Italian Cooking Made Easy For Busy Families

In today’s busy world it’s getting more difficult for families to find the time to sit down at the dinner table together. There's homework to do, deadlines to meet, and often very little time to breathe let alone cook a big meal! Italian cuisine may be intimidating because some of the meals look very time consuming. But, don't despair. There are ways to fit even Italian cooking into your schedule - and actually many Italian recipes are quite simple. Although there is no way to add any extra hours to the day, there are ways to take the stress out of cooking a big meal. Let's take a look at ideas to make the preparation quick and easy for families on the go.

Find Simple Go-To Recipes

Cover of How to Cook Italian

There are a ton of three and four ingredient Italian recipes out there. These meals require little preparation and time but end up tasting like you spent hours in the kitchen. You don’t have to waste a lot of time figuring out what spices and seasonings to use, and you don't have to travel to a dozen different specialty stores to find the ingredients. Let the freshness of a few simple, high-quality ingredients speak for themselves.

The dish most of us call 'spaghetti' literally requires only spaghetti pasta and sauce. Nothing more. You can embellish the sauce as much as you like, and have time for. But a sauce made Italian style would be very simple; tomatoes, seasonings, onion, garlic, and meat if you like. It takes less time to prepare this dish then it would to drive to and wait in line at a fast food place.

For hot weather, enjoy a quick cold Italian pasta salad. Use a sturdy pasta, like penne, and mix it with Italian salad dressing and olive oil, then add other ingredients you have on hand. You can toss in cooked chicken, seafood, onion, celery, bell peppers, and olives, then sprinkle with oregano or basil and Parmesan cheese and dinner is done, all in a matter of minutes. Keep a few basic ingredients on hand at all times and you can put together a pasta salad any time.

Put Your Slow Cooker to Work

The slow cooker has been around for quite some time helping busy families survive the hectic dinner hour. You can turn just about any Italian meal into a slow cooked feast with very little preparation. And that bit of preparation will pay off, because coming home to a meal that is ready to enjoy just eases that stress away.
Thinking again of our simple recipes, the slow cooker is the perfect way to prepare a sauce for your spaghetti meal. Throw in your ingredients, and, as they say, “set it and forget it.” When you come home, cook your spaghetti and dinner is ready. For the Italian pasta salad, put chicken in the slow cooker in the morning, seasoned with oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary, and when you come home it will be ready to cut up and toss into your cooked pasta. You can even make a simplified chicken cacciatore in the slow cooker using fresh marinara sauce, mushrooms, onion, celery, and Italian seasonings.

Although the slow cooker isn't well suited to cook most pasta, there are some recipes that work, such as lasagne using the large noodles. But, even if you have to cook the pasta for a meal when you come home, it takes only a few minutes. Put the pot on to boil, drop in the pasta, and by the time you've sorted the school backpacks and signed a few permission slips, the pasta is ready. Putting your slow cooker to work making Italian meals will not only help you maintain your sanity, but will allow you time to spend with your family instead of fretting over what to serve for dinner.

Healthy Meals Made Fast & Easy

If it seems like eating healthy takes too much time, take another look at Italian cooking. You might be surprised at how healthy Italian cuisine actually is. When you picture a plate of lasagne or spaghetti, the word 'healthy' may not be the first thing you think. However, when you break down the elements of a good Italian recipe, you find the ingredients to be quite healthy.

Spaghetti all' arrabbiata (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With ingredients like tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, celery, bell peppers, artichokes, olive oil, fresh herbs, seafood, fish, chicken, and lean meats, it's easy to see how healthy Italian cooking can be. But, can this healthy cooking be easy, too? Yes. By following the tips we've discussed – finding simple recipes and putting the slow cooker to work – you can put together a few healthy ingredients fast and have dinner ready when you are.

Now you can skip the fast food racket. Although fast food may seem like the quick and easy fix when you're short on time, in the long run it’s unhealthy and expensive. Instead, stock up on whole grain pastas, fresh or frozen vegetables, olive oil, and plenty of herbs and seasonings. You'll be able to whip up healthy Italian meals in minutes with just a few basic recipes.

And don't forget to involve your whole family in the cooking process. After all, the idea behind cooking fast and easy Italian meals is so you have more time to spend with your family. What better way to do that than having a little help in the kitchen? And what better way to enjoy meals that are both healthy and delicious than learning how to cook Italian style? You will be able to give your family the nutrition they need without taking away the hearty, rich taste everybody loves about Italian cuisine.

Be sure to check back here later this week for some delicious and simple Italian recipes!

These Cookbooks Contain Lots of Easy Italian Recipes:
     

Italian Cooking in American Kitchens Today

Most of us have found some sort of Italian cuisine that has become a favorite for our families and ourselves. Unfortunately, far too many of us discount the possibility of bringing Italian cooking into our very own kitchens for fear that many of the recipes are far too difficult. The truth is that learning to cook Italian food just might make your home the favorite drop-in dining spot for friends and family alike!

Image via WikipediaBelieve it or not, most great Italian recipes have an easier version that can be made with very similar effects when it comes to flavor and aroma. Also, despite the commercials of old, all Italian cooking does not require an entire day of simmering in order to achieve great flavor. (Though you don't have to let your friends and family in on that little secret!) Be a martyr for flavor and they will love you even more.

