Skillet Pasta with Italian Sausage

Another Skillet Dish recipe!  The working girl (and guy) has gotta love these.  One pan, a few common ingredients and dinner is on the table.

I adapted this dish from Country Cooks magazine.   A subscription I sometimes love.  Not all their recipes works for me, which is a bit bizarre since the entire premise of the show and magazine is that each recipe be honed to perfection...tried and retried, using every method possible until they reach recipe perfection! So why don't they work for me?  and why do I keep up my subscription and why do I continue to cook from it? 
I guess I keep hoping that one day, that nice man in the round glasses and bow tie will put out something that cooks up just the way he says!  I'll certainly let ya know if that ever happens...but in the meantime, I've performed my own 'test kitchen' on this recipe and it's pretty close to perfect!

You could certainly change this up a hundred different ways by using different pasta, meat and sauce but keep the liquid measurements the same or you might get some underdone pasta.

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Eula's Sunday Casserole

This was one of my first posts....I thought I would republish.  It's a perfect use of leftover turkey and my original photo was just terrible!  This recipe is totally worth a face lift!

I'll bet most people have a 'go to' casserole in their family recipe box...they almost all include a can of cream of ka-ka (cream style soup), and this one is not much different, but every time I make this, I get asked for the recipe! It feeds a crowd and has a fresh flavor that not all creamy casseroles have.
Eula was my mother-in-law, probably one of the nicest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing...she had a true heart of gold. She was a wonderful cook, and I'm not so sure she would be thrilled to know that her name is attached to one of the simplest dishes she made, but we started calling it Eula's Casserole years ago and it's too late to change now!
This feeds about 6 people and is delicious with a side of french bread.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, cubed
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 cups grated swiss cheese
4 cups cooked rotini noodles
2 cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with non stick spray. (or for easy clean up line the dish with foil).
In large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and chicken soup. Add chicken (or turkey), noodles, 2 cups of the cheese, broccoli and lemon juice, mix well. Pour into prepared casserole dish, cover with foil. Bake for about 45 minutes or until bubbly in the center. Remove foil, top with remaining 1/2 cup of swiss cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

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Homemade Ricotta Cheese

I made this again...I just had to see if it was as good as I remembered, and girlfriend...mmmmmm,mmmmm,mmmmm.

I truly don't think this recipe got the attention it deserved the first time, so I am reposting.  Listen to me my fellow foodies, put  your ear closer to your computer screen so you can hear what I am saying.   You must try this recipe!  

I will expect a full report on how it has changed your life...how you will never, ever buy store bought Ricotta again.  How the smooth, warm, silky taste of this cheese has altered your foodie being.  I know, I know...I get emotional too....hold me...just hold me....

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Baked Ziti with Sausage and Bechamel

Cooked ziti pasta  mixed with sausage, marinara sauce and topped with a creamy bechamel. I love me some tomato and cream flavors and this made my heart go zing!    Don't be intimidated by the bechamel, it's just a simple white sauce...and if you have never made white sauce before, this is going to improve your cooking skills by about 100 percent.  You will be able to make Alfredo, saucy chicken, creamy shrimp...the sky is the limit once you master this simple sauce!

This recipe is a real crowd pleaser too.  Feeds about 8-10 hearty appetites.   Add salad and bread and it's a perfect buffet dinner.

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Gnocci, Sausage and Spinach Soup

We started calling this 'shut up soup', because we took one bite and said "Oh shut up!, that is so good!". 

I am a soupateer, a soup savant, a master of the broth!....(you could say, I love soup :) and this soup is a 5 spoon award winner.   It is flawless, it has a deep flavor and isn't to heavy.  Very simple to make with not too many ingredients.  Soup perfection....ahhh.

I based it on a recipe I saw on Pinterest.com (my new addiction, right after soup :).   Here is a link:  Cinnomonspiceandeverythingnice.com  The only change I made is I added a bit of tomato paste because I love the flavor of tomato and cream and wanted to intensify that. I would also double the batch. Serves about 6 the wasy it is and it's even better the next day so double up!  Serve with Spedini Bread!

If  you are not a big gnocchi fan, I am sure you could substitute a thick pasta like rotini or penne and it would be very good!

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, diced

1 roasted red pepper, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

 salt and fresh black pepper to taste

1 pound Italian chicken sausage (bulk or removed from casings)

4 cloves, garlic, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried basil

32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound gnocchi

2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, rough chopped

3/4 cup half & half or heavy cream  (I used half and haf and got a great result)

 Parmesan cheese, fresh grated

 In a dutch oven or soup pot,  saute onion and red pepper in olive oil over medium-low heat until tender. Season well with salt and pepper. In a separate, large skillet brown the sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks. Add garlic and tomato paste to onion mixture and saute until fragrant.

