Skillet Gnocchi with Sausage, Spinach, and Tomatoes

This particular skillet gnocchi dish was hastily prepared on a Sunday night, in between a trip to the playground and a miniature concert in the living room with Brecken's electronic piano. I added spinach to the original recipe to get some greens in and turn this into a one-dish meal. There are a ton of flavors of sausage and chicken sausage out there so you can easily use your favorite; I believe the ones I used for this were sundried tomato and basil flavored. Note that while the recipe serves 4, since it was the only thing we ate that night there was only a tiny bit left for lunchtime leftovers...but maybe we're just pigs!

One Year Ago: Mexican Calzones
Two Years Ago: Banana Oatmeal Cookies with Candied Ginger & Chocolate Chips
Three Years Ago: Connecticut & NYC 
Four Years Ago: Sautéed Cabbage, Apples, and Zucchini
Five Years Ago: White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

One Year Ago: Banana Nut Granola Bars with Dried Cranberries
Two Years Ago: Asian Edamame Salad
Three Years Ago: Southwestern Chicken Salad

 

One Year Ago: Mini Quiche Lorraine 
Two Years Ago: Sweet Potato Butter
Three Years Ago: Carrot Soup

My jaw almost dropped when Ryan casually mentioned one day that he decided he wanted to bring a new breakfast to work. Ryan is a cereal lover and has been ever since I met him. Cereal for breakfast isn't enough for him. He often requests extra boxes from the store for "snacks". Perhaps you've heard me mention before that he likes to put peanut butter in his Reese's peanut butter puffs, along with milk, and go to town. Forget the cookies and other desserts always present in this house, he's perfectly content with cereal!
While I doubt his after-work cereal consumption will decrease, I set out to find some new breakfast options for him. We don't have enough time in the mornings to make anything, so I needed something that he could grab and go. These breakfast burritos turned out to be just the thing! I took an hour or so one weekend to make a batch of 10, which lasted him two weeks. I stuffed mine with sausage, scrambled eggs, onion, green pepper, salsa, and cheese, but you could change up the filling. Rice, beans, or other vegetables would all work well in here!

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of one hot from the microwave, but they've apparently been a hit--I've already been requested to make another batch! Hopefully my burrito folding skills will improve over time!

Note--I wrapped the burritos in plastic wrap and then foil. I stored them in a freezer bag in the freezer. Ryan removed them as he needed them, unwrapped them, and wrapped one in a paper towel. He reheated in the microwave for about 2 minutes, until warmed through.

One Year Ago: Frozen Mocha Marbled Loaf Cake
Two Years Ago: Hot Fudge Cake

Freezer Sausage and Egg Burritos

Ingredients:
-12 eggs
-1 green pepper, diced
-1 onion, diced
-1 lb pork sausage
-salsa
-cheese
-10 tortillas (the bigger they are, the easier it is to wrap your burrito!)

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, cook pork sausage over medium heat, breaking up with a spatula or wooden spoon until cooked through. Remove sausage from skillet and set aside.
2. Add pepper and onion to the sausage skillet. Cook until softened. Add eggs (first crack eggs in a large bowl and whisk to break up the yolks) and cook over medium heat, stirring and flipping occasionally to "scramble". Season with salt and pepper.
3. Top a tortilla with a bit of the egg and veggie mixture, some sausage, a tbsp of salsa, and cheese. Fold burrito and wrap in plastic wrap and foil. Store in a freezer bag in the freezer.
4. To reheat, unwrap burrito from plastic wrap and foil. Wrap in a paper towel and cook for 2 minutes on high.

I'm sure you have your Thanksgiving meal plans figured out by now, but have you figured out what you're going to serve tomorrow morning for breakfast? Or, if not tomorrow, Friday morning? If you're anything like our family, the eating on Thanksgiving isn't just about the one big meal. The next day is filled with more food--typically breakfast in, leftovers for lunch, and a nice dinner out.

Whether or not you're in need of a breakfast recipe for this weekend, this egg dish is certainly one to keep in mind the next time you're serving a group for breakfast. Made in a 9 x 13 dish, this easily serves 8 people and doesn't require more than 15 minutes of prep work. Even better, you can prep it the night before you plan to serve it. Set it on the counter as your oven heats up and then bake as directed.

