Olive Garden Salad & Dressing : COPYCAT

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Sugar (optional)
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 bag American blend Dole salad
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 sliced rings Purple onion (halved)
2 tablespoons corn syrup
8 jumbo Black olives (pitted)
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
6 Banana peppers (pepperoncini)
2 tablespoons Romano cheese
1/2 cup Croutons
1 clove garlic minced
2 Roma tomatoes (quartered)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
Pepper corns (freshly ground)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions for "olive Garden" Salad and Dressing
 For the dressing  :Mix the first eleven ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal taste, add 1 Tablespoon of sugar. For the salad:Pour 1/2 package of the salad blend into a large salad bowl. Top with 1/2 of the onion, olives, banana peppers, croutons and tomatoes. Add dressing to taste and toss well. Add the other 1/2 bag of salad and more dressing to taste. Toss well. Top the salad with the remaining onion, olives, banana peppers, croutons and tomatoes. Pass the grated Parmesan cheese and black pepper mill at the table.

Italian Sausage Rigatoni

1 pkg (19.76 oz) Italian Mild Sausage links, grilled and coin-sliced
1 pkg. rigatoni pasta
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red pepper, chunked and sauteed
1 jar (26 oz) of your favorite pasta sauce
2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook sausage according to pkg. directions.  Keep warm.  Cook the rigatoni according to directions.  Keep warm.  In a large pan, place olive oil and garlic, saute lightly for 30 seconds, add peppers and cook until crisp-tender.  Combine cooked sausage and pasta sauce with peppers and heat until warm.  Mix with the pasta or serve separately.  Sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan cheese.  Serve warm.

Garlic Toast Bruschetta

8 slices (1 box) New York Texas Garlic Toast
4 large roma tomatoes, sliced or chopped
1/4 C. fresh basil, chopped
16 thin slices of fresh mozzarella
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425*.  Arrange Texas Toast slices on a sheet pan and bake 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with remaining ingredients.  Retrun to oven and bake 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.  Cut in half.  Serve.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Serves 8

Smoked Cheese Pasta Bake
Ingredients:

• 1 pound uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked farmer or mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Heat marinara sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, and spinach, stirring until blended; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in cooked pasta.
Spoon half of pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine sour cream, smoked cheese, and basil; spread over pasta mixture in dish. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture over sour cream mixture; sprinkle evenly with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Servings: 8 (serving size: about 1 cup)
Nutritional Information: CALORIES 395(25% from fat); FAT 10.8g (sat 7.5g,mono 2g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 19.1g; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 310mg; SODIUM 419mg; FIBER 4.4g; IRON 2.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 54.9g

Baked Pasta & Meatballs

8 oz Penne Pasta
1 pkg. Italian Meatballs
1 (26 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce
1 pkg. (8 oz) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 350*.  Cook pasta according to pkg. directions.  Drain and return to pan.  Add marinara sauce to the pan and toss to coat.
Layer 1/2 of pasta and sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish.  Distribute the meatballs evenly over the pasta.  Layer 1/2 the mozzarella over the meatballs.  Add the rest of the pasta to the pan and finish with a layer of the remaining mozzarella.  Cover with foil. 
Bake 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Mom's Lasagna

1 lb. browned hamburger (again, we like ground buffalo)
1 tbsp. minced onion
2 lg. cans of tomato sauce
½ carton cottage cheese
1 egg
2 pkg. mozzarella slices or 2 c. shredded mozzarella
Oregano
Garlic/garlic salt

Brown hamburger/buffalo with 1 tbsp. minced onion. Add tomato sauce. Add oregano, garlic/garlic salt or spaghetti sauce seasoning. Simmer 15 minutes.
Boil ½ box noodles and stir egg into cottage cheese
Layer in 13 x 9” pan:
*meat/sauce mixture
*noodles
*cottage cheese
*mozzarella cheese
Repeat until all ingredients are used. Bake in 350* oven for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Olive Garden Tiramisu: COPYCAT

Ingredients:
1 Sponge cake, 10-12" diameter, 3" tall
3 ounces Coffee, strong
3 ounces Brandy, or rum
1 1/2 pounds Mascarpone cheese, or cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 cups Powdered sugar
Cocoa powder
Directions:1. Cut across the middle of the sponge cake to form two disks, about 1" to 1-1/2" thick. Blend the coffee or espresso and liqueur together. Sprinkle the bottom half of the cake with the coffee liqueur blend, enough to flavor it strongly, but don't saturate the cake so much it will collapse.
2. Mix the cream cheese or mascarpone with the sugar, and beat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the cheese is light and spreadable. Spread the bottom half of the cake with half of the whipped cheese, in a fairly thick layer. Set the second half of the cake on the bottom half, and repeat the process.
3. Sprinkle the coffee/liqueur blend and spread with the remaining whipped cheese mixture. Put the cocoa powder into a wire strainer and coat the top layer of the cheese completely with cocoa. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Olive Garden Salad & Dressing : COPYCAT

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Sugar (optional)
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 bag American blend Dole salad
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 sliced rings Purple onion (halved)
2 tablespoons corn syrup
8 jumbo Black olives (pitted)
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
6 Banana peppers (pepperoncini)
2 tablespoons Romano cheese
1/2 cup Croutons
1 clove garlic minced
2 Roma tomatoes (quartered)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
Pepper corns (freshly ground)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions for "olive Garden" Salad and DressingFor the dressing:Mix the first eleven ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal taste, add 1 Tablespoon of sugar. For the salad:Pour 1/2 package of the salad blend into a large salad bowl. Top with 1/2 of the onion, olives, banana peppers, croutons and tomatoes. Add dressing to taste and toss well. Add the other 1/2 bag of salad and more dressing to taste. Toss well. Top the salad with the remaining onion, olives, banana peppers, croutons and tomatoes. Pass the grated parmesan cheese and black pepper mill at the table.

Pizza Margherita

1 C. Tomato & Basil Sauce
12 " prebaked pizza crust
4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Chopped fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 450* F. Evenly spread sauce on pizza crust, then top with cheese. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with basil and serve immediately.

Serves: 4 Prep time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes

Suggested wine pairing: Pinot Grigio