Breakfast Tortilla Strata

I saw this recipe out in the blog hopping...but I changed the original recipe quite a bit so here's my version!

Breakfast Tortilla Strata
1 lb breakfast sausage
1 red pepper, chopped
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 container greek yogurt(i think it was around 5.8 oz, but up to 8 oz is fine)
2 cups shredded cheese(I used 4 cheese italian blend)
10 corn tortillas, cut into strips
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown and crumble sausage, drain.
Mix together eggs, milk, yogurt, salt and pepper, whisk to combine well.
Lay 1/3 of tortillas in a greased 9x11 baking dish. Layer in half the sausage and peppers. Top with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with tortillas(save a bit of cheese for the top) Pour egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for about 30 mins until top is golden brown and eggs are cooked through.

**This was EXCELLENT! It would make a great potluck or brunch dish! Even my 4 yr old ate it! I loved the flavor the sausage lended to the dish and the pop of color and freshness from the peppers!

Italian Sausage Lasagna Calzones and Pizza Dough

I am always in search of the perfect pizza dough. I decided to adapt the one from my bread machine book the other night and it came out perfect for this calzone recipe!

Pizza Dough(this makes 2 lbs)
1 cup+6 tbsp warm water
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups ap flour
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp vital wheat gluten

Place ingredients in bread machine according to manufacter's directions. Press dough button. Once dough is complete. Remove dough, cut into pieces and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness.(I made 6 calzones the first time and 11 the next night, so it will depend on how big you want them to be.)

**This dough is perfect! Its light and fluffy on the inside but had a nice crust as well.

Italian Sausage Lasagna Filling-adapted from Picky Palate
4 sausage links(I used 2 sweet and 2 hot)
1 sweet pepper diced
1 onion diced
1 28 oz jar spaghetti sauce
15-16 oz container ricotta cheese
1-2 tbsp italian seasoning
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
olive oil

Remove casings from sausage throughly cook through. Remove sausage to drain on paper towels. Add in veggies and saute until soft. Add sausage back in then add in spaghetti sauce. Heat through.

Combine cheeses and seasonings. Mix until well combined.

Place some sausage filling on dough (about 1-2 tbsp, again depending the size) then place some cheese mixture on top. Fold dough over and press to seal. Press down with forks around seam. Brush tops with olive oil.

Place in 350 degree oven for 20-25 mins until lightly browned.

**This was a HUGE hit with the boys! They both polished off their mini calzones. They were so good that K asked for them again, this filling does make a lot! So I had some leftover that is why I had different amounts on each night. The second night Q ate ALL of his and his brothers, so he must really like it! I'm not usually a fan of ricotta cheese, but these were delicious. Its a good thing we have lots of leftovers! The second night I also mixed the ricotta mix into the sauce and we liked that even better!

Apple Sausage Cheddar Balls

We used to make these growing up, but I haven't had them in a long time. Mostly because they are not the healthiest item to make. BUT I saw this recipe so it bumps the nutrition up a bit and I used whole wheat flour. I also doubled the "dough" ingredients so it stretched a little farther.

Apple Sausage Cheddar Balls-adapted from Cooking During Stolen Moments
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb bulk sausage(I only used 12 oz)
2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 apples, shredded
1/4 tsp allspice

Mix all ingredients together. Form into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 15-20 mins.

**Q tried a couple bites, but his appetite has been lacking a bit since he was sick over the weekend. I ate these and thought they were fabulous. You couldn't really taste the apple, but the sweetness was there and it off set the saltiness of the pork and cheese! Definitely a keeper!

Lasagna Soup and Pizza Hut Bread Sticks

I can't remember where I got this recipe from...I think it was one of the magazines I get. It intrigued me as I never thought to make soup out of lasagna and it was completely worth it! I make it in the crock pot but you can also do it on the stove!

