Homemade Breakfast Sausage

I don't think I'll ever bother to buy pre-made breakfast sausage again.

2 lbs ground pork*
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well.  Shape into 2 1/2" patties, about 1/2" thick.  Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Cook half of patties until well browned and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side.  Transfer to paper towels to drain.  Wipe out skillet and repeat with remaining butter and patties.  Yield: 16 patties.

*You can usually find ground pork next to the ground beef.  Do NOT use lean or extra lean ground pork--it won't have enough fat in it to cook up properly.  You can also check the butcher's counter in your grocery store for ground pork breakfast sausage, which usually has just sage added; reduce the sage in the recipe to compensate.

Wontons or Egg Rolls

1 pound lean sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Regular)
1 egg
1 can (4 1/2 ounce) tiny shrimp
1 can (4 ounce) water chestnuts, finely chopped
3/4 cup celery, finely chopped
4 green onions, finely chipped
1 package wonton skins OR egg roll skins

Brown sausage. Drain off fat. Put in bowl. Mix in egg, tiny shrimp, water chestnuts, celery, and green onions. Put rounded teaspoon sausage mixture on each wonton skin. Wrap. Seal edges with moistened fingers, Deep gry in 365* oil (until golden brown). Remove with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towel in warm oven until ready to serve. You can fry ahead and heat in 450* oven.

4th of July Breakfast Casserole

This is the casserole my Mom would always make for the 4th of July breakfast with our church. Just eating it makes me want to hop on my decorated bike and cruise around the park in parade fashion with the other kids.

K, not really... but it's good and super easy. And SO good when you're feeding a large group for breakfast.

1 ½ lbs. sausage
9 eggs
Grated cheddar cheese
3 c. milk
3 slices bread, cubed
1 t. salt
1 ½ t. dry mustard
Pepper
1 can chopped green chilis (optional)

Brown sausage. Mix all ingredients. Pour into 9x13 pan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour.

Tortellini Soup

I found this in the blogosphere. I altered it a bit and made it for the first time this week. It's simple and tasty -- a perfect fall meal! It's even filling enough to eat without sides.

15 oz. fresh tortellini
32 oz. chicken broth
4 garlic cloves, minced
14 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb. reduced-fat ground sausage
1 tsp. basil
1 pkg chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
14 oz. can tomato sauce

Brown the sausage and garlic in a small skillet. Drain fat and dump into large soup pot. Add chicken broth, stewed tomatoes and basil. When the soup is boiling, add tomato sauce and tortellini and cook for 10 minutes. Add spinach and parmesan cheese and simmer for another 10 minutes. Done!

Minestrone Soup

1 lb sausage browned and drained
1 quart of water
2 chopped onions
2 large carrots sliced
2 large celery stocks chopped
1 28 ounce can tomatoes pureed
2 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce
2 cups of beef bouillon (2 cups of water to 4 beef bouillon cubes)
1 TBSP parsley flakes
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp oregano
Garlic salt to taste
1 can garbanzo beans
½ head of cabbage

Optional: 1 cup uncooked macaroni noodles. I personally don't like adding the noodles because they get soggy - and I'm not a fan of the added noodles because the taste is fine without them.

Simmer 3 hours

Classic Manicotti with Marinara Sauce

Here's a recipe that I patched together using recipes from Giada De Laurentis, Mario Borgatti and the back of the Bertolli box -- it turned out great!!! Enjoy!

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion coarsely chopped
1 pound ground Italian sausage (if you don't like sausage that well, use ground beef or a half pound ground beef and half pound sausage)
Salt and fresh ground pepper
12 (8 oz package) manicotti
15 oz whole milk ricotta
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves
3 cups marinara sauce (recipe to follow -- or just use a jar of Prego)
2 Tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown sausage and onion in a skillet over medium heat with 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Cook until onions are translucent and meat is browned. Remove from heat and cool.

Brush 1 Tablespoon olive oil over a large cookie sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite (4-6 minutes). Using a slotted spoon remove the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.

Combine the ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan and parsley. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste and mix, stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture. Make sure the meat mixture is cool, or it makes for difficult transfer to the manicotti tubes!

Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a 9 x 13 pan. Spoon half of the marinara over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the meat/cheese mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the top. ** Stuffing the manicotti can be a real pain, but I found that if I put all the filling in a gallon Ziploc bag and then cut off one of the bottom corners, I could shoot it right in, it made it a lot easier!

Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese, then the remaining Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Dot the entire dish with the putter pieces. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, or until heated through. Let manicotti sit for 5 minutes and then serve.

Marinara Sauce

1/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 quarts canned tomatoes, mostly drained (or 2-28 oz cans crushed tomatoes)
10 basil leaves (fresh is best)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
** You can add other spices that meet your individual tastes, but this gives you a good base to begin with.

Saute the garlic with the oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients, then raise the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Simmer for 30+ minutes or until it is reduced to the consistency you prefer. The sauce can be stored for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer. Yields 5 cups.

Cavatini

1 box rotini noodles, cooked
1 lb sausage, cooked
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 pkg pepperoni, quartered
4 oz sliced mushrooms
24 oz mozzarella
2 15oz cans Mexican stewed tomatoes

Cook macaroni. Cook together the sausage, beef, onions, and pepper. Mix with remaining ingredients except 12 oz of cheese. Spread remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Another one from Michelle, she has the best recipes! Kids love this one too.

Brookie's Fantastic Ziti

This is actually a Rachael Ray 30 minute meal (from the original cookbook) However, I have made a few modifications and since Brookie (my 5 year old niece) is always assisting me with my R.R. cooking adventures, I thought it only appropriate to name it after her.
This dish is also quite tasty as a vegetarian dish. Just eliminate the sausage and double the beans. I also increase the crushed pepper to about 3/4 tsp. (You learn how to make some yummy vegetarian dishes when your roommate is a vegetarian)


Brookie’s Fantastic Ziti

1 lb. bulk sausage
2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
1 small onion, diced
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) cannelloni beans (white beans)
20 basil leaves torn or roughly chopped
1 lb. ziti or penne rigatte, cooked al dente

In a deep skillet, break up sausage and sauté over medium-high heat. Remove from pan to paper-towel lined plate to drain. Return pan to heat; reduce heat to medium low. Add olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and onion and cook 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil and beans and heat through. Return sausage to sauce. Drain pasta and combine with sauce. Serve with lots of cheese. (I prefer Peccirino Romano)