Turkey N Dressing Croquettes with Crankey sauce!

I am one of those people that grew up eating Chicken and dressing an later on Turkey with dressing, twice a year; only at thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinner with family.  After I graduated from college and was out on my own, I discovered the wonderful world of Morrisons Cafeterias.  It was food nirvana for a single person that was on the run at work all the time and it was a lot better food than fast food places in the mid seventies.  I discovered that Thursday was turkey and dressing day at Morrison's.  I was able to have my favorite dish every week if I wanted.  

Through the years, I have chosen to make dressing for my family anytime they had a hankering for it.  But there has still never been anything like Momma's dressing at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her recipe was handed down from her mother Sallie and her grandmother Sallie Pearl Russell.  Lisa and I both can make it but Mom insists that we still don't hold our mouth's right when we make it.  I think she just doesn't want to admit that we both can make it like she does.  

These last few years as Mom as gotten older and weaker, my sister and I and our daughters have taken turns helping her chop and stir and mix and bake that dressing getting those huge pans of dressing ready for consumption at the family gatherings.  She would always make some extra to keep in the freezer for later meals.  I suspect she enjoyed eating it when it wasn't a holiday either.

Being an experimental 'home chef', I like to tweak my recipes and see if there can be a new way to do some of the old recipes.  Today I decided to try and do something a little different with dressing.  One daughter is now vegetarian so I have developed quite a collection of dishes that will fit her menu requirements.

Friday my daughter Erin, the meat eater, asked if I would bake and honey glaze a ham and roast a turkey breast.  They happened to be on sale at the market so I bought one of each and the new cooking adventure began.

I make salmon patties or croquettes a few times a month which got to me to wondering if I could make chicken or turkey and dressing an make it a little less wet and form it into patties like a burger and grill them.  So the Chicken/Turkey and Dressing Croquette was born.  I didn't take step by step photos this time.  I was more concerned if the family would eat these.  I can add those at a later date.


Chicken (or Turkey) and Dressing Croquette

(Step 1)
1 box of Stuffing Mix .
prepare according to package instructions.  instead of water I used chicken broth.
set aside.

(Step 2).
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
2 lbs. of shredded roasted chicken. (turkey can also be used)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 TBL olive oil
2 TBL butter

in large non-stick skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 TBL. butter.  add onion and celery with a tsp of sea salt.  saute until tender and translucent.  Add the shredded chicken and 1/2 tsp black pepper and stir well.

(Step 3)
Take the stuffing mixture and add
1/4 cup (1/2 a stick of butter)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp fresh rubbed sage
the Chicken mixture
2 Beaten medium sized eggs

Mix well.  it will be moist but should not be soupy. Take a large scoop and pack it full of the mixture.

Step 4
 place the scoop of mixture in a medium hot skillet or grill pan (350 -400 degrees) with 2 TBL oil.  About 4 minutes per side.

Serve with a slab of roasted chicken on top with gravy or with crankey sauce (recipe below)


CranKey sauce

1 jar jalapeno jelly
1 can whole cranberry sauce
3 tablespoons horseradish sauce

heat all three ingredients until well mixed.  will keep for several weeks in refrigerator. Good on chicken or turkey.

 enjoy.  WE sure did!  My husband and daughter said they would eat this again.  now I will make a vegan version for the other daughter!

Flamingo Foodie has left the kitchen!

time to start another year of Flamingo Foodie Cooking Adventures.

We've been eating a lot of soup lately, because its that "time of year" and I just happen to love all manner of soups and stews and breads and I am thankful that my husband Scott and our two daughters know that I call a bowl of soup a complete meal, so long as there is some type of bread to go with it. While I'm big on a slice of bread served alongside dinner, the others are just sometimes 'meh'. And being the procrastinating artist that I am, Of course I wait until about 5 pm to come up with this idea to make some sort of bread! so my options were limited. 

Luckily, this beer batter bread is one you can whip up at the last minute. There are only a handful of ingredients, most of which I have in my house at all times except for the beer and then I have to make a 45 minute run to the next country to buy some.   Nothing like living in a DRY county!  this is a quick bread so you use yeast (because that's what the beer is for!), which also means the prep time is literally just a few minutes. A handful of dry ingredients are mixed together, and then a bottle of beer is stirred in. Transfer the batter to the baking pan, drizzle with melted butter and into the oven it goes. And best of all, when it's done baking there's no waiting for it to cool! Is there anything better than a thick slice of warm bread slathered in butter? DUH!  NO!  

