Spicy Chorizo Corn Chowder

This recipe was in a recent of Shape magazine and looked too good not to try. I subbed a chipotle chicken sausage for the chorizo and halved the corn for mine but really loved it! I love making something like this early in the week so I have yummy leftovers for lunch later on.

Ingredients:
1 med poblano pepper
1 T olive oil
1 link chorizo, diced (used chipotle chicken sausage)
1 med onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 1-lb bag frozen corn, defrosted (used 10oz bag)
1/2 t ground allspice
1 bay leaf
1 med tomato, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 t chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 12-oz can FF evaporated milk
1 c low sodium chicken stock
2 T chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. If you have a gas range, place poblano pepper directly on a burner grate over a medium flame. Turn with tongs until skin is blistered on all sides, wrap in foil, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes until cool enough to handle. Scrape off the ski with your fingers, then seed, dice, and set aside. Alternatively, cute pepper in half lengthwise, remove seeds and stem, place skin-side up on a broiler pan, and heat on high until completely charred; rap in foil and proceed as above.
2. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottom pot over medium. Add chorizo and cook for 5 minutes or until browned and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl or plate and set aside.
3. Add onion and celery to pot and cook for 5 minutes or until soft, making sure to scrape up and mix in any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
4. Meanwhile, put corn in a food processor and pulse 4 times or until half the kernels are chopped.
5. Add corn, allspice, and bay leaf to onion and celery mixture. cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add tomato and potato and cook for 3 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Add thyme, evaporated milk, and stock; mix to combine. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Mix in additional stock or water if soup seems too thick.
6. Stir in chorizo and poblano pepper; cook until heated through. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste; divide among four bowls and serve immediately.

serves 4. 366 calories, 11g fat, 53 carbs, 17g protein, 5g fiber, 281mg calcium, 2 mg iron, 371mg sodium

Sausage and Spinach Rice Bowls

I found this meal idea on Fabulously Delicious. It was easy, fast and super tasty. I ate it for I think 4 meals as leftovers over the next few days and still loved it! Sometimes I topped it with some shredded cheese too, which made it even better. Next time I want to try it with quinoa...I think it would be fab!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I brown rice, but I think I'll use quinoa next time)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. hot Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1/2 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms
(I added 1 14 oz can of artichokes, drained)
1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers (jarred or fresh)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and onion; cook, stirring to crumble sausage, until sausage is cooked through and onion is tender. Stir in garlic; cook 2 minutes more. Add mushrooms and peppers, stir to combine, then add spinach. Cook until spinach is just wilted. Stir in rice, mix well to combine and continue cooking until heated through.

Sourdough Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

This is the stuffing my mom brought to our Thanksgiving dinner and everyone loved it. I didn't personally get to try it, but Mike commented to me about really liking it and if it was good enough for him to do that, then it was GOOD! She found the recipe on Picky Palate and said the only change she would make is to use a little less bread the next time around.

Ingredients:
1 lb Sourdough Loaf, cubed
12 oz baked cornbread, cubed
14 Tablespoons butter (1  3/4 sticks)
1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 Cups)
1 bunch of celery, chopped (about 3 Cups)
3 large carrots, chopped (about 2 Cups)
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, chopped (about 1 1/4 Cups)
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 1/2 Cups chicken broth
1/2 Cup fresh chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme (or 1 T fresh)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 lb Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.   Place cubed sourdough and cornbread onto a large jellyroll baking sheet.  Bake for 25 minutes, until lightly toasted.  Remove from oven.
2.  Melt butter into a large dutch oven or large rimmed skillet over medium heat.  Saute onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms for about 10 minutes or until veggies turn tender.  Stir in garlic and cook for another minute then pour in chicken broth, parsley, rosemary, sage,  thyme, salt and pepper.  Stir and reduce heat to low to simmer.
3.  Brown sausage in skillet, drain if necessary then add to vegetable mixture.  Place bread cubes into a large bowl and slowly pour mixture over cubes gently stirring throughout to ensure all pieces get coated.  Taste a couple pieces and season with additional salt and pepper according to taste.  I added a few more pinches of kosher salt and pepper at this point.
4.  Divide stuffing into a 9×13 inch baking dish and a 11×7 inch baking dish.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until just golden brown on top.  Should still be nice and moist.  Remove from oven and serve!
12 servings, each dish

