sausage frittata.

this was our general conference breakfast on sunday. i didn't have a non-stick skillet, so it took lots of elbow grease to scrub the remains out of my pan, but it was worth it :)

ingredients:

1/2- 1 lb ground pork sausage

2 cups cubed cooked red potatoes (i used frozen hash browns bc i was lazy)

8 eggs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato

2 green onions, thinly sliced

directions:

cook sausage in large non-stick skillet over medium heat 4-5 minutes or until hot. stir in potatoes. beat eggs, cheese, salt & pepper in a large bowl with wire whisk. pour over sausage mixture. cook over medium-high heat 2 minutes, occasionally lifting edge with spatula and tilting skillet to allow uncooked egg to flow underneath. (do not stir.) reduce heat to medium-low; cover. cook 14-17 minutes or until eggs are set. top with tomato and onions. cut into 8 wedges to serve.

[Cook Challenge: Fruits of Your Labors] Chicken Sausage Vegatable Pasta Primavera

This recipe comes from one of my favorite food blogs (other than this one) it's called real mom kitchen. She (Laura) has amazing recipes most of which are pretty simple to throw together. We are not huge vegetable eaters in this house, and this recipe is full of them. But this is by far one of my husbands new favorites and the only thing he has requested. The picture above is before you put it in the oven, and I don't have an after because we were starving! But here is the link to the original recipe. Her blog is definitely worth checking out. So delicious! And it most definitely falls under the cook challenge, since almost all the vegetables were grown from a garden.

• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, quartered (I left these out since we are not big mushroom fans)
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (I have also used a can of diced tomatoes; Italian style)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium red or yellow pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 (12 oz.) package Johnsonville Three Cheese Italian Style Chicken Sausage, slice at an angle (I used polska kielbasa sausage)
• 12 oz. linguine, uncooked

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, and bell pepper in a shallow baking pan.  Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper; toss to coat.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lightly brown; stir occasionally.
4. In the meantime, cook linguine according to package directions and drain.
5. After vegetables are soft, sprinkle sausage on top of vegetables and bake 5 more minutes or until sausage is heated.
6. Toss cooked pasta with the vegetable/sausage mixture,  sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. 

{freezer} breakfast burritos.

{yet another less than spectacular picture, but you get the idea.}

what i love about this is... it's easy. you can freeze it and have it for breakfast. or lunch or dinner. you can top it with your favorite mexican toppings. and it's gooood. i had one for dinner last night and for lunch today... yum!

ingredients:
12 eggs, scrambled
1 package sausage {i used a roll of jimmy dean pork sausage}
1/2 onion, diced
1 30-oz bag frozen hash browns
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 4-oz can diced green chiles {optional}
tortillas
salt & pepper

directions:
brown sausage with onions. set aside in a large bowl. in same pan, cook eggs. salt & pepper to taste. put into bowl with sausage. add hash browns, cheese, and green chiles. mix until all combined. soften tortillas in microwave. fill tortillas with desired amount of deliciousness, roll burrito style, and wrap in plastic wrap or eat immediately. heat frozen burritos 2 minutes in the microwave. top with all your favorites!

makes 14+ depending on how fat you make them.

Tortellini Soup

Thank you Katie Rammell for this wonderful recipe in our cookbook.  This soup is one of my favorites!  Plus I just LOVE tortellini.

ingredients

1 lb ground italian sausage

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

3 cups beef broth

1/2 cup water

2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 14oz can diced tomatoes)

3 large carrots, sliced

1 T oregano

1 3/4 c tomato paste

1 t parsley

1 bay leaf

1-2 zucchini, sliced

1 10-oz pkg. tortellini (I buy the frozen kind, with cheese inside!)

instructions
Brown sausage and drain.  Saute onion and garlic.  Add everything but zucchini and tortellini.  Simmer for a couple hours.  Add zucchini and tortellini 45 mins before serving.

Sausage Fondue

I am a HUGE breakfast fan and this is one of my favorite recipes. SOOOOO good!

10 slices of bread, cubed (crust cut off)
2 cups grated American cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 lbs link sausages cut into fifths
2 1/4 cups milk
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk

Place cubed bread in a 9x13 baking dish. Top with grated cheese. Brown pieces of sausage; drain. Place cooked sausage on cheese. Beat eggs with 2 1/4 cups milk and dry mustard, then pour over the mixture and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, add 1/2 cup milk to mushroom soup. Pour over mixture and bake at 300* for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until done.

Catenzaro Italian Spaghetti & Sausage

Here it is. The coveted Catenzaro spaghetti. This is the real deal. My husband's grandfather brought this recipe with him from Italy and it is a Catenzaro family favorite, requested by many. I'll be shot and hanged for posting the recipe, so you better appreciate what I'm doing for you. Just kidding. :)

Don't be surprised by how easy the recipe is, and how few ingredients there are. In speaking with people who have lived in Italy (I'm not one of the lucky ones), American-Italian food is much different from real authentic Italian food. Americans may call real Italian food 'bland.' However, do not fret. This spaghetti is scrumptious. Enjoy!


Steps:

ingredients

1 pkg (or 2!) Granato's Hot Italian Style sausage (imported from Italy)

12 oz tomato paste

2 cans tomato sauce + 1-2 cans water

1 can diced tomatoes
1.5-2 pkgs of spaghetti noodles

instructions

Preheat oven to 190.

Brown sausage links in a skillet. Do not cook, just brown. Remove browned sausage links from skillet and slice 1-2 inches in thickness (see pic). Add to dutch oven. Add tomato paste, sauce (+ water), and diced tomatoes. Stir. Place dutch oven in 190 degree oven. Cook for 4-5 hours.

Add cooked noodles. Serve with hot garlic bread. Mmmm.