Sausage and Peppers Pasta

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I heart sausage and peppers! I grew up in New England where amazing “mom & pop” Italian restaurants were oh so prevalent. No matter which restaurant I was at, my most favorite item to order was  Sausage and Peppers—whether it be on a grinder or over pasta (Note to self: make the grinder version ASAP!).  Since moving away from New England I have a new-found appreciation for the amazing Italian food that was readily available there, because in all the places I’ve lived since (Utah, New Mexico, South Korea, Virginia, and now Arizona) nothing compares.

This recipe is my attempt at a “quick & easy” version of the classic. I love it and it hits to spot for my Sausage & Peppers cravings.

Cook’s Note: I get a lot of questions from readers about what kitchen equipment and specific ingredients I use in recipes. I will try to list any specific ingredients & specific/super helpful kitchen equipment before each recipe. I hope this helps! J
Here’s specific equipment and/or ingredients I used in this recipe:
Large, deep skillet

Sausage & Peppers Pasta

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs hot and/or sweet Italian sausage (I used a combination of both),
    cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 large onion, sliced
1 14 1/2-ounce can tomato sauce
1 1/2 C grape or cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 T dried basil, (crumbled or chopped if not done so already)
1 t dried oregano, (crumbled or chopped if not done so already)
1 t fennel seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

16 oz penne pasta, cooked as per manufacture’s direction

Shredded Mozzarella or Parmesan for serving


Directions:

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. (I used this one.)

Add the sausage and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the peppers and onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 4-6 minutes.

While the peppers and onions are cooking, in a medium bowl add the tomato sauce, halved, tomatoes, basil, oregano, and fennel—mix until just combined. Once the peppers and onions are just tender, add the tomato mixture to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Uncover the mixture and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Pour the sausage, peppers, and tomato mixture over the cooked penne pasta. Top with mozzarella or parmesan cheese and serve!

Makes 6-8 servings

Source: a Food, Folks & Fun original!

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday, Menu Plan Monday , Skip to My Lou, Tip Me Tuesday, Today’s Creative Blog

Chicken Pie

Yum, yum, and YUM! This is some serious comfort food! I had never heard of chicken pie until an Oprah episode, so when I saw this recipe in Cook’s Country I knew I had to try it!

Mmm Hmm!

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I made this chicken pie for my hubby and he LOVED it—so much that while he was still in the process of eating it he asked “when are you making this again?” Luckily I had a hunch he’d love this pie so I made two of these pies at the same time and froze one for later! I really do suggest making two of these pies at a time and freezing one for later because this is a time consuming recipe, but when you make two at once, it only takes a few extra minutes.

Cook’s Note: If you do make two and freeze one for later, prepare the pie that is to be frozen up until it needs to go into the oven. Double wrap the pie in plastic wrap and then with foil. When you want to bake the pie, take it out of the freezer and allow it to come to room temperature before placing in the oven (I took mine out of the freezer in the morning and it was ready to be popped in the oven in time for dinner).

I get a lot of questions from readers about what kitchen equipment and specific ingredients I use in recipes. I will try to list any specific ingredients & specific/super helpful kitchen equipment before each recipe. I hope this helps! J

Here’s specific equipment and/or ingredients I used in this recipe:
9-inch Pie Plate
Adjustable Rolling Pin
Silicone Pastry Mat
Cook’s Country Magazine

My unbaked Pie

The finished product--so pretty!

Moravian Chicken Pie

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1/2 C sour cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
1-1/2 t salt
12 T cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

For the Filling:

2 (10- to 12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed and halved crosswise
3 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
Salt and pepper
1 T vegetable oil
3 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 T unsalted butter
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C half-and-half
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

For the Crust:

Stir together sour cream and egg in small bowl, set aside.

Process flour and salt in food processor briefly. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, and pulse until the butter is pea-sized.

Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture, half at a time, pulsing after each addition until combined. Mixture should start to form into a dough about 10 pulses after final addition.

Transfer to floured surface and knead briefly, just until dough comes together. Divide in two and form each half into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.

After chilling, remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator and let sit 10 minutes, then roll into 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to 9-inch pie plate.

Roll second disk of dough, and transfer to parchment-lined sheet. Cover both and return to refrigerator for 30 minutes.