You could make this bread with almost any beer you like so it's perfect to use up those random bottles hanging out in the back of the fridge. I happen to like Sam Addams beers so that is what I will find. The bread will take on the characteristics of the beer you choose so be sure to go with something you like drinking. I love that you could make this bread five times with five different beers and the result would be a slightly different flavor profile every time! Have fun.  ITs relatively quick and easy and doesn't taste at all like a beer.  Its good to eat the whole thing the same day you make you!  I bet you won't stop eating at one slice!



Beer Batter Bread
from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 (12 oz) bottle beer, at room temperature and unopened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together until combined. Open the beer and immediately pour it all into the bowl with the dry ingredients (there will be lots of foam, that's ok). Stir the batter until it just comes together - it's going to be very thick and a little lumpy so don't try to use a whisk here. 

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it into an even layer. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the batter. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the bread to cool for 5 minutes before turning it out of the pan. You can cut into this bread and serve it warm or wait for it to cool to room temperature - either way, slather with butter first :)

{Note: the recipe suggested this recipe be served the day it was made, but we ate leftovers the following day too. I just popped them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to soften and warm them up.}

A September observation

I went into the Greenhouse this morning to check on the progress of the plants that are in there. It is maintaining a nice little micro-climate in there, so I am pleased. this greenhouse project may just work after all. The transplants from the hot summer sun have perked up and the 'dead' strawberry plants have put out new leaves! I was doing the happy dance.

 As I was mixing up the "food' brew to water them with, I notice an enormous spider web hanging from the ceiling to center support post. I didn't see the gigantic spider that Scott had warned me about. I took my spray mister and gave a few squirts to see the web better and it was beautiful with the water droplets on it. As I was contemplating taking a picture of it, I saw the huge arachnid coming down its 'zip' line. It seems the water droplets upset it. Madam spider yanked in on one strand of the web and pulled it to the center, then she went down and yanked in another stand and added it to the center, one more yank and the whole web collapsed and she then proceeded to glide up the center carrying the silk with her in those enormous legs. It took less than 30 seconds for her to disassemble that web that was 3 foot in diameter! The last time I saw her, she was going to a spot where I could not mess with her. amazing.

I have come to the conclusion that I can find God's creativity in everything I look at.....most of the time.....like in that spider web this morning and the actions of that spider when I sprayed its web so I could see it better. or see the Golden Ratio when I look at the spiral pattern that the sunflower seeds form while growing on that stalk, or observe the symmetry in the way plants grow and the way their leaves are arranged, or watching and feeling the changing of the seasons and seeds sprouting. Then my thoughts turn to people and it's so hard to find God in some of the faces and in their actions that I wonder......I just wonder.....is that a flaw in me or the flaw in them that I cannot see Him in them......just pondering

thoughts on twerking and then I'll hush

My thoughts on Miley and then I'll hush up.

 She is not the first woman to do that disgusting dance. It's a strip dance move if you want to call such a move 'dancing'. The sad thing is people are all up in arms about a young woman that they have watched grow up in the public eye and now she has chosen to go down a wayward path all in the 'name' of 'finding her own way of expressing herself creatively'. And seeing the reaction of the teens and tweens in that audience should be very scary for parents..

 There is a generation that does not see that bumping and grinding and wearing practically nothing at all is not appropriate behavior. This is a generation of young women that do not see that THEY are making themselves into sexual objects and that they are drawing attention (wrong attention) to parts of their bodies all in the name of freedom of speech and expression. call it what you want ; twerking; booty popping; junk in the trunk; bumping and grinding; air sex.......the sexualization of America is flaunted and thrown into our faces on a daily basis. Are you old enough to remember when the playtex bra commercials were not shown using real models but a manniquin? Now is Victoria's Secret models prancing around streets wearing stripper heels ( I have a name for those that is not quite that nice!) and beautiful bras and panties to show off that Brazilian wax job ( I refused to do those in my salon after I did just one!).

