CAPRESE SALAD AND PASTA BOLOGNESE

DINNER AT HOME

Wanted to get back in the kitchen and cook for my lovely bride so I made a little Italian dinner.  Both of us had no carbs all day so indulging in some pasta was nice.  Caprese was delicious with a thick Modena Balsamic Vinegar and fresh Basil from our garden.  

CAPRESE SALAD

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

 

LINGUINE WITH BEEF, PORK AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE

DINNER AT HOME

I made Stuffed Bell Peppers last week using a mixture of Beef, Pork and Italian Sausage.  Saved half of this meat mixture to make pasta sauce.  Went off my low carb diet to enjoy real Pasta and believe me, I was not disappointed.  Even had two small slices of Garlic Bread too.

LINGUINE WITH BEEF, PORK AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE

 

FUSILLI BOLOGNESE

 FUSILLI  BOLOGNESE

DINNER AT HOME

Made a simple Bolognese with Ground Beef, Italian Sausage, Onions, Carrots, Celery, Oregano with Tomato and  Basil Sauce.  The Basil and Italian Parsley came from our garden.  I love this simple meal and the Fusilli was a nice change from regular Spaghetti.

FUSILLI BOLOGNESE

ENJOYED ON THE LANAI WITH A GLASS OF CABERNET

SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE

SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE

DINNER AT HOME

Love a simple Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.  Added a little Onion, Bell Pepper, Mushrooms and lots of Garlic to this batch.  Yummy!

SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE

PASTA BOLOGNESE

PASTA BOLOGNESE

DINNER AT HOME

So nice to return from a business trip and get back into the kitchen and cook for my girls.  Since we all love Pasta, I decided to prepare a Bolognese Sauce using Ground Beef, Pork and Spicy Italian Sausage.  My sauce included lots of fresh vegetables like Carrots, Celery, Onion, Bell Pepper, Mushrooms and lots of Garlic.  Served with a little shaved parmesan, fresh basil, oregano and garlic bread.  Yummy dinner at home.

PASTA BOLOGNESE

SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE AND VEGETABLES

SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE AND VEGETABLES

DINNER AT HOME

There are those days when I work eleven hours, pick up my daughter from school and get home and try to take an hour walk.  That does not leave a lot of time to prep or cook a meal especially when I did not plan or buy anything at the store. On this night,  I basically looked into the refrigerator and tried to use whatever we have.  I found some frozen ground beef and a little pork in the freezer so I thought some kind of a meat sauce would be good.  We had those big bags of Celery, Bell Peppers and Carrots that you buy at Costco so I wanted to use them up and incorporate them into the sauce.  I always keep a good supply of Bertolli Tomato and Basil Sauce in our pantry as it is simply the best tasting sauce in a jar that we have found.  It is super inexpensive too with three jar packages now being sold at Sam's Club for around $7. This is less than $2.50 per jar.  This dish takes just minutes to prepare and it is delicious and very inexpensive.  Made enough sauce to feed a family of three for at least three days.

Click link below view another post on Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Vegetables:  

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2011/10/spaghetti-with-meat-sauce-and.html

SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE AND VEGETABLES

ONIONS, GARLIC, CELERY AND BELL PEPPERS (I ADDED CARROTS TOO)

SAUTE ONIONS AND GARLIC IN OLIVE OIL

ADD IN THE GROUND BEEF AND PORK AND COOK  

THROW IN ALL OF THE VEGETABLES AND STIR.  I ALSO ADD SALT, PEPPER AND OREGANO HERE

HEAT UNTIL THE VEGETABLES ARE ABOUT HALF WAY COOKED.  I LIKE A LITTLE CRUNCH IN MY VEGGIES AND THEY COOK THROUGH WHILE SIMMERING IN THE SAUCE

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BERTOLLI SAUCES.  THEY ARE DELICIOUS AND SAVE TIME

ADD TWO JARS OF BERTOLLI SAUCE

STIR THOROUGHLY AND SIMMER FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES

SERVE WITH A LITTLE ITALIAN PARSLEY AND GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE

BELLA MIA - KAIMUKI

BELLA MIA
HONOLULU, HAWAII 

My daughter was telling me that she wanted pasta for lunch.  We were in Kaimuki so I decided to try Bella Mia again.  We have dined at one of Bella Mia's other locations and were not fans of the thick and cheesy pizza but loved the large portions and reasonable prices.  I was surprised when the waitress greeted our table with a bowl of piping hot bread and marinara sauce.  Nice start to lunch I thought.  We tried the Pasta with Meat Sauce for $10.95.  My wife told the waitress that she would be sharing the pasta with my daughter.   Rather than bring out one big plate of pasta and throw an extra plate down, the chef prepared two plates of pasta for the price of one.  The waitress delivered two beautiful and large portions of pasta to our table.  Really impressed with this service.  Also impressed with the amount of meat in the sauce and the flavor of the sauce.  This was good pasta.  Everyone liked the flavor.  I ordered the Hot Italian Combination Sandwich ($9.95).  This is a huge sandwich piled with meat and melted cheese.  Liked the lettuce and tomato to add crunch, color and fresh taste.  We spent $20 here and took about half of the pasta and half the sandwich home.  Really good deal.  I would return here more often if I could convince the chef to make a thin crust pizza with light toppings.  Bella Mia delivered on service, price and taste.  Great job!  We will return again.

BELLA MIA HALF PORTION OF PASTA WITH MEAT SAUCE

SMALL, QUAINT INTERIOR

EAT AT BELLA MIA

VIEW FROM OUR TABLE LOOKING INTO RESTAURANT

VIEW FROM TABLE LOOKING OUT INTO BEAUTIFUL KAIMUKI

HOT ROLLS WITH MARINARA SAUCE

TWO PLATES OF PASTA FOR $10.95.
CHEF SPLIT THE ORDER IN KITCHEN.  GREAT SERVICE!

HOT ITALIAN COMBINATION SANDWICH

ENTRANCE IS HIDDEN BETWEEN OTHER
RESTAURANTS AND SHOPS IN KAIMUKI