hrs

When I want to treat myself to a nice meal, I like to make fetuccini alfredo with either chicken or shrimp and broccoli. It's really easy to make, but is good for impressing dinner guests. To make dinner for two, you'll need: Chicken Broccoli Alfredo 1/2 pound fetuccini noodles 1/2 of a 16 oz. jar of alfredo sauce (more if you like lots of sauce) 2 or 3 decent sized chicken breasts a small can of cream of mushroom soup 1/2 of a 14 oz. package of broccoli 1/4 cup finely chopped onion (optional) garlic salt (optional) Shrimp Broccoli Alfredo 1/2 pound fetuccini noodles 1/2 of a 16 oz. jar of alfredo sauce (more if you like lots of sauce) 3/4 pound small shrimp 1/2 of a 14 oz. package of broccoli 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (optional) garlic salt (optional) 1. Follow directions on package for cooking the noodles. Drain. 2. While noodles are cooking, begin preparing the meat. Chicken: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat fully thawed chicken breasts with cream of mushroom soup and bake for 15-20 minutes or until fully cooked. Slice into thin strips. Shrimp: If shrimp is frozen, thaw ahead of time. Coat bottom of a skillet with oil (Vegetable, olive, and canola all work fine. I use canola oil because it is less fattenting). Heat on stove on low-medium heat. Toss in half of the chopped onion and cook until light brown. Add garlic salt (and any other seasoning, optional) and shrimp to skillet. It should take 7-10 minutes, stirring periodically, to cook the shrimp. Drain. 3. Place broccoli in a pot on the stove on medium low heat with a small amount of water (just enough to cover the bottom). Add onion, garlic salt, and any other seasonings you like. These are optional. Cover and let steam about 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Don't overcook. 4. Heat up sauce. You can either do this on the stove or in the microwave. Stove: heat 5-7 minutes, or until desirable temperature, stirring periodically. Microwave: heat in microwave safe container 1 minute, stir, heat another 45 seconds. Your microwave may take shorter or longer depending on its power. 5. Combine all ingredients in a large pot or bowl and stir. You can leave it to simmer covered on very low heat if it's not time to eat yet. For this recipe, you have to be good at multitasking, because all these steps need to be completed while you are waiting for the one before them to finish so that all the ingredients are nice and hot when you serve the finished product. It takes a little practice to get the timing right, but it is a delicious dish. You can make dozens of variations to my recipe, feel free to make it your own! I like to serve this dish with garlic toast or Italian bread and butter. Now I'm hungry... good luck! I wish my boyfriend would cook for me. :(

This one is easy!!! Chicken Piccata Beginners try this! Make sure to use really fresh lemons for the sauce. For those not familiar... deglazing a pan is done by adding any liquid (like wine, stock, or water) to the pan after sauteing or roasting meat and scraping all the caramelized drippings off the bottom of the pan while bringing the liquid to a boil. This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. Times are estimates. 2 servings 20 min 5 min prep salt and pepper, to taste 4 chicken cutlets (can use turkey or pork too) 2/3 cup flour (this is an estimate) 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil 1/4 cup dry white wine 1 teaspoon garlic, minced 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon capers, drained 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 7-8 fresh lemon slices chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional) Season the cutlets with salt and pepper. Put the flour and the seasoned cutlets into a gallon-sized ziploc baggie. Shake well to coat all of the chicken with flour. Spray a saute pan with nonstick spray, add the oil, and heat over medium-high heat. Add cutlets to heated pan, shaking off the excess flour as you do. Saute the cutlets for 2-3 minutes on one side. Flip over and saute the other side 1-2 minutes with the pan covered with a plate. Transfer the cutlets to the warm plate (that was covering the pan) and pour off fat from the pan. Add wine and minced garlic to the pan and deglaze the pan. Cook until garlic is slightly brown and wine is nearly gone (about 2 minutes). To the pan, add broth, lemon juice, capers, and cutlets (make sure to keep the plate they were on handy). Cook cutlets for an additional 1 minute on each side. Transfer the cutlets back to the plate. Add butter and lemon slices to the pan and melt butter. Once melted, pour sauce over cutlets. Garnish with chopped parsley (if desired) and serve. You can serve this with a side of buttered pasta and a salad and she'll be in heaven! :)

Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca 1/4 cup olive oil 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 pepperoncini pepper, minced 4 anchovies, rinsed (optional)* 1 tblsp. capers, rinsed (optional)* 2/3 cup Calamatta olives, pitted and chopped 1 28-oz. can Italian tomatos, chopped, with juices Salt 1 lb. spaghetti 2 tblsp. unsalted butter 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or store-bought Parmesan/Romano cheese) In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, pepperoncini and anchovies. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the capers, olives and tomatos. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt if needed. Meanwhile, add 1-1/2 heaping tblsp. salt and the spaghetti to 6 quarts of boiling water. Cook until spaghetti is al dente. (Cooked, but not soft.) Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Stir in butter and add half of the sauce Stir briefly over medium heat. Meanwhile warm the rest of the sauce in a small pan. Transfer spaghetti to a serving platter and pour the rest of the sauce on top of the pasta. Top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and serve immediately. * Many people do not like anchovies or capers, but for the authentic recipe they should be left in. CarolSandyToes1

Creamy Italian White Bean Soup INGREDIENTS * 1 tablespoon vegetable oil * 1 onion, chopped * 1 stalk celery, chopped * 1 clove garlic, minced * 2 (16 ounce) cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained * 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth * 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper * 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme * 2 cups water * 1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced * 1 tablespoon lemon juice DIRECTIONS 1. In a large saucepan, heat oil. Cook onion and celery in oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, continually stirring. Stir in beans, chicken broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes. 2. With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside. 3. In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, (it helps to remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape.) Once blended pour soup back into stock pot and stir in reserved beans. 4. Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Creamy Italian White Bean Soup INGREDIENTS * 1 tablespoon vegetable oil * 1 onion, chopped * 1 stalk celery, chopped * 1 clove garlic, minced * 2 (16 ounce) cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained * 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth * 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper * 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme * 2 cups water * 1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced * 1 tablespoon lemon juice DIRECTIONS 1. In a large saucepan, heat oil. Cook onion and celery in oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, continually stirring. Stir in beans, chicken broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes. 2. With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside. 3. In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, (it helps to remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape.) Once blended pour soup back into stock pot and stir in reserved beans. 4. Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Take boneless skinless chicken breast and dip them in egg then coat with italian bread crumbs. Brown in a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in nonstick skillett on med high. Then put them in a baking dish and cover with a meatless speghetti sauce, you can make your own or buy jarred. Bake for 45 min in an oven set fgor 350. During the last 5 min top with thin slices of Mozzerella. Serve over spaghetti noodles with a salad and garlic bread. Enjoy.