Sage Ciabatta Stuffing

I must apologize for the bad picture.  This was taken with my very dumb phone and didn’t get a better picture before it was gobbled up (both times I’ve made it).

I have never been fond of stuffing.  I have wanted to and always go into the Thanksgiving season with the intention that I like it and am excited to make it.  However, I am always disappointed after I eat it… it wasn’t as good as I thought it should be.  I’ve been searching for the perfect stuffing recipe and trying different variations.  I think I have found it!!  We all loved this recipe..and all who have tried it have liked it.  I found the basic recipe from thechew.com here.  I liked his idea, but as always, I like to make it my own, based on my family’s likes and tastes.  So, this is my version of the stuffing:

6 large square ciabatta rolls, cubed and dried in the oven at 250 degrees for 30 min.  Cook them on 2 cookie sheets and let them cool.

While the bread is cooking,  cook 1 lb sage flavored pork sausage until crispy (a little more done than you might think).  Remove from the pan.

In the drippings, saute a chopped onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic.  Add 3 or 4 stalkes of chopped celery to the pan.

Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp poultry seasoning

Chop up 1 bunch of Italian Parsley, put half into the pan and save 1/2 it  for a little later.

Pour cooled bread into a LARGE bowl that you can stir all the ingredients together.

Pour sausage mixture into it.  Shred 2 apples with a cheese grater and add to the mixture.  I don’t even peel the apple.

Add the rest of the parsley

Stir all together

Add 2- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth mixed with 1/2 cup butter.  Add as much as you like depending on how moist you like your stuffing.

Pour into a large roasting pan.  I like to use a very large one because I like my stuffing on the crispy side and the thicker it is, the more moist it will be.

Cook at 350 for 30 min covered with foil.  Remove the foil and cook longer if you like it crispy on top

Homemade Mac N Cheese

This was a really yummy recipe that I got off of the Betty Crocker website.  It calls for cooking the dish like a casserole once it is finished, however, when I make it again, I’ll probably skip that step.  It seemed to overcook the noodles and the sauce was less creamy than when we tasted it right after I added the noodles and the sauce together.  The recipe also didn’t call for ham, but I added it to give it some more protein and make it a complete meal rather than just like a side-dish.

2 cups elbow macaroni- cook with a little salted water

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard (the dry kind)

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I didn’t measure this out- just poured some in- it was probably more than 1/4 tsp, but it was yummy)

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I actually used a Mexican blend because that is what I had on hand)

Chopped turkey ham (my personal addition if you like)

While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, ground mustard and W. sauce.  Mix it into melted butter until smooth- this is a roux (pronounced roo) and is what will make the mixture thicken.  Stir in milk and heat to boiling- stirring constantly so the milk doesn’t scald.  Heat until it is thickened- kind of like gravy. Stir in cheese until melted.  Stir in cooked macaroni and ham if desired.

It calls for baking it uncovered for 20-25 min at 350 in a casserole dish.  I think I’ll skip this part next time.

Let me know if you guys like this recipe too.

Tomato Pesto Macaroni Salad

I just threw some ingredients together one night to make this pasta salad. It turned out yummy and all the girls really liked it. (My kids are great eaters though and they love tomatoes though- I know some people are not tomato people)

2 cups small shell pasta
3 TBSP Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
1 small can Sliced Black Olives
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
2 green onions, diced
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (I used a roast chicken from Sam's Club and cut it up to use for 2 different dishes)
1 cup light Mayo
Salt, pepper to taste

Cook the pasta until done, drain. Add pesto, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, and chicken. Mix thoroughly. Add Mayo (you may want more- according to how creamy you like it) and salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

These are easy and very yummy.

6-7 Large Red Potatoes, washed and cut up
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp crushed Rosemary

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stir together to distribute oil and spices on all the potatoes.
Put on a jelly rolls cake pan/cookie sheet with sides and bake at 425 for 40 min. Stir them around halfway through cooking. They are really great when they brown up on the bottom and get crispy. Enjoy

Fusilli with Creamed Leek and Spinach

I found this pasta dish on the internet. It was easy and we all liked it. I served it with Chicken Sausages. Now that I've tried it once though, I would had a few cloves of garlic to the recipe when you cook the leek in the olive oil for flavor.

3/4 lb (12oz) Fusilli or Rotinni

1 1/2 TBSP olive oil

1 leek (white and light green parts only, thinly sliced)

1 cup heavy cream

4 cups baby spinach (coarsely chopped) (I just used a large handful)

1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves (finely chopped) (or 1 tsp dried basil)

1/2-1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

I sprinkled a little shredded parmesan (not the canned kind) cheese on top and stired it in.

Boil pasta and set aside (add a little salt to the water). In a deep skillet, heat olive oil and add the chopped leek (a leek is the vegetable that looks like a monster sized green onion- they are usually sold in bunches of 3) and cook over med. heat until softened. Add cream and simmer until slightly thick- about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and the basil (if using dry), salt, and pepper and cook until spinach wilts- about 2 minutes. Add the cooked pasta into the skillet and toss with sauce. Remove from heat and add basil (if using fresh) and sprinkle parmasean cheese.

