MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - SUMMER SAUSAGE AND PASTA SALAD

Another old one made first in July 2011. Once again, I haven't put together any new recipes this week but as I wouldn't mind making this again, I thought I could add it here for you to take a look. 

The weather returned to the low 90s again. It's not letting go of us just yet. I am looking forward to Fall now, always am at this time of the year. I hope by now the weather has been kinder in your part of the world. I have been hearing horrendous stories and am keeping fingers crossed for all of you out there. 

I had been browsing through food blogs online. Unfortunately, the links are no longer available, so there is nothing for you to look up today. At the time I wrote that "this was one of the most flavorful and delicious pasta dishes I have ever had, and you've just about got everything you need in one pot." 

Now to what I wrote in 2011.

You will need a very large pot or mixing bowl to mix all the ingredients. I ended up using the largest stockpot I had and when Gregg came home and saw how much I had made, he asked me which army was coming for dinner! I probably should have made half the recipe, there being only the two of us, but I don't do anything by halves apparently. It was nice to be able to take various friends an evening meal the next day, and they seemed to enjoy it too.  We still had enough for several meals and in the end, I decided to freeze some as an experiment. It thawed out quite nicely and we enjoyed it again a couple of weeks later. You can make it the day before so that the flavors have time to work their magic.

1 16 oz. jar of Zesty Italian Dressing

1 lb. box of Rotelle pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed (I used elbow macaroni because I had a box already in the pantry)

1 medium yellow onion

8 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced

16 oz. package CoJack cheese, cubed (see note below)

16 oz. tube summer sausage, cubed

3 13.75 ozs. quartered artichokes, drained

2 6.5 ozs. cans pitted black olives, drained

2 8.5 ozs. jars julienned sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I forgot to buy fresh Parmesan cheese and used the kind that you keep in your fridge in the green container)

Mix all ingredients well and allow to marinate overnight. You can play around with the ingredients to suit your own taste. Fortunately, we liked everything used.

I would definitely make this again. It would be a great dish to take along to a potluck. Gregg actually had three helpings. He has seconds sometimes but rarely thirds. 

Because I take note of such things, I calculated all the calorie item by item. One cup was approximately 300 calories.

I am not sure if this particular cheese is made overseas, but it looks like this. 

Co-jack is short for Colby-Jack, an American semi-hard marble cheese made by blending orange Colby curd and white Monterey Jack curd together. I know there are other wonderful and delicious cheeses around the world that you can substitute this for. 

That's about all but if there is anything I didn't make clear, let me know in the comment section and I will do my best to answer.

Thanks for looking, have a great week 

and...

MARRY ME ITALIAN SAUSAGE PASTA

It was the interesting title that made me take note, and it certainly was a scrumptious meal. I don’t know much about wines but when wine is called for in a recipe, I usually have a glass at the table. This was the one we tried.

I looked this up on Google to accurately describe this Dry Riesling. It said "it is a crisp, aromatic and mineral-driven white wine from Washington's Columbia Valley, renowned for its bright acidity and excellent balance. It features prominent notes of green apple, lime zest, jasmine and white peach, often with a hint of white pepper or spice, delivering a clean and refreshing finish." Not being a connoisseur of wine, I thought it was a very nice addition to our meal. 

I found the recipe at Salt and Lavender hosted by Natasha. The original recipe can be found here.

Marry Me Italian Sausage Pasta

4 servings

8 ounces uncooked pasta

11 ounces Italian Sausage

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy/whipping cream

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes 

(If you are using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drain thoroughly. If not julienned, do this before you add it to the pan. This is where we would dice them - see Gregg's note at the bottom. Ours was in oil and already cut up.)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 small handful fresh basil, chopped or torn

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, optional, to taste

Boil a pot of salted water and cook pasta according to package directions (it should be al dente). Save a little of the pasta water in case you need to thin the sauce later.

Meanwhile, take the sausage out of their casings (unless you found some in a roll) and crumble meat into a skillet. Sauté over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until it is browned all over.

Transfer the sausage to a plate lined with paper towel. If there is a lot of fat left in the pan, discard it all.

Reduce the heat to medium, then add in the garlic and wine. Let it bubble for about a minute or until liquid is reduced by half.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of cold water, to make a cornstarch slurry.

Stir in the cream and tomato paste, and once the tomato paste is incorporated, add in the sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and the cornstarch slurry. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the sausage back into the pan and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce has thickened to your liking. 

Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce (add a splash of the hot pasta water prior to draining if you want to thin the sauce a bit).

