Subscribe for a free meal plan!

My Blog

My WordPress Blog

Main navigation

sauce

Sicilian Rice Balls :: Italian Street Food

by

Sicilian Rice Balls :: Italian Street Food | LeMoine Family Kitchen. In Italy these are called Arancini because of the orange color these have. Tender arborio rice with cheese, beef, peas and sauce. Fried until perfectly crisp and golden.

 

I have to tell you, I am really excited to share this recipe for Sicilian Rice Balls {or Arancini} with you for the second Italian Street Food post. Did you catch the first Italian Street Food post? My Fried Prosciutto Tortellini have been quite the hit! These are an absolute staple in an Italian kitchen and commonly found as a grab and go street food. Whats not to love here; creamy risotto with pecorino cheese, mozzarella cheese, ground beef, peas and tomato sauce all in a crispy perfect package. …

Read More

Fried Prosciutto Tortellini :: Italian Street Food Week

by

Fried Prosciutto Tortellini | LeMoine Family Kitchen. Its Italian Street Food Week on the blog! These pop in your mouth tortellini are amazing and so easy to make!

 

Who says you have to go to Italy to enjoy Italian Street Food? I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been to Italy twice and I do hope to get  back eventually once the boys are older. Just like here in the US, the cuisine in Italy will vary depending on the region and a lot of that has to do with Italians really making use of what is available locally. Pasta is one thing that you will of course find everywhere and for good reason, its simple and delicious. These Fried Prosciutto Tortellini are so fantastic! They are easy to make, so incredibly flavorful and a perfect Italian Street Food. …

Read More

Salsa Verde

by

Salsa Verde | LeMoine Family Kitchen ...Classic Mexican salsa perfect with chips, grilled meat or to serve with tacos. I love this stuff!

 

Its no secret, I am a HUGE fan of cooking up Mexican inspired meals at home. I love it all… tacos, nachos, quesadillas, salads. For me, many Mexican dishes are really brought to life with the different sauces or salsas like this amazing Salsa Verde. This Salsa Verde is such a bright and refreshing condiment and is so versatile. …

Read More

Chicken Bolognese over Creamy Polenta

by

polentabolognese

 

Italian food is in my blood. A huge part of my love for cooking stems from cooking with my grandparents and mom. There are many aromas, ingredients and dishes that bring back the most wonderful memories to me. While there is no duplicating my grandmas cooking {why is it that even when they tell you what to do it never tastes the same???}, I do love putting my own twists on dishes. Chicken bolognese is not a dish my grandmother would make but I love using chicken in place of beef. So came this dish, Chicken Bolognese over Creamy Polenta. …

Read More

Beer Battered Cheese Curds with Spicy Dipping Sauce

by

Beer Battered Cheese Curds | LeMoine Family Kitchen. A very light a crisp batter works perfectly for this squeaky cheese curd snack!

 

You may or may not know this but in the last year I have developed a bit of an obsession with cheese curds. It all started with a little food truck at a food truck festival about a year ago. I had my very first taste of a cheese curd and was hooked! Ever since, I’ve made it a point to revisit the food truck. Then a couple months ago my brother went to Montreal and came back raving about the incredible poutine he had. So lets just say that ever since, I’ve had cheese curds on the mind! I came to the realization that finding fresh cheddar curds in NJ was just not going to happen. So instead I ordered online and had them shipped directly from Wisconsin! Heres what I did with 1 lb {out of 5!}… Beer Battered Cheese Curds with a Spicy Dipping Sauce! …

Read More

Garden Vegetable & Chicken Bolognese

by

Garden Vegetable & Chicken Bolognese
With clean eating in mind, this recipe is a fantastic example that clean eating doesn’t have to be boring! This sauce is incredibly flavorful and made up of lots of good for you veggies! I also added some shredded rotisserie chicken. This lovely bolognese is served over whole grain pasta. Another recipe that you will not be missing the beef! Oh, and the kiddos ate it up!

…

Read More

Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce with Spaghetti

by

Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce with Spaghetti
It was 5 pm Friday night when the hubby came home from work and asked, “so whats for dinner?”. The kiddos were at my moms house after we all spent the good part of the day at the mall wedding dress shopping for grandma… always an adventure! So my response to the question, ummm i’ll figure something out and threw this Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce with Spaghetti together.
Now, having not gone to the grocery store at all this week except to pick up fruit, not much in the house to choose from. My go to quick dinner is pasta! What goes in there with the pasta all depends on what I can find in the kitchen! Heres what I found… some garlic, basil & fresh tomatoes on the vine. This works perfect for me! It seriously takes 15 minutes to make this meal and the flavors are wonderful and fresh!
Pronto Pasta
 
1 lb spaghetti
6 tomatoes on the vine, small dice, seeds removed
6 cloves garlic, sliced
a bunch of basil, rough chopped (I didn’t have a full bunch but def add a lot)
olive oil
salt and pepper
Cook the pasta to just shy of al dente according to the instructions on the box.
While the pasta is cooking you can make this super quick sauce.
In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add in about 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil (seems like a lot but this is the base of the sauce), the garlic and tomatoes. Cook until softened and wonderfully fragrant.
Toss the pasta in with the sauce and continue to cook for a couple minutes until the pasta is perfect al dente. Season with salt, pepper and the fresh basil.

