Italian Style Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Fresh Pumpkins have arrived and it's fall so guess what I make every year, Italian Style Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.


I love using the pumpkin for puree and the seeds for snacking and our method is so easy to do fresh pumpkin pies or Pumpkin Custard Tarts.


Not only are these roasted pumpkin seeds delicious they're a healthy snack also!


Plus I will give you several other seasoning ideas and suggestions on how to make several different flavored seeds.


Give them a try, they're not only simple to make but 100 times better than store-bought and you can make them hot and spicy or sweet with my recipes.


We've been making these since the early 1960s and they're the most asked-for snack every fall season when pumpkins are in abundance.


These step-by-step instructions will make this recipe super simple for you in around 20 minutes!


Scroll down to the bottom for the recipe and instructions on roasting the best pumpkin seeds ever.

Italian Panettone Bread

Panettone is a type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Italy.


At just about all specialty food stores, as well as a good number of regular supermarkets, you're going to find elegant boxes of this kind of bread during the Holiday season.


We love many ways to use up panettone besides toasting making french toast or strata with leftovers.


Some of our other favorite Italian breads and cakes are similar to Pandoro which is a golden cake also  Amaretto flavored Panettone, made around the Christmas Holiday.

Easy Halloween Witch Hats

How fun are these easy Halloween Witch Hats to make with your little ones for the holiday?.


Store bought ingredients and you're on your way to a fun filled family edible creation the kids are going to love.


You can actually make your own Shortbread Cookies too if you're feeling really energenic, I just make this the quickest easiest cookie as possible.


Not only are these simple cookies to make they're delicious and fun to eat and totally bewitching!


Check out these easy instructions and let get started on making this fun projects along with a great Halloween memory.

Pork Chop Apple Stuffing Casserole

These pork chops with apple stuffing casserole are the perfect fall comfort food.


A casserole all-in-one pan super simple meal can be on your table in just an hour.


This casserole is baked with cream of chicken soup, stuffing, and delicious pie filling bursting with fall flavors.


I have made this casserole with both fresh apples and homemade cream of chicken soup and also used a quick canned version when in a hurry, so it's up to you with both versions here in the recipe card.


I love to mix and match soups, meats, and even fruits with all of my perfect suggestions and tips you will find below.


If you love easy meals, this is one you will make all winter long just scroll down to my printable recipe card.

Italian Bruschetta

We love freshly baked bread and bruschetta is the way to make a tasty quick appetizer you can enjoy anytime!

We grow our own basil here in Florida, and plum tomatoes from our garden, and with a few easy ingredients, you can make this easy recipe.

This Italian food is one of the easiest recipes to make and has been around for centuries!

It's similar to having Insalata Caprese which is fresh mozzarella, tomato slices, and fresh basil.

Not hard to make at all.

Just a refreshing salad on garlic toast. Amazing flavors, just remember using the best ingredients is key.

You must use aged balsamic vinegar for a real treat and I personally love stronger-tasting olive oil as well.

If you love appetizers do try our over 30 Fun Appetizer Recipes, perfect for holidays, game days, and family get-togethers.

Make your own variation of bruschetta or the original recipe, scroll down for the recipe, on how to make the best Italian Bruschetta.

Red Wine Cookies (Ciambelline al Vino Rosso)

Red Wine Cookies, also known as taralli in Italy, are one of my favorite Italian baked delights and so delicious!

The recipe which uses red wine has been in our family from Rome, Italy for many years.

Now through the years, I have viewed many variations to this kind of cookie from sweet to savory.

Ours is rolled in white granulated sugar before baking to add just the right sweetness.

We love all kinds of authentic Italian cookies and besides these being on top of the list of our favorites, you may also like our Italian Anisette Biscotti.

The family also enjoys Pistachio Biscotti, Orange Marmalade Biscotti, and a festive Cranberry Orange Biscotti that are all perfect fall treats.

These are so easy to make and totally addicting.

