One Dish Wonder of Yum

I want to share with y'all this super yummy, fantastic, easy, make-your-budget-happy meal. ;) I found this recipe on Pinterest one day and loved how simple the recipe looked. But I was skeptical as to whether it would really taste good, I just wasn't sure how I felt about the sausage/spinach combo.  I mean, bacon and spinach - yes. But sausage and spinach?  Hmm...

So I began cooking, first I cooked the sausage.

Then I added onions to the pan, cooked those, and poured in some tomatoes & chicken broth. Next, the uncooked noodles were added.

While that was cooking I shredded the yumminess that most people refer to as Monterey Jack cheese. (And not gonna lie, about a half cup of that didn't even make it to the pasta dish! I have a weakness for cheese... which is why the melted cheese looks rather skimpy on the finished product! ;) )

Lastly, I stirred in the fresh spinach until it was wilted and topped it off with what was left of the cheese and green onions.  And let it get all melty and gooey and fabulous. 

Turns out sausage and spinach and pasta is a delightfully scrumptious combination.  What's more, this recipe is so cheap!  And I mean cheap in the best of ways! :)  Basic ingredients, little price tags, and it all cooks in one pan, so easy cleanup.  This recipe is a keeper in my kitchen. :)

Creamy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

Ingredients:

6 oz. smoked sausage (kielbasa works great too)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes 

2 cups chicken broth

8 oz. pasta (any kind!)

3 cups fresh spinach

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 whole green onion

1. Thinly slice the smoked sausage and add it to a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the sausage over medium heat until it is nicely browned (about 5-7 minutes). Drain off the excess fat.
2. Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Continue to saute until the onion has softened (about 5 minutes). Add the can of diced tomatoes and the chicken broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.
3. Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the mixture to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.
4. Stir in the fresh spinach, one cup at a time, until wilted. If you add it all at once, the skillet will be too full to stir. Keep the heat on while adding the spinach, so the liquid will continue to simmer and thicken.
5. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Slice the green onions and sprinkle them over top. Serve hot!

My Day Off

Who doesn't love a day off? Holidays are always welcome and I'm pretty sure a day at home is one of my favorite things in life - seriously! I love just being able to stay at home and do my own thing on my own time. :) Today "my thing" was restocking my freezer with ready to 'heat and eat' baked goods. I prefer everything made from scratch, mainly because it's more fun, but also because it's cheaper and I know exactly what's going in my food and then into my body. Lately, I have slacked off and have been buying more rolls and pastries from the store but that starts to add up quickly (seriously, a pack of rolls can cost close to $4.00). So, I was very excited to restock my freezer with homemade goods today! My kitchen looked like this for the better half of the day...

And at the end of the day I finished with this:

Muffins, Lard Biscuits, Baking Powder Biscuits, Dinner Rolls, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Pie Crust Dough, Regular Waffles, & Chocolate Chip Waffles! Our freezer is all stocked up again with a variety of baked goods to go with any meal or craving! ;) I thoroughly enjoyed my day off and the chance I had to spend so much time in the kitchen... back to the real world tomorrow. :)

State Fair Competition - I'm In! 

Happy Saturday!  I'm so glad it's the weekend!  Exciting things going on in my neck of the woods - one of which this post is about. :) The State Fair is coming at the end of September, just one more month.  Woo-hoo!  The State Fair has been a big part of every year for me since I was just a wee little child. I don't care if it's the same stuff every year, I never lose my excitement for it. One of my favorite things now that I've gotten older though is the competitions. Last year was my first time entering in one of them and - you'll never guess ;) - it was the baked goods competition.  I didn't get a ribbon but I still was very glad to participate. However, this year, I'm bringing my A-game. After giving some thought to what I will enter this year I have decided on the following:

1. Baking Powder (aka - Gun Powder) Biscuits
2. Apple Pie
3. Coffee Cake (for the King Arthur Flour challenge)

My biscuits have always been fabulous and have just become more so over the past year, so they're a given.  My apple pie can be pretty good if I do say so myself.  I started using a different recipe several months ago and it. is. incredible.  My main challenge there, will be ensuring that the crust is not too soggy on bottom.  I don't usually bake my pies in tin foil pans, so I will need to experiment with the crust in those pans to ensure it can be a success. And the coffee cake, well, who wouldn't love a good challenge like that?  I mean, not only do the winners receive ribbons, they also get King Arthur Flour gift cards. I'm all in! :) 

So here's to experimenting over the next couple of weeks and hopefully a ribbon!  Or, at the very least a spot in the display case.  And trust me, if either of those happen there will be photos! 

