Smoked Sausage Tortellini Skillet

 

I know this is a food blog, but I was hoping we could talk about books today. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I like to read even more than I like to cook. As in, I'm never not in the middle of reading a book. When people hear how much I read, they sometimes can't imagine reading that much, while I can't imagine not reading that much. I'm the person who routinely has about 15 books checked out from the library at any one time...and that's not even counting the books my boys have checked out.

When I don't have time read...well, I make time. Whether it's reading on my lunch break at work (which I do every day), sneaking away for 30 minutes in the evening while the boys are playing elsewhere with Joe, or making low-maintenance dinners like this one so I can read a few pages while I'm cooking.

Back to books in a second, but let's talk about this meal first. We all loved this. The ingredients are nothing fancy, but they come together to form a really delicious and simple dish. The original recipe didn't call for peas, but I added them for a pop of color and sweetness and vegetable-ness. In addition to being delicious, this comes together start-to-finish in only about 15 minutes. While that's not a lot of time for me to read while it's cooking, that does equal more time to read after dinner, since both the cooking and the clean-up are so quick. It's a win-win!

So tell me, what's the best book you read recently? Some of my favorite recent reads are Eleanor and Park, After Her, Shadow and Bone, and The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells. If you'd like to talk books with me more, you can find me on Goodreads here!

Smoked Sausage Tortellini Skillet
adapted from Kevin and Amanda 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound smoked sausage
3 cloves minced garlic
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 package frozen cheese tortellini

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Slice the smoked sausage thinly and add it to the skillet and cook until well-browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add the garlic and cook and stir for 30 seconds.

2. Add the chicken stock, tomato sauce, heavy cream, and salt and pepper and stir until simmering and bubbly. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in the parmesan cheese until melted, then add the frozen peas and heat through.

3. While the sauce is simmering, cook the tortellini in boiling salted water according to package directions; drain.  

4. Add the tortellini to the skillet and stir gently to coat with sauce. Serve.

Big Batch Bolognese Sauce

It snowed last week here. Snow! In October! I'm never really ready for winter, but I'm especially not ready for it when it starts this soon. Give me my autumn, Universe!

Since the weather has cooled down, I've been craving slow-cooked comfort food in a major way. In that vein, a few weekends ago I made a delicious bolognese sauce that I'm so excited to share with you. Coming up on Friday, I'll share a fabulous recipe I made using this sauce. It's going to be a delicious week here on the blog!

As I do with so many things I make these days, I just kind of winged it with this recipe. I don't know if this would be considered "traditional" bolognese sauce, because I never really looked up any recipes. I just did my own thing, and I was so pleased with the results. The sauce has a nice bit of heat, a little bit of sweet, and a deep, rich flavor overall. It's thick and meaty and so comforting -- and it makes the house smell amazing while it's simmering on the stove. And plus, there's something so satisfying (at least for me) about preparing something and letting it cook all day long, and then getting to enjoy the results multiple times.

As the recipe title indicates, this is truly a "big batch" sauce. It uses three pounds (plus four ounces) of meat! You'll get at least two uses out of it, and it freezes really well. It fits perfectly into the "make it once, use it a few times" cooking philosophy that I've adopted lately.

One more thing: The sauce calls for the rind from a wedge of fresh parmesan cheese. I love the salty-cheesy flavor it adds to the background of the sauce. If you don't have a rind, you could stir in some grated parmesan at the end and the results would be just as delicious.

Big Batch Bolognese Sauce

Olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, diced
2 pounds ground sirloin
1 pound  ground Italian sausage
2 large onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1 green bell pepper, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
Rind from a wedge of fresh parmesan cheese
Granulated sugar, if needed

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat a layer of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until slightly crisp, then add the sirloin and sausage and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned. Add the onions, carrots, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Stir in the tomato paste until thoroughly coated and fragrant, then add the red wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and cook until wine is reduced. Stir in the beef stock, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and parmesan rind. Heat to bubbling, then reduce heat to medium low.

3. Cover and let simmer for 3 to 5 hours. The longer the sauce simmers, the thicker and richer it'll be. Discard the bay leaves and cheese rind before serving. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes, if needed. If the sauce is too acidic, add sugar to taste. Serve with spaghetti or anything you want.

