Recipes from the heart

For Jil lian, Wishing you a lifetime of love, happiness, f lavor, and surprises. From our hearts (and kitchens) to yours. We send you recipes to make your house a home, so you can add a little zest to everyday. From new beginnings to happy endings and everything that comes between, remember to always savour the moment. In marriage and every new experience that comes along with it , remember to enter with an open mind, and a sense of adventure so you can taste the richness that life has to offer.

Love always, Your Friends and Family.

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Recipe for a Happy Marriage In a Large mixing bowl, Whisk together: 3 Cups of Genuine Love 2 Cups of Friendship (NO T IMI TAT ION)

1 Cup Tender Affection 2 Tbsp Happy Thoughts In a seperate container, sift together: 4 Cups of C ommitment, f irmly packed 3 Cups Self lessness 2 Cups Mutual Respect 2 Cups of Hard Work 1 Cup of Forgiveness (NO T OP T IONAL) 1 Heaping Cup of Patience 1/2 Cup Understanding 1/2 Cup Humility 2 Tbsp of True Grit

Fold love and affection mixture into the combined dry ingredients and

blend until smooth. Pour into a wel l-oiled pan and bake until golden.

G laze with liberal amounts of pysical intimacy, then

sprinkle heavily with a sense of adventure. Makes 2 generous portions.

Does not freeze wel l, so plan on baking a fresh batch daily.

Best served warm with a side of ice cream.

Love Always, MOM

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What’s Inside.........

New Beginnings (Salads and Starters)

Happy Endings (Desserts and Sweets)

No Reservations (Pastas, Meats, and Other Mains)

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New Beginnings 7

] 2-3 l bs Pre-cut, Peeled Butternut Squash

5 Cups Water 6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

4 Sprigs Fresh Sage

1/4 Tsp Pepper

1/4 Tsp C innamon

1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt

1 Large Onion, Quartered

2 Carrots Cut into 2 in. P ieces

1 Stalk Celery Cut into 2 in. P ieces

Marscapone Cheese (optional)

Tie sage and thyme with kitchen twine. In Crock pot, whisk together water, pepper, cinnamon, and salt. Add Squash, herb bund le, onions, carrots, and celery. Stir, cover and cook 6-7 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. Remove herb bund le and discard. Using a blender, puree the soup in batches or use a handheld immersion blender in crockpot. Lad le soup into bowls. Marscapone cheese on top wil l cut down the spice if desired.

Crock Pot B

utternut

Squash Soup

Love, Aunt Kate 8

Tomato Avocado Salad

1 Tbsp Balsamic V inegar

2 Avocados

1 Fluid oz. Lemon Juice

2 Smal l Cucumbers

4 Medium Tomatoes

Cut Vegetables into smal l chunks. Add V inegar, Lemon Juice, and Black Pepper, to taste and toss gently.

Love, Diana

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Make this salad the day ahead, seal it with mayo and let the f lavors

get together.

Layer in a Large bowl and mix when ready to serve.

3 Cups Lettuce (in bite sized pieces)

Sprinkle of salt , Pepper and Sugar

4 Hard boiled eggs (diced )

3 More Cups Lettuce (in bite sized pieces)

16oz. Frozen Peas

1 l b. C ooked Bacon (in smal l pieces)

8 oz. Grated Swiss Cheese

1 Cup Mayo to seal

Onion( f inely grated) on top

24 Hour Salad

From Reba Petrosky 10

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1 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp C orn or Canola O il

2 Med Zucchini Diced

1 Sm. Red Pepper

2 Med Yel low Squash Diced

1 Smal l red or White Onion

Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

1 l b Orzo (C ooked and Drained )

1/4 Cup chopped parsley

Heat Butter and oil in a large skil let over medium heat. add zucchini, squash and red pepper.

C ook stirring occasional ly for about 12 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the heat and combine

with cooked orzo in a large bowl. Add parsley and toss. Serve warm or cool. Serves 6

(I use 1/2 of vegetables you can have more than one meal) one l b of orzo is too much. I Use a cup for

myself.

Orzo with Summer Vegetables

From Nanny’s low-sodium C ol lection

1 Skinless Chicken Breast

(gril led or baked cut into bite sized chunks)

4 Cups Romaine Lettuce, Chopped

2 Cups Iceberg Lettuce, Chopped

1/2 Cup Shredded Red Cabbage

1 Carrot , Grated

10 Strawberries, coarsely Chopped

1 Cup Fresh P ineapple, C oarsest Chopped

Dressing

2 TBSP Sugar-Free raspberry fruit spread

1-1/2 TSP Balsamic V inegar

Crumbled BLue Cheese or Feta Cheese for topping (optional)

Assemble veggies and fruits in order (or however you prefer)

Chopped Salad With Fruit and Chicken

From Sandy & Anthony Attanasio

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1 l b of Mushrooms 5 Zucchini sliced thin 6 Garlic C loves, Chopped Black Pepper Red Pepper 1 Jar of Spanish Olives Chopped O il White V inegar

P ickled Vegetables

C ook mushrooms, drain and cut up into little

pieces, put in jar and cover with white vinegar

overnight.

