Pasta with Sausage, Feta, and Spinach

 So our oven died a few weeks ago and we've been waiting for the new one to arrive. The loss of the oven has forced us to get creative. Normally we make burgers in the winter on a ridged baking sheet. It works great. However, no oven. I wound up outside grilling burgers in the middle of winter. I figured if I had to fire up the grill, I'd throw some brats out there, too. That's how I ended up with this recipe. I had a pack of feta spinach brats I mostly grilled out of spite. You may question the use of brats here, and that's understandable. Most brats I've had have a suspicious texture. The Wife calls it "gritty." My father would say you should never eat "gray meat" and it's a judgement. That said, the brats we got from our local place are magnificent and worked great here. If you can find them or something similar, do it. If not, best of luck. You'll figure it out. I trust you. This one is quick and easy and is pretty damned good, if I do say so myself. As always, notes are in blue. 

Pasta with Sausage, Feta, and Spinach

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped (you can use jarlic if you want. I won't tell anyone)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 sausages, cooked and sliced into 1/2" discs (this is open to experimentation. Obviously, Italian sausage would be fine here. Kielbasa? Probably not. I went with a pack of delightful Spinach and Feta Bratwurst from Turasky Meats that I cooked on the grill. If you can find something similar, I'd highly recommend it)
• 1 package (8oz.) frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed of all excess water
• 4 ounces feta cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1lb. pasta of your choice (I wanted to do rigatoni, but turns out we didn't have any. Wound up using farfalle. I guess use whatever you want. It should be fine. Hell, wrap it all up in lasagna noodles and bake it in alfredo sauce. Go wild.) 
• salt (this is mostly for cooking the pasta. The bratwurst had enough salt that I didn't feel the need to add any. Up to you, though, depending on your tastes)

Directions

1. Cook pasta to according to instructions (looking for al dente), drain and set aside.
2. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté a minute or so.
3. Add the tomatoes and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until the tomatoes start to break down a bit.
4. Add the spinach and cook to remove any excess water. 
5. Add the feta and sausages. Make sure to keep things moving in the pan so you don't burn anything.
6.  Add in the cream and bring to a simmer. (It's possible that the spinach will soak up a lot of the cream. Feel free to add a bit more if you like a thicker sauce. We used just enough that everything got a light coat.)
7. Add pasta to sauce and toss to combine.

Good times!

Desperation Casserole

Desperate times call for desperate measures. We were running out of space in our freezer and needed to use up some surplus to make room for all the produce we were vacuum bagging and freezing out of our garden. I'm sure there's plenty of flexibility with this recipe. You can easily swap just about any meat in for the sausages, or leave the meat out and add zucchini or eggplant and make it vegetarian. We considered adding cheese to this, but just couldn't think of any that would work so we just left it alone. The verdict from The Wife: "this is better than it has any right to be." If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.

Desperation Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 package Johnsonville Irish O'Garlic sausages (or probably any sausage you prefer)
• 1 lb frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
• 8 ounces kale (washed and dried)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 2 teaspoons Slap Ya' Mama seasoning (or use salt, black pepper, and cayenne)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F (191C, Gas Mark 5)
2. Cut sausages into 1" pieces. Cook in a pan until browned.
3. In a large bowl, tear up the kale into small pieces. Add the sausage (and grease) to the bowl. Give a quick toss to get the kale to start to wilt.
4. Add all the remaining ingredients and toss. 
5. Put in a greased Pyrex. Put in oven for 30 minutes or until potatoes start to get crisp at the edges.

Good Times!

Breakfast Frittata

     I have mentioned before my enduring love of the frittata. I've done a baked pasta frittata and a vegetable frittata. Somehow I just never got around to making one for breakfast. Not surprisingly, it was delicious. It's pretty hard to screw up breakfast unless you just burn the living shit out of it.

D'oh!

Not much else to say about this. It's versatile. Add other veggies, change out the sausage with bacon or ham, or just leave it out if meat's not your thing. Use different cheese. Get crazy. As always, notes are in blue.

