Zuppa Toscana

This is a copy cat recipe for my favorite soup from Olive Garden, Zuppa Toscana, which literally means "Tuscan soup." It is basically an Italian sausage and kale soup, but I added some red Swiss chard to give it some nice color. Also, I did 2 lbs of sausage, which ended up being a little much, so I suggest doing either 1.5 lbs or even just 1 lb, unless you like your soup super meaty & hearty.

Ingredients:

1 lb mild Italian sausage, casings removed

1 lb hot italian sausage, casings removed

5 red potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1/2 bunch kale, cut into 1 inch strips

1/2 bunch red Swiss chard

2 cartons (32 oz each) chicken broth

1 cup cream (I used half-and-half)

Shredded parmesan, for garnish

Homemade Meatball Subs

I wasn't planning to post this recipe, because I've been making meatballs since I was seven (I think it may have been the first recipe I ever mastered). I thought it might be too simple for the blog. However, due to requests from my readers who want to know how I make them, I'm posting this recipe. I don't have step by step photos because you basically throw the stuff in a bowl and mash it together with your hands. Pretty easy.

I tend to double or even triple the recipe and freeze a lot of meatballs to use later. Easy to reheat for a quick dinner and you can put them over pasta with sauce, or even make a basic mushroom or beef gravy.

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 lb ground beef (you could also use a mix of beef, pork and/or veal)

1 clove garlic

1 egg

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

1/2 tbsp parsley

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup milk

For the sauce*:

1 can diced, roasted tomatoes

8 oz can tomato paste, and equal parts water (use the can)

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

For the sandwiches:

Hoagie rolls

Shredded mozzarella

Parmesan

*You can use a jarred pasta sauce instead of these ingredients, if you want.

Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodles

People always ask me what is the secret to my cookies, why they always come out chewy and stay that way after several days, and I tell them from my 25 years of experience with baking, that the most likely culprit of two flat or too round cookies is the temperature of your butter.

I never resort to microwaving my butter because for me that always spells disaster. I leave it out and let it soften at room temp. You don't want your butter melted, especially for snickerdoodles, because they will come out really flat, hard, and extra crispy. A good snickerdoodle is slightly chewy and soft, and only a tad crispy on the outer edges. At least that's how I prefer them!

Some people also swear by using shortening for snickerdoodles, but I always use butter. Shortening will give you a fluffier cookie, and there's nothing wrong with that either, but my personal preference is thin, chewy, buttery and cinnamon-y yumminess.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened at room temp

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

These cupcakes always seem to be a winner when I bring them to parties. When I first made them they seemed to be all anyone requested from me. I hadn't made them in awhile so I brought em back for a New Year's party because I had some overripe bananas I needed to use up.

For the cupcakes:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened to room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

3 large bananas (the riper the better)

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

For the frosting:

2 tbsp butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp creamy peanut butter