Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

I don't make Italian sausage often because I am not a fan of it, even though Randal loves it. These sandwiches from pass the sushi appealed to me because it mixed the sausage with beef so I thought I would like it enough, and I knew Randal would enjoy these. The original recipe was made in the slow cooker, but I decided not to do that and they turned out great.

1 lb sweet sausage
1/2 lb ground beef
2 15oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 small onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
Sliced provolone
Fresh rolls

Brown the sausage and ground beef in a large pan.  Add the roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, and peppers into the meat and cook for 30 minutes over medium heat.

Butter split rolls and toast in a hot pan until lightly browned, add provolone and top with the sausage mixture.

Sausage, Apple and Cranberry Stuffing

It's November 7th, so it's time for another Crazy Cooking Challenge.  It is also one of mine and Randal's anniversaries today, we met on November 7th 2000.  November is a bit of a scary month for Randal because he has 3 anniveraries to remember (we met on November 7th 2000, became officially a couple on the 17th 2001 and I came to America on the 27th 2002) and I make my poor husband remember them all!

  Anyway, back to the challenge. This months theme is stuffing and to be honest I have never made stuffing from scratch before.  Growing up in England, stuffing was part of our traditional sunday roast dinner, but it was always sage and onion paxo.  I still love the smell of that stuff - one of my guilty pleasures!

I spent quite a bit of time searching for a stuffing recipe that Randal might like (as he never eats the stuff!) and once I found Paula Deen's recipe made with Hawaiian sweet bread, apples and cranberries I knew I had to make it.  I changed the recipe a little, I added sausage so it would appeal to Randal more and I added some herbs.  We both actually liked the flavour of this, so I would say that my first attempt at homemade stuffing was a success.

8 cups Hawaiian sweet bread, cubed and toasted
1lb Italian sausage
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
2 granny smith apples, chopped
3 large eggs
1 can cream of celery soup
2 1/2 tsp dried sage
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl, combine chicken broth and cranberries and leave to soak for 30 minutes.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, pepper and celery, sage, thyme, rosemary and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes. Add apples and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

Beat 3 eggs in a separate bowl. Add salt and pepper.

In the large bowl with vegetables, stir in chicken broth mixture, celery soup, and cinnamon. Add toasted bread, stirring gently to combine. Add eggs. Spoon mixture into prepared dish and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until center is set.

Italian Sausage Melt

Just a quick and easy italian sausage casserole.  We liked this, but Randal thought he might like it better with a marinara sauce instead of the alfredo.

1 1/4  cups bisquick

1/4  cup butter, softened

2  tablespoons very hot water

1/2  lb bulk spicy Italian sausage

1/2  cup chopped green bell pepper

1  cup Alfredo sauce

1  cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2  cup grape tomatoes, cut in half

2  tablespoons fresh basil leaves, cut into strips

Heat oven to 400. Grease bottom of 8-inch square  baking dish.

In medium bowl, stir bisquick, butter and water until dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan.

Cook sausage and bell pepper over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink. Spread sausage mixture over crust; spread pasta sauce over sausage. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle tomatoes and basil over top.

Pioneer Woman's Lasagna

Being English I prefer my lasagna to be made with a bechamel sauce, Randal likes lasagna made with cream cheese (his favourite lasagna is made by his friend Kelly, who was the first one to introduce him to the idea of cream cheese with pasta dishes, and now he has cream cheese with pretty much any italian meal we make) and neither one of us care for ricotta much at all. This lasagna is made with a mixture of beef and hot breakfast sausage and a lot of cottage cheese. I really thought that I would be okay with this and Randal would eat it but not really like it that much because of the cottage and parmesan cheeses. I was so wrong, Randal LOVED this, even took a big portion to work today for his lunch, and I really didn't like it that much. I really do not like the sausage flavour in this or the spice from the hot sausage, and I really missed the smooth creaminess that the bechamel brings to lasagna, but I do blame my English tastes for me not liking this, I think most people would love it. The only changes I made to The Pioneer Woman's recipe was that I used half a pound each of mozzerella and provolone, rather than just all mozzerella.


