Turkey Sausage and Gnocchi Soup

Ooooh my goodness I made this forever ago and started the post about three weeks ago and completely failed to post it. Lately life seems to be keeping me hopping!!!

The weather is finally starting to cool down here in Houston and this has quickly become one of my favorite soups!! A dear friend of my introduced me to the original Cooking Light recipe but I obviously changed it up because goodness knows how much I love salt. This is also originally served with grated Parmesan cheese which I had available for the hubs but I thought it was delicious without it!

This was an easy after work dinner to make and I had plenty of leftovers to get me through the week which is always a good thing! You could easily cut this in half and mess with the amounts o


Turkey Sausage and Gnocchi Soup
by Cooking Light
Printable Version

Ingredients

• 1 pkg of turkey sausage, about 6 links
• 12 cups of beef broth (I like broth!)
• 1 16oz package fresh gnocchi 
• 2 14.5 can of diced tomatoes
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• fresh grated Parmesan cheese 
• salt and pepper

Preparation

• 1. Remove the sausage from the casings and cook in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stirring the sausage constantly to crumble it for about 5 minutes. Cook until browned

2. Add the beef broth, tomatoes, gnocchi and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes to blend the flavor. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Remove the sprig of thyme and ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired!!

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

The Cajun cuisine attempts continue..... This was less intimidating that the gumbo for sure but it was still something I wasn't sure if I could pull off. It worked though!!! With delicious results. My sister-in-law and my hubs are both super spice freaks ( I am not ) and added Tabasco and more crushed red pepper at the table.


You can easily make this with shrimp as well and there are instructions for that in the original recipe from Cooking Light. My hubs does not like seafood and that is why none of my dishes contain any! I will need to change that though... The link is under the name of the recipe as per usual! I doubled the recipe because I wanted a lot of leftovers and there certainly was plenty! It also reheats marvelously and would be an easy dish to make ahead of time if you are having company. One thing I really liked about this is there is no need for a side dish to go with it. This is also a man approved dish!!


I changed it up again as per usual and added more vegetables because I love me some veggie deliciousness. I also followed the advice of many reviewers on the original recipe and cooked the rice before I added it to the jambalaya. I cooked it significantly longer than the recipe recommended as well. I wanted the flavors to have time to really blend together and, in my opinion, it helped the rice to soak up the juices and become your typical jambalaya texture. 


Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
Cooking Light
Printable Version

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 teaspoons Tony Chacheres or salt and pepper
• 2 cups chopped smoked sausage
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cups chopped green bell pepper
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 3 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups uncooked rice (I used boil in a bag brown rice from Kroger)
• 5 cups fat-free chicken broth
• 4 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• Tabasco sauce

Preparation:

• 1. Cook rice to your liking and set aside. I undercooked it a little bit so it would finish up in the broth.
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• 2. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with Tony's or salt and black pepper. Brown the chicken for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and remove from the dutch oven and set aside. Then in the same dutch oven brown the sausage for about five minutes.

3. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cover and reduce heat to medium and cook until vegetables are tender. About ten minutes. 

4. Add broth, paprika, thyme, red pepper, tomatoes and chicken. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 30 minutes, skimming the fat off the top as it rises. Towards the end of these 30 minutes is a good time to start seasoning it to your taste with Tony Chachere's, salt and pepper, and Tabasco.

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5. Add the rice and simmer for another 15 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and when it starts to look like it's thickened up. 

6. Before serving stir in green onions and keep a few on the side to garnish each dish! I put hot sauce on the table for my beloved little heat seekers.

• Enjoy!

ME

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

So.. I feel like I've been neglecting my Blog and my poor sweet husband who came home after a week long business trip to me saying, "Well babe... we can go out?" I spent a good two hours yesterday looking for something that would make him happy and be a little bit different to put on here! 


