Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Peppers and Onions

My husband is a very patient man. It's one of the reasons I was drawn to him all those (nearly NINE!) years ago, since I am very much not patient. He balances me out nicely. I bring this up because he's always been very tolerant of me and my antics in the kitchen. He doesn't complain when I constantly make new recipes (some he loves, some he doesn't) and let months go by between his favorite meals. That's why, when I was planning last week's menu, I thought it was high time I served him up one of his favorites. It's been a while, and he's been very patient.

This sandwich is definitely one of his favorites. It's one of the first things I ever learned to cook for him, and he's loved it ever since. Just to prove how grateful he was, he ate three of these last night. Three!

Everyone has their own version of this sandwich, and the one I'm sharing with you today is ours, with my own little touches I've added over the years. Usually I use jarred tomato sauce, but last night I used the sauce from this post, and I think it's safe to say that it will be my go-to choice from now on.

Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Peppers and Onions
source: Cassie

1 package Italian-style sausages

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1 large red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 large green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup tomato sauce (add more if you want; it just depends on how saucy you like your peppers)
Hoagie rolls, split (and toasted, if desired)

1. Bring water to a simmer in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausages. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until casings are crispy and sausages are completely cooked through, about 10 to 15 more minutes.

2. Meanwhile, melt remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers, onion, and garlic and saute until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Add tomato sauce and heat through.

3. Serve sausages on hoagie rolls, topped with pepper and onion mixture.

Baked Zucchini Fries with Tomato Coulis Dipping Sauce

Just by looking at the picture you can tell what the main problem was with these zucchini fries, right? If you said, "They absolutely REFUSED TO GET CRISPY," you'd be exactly right. That was my main issue with them. The flavor was great (with a few modifications -- without my changes, I think these would have been on the bland side), the zucchini was nice and tender, but the breading just wasn't nearly crispy enough for my liking. Joe didn't even try them, just because they didn't look appealing to him.

The good thing is, though, that I know exactly what I need to do to these next time to make them crispier. I'll cook them at a higher temperature, probably 400 or 425 degrees, for about the same amount of time, and I'll drizzle some olive oil over them before they go in the oven. I think if I make those changes, I'll get the crispiness I was looking for this time around. (I've reflected these changes below.)

I probably wouldn't be posting this recipe if it wasn't for the tomato coulis sauce that accompanied the zucchini fries. It was really, really good, and totally made suffering through the non-crispy fries worth it. Although the peeling and coring of the tomatoes is a little bit more time-consuming than just popping the lid off a can of diced tomatoes, I definitely recommend using fresh ones for this. The flavor of fresh tomatoes is just so much sweeter and, well, fresher than canned. I loved the way the honey, vinegar, onion and basil all worked so well together. I'll be making this sauce frequently and will probably be putting it on just about anything I can think of.

Baked Zucchini Fries with Tomato Coulis Dipping Sauce
source: adapted from Epicurious

For the tomato coulis:

1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored, and diced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon minced shallot or onion
2 teaspoons fresh basil, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the fries:

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 2-inch-long and 1/4-inch-thick pieces

1. Combine all the coulis ingredients in a blender and pureé. Transfer to a sauté pan and cook over medium heat until fragrant and warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place the flour in another medium bowl and the beaten eggs in a smaller bowl.

4. Dip the zucchini sticks first in the flour until lightly coated, then in the beaten eggs. Roll them in the bread crumb mixture until well covered.

5. Transfer the zucchini pieces to a nonstick baking sheet. Drizzle with olive or vegetable oil and toss gently to combine. Bake until the zucchini is tender but the coating is crisp, about 20 minutes. Salt immediately after removing from oven. Let the fries cool slightly before eating. Serve with the coulis as a dipping sauce.

Provolone, Prosciutto and Pesto Quiche

For breakfast on Sunday morning, I decided to try my hand at something I'd never made before: quiche. Quiche is another one of those dishes that just intimidates me, for some reason; plus, it requires the kind of time commitment that I don't usually have. Well, I guess I should say that it used to intimidate me; now that I've made one, with pretty successful results, I know I'll be more confident making this in the future.

Joe was skeptical when I told him what we were having for breakfast. "I've never liked quiche…" he told me, but after trying this one he informed me that he was officially a real man who was proud to eat quiche, and that I could make this as often as I wanted. Even more surprising than Joe's reaction was Andrew's: My little man absolutely loved this, and ate nearly a whole slice all by himself.

The prosciutto and artichokes are my own additions to the recipe, and I really liked the added flavor they gave to the filling. This was a cheesy, hearty, filling and fulfilling breakfast, and I'm pretty sure Joe is going to be asking me to make it again very soon!

Provolone, Prosciutto, and Pesto Quiche
source: adapted from Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2008

1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
2 cups shredded provolone cheese
3 tablespoons refrigerated pesto
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 thin slices prosciutto, diced
1/2 cup canned artichokes in water, drained, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
Dash of hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Make pie crust as directed on box using 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake 7 minutes.