Crock Pot Sausage Pasta Sauce

Hooray for another crock meal! I found this recipe on Gina's Skinny Taste, which I found out about from The Daily Dish...I love the new discovery of awesome recipe blogs! This recipe had a lot of things going for it...the crock pot, 4 ingredients, kid friendly, and of course yummy too. We had this on Sunday and it was such a perfect meal because it was super fast to throw in the crock pot before church and then was already to eat when we got home. I ate mine over gluten-free penne pasta and the rest of the family had it over spaghetti noodles.


Ingredients:
* 1 lb lean chicken Italian sausage, casings removed (I couldn't find these so I just used Italian turkey sausage)
* 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
* 5 cloves garlic, smashed
* 28 oz tuttorosso crushed tomatoes (my store didn't have this brand, so I used the store brand)
* fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
Brown the sausage in a large skillet, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon. When sausage is browned, drain if needed and add to crock pot.
Clean skillet with a paper towel and set flame to high; when hot add oil. Add garlic and cook until golden but do not burn; add tomatoes and garlic to crock pot along with fresh cracked pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
If you wish, take an immersion blender and blend the sauce a 2-3 seconds to break the sausage up into smaller pieces to combine with the sauce.

Italian Sausage and Potato Roast

This recipe was in a recent issue of All You magazine and it looked easy and yummy and not too bad for...especially when you use turkey sausage instead like we did. I love roasted EVERYTHING :-) and this hit the spot!

Ingredients:
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1/2 sweet onion, sliced
3/4 lb. red potatoes, cut in quarters
1 T olive oil
1/4 t dried oregano
1 t garlic salt
pepper
1 lb. Italian sausage cut into chunks (I used a 14 oz turkey sausage)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and mist with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, toss peppers, onion and potatoes with olive oil, oregano, garlic salt and pepper. Spread vegetables on baking sheet.
Distribute sausage chunks among vegetables. Roast until veggies begin to caramelize and sausages are cooked through, about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice during baking.

Chorizo and Fried Egg Sandwiches

Do I really need to say anything about that sandwich?! It was delicious!!! An awesome combination of flavors and a great break from our standard dinner. The girls even ate the egg on theirs (and they are weird about eggs lately). I ate mine on ricecakes and still loved it :-)! Oh, and This recipe is one from Rachael Ray.

Ingredients:
* 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
* 1 large tomato, chopped
* 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
* 1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* Juice of 1/2 lime
* Salt and pepper
* 12 ounces fresh chorizo, divided into 4 patties
* 4 eggs
* 4 ciabatta or french-style rolls, split and toasted

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and the lime juice; season with salt.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the sausage patties, turning once, for 5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet, then fry the eggs; season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide the avocado salad among the roll bottoms. Layer with the sausage patties, fried eggs and the roll tops; serve at once.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

(this pic courtesy of Favorite Family Recipes, it's much better than the one I took!)

I have only eaten at Olive Garden a handful of times and have never tried this soup there so although I can't vouch for how similar it is to the orginal, I can tell you it is DELICIOUS! When I saw the recipe on Favorite Family Recipes The ingredients sounded intriguing and I am always up for a new soup recipe. I'm so glad I tried it! I loved it and even my husband, who is a soup skeptic, loved it.

Ingredients:
3 cans (14oz) Chicken Broth
2 cups whipping cream (I used 1 cup cream, 1 cup whole milk)
red pepper flakes (to taste) (I left out since I used spicy sausage)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 small onion, diced, sauteed
1/2 pkg. bacon (cooked and crumbled)
4-5 cups chopped kale
3 to 4 potatoes scrubbed and cut into slices or small chunks (skins left on) (I used red onions)
1 lb Johnsonville mild Italian sausage (shaped into small rounds, browned, and put on paper towels to de-grease... or if you are in a rush, just brown the sausage like you would ground beef). (I used 2 small links spicy Italian sausage)

Directions:
Put everything together in a large crockpot and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. (they suggested not putting the potatoes in until the last 40-60 minutes, but I put mine in at the beginning and was glad I did...they took awhile to cook)

Spicy Sausage Sheperd's Pie

I've been seeing all kinds of interesting twists on shepherd's pie recently and I love it! This one was in the last issue of Rachael Ray and I was drawn to it because they had a pretty picture and by looking at the ingredients I knew Mike would like it (and I do try to pick one thing a week that I know for sure he will be excited about :-). We both LOVED this...the kids not so much. The spicy sausage and cabbage combined to create a great flavor that was both surprising and delicious. The other great thing was that you don't have to bake it (just broil it a few minutes) so it keeps your kitchen relatively cool in the summer. Definitely a keeper!

