Simple Weekend Meals

With start of the school year weekend time becomes precious -too precious to waste in a hot kitchen cooking. You can still create healthy meals but in less time.That way you can spend more time cheering on the soccer field, enjoying an empty beach or visiting your college kid.

Instead of reaching for cold cuts which are overly processed,. try roasting a chicken or turkey during the week and using the left overs for sandwiches , salads or simply  with gravy. Freshly made soups are easy to whip up and all it takes is a good base. Use bouillon cubes or stock and have fun., Minestrone is not only a quick one two three soup but you can load it with good for the family and you veggies. Use tomatoes from the garden along with sliced zucchini , peppers and onions. Toss in some cannellini and red kidney beans for more flavor too.Another easy fave is stratichella or "rags soup". You can take either, beef  chicken or vegetable broth, and then add spinach and beaten egg. Serve with hot crusty Italian bread and a green salad.

Dinners can be simple too. For those too tired , after a day of apple picking or just cleaning house or the summer place, you want something,quick warm and delicious. Pasta fills the bill because it's easy to boil up and then throw on a homemade sauce. For sheer simplicity go with con burro  or just simply butter melted into any kind of pasta. Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. You can also try aglia e olio, again , it's just olive oil cooked with garlic cloves or slices. You can also make a pasta fresco with tomatoes, and garlic sauteed in olive oil. If you want add pepperoni or sausage. chicken or steak grilled indoors is another easy supper suggestion. Serve with sauteed sliced squash and green beans for a well balanced but quick meal.

Late summer weekends are busy ones. Don't spend all day cooking up meals when you could be doing a million other things. Make something nutritious but make it simple and quick

Recycling And RevampingThose Easter Sweets Part Two

What happens when you have more leftover chocolate eggs and Peeps than you know what to do with? What about those holiday breads and cakes? There are some great ways to remake Easter treats into fantastic everyday desserts.It's easy and a fun way to make the holiday last.

A lot of us  overbuy when it comes to Easter treats. Let's face it, who can resist those cute milk and dark chocolate bunnies along with those bags of chocolate eggs. The problem is that they're always too cute and we have leftovers. We  can eat them til June or July or melt them into fun fondues or used as dips for cookies.Another neat idea is chopping them into bits and whisking them into any ice cream, especially vanilla or chocolate for a variation of straticiella, the Italian chocolate chip ice cream. They can also be put into pudding as well.You can do the same with jelly beans and vanilla ice cream too for a fun confetti colored snack.Peeps can be made as part of a marshmallow sundae or even  - horrors roasted - like any other marshmallow. Kids will love making their own "rotisserie" over the grill or stoved.

For all those leftover Easter breads there is two ways to go. They can be sliced and made into a sweet French toast or better yet a sweet and tasty bread pudding.For the French toast, think about serving the slices with a tart creme fraiche and fresh berries to cut the sweetness For the last you can also add any of the  leftover holiday brunch muffins too. You won't need any extra sugar spice or raisin because these already have sugar in them. Serve with fresh cream. .What about the remains of those bunny and egg cakes? Slice thinly and put a huge scoop of your favorite ice cream or sherbet on top.

Leftover Easter treats need not get stale. They cna be recycled into tasty and fun desserts everyone will like. It's a way of prolonging the holiday .It's also a way of enjoying the candy while it's still fresh.