Loaded Baked Potato Bake

This is not really a recipe, it's really just an idea. I made it up last night and took it to some friends house for a potluck Football party. Everyone really liked it. I didn't get a nice picture before we started into it so here is a picture of the leftovers that I warmed up for us for lunch.

6-7 red potatoes, cubed (leave the skin on) I used the regular sized ones, not the tiny round ones. Put the chopped potatoes in a pot and just cover them with water. Add 4-5 tsp of Chicken boullion granules (or you can just boil them in chicken stock). Boil them until tender. Drain.

Put the boiled potatoes in a large bowl and add butter, sour cream and some shredded cheese (use just as much as your family likes) I used about 1/4 cup butter , 3/4 cup sour cream and 2 handfuls of shredded cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste and some dried chives that I had. You could even add chopped bacon if you have.

Put in a baking dish and cover with more shredded cheese. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.

Summer Fruit Salad

Sorry for the lack of recipes this summer, but there has been a lack of cooking anything worth sharing this summer. It's hot, I'm uncomfortable, and cooking is the last thing I've wanted to do. Something I do love eating every summer (and anytime in between) is fruit- especially when I'm pregnant. I have passed on my fruit hog genes to my children as well. So this is a salad that I "made up" this summer and my family will down the whole salad in one sitting. Needless to say "WE LOVE IT"

1 pint blueberries

1 container strawberries

~20 grapes cut in half

1 or 2 bananas (if you put in bananas, make sure you don't add them until right before you serve it so they don't get all brown and squishy)

1 0r 2 mangos

1 or 2 peaches

The good thing about this recipe is that you can add whatever fruit you have or what is on sale at the store. These are just the basics. I wouldn't add melons though- wounldn't go with the sauce.

Sauce:

1/3 pkg Instant Vanilla or French Vanilla pudding

Enough orange juice to make it a slightly thickened sauce ~1/4- 1/2 cup

Stir together with a fork until smooth and slightly thickened and pour over fruit. Chill for ~10-20 minutes. I make it- put it in the fridge- get it out after we've eaten dinner- and it's gone in 10 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Cinnamon Carrot Coins

Does your family LOVE cooked carrot? My family DOES!!! If they don't, I bet they will love these ones. These are easy and YUMMY!!

2lb bag fresh carrots
1/4 cup butter or margarine (1/2 stick)
4 TBSP brown sugar
4 TBSP orange juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Peel and slice carrots on a diagonal. Add all ingredients to a medium sized sauce pan. Cook over medium heat with lid on (stiring occasionally) until carrots are tender.

This is actually doubled so if you want to use a 1 lb bag of carrots 1/2 all the ingredients. I like to make this when we serve company so I use the 2 lb bag. My kids love this recipe and eat carrots like they are bunnies. But who wouldn't went they are cooked in brown sugar, cinnamon and orange juice.. not to mention butter. Hope your family enjoys this vegetable side dish as much as mine does.

Patrician Potatoes

This is a great potatoe side dish. It makes a lot but it keeps really well for left overs. Would be a great side dish to meat for company or feeding the missionaries (we do a lot of that around here).

5 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cooked
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 pkg (8 oz) Light cream cheese (you can use regular if you want)
1 cup Low fat sour cream
3 tsp salt
2 tsp minced chives (you can use fresh or the freeze-dried kind you get in the spice isle)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I just use the grated kind in the can and it works great)
1 tsp paprika

Cook potatoes and drain. Add butter, cream cheese, and sour cream and mix until like mashed potatoes. Add salt and chives. Put in a casserole dish and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and paprika. Cook at 350 for 20-25 min.

We all really like these potatoes and they are even great the next day and the next!

Italian Rice

I love rice as a sidedish but sometimes we get tired of Lemon Rice Pilaf (sorry mom, we love that recipe too, it's posted among the side dishes). I came across this recipe a few years ago and we LOVE it too.

1 3/4 cup Chicken broth (I usually never have broth on hand but I always have the chicken boullion granules- use 1 3/4 cup water and 2 tsp granules)

3/4 cup long grain rice, uncooked

1 tsp Italian Seasoning (the seasoning that is a combination of oregano, basil, thyme, etc)

1 cup Fresh spinach, chopped fine. (last time I made this I didn't have any fresh spinach because they were out in the store so I use frozen spinach- it still turned out fine but I sorted through it because the frozen kind usually has a lot of stems in it. If you use frozen, I would only use about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (from the can)

Add broth, rice, Ital. Seasoning, and spinach to a saucepan. Let it come to a boil and boil for 10 min. Cover and remove from the stove and let it sit until the rice is done (~ 15-20 more minutes). Add the Parmesan cheese and stir in. This recipe is really easy to double. It's a great sidedish for chicken or fish and is good enough to serve to company.