The dish seems simple, but the combination of flavors--namely sun-dried tomatoes and Italian sausage--jazz up the creamy eggs. I like that this egg dish doesn't include bread because it means you can carb up on other brunch dishes, like Cinnamon Apple Cake, Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal, or Cinnamon Rolls!

For whatever reason, this dish stood out to me when my June issue of Cooking Light arrived a few months ago. Though I've never cooked with chorizo at home, I've enjoyed it in restaurants--most memorably on pizza at Pi in St. Louis and fajitas at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place near us. There are certain foods I stick to letting restaurants make, but chorizo is no longer on that list!

This baked bean dip came together easily, though as I was prepping it, I got very nervous that it would be overly spicy. I had purchased the hot chorizo from the grocery store and with a full jalapeno and other spices in there, I wasn't sure the friends I was sharing it with would appreciate the end result. When it was all said and done, though, the dish was well-flavored, with a slight kick. If you want to keep things on the mild side, just don't buy hot chorizo.

Served with tortilla chips, this makes an easy and relatively healthy appetizer, especially when it comes to Mexican food. You could also bake the dish and use it as a filling for tacos, quesadillas, or burritos. Thank you Cooking Light for another great recipe!


One Year Ago: Okra, Zucchini, and Tomato Saute
Two Years Ago: Pear and Blue Cheese Spinach Salad and "End of Summer" Medley Pasta


Baked Black Beans with Chorizo
from Cooking Light, June 2011


Ingredients:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1/2 cup diced Spanish chorizo
-cooking spray
-1 1/2 cups chopped onion
-1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp ground cumin
-1/4 tsp ground red pepper
-5 garlic cloves, minced
-3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
-2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
-1 cup chopped seeded tomato
-1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
-1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and chorizo to the pan, sauteing for 2 minutes. Remove chorizo and set aside.
3. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and jalapeno, sauteing for 4 minutes and stirring occasionally. Add salt, cumin, red pepper, and garlic. Saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and black beans. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Mash beans to desired consistency.
4. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with chorizo, tomato, and cheese. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Top with green onions and serve with tortilla chips.

This content was originally posted on Honest Cooking in my featured column "Cooking the Magazines".
This post is linked to Eat at Home.

When my grandparents came to visit last month, we planned to hit up a few fabulous eats in St. Louis, but I also wanted to cook for them. Sunday brunch became the meal of choice and, because I am ever so indecisive when selecting recipes, I gave them two options for breakfast casseroles. When my grandpa chose this one and my grandma chose the other, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. Rather than choose egg dish over the other, I decided to make both so as to ensure everyone at the table was happy. Plus, let's be honest, I'll never turn down the chance to make not one, but two, new recipes!

Both this frittata and the other dish, which I'll post tomorrow, turned out better than expected. I actually enjoyed them each so much that I made both again for brunch, exactly one week later! Repeated recipes aren't the usual pattern in my kitchen, which should clue you in on just how good these were.

I used the garden vegetable mushroom & asiago chicken sausage from Trader Joe's for this.  This added a ton of flavor to the dish, and I highly recommend! If you're intimidated by the swiss chard, don't be. This was my first time trying it and not only was it easy to prepare, but I loved the way the greens paired with the sausage...combined with the salty feta it made for a great brunch dish!

Special thanks to my grandma for helping me prepared this in a hot and messy kitchen! :)

One Year Ago: Cranberry Nectarine Salads (one of my favorites!)

Frittata with Chard, Sausage, and Feta
slightly adapted from epicurious (Bon Appetit June 2010)


Ingredients:
-1 (12 oz) bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs removed
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 cup onion, chopped (I omitted bc my grandpa doesn't like onion)
-8 oz. mild Italian sausages, casings removed, sausage broken into 1-inch pieces
-8 large eggs
-1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (could sub milk)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F (if making immediately. Otherwise prepare dish, cover, and refrigerate overnight). Spray an 8x8 inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add Swiss chard and cook for 2 minutes, just until wilted. Drain and finely chop. Squeeze dry in a kitchen towel and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute until until soft (4-5 minutes) before adding sausage and cooking until brown and cooked through (5-7 minutes). Remove mixture from heat and set aside to cool.
4. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, cream, salt, and pepper. Stir in chard and sausage mixture, followed by the feta. Stir to combine ingredients before pouring mixture into prepared baking dish. (If not baking immediately, cover and store in refrigerator until ready to bake. While oven is pre-heating, remove dish from fridge)
5. Bake until center is set, 45-55 minutes. Transfer dish to a baking rack and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Cut into slices and serve warm or at room temperature.

