Smoked Turkey Veggie Pasta

It is official! I will be going to Italy!

This has always been a dream of mine. When I was in grammar school, I had a friend who would go there every year. She always wanted me to go with her. She is my best friend to this day. We have done a lot together but I never got the chance to go to Italy. Then my husband surprised me at Christmas with this trip. Now it is official because now we have booked it!

We have never done anything this huge before. You see my husband hasn't been in the best of health for years. I don't talk about it much. It has been a long hard road. Knowing we are both taking this trip together truly feels like a dream.

I worry about the walking he will do but he is determined to live his life even through the pain he has.
We have been planning and searching for what we would like to do there and finally decided to take a tour for 13 days.

There are so many things I want to experience while I am there. Being 100% Italian, I am excited to eat the food!! Pasta, pizza, seafood, cheeses, bread, gellato! YUM

and go to the wine vineyards and taste the wonderful fruits of the land.

These thoughts made me so hungry. So I decided to spend the day in the kitchen making a favorite of mine and my family. Smoked Turkey Veggie Pasta.

This recipe makes a lot and it is great to bring to a picnic. With the summer holidays approaching, this one is a delicious dish to share.

I need to start learning some Italian! I only know a few words and most are bad words! (Don't judge! I grew up in an Italian household!)

And because of that....I can share some awesome recipes with you! Some I have shared are Linguine and Shrimp and Pesto to name a few.

Buon Appetito!

Smoked Turkey Veggie Pasta

Ingredients:

11/2-2lbs of fettuccine

1/2lb of fresh broccoli cut into florets

2 medium zucchinis sliced thin

6-8 green onions thinly sliced

1 large red pepper cut in thin strips

1 6oz can pitted olives sliced and drained

4c of cooked smoked turkey cubed 

2c cherry tomatoes

2/3c grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Basil Sauce

1/4 c basil chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 eggs

1/2 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1T wine vinegar

11/2 c olive oil

1/2 c sour cream

Fill pot with water and add salt (enough to make it salty) when it comes to a boil add pasta. Cook 10min or until al dente. ( a little firm) drain and place in a large bowl.

Add all vegetables and stir. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Make Basil Sauce in a food processor. This is made like a dressing. Combine basil and garlic and process for 30 seconds. Add egg and next 4 ingredients. Process 20 seconds. While running add oil slowly. Add sour cream and process for 5 seconds. Add to hot pasta and serve. This is great cold too! You can adjust recipe to taste.

Enjoy!

linking to

Savvy Southern Style

Homemade Basil Pesto

I love Italian food. I make it all the time because I grew up Italian and that is what we do! Cook! Cook a lot and make sure there is food to go around. Eat! This is what I heard growing up. At any occasion there was enough food to feed an army. In my opinion, it was the best food you ever ate too. So we carry on the tradition.

Just because I am Italian does not mean I like going to Italian restaurants. This is a misconception. Especially here in the south. There aren't any REAL Italian restaurants. So I stat home and eat my own.

This is a simple dish that is a delicacy. The garden had beautiful herbs in it. This came from my father's garden. He is an unbelievable gardener. The basil leaves are as big as my hand.

Pesto is great in many things. My favorite is on pasta.

You will need:
Approx 4c Basil fresh
5 cloves of garlic
a handful of pecans, pine nuts or walnuts
1/2 c of fresh pecorino romano cheese
olive oil

There really isn't a written recipe. It is all just thrown into the food processor!

 I fill the processor with fresh basil.

I like using pecans. Pine nuts are the most popular. Then I peel and add garlic.

Then I grate fresh cheese and add it to the mixture.

Cover and pour olive oil will processor is on. While it is spinning the basil will become a paste.

Then it is ready to add to 1 pound of pasta!! You can also spread this on some Italian bread. YUM!

My mouth is watering as I type this post. Very easy and delicious. Why would you go to a restaurant for this when you can make it at home so quick?

Hope you enjoy!

Tomato Basil Pasta

Sweet summertime! It has been pretty hot this summer and August is here. The last couple of days have been beautiful though with a wonderful breeze! One of the things I love about summer is the fresh fruits and vegetables. If you read this blog you know I belong to a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture.
I get wonderful fresh certified organic vegetables. My favorite are the tomatoes!


Growing up in an Italian household you couldn't get enough of these plump, delicious things! One recipe I grew up on was this pasta!


It is easy and delicious.

The ingredients are
Tomatoes 6-8 diced
Extra Virgin Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
fresh basil 
salt

Cut tomatoes into diced pieces and fill bowl. Mince 3 cloves of garlic and 1/2 tsp salt. You can chop if you would like it stronger. I like a lot of fresh basil. 4-5 leaves chopped and 1/4 cop of Olive Oil. Mix together and add water to top tomatoes. Let stand and marinate a few hours. Overnight is great too! The longer it sits the better it tastes.

Using fresh ingredients are the key! If you don't have fresh basil used dried but fresh is better.

Your mixture should look like this. Now boil a pound of your favorite pasta. Add this on top like a sauce. It does not get cook.  The heat from the pasta warms it and you will not be able to stop eating it!

This mixture is also great to top chicken and steak. Enjoy!