Stuffed Peppers and Stuffed Tomatoes

I find this to be a great dish to make when you have guests. SInce it's great being done with the cooking when the guests arrive.
Not that we had a big dinner party, we only had Grandma Cookie coming for dinner right before she left for Florida.
I stuff it with rice and ground beef cooked on the parts of the tomatoes that I cut out. Then I stuff everything and goes in the oven until the vegetables outside are cooked.

Doing the dishes

Last week I made whipped cream to have with strawberries for dessert and I just wanted to aknowledge here how well my assistant did the dishes after the whipped cream was done.

Making Sugar Cookies

Sonny came to visit us for his winter break from school. He stayed with us for few days and one of the days we made cookies. We cut them in the shape of numbers and from the holes of the numbers we made the smallest cookies in the world (we should had called the Guinness Book people before we ate them but they were gone before we knew it).

Butternut Squash Soup

I think the first time I had butternut squash soup was when I was working in Union Square and went to Eden Gourmet to get something for lunch. I was so intrigued with the taste and wondered for a long time what kind of ingredients would the soup have. I have been using
these recipe (give and take) and I think it comes out perfect.

Carrots

I just loved the colors of these carrots and had to take a picture. I added olive oil, sea salt, and parsley and they are ready to go in the oven for a perfect side dish.

Tortellini soup

I have never had tortellini soup until last year when we went out to eat in Rahway and I ordered a tortellini soup for Diogo. My first reaction was "oh, that's just water and pasta", but with each spoon I fell in love.
I made my first tortellini soup this winter by making a nice broth from the tortellini with sea salt, olive oil, and chopped onions. I then added some spinach and once it was cooked, it was ready to serve. It's so "brothy" and so delicious!

Pasta (or Rice) with sausages

Here's another inexpensive meal: sausages! One pack of sausages cost less than $6 usually. I cook some onions with the sausages and let the sausages cook. Then I get creative with whatever I have around to throw in the mix - zucchini, green and red peppers, cherry tomatoes, herbs, and mushrooms are my favorite. If i feel it needs a little more liquid I might add a touch of white wine and/or some broth from the pasta I cooked on the side. Mix everything with cooked pasta and serve.

Chickpea and spinach soup

In the winter time, soups warm our souls. And during times when money is tight, they are one of the cheapest things to make for dinner to fill us all up (I'd say a big pot of soup can cost $5 or less at our house and it last through a good number of meals).
Chickpea soup is really hearty and very filling. Growing up it has always been my favorite soup. It was the soup that I'd always ask my mom to make in the middle of summer after few months of not having it (considering "good weather" in Lisbon last from March until September, it can be a long time since we last ate soup there).

Cook potatoes, chickpeas, and onions with salt and olive oil in boiling water. Blend it and add fresh spinach leaves. Let the spinach leaves cook and it's ready to serve.
Sometimes my mom adds pasta too which makes it even more rich and filling. Perfect for a really cold day!