Italian Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes

My Old School Italian Husband was reminiscing the other day about a dish his Mom used to make.  I was lucky enough to have her teach me many of her recipes but she hadn't mentioned this one.  It was Italian Sausage baked with onions, peppers and potatoes.  Now, my husband does not cook.  He had no idea how she made it.  He did his best to describe it to me and I gave it a shot.  Here's what I did:

ITALIAN SAUSAGE, PEPPERS AND POTAOES

1 lb Italian sausage
1 onion
1 bell pepper
5 medium sized potatoes
oil
salt/pepper
fresh Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and dry the potatoes.  Cut into medium sized chunks.  Place on a large baking sheet with sides.  Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Stir well.  Arrange in a single layer.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the onion and bell pepper into medium sized chunks. 

Then cut each sausage link into 3 pieces.

After 30 minutes in the oven, remove the potatoes and stir them.

Add the sausage, onions and peppers.

Drizzle with a little more oil and season with a little more salt and pepper (not too much, the sausage is already salty).

Return to the oven and bake another 30 minutes or until sausage is cooked through.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.

That's it.  It was so easy, I expected my husband to say it wasn't the same.  But he didn't.  He said it was great and tasted just like his Mom's.  He was happy, which made me happy.  My kiddos loved it, too.  Everyone happy with an easy to make supper?  This one's a keeper, for sure!

Italian Stuffed Vidalia Onions

Hi everyone!  It's been a while.  Sorry.  We are still dealing with the aftermath of all the flooding here.  My parents are living with us because they lost their home, so we've been helping them with all the issues that follow a disaster (dealing with FEMA and insurance adjustors, etc).  Not fun.  The worst part is watching my Mama grieve for family treasures that were washed away.  Not expensive things.  Irreplaceable things, like her Mama's Bible and the kids' baby blankets.  It's rough.  But, life does go on even when we think it can't possibly.  There's is just one of thousands of stories of  Louisiana families who have lost everything.  Please keep these good folks in your prayers.

Now, let's talk about food.

This stuffed onion recipe is fantastic!  I use sweet Vidalia onions, but you can use any onion.  (Though, sweet onions are the best!)


ITALIAN STUFFED VIDALIA ONIONS

3-4 Vidalia onions (I used 3)
1/2 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning
Mozzarella cheese (I like whole milk, but you can use shredded)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the onions.  Cut the very ends off so they will sit flat.

Then, cut them in half across the middle.

Scoop out the middle of each onion with a spoon.

You want to remove enough to have room for the stuffing but not so much that they won't hold up when baked.  They should look like this:

Place a small bit of onion in the bottom to cover up the hole.

Now, take all those pieces of onion you removed and chop them up.

Brown the ground beef and sausage with the chopped onions and the garlic.

Once browned, you want to drain the excess grease.  Here's a tip:  I place a colander on top of a bowl then scrape all of the beef mixture into the colander.  Let it sit for a few minutes and the grease will drain away into the bowl underneath.

Place the drained beef mixture back in the pot and add the can of diced tomatoes (including the juice).

Season to taste with salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.

If you are using block cheese, cut into small cubes (I use 8 small cubes per onion.  You can use less if you like).

Place the onions in a baking dish then add 4 cubes of cheese to the bottom of each onion.  If you are using shredded cheese, just sprinkle some in.

Next, spoon some of the beef mixture into each onion.

Then, add 4 more cubes of cheese on top (or sprinkle the shredded cheese on top).

Finally, sprinkle a little grated Parmesan cheese on top of each.

Lightly grease a sheet of foil (or spray with cooking spray) so it won't stick to the cheese.

Cover the baking dish with the foil (greased side down).  Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  Then, remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes more.

These came out awesome!  Taste a little like pizza!  They were soft and sweet with a little spice from the sausage, so good!  

 You need to make these tonight!  Seriously.  You won't be sorry.

Skillet Lasagna

Lasagna is the ultimate comfort food.  Everyone loves it.  How could you not?  Meat, good.  Sauce, good.  Pasta, good.  Cheese, good.  Put it all together, great!  The only bad thing about lasagna is that it's a lot of work to make.  The prep time is pretty long, not to mention the time it takes to bake in the oven.  So, I like to make skillet lasagna.  You get all those great flavors, but it takes a fraction of the time to make.

SKILLET LASAGNA

1 link Italian sausage, casing removed
1 lb ground beef
1/2 an onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce (any spaghetti sauce you like)
1/2 cup water
1 TBS sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (shredded or cut into small cubes)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb Rotini pasta (the curly springs)
salt/pepper
a few leaves of fresh basil

First, put a big pot of water on to boil.  That way it will be ready when you want to cook the pasta.

Remove the casing from the sausage link (just cut it lengthwise and pull the casing off).  In a big skillet, brown the ground beef and the sausage with the onion and garlic.  Use your spoon to break up the ground beef and sausage while it browns.  Season with salt and pepper.  Once it's browned, drain off excess grease.

Add the sauce, water and sugar.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  It will reduce and thicken a bit.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente (that just means not too mushy; it should still have a little bite to it).  I use Rotini because the curly springs remind me of the curly ends of lasagna noodles.


Stir the ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses into the meat sauce until well mixed.

Add the drained, hot pasta to the meat sauce and stir gently to mix.

Tear the fresh basil leaves into small pieces.  Garnish the skillet lasagna with the torn fresh basil.

See how easy that was?  And fast, too.  You could totally make this on a busy weeknight.  It's even faster than a frozen lasagna!  Plus, it makes a ton.  I fed my family of 4 plus two friends and still had leftovers!  This one's a winner.  Enjoy!

Italian Sausage Gravy with Rigatoni

OK, what do you call the red stuff you pour over pasta?  Sauce or gravy?  I say sauce, my Old School Italian Husband says gravy.  To me (a Cajun girl from the river), gravy is brown and is served over rice.  But, my husband's Italian family swears it's gravy.  So for the sake of argument (or the sake of not arguing), let's call it gravy.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE GRAVY WITH RIGATONI

2 TBS olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1/2 an onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chicken broth (or water)
1 1/4 cup water
1 lb rigatoni


Cut Italian sausage links into 4 pieces each.

Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Brown sausage on all sides.

Remove the sausage to a plate and set aside.  Drain off excess oil.  Deglace the pan with 1/4 cup broth (or water).  All that means is that you add the broth to the hot pan and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the onions and garlic and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, 1 1/4 cups water, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, Parmesan cheese and sugar.  Bring to a boil.

Return the sausage to the pot.

Reduce to a simmer.  Simmer until the sausage is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook rigatoni.  A note about cooking pasta:  make sure you use enough water.  If not, the pasta will be too starchy and stick together.  You need at least 4 quarts of water per pound of pasta, if you have a big enough pot use 6 quarts of water.  Also, salt the water well.  This is the only chance you get to season the pasta.  But, add the salt once the water is boiling.  If you add it before, it takes the water much longer to come to a boil.

Serve the sauce with the rigatoni.

This is a hearty, delicious gravy (sauce).  It's easy to make and tastes way better than anything you get in a jar!  Plus, it is very easy to double if you're feeding a crowd.  It tastes even better leftover.  You can use it as a pizza sauce or put it in a calzone with some cheese.  Give this one a try.  You won't be sorry.