Sweet Italian Sausage Soup

Well where have you been?  I missed you!  Life projects have been all consuming, your still in my thoughts.  Want to see what has been accomplished in my absence?   Summer included dirt and digging.  We started with a blank slate and were able to get a great start on something beautiful.

Don't let him fool you...he looks cute but was sitting right in my newly watered and planted Snowberry and Ninebark bushes.

One of eight very cool, Oat Grass that are now home along side my driveway.

3 retaining walls, 6 trees, 28 bushes 112 perennials and approximately 15 yards of rock and dirt! Now do you accept my apology?!?!

Summer was an all consuming whirlwind of fun!  It will be missed.
Now that Fall is here though, my recipe resulted from excess of veggies and lack of heat, it is cold here already!  This One Dish Meal comes together very quickly, sub in your favorite veggies or use up what is still coming in fresh from your garden or local markets. 

Sweet Italian Sausage Soup
Print recipe here
1 package all-natural (5-6) Sweet Italian Sausage links
¼ C extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 C carrots, diced
1 C zucchini, diced
2 C  potatoes, diced
2 C kale, chopped small
2 C tomato, diced or 1-15 oz. can Muir Glen diced tomato
1 TB garlic, minced
1 TB dried oregano
1 TB dried basil
1-2 tsp celtic sea salt
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 C white wine
8 C low sodium chicken broth
parmesan or mozzarella for sprinkling

1.   Place sausage in a large pot, cover with water and place on stove.  Boil over medium high heat for 15 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove from heat, set aside the sausage to cool and drain water from pot.  Rinse pot and place back onto stove.

 

2.  Over medium high heat, cook the garlic onions, peppers and carrots in olive oil for 5 minutes. While that is cooking, peel the casing off the sausage and chop into bite size pieces.  

3.  Add the rest of the spices, zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes and sausage.  Saute for another 5 minutes.  Add wine and simmer two minutes.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat.  Turn down to simmer/ low, cover and let simmer 30-60 minutes.  

4.  When ready to serve, ladle into bowls, sprinkle with cheese and serve with fresh baked garlic focaccia.

Note: The soup seems a bit thin at first, potatoes will thicken up the soup base just enough after simmering. 


Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  Saved by the Egg Timer: Original

Pizza Burgers

Don't you love to be busy?  What would you be doing if you weren't?  We would all be sitting around hoping for something to do, that's what.  Even though it makes life hairy at times, frantic or just plain crazy.  Being busy is a great thing. 

To get you through the busy week here is a tasty, fast and easy weeknight meal.  Big hit throughout the dinner table.  Second helpings and thumbs up all around.  This is a meal that could easily go in the right or wrong direction and is why I have a passion for quality of ingredients.  Using naturally raised, nitrate free pork ensures your meat is not highly processed and loaded with harmful ingredients.  Chose a pizza sauce with no added sugars or corn syrups.  The cheese is a great way to provide calcium and healthy fats to your brain and skin.  Using real butter and no fake stuff here will add immune boosting healthy fats too!  And we all know that garlic is good for you and your *breath*.

Note:  This would be excellent on the grill!

Pizza Burgers
Print recipe here
2 pound ground Italian sausage, natural raised and nitrate free
8 ciabiatta or sourdough buns
1 C Muir Glen pizza sauce
8 slices mozzarella
½ C parmesan
3 TB unsalted butter
½ tsp garlic powder

1. Patty up the Italian sausage into ½ cup size burgers.

2. Cook patties over medium heat, 10 minute each side until golden crust on outside and no longer pink in the center.

3. Butter buns and sprinkle with garlic powder, layer each side of bun with 1 tablespoon pizza sauce, top one side with 1 tablespoon shredded parmesan, one side with a slice of mozzarella.

4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Broil buns a few minutes until cheese is bubbled and browned. Remove, add cooked sausage burgers and enjoy!

Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  Saved by the Egg Timer: Original

Linked up at:  33 Shades of Green

Loose Meat on Toasted Sourdough

Happy belated 4th of July everyone!  Has it really been 2 weeks since I have posted another recipe?!?!  Summer has been very good to us, but in turn not good to the recipe blog.  I am still cooking and creating in my new kitchen!  This summer we have also been busy landscaping, digging perennial and tree holes.  By the time I am done and continuously picking the dirt out of my nails, I have been just too plum-tuckered-out to type when I have a moment.
What have you been up to this summer???  Planting or gardening?  Watching evening baseball games?  Biking to the farmer's market?  Swimming at the lake?  Grilling?  That is just a few of my favorite summer things in MN....and happily taking up our time.