For the Filling:

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until browned all over, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. Pour fat (you should have 2 tablespoons) into small bowl; reserve. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin. Add broth, chicken, and bay leaf to now-empty pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer chicken to bowl. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding bones. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer into second bowl and reserve (you should have about 2¾ cups); discard bay leaf.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450°F. Heat butter and reserved fat in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of reserved broth and half-and-half and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gravy until thickened and reduced to 1¾ cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine 1 cup gravy with shredded chicken; reserve remaining gravy for serving.

Transfer chicken mixture to dough-lined pie plate and spread into even layer. Top with second dough round, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Cut four 1-inch slits in top. Brush pie with egg and bake until top is light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let pie cool on wire rack for at least 45 minutes.

When ready to serve, bring remaining ¾ cup reserved gravy and remaining ¾ cup reserved broth to boil in medium saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve pie with gravy.

Source: Cook’s Country December 2011/January 2012 issue

 

I’m linking this post up at:

Metamorphosis Monday, Menu Plan Monday , Skip to My Lou, Tip Me Tuesday, Today’s Creative Blog

Berry Crisp

Back during my husband’s law school days in Washington, D.C., we lived in a part of Arlington, Virginia called Crystal City. We were within walking distance to 3 metros, the Mt. Vernon walking/biking/running trail that ran right along the Potomac River, about 50+ restaurants, a fantastic mall, grocery store, AND Costco (right after we moved a Nordstrom Rack opened up literally right across the street from our complex) and not to mention we were right across the river from DC! We absolutely LOVED living there and loved all the people we met through church, work, and school and we’d totally move back to the DC area in a heartbeat!

We lived in a high-rise apartment building that a lot of our friends from church also lived in which made it super convenient for social gatherings. We’d get together weekly with one group of friends to watch the epic TV show, Lost. As the weeks went on, our gatherings progressed into full-fledged parties with food, laughter, and fellowship. Our friends, the Tate’s, would host our Lost parties and Rebecca would consistently have the best treats for us to nosh on during commercial breaks, and this recipe is no exception! It is so easy to whip up and yet so delicious. I love how these frozen berries taste so fresh when baked up, and the topping is PER-FECT! There’s a lot of it and so tasty…I could seriously eat the topping by itself!

Cook’s Note: The frozen berry mix (blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries) from Costco works great for this recipe. Depending on how berry-rific you want the crisp to be, add between 6 to 8 cups of berries. I’ve made this crisp many times and I personally go for more berries, but it’s all up to your personal taste.

Perfect dessert for summer!

This is the berry blend I use from Costo.

Berry Crisp

Ingredients:

6 - 8 C frozen berry mix (I used the frozen berry mix from Costco)

1 T corn starch

2 C rolled oats (not the quick cooking)

1 C flour

1 C brown sugar

1 C butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place the frozen berries in a 9 x 13 Pyrex pan. Toss the berries with the corn starch to lightly coat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, make the topping by mixing together the oats, flour, brown sugar, and softened butter. I find my hands to be the best mixing tool for this step, but a wooden spoon will also work...it’ll just take longer.

Slightly crumble the topping over the berries and bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through cooking. The berry crumble is done when then topping is golden and the berry mixture nice and bubbly.

Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. This crisp is especially delicious served with a little bit of fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes 6-8 healthy-sized servings.

Source: My friend, Rebecca Tate

Thanksgiving Leftovers - Turkey Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles

This is a fantastic recipe to use up leftover turkey from thanksgiving. I made this recipe for our Sunday family dinner and everyone loved it. My dad said it was even better than his mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup! I don’t think “homemade” gets any better than noodle soup.

Thanksgiving Leftovers – Turkey Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles

For the Soup:

10 C chicken stock
1 t olive oil
1/2 onion diced
1-2 cloves of garlic diced finely
1 1/2 C of carrots diced
3 stalks of celery diced
1 bay leaf
Sea Salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 t dried thyme or basil
1 1/2 C cooked turkey diced

Sauté onions in olive oil until soft over medium-high heat, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic & cook for 30 seconds. Add broth & the remainder of ingredients. Cook over medium low heat for 1-2 hours.

For the Noodles:

2 C flour
3/4 t salt
1 egg
1/4 to 1/3 C milk

In mixing bowl combine flour, salt, egg and milk. Mix until you produce a slightly sticky ball of dough. Flour the counter and roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. You want them very thin because they thicken when cooked. Cut noodles (I use a pizza cutter) to desired size, separate the noodles and place on wax paper. Let the noodles dry out on the counter for at least 1 hour before adding them to the soup.

About 30 minutes before serving soup, drop noodles in and cook. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Source: Adapted from For the Love of Cooking