4. To freeze, place portions of the sauce in gallon-size plastic freezer bags. Remove all the air from the bags and store flatly in freezer until ready to use.

Meatball Sliders

The idea for these meatball sliders isn't all that original; I've seen versions of them all over the place. This version, though, is pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself. After a sear in the skillet, homemade meatballs finish cooking in marinara sauce before being placed on garlic bread-style slider buns and topped with gooey mozzarella cheese. They're simple and delicious and, judging by my family's reaction to them, will be a go-to meal for us going forward. 

I mentioned earlier this week that I've been doing more batch cooking lately, and these meatball sliders are another great example of that. I used two pounds of meat to make the meatballs (a pound of ground beef and a pound of Italian sausage), and I simmered them in two jars of marinara sauce. Since I only needed 12 meatballs for the sliders, I reserved the remaining meatballs and sauce for another perennial family favorite: spaghetti and meatballs. But, going forward, I may freeze the rest in batches of 12 so I can use them for these sliders over and over again. You'll understand why when you try them.

The recipe below calls for freshly-ground Italian-style breadcrumbs. I make these by toasting 2 slices of wheat bread and pulsing them in the food processor with Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste (I never measure this stuff). I like using freshly-ground breadcrumbs because they're fluffier than store-bought and give the meatballs a better texture, but of course store-bought breadcrumbs are fine.

Meatball Sliders

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground Italian sausage
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup freshly-ground Italian-style breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Olive oil
2 jars of your favorite marinara sauce
6 slices sliced mozzarella cheese, quartered

For the garlic bread-style slider buns:

4 tablespoons softened butter
Italian seasoning to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
12 slider buns

1. To make the meatballs, add the ground beef and Italian sausage to a large bowl. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat; add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Let the onion and garlic mixture cool slightly off the heat, then add it to the bowl with the meat. Season the meat with additional salt and pepper and add the breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, eggs, milk, and parmesan cheese. Use your hands to gently combine the ingredients, but don't overmix them.

2. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Roll the meat mixture into balls, slightly smaller than a golf ball. Cook in batches until browned on all sides.

3. Meanwhile, in a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the marinara sauce over medium heat. As the meatballs finish searing on all sides, transfer them to the marinara, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover the pot to allow the meatballs to gently finish cooking through. Reserve all but 12 of the meatballs with their sauce for later use.

4. To make the slider buns, stir together the butter, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and cheese. Place the slider buns cut-side-up on a baking sheet. Spread some of the butter mixture onto the top and bottom of each bun. Broil until browned and crispy.

5. Place one meatball on the bottom of each slider bun. Top each with half a slice of mozzarella cheese (2 quarters). Return the bottom buns only to the oven and broil on low until cheese is melted. Top each with one of the reserved bun tops. If you have some fresh basil, throw it on there, because that would be delicious.

Sausage and Tortellini Soup

This soup is one of those Pinterest-famous recipes. You know, the ones that you see hundreds of times in your Pinterest feed because everyone pins and re-pins it? I've tried a few of those recipes, and this may just be the best one yet. This soup is truly as delicious as everyone says it is.

Of course, I made a lot of my own modifications to this soup. The result was a creamy, cheesy, flavorful soup that Joe and I happily ate for days. It's really saying something that I had to fight Joe for the leftover lunch portions, since he's not typically a huge fan of soup. This is seriously, seriously delicious. I loved the dimension of smokiness that the fire-roasted tomatoes added; it worked so well with the sausage and the creamy broth. Garlic bread is the perfect vehicle for soaking up the incredible flavor of that broth.

Mushrooms, zucchini, and baby spinach or kale would be delicious additions to this soup. I may even try stirring in a spoonful or two of pesto next time I make it...and there will most definitely be a next time.

Sausage and Tortellini Soup

heavily adapted from Party in My Kitchen

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound bulk Italian sausage, mild or spicy

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup white wine

4 cups chicken stock (1 quart)

1 can evaporated milk

1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 bag frozen cheese tortellini

3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, divided

Shredded parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage and break into bits with a wooden spoon. When the sausage has lost nearly all of its pink color, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is softened, then add the garlic and cook and stir for 30 seconds.