Good friends will listen to your ridiculousness time after time, even if they are secretly annoyed. Great friends will tell you to shut it when you're being a little too dramatic.

Good friends will take you out for ice cream for your birthday. Great friends will buy you an ice cream maker for your birthday.

Good friends will make time to see you, but sometimes life gets in the way. Great friends don't let life get in the way.

Good friends put up with your pumpkin obsession all Fall-long, rejoicing when December hits and pumpkin season is "over". Great friends will still eat pumpkin meals with you in February!

Paige and Ashley are great friends. I've talked about them before and the fun we have with our monthly girls dinners. Last month it was my turn to host and I had my eye on a pumpkin pasta dish that I never got around to making last Fall. Because they're great friends (and, let's be honest, huge pumpkin lovers themselves) they gladly obliged and pumpkin penne served as our main course.

I liked this pasta dish because it was both simple and fast. I slightly adapted from the original recipe, including upping the amount of pumpkin, but the finished product still didn't taste super pumpkiny. I think even pumpkin-haters would eat this pasta. I really liked how creamy the pumpkin, milk, and cottage cheese mixture was; it made the dish feel much more decadent than it actually was!

Grab a can of pumpkin, some great friends, and make this dish...no need to wait until Fall!

(by the way, I realize you don't use the whole can of pumpkin in this recipe...and I've got a great post coming in a few days to show you how to use the rest of it!)


One Year Ago: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars


Pumpkin Penne
adapted from Proceed with Caution
*serves 6

Ingredients:
-1/2 box whole wheat penne pasta
-3 tsp olive oil
-1 large onion, thinly sliced
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-4 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
-4 links cooked chicken sausage, sliced
-1 cup low fat cottage cheese
-1 cup pumpkin puree
-3/4 cup nonfat milk
-pinch of nutmeg
-1 (10 oz.) bag fresh spinach
-grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions, cooking for 1-015 minutes, until soft and beginning to caramelize. Add garlic, sage, and chicken sausage to the skillet and continue to cook.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Mix pumpkin, cottage cheese, and milk in a blender until lump-free. Add to skillet and continue to cook over low heat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a pinch of ground nutmeg.
4. Drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Add sausage mixture from skillet to pasta along with spinach. Toss until spinach wilts. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

I had intended to make a kielbasa stew with some spicy chicken sausages I had, but a closer look at the recipe revealed that I was missing a few ingredients. Given that this was on a day when we were stranded in our house thanks to another lovely St. Louis winter storm, heading to the store wasn't an option. Instead, I decided to get creative, and basically emptied my fridge into my crockpot. The result was a spicy soup/stew packed with vegetables. It really didn't need much additional flavoring because the spices from the sausage permeated the entire dish. If you want to use a milder sausage, you may want to add more basil, thyme, or garlic.

Missing a few ingredients? Just use what you have. Add potatoes, stir in spinach at the end, get creative! This is a forgiving dish that will lend itself to whatever you have on hand!


One Year Ago: Homemade Chocolate Pudding


Spicy Vegetable Stew in the Crockpot
*makes approximately 6 servings


Ingredients:
-1 package hot chicken sausage (I used Saag's Louisiana Hots), sliced
-6 cups broth (I used a combination of beef and chicken, because that's what I had on hand)
-2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
-3 stalks celery, chopped
-1 zucchini, chopped into small pieces
-1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
-1 large onion, chopped
-pepper, garlic powder, basil, and thyme--to taste

Directions:
1. Place sliced chicken sausage and chopped vegetables into a crockpot.
2. Pour in broth. Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder over the top, stir to mix. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours. Before serving, season with dried basil and thyme, if desired.

