Garlic Sautéed Spinach with Red Bell Peppers Recipe

This is a beautiful dish with lots of vibrant colors.  Not only does it look good, but it tastes good too!  This is a fab dish to serve if you have company over or for any holiday meal, but just make sure you double the recipe.  

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

2 gloves of garlic, minced

1 small red bell pepper, diced

4 large handfuls of baby spinach (pre-washed)

2 tablespoons of prepared balsamic vinaigrette

1.  Add extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan. Under medium high heat add the red bell pepper and saute for about 3-5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about another 3 minutes.  

2.  Add the spinach and balsamic vinaigrette and cook for another 3 minutes or until spinach becomes wilted.  

Sweet Potato Cakes with a Peach Lime Salsa

This is the perfect recipe to make while entertaining for guests.  It's totally different than probably anything they would expect you to make and is perfect out on the patio!  The fruity and refreshing salsa compliments the sweetness and warm depth of the flavors from the potato.  Try using the peach salsa on top of grilled chicken or fish too! 

2 sweet potatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 yellow onion, minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of butter

1 pinch of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

1/2 cup of panko crumbs

Salt and Freshly Ground Potatoes

For The Peach Salsa

2 ripe peaches, with skins removed, diced

2 teaspoons of honey

4 mint leaves, chopped finely

1 teaspoon of chili pepper puree (the kind that comes in a tube)

1 tomato, diced

2 green onions, sliced thinly

1 tablespoon lime juice

1.  Take a fork and poke several holes in the sweet potatoes.  Microwave the potatoes for about 8 minutes or until tender and then peel the skins off of them.

2.  In a frying pan, add olive oil garlic and onions and saute for about 3-5 minutes or until tender.

2.  In a medium sized bowl mash the potatoes.  Then add the garlic, onions, butter, nutmeg and ground cloves.  Combine all ingredients and shape into pattys.  Put in a bowl in the refrigerator for about 15-30 minutes while making the salsa by combining all the ingredients.

3.  Heat the pan that you used to saute the onions and garlic.  Add the patties and cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side.  Place on a dish and then serve with the salsa.

Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce

This recipe is adapted from the red sauce that my Nonna taught me to make while growing up.  I gotta say though, mine is a lot quicker to make than hers!  I don't care much for jarred tomato sauce and once you realize how fresh and easy this is to make, you will be converted to only making your own!  I like to be able to see real chunks of tomatoes in my sauce so I don't bother peeling them.  This is also another great recipe to double and then freeze or to use in other recipes i.e. pizza, meatball sandwiches or over chicken.  You can store the extra sauce in ziplock bags or plastic containers.  Perfect for me because everyone is giving me bags of extra tomatoes from their garden!

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

10 ripe tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup of white wine

1 teaspoon of chili pepper flakes

20 leaves of basil, cut into long strips

1 can of tomato paste

1.  In a large pot, add the olive oil, onion and garlic.  Saute for a few minutes, or until the onions begin to get soft.

2.  Stir in the tomatoes, wine, chili flakes and fresh basil.  Bring up to a boil and then turn down under low.  Cook for about 20 minutes, then add in the can of tomato paste to thicken.  Cook for about another 20 minutes and then serve.  If desired you can add up too a 1/4 cup of water to sauce for a less thick sauce.