Breakfast Frittata

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 lb. pork breakfast sausage
• 4 small potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/2 large yellow onion
• 1/2 cup salsa (we used Red Cactus Sweet Heat Salsa)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C, Gasmark5)
2. On the stovetop, place a cast iron skillet on medium high heat and add oil. Add potatoes. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until potatoes start to get tender. 
3. Add onions and sausage. Mix and cook until sausage is cooked through. Drain any excess oil.
4. In a bowl, add the eggs and milk (please remember to crack open the eggs.) Add salsa seasoning to desired level. Whisk until everything is incorporated.
5. Pour egg mixture into skillet and cook on the stovetop for about 5-7 minutes. 
6. Move skillet into oven and cook for about 15 minutes, or until eggs are almost completely set.
7. Top with the shredded cheese and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese has completely melted and started to bubble.
8. Take out of oven and let set for a few minutes. 

Good times!

My Father's Lasagna

     My Dad was always fun to watch in the kitchen. He never used a printed recipe. He just sort of played it loose and fast and hoped for the best. One of his classics was lasagna. For whatever reason, he never used crumbled Italian sausage. Ever. It was always the links. In lasagna, he'd just slice it up and layer it in there. It was so good. He never actually taught me the recipe. I learned it by watching him, then tinkering with things until it was just right. It's not a terribly labor intensive recipe, but you need to be careful to not overcook the pasta before layering it. If you do, it's going to be a real bitch to work with. Try it and tell me it's not a great lasagna. Seriously, don't do that. I don't want your criticism.

My Father's Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 box lasagna noodles
• 1 pound Italian sausage links(sweet or hot, doesn't matter)
• sliced pepperoni
• 1 lb ricotta cheese
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• pasta sauce of your choosing (we used home made from our Meatballs and Red Sauce recipe)

Directions

1. Brown the sausage and slice into 1/2" rounds. Set aside.
2. Cook the pasta a couple minutes less than the directions on the package.
3. Take a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Lay three noodles down the length of the pan, slightly overlapping.
4. Drop twelve tablespoons of ricotta at equal intervals (4 dollops on each noodle)
5.  Lay a slice of sausage on each dollop of ricotta. Cover with a thin layer of the shredded mozzarella. Spoon a thin layer of sauce over the entire layer.
6. Lay down another layer of pasta and another 12 dollops of ricotta. Instead of sausage, this time put down pepperoni. Put down another thin layer of mozzarella and a layer of sauce.
7. Repeat step 5.
8. Lay down a final layer of pasta. Over this, thinly spread a layer of ricotta. Lay alternating sausage and pepperoni over the top. Add a final layer of sauce. Finish with a healthy layer of mozzarella. 
9. Bake at 375F (190C, Gasmark 5) for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubble. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes or so to let everything set up.

UPDATE: Here's the video for the recipe!

Good Times!

Gnocchi and Sausage in Herb Butter Sauce

     I do enjoy a simple and easy recipe. Especially when it's one I came up with myself. We happened to have a huge surplus of packaged gnocchi and I felt like making a new sauce. This sauce could not be any more simple. Just a few ingredients and a few minutes and you've got a hearty meal! I will suggest maybe doubling up on the pasta measurement. The gnocchi was buried in sausage and sauce. This may not be a bad thing for many people, but if a high sauce to pasta ratio isn't your thing, do two pounds of gnocchi (or other pasta) for this recipe. Give it a try and see what you think! As always, don't tell me if it sucks and notes are in blue!

Gnocchi and Sausage in Herb Butter Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound gnocchi (I used a pumpkin-potato gnocchi, but you can use what you want. You could probably get away with just about any pasta you want)
• 1/2 large sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I used uncased sausage. Feel free to use the links and cut them in to about 1/2" discs)
• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon Bavarian Seasoning from the Spice House (if you don't have access to this, it's a mix of brown mustard seed, rosemary thyme, garlic, sage and bay leaf)
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Put onion and sausage in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Brown sausage and drain excess oil. 
2. Add butter and herbs. Lower heat to medium and stir until butter is melted.
3. Cook gnocchi (or pasta of choice) according to directions. Drain and set aside.
4. Add cheese to sausage and butter mix. Stir until cheese is incorporated. 
5. Add gnocchi to sauce and toss until gnocchi are covered in sauce and sausage is distributed.

Good times!

