Red Pepper & Chicken Sausage Linguini

I have received SO many compliments on my homemade sauce. The baby has loved this since I started him on solid foods. It’s delicious and is, hands down, as healthy as you can get!

This sauce, freezes really well. So, make a huge batch and portion it out for things like spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, lasagna, or this!

So, let’s get started!

Ingredients:

(If you’re going to make a large batch to freeze, double your veggies, at LEAST. This makes enough for the 3 of us to eat and have leftovers for a day or 2. But, since everybody loves it, so it goes quickly! If you like a thicker sauce, that will “stick” to your noodles, add a small can of tomato paste. I would recommend adding it to the sauce you intend to use in lasagna so it holds together better, or if you are using small pasta, like a bowtie pasta.)
10 Roma tomatoes, you don’t have to use Roma tomatoes, they are just my favorite.
1 Large yellow onion
2 Large bell peppers
4 Cloves garlic
Thyme
Oregano
Rosemary
Basil
Pinch of Sea Salt & sugar
Olive Oil
Isernio’s Hot Italian Chicken Sausage, AMAZING brand, I’ve mentioned it before. Find it here.
1 Pkg Whole wheat linguini

Directions:
Chop all the veggies. I don’t peel my tomatoes, so I chop them smaller than everything else. In a LARGE skillet, brown the sausage over medium high heat. It’s okay if it sticks and burns a little. Since it’s chicken, it doesn’t really render much fat while cooking, but it all works out, trust me. Drizzle a good amount of olive oil into the pan and add the onion and garlic, cooking over medium heat until onion starts to become translucent.
Add the bell peppers and herbs, cooking over medium high heat until the peppers get a little soft. Add the tomatoes and cook simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. Uncover cook an additional 20 minutes or until the sauce reduces to your liking. Salt and sugar to taste. Don’t forget this part. Tomato sauce from the jar has a lot of salt, so if you taste this sauce without salt and sugar, you’ll be pretty shocked.

If you’re making a large batch and don’t have a big enough pan, or are busy and like to make use of your crock pot, you can always stop after your onions are cooked and add everything to a large crock pot. Cook on low as long as you’d like. It really can’t over-cook!
I hope this is as big of a hit for you as it is for me! It’s always good to have a pasta sauce recipe ready to go (and in the freezer) if you ever get unexpected guests for dinner. And, I’ve always found people just appreciate food that’s made from scratch, a little bit more…. And that makes me happy.

Enjoy!

Biscuits & Chicken Sausage Gravy

** An updated version of this recipe, complete with homemade biscuits, is available here.**


I’ve been on a mission to “One Up” my brothers gravy recipe for years. His always seemed too complicated, even for gravy from scratch. So I’ve worked away on this one for a long time, perfected it and am finally, sharing it. It’s not easy, but every other weekend or when we have friends over in the mornings, it’s great to have. It even makes amazing leftovers, unlike most breakfasts, so it’s not wasteful to make a bunch. Make it on Sunday and keep it in the fridge for the week. It’s easy to reheat and my fiance absolutely loves it when he’s in a hurry. I pop a plate in the microwave and he’s got a quick bite of a breakfast I worked really hard on and put a lot of love into! Can’t beat that!

If you’ve ever made a gravy before you know that once you start cooking it, you can’t walk away. So yes, this is yet another dish of mine that makes you a slave to the stove, but is also, so very worth it.
So, let’s get started.

Ingredients:
1 Pkg Breakfast sausage, I use Isernio’s brand because it’s all natural, tastes amazing and it’s chicken, not pork. If you like pork sausage, they make a great one too. Find it here.
3 Tbs All purpose flour
Reduced fat butter milk
Regular milk
Pepper
1 Pkg Grands Flakey Layers Biscuits

Directions:
Cook the sausage in a large sauce pan, on medium while breaking it into small pieces. Chicken sausage really doesn’t render a lot of fat for the purposes of making a gravy, so if you find the pan is dry add a couple of table spoons of butter to the sausage after it’s browned. It doesn’t take much butter so don’t go overboard, but if you use the pork sausage, no butter is needed! It’s biscuits and gravy, so it’s not HEALTHY but we can try to make it less-bad-for-you. Once the sausage is cooked add the flour, using a whisk to make sure all the sausage is coated in flour. Let that cook on medium for about 4 or 5 minutes until it starts getting darker brown and you can tell the flour is starting to cook.

