" Italian" Burgers

I have had a Busy Weekend and the weather here has been just beautiful.. Friday night we decided to BBQ and I made my Juicy Italian Burgers with Basil Mayo . The basil really gives the burger a fresh bite and it is just delicious Hubby loved them and so did the rest of my company who included my Sister who is the worlds pickiest Eater.

" Italian" Burgers

Makes about 4 patties - Cook time 10-15 min depending on how well done you like them

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs of Grounded beef Sirloin
• 4 Cloves of garlic
• 6 Sprigs of parsley chop only leaves
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp Tomato paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 slices of Provolone Cheese
• Burger rolls or Italian rolls
• Basil Mayo ( Recipe Bellow)

Directions:

In a Large bowl mix the first 7 ingredients with your hands making sure everything is well blended. Form 4 Patties and put on the grill for about 10 min flipping once . About 1 min before you are ready to serve them place the sliced provolone on top to melt over the patties. Take off the Grill and on to your rolls . Serve with Basil mayo also great with arugula and tomatoes.

Basil Mayo

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 8 Basil Leaves
• 1/2 tsp of olive oil
• 3 tbsp Mayo
• A pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

In a small Food processor place the basil leaves and olive oil and pulse about 3 times so it becomes almost like a paste. Scoop it out into a small bowl and mix in Mayo and salt and pepper.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we did it is great for a summer BBQ and believe me the mayo makes the burgers Pop with Flavor .

My Tomato Sauce

Being from a Big Italian family one of the biggest arguments is who has the best sauce..To tell you the truth I like it but I am not a Huge Tomato Sauce Devotee . Probably because I ate it so much growing up you kinda grow out of it. Once I got married my Husband was like why don't you ever make Spaghetti with Sauce So I tried it out My way and asked my mom just for the Basics then added my own taste to it and now Hubby says its better then his moms .. Now that's a Huge compliment Italian men RARELY say anything is better then MAMAS.. So here is the Recipe hope you Guys enjoy it !!! Let me know what you think ..

*** Prep Tip *** I was watching Rachael Ray one night and she used a Bowl Just for her Garbage and left it on the counter as she was prepping and cooking.. Let me tell you it really is a time saver this way you don't have to go back and forth to the garbage pail !!

Spaghetti With Tomato Sauce

Serves 4 - Cook Time 30 min

Ingredients :

• 1 28oz Jar Tomato puree - I used Tuttorosso
• 1 Med onion chopped
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 Garlic Cloves minced
• 1/2 cup sugar - We like our sauce really sweet if not to your likely 1/4 cup is fine
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 Pkg of Spaghetti Rigatti - I Used Barilla
• 4 Basil Leaves

Directions:

Combine chopped onion and minced garlic with oil in a 2 1/2 qt sauce pan. Let it cook stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. Stir in the Can of puree and in the same can fill it up with about 1/4 cup of water. Swish water around the can getting all the left over sauce and pour into the sauce pan. Stir in Salt , Pepper and Sugar and let sit on low covered for about 10 minutes. In the Meantime boil water in a 6 qt pot until bubbly and add Spaghetti and a pinch of salt. I Used barilla and on the pkg it says to cook past for 5- 6 min if you like it less "al dente" the let it cook 7-8 minutes. Also make sure you stir the spaghetti so it will not stick to each other. After the sauce is finished simmering for 10 min cut up the basil leaves and add to the sauce . Take sauce off the stove and let sit covered until pasta is Ready. Once pasta is ready drain it in a pasta drainer and return it to the pot. With a Ladle add a ladle full of sauce and mix with pasta so it is pink. Plate pasta and add 1 or 2 ladle fulls to it as well. Serve with Grated Parmesan cheese and your Good to Go.

Now that didn't seem that hard did it ..Also you may see that this is alot of sauce for just 2 people what I do is Freeze half of it and use it the following week. Its just as good.

Here Comes the Bride..All Dressed in White... Now Whats for Dinner ??

Okay so your Engaged for about a year or two and sooo preoccupied in the Wedding planning that you don't even think about the Happily Ever After Part . Well for me it has been Happy and 7 months married now I love it . The only thing I don't love is all the work that goes into it.. I am not a Marriage Guru and will not be giving marriage advice but why not take you all on a little journey I like to call Cooking for the First time !!! I am not a chief and never went to cooking school so if you are looking for gourmet meals this is probably not the page for you. As you may have read in my About me Page I am a newlywed learning to everything on my own with my hubby of course ! When I was living with my parents Breakfast , Lunch and Dinner were all made by my mom or Nonna so I barely ever stepped foot in the Kitchen . The only cooking experience I had was smelling the Sauce being made Early Sunday morning , Watching Nonna stuff the Best Rice balls out of Palermo and Listening to the two bicker about what has to go where. So For me and my Husbands Tummy I guess it was good enough.

I love to Watch the Food Network and Read The Food Network Magazine as well ... Oh my god it is amazing !!!! I love Food and The Processes of cooking a Good homemade meal . What I don't love is that I work a Full time Job and no offense to anyone but I don't have time to make my own dough and pasta or anything that takes 3 hours to make unless its a weekend . I am an on the go type of person but put me in the kitchen and for some reason all my stress goes away. So I decided to do cooking my way the newlywed way lol.

Like many Brides I went a little Crazy with the Bridal Registry and now I have a kitchen Full of Gadgets and not much knowledge on how to use them .. Martha Stewart really knows how to mesmerize you LOL especially when you have that scan gun in your hand ..Join me on this little journey of learning and hey you never know you might actually learn something. Stay tuned for Recipes and Fun stuff ahead .. Get your bounty and Aprons Ready this may be a messy ride :)