Lasagna Soup
1 lb Italian sausage, crumbled(or sliced) cooked, drained
8 oz-1 lb pasta(I used shells, but any will do)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 container cottage cheese
2 tbsp tomato paste
pinch of red pepper flakes
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp dried basil
6 cups broth

Place all ingredients in slow cooker except cheese and pasta. Cook on low for 6 hrs. Cook pasta in another pot until tender. Stir cheese and pasta into soup and serve.

**We love this soup, although this time I forgot the cottage cheese. But it was still pretty tasty!

Pizza Hut Style Bread Sticks-shared from food.com
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 tbsp olive oil
4 cups flour(3 ap, 1 ww)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
3 tbsp powdered milk
2 tsp yeast

Place ingredients in bread maker according to manufacter's directions. Set on dough setting and wait!

In the mean time make topping:
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tbsp garlic salt*
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp oregano
olive oil

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in bowl and stir until well combined. Set aside. *I didn't have garlic salt, so I added in more garlic powder and 1 tsp salt.

Once dough is done, remove from bread machine and place on a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle that is 1/2-3/4 inch thick.  With pizza cutter cut dough into 1X4 inch strips. Place on greased cookie sheets(I did use my non-stick pans). Brush bread with olive oil and sprinkle with topping. Let rise for 20 mins or until doubled. Place in 350 degree oven for 10-12 mins or until golden.(Make sure you watch these as the topping browns quickly)

**We can't say that these tasted just like pizza hut, but I think the fact that they aren't dripping in fat is the reason. These were the best bread stick recipe we have tried thus far. They were fluffy and airy. The outside had a bit of a bite and the topping was great.

Pancake and Sausage Muffins

I saw these one week on Heavenly Homemakers and I'm also looking for easy breakfast options! Mostly to help on the hectic mornings that I have to run out the door!

I did add a half cup of oatmeal in for the flour as I was out of whole wheat flour, so I wanted to bump up the nutrition a bit.

I also decided to put maple syrup IN the muffins instead of on top. If you choose not to do this, then you will 1 1/2 cups milk.

Pancake and Sausage Muffins-adapted from Heavenly Homemakers
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup quick cook oatmeal
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1/2 lb breakfast sausage, cooked, crumbled, drained well

Combine flour, salt, powder, and oatmeal. Add in syrup, applesauce, and eggs and stir well. Fold in sausage. Place in greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins or until golden brown.

**These were quite tasty, they had just a touch of maple flavor that worked perfect! Q devoured 2 of them!

Sausage Pumpkin Penne

I know it sounds a bit...different. But I was excited to try it as I was intrigued by it. We are always up for trying new things and since I'm still on my pumpkin kick and was craving sausage we gave it a go! I did not tell K what was in it first nor did I tell A. I called it orange pasta!

Sausage Pumpkin Penne-shared from Newlyweds
1 lb sausage, casings removed
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 lb penne,cooked
1 onion, chopped
3-4 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup half and half
1 1/2 cup broth
1/2 cup sour cream(I used cottage cheese)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Parmesan Cheese for topping

Brown sausage and drain. Add in onion and garlic and saute for 5 mins or until tender. Whisk in broth, pumpkin, half and half, and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 mins. Add in sour cream and cook for another 4 mins uncovered.

Toss pasta with sauce and serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

**Q loved the sausage as he begged for it...I didn't give it to the boys at first as I didn't expect them to eat it. Just served them plain penne with cheese. A wouldn't try it but apparently Q would have. We both decided it was quite different and something definitely out of the ordinary, but it was very tasty!

I did use cottage cheese instead of sour cream as I didn't have any. When I looked up a sub for it they said to mix milk and cottage cheese together and puree it. I just skipped that part. You couldn't really taste or see the cheese. I thought the sauce was a bit thin at first, but attributed that to not use the sour cream to thicken it. But once it sat on the the pasta it was no longer thin.

