Bean Soup

My dad loves this soup. My mom made it for him often!!! If he ate it now all the sodium would throw him into congestive heart failure..hmmmm...jk...poor grandpa

2 pepperoni's sliced thin

1 package of pea beans (rinsed and sorted from debris)

3 stalks of celery chopped

1 large onion chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped finely or put through a garlic press

1 t oregano

salt and pepper (easy on the salt, the pepperoni can be salty)

1 can of tomato paste (small can)

1/4 cup of olive oil

chopped basil

Put beans and pepperoni in a large soup pot. Add 16 cups of water cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for an additional 2-3 hours until the beans are cooked. Add water along the way if needed. Serve with some good bread and grated cheese.

*you can make make this a white soup and leave out the tomato paste. You could also add some cooked escarole at the end.

Fussili (Jerry) and Basil

If anyone is a Seinfeld fan, you will get the name of this recipe.

This is a recipe that was either my Grandmother's or my Aunt's on my Dad's side. Simple and delicious.

1lb of Fussili (you can use any kind of pasta) but then the joke....

1/2 cup fresh basil sliced (roll leaves in a cigar shape then slice thinly across cigar)

1/2 cup chopped pimento's

1/2 sliced black olives

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped finely

Salt and pepper-make sure it is well seasoned

3/4 cup of olive oil (you could use a little less and add some pasta water if you are watching your figure ;)

Cook the pasta as directed.

Just before the pasta is done heat the olive oil in a big saute' pan over med heat. Add the garlic and saute until lightly brown. Add the rest of the ingredients heat til warm. Drain pasta and toss all the ingredients together. Grate some cheese over it...

Beef soup...

Okay so you have lots of beef and leftover juice/sauce from your pot roast...

This is what I do with my leftovers.

I take some olive oil in a stock pot-maybe 2-3 T

Chop one large onion

Chop 6 carrots

Chop 3 celery stocks

2-3 Garlic cloves chopped finely

Saute this all in the stock pot. Do this for about 5-6 minutes over medium heat.

Add the chopped left over beef. Make sure you scrape off the fat on the top of the juice before you add it to the soup. At this point I usually add 1 carton of beef broth.

You can add a variation of things to this soup.

A can of diced tomatoes.

Sliced cabbage

Zucchini or summer squash

Barley

Brown Rice (already cooked)

Noodles....The options are endless. Enjoy!!!

Pot Roast

So this has taken a long, long time...But on my friends urging here you go...

Ever have one of those days? Going and going and you think how am I going to get dinner cooked? Well I have this yummy recipe that will then turn into dish number 2 for the next night.

I buy a pot roast...maybe 3-6 lbs?

Take off the string and cut off as much fat as possible. Plop it in the crockpot

Then add a jar of picante' sauce (I get the big jar). I use Pace but you can use anything you like.

Add 1 cup of beef broth.

Add 1 T of chili powder and 2 cloves of chopped garlic...

Put the lid on and cook on high for 5 hours...

Keep all juice and leftover beef for meal number 2...Stay tuned....