This meal is fast, filling, savory and healthy.  This recipe is a mix of loose meat, Sloppy Joe's and S.O.S.    Not using any flavor packets, preservatives or cheaply filled jars of over priced food here!  Real food, real healthy and real good.  We served ours over toasted Sourdough bread with a slice of pepper jack cheese under the meat.  Making for awesome and easy leftovers for lunch the next day.  Nothing super fancy, just good, nutritious food. 

Loose Meat on Toasted Sourdough
Print recipe here
2 pounds grass fed ground beef
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp celtic sea salt or to taste
½ tsp fresh ground back pepper
1 (about 1 C) red onion, chopped
1 (about 1 C) bell pepper, chopped
4 stalks (about 1 C) celery, chopped
1 15 oz can Muir Glen Tomato Sauce
2 C low sodium beef broth
¼ C raw honey
¼ C apple cider vinegar (with mother aka unfiltered or raw)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground mustard powder

1. Brown ground beef, garlic, salt and pepper in large skillet over medium high heat for 10 minutes, until almost cooked through. Add onion, peppers and celery. Saute another 5-10 minutes until beef is fully cooked and onions are slightly translucent.

2. Stir in the tomato sauce, broth, honey, vinegar, chili and mustard powder. Let come to a boil then turn the heat down to low and let simmer 30 minutes.

3. Serve over toasted Sourdough bread or buns. We serve ours S.O.S. style with a little pepper jack cheese under the meat.
 

Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa

Linked up at:  33 Shades of Green, Lady Behind the Curtain, The Healthy Home Economist

Lemon Herb Turkey Breast < Slow Cooker > and Caramelized Sugar Snap Peas

We have all heard of Christmas in July celebrations and store gimmicks?  Sure we have.
What about Thanksgiving?  Does it feel left out?  I officially mark June as Thanksgiving in June month.  Well the last 2 days of it at least...can you tell this was in the earlier month plans and got pushed back a bit? 

I found a great sale on a turkey breast and thought it would be perfect, needing to keep it summer fresh I combined this nice summer Thanksgiving in June dinner.  Leave your oven off,  no need to furnace your kitchen on a hot summer day!  This is a slow cooker meal and one pan.  Even the busiest of families can pull this one off in the middle of the week. The light, zesty flavors of the tender turkey is great for summer.  Use your fresh farmers market Sugar Snap Peas to combine a practically-perfect, seasonal-out-of-season dinner. 

Lemon Herb Turkey Breast < Slow Cooker >
Print recipe here
5-8 pound whole turkey breast (make sure it fits in your slow cooker!)
1 whole red onion
2 lemons
4 sprig fresh rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme, divided
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp celtic sea salt, divided
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper, divided
2 TB water
2 TB corn starch, non gmo is best

1. Peel and quarter a whole onion to place in the bottom of a larger sized slow cooker. Rinse and paper towel, pat dry your turkey breast, set turkey over top of the onions.

2. In a small dish, combine garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and ½ tsp thyme with a fork to make a paste. Rub inside the turkey cavity. Wash the outside of one lemon and place inside the turkey cavity. (Do not slice or cut this lemon, it will make your meat bitter) Place 2 sprigs of rosemary inside the cavity, one on each side. Place turkey breast side up.

3. Lift each side of the breast skin up enough to place 1 sprig of rosemary under each side, lay skin back down over the breast. Cut remaining lemon in half and juice over the top of the turkey, then zest the lemon over top of breast meat and discard remaining peel.  Sprinkle the top with remaining ½ teaspoon salt, ½ tsp pepper and ½ tsp thyme.

4. Turn slow cooker onto low and cook for 8-10 hours. Do not lift the lid until 8-10 hours is done! It will let out the heat, pressure and steam and result in a longer cooking time. When done cooking, turn off the slow cooker and lift lid to cool slightly before removing. Lift the turkey out carefully as it is very tender. Place onto a large plate or platter to cut or shred.

5. With a slotted spoon, scoop out remaining, turkey 'leave behinds' and onions.  Turn slow cooker to high.  Mix corn starch and water in a cup with a fork until smooth, pour and whisk into the slow cooker where juices remain. Cover and let thicken for 30 minutes, spoon over chicken and veggies when serving if desired, or simply skip the gravy steps to save turkey broth to flavor a later dish. 