2. Remove crust from oven; sprinkle 1 cup of the provolone cheese over the bottom of the crust.

3. In a small bowl, mix pesto and parmesan cheese until smooth. Carefully spread over provolone cheese. Top with prosciutto, artichokes, bell pepper, and the remaining provolone cheese.

4. In large bowl with wire whisk, beat eggs, milk, hot sauce and salt and pepper until well blended. Pour over cheese.

5. Bake 7 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees; bake 15 minutes. Cover edges of crust with foil. Bake 23 to 28 minutes longer or until set and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 mintues before serving.

Weekly Meal Planning

Anyone who knows me "in real life," especially my husband, will tell you this about me: I am slightly obsessive-compulsive. I make lists for everything, and I like things to be a certain way. One thing I'm very OCD about is my Google Reader. I get stressed out when I have tons of unread items, and I get even more stressed when my starred items category reaches the triple digits -- which, as of last week, it has officially done (and it's your fault. Yes you, out there, posting your delicious recipes and making me click the little star icon!). So this week, a lot of the recipes I'm making are coming from my starred items. I've gotta start cleaning that bad boy out or I just might go insane. That means there's only one measly cookbook recipe this week. The time keeps ticking away and my goal seems further and further out of my reach. (I'm in a weird mood today. Can you tell?)

Monday -- Soup or Salad: Creamy tomato soup, artichoke bread. The tomato soup recipe is our household favorite recipe. Usually we eat it with grilled cheese, but I thought the artichoke bread would be a great alternative. I can't wait to eat this -- yum!

Tuesday -- Pasta: Skillet lasagna, Caesar salad, garlic bread

Wednesday -- Grilling: Our favorite grilled chicken (marinated simply in Italian dressing), corn on the cob, pasta salad with cheddar and grapes (minus the ham listed in the recipe)

Thursday -- Quick and Easy: Buffalo chicken minis, leftover pasta salad

Friday -- Burgers and Fries: Cowboy burgers, steak fries

Saturday -- Regional or International: Baked chicken meatballs with peperonata, more garlic bread

Sunday -- Comfort Food: Crock pot pork roast with potatoes and carrots, Aunt Mary's zucchini casserole, rolls. This is, hands down, my absolute favorite meal ever. And we haven't had it for a while, so I can't wait to eat this one!

Weekend Breakfast: Bacon, egg and cheese breakfast pizza We had brunch at one of our favorite breakfast places instead.

Baking: We're having a garage sale over the weekend in an attempt to clear out the house and make some room for our new baby boy, so I'll probably be too busy with all of that to bake anything. If I do get a chance to bake, though, I'm dying to make this skillet-baked chocolate chip cookie. How good does that sound?

Burger and Fries Friday: Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Bacon Ranch Slaw

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, it'll come as no surprise to you whatsoever that I love buffalo chicken in any form. Last week I started getting a craving for buffalo chicken (which is something that happens to me frequently), and I thought it would be fun to incorporate that craving into this week's burger. I found this Rachael Ray recipe, but there were a few things about it that didn't appeal to me -- namely, the blue cheese. I'm not a big fan of blue cheese. (Also, just as an aside, can I tell you how much it irritates me when she calls things "gravy"? Usually whatever she's making is not gravy, it's just sauce. But. Moving on.) I used that recipe as my inspiration, and I turned it into this delectable, spicy, flavorful burger.

Joe and I both inhaled these burgers; they were absolutely delicious! Spicy, but not too spicy, with a nice sweetness from the carrots. The cole slaw on top added texture, and the flavors all worked really well together. Since I had to fry the bacon anyway, I decided, what the heck, I'll just cook the burgers in the bacon grease. This, of course, made them smoky and salty and totally irresistible. This is definitely a burger I'll be making again.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Bacon Ranch Slaw

source: burger inspired by Rachael Ray; slaw from Kraft Foods

2 handfuls prepared cole slaw

1/3 to 1/2 cup Ranch dressing

3 slices bacon, chopped

1 pound ground chicken

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon hamburger seasoning blend

1 tablespoon chives

Half of a small carrot, shredded

1 small stalk of celery, finely chopped

1/4 cup hot sauce (we prefer Frank's Red Hot)

2 tablespoons butter

4 slices cheddar cheese

4 hamburger buns, split (and toasted, if desired)

1. In a small bowl, combine cole slaw mix and Ranch dressing; refrigerate.

2. Brown bacon to desired crispness in a large skillet; remove to a paper towel to drain, reserving grease. Add bacon to slaw mixture.

3. Meanwhile, combine chicken, garlic powder, hamburger seasoning, chives, carrot, celery, and hot sauce. Separate into four equal-sized patties.

4. Add butter to bacon grease and melt over medium heat. Cook burgers until cooked through.

5. Top burgers with a slice of cheddar cheese, a quarter of the slaw, and sliced tomato, if desired.