An Italian Feast

The other night we had an Italian feast. We love all sorts of different foods here, but Italian is one of our favorites, though my indigestion does not always agree.

Child #4 was scheduled to cook dinner and we were having spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic bread. YUUUUUUMMMMM!!! This is a big dinner for anyone, so I decided to help child #4. She mixed up the meatballs, something I don’t bother with if I’m cooking on a weeknight. Frying the 1 inch meatballs took only about 20 minutes, but it’s a step I skip in the essense of time. I usually just stir in a little ground beef and Italian sausage and then add the sauce.

Now, I know there are purists out there, but I need shotcuts when I’m cooking, otherwise we’d be eating at 9 p.m. or later! So, I found this sauce that I truly love and then I add some of my spices to make it my own. There’s nothing wrong with that. It is no longer jarred sauce when I am done.

My favorite spaghetti sauce is the Classico 4 Cheese sauce. To that I add the following:

1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. granulated onion

1 tsp. granulated garlic

While your sauce is melding flavors, boil your gf spaghetti noodles to package instructions.

Garlic Bread

What would Italian food be without garlic bread? Not nearly as delicious!!! So here is how to make it gluten-free and so mouth watering that you might want to double it to have left-overs!!!!

1 package, Schar Gluten Free Baguettes (2 baguettes – 13.2 ounces)

1 1/2 sticks butter (no substitutes, please!)

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

Dried parsley for sprinkling

Good parmesian for sprinkling

Cut your gf baguettes into 1/2 inch slices. Prepare your pan by covering a cookie sheet with foil. Melt butter in a wide dish, like a glass pie plate (30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring after each cycle.) When butter is melted, add minced garlic and stir in. Dip each bread slice in the butter-garlic mixture and set face up on your prepared pan. When all your slices are dipped, use any extra butter-garlic mixture to pour over the bread on the pan. Sprinkle with parsley and parmesian and put under broiler (not too close!) until golden brown. This could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, though I can’t be sure how your oven or toaster oven will work, so keep a close eye on it!

When it is golden brown remove it from your oven and serve. Absolutely the best garlic bread you will ever taste! Just make sure you use the parmesian that is sold in the cooler case, and not the one that is stored on shelves until it is opened!!! Enjoy!!!!