Serve immediately with fresh basil sprinkled on top, and freshly grated Parmesan Cheese if using. 

The only changes we made was with the pasta. Our host used penne. We always seem to have butterfly in the pantry and that is what we used. Penne will be on the shopping list just for a change of pace next time.

Everything else we followed the recipe. It was excellent. I gave it a 10 out of 10. Gregg gave it a 9 out of 10. He said he would use a different sun-dried tomato next time as he found this a bit too salty. They were sliced but he said they would have been better if they had have been diced (I could see his point. I don’t usually add a lot of salt to our meals.) But all that being said he had seconds.

We had a mixed vegetable salad on the side.

I can't think of anything else but if you have any questions - or tips - please let me know in the comment section.

If you would like to copy and paste the address below instead of using the link I provided, here it is:

https://www.saltandlavender.com/marry-me-italian-sausage-pasta/

Thanks for looking, have a great day 

and Bon Appetit!

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - ORZO SOUP

 A soup declared a 10 out of 10 by both of us. It turned chilly last week and I suggested a soup. It was delicious and I am glad we made it. We usually only use soups in cold weather, but this will be made all-year round, I'm thinking.

I found it at a food blog called The Clever Meal hosted by Katia. The original recipe can be found here. 

Katia's biography reads in part: 

"I'm the founder, recipe developer and photographer behind The Clever Meal. My goal is to create and share easy and inexpensive recipes with people all over the world. 

The Clever Meal stemmed from my love for simple meatless meals made with everyday ingredients. Not only are beans, pasta and veggies delicious, but cutting out the meat is also great for your health, wallet and the planet. I truly believe that delicious family meals are possible even if you're short on time and have a tight budget."

I highly recommend taking a look at Katia's recipes. We knew we were going to love this one, but didn't realize how much. There are other great recipes we are going to try here.

Orzo Soup

Serves 4 and approximately 203 calories per serving.  

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 medium-sized onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 large celery rib, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried basil or dried thyme

2 teaspoons flour

4 cups (960 ml) low sodium vegetable broth, add a bit more for a thinner consistency if desired 

1-1/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste (if your broth is salty) 

1 cup (165 grams) orzo pasta

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Add the olive oil, onion, carrot and celery to a large soup pot or Dutch Oven, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until softened.

Stir in the minced garlic, dried herb (basil or thyme), and the flour. Stir for about 1 minute until the garlic smells fragrant and the flour is combined with the veggies.

Pour in the broth, add the salt (if the broth is not salty), stir well, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.  

Stir in the orzo pasta and cook for 10 minutes or following the directions on the package. Keep the lid off and stir frequently (10 minutes was enough for us).

Turn the heat off, stir in the parsley, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. You might want to add a bit more broth or water if you prefer a thinner consistency.

Divide into bowls and top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a few cracks of black pepper and grated Parmesan cheese if you like. 

Serve with a favorite crusty bread or roll. 

I didn't have any vegetable broth in the pantry and used chicken broth instead. 

We used thyme as our herb.

We didn't drizzle any olive oil over the top but did add lots of cracked black pepper and sprinkled grated Parmesan at the table.

I always try to remember to share the full address of the recipe website, in case you prefer to copy and paste rather than use the link at the beginning. 

https://theclevermeal.com/orzo-soup

If you try it I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CREAMY TUSCAN SHRIMP NOODLES

I mistakingly posted the recipe for the Thai Meatballs way too early, if you saw and wondered why it suddenly disappeared, I took it off when I realized what I had done. Many apologies and my thanks to all who have commented. You will still be there when it is eventually published. I will do that as soon as I have had a chance to make it, with my own photos and notes.

I am starting this week being a bit discombobulated. If you saw and are interested now, let me know and I will send you the person’s address to their recipe.

In the meantime…

Creamy Tuscan Shrimp Pasta

This is another link that disappeared on me but if you go online and type its title in your search engine, you'll get many different varieties. I haven't found this exact one yet but I'm still looking, and will add later when I find its host. It was fixed for the first time on March 9th and was excellent! We had leftovers for the next day.

The weights were metric but I converted as near as I could to ounces.

250 g (9 ounces) peeled shrimp (we probably had less as we used what we had left in a bag of frozen. It seemed enough though.)

