Crockpot Spaghetti with Terranova Italian Sausage

Spaghetti with Terranova Italian Sausage

I’m usually not a huge fan of Italian sausage, more of a meatball gal. Terranova’s Italian sausage has changed my mind. They don’t use a huge amount of fennel and have a perfect balance of spicy and sweet. I specifically go to Katie’s in Mid-City b/c they use Terranova’s sausage on their pizza (which is super tasty). Scott cooked up the sausages in his crockpot spaghetti recipe. So good……

Ingredients:

1 lb. Terranova Italian Sausage
Jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 cup red wine
4 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil and oregano
1 small onion, diced
2 cups of mushrooms
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 package of spaghetti
salt
pepper

Directions:

Saute onion with red pepper in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add all ingredients (except for spaghetti) into crockpot. Cook 6 hours on high and switch to low.

Prepare spaghetti according to package. Season sauce to taste.

Chicken Marsala

After purchasing basically a lifetime supply of chicken thighs from Cosco, we decided to make Chicken Marsala. I wanted to avoid a thick, sauce using flour and opted for something more light. The result was the best Chicken Marsala recipe I’ve ever tasted! 

Chicken Marsala w/Kale and Spaghetti

2 pounds chicken thighs, with skin (can be substituted for the breast if you prefer white meat)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced thin
3/4 cup Marsala
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 cups of trimmed kale
6 servings of spaghetti

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet heat oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown chicken in 2 batches, transferring with tongs to a large plate as browned.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and sauté onion and mushrooms, stirring occasionally. Add garlic. Cook until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Add Marsala and cook mixture, stirring, until Marsala is almost evaporated and scraping up any browned bits that might be stuck to the pan. Add kale. Add broth and chicken with any juices that have accumulated on plate and simmer, turning chicken once, until cooked through, about 15 – 20 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a platter.

Simmer mushroom sauce until liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove skillet from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and salt and pepper to taste, stirring until butter is just incorporated. Toss in spaghetti. Place chicken a top pasta.

Inspired by: http://theredspoon.com/2011/02/chicken-and-mushroom-marsala/

Gumbo Pizza

Gumbo Pizza

Perfect and delicious way to reinvent leftovers. I remember a friend talking about making this and I didn’t believe it could be this good!

Ingredients

2 cups of seafood gumbo
1/2 green pepper, sliced
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp Louisiana hot sauce
1 1/2 cups of Italian blend shredded cheese
1 pizza crust

Directions

Spread out crust and laddle gumbo on crust until fully covered. Top with hot sauce,  green pepper, onions, and cheese. Follow pizza crust package cooking instructions.

Braised Beef Cannelloni

We had tons of leftover beef after slow cooking a roast it in the crock pot for spaghetti. This was a great solution for the leftovers! It’s fairly easy and great to freeze and reheat. 

Braised Beef Cannelloni

Ingredients:

1 lb. of braised beef (used leftovers)
1 ounce container of light ricotta cheese
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
8 ounces marinara sauce
1 package of dried cannelloni shells
1/2 tbsp of dried basil
1 tbsp garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook cannelloni per instructions on package.

In a large bowl, mix meat, ricotta, 1/2 cup of mozzarella, garlic powder, basil, and salt and pepper.

Stuff cooked cannelloni with meat and cheese mixture.

Pour 1/2 cup marinara sauce on baking dish. Place stuffed cannelloni on top of sauce. Pour atop remaining sauce.  Top with remaining mozzarella.

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

Homemade Terranova Cannelloni

Homemade Terranova Cannelloni

Ingredients

• 1 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/3 cup carrot, diced
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
•  2 lbs of Terranova Italian sausage
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/4 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup Parmesean cheese, freshly ground
• Box of Dried Cannelonni tubes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (16-ounce) jar high quality marinara sauce
• 1/2 pound Fontina cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup Parmesean cheese, grated

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet. Add onion, celery, and carrot, and cook over moderate heat until softened.
2. Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add sausage (removed from casing). Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess liquid and grease thoroughly.
3. Add wine, and reduce for 1 minute. Stir in broth. Add herbs, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover, and reduce until almost dry. Discard bay leaf. Set aside to cool.
5. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan set over moderately low heat. Whisk in flour for approximately 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, grated nutmeg, and salt and pepper.
6. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in parsley and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
7. Transfer the cooled meat mixture to a large bowl. Mix in egg yolks. Mix in the cheese and parsley sauce. Set aside to cool.
8. In a medium size bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the flour, add the slightly beaten egg, and mix. Mixture should form a stiff dough. If needed, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
9. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for about 3 to 4 minutes. With a pasta machine or by hand roll dough out to desired thickness (recommend the #5 thickness setting on hand-crank pasta machine). Use machine or knife to cut into 4- x 5-inch strips.
10. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the noodles a few at a time until al dente. This should take only a minute or two with fresh pasta. Transfer to a bowl of cold water. Spread the noodles in one layer on paper towels to drain.
11. Place 1/3 of the cooled meat and parsley sauce mix into a blender or food processor. Pulse or blend until a smooth texture is achieved, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining mixture until all filling ingredients are processed.
12. Prepare Fontina Cheese Sauce by placing Fontina, cream, butter and Parmesan in a double boiler or a bowl in a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the cheeses have melted and the sauce is smooth and hot.
13. Cover bottom of 9 x 13-inch baking dish with 1/4 inch of marinara sauce. Spoon 1/4 cup of the filling down the center of one noodle, and roll the noodle to enclose the filing. Transfer the cannelloni, seam side down, to 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and filling, arranging in single layer.
14. Ladle the remaining marinara sauce on one side of the cannelloni, leaving the other 1/2 of each tube without sauce. Spread the Fontina cheese sauce on the other 1/2 of the cannelloni and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
15. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until bubbling. Run under the broiler about 4 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, or until golden.

Inspired by http://www.recipelion.com/Restaurant-Recipes/Olive-Garden-style-Cannelloni-al-Forno#EAohq5F3dSQZkov0.99