I have to tell you in this photo has my Grandma's wine glass from 1976 when she passed away and it was already 70 years old.

The wine bottle is the last bottle my bottle John gave me before he passed away in 2019 and both so very precious to me!

Scroll down to my printable recipe card for this authentic delicious Italian Red Wine Cookie Recipe.

Seafood Marinara Sauce

Seafood Marinara is one of the easiest tomato sauce and pasta dishes you will ever make as quick as 30 minutes and any kind of seafood can be used!


Growing up in Central Utica New York in the late 1960s, this was a staple on Friday in our home, it was so inexpensive using tuna, money was tight and fed a large family easily.


This pasta seafood dish is delicious with just tuna, however later on when the economy got better ofr us, we were able to start using an assortment of seafood we liked.


Of course, there are many variations you can add but this is a quick marinara and easy recipe using canned or fresh seafood of your choice.


During the holiday, mom would make stuffed calamari in a similar sauce and make a variety of seafood dishes plus several others were on our tables for Christmas Eve in celebration of the 7 Fishes.


Scroll down and let's get started with this easy economical seafood dish, it's super simple and delicious!

Homemade Cavatelli Pasta

Homemade Cavatelli pasta is the all-time favorite homemade pasta in our home beside gnocchi, lasagna, homemade egg noodles, and the list goes on and on of favorites, can you tell there's not just one?


Cavatelli is light made with Ricotta cheese and flour and some are made with just water and flour, our recipe is light and not hard to digest like some that were called sinkers in our house.


Easy to make and delicious with your favorite Traditional Sunday Italian Sauce over them.


Of course, it would be Sunday without mom's homemade fried meatballs on the breakfast table, and then the rest goes in the sauce.


We have not only fond memories but carry on those traditions year after year through the generations.


Mom even had a box of Utica's finest tomato pie on the table every Sunday, we loved it then and now.


Cavatelli is one of my homemade pasta recipes that mom taught me how to make and this is a simple recipe.


This pasta made fresh is always asked for by the family every time we get together.


Scroll down and let's get started with this easy recipe on how to make homemade cavatelli pasta!

Nutella Hot Chocolate

Nutella hot chocolate is a way to take you to the next level of yummy chocolate comfort drinks.


It has the best of all flavors with a little hazelnut flavor and warm rich chocolate that will make anyone swoon.


Adults can add a shot of Amaretto and make a delicious hot style gourmet toddy!


Don't miss this perfect holiday drink.


With whipped cream topped with Ferrara Rocher Candy, what a decadent treat waiting for you to try!


I have to tell you it's so confusing is it Hot Cocoa or do you call it Hot Chocolate?


We love this version of hot cocoa and this goes perfect with my 2 Ingredients Nutella Brownie recipe!

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

The smell of old-fashioned molasses cookies baking is just a fabulous childhood memory that I to remember my mom baking them back in the late 1960s.


The soft chewy molasses cookie with the flavors of cinnamon and spice makes them totally addicting and unforgettable.


It was very hard to let them cool down before taking a bite out of one after smelling their fragrant aroma while baking they're so delicious.


These are still a family favorite and never make it to the cookie jar they're gone so fast.


I also have been told many times these cookies taste a lot like the famous Archway cookies you find in most supermarkets today.


Back in Central N.Y. with the first snowfall and the holidays upon us, I looked forward to knowing these were number one on mom's holiday cookie list to bake.


Sometime around the age of 6, I also remember mom's friends always had a plate of these on their tables too, it must have been one of the most popular cookies to make back then!


If you love molasses do try these and some of our other family old style favorites like Pumpkin Spice, Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies, and of course the Everything Cowboy Cookie.


Scroll down to get this easy homemade scratch cookie recipe and it's printable!

Marshmallow Pumpkin Popcorn Balls

These Halloween Marshmallow Pumpkin Popcorn Balls and such a fun treat and the recipe is great for any holiday you shape it in.