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon oil or butter

2 cloves of garlic 

6 to 8 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 handfuls of fresh spinach, washed and drained (I also pick the stems off)

200 ml cooking cream (close to 3/4 of a cup) - there was only whole milk in the fridge but Gregg thinks using cream would take it up a notch. I thought it was very nice without but he is probably right

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling over your finished plate at the table

1 teaspoon Italian herbs (or oregano/basil)

200 g (9 ounces) pasta - choice suggestions were penne or spaghetti (we used butterfly 

 

Chili flakes (optional)

Lemon Juice (optional)

Grated Parmesan Cheese (Garnish)

Cook the pasta to package directions until al dente. 

Save 1/2 cup pasta water.

Season fresh or thawed shrimp with salt and pepper. 

Put pan on medium high heat. Add oil or butter. Cook shrimp 1 to 2 minutes on each side.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Make the sauce.

Lower heat to medium. 

Add garlic and cook for 15 seconds.

Add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.

Add cream (or milk), the 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and herbs. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add spinach until it has just wilted.

If needed, loosen with a splash of pasta water (we found this wasn’t needed).

Combine ingredients.

Add pasta, shrimp and toss 30 to 60 seconds.

Finish off with chili flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice. (I added this at the table, along with extra grated Parmesan cheese when I had served myself my individual portion. This is optional). 

Two changes, butterfly pasta and a handful of halved cherry tomatoes. It was all very tasty.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CREAMY BEEF AND SHELLS

I found my dish today on a blog called Organized Chaos.  The original recipe can be found here.  It is not just about recipes, though there are many delicious ones shared. You will also find suggestions on how to organize your kitchen and home improvements. It’s fun to look through.  

(In my photos you will see I didn’t use pasta shells. I used what we already had, which was butterfly pasta (Farfalle). Farfalle (pronounced far-FALL-lay) in Italian, literally means “butterflies”. It is also widely known in the U.S. as bow-tie pasta due to its shape. It’s a versatile short pasta from Northern Italy, often pinched in the middle with ruffled edges, great for sauces and salads, with smaller (Farfalline) and larger (Farfalloni) versions available. I have only seen the Farfalle in our stores, which is our favorite.) 

Creamy Beef and Shells - serves 6

8 ounces medium pasta shells 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1 small sweet onion, finely diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 

1 teaspoon dried parsley 

1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup beef stock

1 (15 ounce) can marinara sauce

3/4 cup heavy cream 

1/4 cup sour cream

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese 

Prepare pasta shells according to package directions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3 to 5 minutes, breaking it apart with a spoon. Drain any excess fat and set the beef aside.

Using the same skillet, sauté the diced onion for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.

Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking until lightly browned (this will help thicken the sauce). 

Gradually whisk in the beef stock, followed by marinara sauce. Stir in Italian seasoning, parsley, oregano and paprika.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens slightly. 

Add cooked pasta and the browned beef back into the skillet. Stir to coat everything evenly in the sauce.

Stir in the heavy cream and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until heated through. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Then stir in the sour cream.

Fold in the grated cheddar cheese and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese has fully melted.

Serve the creamy beef and shells immediately. Garnish with parsley (optional but this will add color to your dish). 

Enjoy! 

 

This was a delicious recipe, a 10 out of 10. 

I added a leaf of flat-leafed parsley on top and diced red sweet pepper to not only give the color, but it also tasted great. You can leave it plain as in my first photo. I also sprinkled it liberally with pepper, and I have also been sprinkling turmeric. My dear other half doesn’t like the taste of turmeric, so left that to me.

I don’t do well with any kind of cream but I had whole milk in the fridge. That was a nice substitute.

 I added the following from the original recipe.

Refrigeration: store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.

Freezing: portion and freeze for a later meal. For best results, thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. (This is what I intend to do.)

Reheating: warm on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a little milk or water to refresh the sauce.  (When we reheated the next day, we added a splash of beef broth, which was left over and refrigerated.)

I made double so we would have several meals. 

We had a simple vegetable salad on the side.

Apart from not using the pasta shells, the above were the only other changes I made.

I include the full blog address in case you would like to copy and paste instead of using the link above.

https://anorganizedchaos.com/creamy-beef-and-shells/

Thanks for looking and have a great week.

 

DANGLY EARRINGS

 In a mad moment on a sleepless night (at around 3.00 a.m.), I ordered these.

The lady who makes them had a going-out-of-business sale, and they arrived in the mail a few days ago.

They were for pierced ears (my ears aren't), but I remembered I had converters in a box somewhere, along with a pair of small needle-nosed pliers. I found them and got to work, getting rid of the wires and attaching the converters. They are prettier than the photo shows, but it will give you an idea and this old girl still loves her dangly earrings, says I smiling.