The Pork Hat Trick

     Man, do I love pork. I love pork in all its wonderful forms. It's so versatile; you can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Granted, the same could be said for Cap'n Crunch, but there you have it. I have been wanting to do some form of goofy pork loin in the smoker for a while now. I figured pork inside pork wrapped in pork was the way to go. This recipe, due to time and labor, qualifies as a certified Pain In The Ass. Mind you, it's totally worth it. I apologize in advance for the vagueness about cooking time. If you're using a smoker, you've already committed to a big hunk of time. Just check the temp regularly. Throw some chicken on the smoker, too. That will be ready before the pork so you'll have something to snack on. See how I take care of you? What do I get for it? Heartache. You're driving me to an early grave.

The Pork Hat Trick

Ingredients

• 2.5-3 pound pork loin
• 1 pound pork sausage with sage
• 1 pound thick cut bacon
• 3 sprigs dried rosemary
• 3 tablespoons Three Mustard Pepper Relish
• Uncle Joe's Rubdown
• olive oil
• apple juice

Directions

1. With a fillet or other sharp knife, butterfly the pork loin. How do you butterfly a pork loin? Follow this handy link to a fine set of instructions (that I did not write). You should end up with a 1/2" or so thick rectangle of pork.
2. Spread a layer of the mustard pepper relish evenly across the pork.
3. Spread the pork sausage in an even layer over the relish.

   

   I suppose you could just chuck it in the oven and bake it at this point.
   MEAT PIZZA

4. Sprinkle with the dried rosemary. 
5. Here's where things get fun. Roll up the loin, jelly-roll style. Then, wrap it with the bacon. Use what ever method you'd like for the bacon, weave it, drape it, you pick. Once you have the bacon situated, take some butcher's twine and go full bondage on that bad boy. You don't want it unraveling. Wipe down the twine with olive oil to keep the twine from burning.
   

   

   50 Shades of Pork

6. Sprinkle the rub onto the roast. If you don't have Uncle Joe's you're missing out and will have to use something else.
7. Get that bad boy out to your smoker. Smoke the loin until an instant read thermometer gives you around 160F. Occasionally spray the loin with apple juice to keep it moist. I smoked mine for three or so hours. Can't say for sure. I was drinking. Time may depend on how hot your smoker is running. Alternately, throw it in the oven at 375F until the desired temp is reached. 

   

   ACTION SHOT. 

8. Once the desired internal temperature is reached, take it off the heat and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. It's been through a lot and needs time to collect itself. Congratulate yourself on a job well done with your sixth Jim Beam and Mr. Pibb of the day.
9. After resting, slice that bastard up and eat until you're sick. Which is entirely possible if you didn't cook it long enough.

Good times!

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

     You can't ever go wrong with a nice bowl of gumbo. Unless, of course, you don't like okra, then you're screwed. Okra seems to be the main factor in people not eating gumbo. Problem solved. I found a recipe that doesn't use gumbo. Some of the purists might say that it's not real gumbo then. Those people are totally entitled to their opinions. I'm also totally entitled to ignore the shit out of them and carry on with my day. This recipe was a winner all the way. Granted, I changed it up a bit. It had plenty of flavor and enough heat to keep things interesting. Serve it over rice along side a few ice-cold beers and you're in business. As always, notes and changes are in blue.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
via The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American

Ingredients

• 1 pound sausage, browned (we used mild Italian sausage, though just about any sausage will do. Just make sure it's loose and not in the casing)
• 1/2 cup peanut oil (we used vegetable oil)
• 1 chicken, about 3 pounds, cut up (we used bone-in chicken breasts. Keep reading to see how we did it)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 green sweet bell pepper, cored and chopped (since The Wife doesn't much like green peppers, we used a sweet red bell pepper)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2-1/2 quarts chicken stock (omitted. You'll see why)
• 2 whole bay leaves (just remember: unattended bay leaves equal death)
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning (omitted)
• pinch of ground cloves (omitted)
• pinch of ground allspice (omitted)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 quarts Cajun-style tomatoes with liquid. (We can these ourselves. Basically you can make them with 2 quarts of canned, stewed tomatoes, then add 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning of your choice and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper)

