Mom's BOBBA (Mom's Peppers, Onions and Potatoes)

My mom always used to make this as a side dish, the smell of the peppers and onions made you more hungry. Brings back so many memories. Miss you mom.. :)

This is one of my husband's favorite, when I usually make this I add more potatoes.

Ingredients



2 large onions sliced 
2 garlic cloves  minced
2 red, 2 green and 2 yellow round peppers cut in strips
10 small or 5 large potatoes cut into bite size pieces
salt and black pepper to taste 
a dash of paprika
crushed red pepper flakes to your taste (optional)
olive oil to cook






Directions:



In a deep skillet heat oil on medium heat add garlic and onions cook until lightly browned remove from skillet and place in a seperate bowl.
In the same oil add a little more if you need to, add peppers and cook until tender, remove from skillet and place in the same bowl.
Finally add the potatoes cook until tender, then add the cooked onions and peppers to the potatoes.
Now add paprika, salt, black pepper to taste and crushed red pepper flakes stir well and simmer stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes..

~~~Copyright 2011~~~This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed.

Mom's Fried egg with Tomato Sauce

                                   ~~~~~ Recipe is been revised by me~~~~
This is one of my favorite dish that my mom used to make a lot for us, you can make it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

(Mom only topped it with grated cheese, but I added the mozzarella to it. Her original recipe is without the mozzarella.)

2 eggs

2 - 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup already made sauce (heated)

romano or parmesan grated cheese 

1 slice fresh mozzarella (optional)

In a nonstick skillet on low to medium heat, heat the oil, crack the eggs in the hot oil add salt and pepper to taste, cover and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, make sure the eggs are not too runny then add the sauce and grated cheese, top and mozzarella (optional), cover and cook for about another 2 to 4 minutes or until mozzarella is melted .

Serve with italian bread or toast.

Italian Milk pudding cake

This is one of my mom's puddings that she used to make when we were kids. She used  to make it for our birthdays, she would decorate it with chopped mixed nuts, sprinkled candies or candied cherries. Anyway I made one but i didn't decorated it like my mom used to,  I made it half chocolate and half white and in the middle I put lady fingers. Then on the outside instead of chopped mixed nuts, I grabbed a few waffle ice cream cones and crushed them and sprinkled the top and sides with it. Make sure that if you use the waffle cones that you don't have any left over or the waffle cones will soften.

Here's the recipe link

http://linkevskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/moms-crema-bianca-moms-white-pudding.html

Mom's Crema bianca (Mom's white pudding)

  

When my mom would make this kind of pudding for us kids, we would be so excited because it was a big treat. We would eat it while it was hot or mom would pour it into a mold and let it set in the refrigerator and cut in slices when she would serve it. She also would make birthday cakes for us. She would layer cookies or lady fingers then pour the pudding on top then layer cookies again and pour the pudding again then she would refrigerate when it was set she would decorate it with with peanuts around colored candies, silver candies and maraschino cherries. 
I have posted one pic on the bottom it's not that great because it's an old pic but you can see how she would make it.

Ingredients


4-1/4 cups whole milk
4oz corn starch
1 cup sugar
1 lemon peel


Directions


In a pan add the milk then dissolve sugar and corn starch in the cold milk, medithen place over medium heat and let it boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon make sure you stir the bottom of pan or it will burn. When it gets thick remove from heat, and remove the lemon peels, pour in mold or in single-portion cups then place in the refrigerator for at least 6 to 8 hours. 


If you want chocolate pudding add cocoa powder to the cold milk at the same time you add with the sugar and corn starch.

Here's the link for a small cake that I tried to make.

http://linkevskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/italian-milk-pudding-cake.html

Mom's Orange salad (insalata di arance)

This was one of my mom's favorite summer salad.

Everyone loved it. It's so refreshing.

Serves about 4 to 6

Ingredients

4 big oranges

2 to 3 scallions cleaned and cut small 

4 tablespoons olive oil, 

2 tablespoons water

crushed red pepper to your taste.

salt and pepper to taste.

Directions

Peel oranges, section them and cut into bite sizes.

Add all ingredients and stir well. Refrigerate before serving. Serve with italian bread.

Mom added a little bit of water to the salad so it would make more juice for dipping the bread.

Mom's Cooked Lettuce

Ok, I don't know how many of you know this. But where I come from cooked lettuce and also drinking it's juice it's good to cleanse your stomach. My mom used to boil lettuce at least a few times a month for us. We weren't happy about it, but she used to say to us that it cleans our stomach and we should eat some. It does work, and you feel better once you eat it regularly. Anyway it's so easy to make, and it's healthy. You just need a head of romaine lettuce, water, salt and olive oil to drizzle on top.


In a pot boil about 4 to 5 cups of water add salt to taste, wash the lettuce good take out the wilted leaves cut the lettuce in big bite size and add it to the boiling water cook it for about 10 to 15 minutes. Don't drain it, drizzle with olive oil.
Make sure you drink the juice too.

(Lettuce - The lettuce is green because it contains the potent antioxidant and photochemical known as chlorophyll. Lettuce contain things that are great for your colon and your body in general such as, fiber, beta and alpha carotene, B vitamins, calcium, potassium, iron, and many other nutrients. In general the more green and dark colored the lettuce you eat the better it is for your overall health and your colon.)

Mom's carne arrostita (Mom's roasted meat)

This was one of mom's dinner tradition, she would make spaghetti with sauce and then the roasted meat to go with it. Now I do this for my family.  My husband looks forward to it when I cook this.


6-8 thin slices of beef cutlets 