Caramelized Sugar Snap Peas
Print recipe here
1 pound sugar snap peas
2 TB unsalted butter
2 TB minced shallots or onion
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp celtic sea salt

1. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add shallots and thyme, saute for 2 minutes. Pour in the sugar snap peas and toss for 5-7 minutes until golden and slightly caramelized on the outside but still slightly crunchy. Serve hot.



Practically-Perfect, Seasonal-out-of-season dinner...



Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from: Real Food, Allergy Free, and Allrecipes.

Linked up at: Real Food Wednesdays

Pulled Pork and Beans with Spanish Rice

Wishing everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day.  In the spirit of giving Mom's a break combining with the Mexican menu of last week, my gift to all the mom's is a terrific slow cooker recipe.  Versatile and simple with many possibilities or serve as shown. 
Are you like some I know and don't care for beans?  Simply leave them out.  No beer?  Use wine or chicken broth, etc.  Save yourself some time and a trip to the store...improvise...always improvise. 

Do you all remember the skit from In Living Color with Jim Carrey?  Pork and Beans!? 
I hope yours turns out better than his! 

Pulled Pork and Beans
Print recipe here

2 pound pork roast

1 can beer
½-1 whole red onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp celtic sea salt
½ tsp fresh cracked pepper
1- 15 oz can pinto beans, drained

1. Place all ingredients except beans into your slow cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

2. 1 hour before serving, shred pork with forks right in the casserole. Add the drained beans. Cook on low for remaining hour. Serve in tortillas, taco shells, over Spanish Rice, tostada shells, in a taco salad or plop on a bun with pepper jack cheese for a Mexican inspired 'samich.

Spanish Rice
Print recipe here
2 TB butter
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 C basmati rice
½ whole red or yellow onion, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
½ t ground chipotle, ancho or chili powder
1- 15 oz can tomato sauce (or a scant 2 cups)
1- 15 oz can low sodium chicken broth (or a scant 2 cups)
½ cup cilantro, chopped
½ of a lime, juiced

1. In a larger skillet, heat butter and garlic, saute 1 minute over medium heat. Add rice, onion and seasoning. Cook 5 minutes or until grains turn golden.

2. Stir in the tomato sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, over high heat, stirring frequently. Once boiling, turn heat to low. Cover and let simmer 25-30 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and let stand, covered for at least 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro, squeeze your ½ a lime over whole dish and serve.

Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  A Good Appetite

Linked up at : 33 Shades of Green and Traditional Tuesday

Green Chile Chicken Skillet and a 'How To'

I never need a special holiday like Cinco De Mayo to enjoy some (or a lot) of Mexican cuisine.  Mexican food is one of my top favorites.  This off-beat recipe packs huge flavors, quickly shooting up my list of favorite easy weeknight meals.  Serve over cooked basmati rice, in a tortilla or just plain covered in lots of salsa and guacamole.  Shhhh, don't tell anyone it is low carb or healthy because they will never suspect a thing....  Even if your not a huge fan of the cauliflower, I think you should give it a try.  You don't taste it in there at all, giving nutrition and texture to even the pickiest of palettes.

Green Chile Chicken Skillet
Print recipe here
2 TB unsalted butter
2 TB grapeseed oil
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 red onion, diced
1 head cauliflower, trimmed to florets
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
1 (14.5 oz) can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomato
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
green onions, chopped
cilantro
shredded cheese
salsa
guacamole
limes

1. "Rice" your cauliflower by placing the cauliflower florets in a food processor.  With an "S" blade, pulse until the florets become the size of rice grains. Set aside. (How To: located below this recipe)

2. Heat the butter, oil and garlic on medium-high for 1 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and saute for 8 minutes or until no longer pink through the center.

3. Turn down to medium heat, add the red onion and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add the “riced” cauliflower, green chilies, tomatoes, salt, oregano and cumin. Stirring frequently, cook another 10 minutes, until juices cook down and “rice” is cooked through.

5. Serve while hot, top with green onions, cilantro, cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole and a squirt of fresh lime. You can also serve this over steamed basmati rice or in a taco shell if desired.

How To: "Rice" Cauliflower
Print recipe here
1 head of cauliflowers, trimmed to florets
food processor with and “S” shaped blade

1. "Rice" your cauliflower by placing the cauliflower florets in a food processor. With an "S" blade, pulse until the florets become the size of rice grains. Set aside to use in your recipe.


Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  Elena's Pantry

Dublin Shepherd's Pie

Do you all have your Oxalis growing?  I swear mine knows the calender year even though it is an indoor plant.  The purple shamrock plant is blooming the second it hit March 1st!  It is my favorite plant, so pretty and the leaves close and open during the day if it is light or dark.  Around here, they only sell around St. Patrick's so if you like this, snatch one up now before they are gone.  A few years ago I missed it and had to wait a whole year for one, the next year I bought 2 and they have been in my kitchen ever since. 

Dublin Pie, Shepherd's Pie, Cottage Pie.  They all = good pie.  Enjoy, this is one of my new fave's. 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 

Dublin Shepherd’s Pie

Print recipe here

6 medium organic baking potatoes

½ C whole milk

1 stick (½ C) unsalted butter, melted

½ C Kerrygold Dubliner Aged Cheddar, shredded (any cheese will work here, even parmesan)

1 ½ lb grass fed ground beef

1 tsp garlic, minced

½ tsp celtic sea salt

¼ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp fresh cracked pepper

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

4 pieces leftover bacon, crumbled
1 bottle dark ale beer (like Guinness)
½ TB flour
Additional cheese for sprinkling over top

1. Loosely peel 6 potatoes, chop into 2 inch pieces. Place in a pot, cover with water and boil for 15 minutes on high heat, until very tender when pierced with a fork. Drain, add milk, butter and mash. Stir in cheese and set aside until ready to use.

2. Over medium high heat, brown the ground beef, garlic, salt, thyme and pepper. Add onion, saute 5 minutes. Add chopped green pepper and crumbled bacon, saute another 3 minutes. Pour in the whole bottle of beer and simmer for 5 minutes until there is about a ½ inch left at the bottom of pan. Sprinkle flour over ground beef mixture, stir in to coat and simmer another minute.

3. Pour the beef mixture into a greased glass pie pan or 2 quart baking dish. Plop the potatoes on top and spread evenly. Sprinkle with an additional 2-4 tablespoons Dubliner cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes. Remove and serve warm.

Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:  This is a combination of many recipes I read all over google, lol. 

Beef and Broccoli

Happy Chinese & Vietnamese New Year!  (including all other countries that celebrate this day too!)

My Chinese (year of the rabbit) New Year's Resolution will be:  to break you of the habit of bad Chinese take-out!  Not to be confused with good Chinese take-out.  There is a huge difference between the good, the bad and the very ugly of Chinese take-out.  I am sure you will agree.  Regardless, this will be the end of the road for the bad and very ugly for you. 

Go home and make your own very good Chinese take-out instead.  To make it more authentic, you are even allowed to eat on the coffee table in front of your television.

Let's start with a good basic.  This passes the test in my my house, not too hard either.  Once you get the steps down, it's just stirring everything in at the right time. 

Beef and Broccoli
Print recipe here
1 ½ lb. top sirloin or top round steak (Cut thin across grain)
2 heaping TB corn starch
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp. peanut oil
1 TB garlic, minced
¼ C water
¼ C soy sauce/ tamari
¼ C organic brown sugar
½ tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp chili garlic sauce (like this)
1 medium onion, sliced
1- 16 oz. bag frozen broccoli florets
¼ C peanut oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
fresh steamed jasmine rice

1. Slice meat thin (Kitchen Technique #7), put in bowl, sprinkle with cornstarch and mix in. Pour sesame oil over and mix to coat, set aside minimum of 10 minutes. This must be done first so the meat has time to tenderize with the starch.

2. Slice onion and set aside. Cook 1 whole bag of frozen broccoli for only half the cooking time on instruction, drain water and set aside. (If the bag states it will take 8 minutes to cook then only cook 4 minutes.)

3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in small sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant and golden. Add water, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger, stir until sugar dissolves and slight boil for 2 minutes. Take off heat and stir in chili garlic sauce. (This amount does not make it very spicy.  Add to your taste or can add more over dish when plated and served.) Set sauce aside until later.

4. Add ¼ cup peanut oil to large frying pan or wok on high heat, add 2 teaspoons minced garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant and golden. Add beef, stir fry until almost done and meat juices are coming out and thickening from corn starch. This time will depend on how thick you cut it. Add onion and broccoli, stir fry 2 minutes. Add sauce and stir fry 2 minutes, turn off heat and let bubble and thicken but careful not to overcook broccoli.

Serve over fresh steamed jasmine rice There will also be enough sauce for spooning over rice and trust me you will want to!  
 

良好的食物- Liánghǎo de shíwù,  meaning good food!

 

Today's recipes where brought to you by, inspired or adapted from:   Saved by the Egg Timer: Original