2. Add the white wine to the pot and let it reduce, stirring with a wooden spoon to release any bits stuck to the bottom. Add chicken stock, evaporated milk, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

3. Add the tortellini to the pot and continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the tortellini is heated through. Stir in two tablespoons of the parsley.

4. Garnish eash serving with parmesan cheese and some of the reserved parsley.

Baked Spaghetti Lasagna

This recipe has been all over Pinterest and the blogosphere recently, and I just have to add my own voice to all of the others that are saying: IT IS FREAKING DELICIOUS. This is a seriously, seriously good dinner. I'm always looking for fun new twists on lasagna since it's one of Joe's favorite dinners, and making it for him the traditional way is an all-day affair. This baked spaghetti tastes exactly like lasagna, with much less fuss.

Now, be forewarned: this recipe makes a ton of food. Yes, it contains 2 pounds of cheese and 1.5 pounds of pasta. I made the recipe as-is, and not only did we have enough for two separate dinners, we also had enough for lunches for all four of us for at least a week. It makes a lot. It can be easily halved if you're only cooking for a couple of people or if you don't like leftovers.

My personal favorite part of lasagna is the ricotta filling, and this recipe has that and then some. The noodles are mixed up with a ridiculously creamy mixture of ricotta, sour cream, half and half, and mozzarella -- and because I have to be me, I threw some cream cheese in there too. The mixture is poured into a casserole dish (a very large casserole dish) and baked, then each serving is topped with a scoop of meaty pasta sauce. It's stupid how good this is. Just stupid.

Baked Spaghetti Lasagna

adapted from Plain Chicken

1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces) spaghetti

8 cups (32 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

8 ounces ricotta cheese

8 ounces sour cream

8 ounces cream cheese

1 cup half and half, milk, or heavy cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

3 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound Italian sausage

1 jar spaghetti sauce

Salt and pepper, and any other seasonings, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

2. In a large bowl, stir together ricotta, sour cream, cream cheese, half-and-half, mozzarella, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper, and half of the parmesan cheese. Add spaghetti and toss until well coated.

3. Pour the spaghetti mixture into a 9 x 13 pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Top spaghetti with remaining parmesan cheese. Cover dish aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes.

4. While the pasta is baking, prepare the meat sauce. Melt the butter in a large skillet; add onion and sausage and saute until the meat is cooked thorugh and the onion is translucent. Add spaghetti sauce, adjust for seasoning, and simmer until the pasta is ready.

5. Remove the pasta from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Cut the pasta into squares and top each serving with the meat sauce.

Three Cheese Baked Meatball Subs

Our weather has cooled down a lot lately, and it's making me really excited for fall to get here. Fall is, hands-down, my very favorite season. The food, the football, the weather, the wardrobe...I love it all. The temperatures were so reminiscent of fall over the weekend, in fact, that they put me in the mood for a hearty dinner. I asked Joe how he'd feel if I made meatball subs for dinner, and I swear I saw his eyes light up.

I didn't use his favorite meatball recipe for these, since hot Italian sausage is still a bit too spicy for the boys. Instead, I used a combination of ground sirloin and mild Italian sausage as the base for the meatballs, then added all of the usual suspects: onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, and seasonings. I used split hoagie rolls for the subs, and I lined the rolls with tangy provolone and sharp Romano. After adding the meatballs and sauce to the rolls, I topped them with fresh mozzarella and baked them in the oven. And voila!: three cheese meatball subs. A hearty, flavorful, delicious meal to transition into fall, and definitely a new family favorite.

Each roll fits three or four meatballs, and this recipe makes 35 to 40 meatballs -- so even if you make all six of the hoagie rolls that come in the pack like I did, you'll have quite a few left over. I froze the remainder, and I'm really looking forward to having them again sometime this fall.

Three Cheese Baked Meatball Subs

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground sirloin

1 pound mild or sweet Italian sausage

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarsely-ground black pepper

1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

Drizzle of olive oil

For the sauce:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon butter

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon sugar

1 14.5-ounce can Italian-style diced tomatoes

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (any variety)

Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste

For the subs:

6 hoagie rolls

6 slices provolone cheese

6 tablespoons grated Romano or parmesan cheese

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. To make the meatballs, add the sirloin and sausage to a large bowl. Grate in the onion using a microplane, then add the rest of the meatball ingredients. Use your hands to gently combine all of the ingredients, without over-mixing. Form into meatballs, each a little smaller than the size of a golf ball, and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.