We didn't get as much snow as we were expecting, but hubs found it impossible to clear what we did have off the driveway. There is a thick sheet of ice on top. No melting as it's going to remain bitter for several days, and supposedly more snow next Saturday. We have a steep driveway that can be treacherous -we have a history. Fortunately, we stocked up beforehand.

The sun is shining outside at least, and Sophie Squirrel is doing okay, though she's a wee bit cold! 

The Kissing Bunnies, as you well know, have their love to keep them warm.

I couldn't help but put in a word of the day in the photo above. Son and daughter-in-law sent these.

My grateful thanks to the person who plowed our road early this morning, and for that matter to all who go out in this weather to take care of us and keep us safe. Bless your hearts, you deserve our never-ending gratitude. When we eventually can dig our way down to the road, we'll be ready to get out of here.

What did we do on our snow-bound day? We read, I put this post together and we made our dinner, Creamy Beef with Butterfly Pasta. It was very good and we added a veggie salad on the side. I will share it next Monday.

Take good care of yourselves out there and I hope all is well where you are. Stay safe and warm.

For our international friends, to translate the words on the 5th photo down.

Chionophile.

A person who loves, enjoys or thrives in the snow and cold weather is called a chionophile. From Greek, this term refers to someone who finds joy and peace during winter, particularly when the landscape is covered in snow.

Pronunciation: kye-ON-uh-file.

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - SLOW COOKER MONSTER MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE

I forgot to take photos so came up with the artwork. When this is made again, I will add my own photos. In the meantime, you can see what the meal looks like if you go to the original website.

It’s been a while since I put meatballs on the menu. When I found this recipe, both ingredients and slow cooker won the day. There was no browning the meatballs first, which made it even easier. I am happy to say we both gave it a 10 out of 10, really delicious! My thanks goes to Louisa Clements, host of Living Lou. The original recipe can be found here.  I made another of her recipes which I put on this blog, a Greek Orzo Salad. You can see it here. It's not a salad I would serve with this meal, but is a really good one.

Slow Cooker Meatballs in Tomato Sauce 

Serves: 6

Calories: approximately 422 per serving 

For tomato Sauce:

1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, broken up with a spoon

1 5.5 ounce tomato paste

1 carrot, chopped 

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes 

10 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced, for garnish

For Meatballs:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground pork

2 eggs

3/4 cup breadcrumbs 

1/3 cup milk

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley 

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 teaspoon fennel, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In the slow cooker, add the tomatoes that you have broken up with a spoon, also tomato paste, onion, carrot, garlic, salt and hot pepper flakes. Mix until well combined.

In a large bowl, mix beef, pork, eggs, breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, fennel seeds, salt and pepper until combined.

Shape in 12 large meatballs and arrange meatballs on top of tomato sauce in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until carrots are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into meatballs read 160 degrees F. Skim off fat.

Serve sprinkled with basil. 

We made no changes  It is described as a traditional style meatball recipe. 

I was curious about using the fennel seeds as I don’t remember using this ingredient before. My super taster hubs could detect a faint taste of it but I couldn’t. All I know is that it was a delicious dish and as mentioned, we both easily gave it a 10 out of 10. 

We served it with Angel Hair Spaghetti and extra grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top, along with the thinly sliced basil leaves.

A nice mixed veggie salad would finish it off perfectly.

I checked after 6 hours and everything was cooked perfectly. You be the judge though as temperatures may differ from one slow cooker to another.  

There are leftovers which will taste even better the next day but…

we both said we would like more sauce and would double those ingredients next time  Not the meatballs though! Any sauce left over that we don’t finish, I will freeze it.  

The added ingredients might alter the length of cooking time, but I will allow for the 8 hours while checking after 6, for both carrot and meatball. Easy enough to check the carrot but will always use a thermometer to make sure the meatball is cooked all the way through. 

Another thing I wanted to add was that one of the commenters said her meatballs turned out softer than she likes. Louisa’s response was that they tend to be more tender than those made in a frying pan or in the oven as they are braised rather than roasted or fried.  I personally thought these were excellent both in texture and taste, but wanted to let you know just in case you wondered about them once served. I am looking forward to making this recipe again. 

That’s all I can remember for now but if you have any questions, write a comment and I will be happy to try and answer. I highly recommend visiting Louisa’s blog to look at the original recipe. 

Below is the full address if you prefer to copy and paste today’s recipe, as well as the salad,  rather than using the links above.

https://www.livinglou.com/slow-cooker-monster-meatballs-tomato-sauce/

and

https://www.livinglou.com/greek-orzo-salad

Thanks for looking and have a great week.