Slice squash very thin-- fry and drain on

paper towel. Drain mushrooms, leaving some vin-

egar. Put al l ingridients into bowl and mix with

more white vinegar. Put into jar and refrigerate.

Love, Aunt Theresa 13

Buffalo Dip!

1 Cup Ranch

3/4 Cup Hot Suace

16 oz. Sharp Cheddar Cheese

2 P kg Cream Cheese

2.5 l bs Chicken (Shredded)

C ombine ingredients in Crock Pot on High heat. Let

Simmer for 1 hour. Turn heat to Low while serving.

From, Ashley Boland

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1 Lrg Package Whole Mushrooms (I like Baby

Bel las best, but you can use Buttom too.)

1 Bag Fresh Baby Spinach

2 C loves of Garlic, Minced

6-8 oz. Crumbled Blue Cheese

4 Strips of Bacon or Pancetta C ooked and

Chopped 1/4 Cup Bread Crumb

Olive O il 1/4 Cup Dry White Wine

P ine Nuts (Optional)

In a large saucepan on medium heat, sautee garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add spinach and wilt. When spinach is wilted add bacon or pancetta. Turn heat to high and deglaze with white wine for about 2 minutes. Lower heat to a simmer and mix in 3/4 of your blue cheese crumbled. When cheese is melted add bread crumbs. C lean mushrooms and remove stems. Stuff mush-rooms with spinach mixture and set on baking sheet. Top mushrooms with a few extra blue cheese crum-bles. If desired place a few pine nuts on top to be extra fancy. Drizzle mushrooms with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until mushrooms are soft.

Spinach and Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

XO XO C ousin Stefani 15

2 Tbsp Olive O il ( I don’t use this much)

2 C loves of Garlic (minced )

1 Med. Sweet Red Pepper Seeded and Diced ( I use

roasted red peppers in the jar)

5 Cups Raw Spinach Leaves ( I use a bag of baby

spinach) 12 Stalks of Asparagus

2 Tbsp Balsamic V inegar ( I use just a few drops)

Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

1 l b Linguini, Ziti, or Smal l Shel ls

Heat the oul in a large skil let and add the garlic and sweet pepper. C ookover medium heat, stirring occasional ly until pepper softens (Jar pepper I just stir to coat oil and garlic). Add Spinach & stir to combine. C over and reduce heat to very low as spinach cooks down. Meanwhile cut tips of asparagus, then cut the rest of each stalk into 1 inch lengths, discarding tough woody ends. Put the pieces of aspargus in steamer basket (or bake in oven). C ombine Asparagus and spinach mixture sprinkle with balsamic vinegar & pepper and toss to blend. Serve over linguini, sprinkle with cheese. Makes 4 servings

Asparagus & Spinach Pasta

By Nanny, From Eleanor 16

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Create Your Own New Begginings.....

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No Reservations Pastas, Meats, and other Mains

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C ountry Salisbury Steak

1 LB Ground Beef (80/20)

1/2 TSP Pepper

1/2 TSP Garlic Powder

1/2 TSP Onion Powder

Fresh Chopped Parsley

(or 2 TBSP Dried )

1 TSP Salt

1 TSP Worcestershire Sauce

1 Large Egg

1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs

1 Smal l White Onion Sliced

Beef Broth

2 TBSP Al l-Purpose Flour

In a large bown break up ground beef then add pepper, garlic, onion powder,

Worcestershire sauce, salt , parsley, and breadcrumbs. Mix wel l.

Take meat and form several oval patties (should make 3-5).

Melt 2 TBSP of Butter in a medium skil let over medium heat.

Put Patties in pan and al low to cook 4-5 minutes on each side.

Remove after browning and leave al l liquid in pan. Lower Heat.

Add Sliced onion to pan and carmelize (should take 15-20 min).

Sprinkle f lour over onions stir and cook 1-2 minutes.

Add 2 cups room temp. Beef Broth to pan stir and bring back to medium

heat. Put the patties in the sauce and cover for 15 mins.

Turn the patties over half way through.

Remove from heat and serve with rice of mashed potatoes.