Then, just like when you make the sauce for MacNCheese, start adding the buttermilk, slowly. About a cup and a half, whisking until it becomes REALLY thick, but don’t let it burn! Then start whisking in the milk. You can add a little at a time to make sure the butter milk and milk get fully incorporated into each other and that the gravy will thicken up properly. Once you’re sure everything is mixed and going well, add the rest of the milk, about 4 cups total, and bring to a boil. Keep whisking, making sure to keep the sides and the bottom of the pan clean and free from gravy buildup. That will make for some icky stringy surprises later if you’re not careful!

It takes a while to cook, depending on how much gravy you’re making. The amount of buttermilk and milk also depend on how much you are making as well. The amount of liquid you add will be close to the amount of gravy you end up with as it does reduce, but not drastically. I usually end up with enough for Mo and I and the baby to eat to our hearts content as well as having leftovers for a couple of days. The time it takes is also relevant to how thick you like your gravy too, mine takes about 45 minutes to an hour to fully cook.
Once your gravy is close to done, pop the biscuits in the oven. You can turn off the heat and cover your gravy while you bake since it will help thicken the gravy to let it stand for a while. Once your biscuits are browned, split them in half, cover them in gravy and…. You know what to do next!

Let me know how yours turns out or if you have questions, something went wrong, or if you just have comments! It’s great that some of you have emailed to let me know how things have turned out for you, I love it!

Spring Break!

I haven’t been able to say that with excitement in YEARS. But the perks of my husband being an educator is that he gets a real spring break. So this year, we decided to take off and have a little adventure to Ojai, California, my home town. Since we’ve moving back to Arizona and I’m sure not to visit as often as I’d like, I wanted to go back and be a tourist and not be ashamed because I’m snapping pictures like I’m riding “It’s a Small World”. And I needed a vacation. Badly. I’d say, mission accomplished.

We went to Libbey Park down town to let the baby play and I truly forgot how beautiful it is!

We hiked to Rose Valley Falls, a hike that I learned about when I went to Ojai Valley School as a kid. Perfect hike with a toddler and so worth the 20 minute (breathtakingly beautiful) drive from downtown Ojai.

Beautiful roadside flowers SOMEBODY romantically pulled over to pick for me. He’s too good!
You can actually climb in through an opening down on the right side and out through this opening. The water is SO cold though!

DIY Farm House Table

I love Craigslist. I love it. And I love Pinterest. My obsessions merged in one, delightfully successful project.
We are in the process of gathering an apartment full of things so that we can move back to Scottsdale. I am absolutely thrilled, however we are doing it on a budget and I believe that ones ladies trash is another ladies treasure! Ok, let me rephrase that, I don’t mean trash. I am not in college anymore and the dumpsters behind the dorms USE to be as popular as Ikea, BUT those days are past.

I have gotten pickier, but I still know there’s nothing some sand paper and a coat of primer can’t fix and there’s nothing that can’t be cleaned. I’m always on the prowl for a good deal as far as furniture, especially for our new place. The people we bought this table from were moving, listed it for $50 and we bought it for $40. I like to brag that I always get what I want, for the price I want, but my fiancé is finding out how true this really is. (Two weeks ago, we went to Ross, I had an extra $9 in my wallet of “play” money and I said, “I’m getting $8 heels. Watch.” I walked out with the CUTEST pair of brown Penny Loves Kenny wedges that were originally $98 for only $7.99. #winning)

This is true with this table too. A big dining table and 5 chairs (which aren’t upholstered yet, that will be another post) for $40. The supplies from Home Depot, which I’ll list later, were about $40 as well and it took me about a week to do! Well worth the investment considering the money we saved!

First, I scrubbed the CRAP out of the table. Literally, it was disgusting. But it was in great shape and again, anything can be cleaned! *rubberglovesrubberglovesrubbergloves* I used bristle brushes to paint on the primer, which was a bad idea. I should have used foam brushes. I bought one of the 9 packs of assorted foam brushes for the paint but I should have made it two. For the top of the table, I used a foam roller for the paint only. Using a foam brush on the primer would have given me a smoother base, but I decided I was going for the “brush stroke, hand done” look half-way through, and stuck with it. It turned out well, in my opinion! For the top of the table, I used a foam roller for the paint, but not for the primer, like I said.

