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...
It’s high time I joined the ranks of food bloggers extolling the virtues of these muffins. I made them for the first time this year, and I really, really wish I hadn’t waited so long. They’re so delicious, and I won’t even tell you how quickly two dozen of them disappeared from my kitchen.
There are two things that make these better than your average pumpkin muffin: 1. the streusel topping, which makes a crackly, spicy-sugary crust on top of the muffins; and 2. the cream cheese filling, which is actually more like cream cheese frosting. I added a little bit of vanilla to the filling to make it taste even more like frosting. I am powerless to resist the pumpkin-cream cheese combo. Powerless, I tell you.
While I was making these, I was wondering why the freeze-the-cream-cheese-mixture step was necessary. I thought maybe the cream cheese mixture was too heavy for the batter, so I froze it as indicated. But my friend Amanda just went ahead and dolloped the mixture into each muffin without freezing it first, and she said it worked out just fine. So I won't bother messing with the freezing step next time.
There was too much clove flavor for my tastes, so I’ve adjusted that in the recipe below. But other than that and the freezing step, I won’t change a thing when I make these again. And I will be making them many, many times – this fall and every fall to come.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
adapted from Annie’s Eats
For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
For the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1. To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.
2. To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
3. To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
4. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.
When I’m having a night when I just don’t feel like making the meal I’d planned, I find that the thing I turn to the most is breakfast-for-dinner. Breakfast foods are usually always a hit with everyone (they certainly are in my house!), and the ingredients are ones I always have on hand. Since my family also loves Mexican food (shocker, I know), I thought I’d combine breakfast and Mexican food to make us a quick, easy dinner.
These egg and cheese burritos are so delicious and simple, and you can literally make them with whatever you have on hand. Sausage, bacon, green peppers or chilies, onions, spinach, hash browns...literally, anything. The eggs are scrambled lightly, then mixed with cheese, and rolled in a tortilla along with some refried beans. Bake ‘em until the tortillas are crispy, and dinner’s ready in minutes.
For our version, I used taco cheese – the kind with spices mixed right in. You could also use pepper-jack, or any type of cheese in combination with a little chili powder and cumin. For my sons, I left out the beans (it’s a texture thing for them), and used smaller tortillas to make adorable scrambled egg taquitos. I would have taken a picture of those, too, but they were too busy devouring them. I’m definitely not complaining.
These freeze really well, and they’re so cheap to make. And they taste so good, too.
Egg, Bean and Cheese Burritos
8 large eggs
A few splashes of milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheese, divided
1 can Mexican-style refried beans
4 burrito-size flour tortillas
Salsa and sour cream for serving, if desired
1. In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Scramble in a large skillet short of being completely cooked – they’ll continue to cook in the oven. Stir in 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
2. Meanwhile, heat the refried beans in a small saucepan with a little bit of water to thin them out.
3. Spread a layer of refried beans down the center of each tortilla. Top with a quarter of the egg mixture and a sprinkling of the remaining cheese, then fold over the edges of the tortillas and roll up burrito-style.
4. Place burritos on a cookie sheet and spray the tops lightly with cooking spray. Cook in a 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the tops of the tortillas begin to brown. Serve with salsa and sour cream, if desired.
It’s rainy, chilly, windy and gray outside today, so it seems like the perfect day to share this recipe, which will warm you up from the inside out.
Believe it or not, I’ve never had pot roast made in the oven. Not once! My mom always made roasts in the Crock pot, so that’s what I’ve always done too. I love the results so much, I’ve never felt the need to try it another way. For this version of roast beef, I decided to add lots and lots of mushrooms, in the form of actual mushrooms, mushroom gravy mix, and cream of mushroom soup. This mixture makes the gravy for the beef, and it cooks right in it, which makes the meat so tender it literally falls apart. It’s so flavorful and so delicious. With a big pile of mashed potatoes on the side, there simply couldn’t be anything more satisfying on a chilly fall day.
Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy
1 2- to 3-pound beef roast
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 10.75-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet mushroom gravy mix
1 cup beef broth or water
1. In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Season beef roast liberally with salt and pepper. Add beef roast and sear on all sides until caramelized. Add to the bottom of a Crock pot.
2. To same pot, add remaining tablespoon of butter, mushrooms and onions. Cook until mushrooms are brown and onions are soft, then season with salt and pepper. Stir in garlic and cook and stir for 30 seconds. Stir in beef broth and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release browned bits. Add mushroom mixture to meat in Crock pot.
3. Mix together cream of mushroom soup and mushroom gravy mix. Pour over meat and mushroom mixture.
4. Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours, until meat begins to fall apart.
Monday: Crock pot chicken with black beans and cream cheese, cilantro lime rice. This chicken is a favorite in our house. It’s so easy and calls for so few ingredients, and it. is. delicious. This is one you should definitely try if you haven’t yet!
Tuesday: Bow ties with sausage, tomatoes and cream. This looks amazing, and I knew I’d be trying it the instant Sarah posted it. I’m going to add some spinach, too, to sneak more veggies into my boys.
Wednesday: Slow cooker chicken Caesar sandwiches and chips. Have you noticed I’ve been using my slow cooker for lots more meals lately? I’m very into it right now for some reason. I’m adding bacon to these sandwiches, and maybe some tomato, too. Yum!
Thursday: Marlboro Man’s favorite sandwich and stovetop macaroni and cheese. It’s about time I tried this sandwich, years after the rest of the world already has. However, I will be using less butter. Much, much less.
Friday: Slow-cooker bacon ranch chicken, steamed broccoli, rolls. Again with the slow-cooked chicken! I’m pretty sure I’m going to love this one.
Saturday: French onion pasta and roasted asparagus. Although I think I’ve put together a pretty delicious meal plan this week, this may be the one I’m looking forward to the most. I’ve been craving caramelized onions lately (yes, I’m craving onions, I'm so odd), so I'll be adding tons of them to this pasta.
Sunday: Sour cream chicken, rice pilaf, steamed broccoli, rolls. I’m intrigued by the cooking method for this chicken, and looking at the list of ingredients, I can only assume it’s going to taste amazing.
