quick n easy ravioli...

....where have I been??? Here there everywhere. Sorry for the neglect!

I don't know if you've tried the Ravioli from Trader Joe's, but they are soooo yummy...and cheap. I get the mushroom ravioli, but they have several other flavors. So these are recipe's for when you want a QUICK, but very nice dinner.

Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce:

8 cloves of roasted garlic, minced
1/2 tbs butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

• Melt butter in fry pan and saute the roasted garlic for 1 minute.
• Slowly add heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Stir in Parmesan cheese and continue to mix until well incorporated.
• Arrange ravioli on plate and top with sauce and garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese.

The ravioli's from Trader Joe's are packaged and in the first isle between the meat, hummus and cheese's.

Add a nice lite salad with butter lettuce, candied pecans, panchetta cracklins or bacon (if your not watching the calories), slices of pear, tiny tomato's and top it with Trader Joe's pear champagne vinaigrette.

Have fun and enjoy!!

some of my fav's...

have any of you heard of Greenpan?? I saw it on an infomercial and immediately was like "I gotta have em!)...Steve said no, you have pots and pans and they are in good condition...buzz kill. Well, over time he heard more and more about them and got on board with me. I'll attach a website that you can look up and read all the technical stuff. For ex: the dangerous chemicals that are released when Teflon reaches a certain temp and how harmful it is to us and the environment, NOT to mention that babies can not filter toxins thru their lil bodies like we can. OK, I'll let you read about all that...sorry...got off on a tangent.

what I like about them is the clean up and the ability to cook with little or no oils. When I'm not cooking from my roots I like to cook clean and these pans make that soooo easy. The clean up is unbelievably EASY! No elbow grease needed at all! I love to cook, but I hate to clean.

I have the Martha Stewart line from Macy's, but you can find original Greenpan on the Internet and Target is now selling a limited selection.

http://kitchen-dining.hsn.com/todd-english-thermolon_c-qc_a-2117-4808_xc.aspx?prev=hp!4808&rdr=1&sourceid=ysmbg&cm_mmc=Paid%20Search%20Brand-_-Yahoo-_-Cooking-_-green%20pan

http://www.target.com/gp/search/191-7543383-7520657?field-keywords=green_pan&LNM=green_pan&CPNG=Home&AFID=yahoocom&LID=63661071&ref=tgt_adv_XSYH0808

http://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewart-Collection-GreenPan-Fry/dp/B0012GM19E

Mac Pie....

ok, here it is...
where do I begin....

growing up in South Carolina is where I draw most of my cooking inspiration. Most family's gathered every Sunday for a family meal, sometimes feast. I was privy to more than a few of these and there was usually a MAC PIE on the table. But that's not where I learned to make Mac Pie. My sister and I used to go next door to our neighbors house for dinner A LOT. Aunt Grace and Uncle Manning's house for dinner YAAAYYY!!!...these evenings, I believe would be where we developed our passion for food and cooking. My personal favorite was when Uncle Manning made his roast, broccoli cooked well beyond al dente and.....the ever famous and loved MAC PIE. Top that off with biscuits and sweet tea!!

over the years many people have asked me for the recipe, but the truth of the matter is...there is no recipe that I use or have ever used. My sister and I both make it from the wonderful memories of standing in the kitchen watching Uncle Manning and/or Aunt Grace make our favorite dinner. Quite honestly it still baffles me how much people go nuts for this simple 5 ingredient dish. Now, there are many variations to MAC PIE, but you really only need to keep it to these 5 items: large elbow macaroni, CHEESE, butter, eggs and milk. That's it folks, that is the magic 5. You can play around with what cheeses you like and what kind of dairy you use ( I do use some 1/2 and 1/2), but that is it really. So go to the store and get the fab five and have some fun...your family will love you for it!

I still reminisce about those Sunday lunches and dinners with Aunt Grace and Uncle Manning and what it boils down to is...family. Food and cooking bring family together and make lasting memories.

orecchiette with roasted broccoli and walnuts...

I've made this pasta a couple times now and it is soooo good and soooo easy! I did however make a few adjustments to better suit my taste which I have noted at the bottom. If you choose to make this dish please give us all some feedback as to how you like it and if you made any other adjustments that made it your own.

orecchiette with roasted broccoli and walnuts

12 oz orecchiette or some other short pasta

1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chooped

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Kosher salt and black pepper

2TBSP unsalted butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

• Heat oven to 400 F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and return to the pot.
• Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the broccoli, walnuts, oil, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Roast, tossing once, until the broccoli is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Toss the pasta with the broccoli mixture, butter and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. ( add more water if the pasta seems dry.) Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.

*I added the butter before the broccoli mixture so that the butter coated each piece of pasta.

*I added more broccoli, garlic and walnuts.

*Oh and I also added Spicy Italian Sausage, pulled out from casing and sauted. I added sausage to pasta at the same time that I added the other goodies. It is however awesome without the sausage.

MAC PIE coming soon......stay tuned

my first time...

OK folks! I've been talking about this blog for awhile now and well....here it is. So lets have some fun now! Stay tuned for recipe's, drink recipe's, restaurant reviews and general foodie talk! Please feel free to contribute! This is a trading place...