Cheesy Spinach Lasagna Soup

Seen as today is the first day of Fall...I had planned a soup! Of course New England weather is at it again and its in the 80's, but we are still having soup!(This will post after the first day of fall!) This is another lasagna soup recipe...although I'm not sure that I ever shared my first version of it! It is slightly adapted as I don't have the mozzerella cheese, but I'm sure it will still be delicious!

Cheesey Spinach Lasagna Soup-adapted from What a Crock
1 lb itlalian sausage
1 onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed, drained
1 qt chicken broth
1 pkg frozen cheese tortellini or 1 cup mini pasta
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
8 oz mozzerella, diced(optional)

Brown and crumble sausage. Remove from pan and drain. Leave some oil from sausage in the pan and saute onion and garlic. Add in tomatoes, tomato sauce, and broth. Stir in seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add in pasta if using it and cook until al dente. OR cook tortellini separately and add to the soup.

Mix in spinach and cheese if using. Top with parmesan cheese.

**This was really good! I know the other lasagna soup I have was more of a tomato base where this did have some tomato in it that wasn't all that it was! Perfect for a fall day...or summer day!

Creamy Sausage Rigatoni and first garden harvest!

I originally saw this recipe in the Taste of Home Cooking School book. K LOVES this combination of food and I thought this was an interesting twist...I do have to say that we will probably never make it another way again!*Picture coming soon!

Creamy Sausage Rigatoni
1 lb rigatoni(or any pasta)
1 lb sausage(sweet or hot),sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 sweet pepper, sliced
1/2 pkg chopped baby carrots
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce

Bring water to a boil and add in rigatoni. Brown sausage, drain. Remove from pan, add in carrots, onions, and peppers. Cook for 5-10 mins until soft. Add sausage back in along with sauce and cheese. Stir and cook to combine sauce until heated through. Drain pasta, mix in with sauce and enjoy!

*The cream cheese adds a delicious creaminess and take on this dish! Next time I'll remember to add in more garlic. I added in the carrots to help boost the veggies as we did not have any peppers. I loved the sweetness they added!

First Garden Harvest
I was able to have my first good size garden harvest after coming back from vacation. The loot included:
-2 jalapeno peppers that for some reason turned red....not sure why, anyone know?
-4 of the funniest shaped cucumbers
-1 zucchini
-4 grape tomatoes that never even saw the inside of the house
-lettuce...that was very bitter. I wasn't expecting it to grow as much as it did while I was gone and should have told K to harvest it...it is HUGE probably 2-3 ft tall now. I have a feeling it may be gone by b/c of how bitter it was, but it is still out there.
-I sadly pulled all my broccoli plants and my cauliflower...well 1 of those only to discover that 2 now have something going on in them so we will see if i actually get cauliflower!

This post has been linked to Finding Joy in my Kitchen

Zuppa Toscana Soup

I know it is summer and it might be a little to warm for soup, but in an effort to empty the freezer the chicken broth had to be used. It was K's birthday yesterday and I invited one of our friends over for dinner, so that meant I had to come up with something to eat. We love this soup at Olive Garden and I've made it before and had almost all the ingredients so this is what we are eating! This recipe comes from my friend Terra, she posted it on Facebook one night and I had to make it! Thanks Terra!

Zuppa Toscana Soup- from Terra R.
1 qt chicken broth
1 lb sausage(hot or sweet)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, veins removed, sliced into ribbons
1 lb potatoes, skins on, cubed
3 slices of bacon, cooked, crumbled, drained
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups milk(cream or half and half)

Remove casings from sausage, break up and brown. Drain on paper towels. Leave about 1 tsp of fat in pan and lightly saute onions. Place water, broth, garlic and potatoes in stock pot. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are softened. Add in sausage, onions, and milk. Stir in kale and cook until wilted.

Italian Sausage Shepherd's Pie

I got this recipe from a message board I used to frequent. I am always looking for new ways to serve italian sausage. K loves it, but you can only eat it the same way so many times before you get sick of it. This is a delicious take on shepherd's pie and I did change it up this time, but I will also share the original recipe.

