Spinach and Cheese Frittata

Spinach and Cheese Frittata
https://youtu.be/S_k6KHjFCFQ

A versatile dish that you can eat for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.
You can add any vegetable or green to it.Also works well with ham or sausage.
My recipe has three simple ingredients and serves two people.

4 large eggs
Handful of your favourite grated cheese - I use cheddar
A handful of fresh spinach, uncooked. You can also use frozen.
Salt and pepper to taste

I use a non stick pan on low heat.Eggs cook very quickly and can burn easily if you don’t monitor the heat.
Warm up pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Lightly scramble the eggs and add to pan.
Place the grated cheese on top of eggs then the spinach. Cover with lid and monitor the bottom of frittata. It is ready to flip when golden.
Flip over when bottom is cooked, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Cover and cook for another two minutes.
Plate when cooked.
You can also make sandwiches with a frittata with mayonnaise and sliced tomatoes!
Delicious.

Check out my sausage and Ricotta cheese recipe below.

Frittata With Italian Sausages and Ricotta Cheese
https://youtu.be/1JnTKyZzbUc

Rigatoni Bolognese Style - Dairy Free Options

Rigatoni Bolognese Style

How to Make A Quick and Easy Rigatoni Bolognese Style
https://youtu.be/NId1iJ5voQo


Serves 4 - 6

This is my version of the quick and easy...but delicious meat sauce on pasta. It was one of the first tomato sauces that I learned to make as a teenager.
A true bolognese sauce usually includes carrots, celery, beef broth, and sometimes milk or cream.
This version is truly delicious but a lot quicker to make on those nights where you want to put something together quickly.
You can use any type of ground meat that you prefer. It can be beef, pork, veal or a combination of all three.
I use lean ground beef. If you are using a meat that has fat in it, you may want to skim some of that out before you add your canned tomatoes.
You will need:
3/4 to 1 pound of lean ground beef, or a combination of beef, pork, veal
Half an onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp each of oregano and basil
1 can of Italian plum tomatoes or a jar of Passata
454 gr of Rigatoni

Oil you frying pan with extra virgin olive oil. Over medium heat, add onions and let fry for a minute or so. Add your garlic and fry for another minute. Add your meat and fry until browned. Skim off any fat if you are not using lean meat. Add salt, pepper and spices to your meat.
Add your can of tomatoes. Salt and pepper the tomatoes to taste. Let simmer partially covered with lid.
Sauce is ready in approximately 30 to 40 minutes...once it has thickened.
Taste for seasoning.
Boil your rigatoni. This is one of those pastas that take awhile to cook. Give it about 20 minutes.
Once cooked-strain well. You don’t want pasta water in here.
Place pasta in each individual dish and top with the thick, luscious sauce.
Top with parmigiano or Romano cheese and some fresh parsley.( or Vegan Romano style cheese)
Looks beautiful and tastes even better!
Serve with your own homemade garlic bread and a side salad and you are all set.

How to Make a Crusty Loaf of Bread
https://youtu.be/HmmORP1tmBI

Homemade Party Size Pizza - Dairy Free, Egg Free, Vegan Options

Homemade Pizza Dough for Party Size Pizza
https://youtu.be/mC3SmzgyfO0


Make your own party size...or family size pizza!
Egg free and Dairy Free options included.

Nothing smells better than pizza cooking in the oven. This is a popular family favourite and can include a variety of toppings to accommodate every person in your family.....even that special little one who loves pineapple on pizza😘.
I use a stand mixer and a few ingredients that everyone should have in their cupboards.
We begin with the dry ingredients: 4 cups all purpose flour ( I use unbleached)
1 package rapid rise yeast or 2 1/4 tsps of loose rapid yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

Pour dry ingredients into bowl then add your liquids:
1 3/4 cup warm water ( I use filtered water)
4 tbsps olive oil ( I use extra virgin)

Turn on mixer on low setting, with dough hook attachment on, and begin to add water slowly.
Reserve a bit of water. If dough seems too dry then add it. Knead in mixer for a couple of minutes until round ball forms.
Turn onto floured board and knead a little until smooth. If too wet, the knead in a little more flour.
Place dough into oiled bowl and let rise for 1.5 - to 2 hours until doubled in size. I warm up the oven with the oven light. Works great!
Once risen, spread dough onto large oiled pizza or cookie tray. My tray is 15 X 22 inches.
Return to warm oven and let rise a second time for 45 to 60 minutes.

Now it’s time to get creative and add all your favourite toppings beginning with pizza sauce then either vegan cheese or regular mozzarella cheese. You can make it totally vegan by it adding meat. For a quick and simple pizza sauce check out my pizza sauce recipe:

How to Make your own Pizza Sauce, quick and easy, in under one minute
https://youtu.be/O4tfxeoQ0MQ

1/4 of my pizza has vegan mozzarella type cheese to make it allergy free.

