Pasta with Sausage and Fennel

A year or so ago, my mom and I went to the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY.  We attended the "Summer in Italy" cooking class and had a blast cooking and eating all evening.  Everyone was assigned to creating two meals, one was this dish, Ear pasta with Sausage and Fennel (Orecchiette con Salsicce e finocchio). It turned out to be one of the best dishes of the night, just saying!

Olive oil
1/2 chopped medium onion
1 fennel bulb trimmed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic
10 ounces sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings (I used medium turkey sausage this time and came out perfect)
basil leaves
1/2 TB oregano
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup cream
1 lb Orecchiette pasta
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan to taste

Heat a medium sate pan over medium heat. Saute the onion and fennel until they are soft.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the sausage and saute until sausage is fully cooked.  Add the basil, oregano, broth and wine.  Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the flavors blend.  Add the cream and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.  Cook the Orecchiette in salted water until al dente and drain but do not rinse.  Add pasta to the sausage sauce and toss to coat and serve.  Enjoy with a little grated Parmesan cheese :)

Chicken Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

All these years I thought Jason was crazy for liking peanut sauce...now, I am a believer!  I have no idea what made me want to finally try it, but it was surprisingly DELICIOUS and full of bold flavors.  Give it a try!

Meal #3 from 1 roasted chicken!

Sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp. ground ginger

3 minced garlic cloves

Mix all ingredients together.

Vegetables

1 head of broccoli

1 green pepper

handful of sliced baby carrots

1/2 small onion

Lo Mein Noodles

1 cup diced/shredded chicken

Cook noodles as directed on package.  In a wok, cook vegetables in 1-2 TB of vegetable oil.  Set vegetables aside when cooked to your liking.  

When noodles are done, drain then stir fry in pan with vegetable oil until a little browned.  Add vegetables, chicken and sauce.  Heat through and let all the flavors mix together.

Enjoy :)

Chicken Pot Pie

After roasting a delicious 5lb. chicken, I decided to turn it into more than 1 meal.  This chicken pot pie is perfect for a weeknight meal!

2 pie crusts

about 2 cups of chicken pieces from rotisserie

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

2/3 cup of frozen peas

2/3 cup of frozen corn

4 medium butter potatoes, chopped into 1/4 inch cubes, boiled until almost cooked through

salt seasoning

garlic powder

thyme

pepper

In a bowl mix together peas, corn and cream of chicken soup, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Stir in potatoes and chicken.  Place one pie crust in a pie dish, pour mixture into pie crust, place other pie crust on top and pinch ends together.  Refrigerate, freeze or bake!

Bake at 375 for 50 minutes.

 ENJOY :)

Vegetable Alfredo Pizza

A delicious new creation...you must try this one out!

1 pizza dough

Shape dough, be sure to brush pan with olive oil!  Bake for 5 minutes to start dough.

Alfredo Sauce:

olive oil

2 cloves of garlic minced

parsley

mozzarella provolone shredded mixture (about 2 cups)
1 Tb. heavy cream

1 tsp. flour

2-3 Tb. milk

In a small pot, saute olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Add four and make a roux.  Add cream, milk and cheeses.  Add a dash of garlic powder and parsley.

Vegetable Layers:

1 broccoli head bite sized

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes 

1 large tomato sliced thin

Cheese Layers:

Parmesan Cheese

Mozzarella Cheese

Provolone Cheese

Bake for 20 minutes. ENJOY :)

Italian Style Stuffed Chicken

2 chicken breasts (pounded very thin)

1/2 chopped onion

2 med. sized garlic cloves (minced)

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Parmesan cheese

olive oil

basil

parsley

thyme

garlic powder

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a skillet, saute chopped onion, garlic and 1 Tb. of butter.  Add bread crumbs and brown.  Add a dash of basil and parsley.  Add olive oil or butter to bread crumbs to help brown and combine/stick together.  Turn off heat and add about 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Add 1-2 large spoonfuls of "stuffing" to center of the chicken breasts.  Hold sides of chicken together with toothpicks.

In a baking pan, add olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic powder.  Roll chickens in olive oil mixture.  Sprinkle left over bread crumbs on top of chicken. Bake at 367 Degrees for 40-45 minutes.

 Enjoy  with a side of sauteed zucchini :)

Chili

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion chopped

2 cans dark kidney beans (drained and washed)

1 can whole tomatoes

1/2 cup dry red wine

salt and pepper

chili powder

garlic powder

cheddar cheese

In a large pot, saute onions in a tablespoon of butter and a dash of seasoning salt.  When browned remove and save in a bowl for later.  Add ground beef, cook until browned and cooked through.  Ladle out grease. Add sauteed onions, tomatoes, kidney beans, red wine, salt and pepper to taste.  Add 1 thin layer about 2 tsp. of garlic powder and chili powder about 3 tsp.  (add more to taste)  this will make a mild chili.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Serve with cheddar cheese on top! ENJOY :)

Garlic Chili Chicken

I was inspired by a bottle of chili sauce that I needed to use up and it turned out to be a great meal!


1/2 cup chili sauce
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 chopped onion
1 TB apple cider vinegar
garlic powder
seasoned salt
pepper
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts pounded (about 1/4" - 1/2" thick)


Mix ingredients together.  Marinate with chicken for at least a 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put olive oil in the bottom of a glass pan, place chicken in pan and bake for 25 minutes.

ENJOY :)

Pulled Pork

I think I found a Crock Pot WINNER!  Pulled Pork! YUM!

4lbs pork shoulder

Pork Rub:

seasoning salt (Penzeys spices 4/S..It's a great addition to any meal!)

garlic powder

Cajun seasoning

brown sugar

fresh ground pepper

Rub pork with this mixture and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 large yellow onion sliced thick

1 bottle of the beer of your choice, I used Sam Adams

Your favorite BBQ sauce

 (Dinosaur BBQ or Wegmans Memphis BBQ are mine!)

In the crock pot add onions, garlic, 1 beer and pork.  Cook on high for 5 hours.  After 5 hours, remove pork shoulder, be very careful it will be very tender and may fall apart.  Empty crock pot.  Put pork back in crock pot.  Remove fat from pork.  Add BBQ sauce.  Cook on Low for at least 1 more hour. 

ENJOY :)

Beef Stew

Yes...Still on the hunt for the perfect crock pot meal...

1 package of Wegmans stew beef

2 stalks of celery

baby carrots

2 small potatoes

1 small onion

2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup dry red wine

garlic powder

seasoning salt

salt and pepper

flour

In a bowl mix1/2 cup of flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper and seasoning salt with stew beef.  Brown beef in a frying pan.  

In the crock pot roughly chop onion and celery into large chunks. Quarter potatoes and add to crock pot.  Add baby carrots.  Add freshly ground pepper to veggies.  Add beef broth and red wine. Add beef and mix ingredients together.  Cook on high for 6 hours, low on 10.  Enjoy!

Tomato Tortellini Soup

The perfect meal on a cold winter night!

1 can whole tomatoes

20 oz chicken broth

1 bag of baby spinach leaves

1-2 cloves of garlic

cheese tortellini (I used goat cheese tortellini)

olive oil

salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat, minced garlic cloves, salt, pepper and olive oil on medium heat.  Add tomatoes and chicken broth.  Let come to a simmer.  Add tortellini then add spinach a couple handfuls at a time.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top if you wish! ENJOY :)