Tag: sausage

Whole Wheat Penne with Tomatoes and Spinach

whole-wheat-penne-with-tomato-and-spinach This is a really healthy and quick dish to make. Everyone has a ‘go to’ ingredient in a pinch and mine is chicken sausage. I was in the mood to make a really healthy pasta- I had just bought some whole wheat penne. I used to be a big skeptic when it came to whole wheat pasta- it tasted like cardboard, but things have really improved over the years. The pasta now tastes really delicious and nutty. The texture has improved as well- soft, just like regular pasta. Now, my husband and daughter cannot tell when I have used whole wheat pasta.

In this dish I used some mushroom and fontina chicken sausages- my daughter, Sia loves them!!! I had also purchased the most fabulous looking grape tomatoes and baby spinach. I decided to incorporate all the items in this dish including some basil- the more the merrier! It took all of 30 minutes to make so it is very quick. While I was putting it together, I noticed I had feta cheese in the fridge- “perfect”, I thought. I took some pasta out for Sia, since she finds feta too salty (and I can’t get enough of the saltiness!!). I added the feta into the rest- the mixture of some left over pasta water and the cheese made the sauce really creamy and light at the same time. Since this was a one pot meal- the only other thing I had to worry about was the wine. I opened the German Pinot Noir!

½ pound whole wheat penne, cooked (save ½ cup of the pasta water)
5 chicken sausages, casings removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 ounces fresh baby spinach
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup basil, chopped
Salt to taste

In a wide frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the sausages and brown on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the tomatoes and salt. Cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes or till the tomatoes soften and begin to burst- push down with the back of the spatula to crush some of them. Add the cooked pasta and the pasta water and mix well. Add the spinach and cook till it has wilted. Add the basil and feta, mix well and adjust seasonings.

Rustic Sausage and Potato Bake

sausage-and-potato-bake Oh wow, this was a fantastic meal- I was inspired by my favorite british chef, Jamie Oliver . I watch his food network show every chance I get- I dvr it! I love his rustic style of cooking. It is very clear how much he loves food and is passionate about what he does. Watching him cook is extremely pleasurable especially since he is quite good looking as well! One of the shows I recently viewed was about tomatoes where he did a sausage and tomato bake. He also has recipe for a chicken thigh and potato bake. I liked both the recipes and decided to combine the two. I bought a bratwurst from Trader Joes and decided to use it in this one pot meal. As long as one is familiar with the technique, any combination of ingredients can be used. Any hearty herbs like rosemary and protein like chicken thighs can be used. Vegetables can also be used like peppers or zucchini. I had bought beautiful plum tomatoes and yukon gold potatoes. The combination of these very simple but fresh and fabulous looking ingredients is just magic!! The fresh whole garlic and the herbs give the dish great aroma and flavor. The pièce de résistance was the drizzle of balsamic vinegar! It brought all the ingredients together in a fabulous way- it was truly delicious! I bought a bake at home baguette which was perfect to soak up the delicious tomato goodness! I made a fresh salad and served a fabulous German Pinot Noir a friend recommended- it was- a Rheingau 2006 Pinot Noir. I never had a German Pinot Noir before- it was unbelievably delicious!!

1 pound fresh pork sausage, sliced into 2 inch circles
¼ cup pancetta, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus 1 teaspoon
1 bunch fresh thyme- about a tablespoon
1 bunch fresh oregano- about a tablespoon
5 plum tomatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces or 2 pints grape tomatoes cut in half
5 yukon gold potatoes, cooked half way and peeled
4 garlic cloves, not peeled
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven at 400 degree.
In a small frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add the pancetta and sauté on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the fresh herbs and sauté for another 5 minutes till the oil becomes aromatic. Pour the pancetta mixture in a 9 X 13 lined baking pan. In the meantime, cook the potatoes about half way and peel them. Place them on a flat surface and give them squeeze with your palm- you are trying to flatten them slightly. Add the potatoes to the baking dish. Add the tomatoes, garlic, sausage, salt and pepper. Mix well and drizzle the 3 tablespoons olive oil. Bake for about 30 minutes or till the potatoes are golden brown and the sausage is well cooked. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar and bake for another 10 minutes. Check for seasonings. Serve with a crusty baguette and a crisp salad.

Sausage and Asparagus Lasagna

sausage-and-asparagus-lasagna I admit that a lot of my recipes have chicken sausage in it- but I do think it is a very versatile ingredient. I bought a Sicilian style chicken sausage from Traders Joes. They were raw, and very easy to take out of the casings. Any kind of sausage can be used for this recipe- whatever flavor you like. My sister-in-law bought the most beautiful looking thin bunch of asparagus I have ever seen. The initial plan was to make a pasta with asparagus in it, so I started looking at recipes. She informed me that my brother and niece like marinara sauce with their pasta- so I started thinking about a lasagna! I love lasagnas- sky is the limit, you can add whatever you want. So, I decided to add a meat element and of course the first thing I thought of was sausage! My other favorite ingredient is pesto. It adds great flavor to a dish without a lot of effort, especially if you get the store bought one. It is good to have it in your fridge. I made a yummy concoction with the sausage, onion and pesto. I also added parmesan cheese to the ricotta as well as garlic- it gives the cheese mixture great flavor! I topped the lasagna off with grated fontina cheese. I love using this particular Italian cheese in my dishes- it melts really well and the creamy flavor goes really well with the sausage and pesto. We washed the lasagna down with some garlic bread and a California Merlot! It was a very enjoyable meal!

2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Mix the ricotta, egg, garlic, salt and Parmesan in a small bowl and keep aside.