1-1/2 lbs ground beef
1 lb hot breakfast sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (14.5 ounce) whole tomatoes
2 cans (6 ounce) tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound sliced provolone cheese
1 box lasagna noodles

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

In a large pan brown beef and saussage, drain fat, add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, the basil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Simmer for 45 minutes.

In a bowl combine the beaten eggs, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons of parsley and 1 teaspoon of salt, mix together.

Once the water comes to a boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt and add the lasagna noodles, cook for 10 minutes.

To assemble the lasagna, place a layer of noodles on the bottom of a baking pan, put half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over noodles, cover that with the mozzerella cheese and add a third of the meat mixture on top of the cheese. Repeat the layers, this time adding provolone instead of the mozzerella and sprinkle a generous amount of parmesan over the top of the last meat layer.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Toad In The Hole

I have not had a good old english toad in the hole for a very long time. My mum made this for us, and I have already told her that she has to make it again before she leaves.


4oz plain flour
4 large eggs
½ pint milk
2 tbsp fresh thyme
6 english pork sausages
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and peppr

1. To make the batter, sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt and pepper

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the eggs. Using a wooden spoon, gradually beat the eggs into the flour then slowly beat in the milk

3. Stir in the thyme. Cover and leave to stand for up to 4 hours

4.Preheat the oven 400F

5.Heat a large skillet and cook the sausages until golden-brown all over

6.Place the vegetable oil into an ovenproof dish and heat in the oven for five minutes or until the dripping is very hot

7.Add the sausages to the hot dish and pour in the batter. Immediately return the dish to the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes until well-risen and golden-brown.

See other recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge, Gooseberry Patch, Eat At Home

Pumpkin Lasagna

I saw this recipe in the latest issue of the food network magazine and I knew that as long as I didn't tell the hubby that there was pumpkin in it, he would eat it happily. I really liked this lasagna and I will definitely be making it again!


1 medium onion, chopped
4 to 6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
1 large courgette, thinly sliced
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded romano cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 pound cooked lasagna noodles

Place the pumpkin puree in a sieve over a bowl and let drain

In a large heavy skillet, over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add sausage and cook until brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

In a medium pot combine tomato sauce and red wine and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Add salt, pepper and herbs, reduce heat to low, cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix the strained pumpkin puree with the egg and season with salt and pepper, in a seperate bowl mix together the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella and romano cheeses.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Build your lasagna in a large (9 by 13-inch) baking dish starting with a layer of sauce, a layer of pasta, a layer of half the pumpkin mixture, add half the cheese mixture and cover with some of the sauce. Repeat the layers finishing with a layer of pasta and a layer of sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.


See other recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge, Eat At Home

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Whenever we go to the Olive Garden, I always order their Zuppa Toscana soup, so when I found this recipe on another food blog I knew I had to give it a try.
This is actually the second time I have made this soup in the last couple of weeks, this time I didn't have any spicy sausage links but I did have a roll of spicy sausage, so I fried that up instead of baking the links in the oven, it worked just as well.

Zuppa Toscana Soup:
4 spicy Italian sausage links
1 medium onion diced
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp chicken stock base
1 qt vegetable broth or water
3 potatoes cut into small chunks
2 cups chopped kale
1/2 cup of cream
salt and pepper




Melt butter and oil in a soup pan, add onion and garlic and cook until onions are translucent


Fry sausage, or if using links bake at 300 degrees for around 25 minutes, cut into half inch slices


The recipe calls for 1qt of water but I prefer to use vegetable broth, so add either water or broth, the chicken stock base, and potatoes and simmer around 15 minutes until potatoes are tender



Add the sausage to the soup


Add the chopped Kale


Pour in the half cup of cream, season with salt and pepper and let simmer for 5 minutes


I have to say that it turned out great and we will definitely be making it again!

Linked to : Eat At Home