3. While the meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce. Melt the olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven (you want something large, because you'll be adding the meatballs later). Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is softened and translucent. Add in the garlic; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Add in the sugar and stir until the onion and garlic are coated with it. Stir in the diced tomatoes and the sauce, and taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and stir gently to evenly coat them. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce and meatballs simmer together.

4. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Line another baking sheet with the open hoagie rolls. In the bottom of each roll, place a slice of provolone cheese (cut in half so it'll fit, if needed) and a tablespoon of the Romano or parmesan. Place three or four meatballs in each roll, topping with additional sauce. Top each roll with a generous helping of the fresh mozzarella.

5. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cheeses are melted and the rolls are crispy.

Breakfast Tacos

Sometimes it’s just fun to eat like a kid, am I right? I mean, I’m all for fancier (but still easy) homemade dishes, but sometimes, it’s nice to eat something that’s no-frills and simply delicious. I made these breakfast tacos for my little guys, who love breakfast for dinner, and who think they love tacos – until they taste taco meat. They’re not so crazy about Mexican spices these days, so I decided to give them a twist on a standard taco. This is what I came up with: sausage, cheesy eggs, tater tots, and salsa piled on a flour tortilla. The boys were in heaven, and Joe and I really enjoyed this dinner too.

You could use whatever breakfast ingredients you like for these, really. You could use bacon, or sausage links or patties; you could add refried beans, avocado, or pico de gallo. You could leave off the tater tots, I guess, but I loved the texture and flavor that they added to these tacos. I bet you could even freeze these for easy breakfasts throughout the week. In any case, I will definitely be making them frequently, because Andrew and Will gave them two thumbs WAY up!

Breakfast Tacos

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage

6 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese

Tater tots, prepared according to package directions

Flour tortillas (I used whole wheat)

Salsa and sour cream for serving

1. Cook the sausage in a large skillet, using a wooden spoon to break it up into chunks, until sausage is browned and cook through. Remove to paper towels to drain.

2. Meanwhile, scramble the eggs and season them with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat in a large skillet until they’re softly scrambled. Stir in cheese and remove from heat.

3. Assemble the tacos by topping each flour tortilla with some of the eggs and sausage, a few tater tots, and salsa and sour cream.

Cheesy Sausage Penne

Being a food blogger means that you try lots of new recipes, all the time. And, obviously, not all of those recipes can be good, so some of them you never make again. Some are good enough to make occasionally, and some are so good that you want to make them once a week or more. This cheesy sausage penne falls into that last category – so good that my family could probably eat it three times a week and not get sick of it. It was so good that the instant the dinner dishes were cleaned up, I was on Facebook sharing the link with my family and friends.

What makes this dish different from other baked pasta dishes is the addition of the creamy, luxurious cream cheese-sour cream mixture that’s dotted on top and between the layers of pasta. That sauce is what takes this from good to incredible. There is a lot of the cream cheese-sour cream mixture, so if you’re not a fan of really saucy pastas, you can cut the mixture in half (and also I’m not your friend anymore, because how can you not like a lot of sauce?).

This dish is made with pantry staples and comes together relatively quickly – even more quickly if you make it ahead of time. Joe and my boys absolutely loved this, and I did too. It will be making many, many repeat appearances in my kitchen.

Cheesy Sausage Penne
adapted from Taste of Home

1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 26-ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1 16-ounce package uncooked penne pasta
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and spices to taste.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and sour cream.

4. In a greased shallow 3-quart baking dish, layer half of the pasta and sausage mixture. Dollop with half the cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with half the cheddar cheese. Repeat layers.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Bow Ties with Spicy Sausage in Tomato Cream Sauce

This pasta literally only has a handful of ingredients in it: sausage, onion, garlic, tomatoes and cream. And yet somehow, when those ingredients all come together, the flavor becomes so complex. This pasta is spicy, sweet, creamy, and absolutely delicious. I was going to add spinach to it, but I’m glad I didn’t. I was going to add some parmesan cheese, and I’m glad I didn’t do that either. It doesn’t need a single additional ingredient – it’s already perfect just as it is. And it’s ready in the amount of time it takes the pasta to cook.