I recently stocked up on Barilla Plus pasta and have been looking for new recipes to use up the rotini, penne, and spaghetti taking up space in my cabinet. Since the baked vegetable mac and cheese was a hit, I couldn't resist another baked pasta. Baked pasta dishes are classic. They're easy to prepare, can be made ahead of time, and are generally well-received. The same can be said about this one, a Martha Stewart recipe.

The best thing about this recipe is that it makes a ton! I filled one 9 x 13 pan as well as a 8-inch pan, which I then froze. A few weeks later we pulled it out, baked it up, and it was just as good as the "fresh" version! Depending on the size of your family, you could easily fill a few pans to freeze or give away to someone who needs a home-cooked meal. I promise you no one will turn down this meal!

One Year Ago: Spaghetti Pie


Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage
adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food


Ingredients:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 medium red onion, chopped
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1/4 cup vodka
-1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes with juice, lightly crushed with hands
-1/2 tsp dried oregano
-1 lb penne
-1/2 cup heavy cream (I used 1/4 cup heavy cream & 1/4 cup skim milk)
-10 ounces baby spinach
-12 ounces chicken sausage, halved lengthwise & sliced 1/4 inch thick (I used asiago fennel flavored)
-6 ounces shredded Italian cheese
-1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Once boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Add spinach, cooking just until wilted. Drain and return contents to pot.
2. While water is coming to a boil, heat oil is a separate skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion, cooking until translucent (approximately 3 minutes). Stir in garlic. Remove skillet from heat, stir in vodka, and return to heat, cooking until almost evaporated (about 1 minute).
3. Stir in tomatoes and oregano, cooking for 10-15 minutes, until tomatoes are falling apart. Add cream/milk and cook until warmed through (5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add tomato sauce, sausage, and most of the Italian cheese to the large pot with the pasta. Toss with a large spoon to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide into baking dishes (I did one 9 x 13 and one 8-inch square). Top with remaining shredded cheese and parmesan. Bake at 400 degrees until browned and crisp (20-30 minutes).
**To freeze--prepare dish (except the extra cheese at the end) and let it cool. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze. To bake, do not thaw. Remove from freezer, take off plastic wrap, cover with foil, and bake at 400F for 1 1/2-1 3/4 hours. Remove foil, top with additional cheese, and bake for 20-30 more minutes.

In case you're looking for another brunch option for New Year's Day (in addition to those sinfully delicious cinnamon rolls I posted yesterday!), you might want to consider this egg dish. You can put it together today, go out tonight and party, then wake up tomorrow and pop this in the oven. I'm all about the stress-free breakfasts!

This was my mom's addition to our Christmas morning spread. She gets all of the credit for putting this together, though I'm told my dad also gets a shout-out for browning the sausage. I only had to put it in the oven. It's a good thing we had opted for a make-ahead breakfast, because Christmas morning we found ourselves with an incredibly clogged kitchen sink. After an emergency visit from my father in law, a snake (not to be confused with the reptile!), and a very messy kitchen, the clog was eliminated and the remainder of Christmas went off without a hitch!

The recipe is slightly adapted from the original, and while we all really liked this dish, we agreed it could use a bit more of a kick. If you have picky eaters on your hands, I suggest leaving as is. Otherwise, you might want to spice it up with some roasted red peppers or another addition. Don't be afraid by the apple/sausage/egg combination, it all went together nicely!


Chicken Sausage and Apple Strata
adapted from the Chicago Tribune


Ingredients:
-2 tsp oil
-1 lb mild pork sausage
-2 large Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
-12 pieces day-old white bread, cubed
-9 eggs, slightly beaten
-3 cups milk
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-3/4 tsp dry mustard
-1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Brown sausage. Remove and place in a large bowl. Add apples to the skillet and cook until golden brown. Add apples and bread cubes to the bowl with the sausage.
2. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard. Add the egg mixture to the sausage mixture and stir in 1 cup of cheese. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan and cover. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Heat the oven to 350F. Bake egg dish in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Sprinkle on remaining cheese and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until cooked through.