Directions

1. Brown the sausage in a frying pan (we used the enameled cast iron Dutch oven for the whole thing) with a small bit of the oil. Remove sausage and set aside.
2. Add the remaining oil to the pan and fry the chicken until brown. Remove and set aside (we totally went off-book for this step. I boiled the bone-in chicken until cooked, then stripped the meat off the bone and set it aside. I kept the liquid to freeze as chicken stock for later use.)
3. Add the flour to the pan and cook with the oil and pan drippings until you have a dark, rich roux, about the color of peanut butter. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to make sure nothing is sticking. Add the vegetables and garlic and saute until limp (the vegetables, not you. If you're limp, add Viagra)
4. Place the vegetable roux in a 6-quart stockpot (if you're following my suggestions, you've already got it in a large Dutch oven, so you're good) and add the stock (or if you're doing it my way, here's where you put in your 2 quarts of Cajun tomatoes and liquid).
5. Stir constantly over medium-high heat until the stock thickens (this didn't take but a couple of minutes for me). Add any other seasonings and simmer, covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. 
6. Add the chicken and sausage to the stockpot and cook until the chicken is tender (I'm going to be honest and admit to throwing the meat in back during Step 4. No harm done)
7. Serve over cooked rice.

Good times!

Too Damned Easy Sausage Gravy

     I wasn't always a fan of biscuits and gravy. In fact, I didn't even know it existed until I went to college and they served it at the cafeteria. Biscuit and gravy day was one of the few weekdays I would get up early. Now I make it at home and don't have to get up early to do it. I don't even have to wear pants. This particular recipe has some heat, as I use plenty of seasoning. It's good on biscuits, crescent rolls, eggs, hash browns, or just about anything breakfasty. It's super fast and easy to make and really dresses up a tube of store-bought biscuit dough.

Too Damned Easy Sausage Gravy

Ingredients

• 1 pound country sausage
• 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1-3/4 cups milk
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, brown sausage. Do not drain the grease.
2. Lower the heat to low and add all the other ingredients. Stir until dry ingredients are totally incorporated into the milk. Adjust the milk/flour ratios if the consistency needs work. Just remember you may have to adjust the seasonings to account for increased flour and/or milk. 
3. Once it's the consistency you like, take it off the heat and get it on some biscuits!

Good times!

Sausage and Peppers Diavolo

    Fra Diavolo is one of my favorite ways to enjoy pasta. The simple combination of olive oil, garlic and red pepper is just fantastic. It's just the right combination of richness and heat. I figured that base could be used for any number of recipes. I'm pretty sure I've had chicken diavolo before. Maybe not. I'm not 100% sure. I might have hallucinated it. Regardless, I had a lot of bell peppers left over from the garden last season, so we decided to dig some out of the freezer and use them in this recipe. I figured combining sausage and peppers with pasta diavolo was a sure thing. I was right. This was delicious. If you don't like it, obviously you cooked it wrong or possibly have a damaged palate. I forgive you. This time. As always, any notes are in blue.

Sausage and Peppers Diavolo

Ingredients

• 12 ounces Farfalle (that's what we cooking types call bow-tie pasta. Nothing impresses your dinner guests like pretentiousness) 
• 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed (the choice of sweet or hot sausage it up to you. Either will work here)
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil (use extra virgin if you happen to have a surplus of virgins in your house)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (you can use less if you're a wuss)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 
• grated Asiago cheese for garnish

Directions

1. In a large, non-stick pan, brown Italian sausage and break into crumbles. On medium-high heat, this will take about 5-8 minutes. Make sure to drain off any excess oil. Add the garlic, onion and peppers about half way through.
2. Cook pasta according to directions (the directions for the pasta, not the directions for anything else. Following instant pudding directions here would not be helpful)
3. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add the sausage and pepper mix. Add the olive oil, red pepper, basil, and Parmesan. Toss to ensure everything is evenly coated.
4. Throw a big helping on a plate and top with grated Asiago.

Good times!

Traditional Middle Class Breakfast Casserole

     When I moved to central Illinois, I was greeted with an entirely new menu of middle class food. One of the more ubiquitous dishes was the Breakfast Casserole. You'd find these gastric bludgeons lurking at most potluck breakfasts or brunches. Boasting anywhere from twelve to six hundred eggs and upwards of fifteen hundred pounds of sausage and cheese, a single slice could meet your caloric needs for the next two days. However, they are crazy good. There's a bunch of different ways to make these. You can use potatoes instead of bread, change up the sausage with ham or bacon, use different cheeses or veggies. I have yet to have a bad one. This particular version is pretty basic and is intended to give you a starting point for your own personal breakfast powerhouse. As always, notes are in blue.