I can’t say enough good things about this dinner. It was delicious and it will definitely make an appearance on many of my future meal plans (once a week, if Joe has anything to say about it).

Bow Ties with Spicy Sausage and Tomato Cream Sauce

adapted from A Taste of Home Cooking

1 16-ounce package bow tie pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound spicy sausage

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 28-ounce can Italian-style plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions; drain.

2. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet (large enough to hold the sauce and pasta) over medium heat. Cook sausage until sausage is evenly brown. Add onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Serve.

Joe's Favorite Meatballs

Despite his Welsh last name, my husband is Italian. Even though he’s really only a quarter Italian, that’s the part of his heritage he seems to embrace the most. It’s definitely the food he embraces the most. And although I don’t claim to be an excellent Italian cook like his grandmother and great-grandmother, my version of Italian food seems to be good enough for him. These meatballs are one of the meals he requests the most.

I’ve been making these for years, and I can’t believe they haven’t found their way onto the blog yet. What makes these particular meatballs so delicious, in my opinion, is the balance of sweet and spicy. The hot Italian sausage is perfectly complemented by the sweet red bell pepper (which is finely chopped with the aid of a blender, so you get a bite of it in every meatball) and the San Marzano tomatoes in the sauce. If I’m short on time I’ll just crack open a jar of store-bought spaghetti sauce (I’m never opposed to taking shortcuts!) but I really prefer the homemade sauce with the sweet tomatoes for these meatballs. I know in the picture they look pretty generic, but wait until you taste how flavorful they are! There’s definitely a reason my husband can’t get enough of them!

By the way, it's November, which is National Blog Posting Month, and I'm participating because I'm a crazy person. So you'll be getting a post from me every day for the next 30 days!

Joe’s Favorite Meatballs

1 pound hot Italian Sausage
1 red bell pepper, divided
1 large onion, chopped, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
4 cloves minced garlic, divided
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 14.5-ounce can Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes

1. Halve red bell pepper and discard stems and seeds. Coarsely chop half of the pepper and place in a blender or food processor; chop the other half and set aside. Chop the onion; add half to the pepper in the blender and set the other half aside.

2. To the bell pepper and onions in the blender, add parsley and 2 cloves of garlic. Pulse until very finely chopped and paste-like.

3. Place sausage in a large bowl. Add bell pepper mixture, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, Italian seasoning and salt. Mix gently with your hands to combine and shape into balls, slightly smaller in size than a golf ball.

4. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. When simmering, add meatballs to skillet and cook until browned on all sides. Drain on paper towels.

5. While the meatballs are cooking, heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven or high-sided skillet. Add reserved onions and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until vegetables are softened. Add remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Stir in diced tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes, crushing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Heat to bubbling, then reduce heat to medium low.

6. Add the meatballs to the sauce so they can gently finish cooking through, 10 or 15 minutes. Serve over pasta or on crusty bread.

Spicy Sausage Macaroni and Cheese

I just finished reading a book that takes place in post-zombie-apocalypse society. In the book, any living creature over 40 pounds is subject to zombification. (I promise, I have a food-related point, stick with me.) In one part of the book, the main character eats soy bacon. In another, he eats soy sausage. And you guys, I don’t know if I’ve ever been more thankful to live in a world where zombies don’t exist*, because I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t able to eat pork. No bacon? No sausage? Oh my goodness...Feed me to the living dead!

But since we’re talking about the real world, I’m thankful to have available to me the perfection that is spicy sausage. One day I was randomly thinking about food (which I do a lot), and thought about how delicious spicy sausage would be in mac and cheese. And since I love the flavor combination of sausage and tomatoes, I decided I’d add some of those in there too. The result was creamy, cheesy, spicy perfection.

I chose to leave the flavoring of this mac and cheese pretty simple, but you could jazz it up lots of different ways. Add cumin and chili powder to give it a Mexican spin, or garlic and Italian seasoning to make it taste more Italian in nature. The possibilities are limitless, and when you’re starting with a base as delicious as this mac and cheese, there’s no way you can go wrong.

