Shepherd's Pie

Despite the fact that I'm not really a "meat and potatoes" kind of girl, I sure do love a good Shepherd's Pie. I love the saucy meat mixed with lots of veggies and creamy potatoes. Yum!

My go-to recipe is this one from Marci's blog, just like she says the fried onions really do add some fun pizazz to it. I've played around with that recipe, trying different combos and using whatever I happen to have on hand, and this is currently my favorite. The Italian sausage is a personal preference as it adds a extra flavor from plain ground beef, and I use mushrooms in place of some of the meat because I like the texture they add (and a great way to stretch the meal in a more healthy way!). This is one of the few things I get excited to enjoy as leftovers!

Ingredients


1 lb. mild Italian sausage
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 cups french fried onions
1 can tomato soup
1/2 c. water
3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
1 package (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
3 cups hot mashed potatoes
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Cook and crumble sausage in large skillet. When almost cooked through, add the mushrooms; cook a few minutes more until tender. Drain any excess fat and return to pan.

3. Stir in 1 cup fried onions, soup, water, seasoning, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Spoon veggies over sausage mixture, then top with mashed potatoes.

4. Bake 30 min. or until hot. Sprikle with Parmesan and remaining 1 cup onions. Bake 5 min. more or until golden.

Sausage and Spinach Rice Bowls

The rice bowl: so simple and unassuming, yet probably the most versatile dinner option out there! I love the concept of these because there are a thousand different ways to customize based on your tastes or what you happen to have in your pantry. You can use any type of meat or seafood, change up the flavor of the rice, use seasonal veggies and have one of these every week yet never have the exact same one.

For this particular one, I worked off a basic recipe that included sausage and spinach from Cooking Light and added a few embellishments - roasted red peppers and mushrooms - just because I had them on hand. Yum!

Oh, and did I mention this took less than 15 minutes to cook? Practically perfect :)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I used instant brown, but you can use any variety, flavor, etc)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. hot Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1/2 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers (jarred or fresh)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and onion; cook, stirring to crumble sausage, until sausage is cooked through and onion is tender. Stir in garlic; cook 2 minutes more. Add mushrooms and peppers, stir to combine, then add spinach. Cook until spinach is just wilted. Stir in rice, mix well to combine and continue cooking until heated through.

Mushroom (and Sausage) Pie

If you aren't a fan of mushrooms you should probably just stop reading right now. Actually I don't even know if we can keep being friends :). But if you're a mushroom-lover like me, then I highly recommend this dish!

I found this recipe because I had some mushrooms and a pie crust to use up quickly, and luckily I had all the  ingredients on hand for this one. My only changes to the original were using a different cheese (mozzarella vs. monterey jack) and adding some pork sausage to make it a little more of a breakfast treat, but leave that out and you have a yummy, cheesy, mushroomy pie that you could enjoy any time of day.

Original Recipe here

Ingredients
 1 refrigerated pie crust (or be ambitious and make your own)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. sliced mushrooms (I used white button)
 2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
A dash of ground cardamom or nutmeg (optional)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup cooked and crumbled breakfast pork sausage


Directions

 1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place pie crust in a pie pan and line the inside of a pie shell with heavy aluminum foil, pressing it against the side. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove foil, poke the bottom of the pie crust with the tines of a fork to create air vents. Return crust to oven, bake for an additional 4 minutes, or until the crust just begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

2. In a large sauté pan melt butter on medium heat. Add mushrooms, stir to coat with the butter. Increase the heat to high, stirring constantly until the moisture the mushrooms has released and evaporated, a few minutes. Lower heat to medium, add minced garlic, stir with the mushrooms for 30 seconds then remove from heat.

3. Beat together the eggs, sour cream, milk, and cream. Add freshly ground pepper, a pinch of salt, and cardamom or nutmeg if using. Stir in the grated cheese and chopped parsley.

4. Spread the sautéed mushrooms along the bottom of the pre-baked pie crust. Pour the cheese and cream mixture over the top of the mushrooms. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until nicely browned on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Baked Chile Relleno

I love me a good chile relleno, but the deep-fried cheesy goodness variety doesn't fit in well with my current healthy eating plan. I came up with this version so I could enjoy a spicy stuffed pepper without so much guilt! It was also much easier to prepare than a traditional chile relleno, because it was easier to remove the seeds since it didn't matter if the peppers split open too much because they weren't going to be fried.

I really liked the stuffing mixture on its own - you'll notice that I didn't even add any sort of spices or seasonings to it, because of the great flavors of all the veggies in it! You could also omit the chicken sausage for a great vegetarian meal, and if you don't want a spicy pepper this would also be great in a red or gold pepper instead.

Ingredients

4 poblano peppers
2 links chicken sausage (I used a green chile variety)
2 tsp. olive oil
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup canned sweet corn
1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat broiler. Place poblanos on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil, turning every few minutes, until skin is completely blackened and blistered. Immediately place poblanos is a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let steam at least 15 minutes. Peel charred skin from the peppers. Cut a slit down one side and carefully remove seeds. Set peppers aside. Turn oven down to 375 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, remove casing from chicken sausage and place in a large skillet. Break up into small pieces and stir frequently until cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from pan, drain any fat and set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in the same skillet. Add red pepper, onion, and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent and mushrooms are soft, about 6-7 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in corn, cilantro, sour cream, and chicken sausage remove from heat.