It took a couple of coats of paint and a clear coat and this baby was done! Here’s the pictures, let me know what you think!

The table mid scrub.

I did 2 coats of Zinsser Stain Cover Primer in white, 2 coats of Behr Premium Plus Interior Satin Enamel in Ultra Pure white paint on the legs, 3 coats of Behr Premium Plus Interior Satin Enamel in Espresso on the table top and 3 coats of Minwax polycrylic protective finish in clear satin.

 

Sorry for the horrible “after” pictures. We are slowly collecting furniture and putting it in the garage for our move. So when we get into our new place, the after pictures will be replaced with the table in it’s designated spot with it’s centerpieces I have yet to make and blog about.
Let me know what you think!

Sweet Baby Ray’s Chicken

This is one of the easiest chicken recipes I have. Then again, I think most of my chicken recipes are easy because I refuse to defrost!

Ingredients:

2 Lbs chicken breasts, frozen
1 Cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, Sweet and Spicy flavor
Thyme
Rosemary
1 Cup water

There really aren’t directions, per say…. Just heat a skillet over Medium heat, add chicken and in a bowl, whisk the bbq sauce, a pinch of rosemary and thyme, and the water together and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on high, but keep checking and turning to avoid sticking and burning, until the chicken is cooked through. If you keep it covered the amount of liquid that comes out of the chicken as it defrosts keeps it from sticking and burning. I have a gas stove, I use my largest skillet, on the MAX burner, on high. Once the chicken is cooked through, simmer on low until sauce gets as thick as you’d like.

If you’ve never heard of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce before it looks like this

Serve chicken as a sandwich with home made fries (recipe will follow soon!)…. I serve it with my mac and cheese and a veggie and not only does my son love it and the mess it makes!

Let me know how it turns out for you!

Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

**An updated version of this recipe is available here!**

This is another one of my freezer meal attempts because I hear Jambalaya freezes well. It’s pretty easy to make and you can modify the recipe to please even the pickiest eaters.

Let’s get to this:

Ingredients:

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Pkg smoked Italian sausage, halved and cut into 1/4 inch slices (I had some breakfast sausage that needed to be used, so I used it here, it comes out the same, but looks better with the sliced smoked sausage, so it’s up to you. If you use breakfast sausage, you don’t need the olive oil.)
2 Breasts of chicken, cooked and shredded
1/2 Onion diced
4 Stalks of celery chopped
1/2 Red bell pepper
1/2 Green bell pepper
4 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 HEAPING cup of white rice
1 1/2 Cup water
1/4 Tsp ground red pepper
2 Tsp thyme
1 Tsp cumin
1 Tsp ground coriander
1 14 oz can fat free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 14 oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained

Directions:

In a large pot, brown the sausage in the olive oil. Add the onion, celery, peppers and garlic and cook for about 7 minutes or until soft. Then add the chicken, rice, water, pepper, thyme and broth and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Stir in tomatoes and cook another 3 minutes and you’re done!

It may not be aesthetically pleasing but it’s freakin’ delicious

If you want to freeze this, just portion it into freezer bags and freeze. To reheat, thaw in the fridge the day before and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Serve it with garlic bread or a salad!

Enjoy

Basic Mac N’ Cheese

I’m going to do a few recipe posts in a row because I had my first attempt at “freezer-meal-ing” this morning and although I’m pleased with my results, it’s all in the, “reheat and eat” test to see if all REALLY went well.
I wanted to give it a try before we move because things will be a bit tighter then and a failed meal wouldn’t mean a ruined night…. Yet.

So this is my most basic Mac N’ Cheese. I thought it best to try it out as a freezer meal, so my instructions will head towards the freezer but a few small changes and you’re headed towards the oven.

Ingredients:

1 Lb large elbow macaroni, (when I can find it I use whole wheat pasta, but the supply at the grocery store had been thinning out and I’m afraid they’re not carrying it anymore) cooked al dente, rinsed and drained (I cook any pasta with a couple of table spoons of extra virgin olive oil, a generous sprinkle of garlic salt and a teaspoon of Oregano. It gives it a good flavor but doesn’t overpower it.)
12 Oz Velveeta cheese, cut into large cubes
3 C shredded Colby Jack and Pepper Jack cheese
1.5 C low fat buttermilk
1.5 C low fat milk
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs all purpose flour
1 Package crushed Ritz crackers
1 C parmesan cheese
Black pepper
Rosemary

Directions:

If you are planning on freezing this for later, line a couple loaf pans with a strip of plastic wrap on the bottom followed by completely lining the dish with foil. I don’t like the thought of using aluminum baking pans every time and I think it wastes space, so this technique works. The plastic wrap strip gives you little handles to pop the MacBrick out of the dish once it’s frozen so you don’t rip the foil trying to get it out.

