Sausage, White Bean & Orzo Soup w/Spinach

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup orzo
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups spinach coarsely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• lemon juice to taste

Directions

1. Saute the garlic in olive oil for a couple minutes before adding the sausage and red chili pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until cooked all the way through.in a large sauce pan over medium heat and set aside, about 6 minutes.
2. Add the broth, sausage, beans, orzo, oregano, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the orzo is fully cooked. 
3. Add the spinach (roughly chopped) and simmer for 1-2 minutes until it wilts. 
4. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Remove the bay leaf and serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. 

Artichoke-Garlic Sausage Saute

Funny story...Megan asked what's for dinner. I told her it didn't have a name for it. So with a little work, together we came up with this one. Naming the dish was harder than preparing it!

Cube 6 slices of french bread-I used Trader Joe's cracked wheat, sourdough
Broil until well browned. Set croutons aside

Slice and brown 4 of your favorite sausages-I used Aidelle's Artichoke-Garlic
Add 1 coarsly chopped red onion. Brown well.
Add diced zucchini. Saute.
Add 2 cans diced tomatoes with their liquid and 1 can canneilli beans.
Season with salt and pepper. Heat until bubbly.

To serve:
Cover the bottom of your bowl with the homemade croutons. Ladle sausage mixture over the croutons. Top with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese. So easy and yummy!

Bread and Sausage Stuffing

I tried this recipe from the Williams Sonoma cookbook, Entertaining, and loved it! It's definitely what's going inside our bird this Thanksgiving....(o.k. I confess, I don't put the stuffing inside the turkey, so technically it's called dressing)

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf sourdough French bread, about
  1 lb., cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings
  removed
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 leek, white and light green portions,
  chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper,
  to taste

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350ºF.

Spread the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. (can be made ahead and stored in ziploc bag)

In a large fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sausage, onion, leek, celery and sage and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the meat browns and is cooked through and the vegetables are translucent, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and fold in the bread cubes, parsley and half-and-half. Stir in the stock until the mixture is evenly moistened. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely before stuffing into the cavities of the turkey.

If cooking outside of the bird, put in greased 9x13 inch pan. You can make the day ahead and refrigerate.

On the day you want to eat, removed from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Bake covered at 350 degrees until very hot in  the middle, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and let it get slightly browned for the last few minutes. 

 Serves 8 to 10.

Cowboy Calzones

I've been wanting to make calzones for a while now, but just hadn't taken the time to find a good recipe. As always, The Pioneer Woman and Your Homebased Mom came through for me and delivered "Cowboy Calzones" - the ultimate Calzone full of lots and lots of yummy things. BUT you can get creative and put absolutely ANYTHING you want inside... My original idea was to do a breakfast type Calzone with sausage, egg and cheese, but Joe nixed that idea. Maybe next time.

Pizza Crust

Yield: 2 pizza crusts

Ingredients

1 tsp or 1/2 packet active dry yeast

1 1/2 C warm water

4 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1/3 C extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

In a mixing bowl, pour the yeast over 1 1/2 cups of warm water, stirring gently. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt. Using an electric mixer on low speed, drizzle in the olive oil until just incorporated. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, mixing until the dough forms a ball. (You can also do this by hand.)

Drizzle a little olive oil into a clean bowl. Toss the ball of dough in the bowl and turn over to coat in oil. Cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel and set in a warm place for 1-2 hours, or cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Divide the dough in half, then using your hands, stretch the dough to the desired shape, pressing it into an oiled pan with your fingers. The thinner the better. The surface of the dough should be lumpy from finger marks. The other half of the dough may be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 3 days before use, or frozen for up to 6 months.

Cowboy Calzone

1/2 lb. hot breakfast sausage (I used mild)

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 – 8 oz. can tomatoes and chilies (Rotel brand)

8 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese

1/2 C grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 C grated Monterey Jack cheese

1 egg, beaten

salt and black pepper

1 recipe pizza crust (1/2 of above recipe)

olive oil for brushing

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large skillet combine the sausage and hamburger with the onion. Brown and drain off extra grease. Pour in the tomatoes and chilies.

Stir to combine, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a bowl combine the three cheeses and the egg. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Add the cooled meat mixture to the cheese mixture and stir to gently combine.

Divide the pizza dough into 8 equal size balls. With a rolling pin on a floured surface, roll each ball into a 6 inch circle.

Place one eighth of the meat/cheese mixture in the middle of each circle. Fold half of the circle over the other half, gently pressing to slightly spread and flatten the filling inside. Press a fork along the edge to seal closed then transfer the calzone to a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Brush the top of calzone with olive oil.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. EnJOY!

Baked Ziti with Spinach and Tomatoes

This is simple, hearty, and oooh so delicious.  Served with a green salad and Dutch Crunch bread-a new family favorite!  It's extra yummy made with elk sausage....if you're lucky to have a friend like I do who has 500 pounds of elk in her freezer and is willing to share!

This recipe easily serves 10-12 people.

3/4 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed

1 medium onion, chopped

3 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 28-ounce can diced peeled tomatoes

1/4 cup pesto sauce

10 ounces ziti or penne pasta (about 3 cups dried), freshly cooked

8 cups redy-to-use spinach leaves (about 2/3 of a 10-ounce package)

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)

Cook sausage, onion, garlic until cooked through and browned.  Add tomatoes with juices to pan.  Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.  Stir in pesto.  Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Combine hot pasta, spinach, mozzarella, and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese in a large bow.  Stir in hot tomato sauce and combine well.  Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle remaining 2/3 up Parmesan cheese over.  Bake until sauce bubbles and cheeses melt-about 30 minutes.

Sausage Bread

1½ c.warm water
1½ pkgs. active dry yeast
2 t. sugar
3½ c. flour
2 t. salt
1 lb.Bob Evans savory sage pork sausage-browned and drained very well
4 c. cheese-combo of mozzarella and jack or your preference

Combine ½ c. warm water, yeast and 1 t. sugar in small bowl; let stand until mixture is foamy-about 5-10 min. Combine flour, salt and remaining sugar and yeast mixture in work bowl of food processor. Slowly begin adding 1 cup warm water. A soft ball should form in several seconds; if not, add a little more water. Let machine run 15-20 seconds, adding more flour if dough seems too soft. Transfer dough to lightly floured board. Knead with a little additional flour for several turns. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size-about 1 hour. Punch down dough. Divide dough in half and roll out into two rectangles, approximately ¼ inch thick. Spread ½ of the sausage and ½ of the cheese on each rectangle. Roll up like a jelly roll and seal edges. Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise again for 15 min. Preheat oven to 450. Center a shallow dish of water on lower rack of oven. Place dough directly above water and bake 10 min. Reduce heat to 400 and continue baking an additional 15 min, or until loaves are golden brown.

Sausage, Pasta & Bean Soup

1 T. olive oil
2 lbs. sausages, sliced into coin size pieces (Aidelle’s Chicken and Apple)
1 T. flour
8 c. chicken broth
1 lg. can diced tomatoes with juice
1 t. dried basil
1 T. oregano
3 zucchini, sliced
½ c. small pasta
1 can beans-drained

Heat olive oil and brown sausage. Stir flour into sausage cook 1 minute and then mix in chicken broth, tomatoes, basil and oregano. Bring to boil. Add zucchini slices and pasta. Lower heat and simmer until pasta is tender.