Week 39: Recipe #4--Summer Vegetables with Sausage and Potatoes

This recipe comes from skinnytaste.com (see link below).  I love recipes where I can use lots of summer vegetables, so this was perfect!  I wasn't a huge fan of the sausage, but the rest of the meal was great!  I might substitute it next time for another type of meat, or possibly just make it vegetarian and use it as a side dish.  I served this with a green salad and fruit.  Makes 4 servings.

You'll Need:

• 1 lb. baby red potatoes, cut in half or quartered
• 2 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper
• 14 oz. Italian chicken sausage, sliced 1-inch thick
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of the knife
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
• 1 red bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
• 2 Tblsp. fresh rosemary, or other fresh herb such as thyme
• 2 c. zucchini, 1/2-inch thick and quartered

Preparation:

1. Place oil and potatoes in a large, deep nonstick skillet with a tight fitting lid on high heat; season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  When the skillet gets hot and starts to sizzle, reduce heat to low and cook with a tight lid on for about 20-25 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent the potatoes from burning.  Remove from heat and let them sit 5 minutes without removing the lid.  Set potatoes aside on a dish.
2. Add the sausage to the skillet and saute on medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until browned but not quite cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Season chopped vegetables with salt and pepper.  Add onions, peppers, garlic, and rosemary to the skillet and mix.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until onions and peppers become slightly browned.  Add zucchini and cook an additional 5 minutes, mixing as it cooks until cooked through.
3. Return the potatoes back to the skillet and mix well.  Adjust salt and pepper as needed; cover and cook 5 more minutes.

Recipe and link:  http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/07/summer-vegetables-with-sausage-and.html

Week 38: Recipe #4--Neely's Pigs in a Blanket with a Tangy Dipping Sauce

These were great, and the kids gobbled them up!  I found this recipe on the Food Network website (see link below).  They were the perfect size for the kids and my husband loved them, too.  Not the healthiest menu option, but it was a fun dinner night.  I did serve these with baked veggies and fresh fruit, so all in all--great meal.  These would make great appetizers, too!  Makes 24 mini pigs.

Photo from foodnetwork.com

You'll Need:

• 1 (8 oz.) can original crescent dough
• 1/4 c. dijon mustard
• 20 mini hot dogs or cocktail franks
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• poppy seeds or sesame seeds (I used sesame)
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• 3 Tblsp. dijon mustard
• 1 Tblsp. whole-grain mustard

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut each triangle of crescent roll dough into thirds lengthwise, making 3 small strips from each roll.
3. Brush the dough strips lightly with dijon mustard.  Put the mini dogs on one end of the dough and roll up.
4. Arrange them, seam side down, on a greased cookie sheet.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.  Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.  Serve warm with the dipping sauce.
5. For the tangy dipping sauce, mix the last 4 ingredients (sour cream to whole-grain mustard) in a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving.  Can be made a day ahead.

Recipe and link:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/neelys-pigs-in-a-blanket-recipe/index.html

Week 13: Recipe #4--Sausage with Peppers and Pasta

Here's another Kraft Foods recipe.  Simple, fast, and tasty!  I served this with a green salad and bread.  Makes 6 servings.

You'll Need:

• 3 cups rigatoni pasta, uncooked
• 1 lb. italian sausage, sliced
• 1 each red, green, and yellow pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1 can (14 oz.) italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian mozzarella-parmesan cheese blend
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Preparation:

1. Cook pasta as directed on package.  Meanwhile, cook sausage in large skillet on medium heat 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add peppers; cook and stir 7 minutes or until sausage is done and peppers are crisp-tender.  Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
2. Drain pasta.  Add to sausage mixture with shredded cheese; mix well.
3. Top with parmesan.

Recipe and link:  http://www.kraftfoods.com/foodandfamily/default.aspx#/recipes/sausage-with-peppers-and-pasta/113822

Week 11: Recipe #4--Blazy's Pepperoni Studded Lasagna

This recipe is from Guy Fieri on the Food Network website (see link below).  I have never made one of his recipes before, but thought I would try this one, given my husband's obsession with pepperoni.  Lily likes it too, so this is a win-win at our house.  I served this with VEGGIES, seeing as it was pretty heavy.

