Baked Sausage & Pepper Penne with Red Cat Cream Sauce

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bell peppers, comfort food, dinner, entree, food, foodie, lunch, orange bell peppers, orange peppers, pasta, penne, pepper, postaday2011, recipe, sausage, turkey sausage

I made a similar sausage penne dish a few months ago. This time I wanted to make it a cream sauce to go with it. And Red Cat… okay, so I was drinking some Red Cat and impulsively poured some in the pan, but I love cooking with Red Cat. I also wanted to use red bell peppers, but the orange bell pepper were on sale, and looked much more fresh. I took the picture with really harsh lighting late last night, so my photo isn’t the best.

Baked Sausage & Pepper Penne

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey sausage, 1 lb. penne, 1 shallot (minced), 2 diced yellow bell peppers, 1 c. Red Cat wine,  1 pint heavy cream, 1/3 c. flour, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven 350°F. Cook penne according to package. Drop sausage by the spoonful into pan of shallow water and simmer until meat is done (water should be gone, if not drain water). Remove sausage from pan then add wine and deglaze pan.  Toss in shallots, salt and Red Cat and simmer. Add heavy cream and flour and whisk together. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Toss together sausage, penne and pepper and pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with pepper. Top penne with cream sauce and bake for about 25 minutes. Serve hot with garlic bread and fresh grated pecorino romano.

This is a great meal to make ahead and freeze, simply defrost and bake.

What’s for dinner tonight?

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Garbanzo and Sausage with Rice

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brown rice, entree, garbanzo, meal, one pot meal, pepper, red bell pepper, red pepper, rice, sausage, side dish, turkey sausage, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe, vegetarian sausage

A few years ago, I inherited this recipe from a student’s parent, however it called for Chorizo. I don’t prepare red meat often, and I never eat it. Nevertheless, Hubster does enjoy it from time to time. I decided I need to revamp the recipe a little for our preferences. I’ve made this once before, using turkey sausage, today I decided to mix things up and use a vegetarian sausage (by Morning Star). The TVP sausage broke down a bit instead of holding its shape, but the flavor was still great.

Garbanzo & Sausage w/Rice

Ingredients:
4 c. garbanzo, 2 Tbs. olive oil, 1 medium onion, 1 red pepper chopped, 1 clove garlic (minced), 1/2 tsp. chili powder, 1/4 lb. sausage* (1/2 diced, 1/2 quartered), 2 Tbs. tomato sauce, 1 c. vegetable broth

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, pepper and sausage, cook until tender and meat is no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over hot cooked brown rice.

*Once the meal was done simmering, I split the batch in half and added 1/2 tsp. to Hubster’s portion. Hubster said it didn’t look like a tasty meal, but that it was actually delicious! I guess next time I’ll stick to turkey sausage, so it’ll hold it’s shape better and not look so mushy.

Brunch Dishes

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biscotti, breakfast, breakfast recipes, brunch, brunch eggs, brunch recipes, brunch salad, chicken broccoli crepes, eggs benedict, eggs lorraine, fruit cup, gourmet, gourmet breakfast, gourmet brunch, jam, monte cristo sandwich, pumpkin waffles, quiche, recipes, turkey sausage

Hubster and I tried to go out for breakfast at 10am. All three places we tried to stop, were not open for Sunday breakfast (one thing I miss about living somewhere less rural).  So after dreaming of yummy breakfast I came home and made myself Eggs Lorraine… then I decided to blog about brunch.

I love making brunch, Hubster used to be confused when I’d serve him “eggs and salad” (as he says) at the same time. The first time I had made him brunch, he was hesitant, but then loved it!! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, however I don’t have time to make gourmet things in the morning before work. I sometimes daydream of running a B&B.  I complied several of my favorite brunch recipes together to share the list/recipes with my readers.

Brunch Salad – Mixed greens topped with walnuts, pear slices, mandarin oranges and a raspberry vinaigrette.  I change it up seasonally. Spring: asparagus spears, violets. Summer: cherry tomatoes, fresh cherries, blue berries, raspberries. Autumn: pomegranate seeds, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes. Winter: roasted butternut squash seeds, dried cranberries, tangerines.

Fruit Cup – Mix together fresh raspberries, sliced star fruit, cubed cantaloupe, cubed pineapple, slice strawberries, crumbled blue cheese. Mix together chopped fresh basil, 2 Tbs. honey, 2 Tbs. olive oil and a splash of orange juice. Toss fruit with dressing and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Brunch Eggs – Coat four small Pyrex ramekins with olive oil. Mix fresh basil with diced tomatoes and divide mixture into each ramekin. Make a small well in the tomato mixture and then crack an egg into each well. Bake the ramekins until eggs are done to your preference (350°F for about 25 minutes). Turn off the oven, top each ramekin with a slice of provolone cheese, and place back in the oven for two minutes. Right before serving, flip ramekin over a toasted english muffin. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf and a sprinkle of grated provolone.