These are perfect for any party and taste just like rice Krispie treats but made with popcorn.

They're the perfect fun food or even great for a centerpiece for your Holiday table when you have molded the mixture in your holiday them.

The popcorn easily will be a fun family project and make some great memories with the kids in the kitchen.

I also love the fact you can change the color so easily with some natural food dyes or food coloring of choice.

If you love making creative fun party themed and holiday foods try our Doll Cakes Molded for Halloween and Breast Cancer Awareness and our Spider Deviled Eggs that can also be changed to any party theme.

Just scroll down to see the many ideas these can be made into and start a fun family day together.

Simple Apple Cake Recipe

This scratch old-fashioned simple apple cake will astonish you.


Why? Because even if you don't have a clue on how to bake,  this is a dump and mix everything together in one bowl then let the oven do its magic.


The apple cake is sweet, homemade and so simple that anyone in your household can make it and the first recipe I taught our 5-year-old grandson.


Seriously this cake is super delicious, moist and the easiest cake with foolproof results!


Check out the easy instructions and give this one a try you can thank me later.


If you love scratch cakes, do try our Chocolate Skillet Cookie and our Chocolate Zucchini Bread, those are two more favorites in our recipe collection.


This scratch cake apple cake recipe won't fail you in flavor or make a super easy cake in no time.

Stuffed Shrimp and Crab Flounder

Stuffed Shrimp and Crab Flounder is one of my favorite ways to cook fish it's easy and totally bursting with gourmet flavors.

The flounder is in a white wine and rich garlic flavored butter that is very much like a scampi stuffing.

The flounder is stuffed rolled up and sprinkled with breadcrumbs and baked.

This whole meal takes around 40 minutes to make and comes out like a 5-star quality restaurant made it!

If you love seafood you can use any thin fish, we are just lucky enough to surf fish here in Florida and this was the fresh catch of the day.

There really isn't anything better than freshly caught ocean fish, but you first have to learn how to clean freshly caught flounder unless you buy it.

There are many fish markets you can purchase flounder in or buy it frozen, you won't get that same fresh taste but it's still will be awesome.

If you love seafood do try some of our favorite recipes like Italian Stuffed Calmari or check our Italian Christmas Eve Fish recipes.

Read my tips and suggestions below for substitutions if you can't find flounder

Just scroll down to print off my easy instructions!

Oriental Chicken Salad with Ramen Noodles

Oriental Chicken Salad with Ramen Noodles is an addicting delicious cabbage slaw with seasoned cubed chicken breast and delicious toasted noodles with almonds.


The flavors complement the chicken and slaw perfectly balanced and great as a whole meal or side dish and even if your a non cabbage lover, this will win you over.


Instead, this will have cubed boneless chicken breasts, you can also add boneless pork sauteed which is equally delicious in this salad.


The salad is great all year long and very simple to make including the homemade salad dressing.


The ramen noodles are toasted along with the almonds to give that perfect crunch in every bite.


If you have fussy eaters, they will love the unique flavors this crunchy salad has, and for nut allergies, substitute sunflower or toasted pumpkin seeds.


I have been asked so many times to bring this along to parties and picnic and it's the first covered dish that's gone in seconds.


If you love Asian food, do check out some of our other favorites like my Homemade Egg Rolls and our Vegetable Stir Fry, both family favorites and great side dishes.


Scroll down to get our printable recipe card for this delicious yummy salad everyone raves about.

White Chicken Chili

White Chicken Chili surfaced somewhere back in the 1980s and is considered a Southwestern style of cooking and if you love a meat chili, this is a delicious alternative with chicken and white beans.


The flavors in this chili are pretty not exactly like the chili con carne which is made with meat and a thick chunky sauce.


Instead, this will have cubed boneless chicken breasts, spices, and a chili sauce with a thickener of pureed cannellini beans, still red just different in flavors.


I really love mine with a dollop of sour cream on top and even some crumbled bacon (then of course) shredded melted cheese on top.