Bake in a 400 oven for 20 to 25 minutes checking underneath for a golden crust.
Mmmmmmmmh. Smells and tastes delicious!!

Frittata with Italian Sausages and Ricotta Cheese

Frittata With Italian Sausages and Ricotta Cheese
https://youtu.be/1JnTKyZzbUc


FRITTATA for Brunch

If you are looking for a make ahead Easter Brunch dish, this is a great way to go.
You can make it the day ahead and refrigerate. It’s also quick enough to make that you can also make the same day. What is delicious about this dish is that the ingredients remain chunky so you can really enjoy the flavours of the sausage and cheese.
You will need 6 whole eggs
3 tbsps fresh chopped parsley
About 175 grams or 3/4 cup ricotta cheese, the drier the better
2 Italian Sausages, skin removed and broken into chunks
Salt and pepper to taste

Lightly scramble eggs and stir in parsley.
Meanwhile, in a frying pan drizzled with olive oil, cook sausages on medium heat.
When sausage is fully cooked, drain off fat, leaving a bit of fat in pan.
Return sausages to pan , on low heat, and evenly spread the sausages out on pan.
Add egg mixture. Drop spoonfuls of ricotta cheese into egg mixture evenly throughout the frittata.
Put lid on and cook on low heat. Usually takes about 5 minutes.
When bottom is golden, flip over.
Cook other side for a few more minutes.
You have a beautiful and delicious frittata. Just add a side salad and you’re all set! You can also make a panini out of it. Enjoy.

Quick and easy Asparagus

Quick and Easy Asparagus
https://youtu.be/Y7_7jtvaNh0

Makes a beautiful side dish to your Baccala or lamb!,
Takes about 10 minutes to prepare.

How to Make Fried Baccala, Egg And Dairy Free Fried Boneless Salted Cod
https://youtu.be/bNxVaLEx2wQ

Stuffed Artichokes, Dairy Free Egg Free Option

Stuffed Artichokes, with egg free dairy free option, simmered in tomato sauce
https://youtu.be/auLauJ-LIhw

How to pick an artichoke -  make sure it is tightly closed and avoid purplish in colour.
How to clean an artichoke - begin by pulling off at least two layers of the outer leaves as these would be the toughest to chew. Pull off until you see the lighter green part.
Using your thumbs, begin at centre of artichoke and begin to pry the centre apart. Be gentle as it may break apart if you tug too hard. When fully open at centre, you may or may not see a purple prickly centre. If you do, scrape out with a spoon.
Place artichokes in lemon water to prevent them from turning brown.

Dairy a Free /Egg Free stuffing - for one artichoke -
Half a cup of seasoned breadcrumbs
Add 3 tbsps of vegan Romano imitation cheese
1 tsp of freshly chopped parsley
Pepper to taste. Breadcrumbs and vegan cheese already salted so be careful if adding more salt.
Drizzle in about 2 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil and stir altogether.

Egg and cheese filled artichoke - for one artichoke
1 egg lightly scrambled
Add 3 tbsps of Parm cheese
1 tsp freshly chopped parsley
3 tbsps seasoned dried breadcrumbs
Pepper to taste. Cheese and breadcrumbs already salted so be careful if adding more salt.

Sauce
3/4 cup Passata, jarred crushed tomatoes or you can use any leftover tomato sauce that you have
Season the Passata with salt and pepper to taste, tsp each of oregano and basil, drizzle with one to two tbsps of olive oil.
How to Make Marinara Sauce Recipe
https://youtu.be/KBCZGHFdDK8
Place half of the sauce at bottom of small pot. You will need a small pot, with a lid, that will be able to support you “ standing” artichokes.
Generously stuff your artichokes and place them in pot. If your family has severe egg and cheese allergies, I don’t recommend you putting the vegan artichoke and egg artichoke in same pot.
Add half a cup of water to your pot along with the sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least an hour checking regularly. Add more water if your sauce and water mixture evaporates too much.
It is ready when you can put your fork through it.
Sometimes artichokes can be tough so you may not be able to eat those few outer leaves that you left on the artichoke. You can scrape each leaf with your teeth as you pull them off. Don’t waste any of that delicious sauce.
Both artichokes are delicious but I must say that the egg and cheese one looks like a miniature soufflé stuffed in an artichoke and it is my favourite!!

How to Make Crusty Bread- Dairy Free, Egg Free

Bored and looking for something to do?? Want to learn something new??
Learn how to make crusty bread. This recipe is egg free and dairy free for those of you who have allergies.
Hopefully you have flour and yeast in the house.

How to Make a Crusty Loaf of Bread
https://youtu.be/HmmORP1tmBI

I use one package of traditional yeast for this recipe. If using bulk yeast, you will need 2 1/4 tsps of yeast. If all you have is instant yeast, then you can place yeast directly into the flour then add the warm water. I just find that using traditional yeast gives me a better texture.
Normally I make sourdough bread. I have my own starter yeast that I made from scratch about two years ago and I tend to it on a weekly basis as it sits in my fridge.
This yeast serves me well when I don’t want to go out shopping. The only issue with making this starter yeast is that it takes about 7 days to make. Not exactly quick nor is it easy.