I found about three different recipes and took bits and pieces from each one so I'm just going to call this one essentially an original. One of the things I realized when I sat down for dinner is that I never seasoned it with salt and pepper but it didn't matter. It was still delicious! I did use the chicken stock with full sodium so I believe it came from there but that works for me! The Hubs was so happy he has requested a regular rotation so man pleasing status is a full go!


I made two pork chops with this recipe and I would double it for four to make sure there is enough liquid to cook it in. This liquid will turn into a plethora of goodness and if I had known this when I began I would have definitely had toasted french bread or roll of some kind to sop it up with after the pork is long gone in the belly. I served it with a salad because I wasn't sure when the man was coming home but if I had the ability to time it I would have served it with brussel sprouts and I think asparagus would go well with it as well. They need to cook for about 6 hours and it takes 30 minutes to prep.


Slow Cooker Pork Chops
ME
Printable Page


Ingredients


2 bone in pork chops
1 medium onion halved sliced from root to tip
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs margarine
1 1/2 cup fat free chicken stock
Juice of 1/2 a large lemon or 1 small
1/4 cup of dry white wine (you could go without this but I felt it gave it a bitterness that I LOVED)
4 sprigs of thyme


Directions


1. Pour olive oil in a medium or large sauce pan over high heat and brown both sides of the pork chops. I covered it to prevent too much oil splatter. About 2 minutes on each side.


2. Place half the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker and then the pork on top of that. Add the thyme.


3. Lower the heat to medium high, put the other half of the onion in the pan you took the pork out of and brown the onion. After about three minutes add the garlic, chicken stock, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. - A good trick for juicing lemons is to squeeze it around a fork.

4. Add the mixture to the slow cooker with half the onion, thyme and pork chops in it. Cover and cook on LOW for six hours.

5. After six hours remove the thyme and plate the pork chop. Don't be surprised because it will be falling apart with tender goodness! I recommend using a spoon. The spoon as much of the delicious mixture over the pork as you would like. 

Enjoy!


ME

Turkey Tacos!

I clearly went on a turkey kick the other weekend... The turkey sausage sauce was on Friday night and we had turkey tacos on Sunday! I consider myself to be very lucky to have friends that were willing to participate in both turkey events :)


I was inspired to attempt the turkey tacos after a friend of mine made some for the hubs and me. I was delighted when I realized I couldn't tell it was turkey!


I searched and searched for a recipe and found one that looked about like what I wanted and I also changed it up to add some things I thought would make it more delicious!


I served 5 with this recipe with no leftovers. For appetizers chips and salsa is perfect and I served it with a salad.


Turkey Tacos
Food Network
Printable Version


Ingredients: 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced (you can adjust this to your taste)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 14.5 oz chopped canned tomatoes
• 1 pkg ground turkey
• 1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I used 5 pepper out of it)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 12 (5-inch) corn tortillas, preferably white, or prepared taco shells

Toppings:

2 avocados - sliced

your favorite salsa

pepper jack cheese for the guests who can have dairy!

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with oil and add the onions, garlic and jalapenos. Cook until the onions become translucent, around 8 minutes. Then increase the heat to medium high and add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon to allow it to crumble.

2. Once the turkey has cooked through and has crumbled add the can of tomatoes and 5 chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I also added a splash of white wine to blend the flavors. Allow the liquid to boil and bring to a simmer until it thickens but is not dry.

3. Finally, stir in the cilantro and prepare the corn tortillas by baking them at 350 for about 5 minutes. When they start to feel al little stiff you will know they are ready. Take them out and immediately bend them like prepared taco shells before they cool!

4. Top them as you please and enjoy!

Or if you're a very hungry man...

ME

Tomato, Basil and Sausage with Penne Pasta

I served this for a dinner party and it was a complete success!! You could do this with any kind of sausage you like but I chose to use turkey sausage for this time around. It is an easy sauce that made my entire house smell deelish!


The recipe on here is based on a Cooking Light recipe I found. I changed it a little bit to make it a little more saucy. One of my favorite things to do is find sauces in the jar and doctor them up a bit! I cooked for six people and everything was gone!


