What's with all the ingredients?

I was out food shopping with Michael yesterday and I had forgotten my list so that meant that I was running all over the store in no particular order as I remembered things that I needed. He's an observant little man and noticed some different items than he normallly sees in our house and he'd ask "What's that for?" and I'd tell him it's for a recipe. I guess I had said that on our last shopping trip a couple of days ago because after I said it AGAIN yesterday, he's like "What's with all the ingredients? It's like I can't eat anything because you're using it for something!" Poor child...having to deal with a mother who...GASP...cooks!! Oh, the horror! Why, oh, why must the children suffer???

Actually, I am a little weird because I love the cold weather in a way that just makes me want to cook differently. I get in to food ruts and then I can't even stand myself and the food I make. I feel like everything is the same. So a couple of times a year, I break out of said rut and go wild. You see how appreciative he is, right? No, no, I'm just kidding. The boy eats better than any of us and every night he compliments me as if I am filling his plate with gold. I normally have to ask Frank and Nick what they think of the meal whereas Michael just offers his praise as I am serving the food. Love him!

So what have I been making? Actually, a lot. I'm going to self-promote now and give you the links to the recipes so that you can try them out, too!

Stuffed Cabbage (my mom's recipe)
Cocktail Meatballs (compliments of my good friend Kim)
Beer Bread (compliments of my wonderful friend Carol)
Peach Dumplings (honestly, I can't remember who gave me this one!)
Cheesy Pineapple (compliments of my friend Billie)
Cream of Vegetable Soup (all me, people...all me!)
Yeast Rolls (again...all me!)

Those are just the ones that I have recipes written down. Last night I made a meatloaf that the whole family loved and for the life of me, I didn't measure a thing! I'm just glad that they liked it. Actually, for the first time ever I used the specialty meatloaf mixture with beef, veal and pork and it really was much tastier than the regular ground beef that I normally use. Who knew?

We're getting take out tonight because it will just be me and my boy. Tomorrow night is beef stew. I LOVE homemade beef stew that cooks in the crock pot all day. Yummy! I'd like to find bread bowls to serve them in but so far no such luck!

I'm in a Nana State of Mind

My dad's side of the family is Italian. My grandparents on his side were very Italian. I can remember staying at their house on the weekends and just cooking and eating and eating and cooking. Sometimes my Nana's sisters (my great-aunts) would come over and cook with us. We made homemade pastas and sauces and there was usually always something going on in the kitchen.

Today I had to go for my very first mammogram. NOT a pleasant experience. So even before I went, I knew I was going to want some comfort food tonight. Hence, the Nana-mode. I stopped at the way home at the Italian pork-store in town, DaVinci's, and bought some of my favorite pasta, Cavatelli. We used to make this one from scratch but there just isn't time and I've never made it as well as Nana did. I've got meat sauce simmering that has both ground beef and ground Italian sausage. The sauce itself is all made by me (short of growing and picking the tomatoes myself, that is). We have our favorite brand of grated parmesan cheese, the Locatelli. It will be one heck of a feast here tonight. I've got my apron on and am just loving the smells coming from the kitchen.

Having come from a big Italian family and living in New York to moving to the South, dealing with the different foods was a major adjustment. The pork store only opened up maybe a little under two years ago. It's funny because the guy that owns it looks exactly like my dad. The first time I went in there I almost screamed. Then I took Nick in there and he heard the guy arguing with his wife and he was like "Is Grandpa here?" So then just for fun I took Frank in there without warning him who the owner looked like and he almost screamed, as well! Ah, good times. So anyway, when that store first opened up, I bought some of the Cavatelli from them and made it for dinner one night and just about cried. Frank and the boys looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. It was just so...so...like being a little girl again at Nana's house!

It's a good memory. One that will stay with me forever and tonight, I raise a toast to my Nana and all that she taught me.