Sausage Pancakes-on-Sticks

From The Pioneer Woman via FoodNetwork



Ingredients:
16 breakfast sausage links
3 cups pancake mix
1 cup yellow cornmeal
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1 whole egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups water
Canola oil, for frying
Warm pancake syrup, for serving

Directions:
Cook the breakfast sausage links in a cast-iron skillet, turning occasionally until done.

In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, cornmeal and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

Add the eggs, vanilla and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick (but not overly gloopy.) Start out by adding 1 cup, then work your way up to 3 cups or more.

Heat some canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat to about 350 degrees F. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it's ready; the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown/burn.

Insert chopsticks into the cooked breakfast sausages so that they're two-thirds of the way through. Dip the sausages into the batter and allow any excess to drip off for a couple of seconds. Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure it doesn't hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it here and there to ensure even browning, and remove it from the oil when the outside is deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve with warm pancake syrup.

Comments:
I had some trouble with the batter and this recipe made about 10 times more batter that we needed. I used my deep fryer to cook these and it worked fine. They were good, but I don't know that we'd try them again. The batter threw the whole thing off I think...

Adam Cooks: Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated fettuccine
3 (4-ounce) links sweet Italian turkey sausage
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups sliced onions
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups lower-sodium marinara sauce
1/2 ounce pecorino cheese, grated (about 2 tablespoons packed)
8 basil leaves, torn

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. Remove casing from sausages. Shape sausages into 12 (1-inch) balls. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add meatballs to pan; cook 7 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove the meatballs from pan. Add onions, red pepper, and garlic to pan; sauté for 2 minutes. Return meatballs and add marinara sauce to pan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 5 minutes or until meatballs are done. Add pasta to sauce mixture; toss well. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Comments:
Adam made this so I can't speak to the preparation part. The eating part was good. Nice switch up from your ordinary everyday beef meatballs.

Polish Sausage and Veggies

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
4 cups cubed peeled potatoes (about 2-1/2 pounds)
1 pound smoked Polish sausage or smoked kielbasa, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup julienned sweet yellow pepper
1/2 cup julienned sweet red pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the potatoes, sausage, onion, peppers and Cajun seasoning in oil and butter for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

Comments:
This was really good (and easy!) I added some leftover broccoli for additional vegetable action. We also had no Cajun seasoning so I used some of the 33rd & Galena spice from Penzey's Kind Heart Gift Set. Honestly couldn't even taste it so I added a bunch of pepper to my serving. I heart pepper!

Gemelli with Fennel and Hot Sausage

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
3/4 pound hot italian sausage links, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large bulb fennel, cut into strips
1 large onion, sliced
3 carrots, sliced on an angle
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 pound gemelli pasta
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. On a baking sheet, toss the sausage, fennel, onion and carrots with the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente; drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl.

3. Add the sausage-vegetable mixture to the pasta. Add the reserved pasta cooking water to the baking sheet, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to the pasta mixture. Toss in the parsley; season with salt and pepper

Comments:
I subbed some celery for the fennel since neither of us dig the anise flavor. It worked out fine. It's a teensy bit spicy for me, but Adam liked it. I used some Creste di Gallo pasta we got for Christmas since I didn't have gemelli and I thought it was a neat shape. Looks like little Stegosauruses. But that might just be me...

Italian Sausage Rigatoni

From Johnsonville Sausage



Ingredients:
1 pkg (19.76 oz) Johnsonville® Italian Mild Sausage Links
1 pkg (1 lb) rigatoni pasta
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lg sweet red pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp Italian parsley, chopped
1 jar (26 oz) of your favorite pasta sauce

Directions:
Cook sausage links according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook rigatoni according to package directions; drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil until hot. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds or until golden. Add red peppers; sauté for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Cut sausage into 1/4-inch coin slices; add to skillet. Stir in pasta sauce; heat through.

Add pasta; toss to combine. Sprinkle with parsley.

Comments:
Easy - I had Adam grill the sausage. I wasn't too much of a fan of the peppers and Adam didn't like the tomatoes, but together we liked the whole thing. Little bit of a Jack Sprat deal. I don't know that I'd make this again. Kind of boring.

