Faith-Filled Friday: Where your heart is

Good morning Crushers!

To say that I'm an involved person is an understatement. I am working two jobs (both of which, I enjoy). I am a board member for the Wauwatosa Woman's Club. I am the president of the Goldendale Horseshoe Club (only really matters in summer). I play softball and in the handbell choir at my church. I am in a book club (hated the last book). And I try to post 2-3 times a week on this blog, which means that I have to be cooking on a regular basis. This last one is pretty easy since I love cooking and we have to eat, right?

However, last night after making 3 dinners (two are for next week when my friend Kalie and her mom come to visit from Texas!), I laid down next to my husband and opened a book. (FYI - Steve did help cook!) The first line of the book was one of my favorite passages:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6:21

It made me smile because here I was just relaxing at home with the person that I love the most. We weren't doing anything special. He had ESPN on and I had a book. We were all mashed up with our legs crossing over each others. That's where my treasure is. Right at home with our little family.

It was also a really good reminder that for all the busy, busy things I do, my real life is ahead of me in Heaven. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." says Matthew 6:21. Heaven is where my ultimate treasure is. That's a really nice reminder for a very busy week.

But what did I make for those three dinners? I was in a pasta mood. It's always a wonderful thing to feed a crowd! Remember the tortellacci? Or the lasagna? Or the meatballs and angel hair? We kind of love Italian food at our house, and I LOVE Giada de Laurentiis and her book (and show) "Everyday Italian." I consulted this book while making baked eggplant Parmesan last night. Note: that recipe is not in her book, but she has helpful hints about cooking with eggplant in it. I also made noodles with veggies and garlic butter sauce and these butternut squash gnocchi from Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats.

Baked Eggplant and Zucchini Parmesan (original recipe with some help from research)
1 medium eggplant
1 medium zucchini
1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 heaping tbsp of Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
2-ish cups marinara sauce
1-2 cups (or two handfuls) of shredded mozzarella cheese

Gear you'll need: two shallow dishes, one 8x8 or 9x13 baking dish, one baking sheet, measuring cups and spoons, a sharp knife.

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry your veggies to make sure that all garden dirt is gone. In one shallow dish whisk the water and egg together. In the other shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Slice the veggies in 1/2 -1 inch thick slices across the veggie. That means we're not making long strips, we're making disc-like shapes.

Coat the veggie slices in the egg wash and then roll them/cover them on all sides with the bread crumb mix. Place on the baking sheet that you've already give a light coating of olive oil to and feel free to let the veggies touch each other since they'll shrink. 

Tip: Put the olive oil in a shallow bowl or pour a little directly on the pan. Use a brush or even some paper towel to rub it all around. Only use half of the olive oil because you'll need the other half later for the baking dish. You could go ahead and brush that on now too because you won't have to do it twice!

 Bake the veggies for 25 minutes and then flip them over and bake for another 20-25 more so that each side gets golden brown. Remove from the baking dish and place the veggies in the baking dish and cover with most of the mozzarella cheese. Pour the marinara sauce on top of that and then sprinkle a bit more cheese over that. If you use the smaller pan, feel free to layer!

I put mine in the freezer for next week, but when you do need to bake it, make sure it's thawed all the way through. When it's ready, bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until it's bubbling and cheesy.

Note: Feel free to peel the veggies if you aren't a fan of the skins, but remember that the part of the plant that is the most brightly colored is the most nutrient filled!

Family Style Pasta - Spinach Tortellacci with Spicy Italian Sausage

Hello crushers,

I did a LOT of cooking over the weekend because we were home getting lots of things done around the house. It was nice to take down some of the Christmas decorations and organize things so we know we can find them next year. It was also nice to get to have enough time to make a gigantic meal for the Packer game so we weren't rushed to have dinner ready by kickoff. Sadly, the Packers did not continue on to the next playoff game, but we had a great meal.

See how big those noodles are?

One of the things I love about recipes is when you know you've made enough for a family to sit down and enjoy a meal without having to get up a million times to grab this or that. Family-style pasta is a great option, and this meal was inspired by two things: the awesome elderly gentleman at Glorioso's, the best Italian grocery in Milwaukee, who hands out cookies to chew on while you decide what cut of meat to order and Giada Di Laurentiis, the Food Network Queen of Family Style Pasta.

Glorioso's is one of my favorite specialty grocery stores to wander through. They will often let you have a taste of olives or something if you're really undecided. I got to try an olive stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese. It was amazing! We left the store with a wedge of Parmesan cheese, a few types of olives including the kind I got to sample, a half pound of caprese salad from the deli, a pound of spicy Italian sausage (they make their own!) and a pound of spinach tortellacci.


No, you didn't read that wrong. I said tortellacci. If you haven't already typed that in a search engine, please let me explain what it is. You are probably familiar with tortellini, the delightful stuffed round pasta. It rhymes with teeny, so it's the smallest. Tortelloni is the next size up. Tortellacci is the biggest version of this stuffed noodle. Another way to remember it is that when you say the words, your mouth has to open the least to say the word for the smallest noodle, and it has to open the widest for the biggest noodle. No matter the size, it's delicious.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage (about two links)
1 pound spinach tortellacci, cooked according to the package directions
1/2 green pepper, diced
5-6 button mushrooms, halved and sliced
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce (we like the kind with basil or chunky veggies)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

(Note: We made side salads to go with this, so we put some of the onions, mushrooms and peppers on the lettuce. We also snacked on the caprese salad and olives. We had plenty of leftovers for dinner the next night!).

Directions:
First, pour yourself a glass of wine because you're about to make a mess in the kitchen. Second, get out a large pot to boil the pasta in and a large sauce pan because you're going to be cooking everything else in that.

If your sausage is very lean (ours was), then put some olive oil in the pan and let it heat up. Cook the sausage in the pan browning it on both sides. You'll want to make sure that the insides reach at least 160 degrees. Normally, you cook pork to 165, but you'll keep cooking this later, so it'll finish then. I cooked up all of the sausage so that we could have it for another meal later, but you really only need the two links.

Cooking sausage - the white things are rough-chopped garlic.

While the sausage is sizzling away, dice up your veggies. When the sausage is done, take it out of pan to drain on some paper towels. Drain off all but about a half to a whole tbsp of grease/olive oil. Dump all of your veggies in the pan and saute them in the leftover oil. Once the onions get translucent, slice up the sausage into 1/2 inch pieces and put them back in the pan with the veggies. Add your marinara sauce and let that simmer until your pasta is done. Drain the pasta and add it right to the sausage and veggies. Mix it all up and let it heat through together.

Fancy "tailgating" food! If you can see it, there are olives,
mozzarella and tomatoes, and the salads on the side.

While you're doing that you can get all your plates and sides ready to go. Settle in to watch your favorite football team play or maybe light a few candles for a romantic meal or feed a family of four hungry people. Anyway you serve it, I hope you enjoy it!