This is a quick easy meal for a busy weeknight. You can change a few things in the recipe to make it more/less spicy. I used freshly made pasta from our local farmer's market, but feel free to use whatever pasta you like.
Creamy Spicy Sausage Pasta
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 can (or 2 c) low-sodium chicken broth
1 can RoTel (or I used diced tomatoes w/ jalapenos)
1/2 c heavy cream
8 oz pasta
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 c monterey jack cheese
Place olive oil in large skillet; brown sausage, onion, and garlic. Add broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil, cover. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.
This is such an easy weeknight meal! Often when we have busy nights with softball games and Bible studies, this is a good meal to cook all day and enjoy when we can. You can serve it with tortillas, tortilla chips, or on its own.
Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken
2 frozen chicken breasts
1 can corn
1 can black beans, drained
1 can Rotel (I use the hot version with habaneros)
1 8oz pkg cream cheese (I usually use Neufchatel cheese to save a few calories)
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup water
Tostitos Baked Scoops
Fat free sour cream
Place first 6 ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on low all day (about 8 hours). Serve with tortillas or tortilla chips and top with sour cream.
This is a great dip to serve at a party. It can easily be doubled, but the version below serves a crowd. I served it with Wheat Thins.
Sundried Tomato Dip
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c mayo
1/4 c onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/2 jar sundried tomatoes, drained & chopped
1/3 c roasted red peppers, drained & chopped
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c shredded Italian cheese blend
1/2 c shredded parmesan cheese
Combine 1st four ingredients. Stir in tomatoes & red peppers. Stir in mozzarella, Italian cheese, and 1/4 c parmesan. Spread in greased 8x8 square baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes. Serve with crackers.
We are big fans of pizza in our house! Take-out pizza can often be greasy and expensive. This is a simple pizza that you can adapt to what you like.
Homemade Meat Lover's Pizza
bakery pizza dough (in the refrigerated area of the bakery)
pizza sauce
2 c shredded Italian blend cheese
sliced pepperoni
hot Italian sausage
3 tbsp butter
2 tsp pizza seasoning (or you can sub Italian seasoning)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt
Drizzle olive oil in medium skillet. Brown Italian sausage links for about 5-10 minutes, until browned on each side. Add water to skillet and boil Italian sausage links for 15-20 more minutes until cooked through. Remove from water and slice thin. Prepare pizza dough by rolling with a floured rolling pin to desired thickness. (You can also try tossing it if you want!) Spread pizza sauce over pizza dough, sprinkle with pizza seasoning. Top with cheese and desired toppings. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (or until dough has browned). While pizza is cooking, place butter in bowl and top with garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Melt butter in microwave. Brush over crust immediately after removing from oven. Allow pizza to sit 5 minutes before cutting.
I've never had shepherd's pie before. It never really sounded appetizing to me, but after seeing this Italian-style recipe on Rachael Ray a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to try it. I changed the recipe some to make it a little easier. You must try this one!
Italian Shepherd's Pie
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c milk
3 tbsp butter
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 c grated parmesan cheese (I bought the real stuff...Parmigiano-Reggiano)
1 lb ground sirloin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 lb hot Italian sausage (I bought links, removed the casing, then broke it up as I was cooking)
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
5 tsp minced garlic, divided
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 c dry red wine
1 1/2 c beef broth
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover potatoes with water, bring to boil. Salt water and cook potatoes for 12-15 minutes, or until tender. Drain potatoes and return to warm pot. Add 3 tsp minced garlic and 1/2 c milk. Add butter and mash with a potato masher. Stir in beaten egg and half of the parmesan cheese. Mash until smooth, adding more milk if needed. Cover until meat mixture is prepared.
Brown ground sirloin in large skillet. Once brown, season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Add sausage and brown, breaking up into small pieces as cooking. Add onion, red pepper, and 2 tsp minced garlic. Stir in tomato paste, cook 1-2 minutes, mixing well. Add 1 cup of red wine and reduce by half. Add stock and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until most liquid has boiled out.
Transfer meat to large casserole dish, top with potatoes and remaining cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes until potatoes are brown and crispy on the edges.
Here's another great fresh peach recipe for those of you enjoying the fruitfulness of the southeast right now. It is so great served right out of the oven with a little vanilla ice cream on the side. This original blueberry crisp recipe comes courtesy of my mother-in-law. This version serves 3, maybe 4, but can easily be doubled.
Peach Crisp A La Mode
3-4 large peaches, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 stick butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
Stir dry ingredients together. Cut in cold butter (I usually use a potato masher or you can use 2 knives). Place diced peaches into bottom of a 8x8 baking dish. Dash with lemon juice. Sprinkle crumb mixture over top of peaches. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with ice cream.
Many of you may not know that the state that ships out the most fresh peaches each year is not the Peach State but...South Carolina! It's so great to be able to buy fresh peaches right down the road. This is a delicious recipe for a fresh peach bread that really tastes a lot like peach cobbler! You can serve as breakfast or dessert. It smells amazing while baking!
Fresh Peach Cobbler Bread
1/4 c butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 c vanilla yogurt (I used Dannon Light & Fit)
2-3 peaches, peeled and diced
1 peach, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Soften butter, then add sugar. Beat with hand mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Stir in yogurt and diced peaches. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add the wet mixture, stirring until blended. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Place peach slices across the top of the batter. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.