 It is implied to women today that if you don't have a Brazilian wax, wear a thong so there are no panty lines, wear french-cut, push-up, water bras to lift and create cleavage, use all these feminine products when you bathe, wear sheer low cut blouses and shorts/skirts/dresses that show your naughty bits when you are standing up....then you are not attractive or alluring.

 Its all about the 'hook-up' and not about finding your soul-mate. Its all about the fleeting orgasmic rush and no thoughts about the feelings of emptiness that will eventually come. the sad truth is that young women (and a lot of old 'cougarish' women) have started thinking like a buck deer in rut.

 what Miley did on national television is shocking but she is a product of her generation and so really stupid advisers! She is not the first to do that booty popping she just happens to be infamous! Look around moms and dads, I will bet your little darlings know how to do that. Not saying they are doing it but they know. As we old people used to say a couple of decades back, the mystery is over!

 Pray for Miley, (she really needs it from the looks of it!) Pray for the young people of THIS nation and the young people of world! the Roman Empire fell because of debauchery. It looks like the US is going down that same path.

And THAT is all I have to say about THAT!

The Community Garden that isn't........

Ok. This is going to be hard to write, but here goes. The garden I write about each day and tend to is my own personal backyard garden. Not be confused with the Community Garden I had so hoped to get started here in Bruce.

For over two years I've worked and plotted and researched the idea of a community garden for Bruce and the Food Pantry. Fresh produce is not a feasibility for the pantry unless we can get it the 'day of'. One day I read about the availability of grant money to get a garden started so I wrote a grant and held my breath. Then I got the word in March of 2012 that BCBS of Mississippi was going to give us $6000 dollars to get a Community Garden going so that people could come together and have a little plot of soil to grow healthy fresh vegetables for themselves or for someone else if they so desired. The kicker was the time limit. We had 6 months to get all the ducks in a row and get it going. I had quite a few folks that jumped on the bandwagon with me that said they would love to help find materials and get the ball rolling.

The first proposed spot I went for, I got shot down, because one of the Grant rules was that it has to be fenced in to keep out the 4 legged wildlife (and perhaps some 2 legged ones too!) but the land owner(s) board members said no fence. I suppose they thought this garden was going to be ugly all the time. But in order to get the grant, there had to be a fence so BCBS said forget that place. Find another.

Another land owner had what would be the perfect spot but it needed to be able to be reached directly instead of driving across the rest of the business property. I could install a fence there but I had to get a huge culvert installed. I could get a culvert and could get the labor to install it, but several other things started happening. I could not get everyone on the same page as far as get the culvert in place. Then, because of an incident with the Zoning Board (of which I am a member) over a variance issue, some things were said and insinuated about not supporting the food pantry. I knew then a garden wasn't going to happen because I am not such a diva that I think I can do it all on my own. The time clock was ticking down.

Grants have time limits and this grant had just 6 months. The time ran out on the gift this community was offered. BCBS called and asked if i was any closer to getting ready for a garden because they had another small community that was ready to get started on a garden. I knew they would use it. So there went the grant.

I had envisioned a Garden that would bring people together from all walks of life. It was supposed to be the beginning of a Farmers Market so that what ever extra that was raised could be sold and those funds would go to the buy food for the pantry. It was supposed to be a garden that provided free produce to those that were too old to work a garden any longer. It was supposed to be a garden where grand parents could bring their grandkids and teach them some of that 'Old Gardening Wisdom' about how to raise your own food. It was supposed to an equal opportunity project for each civic club and each church or each gardening sponsor to work with as they saw fit. It sure would have given a lot of photo ops for the scrapbooks.

So I still have a dream of one day seeing a vegetable garden for this community. I will be more than happy to share my knowledge of garden successes and epic gardening failures I have amassed in my own gardening experiences.

A Community Garden is supposed to be for the Good of the Community, Perhaps someone else can get it going. Like I said earlier, I'm not a Diva.

lend a hand. support your local charities. People you know helping people you know!

The Face of Hunger

Our Daily Bread Food Pantry is an ecumenical non-profit organization that is helping feed the need in Calhoun County. The Food Pantry is a member of the Mississippi Food Network/America’s Second Harvest. St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church, Bruce United Methodist Church, Lewis Memorial Methodist Church Calhoun City, Bailey Memorial, Vardaman and the rest of the Calhoun County Methodist Cluster and many wonderful men and women from various prayer groups have come together and distributed approximately 30,000 pounds of food in 2006. In 2005 we distributed 18,000 pounds. The need for more food donations has increased because hunger has increased.