Love, Tarra Hermann 32

Penne Carbonara with Asparagus

1l b Penne (you can also use thick spaghetti)

1 Tbsp Olive oil

2-4 Slices Pancetta 1/4 inch thick, Diced

1/2 V idalia Onion, Diced

1 C love Garlic

1 Cup Heavy Cream

Grated Locatel li of Parmasean Cheese

4 Egg Yolks

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Boil salted water and cook macaroni until al dente. Drain, reserving 4 Tbsp of the cooking water. Gril l (if you have a gril l pan or you can broil in the oven) asparagus in a tiny bit of drizzled olive oil , garlic, and black pepper. Cut stalks in half when done and put aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skil let , heat the olive oil. Add the onion and pancetta and cook over medium heat until browned (about 7 minutes). Add garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add the cream and black pepper and simmer until slightly thickened (about 2 minutes). Re-move from heat. Stir in the reserved macaroni water before drain-ing, grated cheese (about 3 Tbsp) and egg yolks. Drain Macaroni and toss with a little of your cream sauce. Serve in bowls with extra sauce on top, passing more cheese, black pepper or red pepper at the table. Love, Aunt Kate 33

Braised Chicken Al l’Arrabiata

6 Whole Chicken legs, split into drumsticks and thighs

Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

3 Tbsp Extra V irgin Olive O il

1 Large Red Onion, Diced

6 C loves garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper

1 Bay leaf

1 Large Yel low Bel l Pepper, Diced

1 Smal l Poblano, Diced

1 Tbsp Tomato Paste

1 Cup Dry White Wine

One 28oz. Can Whole Peeled Tomatoes Chopped and

juices reserved.

2 Tbsp Red Wine V inegar

2 Marjoram Sprigs

1 Tbsp Chopped Marjoram Leaves

Preheat oven to 400. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a Large ovenproof skil let , heat the oil until simmering. Add the chicken skin side down and cook over moderately high heat, turning once until browned, about 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter skin side up. Pour off al l but 2 tbsp of fat from the skil let. Add the onion, garlic, crushed red pepper and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened. Add the bel l pepper and poblano and cook until softened. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and their juices, the vinegar and mar-joram sprigs and bring to a simmer. Set the chicken legs in the skil let skin side up. Bake in upper third of oven for 35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. Discard the marjoram and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped marjoram leaves and serve. Serve with soft polenta.

XOXO Stephanie Kasso

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No-nonsens

e Gnocchi Makes 2 large or 4 smal l servings

1 LB Gnocchi 4 TBSP Olive O il 7 C loves Garlic (C oarsely Chopped) 1 TBSP Dried Basil 1/4 Cup Sundried Tomatoes in Olive oil 3 Roma Tomatoes C ored and Chopped

In a large sautee pan, heat 2 TBSP of the oil over medium heat, then add the garlic, saute until fragrant and slightly softened (about 3 minutes). Add the basil and mix. Add the sund dried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes and stir to combine. C ook the gnocchi into the tomato mixture until some of the edges begin to brown stirring often (8-10 minutes). XO XO - Sandy & Geena Attanasio

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Chicken with Turkey Bacon and Avocado

1 Hass Avacado 1 Smal l Tomato, Chopped

1 Tbsp Shredded Fresh Basil

2 Tsp Fresh Lemon Juice

1/4 Tsp Salt 1/4 Tsp Ground Black Pepper

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast (8 oz.)

1 Tsp Canola O il 2 Slices Natural Turkey Bacon, Chopped.

2 Tbsp Fat-Free reduced-sodium chicken broth

Mash the avocado in a bowl with a fork. Add the tomato, basil, lemon juice, 1/8 tsp of the salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Stir to combine and set aside. Cut each chicken breast in half horizontal ly. Pound lightly to an even thickness and season with the remaining salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skil let over medium-high heat. C ook the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until browned & cooked through. Transfer to plate and set aside. Reduce heat to meduim. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasional ly, for 4-5 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp. Transfer to plate and set aside. Return the skil let to medium heat. Add the broth and cook, scraping the bottom to incorporate any brown bits, until the mixture boils and reduces slightly. Serve cutlets topped with reserved avocado mixture and bacon bits. Drizzle with pan juices. XO XO Diana

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1/2 Onion Sliced Thin

2 Stalks Celery Sliced Thin

1 Apple Peeled and Sliced Thin

Margarine

2 l bs Ground Sausage

1 1/2 l bs Ground Beef

1 Loaf of Bread (Crust Off )

2 Eggs

Sautee Onion, and celery in margarine. Add Apple and cook until soft. Brown Meat, drain and add to mixture. Wet

the loaf of bread and squeeze out water. Add to mixture and cool. Beat 2 eggs and add to

mixture. Then Bake 30 minutes or stuff bird with mixture.