4. Place peppers on another foil-lined baking sheet. Stuff with the chicken sausage mixture and top with cheese. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

I love Fall because of all the great new recipe options it brings - especially for pumpkin! I was a little skeptical about this recipe at first, despite reading all the great reviews, just because I wasn't sure how the pumpkin/sausage combination would come together, especially with the cinnamon and nutmeg...but I'm glad I decided to try it because it is a definite winner! The final dish is a yummy, creamy pasta with a subtle pumpkin flavor that is just perfect. And sprinkled with some extra sage (which I LOVE) this dish just says "Fall" to me. I better stock up on canned pumpkin now so I can make this one all year long!


From Rachael Ray


Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade,about 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmigiano, for grating (I used Parmesan)
Pumpernickel or whole grain bread, as an accompaniment

Directions

1. Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

2. Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

3. Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Pizza Pasta

A pasta with an identity crisis. Luckily this crisis involves tasting like pizza, so there is nothing to do but enjoy it.

Ingredients

12 oz. rotini pasta, cooked according to package directions
1 small onion, diced
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
1 (3 oz) package sliced pepperoni, chopped
1 can black olives, sliced (I like black olives a LOT, so I use a large can...half of them probably end up in my mouth rather than the pasta anyway)
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. In a large skillet, combine onion and Italian sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally to crumble sausage, until cooked through and onion is tender.

2. Place sausage mixture in a large bowl. Add pepperoni, olives, spaghetti sauce, and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Stir to combine. Pour into a lighty greased 9x13 baking pan. Top with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 375 degrees 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through.

Polish Hash

This is something I don't have an exact recipe for, but I don't think one is needed for something like this...and besides, its much more fun to just wing it and adjust everything to taste.

Directions for the one pictured above:

Saute thinly sliced red onion (about 1/2 a large one) in a large skillet with some butter until tender. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add 4-5 peeled, thinly sliced russet potatoes to the same skillet with some more butter and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and golden brown. Stir back in the onion as well as 1 pound sliced polish sausage, 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, and season with salt and pepper. To serve, top with some crispy sage leaves (saute leaves in some browned butter until crispy, then crumble over the top of the hash) and a fried or poached egg.

Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Mushrooms

This was my first experience with spaghetti squash and I have to say I'm a fan! You really can use it in place of noodles to create endless low-carb dishes. This recipe is a combination of a few I found, was super easy to prepare, and worked great on a night we wanted a light, simple meal.

Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Mushrooms

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash (about 3.5 lbs)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and black pepper
1 lb. hot Italian sausage (turkey sausage works too)
1 tsp. olive oil
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Halve the squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and place cut side down on a large baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until tender. Use a fork to comb the squash into strands, and place in a large bowl. Toss squash strands with parmesan and season with salt and pepper.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the sausage until no longer pink. Remove from the pan, and add olive oil to the sausage drippings. Add mushrooms and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach and heat until just wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Season again with salt and pepper, then stir in sausage. Serve the sausage mixture on top of the squash.

Italian Nachos

There is a restaurant in Colorado called "Old Chicago". I know its lots of other places too. But you know where its not? California, of course.

I can't speak to the rest of their menu except for one incredibly fantastic item:

The Italian Nachos.

They are a-mazingly delicious. Being a lover of all things "nacho", there is no way for me to not be in love with this treat. This version is just a little twist on the traditional and it works. Works quite well, actually.

Since I currently don't have access to an Old Chicago, I finally tried to re-create this delectable appetizer on my own. The Old Chicago website describes Italian Nachos as "Golden pasta chips piled high with Mozzarella, pepperoni, Italian sausage and pepperoncinis. Served with our signature pizza sauce."

Easy enough, right? Except that in a quick search for copycat recipes I found people using tortilla chips, pita chips, basically anything but pasta chips. Really?

I got mad at these people.

So I just used the listed ingredients, substituting some crispy "chips" made from wonton wrapper for the pasta chips...and ended up with a pretty. dang. good copycat.

I suggest trying these at home. No recipe needed - just fry up some wonton wrappers (cut each wrapper in half first), then place in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top with pepperoni, Italian sausage, pepperoncinis, and lots of mozzarella cheese. Broil for a few minutes in the oven until the cheese melt and ENJOY.

Kielbasa and Kidney Beans

Adam and I both liked this, its certainly nothing spectacular but it was so quick and easy that it still makes the blog :)

Kielbasa and Kidney Beans
from Allrecipes - I made some changes so I'll indicate what I did differently

Ingredients

1 pound fully cooked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/2 cup chopped green pepper ( I only had red, so I just doubled up on that)
2 small russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (my addition)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons steak sauce ( I didn't have this, instead I added about 1 tbsp ketchup and 2 tsp adobo sauce)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (15 ounce) can white kidney or cannelini beans, rinsed and drained (I used red kidney beans)

Directions

1. In a skillet, cook sausage for 2-3 minutes. Stir in onion, peppers and potatoes. Cook and stir until sausage is lightly browned and vegetables are tender; drain.

2. Combine brown sugar, steak sauce, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce; stir into skillet. Add beans. Cook and stir until heated through.

I served over plain white rice, and because of that I felt it was lacking in the sauce department. If I make it again I will definitely double up.

Zuppa Toscana

This is my favorite soup at Olive Garden, and I was so happy to finally find a pretty-darn-good copy cat recipe!
Its hearty and satisfying - perfect during this great winter weather we've been having.

Zuppa Toscana

based on a version from Allrecipes. com, with some of my own changes

Ingredients

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (I like to use hot Italian sausage or even hot turkey Italian sausage, if I can find it)
1 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
6 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup fat free half-and-half

1/2 bunch fresh kale, tough stems removed and leaves chopped

*The original recipe calls for heavy cream (I substituted fat free half-and-half ) and spinach (I use kale, which is what I think they use in the actual restaurant soup)

Directions

1. Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

3. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Add kale about halfway through the potato cooking time. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the half-and-half and the cooked sausage; heat through and serve.