  Drain sausage and add to onion mixture along with the basil and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper, simmer for 20 minutes.

  Add gnocchi and spinach, bring to a simmer and cook until gnocchi puff up and start to float, about 10 minutes. 

Add half & half and fresh basil, bring to a simmer for three or four minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese and Spedini Bread.  Yumbo!

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Eula's Casserole

I'll bet most people have a 'go to' casserole in their family recipe box...they almost all include a can of cream of ka-ka (cream style soup), and this one is not much different, but every time I make this, I get asked for the recipe!  It feeds a crowd and has a fresh flavor that not all creamy casseroles have. 
Eula was my mother-in-law, probably one of the nicest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing...she had a true heart of gold.  She was a wonderful cook, and I'm not so sure she would be thrilled to know that her name is attached to one of the simplest dishes she made, but we started calling it Eula's Casserole years ago and it's too late to change now!  
This feeds about 6 people and is delicious with a side of french bread.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, cubed
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 cups grated swiss cheese
4 cups cooked rotini noodles
2 cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with non stick spray. (or for easy clean up line the dish with foil).
In large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and chicken soup.  Add chicken (or turkey),  noodles, 2 cups of the cheese, broccoli and lemon juice, mix well.  Pour into prepared casserole dish, cover with foil.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until bubbly in the center.  Remove foil, top with remaining 1/2 cup of swiss cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

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Pasta Fagiloi

Tired of turkey leftovers?  Need to lighten up a bit? ...this soup will cure your turkey burn out blues!   I have been making this for years and called it minestrone...  It's actually called Pasta Fagiloi which translates to "pasta and beans".  Traditionally it is a meatless dish but Americans being the carnivorous dudes that we are, threw meat in it at some point.  I chose chicken sausage but beef or even chicken would work...heck, if you got some left over turkey you are not sick of...that would work too!
This makes a big batch, enough to freeze some for later or share with a neighbor.  I served it with my 'one rise' easy sweet rolls.

1 package italian chicken sausage (I used Iseniro's) if in casings, remove
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
28 oz can diced tomato (undrained)
15 oz can kidney beans (drained)
15 oz can cannelli beans (drained)
2 cups beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
28 oz can tomato sauce
5 oz pasta - small size works best (Barillia Piccolini shapes work well)

In dutch oven or soup pan cook sausage.  When brown remove sausage.  Leave any drippings in the pan and add onion, carrot, celery.  Cook until vegetables are tender, add garlic and italian seasonings and cook another couple minutes.
Add diced tomato, drained beans, beef and chicken broth along with tomato sauce.  Simmer for 25 minutes.  Add pasta, cook until al dente according to package directions.
Serve with grated parmesean and fresh bread!

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Turkey Sausage with Cavatappi Pasta and Zucchini Ribbons

I crave pasta and cavatappi is my new 'go to' pasta...for starters it's really hard to over cook and I tend to get distracted easily in the kitchen :)  It's sturdy and holds the sauce.  A coupla notes;  cavatappi pasta is tubular, that means water gets inside during cooking, be sure to drain really well or it will make your sauce watery.   Also,  you could remove the casings from the sausage, crumble and brown, then add the marinara, but I think the sausage gets lost in the sauce...and I like my meat chunky!

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Marinara Primavera

 This is a simple marinara packed with veggies (hence the Primavera)...now why would you make a homemade marinara when there is all that bottled stuff on the grocery store shelf, you ask?  Quite simply, flavor, texture and nutrition...it is low in calorie and has half the sodium and who doesn't need more vegetables in their diet.  I sometimes wonder how they get so much salt in some of those prepackaged foods!
 This makes a very large batch and can easily be frozen in several containers so you have fresh marinara on hand anytime!  

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Tortellini and Fresh Mozzerella Kabobs

I am a huge fan of fresh mozzarella and pasta...this is a great way to get my fix on a stick!
Wonderful and impressive to bring to a party and they travel well. Bring a side of pesto to drizzle over skewers before serving. Can also be made several days in advance.
Ingredients

• cherry tomatoes (figure 2 per skewer)
• fresh mozzarella cut into 1 inch cubes (careful not to cut to small or they will not thread easily)
• fresh tortellini cooked to al dente
• bamboo skewers

Thread order: tomato, mozzarella cube, 3 tortellini's, mozzarella and tomato. I have found that having the tomato at the base and the end of the skewar helps hold the pasta and cheese together.

Drizzled with Pesto

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