This chili is thick and very flavorful and like no other and quick to make.


I love the fact that this easy pot of delicious chili can be made with a rotisserie chicken off the bone to save time and it can be used as a dip.


This can be made on the stovetop, instant pot of slow cooker, and super easy to throw together to feed a crowd.


If you are a huge fan of chili, time my Old World Classic Chili, Merlot Chili, or Venison Chili, they're all family favorites.


Scroll down to get our printable recipe card for two styles of our favorite ways to prepare White Chili both outrageously delicious.

Italian Wedding Style Soup

Italian Wedding soup is a Traditional Classic Italian Soup made with a rich broth, vegetables, and tiny meatballs.


There are many versions of this soup, and for me, this has been adapted so many times remains our favorite rich and bursting with Italian flavors.


The soup has a chicken base loaded with escarole and traditionally with acini di pepe pastina but today we added Homemade Tortellini which makes an incredible addicting broth.


Soup is a meal that anything can go in the pot so don't be afraid to adapt on the flavors you love by adding more or less of what your family enjoys.


If escarole is hard to find use another green like kale, swiss chard or even some curly savoy cabbage will do.


If you're looking for a soup to warm your soul and take the chill out, this is the one you'll ever need to make.


We love all kinds of soups and I even have a collection of Best Soup Recipes you may enjoy and if you love beans, try my comforting 20 Bean Roundup of Recipes.


This wedding soup can be made with any small pasta you have on hand even broken up spaghetti you'll see a few styles below in photos of wedding soup additions.


Also don't miss my other soups we love recipes in this post below, like lasagna soup, stuffed pepper and so much more!


Scroll down to get our printables family recipe.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Puree

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Puree is the easiest method to make homemade pumpkin puree on the planet and the puree comes out perfect every time without having to slice and cut the pumpkin up first!

With just a little bit of water that will steam this perfectly overnight and a sugar pie pumpkin, you will get a perfect puree.

The pumpkin will soften easily enough to scoop out the seeds and you can even make salted roasted homemade pumpkin seeds for a snack with them!

Of course, if you prefer to oven-roast your pumpkin in the oven you can try my Oven Roasted Fresh Pumpkin Puree method.

I use the puree to make Pumpkin Cake Roll, and Amaretto Pumpkin Cheesecake, and of course my mom's recipe for Homemade Fresh Pumpkin Pie even for my young grandchildren as baby food, there are so many uses.

After this perfect puree is made just scoop it out and freeze it in freezer bags or use it immediately, it will last up to 6 months in the freezer.

Sugar pie pumpkins are the best for use to make pies, in cakes or desserts, using for a side dish or in any savory recipes and they are small and easy to fit in a slow cooker.

Another great reason to make your own puree, it's low in calories, and plus its full of potassium and healthy vitamins like A, and C.

If you're a butternut squash or acorn squash fan, the slow cooker method works great for that vegetable as well as pumpkin using this method!

Just scroll down to print off my easy instructions!

Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake Mix Cookies

Easy Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies are easy because they are semihomemade with virtually no fussy recipe involved.


Mix the cake mix batter with pumpkin puree, drop the cookies on a baking sheet with a spoon or cookie scoop, and bake.


What can be more simple than this cake mix recipe that's very moist, delicious, and a pumpkin cookie for fall?


This Pumpkin spice cake mix cookie is so easy and versatile, it will be your fall cookie go-to recipe.


They are so light and full of fall flavors with a soft pillow cake texture. Whether you like them plain, frosted, or with sprinkles these pumpkin spice cookies with chocolate chips are over-the-top delicious.


The kids went crazy while they were baking they smell so good. Just a few ingredients and they are on the table in no time.


Perfect for Halloween, fall events, parties, and much more. This cookie is also perfect for the Christmas cookie tray we bake during the holiday season.


With just a few more ingredients you will have a full plate of cookies baked in no time plus they taste like they're made from scratch!