To go with this pasta and sauce I served a salad with mixed greens, bell pepper, sunburst tomatoes, green onion and croutons with balsamic vinaigrette. I also served it with warm italian bread with margarine and garlic salt!


Tomato, Basil and Sausage with Penne Pasta
From Cooking Light
Printable Version

• Ingredients:
• 1 box uncooked penne
• 1 pkg sweet Italian turkey sausage (about 6 large links)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium vertically sliced onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
• 1 14.5 oz can of tomatoes
• 1 cup of your favorite jarred tomato sauce ( I used Newman's Own Tomato Basil )
• salt
• black pepper
• 3/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions.


2. Remove sausage from casings. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add sausage to it. Cook for about 4 minutes stirring to crumble the sausage. Then add onion, can of tomatoes, and garlic for about 4 minutes.










3. Add 1 cup of your favorite jarred tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes and red pepper. Stir it all together and let it simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes. If you want.. a splash of wine or beer will help to blend the flavors. If it reduces by too much add about a quarter cup of pasta water!
















4. Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat, stir in fresh basil and serve over pasta!




Enjoy!!




I forgot to take a picture of the fixed plates so I took a picture of the aftermath! I do believe this is success  :)

Grilled Artichokes

Ooooooh YUM. I LOVE ARTICHOKES! This is one of my absolute FAVORITE dishes ever. It is a perfect side dish and half an artichoke is all you need as a side for one person. We made this completely ridiculous three inch thick T-bone steak on Monday night and this meal just about made my week. We had another couple over for dinner and even managed to convert one of them into an artichoke man! We love turning people onto food they wouldn't normally eat! Whenever the hubs is gone I will make one of these babies and eat the whole thing for a delicious dinner. If you don't feel like grilling it or cutting it in half you can also just boil it until the outer leaves start falling off easily. I usually do it for about 30-45 minutes. Some people steam them but I like them nice and cooked through so I can scrape the meat off easily with my choppers. I will also include broiling instructions in case you don't have an urge to go outside either for cold or heat.

This is an easy and inexpensive side dish in my opinion. In Houston anyhow they run around $1.50 so that's 75 cents a person for a side. To serve I bought some little bowls from Pier One and put Italian dressing with a little extra red wine vinegar and capers in it. Whatever you're favorite salad dressing is will be delicious! Enjoy!

Grilled Artichokes Printable Version
By: Moi!

Ingredients:
  
1 large artichoke 
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt
pepper
salad dressing of your choice

Directions:

1. Cut the artichoke in half, trim the stem, and cut off the tips where the pointy needle like tips are. Be careful I have cut myself on these before.

2. Take a small knife (such as a paring knife) and cut out the choke (hairy part between the stem/heart and the leaves). Also remove the inside purple leaves. They can also be sharp be careful! 

3. In a large pot boil water seasoned with salt. Place the artichokes in the boiling water for about 20 minutes.

4. Broiling: Place the artichokes cut side up in a baking pan, drizzle olive over it and season with salt and pepper. Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Watch the artichoke closely. You will notice the edges starting to char a little when it's ready. 

Grilling: Drizzle olive oil over the cut side of the artichoke and season with salt and pepper. Then place them cut side down on a hot preheated grill. Grill them for about 5 to 10 minutes but watch them. You will know it's finished when the edges char.

5. Plate the artichokes and enjoy! 

Oh and below I have placed photos of our super amazing meal from Monday :)

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo!

Gumbo has always scared me. It's amazing, delicious goodness could never be achievable with my amateur skills... WRONG! But I must warn you there is absolutely nothing healthy about this dish except for the appetite you will develop for it after the savory tastiness hits your lips. With football season coming up this is the perfect dish to serve for those games you accidentally invited 20 people over for! Also, this is not a dump and run dish. You will have an hour and then an hour and a half to get things done ( I went for a walk in the park for part of it) but it definitely needs to be tended to otherwise! I would plan on this taking up about four hours of your time but for two and a half of it you will have freedom.