In our area alone, over 400 individuals rely on Our Daily Bread Food Pantry for a box of food once a month. Some are children but over half are retired men and women trying to live on a small retirement check. That 400 is only the tip of iceberg. There are many more that we can’t serve because we don’t know about them and because we don’t have enough to give.

Ordinary people….young and old, male and female, black and white. The face of hunger will surprise you. Many people experience the invasion of hunger in their lives and they look just like you and me. Because the face of hunger looks like us, it is up to us to make a difference. It is a tragedy that anyone in this country should be hungry when the USA produces enough food to feed the world. 20 percent of food in the US is wasted and thrown away. There is no shortage of food in the United States and sadly there is no shortage of people that are ‘food insecure’.

Who are these hungry people? You might be surprised.
There is the child who can’t concentrate in school because she didn’t have enough to eat last night. Her older brother is disabled and he can’t stand to see his baby sister crying because she didn’t have enough to eat, so he gives her half of his portion. He goes to bed hungry and vows that one day he will somehow make sure that he and his sister will have enough to eat.

An elderly woman has diabetes and it is getting worse because she doesn’t get the proper nourishment. Some well-meaning soul brought her a box of doughnuts to eat when her sugar drops. She really needs a jar of peanut butter.

The older gentleman tries to help out the ‘widow women’ he knows by running their little errands but his heart is giving him trouble because he had to decide if he was going to buy medicine or buy some food that was good for him this month. He can’t afford to do both on his small retirement pension.

Everyday people in Calhoun County don’t get enough to eat. It’s happening in Bruce and Calhoun City and Vardaman and all the places in between. It happens to the working poor who have had a temporary crisis or people that are laid off from work or have a devastating sickness that is beyond their control. Often they have already used up what little savings they may have socked away and they are ashamed to ask for help.

The fact remains that they are still hungry!
I can’t predict the stock market or the weather but I can share some facts about hunger that will impact all of us as Our Daily Bread Food Pantry enters its seventh year of operation.

Fact: According to the USDA in January of 2006, more than 38 million Americans are living on the brink of hunger. That is 13.5 million households that are ‘food insecure’.

Fact: Heat or Eat? People face a real dilemma in the winter. Do they heat their house or do they eat 3 meals a day? If they cut back on food then they can keep their homes a little warmer.

Fact: Higher utility rates mean higher utility bills. Even when you turn the thermostat down and only turn on necessary lights, the rate hikes still run up the electric bills. Higher health costs and higher fuel costs all add to the need for food assistance.

Fact: Not all people who need Food Pantry assistance get food stamps nor are they eligible. Most families that do get food stamps get less than $20. That really goes a long way.

Fact: 379 to 400 people rely on a box of food from Our Daily Bread Food Pantry once a month. The majority are elderly men and women who have worked hard all their lives and now they have reached the ‘Golden Years’ and they don’t have enough of the right stuff to eat.

Fact: The 2000 census showed that 19.9% of Mississippians live at or below the poverty level.
The population of Calhoun County is approximately 16,069 people.
18.10% of the population of Calhoun County are below the poverty line.
29.3% of the population of Bruce is below.
25.2% of Calhoun City is below.
24.1% of Vardaman is below.
18.6% of Derma is below.
20.7% of Big Creek is below.
27.3% of Slate Springs is below.
1.1% of Pittsboro is below. (I think someone is withholding the truth about Pittsboro)

You do the math. Our Daily Bread is only able to feed half of these people that have the need. I can dig up more statistics but where hunger is concerned, statistics are only numbers with the tears brushed off.

How can you make a difference?
People feel powerless to help their community or they may just choose to close their eyes and hope that it all goes away. Some might say let some government agency take care of it and we all know how that doesn’t seem to work. People of faith can make a difference. They can band together and take charge and take care of their brothers and sisters.