Eggs Benedict – This classic is made with asparagus instead of Canadian bacon in my household (sometimes I use turkey ham). I layer a toasted english muffin with a poached egg, the asparagus and then top it off with the Hollandaise sauce (find my recipe Hollandaise sauce recipe here).

Pumpkin Waffles – Autumn Brunch Favorite! Serve warm with fresh churned cinnamon or vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream or fresh whipped butter.  *Serve with fresh apple cider & brunch salad.

Eggs Lorraine – Coat a 8″x8″ baking dish with EVOO. Line with turkey ham or turkey bacon, then with Swiss cheese. Break nine eggs over the cheese (in a 3 by 3 array). In a small bowl mix 5 Tbs. sour cream (or plain yogurt), fresh cracked black pepper and fresh ground sea salt, then dollop over the eggs. Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes. Garnish with fresh chives.

Monte Cristo Sandwich – Mix together your favorite french toast batter (I use 2 eggs, 1 c. of milk, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and a splash of vanilla). Slice a loaf of fresh french bread and make a sandwich, adding a slice of Swiss cheese and smoked turkey. Dip the sandwich into the french toast mixture and cook of a hot griddle until golden brown on each side. For Hubster I load up the sandwich with, turkey, ham, Swiss and Provolone. My son likes turkey with Swiss and Provolone. Some people like to serve with jam, mustard,or powdered sugar. I like to use maple syrup for brunch (gourmet champagne dill mustard for lunch).

Pecan Caramel Apple Pancakes – Caramel and almond extract in the batter, hot pancakes topped with Golden Delicious apples, caramel sauce, and pecans? Mmm… Ge the how to here.

Quiché – Always a brunch favorite, can be made with any combination of veggies, cheese and meats you choose. Try my crustless Quiché.

Chicken Broccoli Crepes – First, I make savory crepes. Then, I sauté the chicken and broccoli and make a white cheddar sauce to top it off with.

Turkey Sausage – Remember to add the fennel when your use this turkey sausage recipe.

Serve biscotti with coffee, tea and hot cocoa. Prepare Jam with fresh scones.

Sweet & Savory Sausage

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breakfast, chicken sausage, homemade sausage, sausage, turkey sausage, waffles

Sunday morning was Hubster and my wedding anniversary and I wanted to make a special breakfast to celebrate. My parents were still here and with my son running around, I decided to make one special new thing and go simple with the rest.

I love turkey sausage, however half the time I go to buy links they’re in pork casing or it’s the precooked microwaveable type (both a disappointment). About a year ago my dad suggested I make my own, but I didn’t know where to start (with a little google I could’ve figured it out) and soon pushed it to the back of my mind. The first television program I saw when I returned from my holiday was Rachel Ray, she was making maple turkey sausage patties. It looked so good that I decided to make my  own variation. 

My 1st Attempt at Sausage

Not even a week later, I gave it a go. Her recipe seemed so simple, with only 4 ingredients, but it didn’t seem like my idea of sausage. So instead I used 2 lbs. ground chicken (I went to two supermarkets to find ground turkey and finally settled on the chicken), a dash of poultry seasoning, garlic, minced onions, EVOO, maple syrup and lot’s of fresh sage (that is a crucial ingredient in sausage, I can’t believe Rachel left it out).

Before Baking

I mixed together these ingredients and let them set in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When I was ready to make the sausages I used Rachel’s cooking time & temp. as a guideline. The texture of the meat mixture was a little too soft  to form into perfect little sausages, so I used a spoon to drop balls into the frying pan. After I browned one side, I flipped them over and smushed them down a little to brown the other side. After each side was browned I put the sausages on a baking tray and baked them for 9 minutes in a preheated oven at 450°F. It made a little more than 20 small sausage patties. The verdict on the sausage was that it was more sweet than savory, however the sage was just right. Next time I’ll use less maple syrup and make them a little spicier.

Waffles
Sausage alone isn’t breakfast, so I whipped up my waffle recipe (it look me a few years to perfect). My recipe is 2 c. flour, 1 Tbs. white sugar, 1 Tbs. light brown sugar, 1 Tbs. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 3/4 c. milk, 6 Tbs. EVOO, 2 large eggs, and 1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract. I whipped up these ingredients to make the batter and my son was a great help in getting out all the lumps (he had said to Hubster, “Dad, I’m stirring the lumps to get all the flowers out”). Then I poured it onto my waffle maker and whipped out the waffles. 

Finishing Touches
I pulled out my Sunday dishes and plated up  a waffle, 3 sausage patties, a couple of apple slices (which my son dipped in lemon juice after I cut them, to prevent them from browning) and a spring of mint (fresh from my garden) and served my family breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anniversary Breakfast