Grilled Pepper, Onion, and Sausage Calzones

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
1 portion Homemade Pizza Dough
1 Vidalia or other sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 14 ounces)
1 red bell pepper, quartered
1 yellow bell pepper, quartered
Cooking spray
1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage links
1 3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons New York-Style Pizza Sauce, divided
1 1/3 cup (about 5 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Remove Homemade Pizza Dough from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

2. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

3. Coat onion slices and bell pepper pieces with cooking spray. Place vegetables and sausages on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill vegetables 4 minutes on each side or until browned; grill sausages 8 minutes or until done, turning occasionally to brown on all sides. Remove vegetables and sausages from grill; cool slightly. Cut onion slices in half; cut bell pepper pieces into 1/2-inch strips. Cut sausages diagonally into thin slices.

4. Preheat oven to 500°

5. Place dough on a lightly floured surface; divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 9 x 5-inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup New York-Style Pizza Sauce evenly over each rectangle, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Arrange sausage evenly over half of each rectangle; top evenly with onion and bell peppers. Sprinkle each calzone with 1/3 cup cheese. Fold other half of dough over filling; press edges together with a fork to seal.

6. Place calzones on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat calzones with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut each calzone in half; serve with remaining New York-Style Pizza Sauce.

Comments:
Major alterations on this one: Didn't grill anything. Used bread dough. But they turned out great. And huge.

Sausage and Sourdough Bread Stuffing

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
10 cup (1/2-inch) cubed sourdough bread (about 1 pound)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
15 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Arrange bread in single layers on 2 jelly-roll pans. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden, rotating pans after 10 minutes. Turn oven off; leave pans in oven for 30 minutes or until bread is crisp.

3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery; cook 11 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Add sausage to pan. Increase heat; sauté 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan using a slotted spoon; add sausage to vegetable mixture. Stir in bread, herbs, and pepper; toss. Combine broth, 1 cup water, and egg, stirring well. Drizzle broth mixture over bread mixture; toss. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover and cook 20 minutes or until browned.

Comments:
This was my contribution to our Thanksgiving meal at Adam's parents' house. It takes some time, but the end result is pretty good. At least I thought so.

Sausage and Broccoli Risotto

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook



Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine (or more chicken broth)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage
1/2 bunch broccoli, rinsed and chopped

Directions:
1. To make the risotto, bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat and keep at a simmer.

2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and cook until the outer shell is lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the wine, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the broth and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed before adding more, until the rice is just tender and the mixture is creamy. The cooking time from the first addition of broth should be 20-24 minutes. Stir in the parsley.

4. Meanwhile, spray a nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli; cover and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir the sausage and broccoli into the risotto.

Serves 6. POINTS Value per serving: 6

Comments:
This was good. Adam wanted more sausage though. I thought it was fine as it was. That always seems to be the case. Might try this again with other meats. Risotto is kind of time-consuming to make and I was surprised that this was good even without the traditional handful of parmesan cheese at the end.

Sausage & Pepper Sub

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
3 bell peppers (yellow, orange and green), sliced
1 large red onion, sliced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
One 1 1/3-pound piece boneless pork loin, well chilled
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Four 6-inch whole wheat hoagie rolls, split and toasted

Directions:
1.Preheat a grill to medium. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the bell peppers, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

2.Cut the pork into 1/3-inch-thick slices, then into quarters, trimming any excess fat. Transfer the meat to a food processor and pulse 5 times to grind the meat. Add the fennel seeds, crushed red pepper and 3/4 teaspoon salt and pulse 2 more times. Divide the mixture into quarters; form each mound into a 5-inch sausage link, then flatten into an oval patty about 1/3 inch thick.

3.Place a cooling rack on one side of the grill grate and lightly oil. Scatter the vegetables on the rack (saving any oil in the bowl); cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the vegetables with a spatula and tongs. Rub the sausage patties with the oil left in the bowl and add to the other side of the grill. Cover and cook, turning the patties about halfway through, until grill marks appear, the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes.

4.Transfer the patties to a plate. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the vinegar; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Arrange half of the vegetables in the rolls and top each with a sausage patty and the remaining vegetables.

Comments:
I cheated and bought pre-made sausage so I could skip over some of the directions. I also made it indoors in a skillet rather than on the grill. That worked just fine. They're good, but really messy to eat. We ended up eating most of the pepper and onion with a fork.

Grilled Pork Meatballs with Pineapple-Chiptole Chutney

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds bulk pork Italian sausage
2 scallions, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 slices canned pineapple in juice, finely chopped, plus 1/2 cup juice
One-quarter of a chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the sausage and half of the scallions; season with salt and pepper. Shape into 16 meatballs.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using a fork, stir in the sesame seeds.

3. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning, until cooked through and browned, about 15 minutes.

4. In a small saucepan, combine the pineapple, pineapple juice, chipotle and cumin; cook over medium heat until reduced by half, 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meatballs; stir in the cilantro and remaining scallions. Serve on top of the rice.

Comments:
I didn't want to buy a whole can of chipotle in adobo for one quarter of one pepper. So I got a serrano instead and chopped that up. Added some nice heat. Which I managed to get in my eye even though I wore gloves while chopping. Argh. Stupid pepper.

Anyway.

This was good. I'm not sure why it's called "grilled" meatballs when you don't grill them, but whatever. Adam liked the meatballs best, but didn't mind the other components. Of course, I preferred the rice and pineapple.

Adam Cooks: Hearty Cabbage Skillet Supper

Adam found this in the local newspaper, but here's a link to the recipe from a local TV station.



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 package (16 ounces) coleslaw or 6 cups finely shredded cabbage
¼ to ½ cup chicken broth
1 apple, peeled if desired, diced
4 precooked sausages
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions. Cook, stirring often, until onion softens, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage, ¼ cup of the broth and apple. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in caraway seeds, salt and pepper to taste. Arrange cooked sausages over cabbage. Add more of the broth if needed. Cover; cook 5 minutes. Uncover; cook until broth is reduced, about 2 minutes; do not let vegetables burn.

Comments:
Adam's on this new health kick so he thought this might be a good, healthy dinner option. He made this himself and it turned out pretty well. He used turkey sausage to up the healthy factor. I'm not a fan of cabbage and could have done without the caraway (yuck!) but overall, a success. Whatever makes him happy...

6-Layer Breakfast Casserole

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground
1 package Jimmy Dean Hot Roll Sausage, cooked, crumbled, drained
1/4 cup jalapeno pepper, 1/4 dice
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
4 slices bread, cut in half

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix the eggs and heavy cream in a bowl with the salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, place the sausage, jalapeno pepper, cheese, garlic and cumin. Place 1/3 of the egg mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Place a slice of bread in the dish. Place 1/3 of the sausage mixture on the slice of bread. Repeat layering until last slice of bread is on top. Add the remaining 1/3 of sausage ingredients evenly across the top slice of bread. Bake in oven for 15 minutes.

Comments:
First of all, these are not the directions that are found in the magazine. The directions and corresponding picture do not match and I found it very confusing. I ended up using a 1 1/2-quart baking dish and could only fit bread 2 layers high. Also, 15 minutes? Ha. More like 45. The eggs don't set in 15 minutes at such a low heat. After about half an hour I cranked it to 425.

Aside from the crappy directions, this wasn't bad. Nice kick from the jalapenos and sausage.

Sausage, Potato, and Cheese Waffles

From Everyday With Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 link sweet Italian sausage (about 3 ounces), casing discarded
1 baking potato, grated and excess water squeezed out
4 tablespoons butter
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons pepper
2 cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:
1. In a medium skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 5 minutes. Add the potato and butter, lower the heat and simmer until the butter is melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir in the milk and eggs until smooth. Stir in the sausage-potato mixture.

3. Using a waffle maker, cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Comments:
Now first off, let's just say these waffles are named in kind of mis-leading manner. Yes, there is sausage, potato, and cheese in the batter. But you don't taste the cheese or potato. And only taste the sausage when you bite into a chunk. Mostly what you taste is pepper and baking powder. So go easy on the pepper.

All in all, not a hard recipe to figure out. I don't really do waffles so much so Adam ended up manning the waffle iron. Division of labor and all that... I'm not sure I really liked these too much for the aforementioned imbalance of flavors. Or maybe I just don't like waffles. Who can say?

Inside-Out Pizza Rolls

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 cup lukewarm water
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for greasing
2 cups Meat Sauce
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
Using a standing mixer fitted with the hook attachment, combine the lukewarm water and yeast; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt and mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth and wraps around the hook, about 5 minutes. Grease a large bowl with olive oil, transfer the dough to the bowl and let rise, covered, for 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium skillet, cook the meat sauce over medium heat, stirring, until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes; let cool.