Traditional Middle Class
Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork sausage
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 loaf Herbed Swirl Bread, cut into 1" cubes (in the event you don't feel like making bread especially for this, you can sub in 1/2 loaf of any hearty bread)
• 12 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons Frank's Hot Sauce
• 8 slices American cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C, Gasmark 5)
2. In a pan, cook onion, peppers and sausage until sausage is browned. Drain excess grease and set pan aside.
3. Spray a 13"x9" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Put down a layer of bread cubes in the dish.
4. Spread the sausage and veggie mixture in an even layer over the bread.
5. In a large bowl, lightly beat 12 eggs (make sure you take them out of the shells first. That's critical), with the milk and hot sauce. Pour over everything in the baking dish, ensuring that you have an even layer of egg covering everything.
6. Lay the slices of cheese over the top (next time I think I may put the cheese in between the bread and sausage layer and then sprinkle some cheddar over the top. Live and learn).
7. Bake for 40 minutes or until egg is completely set.

BONUS VIDEO:

A generation of chickens headed to the casserole
Good times!

Slow Cooker Black Bean and Sausage Stew

     Black beans are great. They're versatile and super filling. I usually have three or four cans on hand at any given time. I also love smoked sausages. There's nothing like gaining six pounds in water after chowing down one of those sodium bombs.  When black beans and smoked sausages collide, good things happen.

Yup. Just like this, but with way more giggling.

     This particular recipe came out of the Slow-Cooker Magic in Minutes book. It's a fairly easy recipe, but does require moving some ingredients in and out of the cooker, which I absolutely hate. It's a small complaint, since this recipe is tasty and filling. It also benefits greatly from the addition of some hot sauce. Tabasco is great here. As always, any notes or changes are in blue.

Slow Cooker Black Bean and Sausage Stew
via Slow Cooker Magic in Minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1-1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1-1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup chopped red pepper (for whatever reason, I didn't have red pepper available when I made this and went with green pepper. It worked fine.)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander (did you know that coriander is the seeds of cilantro? You do now! Never let it be said this isn't an educational blog)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 6 ounces cooked turkey sausage, thinly sliced (I went ahead with the smoked pork sausage for that extra 62,000mg of sodium. Plus, I didn't slice it thinly. MADNESS. Also, feel free to use more sausage if you'd like. Probably not more than a pound, though)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, except sausage. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
2. Transfer about 1-1/2 cups bean mixture from slow cooker to blender or food processor, puree mixture (I have said it before and I'll say it again. I hate it when a slow cooker recipe has me taking stuff in and out of the cooker. I just want to throw it in and forget about it. This is time that could be spent drinking or smoking cigars)
3. Return blended mixture to slow cook. Stir in sausage. Cover and cook on LOW an additional 10-15 minutes.

Good times!

Too Damned Easy Slow-Cooker BBQ Green Beans and Sausage

     I am so proud of the wife. She finally just chucked aside the recipe books and winged it. She was looking for a green bean recipe for a slow cooker when she suggested adding Italian sausage. Then she made a bold choice and grabbed a half pint of my BBQ jalapenos and onions. The result? A spicy and delicious dish that could serve as a side or even a main course. As always, any notes are in blue.

Too Damned Easy
Slow Cooker BBQ Green Beans and Sausage
via The Wife

Ingredients

• 1 pound green beans (we used fresh that we got out of the garden. The wife just gave them a wash and trim. You could certainly get by with a pound of frozen)
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 1/2 pint BBQ Jalapenos and Onions

Directions

1. Put green beans into slow cooker
2. Slice sausage into 1" pieces. Fry in a skillet with a bit of oil until brown. Add sausage to slow cooker.
3. Pour BBQ peppers and onions over the top.
4. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours.

Good times!

Sausage and Kale Biscuit Pie

     It's always fun when I decide to freestyle in the kitchen. It's also generally messy, but the end results are worth the destruction. The whole inspiration for this recipe came from a tube of butter-flavored biscuits that was sitting in the fridge. We tend to leave them in there until they explode, so I figured maybe I should use it. I also had a surplus of Polish sausages in the freezer, so I decided those were going in, as well. From that point I decided I was going to make a quasi pot-pie. The addition of malt vinegar was a last minute decision and one the wife and I were very pleased with. I undercooked the potatoes a bit by mistake, so in the recipe I suggest par-boiling them. If you're looking for a tasty mid-week filler meal, this might be for you! As always, any notes are in blue.

