Tag Archives: tomatoes

Chicken Sausage And Roasted Vegetable Pasta

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“Pasta?” you say? “I thought you were gluten-free?” you say?

Well yes, I’m still gluten-free! Thankfully, several companies make gluten-free pasta so I don’t have to give up that which I so adore!

Since I now have to read ingredient labels to make sure I’m not unintentionally “glutened”, I’ve noticed more and more all of the un-natural additives that goes into food to preserve it. Italian sausage is no different! So I went from the pork variety to the all-natural chicken and its just as yummy if not more so!

I have to apologize for the photo! I seemed to have misplaced the battery for my good camera and have been using the good old iPhone to take pictures for the blog. Though I really don’t think this dish would photograph well either way!

Just trust me, it’s delicious!

Oh, and I should mention that I used a quality jarred sauce for this, but if you have the time and energy, using homemade would not be frowned upon!

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  • 1  lb bulk Italian chicken sausage
  • 12 oz gluten-free tri-colored vegetable pasta
  • 24 oz tomato basil sauce
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 large or two small zucchini, chopped
  • 8 oz mushrooms, quartered
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 3 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 beef steak tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • dash crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a baking sheet lined with foil, add onions, peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms with a few drizzles of olive oil and salt & pepper. Toss to coat. Roast veggies  for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time.

Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula. While sausage browns, cook pasta to package directions. When sausage is cooked through, stir in tomato sauce. Let heat through, for about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, spinach, and red pepper flakes. Cook until spinach is slightly wilted, then stir in roasted vegetables, and parmesan cheese. Allow to cook 5 more minutes. Add pasta and stir until well incorporated.

Pour pasta mixture into a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Top with sliced beef steak tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350, for 25 to 30 minutes. Would be great served with a Caesar salad!

**This holds up well in the fridge. For the three of us, I was able to get two dinners out of one pan.

Chicken Cacciatore Over Polenta

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Boneless, skinless chicken thighs with tomatoes and mushrooms served over creamy polenta. This is so easy and inexpensive. The chicken cooks all day in the crock pot so there’s no fuss, and this uses prepared, store-bought polenta that you heat up just before serving. Dinner in no time flat!

I didn’t keep track of the seasoning when I was throwing everything together before work, so adjust to your preference!

  • 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, untrimmed
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 pound mushrooms, quartered
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 1/2 tbsp marjoram
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 24oz tube prepared store-bought polenta
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup reserved sauce from chicken
  • 2 to 3 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese

The night before, cut up your onions, peppers, and mushrooms, and place in ziplock baggies in the fridge.

In the morning, place onions and peppers in the bottom of the crock pot, then untrimmed chicken thighs, then mushrooms.

In a mixing bowl, combine diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, wine, oregano, basil, marjoram, and salt, mix well.  Pour over ingredients in crock pot and let cook for 8 hours on low.

At dinner time, place polenta in a medium sauce pan and break up with a fork. Heat over medium-low heat. Add butter and stir in milk and Parmesan cheese. Slowly stir in reserved cup of sauce from the chicken. *You may need more or less cooking liquid to get the polenta to your desired consistency.

To serve, place 1/4 of polenta on a plate, top with 2 chicken thighs, and desired amount of sauce. Great with a side salad and steamed green beans!

* If you don’t care for polenta, this can be served over pasta or rice!

Skippy’s Southwestern Breakfast Bake

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My hubby and his buddies camp out every year at Daytona for the Rolex 24. It’s 24 hours of watching cars go fast, enjoying libations, and most importantly, eating. Last year, our good friend Skippy brought this casserole to have for breakfast , and my hubby brought back the recipe. It’s a hardy breakfast best enjoyed after a long night, but will also impress any Holiday house guests that maybe looking for a great breakfast from a wonderful host. It can be a bit on the spicy side, so for the not-so-big-a-fan of heat first thing in the morning, use mild Rotel and unseasoned hashbrowns.

  • 1 20 oz package refrigerated Southwestern flavor hashbrowns
  • 1 10.75 oz can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 10 oz can Rotel
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 lb cooked, crumbled sausage
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups Cornflakes
  • 2 tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine first seven ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 13×9 baking dish.

Mix together cornflakes and melted butter. Spread evenly on top of hashbrown mixture and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Mexican Meatball Soup (Albondigas Soup)

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That’s it! I’m done! No more turkey for a year! After a full week of turkey salad sandwiches and turkey alfredo, it’s time for something beefy! I love this soup! It’s great comfort food! I call it Mexican Meatball Soup, so if anyone asks what I’m cooking for dinner, they’ve got an idea of what’s in it. Look on the internet and you’ll find many versions of this recipe, but like my other dishes, this one is as simple as you can get!  I like to serve this with cheese quesadillas to scoop up the chunks of tomato!

For the meatballs:

  • 1 1/2 lb ground sirloin
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal
  • 1 tsp minced onion
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • salt
  • pepper

For the soup:

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp cilantro
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 64 oz beef broth
  • 16 oz medium Picante sauce
  • 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
  • 3/4 cup white uncooked rice

To make the soup, heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook 10 minutes. Stir in basil, oregano, cilantro, salt and pepper, beef broth, tomatoes, and Picante sauce. Bring to just a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer while making meatballs.

To make the meatballs, combine all of the ingredients listed above in a large mixing bowl, and mix well. Shape into bite size meatballs, about a 1/2 inch in diameter. The easiest way to do this is by rolling them out into a log then cut that into even pieces, then roll up. Drop meatballs into simmering broth and stir. Cover and let simmer 15 minutes. Stir in rice, then continue cooking for 25 more minutes, stirring occasionally, so rice doesn’t stick. Serve with quesadillas! Enjoy!