Punch down the risen dough and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle. Scatter the cheese on top, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Spoon the meat sauce over the cheese. Brush the border with some of the beaten egg and roll the dough up loosely, beginning at the short end. Transfer to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, brush with more egg and cut 3 vents on top. Bake until golden-brown, about 40 minutes.

Comments:
Oh who are we kidding. We all know I didn't make the dough myself. And we all know RR wouldn't either. So whatever. The recipe itself suggests using store-bought pizza dough. I've found it gets too dry for my liking so I went with bread dough instead. Worked great except for how my seam came apart during the baking process. And I think I should have lowered the temp back down to 350 because the bottom got a little crunchy. All in all, good stuff. I did alter it a little more by adding sausage and using store-bought sauce. Once again kind of using the recipe for inspiration and going off in my own direction.

Sweet 'n' Saucy Sausage Sandwiches

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
2 Italian sausage links (4 ounces each), sliced
1/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/4 cup coarsely chopped green pepper
1/3 cup ginger ale
1/3 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon onion soup mix
1 French roll, split
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
In a large saucepan, saute the sausage, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the ginger ale, chili sauce, preserves and soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

Place roll halves, cut side up, on an ungreased baking sheet; top with sausage mixture and cheese. Broil 4 in. from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Comments:
Direct quote from Adam: "These are good. You definitely have to make them again."

That would probably be all the commenting I need on this one, but I'll add that I used that sausage that comes in a tube, omitted the green peppers, but kept everything else the same. A tad bit spicy for my tastes, but I'm a wuss.

Really good. You should go make them. Seriously.

Upside-Down Pizza Bake

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
1/2 pound Italian sausage links, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup julienned green pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup biscuit/baking mix
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Pour spaghetti sauce into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Top with the mushrooms, green pepper, sausage and 1/2 cup cheese.

In a small bowl, combine the biscuit mix, egg and milk until blended. Pour over top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Comments:
My edits: Skipped the mushrooms and green peppers and added onions and some leftover pepperoni

This was wonderful. Very simple to make, but mighty tasty. And it can be made in many different incarnations. I thought about using the pineapple and ham left over from abandoned meals last week and making a Hawaiian version. Maybe next time...

Pasta Bake With Sausage, Broccoli and Beans

Inspired by this recipe from the show "Cook Yourself Thin"



Ingredients:
1 pound rigatoni pasta
1 pound breakfast sausage
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to package directions, knocking off two or three minutes from the cooking time. In the last two minutes, add the broccoli to the water as well. Drain, and put into a large bowl.

Cook the sausage in a skillet, breaking it up as it browns. Drain and add to the bowl with the pasta and broccoli. Add the beans and cheese and stir.

Put the pasta mixture into a greased baking dish. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Comments:
I caught parts of this while I was reading on the couch earlier this week. I didn't bother to go and look up the actual recipe until after I made this, but I knew I had broccoli to use up, I had thawed sausage for a dish I didn't end up making, and pasta and cheese are always welcome on my plate. I think I needed some more liquid, but overall it was good. I might browse their recipes to see if anything else catches my eye. I saw a different episode where they made cupcakes using grated zucchini instead of butter. Interesting...

Sausage and Pepper Frittata

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings discarded
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
Salt
1 cup goat cheese crumbles

Directions:
1. In a medium nonstick, ovenproof skillet, cook the sausage and crushed red pepper, breaking up the meat, until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium bowl.

2. In the same skillet, add the bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the cooked sausage and the butter; reserve the bowl.

3. Preheat the broiler. In the same bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt and pour into the skillet. Cook, scrambling the mixture, until almost set; top with the goat cheese. Broil, leaving the oven door slightly open, until set in the center, about 5 minutes.

Comments:
I really tried to get out of making this last night. I got the wrong kind of sausage, was discouraged when I told Adam what was for dinner and his first response was "I don't like peppers." But I made it anyway. And it was good. And Adam liked it. I wish he'd stop with the "I don't like [fill in the ingredient]" before I make something using it. I mean, he generally eats it and likes it, but it makes me nervous about cooking it. *sigh*

Anyway. Totally easy, very tasty. And I discovered that goat cheese is quite good. Damn this lactose intolerance thing though. Man. I'm missing out on a lot of good stuff. I only left it under the broiler for three minutes or so because it started to brown too much and I didn't want it to burn. I then turned the oven off and left it in for a few more minutes to finish cooking. That worked well.