Spicy Sausage Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound macaroni or other short pasta
1 pound spicy sausage
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon ground mustard
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage until no longer pink. Set aside on paper towels to drain.

3. Heat cream cheese and milk in a medium saucepan until smooth and slightly thickened. Season with ground mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted.

4. Combine pasta, sausage, cherry tomatoes, and cheese sauce. Serve immediately.

*yet...

Sausage Biscuit Sandwiches

I have an egg sandwich for breakfast most weekend mornings. Just a simple fried or scrambled egg, sandwiched between two slices of buttered wheat bread. It’s absolutely my favorite breakfast. I never met a breakfast sandwich I didn’t like, as a matter of fact. So I was drawn to this recipe when I saw it over on Tasty Kitchen, because it jazzes up a typical breakfast sandwich with cream cheese and raspberry jam.

I’ve always been a huge fan of sweet and savory elements paired together, and the combination worked so well in this dish. I loved the way the cream cheese and raspberry jam worked with the sausage and the egg, and the buttery biscuit just took these sandwiches over the top. I think any type of jam would work for these – I’m eager to try using peach next time. What a delicious combination of ingredients, and what a delicious little sandwich!

Sausage Biscuit Sandwiches
adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 package refrigerated buttery biscuits
1 package breakfast sausage patties
Eggs
Spreadable cream cheese
Raspberry jam or jelly
Butter

1. Bake biscuits as directed on package.

2. Meanwhile, fry sausage in a large skillet on the stovetop until cooked through. Remove to a paper towel to get rid of the excess grease.

3. In another skillet, cook eggs to desired doneness. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. To assemble sandwiches, spread butter and about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese on top and bottom slice of each biscuit. Spread top slice of each biscuit with about a tablespoon of raspberry jam or jelly. Add egg and sausage patty to the bottom slice of each biscuit, then cover with the top slice of each biscuit.

One year ago: Triple chocolate scotcheroos

Smoked Sausage Pierogi Bake

Hey, remember that bacon pierogi bake my family loves so much? Well, I was so excited when I saw this recipe, which uses smoked sausage instead of bacon and changes the recipe up in a few other little ways. This is such a delicious adaptation of the original casserole. Smoked sausage is such a natural pairing with pierogies, and it works great with the other ingredients in this dish.

It may not really seem like a summer sort of meal, but smoked sausage is on sale a lot during the summer, and this is a great way to use it. Although I still think I prefer the bacon version, this is a hearty, delicious alternative.

Looks like a hot mess. Tastes delicious.

Smoked Sausage Pierogi Bake
adapted from Lemons and Love

1 16-ounce package frozen potato and cheese pierogies
1/2 pound smoked sausage, cut into small pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Green onions, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the frozen pierogies in a baking dish coated with cooking spray.

2. In a large skillet, cook smoked sausage over medium heat until edges are browned and crispy. Add garlic; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Add cream cheese, chicken broth, diced tomatoes and pepper. Heat through until cream cheese is melted.

3. Pour the smoked sausage-cream cheese mixture evenly over the pierogies. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes until thoroughly heated. Add cheddar cheese; bake an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with green onions.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells with Spicy Sausage Tomato Sauce

Who doesn’t love stuffed shells? I’d been craving them all winter, and figured I’d better get around to finally making them before the weather warmed up for good. When I think of stuffed shells, I think of tons of cheese, so that’s exactly how I made this version -- stuffed with three different cheeses and topped with spicy sausage tomato sauce.

The first time I ever had tomato sauce made with spicy sausage was back when Joe and I were living with my mom in 2005. My mom was a great cook, and she always made her tomato sauce with spicy sausage rather than ground beef. The first time Joe and I tried it, we fell in love with the flavor -- so since then, I’ve always used spicy sausage in my meat sauce (which, really, is just a jar of spaghetti sauce jazzed up with tons of other ingredients and spices. I keep it real.).

I winged this recipe, and it turned out absolutely delicious -- so creamy and cheesy, and just a little bit spicy from the sauce. I made a full box of stuffed shells, which I divided in half, and I froze one pan for a later meal. The only thing this was missing was a sprinkling of fresh basil on top!

