Italian lunch/6 recipes

One day I ran out of the ingredients, and so I got creative. What I came up with, I looooove. I call it Mediterranean Chicken a la Crock-Pot.

During the fall and winter I make homemade soup once a week. I’ve got dozens of delicious soup recipes, but the Pizza Soup was the favorite of our sons, Keith and Mark. It’s really easy to make. I apologize for the inexact quantities, but this is another recipe that I’ve never written down…and haven’t made it since last winter! I’ve given the basic recipe, but don’t be afraid to add other items you enjoy on your pizza…including a dash of red pepper sauce!

A great light snack that is perfect for the kids' lunches!

If you can't find key lime juice, use lime juice instead. The crust is buttery and flakey, the filling is creamy, lime-y and smooth, and the meringue topping is light and fluffy. Perfect balance of the flavor and the texture.

These green beans, roasted sweet bell pepper, juicy cherry tomatoes, and topped with goat cheese, drizzling with some fresh lemon juice, olive oil, mustard and chopped parsley, it can be a side dish or a light and tasty snack.

A very clean and fresh traditional middle-eastern salad.

Refreshing and packed with goodness. This easy sandwich is a great breakfast to start up a new day or a quick-fixing lunch.

The balsamic-honey glaze gives the earthy beets a nicely caramelized flavor that goes very well with peppery arugula and creamy goat cheese. The toasted walnuts adds the nutty flavor and crunchy texture, which is well paired with the dried cranberries or cherries. A delicious combination and refreshing salad.

Chock full of Italian inspired ingredients. This pasta salad is sure to please.

A hearty and warm choice for those cold winter nights.

Fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, and toasted almonds make this fresh pesto that highlights the fresh ingredients. A very quick, easy and delicious dish! Originates from the Italian village of Trapani on the tip of Sicily.

This delicious garden spaghetti sauce is packed with goodness and yumminess. It's thick, tasty and goes deliciously well with any recipe that calls for spaghetti sauce.

Fresh summer vegetables that are easy to find in the store or easily grow in your garden make this delicious and succulent spaghetti sauce.

The recipe was given to me a dozen years ago at a soccer game. It is a delicious version of a famous Italian soup.

I loved the mixture of the parmesan and swiss cheeses in this. I didn't realize I was almost out of rice so I ended up using 1.5c cooked rice and 0.5c cooked couscous. That turned out wonderful! I thought this would be more "tomato-y", and I used 1.5 cups of tomatoes, but it was still tasty. Also, I didn't bother to peel or seed the tomatoes.

Made this recipe with some leftover turkey meat, and it worked well. Quite easy to put together, and it came out delicious. This is the kind of dish to make when you don't feel like cooking up a storm, and everyone at the dinner table will still be happily fed.