Pizza Pockets - A 30-Minute Meal Experiment

I don’t remember where I saw it, but there was a blog around complaining about how Rachael Ray’s “30-Minute Meals” don’t really take 30 minutes to make. Have you seen the show? How could you think the average person with the average kitchen could be so coordinated and prepared to get everything done in that time period? Anyway. Someone took it upon themselves to pick a recipe and time themselves (and document their process with photos) to see how long it really took to make a 30-minute meal. It ended up taking them something like an hour (which I think was kind of unfair since they had small children interfering, but I suppose that’s reality for some people.)

So my quest tonight was to do the same thing in my calm, child-free house (although the cats do tend to enjoy helping out.) On the menu tonight was Pizza Pockets from the March 2007 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. It told me my prep time was 15 minutes and my cook time was 15 minutes. So total, 30 minutes.

Here’s the original recipe:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cornmeal
One 13.8-ounce package refrigerated pizza dough
2 hot dogs, preferably nitrite and nitrate-free, quartered lengthwise and chopped into small cubes
1/4 cup jarred tomato or spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Sprinkle the cornmeal on a large cutting board and roll out the pizza dough to a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Using a pizza wheel or large knife, cut into four 5-by-7- inch rectangles.

2. Working with 1 sheet at a time, place a rectangle so the long side is facing you. Spoon one quarter of the chopped hot dogs onto the center of the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border around the filling. Top the hot dogs with 1 tablespoon tomato sauce and 4 tablespoons shredded mozzarella. Moisten the edge of the dough all around and fold the rectangle in half lengthwise over the filling. Pinch the edges together to secure. Set on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough rectangles, hot dogs, sauce and cheese. Cut 2 or 3 small vents in the top of each pocket. Bake until browned and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

And here’s my take on it:
Start time:


Turned the oven on. It takes seriously 15 minutes to get to 450 so I always have to remember to start the oven heating right away.


Got out my ingredients.


I hate hot dogs. They are scary, scary food-like objects. So, yeah, didn’t use hot dogs. I had some sausage in the freezer and I decided that would be a good swap out. So I added a step here since I needed to cook the sausage before stuffing the pockets with it.



I prepped the baking sheet and rolled out the dough while the sausage was cooking.


Yes, I actually used a rolling pin and tape measure. Didn't really get to the suggested size, but oh well. It still worked.


Assembled pockets. I always make a huge mess...


Shoo'd cat away from the food.

(oh my god, is that his tongue? Good grief... I keep them away from the kitchen when I'm cooking for other people, I promise!)

Put pockets in the oven.


While they baked for 15 minutes I made some green beans and relaxed.


Took them out at just over 13 minutes. Toasty and brown.


Finished product at:


for a total prep time of 34 minutes.

Given that I added probably 5 minutes to cook the sausage, I think I could have easily made this in under 30 if I had used the suggested hot dogs. And I even took time to answer the phone (Adam will be late) and clean up after the cats were done eating.

In conclusion, while some of the 30-minute meal recipes are only 30 minutes if you're as frantic in the kitchen as RR, some of them are totally do-able, even when you don't really follow the recipe. :)

On the more usual blog posting side, these were pretty good. I don't dig the whole "roll 'em in cornmeal" thing, but it wasn't too obnoxious. Another one of the myriad of calzones I have tried out. I still prefer bread dough to pizza dough.

Tortellini Casserole

From Better Homes & Gardens Simple Slow Cooker Recipes




Ingredients:
12 ounces bulk Italian sausage
8 ounces ground beef
1 (26oz) jar pasta sauce
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatos
1/2 cup chopped red or yellow pepper
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 9-ounce package refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook the sausage and ground beef until meat is brown. Drain and transfer to a 3 1/2-4 quart slow cooker lightly coated with cooking spray. Stir in pasta sauce, tomatoes, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (high 3-4.) If using high setting, turn to low, stir in the tortellini, cover and cook 15-20 minutes more. Sprinkle with cheese.

Comments:
I was originally going to make this for dinner last week but Adam caught wind of it, determined it was a pot pie in disguise, and told me he wouldn't eat it. So I was left with a package of thawed stew meat. I had been meaning to make a different tortellini dish for awhile but couldn't find it in the book. (I'm a moron sometimes.) I did find this one instead. I used the stew meat in place of the ground meat, omitted the pepper and cheese, but kept everything else pretty much the same. Thumbs up.