The biggest challenge that most Americans face when it comes to ethnic cooking is basically learning a new set of essential ingredients. However, most ingredients used in Italian cooking are pretty easy to find in American stores nowadays. The cheese, meats, or grains that are used in their creation most often identify or define Italian cuisine. It's the combination of these primary ingredients that create some of the most distinctive flavors on earth. Learn about these ingredients. Identify the flavors and study the combinations of flavors and you should be able to not only follow many great Italian recipes but also to invent a few of your very own Italian inspired recipes!

The greatest thing when it comes to cooking Italian food is that most of these dishes are pretty hard to mess up. This of course does not mean that it cannot be done, only that it isn't as simple as with some of the more complex and delicate cuisines from other cultures. Italian food is durable and flavorful but for the most part not too terribly delicate when it comes to flavor. You can go a little heavy with some spice or cheese without completely ruining the dish in most instances. If you are anything like me, this is a regular occurrence when cooking and one of the reasons I enjoy cooking Italian food so much. :-)

Image via WikipediaWhether you are a beginner when it comes to the culinary arts or a seasoned pro there is something that will provide the appropriate challenge for you when it comes to Italian cooking. Take a look around - there are recipes in abundance across the Internet, at your local library, in specialty cook books, and even in your favorite blockbuster best selling novels. (And of course be sure to check our blog frequently for new tasty recipe ideas!)

Another thing you should keep in mind when cooking Italian food is that nothing seems to bring out the flavor of Italian food better than a good bottle of wine to match. Perhaps this is the reason that it is difficult to ruin an Italian meal, no matter how bad it is, the good wine paired with it will make up for minor mistakes! You will want to spend a little time researching and studying the science (though some will argue that this is truly an art form) that goes along with pairing a good bottle of wine with the right flavor combination when it comes to Italian cooking. Once you've mastered this, there is nothing to prevent you from being the diva of all things Italian when it comes to food preparation.

The most important thing for you to remember when cooking Italian food is not to take it too seriously. Good Italians know that the enjoyment of preparing the meal is an important piece of the process! Make your meal an event with plenty of time for pleasant conversation and enjoyment of your company in between courses. And remember - you should also never rush a good Italian meal or you will find that all your efforts of cooking Italian food will be for naught as the true pleasure of Italian cuisine has been lost somewhere in translation.

Great Italian Cooking Starts Here:
   

Italian Food: The History of Pizza

Since we were just talking bruschetta, I thought this might be a good time to expound upon another dearly loved Italian favorite.... Pizza!

Image via WikipediaItalian food is unique amongst world cuisines in that it has birthed not one, but two international sensations.  Of course I'm talking about pasta and pizza.  Pizza is one of the most widely eaten foods today.  While most people think of pizza in America as Italian food, it really is not like the pizza of authentic Italian food (having been to Italy more than once, I can definitely confirm this personally!).  It is said that with one taste of pizza made in the style of authentic Italian food, you will never go back to the Americanized version (I know I certainly had a hard time of it).  Even when eating at good Italian restaurants in the US, it is hard to capture the distinguished taste of true Italian pizza. 

Pizza is one Italian food that has been around in one form or another for centuries.  It has a long history in the Mediterranean where it began as a seasoned flatbread that was used more as an edible plate to hold other food, rather than as a food by itself.  However, these earlier pizzas established a name for Italian food very early on and were eaten in Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Babylon and were emphatically praised by many historians of the day.

Image via WikipediaIt was in the Middle Ages that pizza began to take a form that would be more familiar to Italian food lovers today.  Pizza started out being just a dough topped with herbs and olive oil.  Once mozzarella cheese began to be produced from Indian Water Buffalo it quickly became a signature aspect of pizza.  Today at any true Italian food eatery this fresh mozzarella di buffalo is nonnegotiable.  The dried shredded mozzarella that is often associated with Italian food would actually never be used on a pizza made by a true Italian food chef. 

It wouldn't be until the tomato became popular in Italian food in the 18th century that we would see modern pizza.  During this time pizza began to take an even more prominent role in Italian food.  In Naples pizza was sold on the streets for every meal.  This once peasant food was quickly taking hold of all of society, including the upper class.  In fact, by 1830 the first ever pizzeria was opened in Naples.  Ever since this time pizzerias have been found all over the world converting people to the love of Italian food. 

Image via WikipediaTraditional Italian pizza is cooked in a wood fired oven.  The reason American pizza is often not thought of as a true Italian food is because the large restaurant chains that specialize in pizza do not cook it in a wood-fired oven.  Pizzas featured in Italian food restaurants should use only the freshest ingredients.  In Italy pizzas change with the seasons as new ingredients become available.  The great thing about pizza that has made it so popular is the fact that it can be topped with a vast array of toppings.  Each region of Italy has its own particular style of pizza that they specialize in, making use of the ingredients most readily available to them.

So for real Italian food pizza it is necessary to step out of the confining ideas of just a few types of pizza and open your mind to the different possibilities.  Italian food is full of variety and you could literally spend a year in Italy just trying all the different styles of pizza that made Italian food so universally popular. (I would definitely enjoy that vacation!)  :-)    

Related articles on Pizza:

• How to Prepare an Authentic Italian Pizza (csahm.com)
• Pleasure Diet: My go-to meal at an Italian restaurant (self.com)
• Queen Margherita, Meet My Family. (katefromscratch.wordpress.com)

Making Pizza From Scratch: