Cooking up a Storm!

Lately, I've been in the cooking mood. I mean, I've always been one to enjoy cooking...especially the gourmet kind. But lately, I have been trying several new recipes. It felt like I went through a period where I was just too tired to try new stuff...just cooking the same, familar rounds of dinners...good dinners, but the same. However, over the last few weeks, we've been having what I've called "Rachel Ray night." I've had two of her cookbooks for several years now and never cooked from them yet! Appalling, I know! ha ha! But what I've made over the last two weeks have been SOOO amazing.

The first recipe that I tried was called Pasta with Bacon, Tomatoes, and Cheese. WOW!...the name describes it all. This dish used everything fresh. The fresh mozzarella and parmesan were a dream. As I was dicing the fresh mozzarella, Michael and I both found ourselves munching away on it. It melted in your mouth! Add basil from our garden as well as chives, and that's about as fresh as it gets! The sauteed EVOO, white wine, garlic, onions, and bacon is then mixed with the pasta, grape tomatoes, & cheese. Then, it's time to eat and SAVOR every bite!

The following week, I tried Bucatini with Sausage, Peppers and Onions. If the recipes continue to get better every week like they have been these first two weeks, then dinner is looking pretty good in our family!! :) I had never cooked with bucatini pasta before. It definitely added another dimension to the meal and made the meal look that much fancier. Bucatini is like fat spaghetti, but has a hole in the middle. (Picture a drinking straw, but not quite that thick.) This dinner combines Italian sausage with sauteed onions, peppers, & garlic. Add some crushed tomatoes for a red sauce. The meal was finished with fresh parmesan and basil. This meal made so much food that we each took it for lunch one day and still had some left over. It's AMAZING!

And the boys ate and liked both meals!! That is especially encouraging! So, it's looking like Rachel has become my new friend, and we're going to try to enjoy her meals about once a week.
I can send you a recipe if you would like it. Just let me know...

Stay tuned for next week's entree!