Sausage and Kale Biscuit Pie

Ingredients

• 1 16-ounce tube butter flavored biscuits
• 1 package (13-16 ounces) of Polish kielbasa, sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 small red potatoes, cubed
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 4 cups kale, leaves only, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Black pepper to taste
• Malt vinegar to taste

Directions

1. Par-boil potatoes, about 10 minutes.
2. Get a great big pot and sautee all the vegetables for about 10-15 minutes. (You're basically making sure the potatoes get cooked enough so they're not crunchy when you go to serve them).
3. Add the kielbasa, oregano, black pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour in the cream of mushroom soup and stir everything so the soup is coating all the ingredients evenly. 

   

   You should be looking at something similar in your pot at this point.

4. Pour the bowl into a lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle a few dashes of malt vinegar over the top of everything. Take the biscuits from the tube and lay them out in a single layer.  Bake at 350F for about 12-15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown (the underside of the biscuits may be a bit squishy. There's not much you can do about this.) Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake another 3-5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Good times!

Sausage and Mozzarella Stuffed Whole-Wheat Ravioli

     Every now and then I completely lose my mind. Last Sunday was one of those times. I decided on a fairly large-scale Italian dinner. All from scratch. Monday I talked about the meatballs and sauce. Today we're going to look at the pasta end of the meal. I've always wanted to make whole-wheat pasta and I happened to have five pounds of whole-wheat flour in the pantry. I dug around in the manual for my Kitchenaid pasta sheet roller and found a recipe for the pasta. That was the base for my ravioli. The directions assume you have a Kitchenaid mixer. If not, you're going to be doing the mixing and kneading entirely by hand.

Sausage and Mozzarella Stuffed Whole-Wheat Ravioli

Ingredients
Pasta

• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling

• 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Filling

1. Cook sausage in pan until browned, drain excess grease
2. Reduce heat to low, add cheese and stir until cheese has melted throughout the meat. Set aside to cool.

Pasta

1. Place eggs, water, whole wheat flour and salt in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater Turn to speed 2 and mix 30 seconds.
2. Exchange beater for dough hook. Turn to speed 2 and knead for 2 minutes. Remove from bowl and hand knead for another 2 minutes. Divide dough into eight pieces before processing with sheet roller.
3. Attache the pasta sheet roller and start running the dough through. You're looking to work the dough to Roller setting 5. This is about 1/16" or so if by hand. (This dough will fight you in the sheet roller. The first couple of passes on the widest setting will still tend to shred the dough. You need to work it fairly thin before it will pass through without tearing. You're going to be doing a lot of folding and re-feeding. I hope you didn't have any other plans for the afternoon).

   

   You're going to end up with several sheets that hopefully look like this.

4. Lay out a sheet of rolled out pasta on a cutting board. Put a teaspoon of filling at regular intervals. You'll be able to get about 6 or so ready on a sheet. 

   

   This is what you should have in front of you.

5. Take a brush and dip it in some water. Paint water around the filling on the sheet. Lay another sheet over the top and press it into place. 

   

   Reference photos are proof that I care about you.

6. Get a ravioli cutter. The only reason I own one is that my wife's cousin gave me one when I mentioned I didn't own one. She's funny like that. If you don't have one, just cut it with a knife, then go around the very edge with the end of a fork to gently push the edges together and give it those fun little notches around the edge.

   

   Confession time. The wife is doing all the grunt work in these pictures. 

7. Get a big pot of water going at a rolling boil. Throw in some salt. It's pasta, don't be shy. In batches of six or so, toss the ravioli into the water. Cook them for 3-5 minutes depending on how done you want them. (We planned on finishing ours in our sauce, so we only cooked them for 3 minutes. They also freeze very well if taken out at this time.) Remove from water with slotted spoon and place in colander to drain off excess water. 

   

   Dramatic action shot.

8. At  this point, we took a cookie sheet and put down a layer of wax paper. We laid a single layer of ravioli, then another sheet of wax paper, another of ravioli...you get the idea. These wax paper sheets can then be loaded into freezer bags and put in the freezer for long term storage. You can heat them up in boiling water, cook them in sauce, or even microwave them to heat them up. This recipe will make about 60-70 ravioli. 