Baked Fast Cooking Rice Pudding

This baked fast-cooking rice pudding using fast-cooking rice is so easy, and comes out so creamy in half the time as the old-fashioned style rice pudding.


These instructions are step-by-step and foolproof with just a few ingredients you will have a delicious spoon-licking good dessert on your table.


I love using quick-cooking rice and all the ingredients in the recipe are pretty much the same is Old Fashioned Rice Pudding, the flavor is the same.


I would say just the consistency of the pudding is a little bit different but spot-on in flavor.


Baking this rice pudding eliminates standing at the stove and stirring for an hour, it only takes around 10 minutes to soften the rice and then bake it.


If you love rice pudding it sure takes them less time to make just check out the photos to see are perfect the results are.


If you love making the old-fashioned version here is Grandma's Rice Pudding on the stovetop, Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding, and Old Fashioned Banana Pudding.


Scroll down to the bottom of the post for this easy recipe but do check out the photos, it surely will help get you started on this decadently delicious pudding.

Zucchini Blueberry Iced Muffins

Homemade Zucchini Blueberry Iced Muffins are the perfect way to start your day with delicious freshly baked flavors.


These muffins are quick to prepare and certainly will keep a little bit of summer alive with that fresh lemony zest on top of the icing.


These can be made with other fruits besides blueberries and such versatile recipe and delicious with many combinations.


Check out the suggestions and tips below before you get started.


These muffins use simple pantry ingredients and all you need is fruit and shredded zucchini to add.


We love muffins for breakfast but they sure are great any time of the day to snack on or even bring along on day trips.


If you love homemade muffins try some of my other recipes like Bing Cherry Muffins, Mango Muffins, and Apple Pie Topped Muffins.


Scroll down to my easy printable recipe card and try these delicious moist zucchini blueberry muffins.

Boscaiola Pork Sauce

Boscaiola Pork Sauce is delicious with a light wine tomato sauce Tuscany Italian style and the perfect fall dinner and using wild mushrooms.


Although any mushrooms can be used, wild tree mushrooms ( the most popular in the authentic recipes), porcini or crimini are the most popular with this dish in Tuscany when in season.


You will also find pasta alla boscaiola on most Tuscan Trattoria menus in Italy using a popular wine tomato sauce.


Today I improvised and added some pork sausage and boneless pork ribs to make a tasty hearty sauce with mushrooms.


The sauce is thick and delicious with just a few ingredients and can be poured over garlic bread, rice, polenta or any kind of pasta you like.


On today's menu using this delicious sauce, we have made it two ways in an open-faced sandwich and over pappardelle pasta.


If you love tomato sauce recipes try some of my other recipes for pasta dishes like Traditional Sunday Sauce, Alfredo or Scampi Sauce, and another family favorite Simple Marinara Sauce.


There is also a cream version using wine and heavy cream to make boscaiola, this is the Tuscan version with using whole crushed tomatoes and leaving chunks along with tomato sauce.


Scroll down to the recipe card for this easy and printable mushroom-style sauce recipe and also check out the many ways you can serve this or use this sauce with our suggestions.

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Soft Cookies

One of the most versatile cookies on the planet is these Old Fashioned Buttermilk Soft Cookies.


If you love making festive themed cookies for the Holiday, this is the only cookie recipe you will ever need.


Changing the colors of the frosting, additions to the batter or sprinkles will give you a brand new taste and look every time you make them!


Check out the 15 additional options to add to this one cookie batter for a variety of ideas!


All from wholesome pantry ingredients and delicious every time.


These cookies are soft, delicious and can make several flavors just by seperating the dough and additions.


If you love using buttermilk try some of my other recipes like Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies, Strawberry Skillet Buttermilk Cake, and my Best Buttermilk Pancake recipe.


We love these on our cookie trays on any holiday-decorated so festively!


Scroll down to the recipe card for this easy and printable buttermilk cookie recipe and also check out my variations to add to this maverlous cookie dough.