The Vatican and St Peter's Basilica {The Holy City}

Sharing my dream trip with you has been so helpful in keeping my memories vivid. I will always be able to look back here and relive this!

I shared Day 1 and Day 2 and now for the day that truly was on my bucket list

You see, being an artist I was fascinted by great pieces of art and sculpture.

This place has it all

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

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!

Shrimp and Linguine

I have to admit that this recipe I made last weekend. My sister-n-law and her husband came for the weekend. Since I have become a camera fanatic and take pictures of everything for my blog, I had this stored and wanted to share it with all of you. Maybe you will try it this weekend.

This has to be one of my favorite dishes because I love shrimp and pasta! It really is easy to make too!
Remember to always use fresh ingredients when you can.

Shrimp and Linguine

1	head of garlic, about 1/2 inch cut off the top to roast
1	pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1	large clove garlic
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/4	cup Italian breadcrumbs like progresso
1/4	cup + 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2	Tablespoons butter
1	pound large shrimp (16-20), peeled and deveined I used tiger shrimp
1/2	cup  dry white wine from liquor store not grocery store
1	lemon
1‑2	cups baby spinach
1/2	cup rough-chopped Italian parsley

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. On a small piece of foil, place the garlic head and drizzle a little oil on it. Wrap the garlic tightly in the foil and place in the oven. Roast for about 30  until nice and soft
3. In a small baking dish or baking sheet put the tomatoes in one layer. Add the garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir to coat. Roast 10 minutes in the same oven as the garlic. Remove pan and shake -- tomatoes should just be bursting. Roast another 5 minutes, shake and add the breadcrumbs. Roast another 5 minutes.
4. While the tomatoes roast, set a large pot of salted water to boiling. When the water boils, drop in some salt and the pasta.
5. Heat a large sauté pan. Add the two tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter foams, add the shrimp in one layer, lightly salt. When one side is pink and cooked, turn and salt other side.
6. Your pasta should be close to al dente. When the shrimp is almost finished cooking, add the wine and allow to bubble. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze some juice into the pan. Let the sauce cook for another minute. Swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
7. Remove the pasta from the cooking water and add it to the pan, cooking and turning with tongs so the pasta finishes cooking in the wine and shrimpy juices
8.  When the juices are absorbed, turn off the heat and scrape in contents from the roasted tomato pan. Open the roasted garlic and squeeze the garlic cloves into the pan, no peels. Add the baby spinach and chopped parsley. Turn all to coat well in the sauce. Serve immediately. Bon Appetito!