Good times!

White Bean, Kale, and Smoked Sausage Soup

     Before I really started cooking, a Dutch Oven involved pulling the covers up over my spouse's head and farting.* Needless to say, the wife did not find that sort of thing anywhere near as funny as I did.

This isn't a big selling card with Hallmark.

     Anyway, last year the wife finally clarified the term by buying me a cast iron enameled Dutch oven for Christmas. She also got me a cookbook to go along with it. I have learned to love this pot. It takes slow cooking to another place entirely. One thing I've learned it does well is soups. Within the cookbook, The Dutch Oven Cookbook by Sharon Kramis and Julie Kramer Hearne, are a number of great soup recipes. I am reprinting one here, along with any notes or changes I made in blue.

White Bean, Kale, and Smoked Sausage Soup
originally: White Bean, Swiss Chard, and Andouille Sausage Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups peeled and diced Yukon Gold potatoes (I only diced them. My Mom always swore there were important nutrients in the peel. Seemed legit so I never fact checked it. To this day, I never peel a potato. I also didn't use Yukon Gold. I hardly ever have them in the house. I used Russet.)
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup peeled and diced carrots
• 6 cups chicken broth (Didn't have any chicken stock ready, so I went with 6 cups of water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes. On the upshot, now I don't need to add salt.)
• Two 14.5 ounce cans cannellini beans, drained (I used Great Northern. I figure they're the same color and shape, so close enough is good enough.)
• 8 ounces precooked andouille sausage (about 2 pieces), halved lengthwise then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch strips (I don't really ever have andouille sausage in the house and if I did, I'd be cooking something Cajun. I used one pound of Eckrich Cheddar Smoked Sausage.)
• 2 cups Swiss Chard, washed and cut into 1/2 in strips (I guess I'm defective, but I can't stand Swiss Chard. It tastes like dirt. Any time a recipe calls for Swiss Chard, I just sub in kale. So that's what I did here. I used an equal amount of kale.)
• Salt and pepper to taste (If you made it my way, you probably don't want to add salt)

Directions

1. Over medium-low heat, melt the butter in a 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven. Add carrots, onions and potatoes. Saute briefly, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth and turn heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, until carrots and potatoes are soft. 
3. Add beans and cook for 5 minutes. Add sausage and greens and simmer for 5 more minutes. 

Serves 6 (Theoretically)

*I mention this because the soup, as I made it, made us a wee bit gassy. And by "a wee bit" I mean we thought we were rotting inside. Cook it my way at your own risk. Mind you, we still keep eating it. It's just that good.
The soup, I mean. Not the gas.

Good times!

Nutritionally Irresponsible Cooking: Breakfast Pizza

     I mentioned on Facebook the other day that I am a huge fan of the breakfast pizza from Casey's General Store. It's basically a pizza crust with egg, cheese and meat. It is heavy and greasy and undeniably awesome. Those who try it for the first time are almost always blown away and wonder how they lived life this far without one.

     The main issue I have with Casey's breakfast pizzas is that they are only available in the morning. If I sleep in too late, I miss the window to get one. I took it upon myself to replicate the recipe. The wife claims it is just as good, if not better.

Nutritionally Irresponsible Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 7.5 oz. tube buttermilk biscuit dough
• 4 medium eggs
• 2T water
• 2T butter/margarine
• 1/2lb breakfast sausage (I used maple)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Lightly grease pizza stone/pan
3. Knead biscuit dough into a ball. Roll out to about 10-12" diameter and place on stone/pan
4. Whisk eggs and water in a small bowl. Melt butter in a skillet on medium heat. Cook eggs on medium heat, pushing them around with a spatula to break them into a loose scramble. When eggs are still just a touch runny, remove from heat.
5. Spread eggs over pizza crust.
6. Cook sausage according to directions on package. Drain excess grease. Sprinkle over the eggs.
7. Sprinkle cheeses evenly across pizza.
8. Cook pizza for about 20-25 minutes or until crust starts to get golden and cheese melts.

The entire pizza is about 1800 calories. We cut ours into quarters, so 450 calories per serving. It's probably for the best that we not talk about fat and sodium content here.

Good times!