Hot & Spicy Baked Salmon

Today I want to share with you a delicious, simple, lite, and HOT salmon recipe.  This is one of the easiest recipes in my kitchen and perfect for any weeknight. I personally prefer it with a little less black pepper, but my husband loves hot food and so this has become a staple recipe for us. :) 

Start off by placing the salmon fillets on a piece of foil that's in a glass dish.  

You'll cover them in a marinade of garlic, olive oil, basil, salt, black pepper, lemon juice,& parsley. Phew! That's a list!

Don't ya just love my little whisk? :)

 Marinate the fillets in the fridge for about an hour (or all day while you're at work!), turn them at least once, several times if you're able. (Actually, let me be honest. A lot of times I just smother both sides of the salmon and then don't even bother with flipping. ;) )

All that's left is popping them in the oven & baking for about 35-45 minutes or as is customary with fish... until they flake easily with a fork.

Okay, so not exactly the quickest recipe, but certainly easy.  I hope you enjoy. :)

Baked Salmon

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 tblsp. light olive oil

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tblsp. lemon juice

1 tblsp. fresh parsley, chopped

2 (6 oz.) salmon fillets -->(I usually do 4 and there's still plenty of marinade)

(1)In a glass bowl, mix garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, & parsley.

(2)Place fillets in glass dish & cover with marinade.

(3)Marinate in fridge about 1 hour, turning occasionally.

(4)Preheat oven to 375.

(5)Place fillets in foil, cover with marinade, & seal.

(6)Place sealed salmon in glass dish & bake 35-45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

*Recipe taken from Food.com*

Simple Saturdays

This week's recipe is simple, easy, quick, and a well-known favorite.  Sausage balls!  Growing up, theses were a given at any party or big get together.  And there was never a single one left at the end.  I'm pretty sure just about everyone loves sausage balls so these work well for parties, breakfasts/brunches, appetizers, midnight snacks, anytime snacks... yes, definitely that last one! :)  

Up until recently, I thought that sausage balls could be made ONLY using Bisquick.  Excuse my naivete.  They can be made - quite well! - with flour and the basic ingredients that go along with it.  I don't usually make these because I don't keep Bisquick in the house since I make most things by scratch,but I wanted to make them for the hospitality table at my church in the morning and I discovered that you can indeed use flour!

Begin by mixing flour, salt, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper together.  (The peppers give it a slightly hotter kick that I actually liked!)

Melt 3 tblsp. of butter...

Shred cheese by hand or in a food processor.  (You can, of course, buy the shredded cheese at the store, but it tastes WAY better freshly shredded.  And your taste buds are sick if you don't notice the difference. ;) )

Add the meat to the rest of the ingredients and mix until it looks like this blob.

Roll into balls and cook.  You could probably use a cookie scoop for this part if you didn't want to use your hands.

The finished product!  Now go enjoy. :)

That's it for today folks!  I'm off to enjoy the rest of my weekend.  I have a load of yummy dinner and dessert recipes coming your way soon, though. :)

Sausage Balls

1 1/4 c. all purpose-flour

1 1/2 tsp. baker powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or more, depending on how spicy you like it)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

16 oz. sausage

1/2 large yellow onion, grated (grating it gives the sausage balls some onion flavor without biting into big chunks of onion)

3 tblsp. unsalted butter, melted

(1)  Preheat oven to 400.  Grease baking sheet.

(2)  Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.  Add the cheese and toss to coat with flower mixture.  Add sausage, onion, and butter.

(3)  Shaped into balls and cook for 25 minutes.  

(4)  Eat hot or refrigerated - whichever your preference!


*I recommend having fun with this recipe and trying different things in it, I think it would be yummy to add crumbled bacon, green onions instead of yellow, or even blue cheese!  What would you add to make it different?*

LAYER IT UP LASAGNA

I have finally attempted (quite successfully, I might say!)to make one of my favorite dishes of all time.  Lasagna.  This has been a dish that I have wanted to make since I was 4 years old.  That's as far back as I can remember! :)  I've always loved it and always thought it looked so fun to construct.  The first time I have ever took a bite of homemade lasagna I was in love.  Making my very own homemade lasagna has been a goal of mine for a long, long time.  When I received a lasagna pan as a wedding gift I got so excited I could hardly stand it!  

