Mojaveolver's Family and Friends Cookbook

This is not just a collection of recipes but recipes we use all the time
Appetizers| Beans and Pilafs| Breads and Quick Breads
Main Dishes
Beef| Eggs| Fish| Pasta| Pork| Poultry
Salsas, Sauces, and Marinades
Salads| Soup| Special| Desserts| Vegetables

Italian Wedding Soup
1 lbs Sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
1 eggs
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
6 cups chicken stock
1 med onion, diced
1 small green pepper, diced
4 large carrots, cut in small julienne
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbls olive oil
1 bunch fresh spinach, cleaned, stems removed, cut in thin strips
1/2 cup Acini de Pepe pasta (small round pasta)or other very small pasta
1/4 thinly sliced fresh basil
salt and pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Saute the onion, green pepper, garlic, and carrot in the oil until the onion is translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add the stock and bring it to a boil add the pasta then reduce to a low simmer. Combine the sausage, egg and bread crumbs. Make very small meatballs (about the size of a dime) and drop in the broth. Cook the meatballs completely. Add the spinach and basil. Simmer about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice. Ganish with freshly shaved parmesan cheese if desired Serves 6 - 8.


Broccoli Rabe is a little harder to find in most ares than regular broccoli. It looks a little spindly and has a little more pronounced flavor. Sometimes you can find it in an Oriental food store under the name "Gai Lan" but if you can't, well regular broccoli tastes fine in this

Broccoli Rabe Pasta
8 oz linguine pasta cooked according to package directions
½ lb broccoli rabe cut into serving lengths or ½ lb broccoli florets
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp olive oil
½ Cup chicken broth
10 cherry tomatoes, halved or 1 Cup diced tomato
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbs Parmesan cheese
Sauté the broccoli rabe and garlic in the oil 2 minutes, add the broth (if using broccoli instead of broccoli rabe, cover the pan and let the broccoli steam until it reaches the desired tenderness) Add the tomato and red pepper flakes, heat until the tomato is warm. Toss in the Parmesan cheese and serve. Serves 4 as a side dish 2 as a main dish.


This makes a really pretty sidedish with grilled meat. You can vary the color by using just one type of pepper or use all three for a very colorful dish

Pasta with Roasted Pepper Sauce
16 oz pasta of choice (I use penne)
4 large peppers or 8 small, red, green, orange or yellow or a combination
1 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Roast the peppers in a large baking dish in the oven. Turn every 15 minutes until evenly charred. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle peel off the skin and remove the seeds. Discard the skin and seeds - save the pepper liquid. Slice the pepper into thin strips. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Sauté the peppers in the oil until heated, add the pepper liquid. Toss with the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4 - 8.