So let’s go with the store bought yeast.

Place one package of traditional yeast into one cup of warm water. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Cover and leave it until it gets foamy, approximately 15 minutes.

Pour into large bowl and add 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Stir. I usually use filtered water. It makes the bread rise better.
Measure out 6 cups of unbleached flour.
Gradually stir 5 cups of flour and two teaspoons of salt into the yeast and water mixture until flour comes together. Reserve the one cup as you will need it as you go along.
Turn out onto floured surface and begin to knead adding more flour as needed so it’s no longer sticky, using the reserved flour. You should have about half a cup of flour left by the time the dough is ready.
Refer to video for kneading and shaping of dough.
Dough will need 1 1/2 to 2 hours to rise and double in size. I place my dough in a warm oven. I use the oven light to keep oven warm.
Once dough has risen, split in half and shape into 2 balls. Let rest in warm oven for 20 minutes.
Time to shape the dough. Refer to video.
Let rise in oven for roughly an hour.
Preheat oven to 400. I have a stone tray that I place in the oven to preheat. If you don’t have one you can use a regular tray.
I place some water in an aluminum tray and place it in the oven. This gives the bread a nice crust.
This bread is surprisingly delicious and fluffy and so delicious.

How to Cook Italian Sausages

 How to Cook Italian Sausages in a White Wine Reduction
https://youtu.be/fg5dRMVs--Q

How to Cook Rapini
https://youtu.be/aLEtPUCXkVM

If you have had the opportunity to try making your own sausages, then this method of cooking them will make them absolutely delicious and juicy!

You can find my sausage making video here:

How to Make Italian Sausage (Hot or Mild)
https://youtu.be/BtVgCWP-CWw

But you don’t need to make your own sausages........you can buy them. This recipe can be used to cook most sausages, and the wine reduction is sooooooo good.

You will need about half a cup of white wine and sausages. That’s it.

Follow my YouTube video for instructions. Quick and easy!

Anchovy and Toasted Breadcrumbs on Spaghettini - Dairy Free, Egg Free options

Anchovy and Toasted Breadcrumbs on Spaghettini
https://youtu.be/9TUSZQuILVQ

A perfect companion for Fried Baccala.

Fried Baccala, Egg And Dairy Free Fried Boneless Salted Cod
https://youtu.be/bNxVaLEx2wQ

Our Italian parents, grandparents and many more generations before that .....enjoyed this dish. From Calabria to Abruzzi Regions.
All they needed was bread, pasta, anchovies from the sea and olive oil from their olive groves.
This dish is normally made on Good Friday and Christmas Eve where we don’t eat meat.
Unfortunately there is no quick and easy version to this recipe. But there is dairy free and egg free!
You can make the breadcrumbs early in day and it can sit on the stove until you are ready for it.
You will need a fresh loaf of bread. It can be Italian or French. Any crusty bread. I am using a Calabrese loaf.
If using a large round loaf of Calabrese bread, cut two large slices of bread close to the middle of the loaf where the slices are larger, two inches thick. This will be enough crumbs for 4 to 5 servings of spaghetti. You will need to adjust accordingly if using a smaller sized loaf.
Cut bread into cubes and pulse in blender until you get coarse crumbs.
Prepare a large frying pan and add one tin of anchovies with its oil. You can add more if you like. The anchovies will break down as they cook on low to medium heat.  Throw in the garlic and stir. Add olive oil to the pan and some of the breadcrumbs. Toast gradually. Stir constantly as the breadcrumbs toast lightly. Be careful not to burn them. Add more oil and more breadcrumbs and repeat until all the crumbs are a golden colour.
Add 1.5 Tbsps chopped sundried tomatoes, 2 to 3 Tbsps chopped green onions,2 medium garlic cloves sliced and cook altogether. Season with pepper and hot chili peppers to taste. The last item added are the green olives as they don’t need to cook. Stir them in. Set aside.
To make the garlic infused olive oil you will need about a quarter cup of olive oil in a small pot. On low heat, warm the oil along with one large garlic clove, sliced. What we want here is garlic infused olive oil. Be careful not to burn garlic!
You can remove the garlic if you prefer, once the oil is infused.
Boil the spaghettini or spaghetti, whichever you prefer. Be careful when salting water as the anchovy crumbs will be salty. Pasta needs to be cooked well and totally drained. We don’t want pasta water in this dish.
Top pasta with 2 Tsps of Romano cheese or Parmigiano cheese....or no cheese at all for dairy free.
Take the garlic infused olive oil and drizzle over pasta and cheese. Then top with most of the breadcrumbs and toss well. You will want to save some breadcrumbs and allow guests to add extra!

You will want to eat this immediately. Do not let it sit or it tends to dry out.