Photo from foodnetwork.com

You'll Need:

• 2 pounds lasagna sheets
• 2 cups hand cut 1/8-inch slices pepperoni (Not buying the pre-cut WAS actually better)
• 4 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows below (You can buy tomato sauce if you are short on time, but this recipe is really good and can be made ahead)
• 1 pound ricotta
• 16 oz. shredded mozzarella
• 2 pounds bulk Italian sausage, cooked
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Boil 6 quarts of water, add a pinch of salt, and cook pasta to almost done.  Remove from water and shock in ice bath.
3. In medium saucepan add pepperoni and saute over medium heat until crispy.  Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel.
4. In a 10 by 14 inch baking dish (I used a 13 x 9), pour one cup of tomato sauce in bottom and around sides.  Layer lasagna sheets on the bottom of the pan, overlapping by 1/2 inch.  Add 1/3 amount of ricotta, 1/3 amount of mozzarella, 1/3 amount of sausage, then sprinkle generously with parmesan, add 1/2 cup tomato sauce, and 1/4 cup of pepperoni.  Repeat this 2 more times.
5. On the very top sheet, top with remaining ricotta, tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and dust with parmesan.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes.  Remove from oven; let sit for 15 minutes.  Cut and serve immediately.

Tomato Sauce:

• 3 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 5 medium-sized garlic cloves, crushed
• 6 cups skinned and diced Roma tomatoes
• 2 Tblsp. thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 1 Tblsp. minced fresh oregano leaves
• salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil.  Add onion and cook over medium to low heat until transparent.  Add garlic and cook until almost brown.  Then add tomatoes and cook for 1/2 hour over low to medium heat.  Add the basil and oregano and continue to cook for another 1/2 hour.  Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, cool and store in the fridge until ready to use. 

Recipe and link:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/blazys-pepperoni-studded-lasagna-recipe/index.html

Week 10: Recipe #5--Oktoberfest: German Brats and Pomme Frites

WARNING:  This is not a quick meal to make.  Nor is it very health-conscious.  However, it is extremely good.  This is a favorite meal of mine that my friend Mark makes.  Soooooooooooo tasty!  I love the curry ketchup; vital to this recipe.  If you can't find it at your local grocery store, it's worth hunting down.  Mark usually serves this with a fruit salad, to add something healthy to this not-so-healthy meal.

You'll Need:

• potatoes (use 1-2 pounds per person), cut into fries
• vegetable oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Oktoberfest sausages
• hoagie buns
• curry ketchup (we buy ours at a European store here in Salem; I buy 2 kinds--Heinz and Hela)
• curry powder
• regular ketchup

Preparation:

1. Put the cut fries in a large pot filled with cold water and ice.  Put in the refrigerator for several hours.
2. When you are ready to start the fries (and you will need to start early, especially if you are making a lot), then heat up the oil on high in a large pot; it will take a long time.  While it is heating up, you'll need to take out the fries and pat them dry on paper towels or dish towels.  You want them to be pretty dry when you put them in the oil.  
3. When you notice that the oil is really hot (somewhat moving around) you can begin putting fries in.  Not too much at a time.  Turn the heat down a bit between medium and medium-high.  Now I was really tempted to constantly be checking them and poking at them, but Mark had to remind me to LEAVE THEM ALONE.  You'll want to cook them so they just slightly begin to brown.  You don't want to pull them out soggy, but you don't want them fully cooked either.  It's a fine line that took me a few times to master.  You will be frying them a second time right before eating them, so this is just the first round.
4. When taking them out, put them on a paper towel. After you have finished all of the fries, you can start on the brats.
5. Cut the brats lengthwise almost in half, so that you can unfold them but they are not in two pieces.  Lay them flat on a griddle at 375 degrees (or you could use an outside grill) and baste them with a combination of the following:  ketchup, the two curry ketchups, and curry powder.  Adjust the amounts to your taste preferences.  Flip them over and baste the other side as well.  Cook until the sausages are done.
6. As the sausages are cooking, you can fry the fries one more time until cooked.  I like mine crispy.  As you take them out, put them on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  Place in the oven at 200 degrees to keep them warm, especially if you won't be eating them right away.  
7. Toast the hoagie buns and spread the curry ketchup mixture on them as well.  Put in the sausages, grab a handful of fries, and enjoy!

***Mark also serves a traditional German drink that is made of one part Coke and one part Fanta.  He says that's the true way to enjoy this meal.  Personally, I don't like to drink my calories...plus there are enough in here as is!