1 portion basic marinara sauce (recipe on the blog)
9 no-bake lasagna noodles
1 pound uncooked chicken sausage
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 2-3 inches
1 medium onion, chopped into 1 inch squares
3 tablespoons pesto, store bought is fine
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups Fontina cheese, grated

In a large pan, heat the olive oil. Take the sausage out of the casings and add to the pan. Cook on high heat and separate the meat as it cooks. Brown the sausage for about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the asparagus and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the pesto and the salt. Mix well and keep aside.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

In a lasagna pan add ½ cup of marinara sauce and spread. Add three lasagna noodles. Add about 2/3 cups of the ricotta mixture and spread on the noodles. Add half of the chicken sausage mixture and spread on top of the ricotta mixture. Add the noodles and repeat the process with the ricotta mixture and the chicken sausage mixture. Top with the last three noodles and top it with a cup of marinara sauce. Bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover and add the cheese and bake for another 20 minutes.

Sausage Vodka Sauce with Cheese Ravioli

sausage-vodka-sauce-with-cheese-ravioli I love vodka sauce, usually with some prosciutto and peas- that is your typical vodka sauce preparation. I wanted to cook it a little differently and thought of using Italian sausage in the sauce. I crumbled the sausage with the onion and garlic and cook it down so the flavor is present in the sauce. Also most restaurant and store bought vodka sauces have quite a lot of cream. I added half-and-half instead. It gives it the nice pink color and a creamy taste for a lot less calories. For those who are concerned about the vodka in the dish, it cooks off and is safe to serve to the kiddies. It is always nice to take help from the store to make your life easier! So I went to find fresh pasta and thought ravioli should be interesting! I bought some cheese ravioli, but I think you can really play around with the flavors and get whichever one makes you happy. A citrus salad and some more white Portuguese wine made the meal complete!

1 package store bought cheese ravioli
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 links Italian sausage, removed from the casing and crumbled or chopped
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups crushed tomatoes
3 tablespoons vodka
3 tablespoons half and half
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
Sprig fresh basil for garnish
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for garnish

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, until brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft and golden about 4 minutes. Add the vodka and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat until thick, about 15 minutes. Stir in the half and half with some salt and sugar. Stir in the basil and remove from heat.
In the meantime, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the cheese ravioli and cook according the box directions. Strain the raviolis and toss with the vodka sauce and sausage mixture. Top with cheese and serve.

Basil Sausage and Spinach Baked Pasta

basil-sausage-and-spinach-pasta I started with the basil chicken sausages I bought yesterday. I admit to be obsessed with chicken sausages! I find them to be a healthy protein and come in lots of flavors and meal possibilities. Anyway, I was in the mood to make a baked pasta dish but not necessarily with marinara sauce. I decided to go with a bechamel sauce (white sauce), which is typically used in a homemade macaroni and cheese. I added pecorino instead of parmesan because it has a stronger flavor and it is not used as often, but, you can definitely use parmesan. Not sure why I chose spinach, maybe because I didn’t have any other vegetables in my fridge except baby carrots and cucumbers. Overall it came out quite well. My daughter thought it was delicious. We ate it with some garlic bread I had left over in the freezer.
The other thing I bought with the sausage was a Portuguese white wine. It looked quite fascinating to me- it had little bubbles! While in Madrid this past summer, we had lots of rose wines with tiny bubbles in them. They weren’t bubbles like champagne, far less- made it a lot easier to drink. I have been looking for something similar until now! The wine is called Gazela and it’s quite tasty. I wouldn’t categorize it as a superb wine but definitely an everyday kind of wine you can have at home. It was around five dollars so you can’t really go wrong. Anyway, the bubbles worked quite well with the creamy white sauce in the pasta.

2 basil Chicken Sausages- sliced into 1-inch rounds
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into one-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed with water squeezed out
1 teaspoon salt
½ pound penne pasta
8 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese, grated- divided into 1/3 cup and 2/3 cup

White Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (1%, 2% or whole milk will do)
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup pecorino romano, grated

Preheat oven at 400 degrees
In a wide skillet, heat the olive oil and add the sausages on medium-high heat. Brown the sausages for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic. Saute for a minute or so. Next, add the spinach and the salt. Mix well, making sure all the ingredients are warm and cooked through. Keep aside.
In a medium sized pot, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until almost done ( the rest will bake in the oven). Add the pasta to sausage and onion mixture.
In the meantime, in a small pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Start to whisk the mixture over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Then add the milk slowly while whisking making sure no lumps form. Bring the liquid to a boil. Once it starts to thicken, take it off the heat. Add the nutmeg, salt, black pepper and the pecorino cheese. Add the sauce to the pasta and sausage mixture. Add 1/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer the mixture into an ovenproof dish and top it with the remaining 2/3cup mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes.

Chicken Sausage and Spinach Frittata

6 large eggs
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup grated fontina cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium onion sliced
3 medium boiled potatoes sliced
1 cup frozen chopped spinach thawed
3 links chicken sausage taken out of the casings
½ cup cilantro chopped

Preheat the broiler and place the top rack 4 to 5 inches from the broiler element. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, 2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Add ½ cup of the cheese and ¼ cup of the cilantro and whisk. Set aside.

In a 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and lightly browned. Add the spinach and cook it for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sausage and potatoes and stir until they are golden brown. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Cook, lifting with a rubber spatula to let the eggs flow underneath, until the edges are set but the middle is still loose, 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle the remaining ½ cup cheese over the top. Place under the broiler until the eggs are slightly puffed and the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes, watching carefully to prevent from overcooking.

Remove from the oven and carefully slide the frittata out onto a large serving platter. Garnish with the remaining chopped cilantro. Slice and serve immediately.

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