Our Daily Bread Food Pantry needs your help and you can help in so many ways. Your contribution can be in the form of a monetary donation. You can organize a food drive by collecting our most needed items through your office or church or youth group or community group. You can volunteer at the pantry. Participate on Food Packing night by sorting and packing the boxes for the monthly distribution. Help us with the clerical work once a month. Be here to carry out boxes of food on distribution day or help direct traffic or help people sign up. Help us with our once a year Empty Soup Bowl fund raiser by making soup and selling it.

How can you make a difference? Buy the ‘3 fer’ and ‘2 fer’ deals at the grocery and put 1 or 2 of those items in a bag and give it to the pantry. Help us come up with ideas to raise the funds needed to keep the Pantry up and running. Sacrifice a couple of hours of your time so that others won’t go hungry.

Renewal is always waiting on me.

Written on HOly Saturday of 2013

As I sit here in my little garden, in the early morning quiet of Holy Saturday, I realize that most of my life has been lived in Holy Saturday. By that I mean my life has not been filled with the unbearable pain of Good Friday and I haven’t always had days filled with the unending joy of Easter dawn. Yes, I have had days of great pain and days of great joy, but most of my life has been in between days. 

Like most people, my days have been days of waiting, just as Peter, James and John and the others waited during Holy Saturday. I am always waiting. Waiting to get into college; Waiting to meet the right person; Waiting to have my daughters; Waiting to get a job and then another job and then another; Waiting for things at work to improve and they don’t; Waiting for diagnosis the that I dreaded from the doctor; Waiting for the lab results; Waiting, waiting, waiting, just waiting for life to get better. 

I look around and I see the different kinds of waiting; the wait of despair...where we think/nay we KNOW! that things will NEVER get better, the Lord will not do anything with our situations. Nothing will ever change. That is not the place for a Christian.

The waiting of dread is what made the disciples fear for their lives and retreat behind closed doors on Holy Saturday, cowering in terror of the unknown future. After Jesus was executed they were in danger of being rounded up and executed by the Roman authorities. But then I look at the women disciples who didn't run from Jesus’ side, and they were more hopeful. 

I am not a passive person, but there are many people that are. They just throw up their hands and leave everything up to fate. They don’t have despair but they sure can’t anticipate anything good in their lives either. They just live in the land of “Whatever” . The land of “Whatever” is not where a Christian should be.

As a Christian, I am called to the wait of HOPE. Hope is actively waiting and knowing that, in my lowest and darkest of situations, God is working in my life very powerfully even when I don’t see it. The Holy Spirit is always with the believer. Jesus’ disciples’ dread and confusion after the crucifixion was understandable but we know how the story turned out. We KNOW that Jesus rose from the dead, that God is with us, and nothing is impossible for God, to all His faithful who are called to wait hope.

I am learning to look carefully for the signs of the new life that is always before me… just like that handful of faithful disciples who stood at the foot of His Cross and waited patiently at his Tomb during Holy Saturday. 

I kneel here in my garden with my hands in the earth planting seeds and waiting and watching the sprouts emerge from the dark damp earth and I know that change is always possible, renewal is always waiting, and hope is never dead as long as I have the Joyful Hope of the Lord in my heart. 

Why I like to cook Italian foods......

I am not a southern cook.  I may live in the South, but I cannot fry chicken to save my life.  I don't make a killer potato salad and  I sure can't grill without burning something to a nice charred crisp.  But you hand me a nice fire and a few pots and pans and some onions and other fine veggies and some pasta and stand back.  I will whip up a simple meal that even royalty would eat!

Since I don't have a full time job....(or even a full-time part-time job but that is a blog for another day!)....I try to cook on a very tight budget.  I cook fresh and from "scratch' as much as possible because I want more fresh foods in my body than I do preservatives and fast foods.  My husband and I share a love of food and I have always tried to continue to keep a high standard of cooking for our dining enjoyment.

Tonights dinner was a small bowl of Tomato Bisque soup, a nice crusty Crostini with a slab of melted mozzarella and Asparagus Risotto.

I started with White ARBORIO Rice.  Arborio rice is a traditional Italian rice that is used in dishes where a creamy texture is desired.  RISOTTO is the Italian cooking technique for cooking the Arborio rice.
The rice I found is from the Lundberg Family Farms because it is not GMO rice and I refuse to eat genetically modified foods! Go check out their website.  www.lundberg.com.