Now separate the cooked pasta between the two dishes evenly and sprinkle a little less than a cup of the shredded cheese over the pasta. Toss so the cheese gets all the way to the bottom.

Pasta and shredded cheese in 4x8 loaf pans.

Now for the sauce, if you’re familiar with making a roux, you’ve got this. This is the hardest part because it requires your undivided attention as there is a small window between cooking the flour and burning it! In a medium sauce pan melt the butter completely. Add the flour and reduce the heat to low, using a whisk to mix. Keep the mixture moving and make sure it doesn’t burn. Once it starts to turn a golden brown and the flour is cooked, slowly add the buttermilk while mixing with the whisk. Make sure everything is mixed together well and there are no clumps, it should be getting very thick, keep it moving and don’t let it burn! Next add the milk slowly and whisk until smooth turning the heat up to medium low. Keep whisking until it starts to simmer and then start adding the Velveeta, just one handful at a time until the last is melted. Keep it moving, if your burn it now, I’m telling you from experience, the defeat is haunting. Once it’s all mixed and melted add the remaining shredded cheese, turn off the heat and mix. Add rosemary and black pepper and whisk one last time, REALLY well. Finally remove from heat and pour a glass of wine. You deserve it.

Next, simply pour the cheese sauce over the pasta, then using a big spoon, press down so the cheesy goodness gets all the way to the bottom. Cover the top with parmesan cheese (this keeps the crackers from getting soggy) and cover with a thick later of the crackers. Pop in the oven at 350 for about 30 min or until golden brown and bubbly!

If you’re freezing, stop before the parmesan. Just pop the loaf pans in the freezer for a couple of hours until they’re firm. Once they’re frozen, pull them out of the pans and put in a gallon sized freezer bag with the date. When you’re read to reheat, remove the foil from the MacBrick and put it back in the dish you froze it in. Cover with the parmesan and crackers and put in the oven at 400 until it’s golden brown and bubbly.

I serve this with my Baby Ray's chicken (recipe to follow), pork chops, ribs, fried chicken... Anything, mac and cheese goes with it all.... Again, mix-in’s are endless. Broccoli, ham, spinach, shredded chicken and frozen peas…. But if you get creative, let me know what you did so I can give it a try too!

Classic Banana Bread

I thought this would be an appropriate recipe for my first post, and I’ll tell you why. I made this last night for the first time in a couple of months and in less than 24 hours, we managed to eat an entire loaf! As I sit here, typing this, I’m finishing the laaaast slice…. And it’s delicious. (Since I procrastinated and typed instead of eating my bread, my toddler has inevitably finished it for me. You snooze, you loose I guess!)
So here is the recipe! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 or 4 VERY ripe bananas (you’re going to be mashing these by hand, so you want soft bananas!)
1/3 Cup melted butter
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
1 Egg, beaten
1 Tsp vanilla extract
1 Tsp baking soda
1 1/2 Cup all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Smash bananas in a large bowl with a fork until all the chunks are good and smashed. Mix (with the same fork, if you want, but not with a beater) the melted butter into the mashed bananas, then add the sugar, beaten egg and vanilla. Mix well. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt in and mix. Add the flour last and mix well. Pour mixture into a buttered (oiled, sprayed, whatever your preference) 4x8in loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan, cool on a rack and slice to serve!

I swore I would never do this….

But it’s looking a little like it’s unavoidable.

I DID NOT want this to be a craft blog, food blog, Mommy blog. I really didn’t. But I figured, “What else do I do?” And started struggling. I’m a crafty, cooking Mommy. So this will undoubtedly be my test kitchen, craft table, the documentation of trial and error with a toddler and of course, a sprinkle of me.

I’m horrible at blogging, know absolutely none of the tricks, however I believe I can do anything. So here we go.

Enjoy, comment, share, spread the love