Zucchini & Bolognese Bake

by

photo photo4copy221_zps2dadf5fc.jpg
I really wasn’t sure what to call these dish of deliciousness so I went with Zucchini & Bolognese Bake… I’d describe it as a cross between lasagna and eggplant parm. Those Italian classics aren’t by an means figure friendly. This Zucchini & Bolognese Bake is lightened up a bit, there is no pasta and the bolognese is made from lean ground turkey and veggies. The sauce is nice and chunky so your bake doesn’t get watery. I had extra sauce in the end, so i’ll be tossing that with some pasta tonight.  This dish is plenty filling that a simple side salad makes for a perfect meal!

…

Read More

Tomatina :: Not Your Typical Tomato Juice

by

A few weeks ago I got an email from John Goldfuss, owner and founder of Tomatina, asking if I’d be interested in sampling his new product. After checking out the Tomatina website, I have to say, I was pretty excited to give this a try! You can check out the video to see what its all about!

*just a note… I was not compensated in any way to do this review, only given an 8 oz sample to try out then give my honest opinion*
Tomatina Juice
So what the heck is this Tomatina stuff? Lets first start with this…
““La Tomatina” is a tomato festival held in small town called
Buñol, in the Spanish province of Valencia. Thousands of people
from all around the world come together to celebrate a passion
for this exceptional fruit/vegetable. During la Tomatina, trucks
full of ripe and juicy tomatoes are unloaded onto the streets and
used as ammunition in a spectacular tomato fight. Afterward
everyone is washed down so that the people can dance, feast and
celebrate all night.”
Sounds fun right?!?!?! Even better is this product! Heres a few facts…
* Tomatina is 100% natural with no added sweeteners, preservatives, colors or flavors!!!
*Packed full of vitamins, fiber, antioxidants and minerals
*Perfect as a healthy vegetarian meal
*Energizing after a workout
*Flushes away toxins and replenishes you with vital nutrients
*Made up of tomatoes, red bell peppers, celery, carrots, cucumbers, beets and ginger
So, the really important part, how does the stuff taste??? I’m going to be honest, I was skeptical at first because I’ve tried other tomato based drinks and could not get them down. So I decided to try it a couple different ways. First I took a few ounces after teaching my zumba class. Tomatina was different then other tomato juices! It didn’t have an acidic taste, you can tell theres more to it then tomato, it went down smoothly and I really did enjoy the taste!
photo1copy187   
Now for the rest, I decided to make a super quick sauce to toss with some leftover cooked pasta I had. I have to say, it was AMAZING!!!! It was so fresh & light tasting and I loved it even more because there are so many veggies in there! Great for the kiddos *wink wink*!!! I sautéed some garlic in olive oil, added the Tomatina, some basil, a little sprinkle of salt and pepper and tossed in the pasta to warm. You cannot get this kind of flavor with almost no cooking time with a typical can of tomato juice/puree! Really really enjoyed this meal!
   

What else can you use this delicious stuff for? Add some diced bell peppers and cilantro to make a perfect salsa, add vodka and a celery stalk for a kickin’ Bloody Mary, mix in with rice, peas and carrots for a quick and delicious side dish or braise chicken, peppers, onions and mushrooms for a simple cacciatore. The possibilities are endless and you can feel good about all the additional servings of veggies you’re getting!

So heres the thing… John has been working his butt off to get this product off the ground. His amazing project is funded through Kick Starter. Check it out, if you believe that this is a product that should be out there, which I honestly do, then visit the Tomatina Kick Starter page and donate to help out. The donation can be as little as just $1!!! I love this project not only because I love the product and what it is made of but this is about a guy and his dream and I am all for that! Oh, and if you pledge $25 or more you’ll receive a whole bunch of samples!!!
 I’d hugely appreciate if you could simply pass the page along because hey you never know!
Follow Tomatina and stay updated on this good for product!

General Inquiries, Comments:
info@tomatinajuice.com

Buyers, Distributors, Suppliers:
sales@tomatinajuice.com

Veggie Packed Turkey Bolognese

by

photocopy20

I am a sucker for a really good bolognese, my favorite by far is from Sirenas Ristorante in Long Branch! Oh my, it is incredible!!! I’ve also had some bad meat sauce too and no one wants that! Bolognese should be flavorful beyond a basic tomato sauce and the meat tender. I had some ground turkey and thought i’d try to make a not so classic bolognese. Its filled with veggies and lean meat and oh so flavorful! Simmered for 2 hours, the meat and veggies are perfectly tender and all the flavors have melded into the sauce. The flavors reminded me of chicken cacciatore and I love that dish! This is a great twist on a classic! Make is perfect by serving over fresh pasta. I know fresh pasta is a a couple more dollars more then dry but it really is worth it!

…

Read More