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The Italians are best known for their pasta dishes, but they can make a lovely rice dish or two, as well! This Sweet Potato Risotto is a delicious variant on a classic North Italian home recipe. It is such gourmet flavor in just a few easy steps. People in America may think of risotto as a dish for fine-dining restaurants, but it has its origins in comfort food cooking for the home. A big part of its appeal is that it makes for a highly variable template for most any flavor combination that you want.

Most people also think making risotto is difficult. It certainly isn’t! I used to think so, too, before I finally decided to give it a try. In my opinion, the secret is in the splash of white wine. It brings in such an incredible flavor that people will thing you’ve hired a professional chef to do all the cooking for you!

Recipe and photo courtesy of A Family Feast

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Quick tip: Make sure you use rice that is especially meant for risotto. Regular rice just won’t be the same.

Stromboli is what you could call a sort of pizza sandwich – or just a stuffed pizza, with the toppings on the inside. As-is, it’s a five-ingredient recipe, though of course you could tweak it according to your tastes. Putting it together is basically a one-two process – about as simple as it gets! This Easy Stromboli recipe makes for great party food or a quick and easy midweek dinner item. It only takes about 35 minutes to have it ready, and it’s really easy to put together.

Even though it’s basically the same ingredients you would use for a pizza, somehow it tastes totally different. Perhaps it’s because the toppings (or should I say, fillings) bake so wonderfully inside the dough. I love adding veggies to the mix – and my husbands favorite for these is definitely jalapenos!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Southern Bite

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Quick tip: For a bit of a kick, add a little hot sauce to the pizza sauce you are using!

With this Cheesy Tomato Basil Frittata recipe, you can whip up an easy meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with just half a dozen basic ingredients (plus salt and pepper to taste). It’s also a rather versatile recipe, allowing you to throw in a variety of whatever leftovers you may have and otherwise tune the dish according to your tastes.

Having seen Mother operate so deftly in the kitchen for so many years, I have learned to appreciate a recipe that is really delicious when kept simple but also lends itself to modifications if you have leftovers that you need to recycle (or just want to shake things up a bit). This Italian creation is just such a useful recipe. These days, when people like to be as environmentally aware as possible, it’s great to have recipes that make the best of leftovers. No-one likes throwing food away!

Recipe and photo courtesy of 12 Tomatoes

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Quick tip: If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, pack them for lunch the next day!

This is every kid’s favorite meal!

If you are looking for an easy, creamy casserole to make for dinner, this Chicken Alfredo Casserole recipe is a good choice.

It brings gourmet flavor to your dinner table without much hassle or time investment. I have a box full of go-to recipes for those busy days when I want to serve something nice but don’t have the time to slave away in the kitchen. This is one of those recipes. Chicken Alfredo has a fancy name, and if you like creamy, cheese-rich dishes, it does sport great Italian-style flavor.

Making it into a casserole is a great way to speed up the process and reduce the hassle. After all, you’ve probably got hungry kids and family members to feed, right? Who wants to listen to them howl about how hungry they are any longer than you have too? Not me!

So, I’m always thankful for recipes like this because it’s easy to make, tastes good, and very filling. Everyone is usually happy with it, too! This includes my picky eater son 🙂

Recipe and photo courtesy of Mommy’s Kitchen

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Quick Tip: Always ensure to thoroughly coat your baking dish with Pam Cooking spray to discourage food from sticking.

How To Make A True Italian Meal For The Whole Family

Those classic tastes of Italy really put you at ease, and the recipes usually make for plenty of leftovers!  This Spaghetti Casserole is no different.  You can have dinner for 16 ready in under an hour and a half with this recipe.

It’s a great idea for potlucks or for baking half and freezing the rest for later. Or if you’re just planning on having one of those huge family dinners, the Italian way! Italian food is great for sharing, and so is a good casserole. This brings both together for a veritable sharing paradise!  Considering how many people you can feed with this recipe, and how good it tastes, you don’t have to expend a massive amount of time or effort putting this dish together, either.

This is one of the dishes everyone always expects me to bring to our family reunions! One year I showed up with a different casserole – and even though no-one said anything, I could tell they really wanted me to bring this one instead!

Recipe and photo courtesy of  Recipe.com.

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Quick tip: If you want to make this ahead, freeze the casserole unbaked.

This Italian dish may not be as well known in the United States as, say, spaghetti with meat sauce or lasagna, but it is at least as comforting and filling!  It is not your usual lamb- or mutton-based version of such a dish, but the Italian Shepherd’s Pie is still very hearty and incorporates a multitude of savory ingredients into one recipe.

I had generally shied away from shepherd’s pie in the past, because most traditional versions of it are made with lamb or mutton, and I inherited a bit of a shyness about trying those meats from both my parents.  When I came across this version, though, I was eager to give it a try.  The combination of ingredients spices up the dish a bit and offers a different choice of meat while still remaining true to the simplicity and comfort-food spirit of the original.

Recipe and photo courtesy of  Recipe.com.

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Quick tip: Instead of sausage you could try this recipe with ground beef!

This Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti recipe gives you all of that wonderful, creamy Italian flavor with little hassle or time investment.  It is also very inexpensive to throw together. It’s a great kid-friendly recipe that would also do wonderfully at any more formal gathering.

Italian cuisine is perhaps most famous for all of its red sauces and delicious tomato-based recipes, but those wonderful white sauce-based dishes shouldn’t be neglected.  In Italian restaurants, I’ve probably ordered chicken or seafood alfredo more than I have the usual spaghetti or lasagna (though I love those dishes, too).

It really is amazing how easy it is to put a gourmet dish like this together–and how inexpensive!  Ingredient cost for this recipe is about $16 for a meal that makes six to eight servings.  (You’ll have to spend more if you don’t have any olive oil on hand, but you will have plenty left for future use.)  It really is hard to beat that for a really good meal.

Recipe and photo courtesy of  Gimme Some Oven

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Quick tip: Instead of ziti you can use your favorite pasta.