Turkey Stuffing

Love, Aunt Annie

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Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast

1/4 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

8 0z. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

1 Cup Spinach

1 Tsp Black Pepper

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Olive O il

1 Tsp Lemon Peel

1 Smal l Chopped Onion

In a large non-stick skil let , heat olive oil; Saute onion until golden (About 5 minutes) Wilt Spinach. Stir in lemon zest, feta, salt , and pepper. Set aside. Divide spinach mixture between chicken breast cutlets. Rol l up and secure with toothpicks. In same skil let heat remaining oil over medi-um-high heat.

C ook chicken, turning occasional ly until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove Toothpicks.

From, Samantha Gral la No Reservations at Home 38

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Happy Endings 51

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Almond Crescent C ookies

1 Cup of Butter Softened

1/2 Cup Sifted Powdered Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Al l-Purpose Flour

Dash of Salt

1 Tsp Almond Extract

2 Cups Chopped Toasted Almonds

Additional Sifted Powder Sugar

Cream Butter: Gradual ly add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until light and f luffy. Sift together f lour and salt : add to creamed

mixture; blend wel l. Add Almond Extract and almonds. Beat Wel l. Chil l 30 Minutes. Shape dough into 2 inch rol ls, using 1 tbsp

dough for each rol l and shape into crescent. P lace 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie

sheets. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Rol l warm cookies in additional sugar, sprinkle

excess over top.Makes 6 Dozen

XO XO Aunt Annie 53

3 Sticks Butter (softened )

1.5 Cups Granulated Sugar

6 Large Eggs 12 oz. Almond Paste, Grated

1 Tbsp Pure Almond Extract

1 Cup Milk 3 Cups Al l-Purpose f lour, Sifted

3 Tsp Baking Powder

Red Food C oloring

Green Food C oloring

Yel low Food C oloring

1/4 Cup Seed less raspberry jam

1/4 Cup Apricot Preserves

For Ganache 1 Cup Heavy Cream

12 oz Semisweet Chocolate

Butter and f lour three 9in. round pans and line bottom with parchment paper. In electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until f luffy. About 5 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat for 3 minutes. Add the grated almond paste, almond extract, and milk and beat until wel l combined. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients and slowly add to the almond paste batter. Mix until combined. Separate the mixture evenly into three bowls. Dye each bowl a different color (one red, one green, one yel low). Pour each color into individual pans making sure to smooth the top. Bake at 350 for approx. 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. Re-move the parchment paper and let cool completely. To prepare ganache heat heavy cream in a smal l saucepan just until bubbles start to form along the edge. Turn off the heat and pour over chocolate in a large bowl. Stir continuously until completely melted and smooth. Let cool to room temp. To assemble cake spread the Red layer with raspberry jam until it nearly reaches the edges. Top with a yel low cake. Spread with Apricot preserves then top with green layer. Pour ganache over the cake and cover the sides evenly with a spatula. Let cool until set.

Rainbow C ookie Cake

From Dayna C ohen 54

1 stick of cream cheese

1/2 cup caramel sauce

1 tsp Vanil la

Blend ingredients together. Grab some sliced apples.

AND THAT’S I T!

Great for last minute get togethers!

Cream Cheese Carmel Dip

LO VE, V ICK IE AT TANASIO 55

Rose Sangria

2 Cups Rose Wine

2 Cups Sprite Soda

3/4 Cups Light Rum (Bacardi)

3/4 Cups Brandy

Ice Cubes

Apple Slices

Green and Red Grapes, Halved

Lemon Slices

C ombine Wine, Sprite, Rum, and Brandy in clear glass

pitcher f il led halfway with ice. Stir with long wooden spoon.

Add a few slices of apple, halved grapes, lemon slices,

and lime slices to pitcher. Stir once more. Pour Sangria into Tulip G lasses. DELISH!!

XOXO C ousin Gina LaMacchia

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Sun Drop Cake

1 Box Lemon Cake Mix

1 Smal l Package Instant Lemon Pudding

1 12 oz. Can Sundrop Soda

3 Eggs

3/4 Cup O il

G laze:

1 Cup C onfectionary Sugar

2 Tbsp Sundrop Soda

1 Tsp Vanil la

Mix together glaze. C ombine lemon cake mix, lemon pudding mix, sundrop, eggs, and oil in a medium bowl. Beat with

electric mixer until wel l blended and pour into greased bundt pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until done.

Take out of pan while hot and spoon glaze over the cake.

XO XO, Barbara Attanasio

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