Italian Sausage Shepherd's Pie-(this is the original recipe)
1 pie crust
1 lb italian sausage, crumbed, browned, drained
1 cup small, curd cottage cheese
1 egg
1.5 cups warm mashed potatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded cheese

Bake pie shell for 8 mins at 350 degrees. Place cottage cheese and egg in a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl, add in potatoes, sour cream, and spices. Place sausage into pie crust, sprinkle with cheese, and top with potato mixture. Place in oven for 50-60 mins at 350 degrees.(or until set)

**I used cream cheese and chive potatoes this time. This didn't have to cook as long.

Creamy Sausage and Peppers

We...well K really LOVES anything with italian sausage so it makes our way into the menu when I find it on sale. Lucky for him I scored a really good sale a couple weeks ago and stocked up on it(and did again today). At the Taste of Home Cooking Show, this was one of the recipes and I knew K would enjoy it. I made it last night for dinner and it made quite a bit of food, he went on to enjoy 2 helpings last night, again for lunch, and again for dinner tonight. Needless to say, he REALLY liked it and it was so simple!

Creamy Sausage and Peppers-from Taste Of Home
1 lb italian sausage, sliced
1 red pepper,sliced
1 green pepper,sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp fennel seed
2 garlic cloves minced
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1-26 oz jar of pasta sauce
3-4 cups uncooked macaroni

Cook sausage until no longer pink, add in peppers, onion, and garlic. Saute until tender. Meanwhile, cook pasta.

Once sausage is done, pour in sauce and cream cheese. Stir until melted and heated through. Once macaroni is done, drain and add to sauce. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!

**You can use any kind of sweet peppers you like. I also use 1/3 less fat cream cheese.

This is linked to Potluck Sunday at Mommy's Kitchen

Pasta E Fagioli

This was another soup that I wanted to try went to the store and gathered all the ingredients except I forgot the spinach, so my version will be without it. I'm sure K won't mind one bit...

Pasta E Fagioli-adapted from For the Love of Cooking
1 onion, diced
1 lb hot chicken sausage, casings removed
1 qt(or more) chicken broth
1-2 cups cooked pasta(i used alphabets and elbows)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with italian seasoning
2 cans cannelini beans, rinsed, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
salt and pepper to taste
additional italian seasoning, if needed

Brown sausage and onion, add in garlic. Puree tomatoes in blender. In a 5 qt slow cooker, add in broth, sausage mixture, and tomatoes. Add in beans and pasta. Set to low for 2-3 hours. This can cook all day in a slow cooker, the longer it sits the better the flavor will be.

**This was good, but I'm sure it would be even better with spinach! Btw, soup is hard to take a photo of! It was very spicy so if you use hot sausage you may want to hold off on the red pepper. I also didn't care for the chicken sausage, but that is just me!  Q loved it! It was too spicy for A.

Sausage and Cheese Turnovers

I found this recipe over at Cindy's blog. I thought they sounded interesting and different and I have been meaning to try out a homemade crescent dough recipe. I had planned on making her version, but I read(after arriving home from the store) that it needed mashed potato flakes, so I found another recipe for the crescent dough.

Sausage and Cheese Turnovers-shared from What's for dinner?
1 lb italian sausage, casings removed
1.5 cups reduced fat shredded cheese
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened.
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt(this was omitted)
1 recipe for crescent rolls

Crumble and brown sausage, drain. Mix together garlic, sausage, cheeses, and pepper. I found the easiest was to use my hands to mix it.

Divide dough into seven portions. Roll out into a square or a circle in my case. Cut into sections. I had some in squares and some in triangles, whatever is easier for you. Place 1 tbsp of sausage mix in center of dough. Flatten and fold dough over. Make sure to seal the edges. Place on cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for 15-18 mins.

**We loved this recipe! K only wishes tomorrow wasn't Friday or lent, he asked if he could have them for lunch on saturday or even for breakfast. We will definitely be making them again. I think it would work very well with other fillings such as eggs or fruit.