Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup

I had a New Year's Resolution this year to try one new recipe a week.  I used to cook new foods regularly, but my busy life kind of took over and I didn't take the time to find new things to make for my family.  I actually love to cook, but had found that I was bored with my old stand by recipes, and starting to dread dinner time every night.  My husband encouraged me to set a goal to try a new recipe once a week, and I have pretty much stuck to it.  It has made all the difference in how I feel about mealtime preparation for my family!  I love trying new recipes!  I saw this recipe on facebook and tried it out right away and my family loved it.  I used the frozen cheese tortellini from Costco and it tasted perfect with the soup.  

Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup

slightly adapted from: cafedelites.com

1/2 pound ground Italian sausage, browned

1 onion, chopped (I used my dehydrated chopped onion)

2 large carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped (I omitted because I was out of celery)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

2 tsp. beef or chicken bouillon powder

1/2 tsp. salt

4 c. beef or chicken broth

1/4 c. cornstarch mixed and dissolved in 1/4 c. water

3 cans evaporated milk

1 12 ounce package of frozen tortellini

2 1/2 c. fresh baby spinach

1 c. milk

Place the browned sausage, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, Italian seasoning, bouillon powder, salt and broth in a slow cooker.  Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 7 hours.  Stir in the cornstarch mixture and the evaporated milk.  Add the tortellini and stir it together.  Cook it on high for 45 more minutes, or until the tortellini is cooked through and the soup has thickened.  Gently stir in the spinach and cook for another 5-10 minutes.  Pour in the milk, a little at a time, until the soup has your desired consistency.  Add more salt to taste.  I actually forgot to add the milk at the end, and our flavor and consistency were just right.  The recipe says that extra milk may be needed when reheating leftovers because the soup absorbs a lot of liquid as it cools.  We didn't have the problem because we had nothing leftover!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

When I was in Ohio visiting Nicole after she had her babies, a friend brought them dinner and this is what she brought.  It tasted soooo delicious.  I finally got around to making it for my family, and I must admit, things always taste better when someone else makes it for you.  That being said, it was still a delicious meal, creamy and flavorful and definitely worth making again.  Especially if you have a sausage lover in your household.  

Spicy Sausage Pasta

from: kevinandamanda.com

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb. smoked sausage

1 1/2 c. diced onions

2 cloves minced garlic

2 c. chicken broth

1 (10 oz.) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, mild

1/2 c. heavy cream

8 oz. penne pasta

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/3 c. sliced green onions

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the sausage and onions and cook until browned and cooked through.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir it all together.  Bring it to a boil, cover skillet and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer it until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the green onion on the top.  If you want, you can broil it in your oven until the cheese is bubbly and melted.

Sausage and Pepper Pasta

I haven't posted anything on here for a long time, not because I didn't want to, but purely because I haven't cooked in, oh, nine months-ish.  I made dinner tonight with a bunch of things I needed to use up and decided to post it as a quick and simple meal idea if you want to spice up the old go-to pasta dish.  I'm leaving the amount open-ended depending on how many you're cooking for.

Sausage and Pepper Pasta

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

sweet peppers, thinly sliced

fully cooked sausage*, chopped into 1/2 inch slices

sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

your favorite jar of pasta sauce

linguine noodles

fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

Cook linguine according to package directions.  Set aside.  

Heat olive oil on medium-high heat.  Saute onion and peppers until tender.  Add sausage and sun-dried tomatoes, saute until heated through.  Dump in pasta sauce and stir until hot.  Add linguine noodles and toss until everything's combined.  Sprinkle fresh basil over the top and serve.

*Use any sausage that you like: Italian sausage, chicken, pork, or turkey sausage, sausage with cheese in it, sausage with herbs in it... you get the idea.  I used chicken sausage with cheese, red peppers, and garlic! If sausage is uncooked, slice thin and saute in a separate pan with a little olive oil until cooked through, then add to the pasta.

Lazy Sunday Casserole

This was a delicious meal that we just happened to make on... Sunday.  It was easy, the only real time-consuming part was chopping up all of the vegetables.  It was the first time I've cooked with, or eaten for that matter, fennel.  It's a very interesting vegetable, it has almost a black licorice flavor (which I actually don't like, but eaten as a bite with all of the other vegetables combined it wasn't bad).  My husband liked the flavor of it combined as well.  My sister-in-law informed me that fennel is an ingredient in a lot of Italian sausages (which may be a clue as to why I don't like Italian sausage that much) so it complimented the flavors of the dish well.  

After all of my fennel talk, it was just a small part of the dish and the overall flavor was well balanced and delicious!  The vegetables were moist and it had just the right amount of seasoning.  This is one of our new favorites for sure.  I got it from Kayotic Kitchen, a new blog that I found via Pinterest, and was so happy to find it.  As she suggested, we used vegetables we had on hand, so my slight adaptations are from the vegetables we needed to use up which included mushrooms. My husband was very happy that I finally chose a recipe that used sausage, his favorite.  And I liked it just as much as he did!

Lazy Sunday Casserole

slightly adapted from Kayotic Kitchen

Ingredients

4 sausages (beef or pork)

3 large potatoes

3-4 large carrots

1 red bell pepper

1 large onion

1 fennel bulb

5-6 mushrooms

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp oil

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Peel the potatoes, wash them and cut each potato into large cubes. Chop carrots into large pieces and slice mushrooms.  Chop onion into wedges. Remove the base and stalks of the fennel and slice it into wedges as well. Slice bell pepper into strips and put everything in a big roasting tray.

2. Use a big bowl to combine the oil with the Italian herbs, grated or chopped garlic, and chicken broth and pour it over the vegetables. Toss them around to make sure the broth gets everywhere. Season with a generous amount of salt and black pepper.

3. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and pop it in a preheated oven. Bake at 450F (225C) for 45 minutes.

3. While the vegetables are cooking, lightly brown the sausages and slice each sausage in half. (Sausages do not need to be cooked through.)

4. After 45 minutes the potatoes and vegetables should be fork tender. If they’re not, cover the tray with the foil and pop them back in the oven for a few more minutes. If they are fork tender, place the sausages in there and pour the balsamic vinegar all over. Place the tray back in the oven, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes. Take it out after 15 minutes, flip over those sausages and ladle some of the juices lurking at the bottom all over the vegetables and sausages. Put it back in the oven for the remaining time, until everything is nice and brown.

Leek Macaroni and Cheese

I went to a coworker’s house a little while ago and she had this awesome macaroni and cheese dish for us to try.  I was just going to have a little, as I was eating dinner with my husband later, but somehow couldn’t help asking for a little more, and then a little more.  My husband had to eat dinner by himself that night…  Anyways, I couldn’t wait to make it myself.

A few notes about this recipe.  The original recipe called for chanterelle mushrooms, which were really good when I first tried this; however, my husband is more of a meat-lover rather than squeaky-vegetable-lover so I used sausage instead.  You could use any sausage but I used and love Hillshire Farm’s Chicken Apple Sausage with Gouda Cheese.  Mmmmmm.

Also, it called for milk white cheddar cheese and the first time I made this I used a mild yellow cheddar and it did not have enough flavor for me.  So this time I used a sharp white cheddar and it was awesome!! 

Oh, and I think my favorite flavors in this are the leek and ground pepper.  Who knew?

Leek Macaroni & Cheese

Adapted from A Chow Life

1 lb. macaroni pasta (large elbows)
4 cups whole milk
6 tblsp. flour
4 tblsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp. sweet or smoked paprika
1 chicken (or other) sausage, sliced (see note below)

2 cups thinly sliced leeks (green part only)
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
8 oz. sharp (or other) white cheddar cheese

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook at a rolling boil until just tender. Drain. Rinse. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring the milk to just a boil in a heavy saucepan. Set aside.

Melt the butter in another pan. Add the flour and whisk over low heat for about 5 minutes. Do not brown. Remove from the heat.

Add the butter mixture to the milk and whisk well to get rid of lumps. Add 1/2 tsp of paprika. Season with salt and pepper. Return to heat. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until it’s smooth and it thickens. About 5 minutes.

Add mixture, sausage, and leeks to the pasta and stir until well coated and mixed. Spread the grated cheese over the top of the pasta. Sprinkle the top with the remaining paprika.

Cover the dish in foil and bake for 25 minutes. Then, remove the foil, place dish under the broiler (about 4 inches away from heat) and cook for another 3-4 minutes until slightly golden.

Apple, Potato & Sausage Waffles

This recipe comes from a waffle cookbook that Nicole gave me, and I liked it.  Lynnette and I made it together one night for dinner.  The added sausage, potatoes and apples make it a more filling waffle and a heartier meal.  

Apple, Potato & Sausage Waffles

adapted from: The Best of Waffles and Pancakes

1 c. wheat flour

1/2 c. white flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. milk

3 eggs

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

6 oz. sausage

1/2 c. peeled, chopped, cooked potatoes (I used 2 small-ish ones)

1/2 c. peeled, chopped apples

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the milk, eggs and butter and stir it well.  Stir in the sausage, potatoes and apples.  Grease your waffle iron and cook it as you normally would.  Serve it with maple syrup.

Lasagna Soup

Thanks to the ambition of Paula Deen's sons to break away from their mama's traditional foods and make healthier yummy meals (not that we all don't love a lot of love in our food, just like Paula), I found this delicious soup recipe that I tried out tonight.  I chose it for Matt because I always make the kind of food that sounds good to me, but I thought this one would be tantalizing for him, what with all that Italian sausage and peppers and what not.

And how wonderful it was to hear him say it may be his favorite soup recipe, that it tasted like a soup you might get at Olive Garden.  I also loved this soup.  I bought sweet Italian turkey sausage (Matt's response: "Of course you did") which was to my liking.  I'm not much for spicy Italian sausage.

Just as much as the sausage and peppers made it awesome for Matt, the lasagna noodles, basil, cheese, and tomatoes made it wonderful for me.  And although Paula uses love in the form of 2 c. of cheese in her recipe (love you Paula), I thought 1/2 c. was plenty for this soup.  I wouldn't have liked any more than this.


Bobby's Lighter Tastes Like Lasagna Soup
from the Deen Bros


Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 noodles)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
8 Whole-wheat breadsticks or grissini (optional)

Instructions:

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella, basil, and the Parmesan. Serve with the breadsticks, if using. (whole-wheat lasagna noodles take a little longer to cook.)

Nutritional Information:

Per Serving (1 cup) 225 Cal

Breakfast Pizza

This a great idea if you want to switch things up for breakfast. It's super easy and fairly quick. Matt makes this for me many mornings and we can do it before we have to leave for work. It also makes great leftovers; just reheat and serve.

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury croissants or biscuits

6 eggs

.75-1 lb. ground breakfast sausage (cooked and drained)

1 bag of hash browns

shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1- Flatten biscuits or croissants onto a large cookie sheet and press edges together to form a pizza-like crust.

2- Whisk eggs together in a small bowl and pour over crust.

3- Sprinkle hash browns, sausage, and desired amount of cheese over eggs.

4- Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown and eggs at center are cooked.

5- If you're like me and love sweetness in the morning, serve with syrup:)

Serves 5 adults easily with many leftovers.