Ingredients:
* 8 baking potatoes (2 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used red with skins on)
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 6 tablespoons heavy cream (I used whole milk)
* Salt and pepper
* 1 pound hot italian sausage, casings removed
* 1/2 head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
* 1 tablespoon jarred horseradish
* 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat the broiler. In a pot, combine the potatoes and enough salted water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and cook until fork-tender, about 10 minutes; drain. Mash in 1/2 cup chicken broth and the cream; season with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, ovenproof skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes; using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a bowl. Add the cabbage, onion and garlic to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and the horseradish. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked sausage and the parsley, reserving 1 teaspoon for sprinkling.
3. Spoon the mashed potatoes onto the sausage mixture and broil until the potatoes are golden, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the reserved parsley.

Diane's Lasagna

Aren't family recipes THE best?! Tried and true and tasty. This is Mike's mom's lasagna recipe and it was Delicious...my first ever lasanga attempt was a success! It makes A LOT of lasagna though, so be prepared. I used 3 separate 8x8 dishes, which worked out well for me (1 for Mike and the girls, 1 to share with a friend, and 1 using gluten free Penne noodles for me and Preston). If you don't have a humongo dish, I think a 9x13 and an 8x8 would do the trick.
Ingredients/Directions:

*Boil water for 1 lb pkg lasagna pasta noodles and cook as directed.

3/4 lb hamburger
3/4 lb Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 Tbsp dry basil leaves
2-3 Tbsp dry oregano leaves
1/2 bell pepper, chopped (I didn't have one on hand)
salt and pepper
*Mix all of the above and fry in a pan. Break up meat as it cooks so there aren't big chunks.

*Add:
10 large fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 pkgs spaghetti seasoning mix, Lawry's original is best (didn't have it at my store)
add the amount of water the seasoning mixes call for
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
1 28oz can diced tomatoes (I used 2 14 oz cans w/ garlic and onion in them)

*Simmer 20 minutes, stir occasionally
16oz cheddar cheese, grated
16oz mozzarella cheese, grated
24oz cottage cheese

*Assembly:
-Spread some meat sauce in bottom of pan to prevent noodles from sticking
-Cover the meat sauce on the bottom of the pan with a single layer of noodles
-spread half of meat sauce over pasta
-add another layer of pasta
-spread all of cottage cheese on pasta, sprinkle half of both cheeses over it
-add another layer of pasta
-spread remaining sauce and sprinkle remaining cheese on top

*Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes, until hot in center.

Baked Potato Eggs

When I saw a link to this recipe (from Real Simple) on Cassie Craves, I knew I had to try it. It's like a little breakfast casserole right inside a potato :-). Ella and I were definitely fans! You could mix it up with all kinds of substitutions or add-ins too. I want to use ham and green onions next time! I'll probably scramble the egg up a bit too...it won't be as pretty, but I think it would taste even better.

Ingredients:
2 large baking potatoes (I used 6 medium potatoes)
2 tablespoons butter
(I added 3 T FF sour cream)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
(I added 1/4 c grated cheddar cheese)
2 precooked turkey sausages, diced (I used a little 8 pack)
4 large eggs (I used 6, one for each potato)

Directions:
I baked potatoes according to these directions.
Then...
Carefully cut each potato in half. (I didn't notice this, so I just cut a slit on the top, with bigger potatoes cutting in half would be better though)
Scoop out the insides and stir in the butter and cheese. Fold in the sausages.
Spoon the mixture back into the potato halves, creating a hollow in each center.
Break 1 egg into each hollow.
Arrange on a baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until set. (mine too about 20 minutes to set, but scrambling them periodically next time will help them cook faster)

Lentil and Sausage Soup

It may not look good, but it was great :-)! I saw this recipe (from For the Love of Cooking) on Sarah's blog and thought it sounded great. I haven't used lentils in awhile and was excited for a warm soup on these chilly days. The soup was SOOO good! Ella even asked for seconds and Mike said that he liked it too. Addie ate hers, which is a feat in itself right now. It made tons too...two meals worth.

