Chicken Piccata

I love chicken piccata.  In fact, it’s my fall back item when we go somewhere Italian and nothing on the menu sounds good.  I’d never made it at home before I saw this recipe.  It was so easy- now I can make it when I crave it.

Mr. John’s Meatloaf Goes to Italy

Ivy of Little Ivy Cakes is hosting a Fall Into Winter recipe roundup.  Fall and winter are my favorite seasons of the year so I knew I wanted to participate. 

I was mulling over the possibilities, trying to decide exactly what I wanted to make.  Something sweet?  Something savory?  What do I love about fall and winter food?  Then the lightbulb came on.  I love comfort foods.  Steamy bowls of chowder; cheesy casseroles bubbly and hot right out of the oven; slices of meat next to piles of billowy, buttery mashed potatoes.  Mmm mmm good.  When I saw this meatloaf recipe in the Everyday Food magazine, I decided to use it for my entry.  Now don’t run away because I said meatloaf.  I’m not a huge fan of meatloaf, but this honestly is a good recipe.  At least we liked it.

Yeah I know…meatloaf is not a photogenic food, but don’t hold it against this recipe.

I changed the recipe a bit because we had some sweet Italian sausage in the freezer, but no chorizo and I’m trying not to buy extra food if I can use what we already have.  Someday, I would like to try the recipe as it was written because it sounds wonderfully spicy and just plain delicious.

Pomodoro Pasta with White Beans & Olives

I admit that this isn’t really a seasonal dish, but it sure was tasty and very easy to make.  If you start missing summer as we head into the depths of winter, I suggest making this.  You can easily used canned tomatoes and fresh basil from the store.

Spinach Mushroom Lasagna

I haven’t spent this much time on dinner for a while and I must say that I felt like I dirtied every pot and pan in my kitchen. That being said, it was well worth it. To quote my hubby, “This is really good lasagna.” He even repeated it again the next day and he’s not a leftovers fan.

This white lasagna requires boiling noodles, a spinach filling, a mushroom filling and a bechamel sauce.  Don’t let it intimidate you though.  Each component is super easy to make.  And it’s delicious!  (Although next time, I might try combining the spinach and mushrooms to make one filling mixture.)

Bundles vs. Pizza

I made these chicken parm bundles for dinner the other night. They were pretty tasty, but kind of a pain for me to make. I made my own pizza dough and it wasn’t cooperating with me very well. I think it might have been too cold. I also didn’t cut my squares very well. They turned out more like rectangles which proved a little awkward when I was trying to “bundle” up the filling. I had leftover filling for the next night so instead of making more bundles, I just used the filling as pizza topping. Both were delicious, but making it in pizza form was so much easier. And it was cheesier. 🙂

VS