Italian recipe collection

A delicious pasta dish that's perfect for a light lunch or dinner when on the go.

Florentine lasagna layers savory Italian sausage meat sauce with a creamy spinach-ricotta filling and melted mozzarella. Hearty, cheesy, and built for Sunday dinner.

Italian stuffed mushrooms with escargot and garlic-lemon butter, browned under the broiler. Old-school continental appetizer that turns canned snails into elegance.

Italian-style grits casserole layered with hot sausage, ground beef, pizza sauce, green peppers, onion, and melted cheddar. A Southern-Italian comfort food mashup.

This is as good as any Italian sandwich I have eaten in Chicago! Even my grandkids loved it! PK

Bread that is baked on a sheet pan with an Italian twist.

Hunter's minestrone with cubed beef, kidney beans, pasta shells, and red wine simmered for four hours in three stages. A hearty, meaty Italian soup built for cold weather.

Italian barley soup slow-simmered for 3 hours with red wine, tomatoes, garlic, fresh herbs, and Parmesan. A thick, hearty vegetarian soup with deep, layered flavor from the long cook.

Italian bean and pasta salad with anasazi beans, spinach spaghetti, fresh vegetables, and a lemon-herb dressing. A no-cook, protein-packed side that improves as it chills.

Italian chicken pastry bites with crescent roll dough wrapped around garlic chicken, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella. Golden, flaky, and ready in 40 minutes.

Italian lasagna with ground beef, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan layered with a homemade tomato meat sauce. A big-batch recipe that makes four 8x8 pans, perfect for feeding a crowd or freezing ahead.

Fresh mushroom slices marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic, chilled until tangy and tender, perfect with breadsticks.

Italian meatball sandwich: pork-and-beef meatballs simmered for an hour in a long-cooked red wine tomato sauce built on salt pork, garlic, basil, and marjoram. Piled in a crusty roll with Parmesan and roasted peppers for a proper Sunday sub.

Italian salad pizza on a prebaked crust with melted mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and a cool romaine-watercress-olive topping tossed in Italian dressing. Vegetarian dinner ready in about 20 minutes.

Italian sausage pie bakes crumbled sweet sausage and onions in an egg and mozzarella custard inside a pre-baked pie shell. A hearty, savory quiche-style dinner that slices clean every time.

Vegan Italian sausage patties made from TVP and seasoned with fennel, paprika, garlic, and black pepper. Pan-fried in minutes with a meaty, savory bite.