Ingredients:
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes (I used roasted garlic tomatoes)
4 chicken and herb sausages, quartered and diced
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf
8 cups of chicken broth
3 cups of prepared lentils
Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. (I just used a regular pot and made it on the stove)
Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Add the carrots, celery, sausage, garlic, tomatoes, sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper; stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, lentils and bay leaf, stir then cover and simmer for 1-2 hours.
Remove the bay leaf then blend the soup for 30 seconds with an immersion blender, to make the soup a bit thicker; make sure you don't blend too long. (I just put half of it in my regular blender)
Add the fresh chopped parsley to the soup and serve.

Corn and Kielbasa Chowder

Heaven! Thank you Rachael Ray, I LOVED it! I kind of doubled it (see notes below) so I could serve it for lunch with a friend and for dinner that night too. Even Mike said it was good and he is not a soup fan...I think the sausage made it manly enough for him :-). Yum, Yum, Yum!!!

Ingredients:
* 8 ounces kielbasa, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (used 16 oz)
* 2 onions, finely chopped
* 1 tablespoon butter
* One 14.5-ounce can chicken broth (used 2 cans)
* 1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (used 2)
* 1 cup half-and-half (used 2)
* One 1-pound bag frozen corn, thawed
* Salt and pepper
* Chopped fresh dill, for garnish (didn't have...still good)

Directions:
1. Heat a deep skillet or a wide 4- to 6-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the kielbasa and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add the onions and butter to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the broth and potato and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer until the potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the half-and-half and corn and cook, stirring, until heated through.
3. Using a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup chowder until smooth. Stir the puree back into the chowder along with the browned kielbasa and season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the dill.

Weekend Breakfast Bake

Recipe and photo by Real Mom Kitchen

I brought this new breakfast casserole and our family favorite, Southwestern quiche, to our Christmas morning brunch. Real Mom kitchen had a lot of different breakfast dishes posted but I went with this one because there was no bread involved, and it was a great success! Everyone loved it and it was super easy to make too!

Ingredients:
12 oz. pork sausage
1/3 cup chopped onion
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese (I used 1/2 MJ and 1/2 cheddar)
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (I used 98%FF)

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
Combine eggs and soup; pour over cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Creamy Minestrone Soup (Freezer Meal)

Man, have my freezer meals come in handy lately! Jana made this one for the last swap I participated in, using a recipe she found on All Recipes as a guide. It was SOOO good! Even Mike, who was not excited when he saw we were having soup for dinner, gave it his stamp of approval :-).

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or Ground Sausage or both
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
4 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
4 (15 ounce) cans mixed vegetables, with liquid (Jana used fresh cut-up vegetables)
2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, with liquid
2 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes,with liquid
1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
4 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained
4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:
1. In a large stock pot over medium heat, stir and cook onions in butter until soft. Add ground beef/Sausage and cook until browned. Add broth, mixed vegetables, kidney beans, tomatoes, spinach, and tomato paste; simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours.
2. Using a slotted spoon, remove about half of the vegetables to a blender or food processor, reserving liquid in stock pot. Puree the vegetables until smooth and return them to stock pot. (Jana did not puree - she left the vegetables chunky and I agree - loved it with the chunky veggies)
3. Stir in garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, basil, macaroni, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, garbanzo beans, and heavy cream; cook for 1/2 hour, stirring frequently. Pour into bowls and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.

Sweet Bacon Wrapped Lit'l Smokies

(Hooray for a new picture...I just made these myself)

Amy brought these tasty little guys to my baby shower. They are ALWAYS a crowd pleaser and they are SOOO easy to make!

