Recipe #46 Spicy Sausage Pasta

I decided to make somethng with items that I already had in the house.  This one was close, so here you go.  It is from a site kevinandamanda.com (much better than mine I have to admit) - see the link below.  I liked that it was a one-pot dish and, as I said, made pretty much with items on hand.  The only substitutions I made were that I had some sort of chicken sausage (it was in the freezer without the original wrapping, so I don't remember what was in it).  I also used shredded cheddar cheese instead of mozarella and I substituted Philadelphia regular cooking creme, Italian Cheese & Herb for heavy cream.  Super easy and super flavorful.  Best of all, it was all in one pan - no need to boil pasta separately.  Happy Cooking!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage
1.5 cups diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, Mild
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz penne pasta
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

1. Add olive oil to an oven-safe skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and onions and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Add broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.

 

3. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese


and sprinkle with scallions. Broil until cheese is melted, spotty brown, and bubbly.

Read more at http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/spicy-sausage-pasta.html#ixzz2DWxDOeYL

Nutritional info:  CalorieCount.com.

Recipe #45 The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World

I found this recipe on All Recipes.com.  I figured after Thanksgiving and a few days in Las Vegas, I needed something healthy, so here's my best attempt.  I made the recipe pretty much as is for a change.  I like things spicy and this was perfect, which means it may be too hot for some.  If I were to make again, I wouldn't add the vegetarian burger crumbles - I don't think it needs it.  I also added some shredded cheddar cheese on top.  Happy Cooking!

The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World

Rated: Submitted By: calead910 Photo By: Dotts Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Servings: 8

"Break out your soup pot and fix up a batch of this delicious, spicy vegetarian chili today! It's ready in no time, and packed with vegetables, beans - and flavor!"

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 medium onion, chopped 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon ground cumin 2 tablespoons dried oregano 1 tablespoon salt 2 stalks celery, chopped 2 green bell peppers, chopped 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile

peppers, drained 2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed 1/4 cup chili powder 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained 1 (15 ounce) can black beans 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Directions:

1.	Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2.	Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving. Nutrition Calories 391 kcal Carbohydrates 58.7 g Cholesterol 0 mg Fat 7.9 g Fiber 18.1 g Protein 28.2 g Sodum 2571 mg

Recipe #44 Roasted Artichokes

I noticed that I should be at a higher rate for my posts for new recipe a week and I realized I hadn't posted one of my recipes (I will blame Fiesta in Santa Barbara for that).

I actually made this one in August, it's just a side dish.  Very easy and quite good.  I had fresh artichokes from the farmer's market and grilled on the grill.  I made a light mayonaise sauce with lemon juice, garlic and oregano.

Basically I trim and quarter my artichokes and slowly boil them until tender. I let them cool completely down, then I pull out the choke and prickly leaves. Place the quartered artichokes in a bowl, drizzle olive oil all over, place grated romano cheese between the leaves along with salt, pepper, finely chopped garlic and fresh parsley.

 

 Place them on a hot grill turning them over until the cheese gets crusty and garlic cooks, it just takes a few minutes.

Recipe #43 Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

I started this blog at the beginning of the year because I made a resolution to make one new recipe a week.  They were supposed to be kind of healthy too.  Somewhere along the line I discovered Pinterest and a lot of yummy looking recipes that probably weren't as healthy.  This is my attempt to move towards healthy for the last part of this blog. 

I did find this recipe on Pinterest posted by Heather Brown.  I made the recipe pretty much as is, except I didn't have onions, so I used onion flakes (lots) and added garlic.  My tomatoes were rosemary garlic flavored and I poached my chicken breasts.  I did not have Mozarella and used my three flavored Mexican shredded cheese (with Philly cream cheese).  This dish could have benefited from my magic Italian seasoning with crushed red pepper.  Super easy and very delish.  Would definitely make again.  Happy Cooking!

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

• 8 oz uncooked rigatoni
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 c chopped onion
• 1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed
• 3 c cubed, cooked chicken breasts
• 1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese
• ½ t salt, ½ t pepper
• 1½ c shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare rigatoni according to pkg directions. Spread oil on bottom of 11×7 in baking dish; add onion in a single layer. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to large bowl, set aside.
Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Stir in rigatoni, spinach, chicken, & next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl.

Spoon mixture into dish & sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese.











Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Recipe #42 Ground Beef Stroganoff

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it is from The Country Cook.  I actually made this on election night and was a bit caught up with the whole thing, so didn't take any photos.  I made home-made cream of mushroom soup (ok sans mushrooms) from the recipe last week and used greek yogurt instead of sour cream; otherwise made as is.  All in all easy and delish recipe. Happy Cooking.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1/2 yellow onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)

1 teaspoon garlic, minced (about 1-2 cloves)

2-3 tbsp. butter

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1 cup sour cream

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

Handful of mushrooms, (about 8 oz.)roughly chopped (optional)

3 tbsp. flour

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Egg Noodles, cooked according to package directions

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to boil and begin to cook egg noodles according to package directions.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown ground beef until thoroughly cooked.

I like to leave chunks of ground beef and not break it up too small.

Drain ground beef to remove excess grease from pan.

Put pan back on stove (setting aside the ground beef), add 2-3 tbsp butter and also the chopped onions and mushrooms (if using). Saute the onions and mushrooms, over medium heat, until onions are soft and then add garlic.

Only cook for another 1-2 minutes so garlic doesn't burn.

Add flour to pan, stir and let it absorb butter. Now add beef broth and whisk vigorously to remove any lumps, turning the heat up to high, bringing it to a boil for 2-3 minutes until you see it thicken slightly.

Bring temperature down to medium and whisk in sour cream and

cream of mushroom soup. Stir until mixture is thoroughly incorporated.

Add salt & pepper. Keep tasting mixture until it is seasoned the way you like. I probably use a good teaspoon and half or more of salt and pepper (and sometimes a bit of garlic powder, for good measure). If it gets too thick on you, just add a tad more beef broth.

Add ground beef back to mixture until reheated.

Serve over hot egg noodles.

Recipe #41 Wild Rice Casserole

Sorry, I'm late with the post - I was a little busy last weekend celebrating Melanie's birthday (she started working for me 25 years ago), walking the Alzheimer's Walk (raising money in honor of Mom) and going down to Sherman Oaks to see my good friend Joyce's daughter Alli in a two-act play.  Getting Our Acts Together: November 1-11

Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, California

I found the recipe from Pinterest, but it's a Paula Deen reccipe.  I substitued (what's new) some ingredients because I was too lazy to go to the store.  It was good regardless of my substitutions and fairly easy.  Served with a tossed salad and a nice chardonnay.  Happy Cooking!

Wild Rice Hotdish - Adapted from Paula Deen

1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice - original (I used TJ's wild rice mix)
1/2 lb. ground beef (we used extra lean)
1 bell pepper, diced (we used half purple/half yellow)  (I used green pepper)
1 recipe homemade cream of mushroom soup  (this was easy, but I didn't have mushrooms)
~1 C shredded Colby Jack cheese (I used shredded Mozarella)

Cook the wild rice according to package directions.

Brown the ground beef (I used frozen leftovers). Then, add to a 9x9 baking dish.

 

 

Saute the diced peppers in 1/8 C chicken broth.

 

 

Then, combine the rice, beef, peppers and half of the shredded cheese. Stir well.

Then, pour over the cream soup and mix well.  (Made the homeade soup without mushrooms, but used the hamburger pan)

 



 



 

 

Top with remaining cheese and bake at 325 for 30 minutes until cheese is browned and dish is bubbly.

 

 

 

Yummy!!