Cheesy Sausage Ravioli Bake

Last time I was pregnant, I got off relatively easy. I had lots of cravings, but I didn't have very many food aversions at all. I was able to eat pretty much anything I wanted -- most of which was fast food, since for the majority of my pregnancy we were remodeling our kitchen. So it's a good thing my major cravings were chicken nuggets with ketchup and burritos from Chipotle.

This time, though, I've had a lot more food aversions -- the major one being tomato sauce. The very smell of it was enough to send me rushing to the bathroom just a few days ago. But then yesterday, what happened? I started craving ravioli with a thick, chunky tomato sauce. Pregnancy is so weird, man.

I came up with this recipe on the fly to satisfy my craving, and it was really very good. I love food like this, that's simple to prepare and so hearty and delicious. We ate this with a wheat version of our favorite garlic bread, and we thoroughly enjoyed this meal. I even made Andrew a portion, minus the sausage and copious amounts of cheese, and he seemed to enjoy it. Although in this picture his inner food critic seems to be thinking, "Hmmm, it could really use some salt."


Cheesy Sausage Ravioli Bake

Source: Cassie

1 bag frozen miniature cheese ravioli
1 pound spicy Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 jar chunky vegetable tomato sauce
1 (14.75-ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook ravioli according to package directions; drain.

2. Meanwhile, brown sausage and onion in olive oil in a high-sided skillet until sausage is no longer pink. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.

3. Mix ravioli with 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Add sausage mixture and stir gently to combine, being careful not the break the ravioli. Pour into a greased 13 x 19 casserole dish. Top with remaining cup of cheese.

4. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until cheese is melted. If desired, broil for 2 minutes to blister cheese.

Strawberry Pretzel Squares

This recipe has been around forever. My aunt used to make this sweet treat for all of our family get-togethers, and I haven't had it since she passed away four years ago. So when I saw it pop up on Carrie's blog, it immediately sparked a craving. A neighbor recently brought us over a bunch of his home-grown strawberries, and this treat was the perfect way to use them up. It was absolutely just as good as I remembered. You just can't beat that salty/sweet/creamy combination!

Strawberry Pretzel Squares
Source: Kraft Foods

2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping
2 cups boiling water
1 (6 ounce) package JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 quart (4 cups) strawberries, sliced

1. Heat oven to 350°.

2. Mix pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool.

3. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar and milk until blended. Stir in Cool Whip; spread over crust. Refrigerate.

4. Add boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

Burger and Fries Friday: Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers

First of all, before we get to this week's burger, I have to seriously apologize for the lack of posting around here lately. You see, I'M PREGNANT, and the first trimester is bringing with it lots and lots of food aversions. For the past few weeks I've been basically shoving my face full of anything my stomach will accept, which has mostly been limited to cinnamon toast and salt and vinegar potato chips. That's also why I didn't get around to making and posting a burger recipe last week; I've had absolutely no energy to cook or really do much of anything. I only have a couple more weeks to go in the first trimester, though, so I'm hoping my nausea and lack of energy will fade quickly once it's over!

Once I actually get back to cooking regularly, I plan to keep this blog all about the food, so if you're curious about the pregnancy or anything else that's going on in my life, you can visit me at my personal blog.

Anyway! Let's get to the burger, shall we? This week's burger is one I've been looking forward to trying for a while now. I thought the combination of flavors sounded fantastic, and this burger has lots of my favorite things: salsa verde, pepper Jack cheese, cilantro and avocado. Apparently, though, avocado is my latest food aversion, which made it hard for me to enjoy these burgers. Joe loved them, though, so don't let that deter you from trying them!

I made a few changes to the recipe: I finely chopped the cilantro and mixed it in with the avocado aioli, and I also added some finely diced red onion to the mayo mixture to give it even more of a guacamole feel. My changes are reflected below, but just click the link to get to the original.

Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers
Source: Every Day with Rachael Ray

1 avocado, halved and pitted
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 of a red onion, finely diced
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Salt
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup salsa verde
4 slices pepper Jack cheese
4 kaiser rolls, split

1. Scoop the avocado flesh into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise, garlic, cilantro and onion and mash with a fork until well combined but chunky. Season with salt and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the ground turkey and salsa. Divide the mixture to form 4 patties.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook the patties for 4 minutes on one side. Flip and top each with a slice of cheese; cover and cook for 4 minutes more.

3. Serve the burgers with the avocado aioli.

Brownie Pudding Cake

Hey, um, hi there. Remember me? I'm the girl who hasn't posted in A WEEK AND A HALF. Let me assure you that I'm still alive and well and eating; I just haven't been eating anything exactly blogworthy (unless you call Velveeta shells and cheese mixed with ground beef and salsa blogworthy? …No? Okay. Moving on.).

Yesterday Sara posted a recipe for her family's brownie pudding cake, and I left her a comment telling her I was going to make it immediately. And I got home from work last night, and that's exactly what I did.

Everything about this cake is just fantastic. Not only does it taste absolutely amazing, but it couldn't be simpler to prepare. It doesn't even require a mixer, and the ingredients are ones that I think most people already have on hand. It's a magic dessert, too, what with the way the pudding layer starts on top and ends up on the bottom.

I'm so glad Sara shared this dessert. It's decadent and delicious and so easy, and I'm pretty sure it's going to become a favorite in our family pretty quickly!

Brownie Pudding Cake
Source: Sara's Kitchen

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 3/4 cups boiling water

Powdered sugar, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch square baking dish or round souffle dish. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and 1/3 cup cocoa in medium bowl. Add milk, butter and vanilla, stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish.

2. Combine brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa in small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour boiling water over entire mixture; do not stir.

3. Bake 35 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the top layer comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Crock Pot Asian Shredded Beef

When I saw this recipe on A Year of CrockPotting, I just knew I had to give it a try. I tend to be very boring with roasts; I've only ever made a beef roast one way, and this Asian version was definitely something different for me. I'd had a beef roast in the freezer for a long time that I'd never got around to cooking, and I had all of the other ingredients on hand.

I wish I would have used less 5-spice powder. That was my one complaint. I'm not a huge fan of the flavor of anise, which I should have taken into consideration. Other than that, though, this was a delicious meal that we really enjoyed. I added some cole slaw mix to the beef for the last fifteen minutes of cooking, and I served the beef over beef-flavored ramen noodles (how college freshman of me, right?). This was a flavorful meal and was very simple to throw together. I love my Crock pot, and I really do need to learn to use it more often.

Crock Pot Asian Shredded Beef
Source: adapted from A Year of CrockPotting

4 pounds boneless beef roast
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
6 tablespoons ketchup
6 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons Chinese 5-spice powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Sprinkle the dried spices directly onto the beef. Add to Crock pot and top with the ketchup and honey. Pour in the soy and hoisin sauces. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours, or until the meat shreds easily with a fork. About 15 minutes before serving, add a handful of cole slaw mix to the Crock pot to wilt. Serve over white or brown rice or noodles.