Ingredients:
-Lit'l Smokies
-bacon
-brown sugar

Directions:
-Wrap 1/3 piece bacon around each lit'l smokie, using a toothpick to hold in place.
-Sprinkle with brown sugar (Amy said she uses 3/4 lb) and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Sausage and Potatoes

This recipe idea comes from Taste Buds and was really easy and super tasty! She suggested boiling the potatoes a little before cooking them with the onions and I forgot I started them boiling, so mine were pretty much ready to mash when I cooked them. It still tasted delish...just turned out more like a hash than intended. We all loved this one!!!

Ingredients:
3 t olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 med red potatoes, chopped (I love potatoes so I used 6 and will probably use even more next time)
16 oz light sausage link, sliced in 1/2 in pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper
parsley, chopped (I used about 2 T)

Directions:
Heat olive oil in pan over med heat.
Add potatoes & onions and season with salt & pepper.
Cook over med heat (stirring frequently) until potatoes are tender & browned.
Add garlic and sausage & cook until sausage is browned a little.
Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

(another picture from when I made the potatoes the right way....)

Mom's Overnight Egg Bake

This is the last recipe from Christmas I have to post. I actually made it for us for dinner last night because I had coupons for croutons and sausage and Mike really likes it. Thanks for the recipe Mom :-)!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups Seasoned Croutons (1 normal sized box)
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Jimmy Dean Sausage Roll (we like spicy)
8 Eggs
3 Cups Milk, divided
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (I used 98% FF)

Ingredients:
Grease 9 X 13 inch pan. Layer Croutons, cheese and cooked, drained sausage. Beat eggs and 2 1/2 cups milk. Pour over ingredients. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, Mix mushroom soup and remaining 1/2 cup milk. Pour over eggs. Bake, uncovered, at 300 degrees 1 1/2 hours, until brown.

Black-Eyed Pea Jambalaya

Sorry for the lack of posts this week - I haven't felt like cooking much. But today Mckell made this for us for lunch and it was DELICIOUS!!!!

Ingredients:
2 cans Trappey's black-eyed peas with Jalapenos (undrained)
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1 med. onion, chopped
1 can beef broth
1/2 c. butter (we put in 1/4 c.)
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut in pieces
Chopped garlic, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Fry sausage pieces. When almost done, saute onion & garlic.
Combine the black eye peas, rice, onions, beef broth, butter, and sausage in electric rice cooker. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
Cook according to the instructions on the rice cooker.
Gently stir once when cooker reaches the warm mode.

Liz's Red Beans and Rice

This recipe is passed on from one of my old college roommates, Liz. It was delicious!!!

Ingredients:
1 – 16 oz. package of Kielbasa cut into ¼ inch slices (any sausage would do)
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 – 15 oz. cans red beans, drained (we used light red Kidney beans)
1 – 16 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained (per her suggestion we used Rotel for some spice)
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. pepper and salt
cooked rice

Directions:
While rice is cooking, in large skillet cook sausage over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes.
Stir in onion, green pepper, and garlic. Sauté until tender.
Pour in beans and tomatoes. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper.
Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes serve over rice.

Optional garnish from Liz: "We always have limes in our fridge, so once when we made this we squeezed a lime wedge on it and it was really good. Now we do it all the time!"

Roasted Italian Sausages with Tomatoes and White Beans

Mike is actually the one who discovered this recipe in our USA Weekend newspaper insert. I agreed that it looked pretty good so we gave it a try and we all LOVED it!!!
(I cut everything in half for our little family)

Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 lbs. sweet Italian sausage links, cut into 2-3 inch pieces (I used a Pecan smoked garlic sausage because I couldn't find it)
- 3 pints cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium onion, cute into 1 inch chunks
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 T. balsamic vinegar
- 2 t. dried thyme leaves
- 2 whole bay leaves
- salt and pepper
- 3 (16 oz) cans white beans, such as cannellini, drained, with 1/2 c. liquid reserved (I used Great Northern beans)

Directions:
- adjust oven rack to lowest position and, 5 minutes before you are ready to put the food in, turn on oven to 425 degrees.
- Mix everything but beans and their reserved liquid in a roasting pan. Set pan in oven. Roast until sausages are brown and tomatoes have reduced to a thick sauce, about 45 min.
- Remove from oven, stir in beans and reserved liquid, and continue cooking until casserole has heated through, about 10 minutes longer.
- Remove bay leaves and transfer to a large serving bowl.
(We served it over brown rice)