Cheesy Stuffed Shells with Spicy Sausage Tomato Sauce

1 box jumbo pasta shells
1 30-ounce carton of ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus additional for sprinkling
1/4 cup milk
1 pound spicy sausage
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
Italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook jumbo shells according to directions on package in boiling salted water; drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, combine ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and milk in a large bowl; set aside. When shells are cool enough to handle, stuff a couple of spoonfuls of the cheese mixture into each shell.

3. To make the sauce, cook spicy sausage in olive oil in a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. When sausage is nearly cooked through, add bell pepper, onion, and garlic and continue cooking until vegetables are softened. Add spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, and Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Spread about a cup of sauce in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Add shells and cover with additional sauce. Cover and cook for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving, if desired.

Crescent Sausage Egg and Cheese Bake

Well, since it seems I’ve been sharing breakfast-y things a lot lately, let’s continue in that vein, shall we? Today’s recipe is another one I think you’ll absolutely love -- we sure did. This recipe only contains five ingredients and it’s ready in well under 30 minutes, so it’s perfect for a weeknight when you’re craving breakfast for dinner (which is usually once a week in my house).

There’s just something magical about the combination of sausage and cream cheese. (Exhibit A, Exhibit B.) In this recipe, those two ingredients are layered with scrambled eggs and cheese between sheets of crescent rolls. It’s like a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich that you eat with a fork. What’s not to love?

Crescent Sausage Egg and Cheese Bake
slightly adapted from Hurricane Kitchen

2 packages of crescent rolls
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 pound sausage
6 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Lay 1 package of the crescent rolls in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish, pinching edges together as needed.

2. Cook sausage in a skillet until browned, seasoning with salt and pepper as desired. Drain fat and add cream cheese to sausage, stirring until completely melted.

3. Meanwhile, scramble the eggs in a medium skillet (don’t cook them through completely, since they’ll be finishing in the oven). (Use your favorite method for scrambled eggs; mine is mixing them with salt and pepper, a little bit of milk, and a touch of hot sauce and scrambling them in butter rather than oil.)

4. Layer sausage-cream cheese mixture on top of the crescent rolls in the casserole dish. Top that mixture with scrambled eggs, then sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

5. Roll out the second package of crescent rolls and place on top of the cheese. Cook for 11 to 13 minutes according to directions on the crescent roll package, until crescent rolls are lightly browned.

Maple Sausage and Waffle Breakfast Casserole

I generally tend to shy away from breakfast casseroles that contain eggs in combination with any type of bread product. I’ve tried quite a few of them, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I just don’t like the resulting texture; it always inevitably tastes soggy to me.

But when I saw this recipe, I couldn’t resist giving this a shot. Waffles, maple sausage, eggs, and cheese, all in one delicious dish? I mean, how could I possibly not try it? And I’m really glad I did, because the waffles in this casserole don’t taste soggy at all. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that they’re toasted before the eggs are added.

I love dishes that manage to be both sweet and savory at once, and this casserole is a perfect example of that. I will admit to using plain old store-brand frozen buttermilk waffles instead of the Eggo waffles called for in the original recipe, and I had absolutely no issues whatsoever. I even took some for lunch the next day, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this tasted even better as leftovers than it did straight out of the oven.

We all loved this so much, I think this has an excellent shot at replacing the breakfast casserole I make every year for Christmas.

Maple Sausage and Waffle Breakfast Casserole

adapted from What’s Cookin’, Chicago?, originally from Cook’s Country

8 frozen waffles
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 pound maple sausage
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Toast waffles in a toaster until browned. Meanwhile, brown sausage in a skillet until no longer pink and drain on paper towels. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

2. In the same skillet, sauté onions and peppers until softened. Transfer to bowl with sausage.

3. Coat an 8 x 8 inch square baking dish with non-stick spray or butter. Arrange 4 waffles in the bottom and sprinkle with half the sausage/vegetable mixture and half the cheese. Repeat layer, with remaining waffles, sausage/vegetable mixture and cheese.

4. Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl with the syrup, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over the waffles layers. Cover with plastic wrap and set a weight on top (like a baking dish holding a couple cans of food). Refrigerate overnight or for at least 1 hour.

5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, uncover casserole and bake 45 to 50 minutes until edges are puffy. Cool 5 minutes and serve.