When it starts to get cold and rainy outside, most people crave comfort foods like stews and casseroles. I crave Italian food. The funny thing is, my wife has grown to share this craving. So yesterday I decided to make some stuffed shells. If you’re going to take the time to make dishes like meatballs, stuffed shells or manicotti, you might as well make a lot and freeze them. It’s just too difficult and inconvenient to make small batches. So I bought all the ingredients to make cheese-stuffed shells and meat-stuffed shells.

Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend, my wife and I decided to make some German-style food. I was craving some veal and she wanted to make her grandmother’s spaetzle (German dumplings). To make spaetzle, you mix 2 cups all-purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, beat two eggs with 3/4 cup milk. Slowly drizzle the egg/milk mixture into the four and stir until you have a smooth batter:

Next bring a pot of salted water to a boil. This is where it gets a little complicated – and messy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Eggplant Parmesan is one of the cheapest meals you can make. Assuming that you already have oil, flour, eggs and bread crumbs in your kitchen, all you need is a jar of marinara sauce and an eggplant. I consider it a cleaner recipe, meaning I make it when I need to clean out the fridge. I also do this with pastas and casseroles sometimes. I usually make Eggplant Parmesan whenever we have several bags with only an ounce or two of cheese left in them, or whenever we have homemade spaghetti sauce left over because *someone picked out all the meatballs.

You start by slicing your eggplant into 1/3″ thick slices. There’s an ongoing debate about whether or not you should peel eggplant. I peel it for the grill, but leave it for the oven.

Read the rest of this entry »