Happy Mother’s Day
I wish all the moms out there are very Happy Mother’s Day! and hope you are able to kick back, relax, and feel the love.

6 large eggs
21/2 cups 2% milk
1 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
1 teaspoon died oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound Italian sausages, casings removed
1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded and diced
1 1-pound whole wheat French bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 cups (loosely packed) coarsely grated Fontina cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2- inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.
Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to 1 side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Saute over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork, until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown in spots, about 7 minutes.
Arrange half of bread slices in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausage pepper mixture. Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge. Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly

• 1 1/4 cups ketchup
• 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon chile de arbol or cayenne powder
• 1 canned chipotle chile in adobo, chopped
• 2 cups dry red wine, such as pinot noir, reduced to about 1 cup
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
For the sauce: Combine the ketchup, 1 cup water, ancho chile powder, honey, molasses, sugar, mustard, paprika, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and chile de arbol and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the reduced wine. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool at room temperature. (The sauce will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator stored in a tightly sealed container.)

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
2 cups Basic Tomato Sauce
1 cup dry white wine
20 large shrimp, split down the back and deveined

In a 12-inch sauté pan, heat ¼ cup of the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, tomato sauce, and wine and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes.

Lay the shrimp in the sauce and simmer until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes.

serve over your favorite pasta.

Basic Tomato Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Molto Italiano
Makes 4 cups, freezes well.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut in ¼ inch dice
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
½ medium carrot, finely shredded
2 28-ounce cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Kosher salt to taste

In a 3-quart saucepans, heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and brint to a boil, stirring often.
Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer

• 6 chicken thighs
• 1 red pepper diced
• 1 onion diced
• 1 celery diced
• 1 jalapeno seeded and diced
• 3 cloves of garlic diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1 small can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 1/2teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup rice
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper
Dust the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and about 1/2 teaspoon of the ancho chili powder. Over medium-high heat add 2 tablespoons of oil and add the chicken. Cook till golden brown, about 5 min on each side then place on a platter.
Lower the heat to medium and add in the celery, onion, jalapeno, and red pepper with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook till softened (about 10 minutes). Add in the garlic and teaspoon of ancho chili powder. Cook for another minute

Add in the stock, tomatoes, pinch of cayenne, oregano, and rice. Bring this mixture to a boil, add the chicken back in, cover and cook till both the chicken and rice is done (about 25 minutes).
I wanted to crisp up the chicken skin so I put the oven safe pan under a high broiler for a couple of minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

6 chicken thighs with skin and bones
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 red bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch-wide strips
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1/4 cup dry white wine

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and fresh ground pepper.
Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until just beginning to smoke, then cook chicken, skin sides down, until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and cook 5 minutes more, then transfer to a plate.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet and cook bell peppers, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes (to taste), and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add wine and boil 1 minute. Nestle chicken, skin sides up, into pepper mixture and cook, covered, over moderate heat until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Turn on broiler. Remove lid from skillet and broil chicken 4 to 6 inches from heat until skin is crisp, about 1 1/2 minutes

• Nonstick Cooking Spray
• 32 soft caramel candies, unwrapped
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Coat a 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. For easy removal and cleanup, line pan with an 8-by-16-inch sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides to act as handles.
2. In a small saucepan, combine caramels and cream.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until caramels are melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
4. In a large bowl stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and melted butter until well blended.
5. Press half of the oat mixture into the bottom of the lined pan.
6. Bake until just set and starting to color around edges, about 10 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
8. Sprinkle crust with chocolate chips and pecans (if using).
9. Drizzle caramel mixture over the chocolate chips.
10. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
11. Bake until pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes more.
12. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in pan before cutting into desired size bars/squares

The worst thing about this recipe was unwrapping all those dang caramels! But way worth it

These are Delicious! I would keep the carmel sauce away from the edges so that it’s easier to take off the foil.