The best piece of advice I can give you is this: Don't even bother trying to make your own roux. There is absolutely no reason to put yourself through that kind of pain and frustration. I thought, 'Oooooh it can't be that hard. The reviews make it sound like lots of people can do it...' Welp. I'm not one of them! I will post pictures of my failure after the recipe of perfection in your mouth. Fortunately, there are enough people like myself and you can buy roux in a jar! Here I thought it was this mystical magical combination but it is literally just oil and flour. Nothing to it. I've heard you can make it in the oven... I will have to investigate that!


I made this for a Labor Day potluck pool volleyball party with at least 30 people there and it was the absolute first thing to go! I made it with chicken and sausage because my husband hates seafood with a passion. But you can easily make this with seafood you just need to add the seafood of your choice (shrimp, scallops, oysters, crab meat) and simmer for about 15 minutes before you're ready to serve it. In the recipes I've seen in a quick google keep the sausage though it adds a lot of flavor. Maybe one day I will attempt halfsies for the man and me! 


Chicken and Sausage Gumbo - Printable Version
By: Emeril Lagasse on FoodNetwork.com


Ingredients: 
1 pound of smoked sausage (I used smoked pork sausage) cut across into 1/2-inch thick pieces
4 pounds of chicken thighs, skin removed
2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
1/2 jar of roux, I used Bootsie's
3 tablespoons of Creole seasoning (I used Tony Cachere's... we use it on pretty much everything)
9 cups of chicken broth
3 bay leaves
2 cups of chopped onion ( I used one large yellow onion)
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of chopped green bell peppers ( I used one large one as well, it overflowed a little bit I like bell pepper)
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of chopped green onions
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon of file powder (pronounced fee-lay, I used one by Bayou Magic)
Tabasco sauce
white rice

Directions:


1. Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the one pound of smoked sausage and cook until browned. Remove the sausage and drain on paper towels. Leave it on the side for a wee bit.

2. Season the chicken thighs with two tablespoons of creole seasoning and cook them in the same Dutch oven until browned, about five to six minutes. After they are browned put them in a container and back in the fridge, you won't need them for about an hour and they will not be cooked through.

3. In the same Dutch oven boil the 9 cups of chicken broth and once it is boiling slowly stir in half a jar of roux... about a cup maybe a little more. Once it has dissolved turn it down to a simmer.


4. In a large frying pan heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium high heat and add the onions, celery and bell peppers. Cook for about five minutes until they start to get soft. Add the browned sausage and cayenne pepper and cook for about two minutes.


5. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper and sausage concoction into the simmering chicken stock and roux.  Also add three bay leaves. Simmer this over medium low heat for one hour stirring occasionally.

6. After one hour, add the browned chicken thighs and simmer over medium low heat for an hour and a half. Skim the fat that rises to the top.

7. After an hour and a half remove the chicken thighs with a slotted spoon and shred them, removing the bones as you go. Then stir the chicken back into the gumbo.

8. Stir in the two tablespoons of parsley, half cup of chopped green onion and the tablespoon of file powder. Add the last tablespoon of creole seasoning and a few dashes of hot sauce as well until your delicious new meal has reached your desired heat level!

9. Cook white rice to your liking. I used the boil in a bag rice Kroger so thoughtfully made easy for me. About a half a cup per person should be about right.


10. Spoon the rice into a bowl and ladle the gumbo over it! Eat it piping hot and ENJOY!!!!

ME


PS. As promised here is my failure. To make roux you cook half a cup of vegetable oil and a cup of flour over medium high heat stirring constantly for 20-25 minutes. It was going SO well! Nice and chocolaty brown and oh so smooth... then the recipe called for stirring in the vegetables and that is when it turned into charcoal. Please learn from my mistakes and don't try this at home. My poor hubs thought I caught the kitchen on fire and we had to open all the windows and doors and brought our fans down from our roof deck to clear out the first floor!