2 garlic cloves minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 
salt to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped


In a nonstick skillet on high heat, cook the beef on both sides about 2 minutes on each side. You will notice that the beef will produce water while you cook the beef, don't worry because that's a good thing.
Remove beef and place it in a bowl. Keep the heat high and let the water dry off, you will see it will look like the skillet is burned, that's the way you want it. Place the beef back in the skillet and cook on both side with the brown dry juices sticking to the beef and burn it just a little bit. Remove the beef and place in the same bowl you will see juices from the beef in the bowl do not remove it, add all the ingredients to the beef and mix well. Serve on the side with some of the juice on top. 

Serve with italian bread.

Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce, and mom's roasted meat.

Mom's Onions with eggs (A Scipuddata)

(A scipuddata is a sicilian name for this recipe)

This is a recipe that my mom used to make for us, she would make it for a quick lunch or a snack and of course sometimes for dinner too when we were on a tight budget. We didn't mind it because we loved it. I still love it. Mom would serve it with italian bread, I would make open face sandwiches. I even used english muffins and it is just as good. I recently used this recipe as an appetizer with italian bread cut into bite sizes and topped with the egg mixture.

6 eggs  
3 tablespoons water
2 large onions sliced thin
1/3 cup romano or parmesan grated cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste


In a bowl whisk the eggs with water, grated cheese and salt.
In a nonstick skillet heat oil on medium to low heat, saute' onions until translucent, add the egg mixture do not stir right away wait until you see  the first hint of the eggs setting, start to stir with a spatula or wooden spoon by scraping the bottom of the skillet continue scraping and at the same time break apart the large pieces of eggs as they form, remove from heat once the eggs are cooked. Serve with italian bread or I sometimes serve it on an english muffin open faced. This recipe is just as good cold too. I also used this as an appetizer on italian bread cut into bite sizes and topped with the egg mixture.

Mom's Zucchini soup

This was one of her favorite dish. She would make a lot so she would eat it the next day and the next day. She would say that it was a healthy soup and that we should make it more often.




10 cups of water
 5 chicken boullion cubes
1 beef boullion cube
5  zucchini peeled and diced small
3 small onions cut in thin slices 
3 small potatoes peeled and diced small
1 (14. 5 ounce) can diced tomatoes)
Salt and black pepper to taste 
4 to 6 fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons garlic powder
olive oil to drizzle
grated Parmesan cheese to garnish.

In a large pot boil water add the chicken boulion.

Lower the heat to medium and add all the ingredients except the olive oil.

Cook on medium heat until potatoes are tender...Drizzle with olive oil and serve while hot. Sprinkle portions with  grated parmesan cheese

Mom used to serve it sometimes with the small ditalini or 
serve it with the italian bread...

                                      

Mom's beef cutlets

                                    http://linkevwhocaters.weebly.com

1 pound beef cutlets, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs, beaten seasoned with salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of water

1 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs

add more if you need it

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

1/2 cup vegetable oil or olive oil

add more as needed when frying

Directions:

In a small bowl mix bread crumbs,

grated Romano cheese.

In another bowl beat eggs

with the one tablespoon of water.

Season the beef on both sides with salt and pepper,

dip in the egg mixture and let excess drip off,

then dredge on both sides in the bread

crumbs mixture coating well.

In a frying pan heat oil on medium heat.

Cook on both sides until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.

Mom used to serve them on the side

when she used to make spaghetti and sauce.

                                                 

Mom's Pasta con aglio e olio (Spaghetti with garlic oil and red pepper flakes)

This used to be one of mom's meals when money was tight.

It was cheap and it was good.

Mom always used to use Barilla pasta.

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti

1/4 cup virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped small
crushed pepper flakes if desired

Fresh or dried parlsey to garnish
Parmesan grated cheese to sprinkle on top of each portion plate

Directions:

In a medium pot bring water to a boil add the salt

and the spaghetti.
Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente.

Drain pasta, make sure you reserve the pasta water.

In a large frying pan,

heat olive oil over medium heat.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes,

saute until garlic is light brown.

It's important not too burn the garlic

or else it will become bitter,

then add about 1 cup of reserved water to start and the spaghetti to the skillet with the garlic and red pepper flakes and mix well,  if it’s too dry add more reserved water.  Serve pasta on plates, top

with grated cheese and if you like more red

pepper flakes.and garnish with parsley flakes 

                                             

Mom's Tomato Sauce

Mom's sauce, this sauce was everyone's favorite,

even when mom used to be at the hospital

her nurses wanted her sauce recipe.

She was the best cook ever.




3 Cans of Tomato Puree
6 Tablespoons of sugar
6 leaves of fresh basil
1 medium onion sliced
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil or olive oil
3- 3/4 cans of Water


In a big pot heat up oil, once oil is heated

add onions,saute till onion is translucent but don't burn

Pour tomato puree,use one of the tomato puree and

fill it 3/4 of the way with water and add to the sauce

3 times (3- 3/4 cans of water) stir all together.

if you like thicker sauce use a 1/2 can of water.

Let sauce cook in medium heat for 10 minutes or so

then add the sugar and basil stir and simmer on low to medium heat

for another 30 minutes stirring occasionally....

Enjoy...

                                                                   

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