I was pretty terrified of cooking the noodles.  No joke.  I was worried I'd make a mess of it and break most of them.  Although it was rather interesting trying to get them out of the pan of boiling water in one piece, I did succeed!  This was a big step for me in my little culinary world. :)  As you can see, they turned out pretty good! 

While the noodles are cooking, you can go ahead and brown a mixture of ground beef and Italian sausage.  I like a meaty lasagna, so I put a pound of beef and a pound and a half of Italian sausage. 

Whip together Ricotta cheese and an egg in a bowl.  The egg added to the cheese makes the cheese more fluffy and bubbly once it's cooked.  In other words, gives it taste bud tingling visual appeal. :)

Now that everything is all prepped and ready to go - start layering up!

Sauce...

Noodles...

Ricotta/egg mixture...

Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese...

Meats and sauce...

And repeat until you fill the pan up. :)

And voila!  A few sprigs of parsley and it's all ready to go in the oven.  :)

Mmmmm....

Turned out pretty good for the first time! 

(My apologies for the awful photo quality.  My camera died right before so these were taken with my phone.)

Layer It Up Lasagna

1 1/2 lbs. sweet Italian sausage

1 lb. ground beef

2 big jars of spaghetti/marinara sauce

16 oz. Ricotta cheese

1 egg

5 cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups Parmesan cheese

1 box of lasagna noodles

Parsley

Garlic powder

(1) Boil the noodles.  While noodles are boiling, brown beef and sausage.  Drain a portion of the grease from the browned meat.  Leaving some grease adds great flavor to the sauce! 

(2) Whip Ricotta cheese and egg in a bowl and set aside.  Shred mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  (Or used the bagged kind, but it tastes WAY better freshly shredded.)

(3) Preheat the oven to 350.  Begin layering ingredients in a lasagna pan.  I usually layer in this order - sauce, noodles, Ricotta cheese, mozzarella & Parmesan cheese, meats.  Repeat until the pan is full.  Top with remaining shredded cheeses and then sprinkle with garlic powder.  Garnish with parsley.  

(4)  Bake the lasagna covered for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the top is lightly browned.  

(5)  Allow the lasagna to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting it.  Enjoy! 

*A salad and a bread of your preference make a complete delicious meal.  This is great to serve when company is over since it's such a large dish and can be made ahead of time for minimal clean up.*

How About a Little Blue in Your Burger?

Today I bring you a recipe that is perfect for the summer months. Great for the grill and great for any blue cheese lover.  It smells fabulous while cooking and is super moist and juicy-beefy. My husband loves blue cheese which was my inspiration for trying this out.  I was pretty pleased with it too. :)  There are some other ingredients which we'll start with that compliment the blue cheese.  So you'll start by chopping up green onions and garlic - two of my favorites for just about any recipe! ;) 

You'll put a pound of ground beef, the garlic and green onions, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, an egg, some water, salt, pepper, and of course, blue cheese in a medium sized mixing bowl.

And...

...Mix it together with your hands!  My favorite part. ;)

Now for the buns.  I prefer to use white bread buns or ciabatta buns.  (A lot of times I can find a package of 8 buns on clearance at the grocery store bakery for just 99 cents!)  Never forget to make the buns the best they can be.  The burger might be fantastic but if the bread is too soft, or too dry, or crumbly it will put a huge damper on the rest of that deliciousness. I've found that the easiest way for me to make the buns a great compliment to the burger, is to brush them with olive oil and then place them on the skillet or grill until they are honey brown.

So much more visual appeal and they taste better.

All that's left to do now is cook the burgers to your desired doneness.  And then, you have this...

  All you have to do is add on condiments and dig in!  Super easy, super simple and it can be done in about 20 minutes start to finish.  Summer is burger time and this is just one of many ways to switch up it a little and add some different flavors.

Blue Cheese Burgers

1 pound ground beef

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 cloves minced garlic

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

1 egg

1 tbsp. water

salt

freshly ground black pepper

(1) Using your hands mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Do not over mix; mix only until the ingredients are all combined.  Shape into patties that are slightly larger than the buns you'll be using.

(2) Heat up grill or skillet.  Brush buns with olive oil and place on cooking surface until lightly browned and crispy around the edges.  Cook the patties 5-7 minutes on both sides.  Don't press down on the burgers while they cook.  

(3) Serve on buns, add condiments, and enjoy! :)