;

Campanini Arborio Superfino Rice, 1 lb. (Google Affiliate Ad)

Here is the basic Risotto recipe for the Asparagus Risotto
3 TBLS. EVOO plus 2 TBLS. butter (NOT margarine)
1 large chopped onion (I prefer white or sweet Vidalias when in season)
1 cup of Arborio Rice
1/2 cup of white wine (optional for you teetotalers But if you are going to cook Italian...ADD THE WINE!)
3or 4 cups of hot chicken broth or water.
1/4  cup grated Parmesan cheese.

In a heavy pan, saute' the chopped onion in the olive oil/butter over medium heat until the onion is softened.

Add the Arborio rice and saute for a couple of minutes until the grains of rice are coated.

Add the wine (this is why I cook Italian!) and stir constantly over medium heat until the wine is absorbed.

add the hot chicken broth, 1 CUP AT A TIME, stirring after adding each cup. Add the chopped, cooked and mashed asparagus to the mixture and simmer until the broth is absorbed about 20 to 25 minutes.  The risotto should be creamy and not dry.

Remove from heat, stir in the cheese JUST BEFORE SERVING! and then serve immediately.

I believe you should enjoy this with a glass of fine white wine as well.  And THAT my fellow foodies is WHY I love to cook Italian.  La Vino!

Blogging about food is something I haven't really done before.  But I am cooking so much and have learned so many new things that I want to share my adventures in cooking.

 So from the Cucina Provera (or The poor cook) today marks the beginning of food blogs that I think you would like.

What to do when its the week after New Years, the household budget is tighter than ever before and you start to run out of ideas for a tasty meal, that is healthy, within the budget, and mindful of the waistline?
I started with pasta which seems to be my food love as of late.  I've been taking lessons in Italian Cuisine for the past year and it has expanded my cooking horizons.

 
The first thing I learned in Italian cooking is that most dishes start off with a finely chopped mixture of garlic, herbs, and vegetables such as onions, carrots and celery.  Sometimes a little chopped pancetta or Italian sausage is added as well.  This mixture is called BATTUTO. My Battuto consists of 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped carrot, 1/2 cup of chopped celery, 1/2 chopped sweet pepper, 1 diced and smashed garlic clove, 1 tsp. cracked pepper, 1 tsp, crushed red pepper seeds.

Once the Battuto is in my largest pan along with about 3 TBLspoons of EVOO (extra virgin Olive Oil), it is gently sauteed in the oil with a pinch of salt to bring out the sweetness of the chopped onion.  Don't have the heat so high that the garlic starts burning.  You want the flavors to infuse with the oil.  This mixture is called SOFFRITO and it is what is going to be flavoring your dish.  The blandest ingredients become impregnated with the savory flavors and you get a remarkable dish to enjoy! (photo 1)

 While the SOFFRITO is simmering and the flavors are melding together, put chopped broccoli or cauliflower (I used both tonight!) in a large pot of boiling water.  Make sure the pot is large enough to cook the pasta in because you are going to reserve the water.  Yes it will be green from cooking the broccoli but it will give a great flavor to the pasta also.  And its being conservative with your water.  (Photo 2)

After a few minutes, when the Cauliflower and Broccoli are tender, using a slotted spoon dip it out and add to the large pan containing the SOFFRITO.  Stir and mash the veggies in so the flavors will meld with the broccoli/cauliflower. (an option for chopped mushrooms could be added here)  photo 3

 After removing the veggies from the water, let the water come back to a rolling boil.  Add the pasta.  I used curly pasta for tonight's dinner. cook the pasta  al dente according to the package directions. take two large ladles of the pasta water and add it to the SOFFRITO.  This water has starch from the pasta in it and it will serve as a rich thickener and help the veggies stick to the cooked pasta. photo 4

When the pasta has reached al dente stage, drain and add to the SOFFRITO and Broccoli mixture.  Toss together so the pasta is well coated with the vegetable mixture.  photo 5

Throw some crescent rolls in the oven while this is finishing.  serve it hot in bowls with a generous shake of parmigiana cheese and enjoy with a large glass of sweet tea.

My dish doesn't have a name.  Just pasta with broccoli and cauliflower. Enjoy!