Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage Breakfast Casserole

I got the idea to make this version of a breakfast casserole after I made this one during the holidays:  Turkey Sausage Breakfast Casserole. It was just so good I wanted to make it with different flavors. It is certainly a nice change to have this on hand versus the go to cereal for us for breakfast. We just warmed some up in a bowl and rolled it up in warm spinach flavored tortillas to go.

I added a few things I just had on hand already and it really came out tasty. If you wanted it even spicier you can just add crushed red pepper flakes, chopped jalapenos or hot sauce. Or you can go the opposite way and get mild sausage versus the spicy. Either way I think it turned out great! I might try it meatless next and use some beans in place of the meat.

Spicy Chicken Sausage Breakfast Casserole       

Serves 6-8

Spicy Chicken Sausage Breakfast Casserole

ingredients

• 1 lb Spicy Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
• 16-18 oz frozen hash browns (I just used half of a large bag)

• 8 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 oz sliced black olives
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

• Kosher Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Brown sausage in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through. Remove and set aside on a plate. Add the hash browns to the same skillet (add a lil bit of oil if the pan seems to dry), salt, pepper & garlic. Cook until potatoes are slightly browned. Remove from heat.

2. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together until well blended. Pour into a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish.

3. Bake for 1 hour, let cool slightly and serve.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Allrecipes.

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

I was shopping at our local food Co-op... (Farmers Market Baskets) last week and one of the volunteers was talking up this recipe while I was there. I thought, dang that sounds good! So I decided to pick up the recipe card and a spaghetti squash to make it! I pretty much stuck to everything the way it was and both of us were so excited to eat this yummy dish. It came out uh-mazing and now I want to make it again and again and again, well maybe not that many agains. Ha! It is much lighter take on the traditional fettuccine alfredo and I really didn't miss the noodles in it either.

Anyway, here is how you make it...

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo       

Serves 2

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

ingredients

• 1 medium sized spaghetti squash
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp cream cheese
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tbsp for topping
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes and chopped fresh parsley 

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds (scrape them with a spoon). Brush on some EVOO and Sprinkle with S&P both inside and outside the squash. Place face down on the baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour until tender.

2. Make the sauce:  melt butter in small pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Whisk in the flour and cook for another minute until golden brown. Slowly whisk in the milk until no more lumps remain. Add cream cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan, S&P and crushed red pepper flakes.

3. Flip each half of squash over (so you have an instant "squash bowl") and using a fork gently pull up the strands, stir in half the sauce in each squash bowl. Top with some more Parmesan and place under a broiler for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown. Top with fresh parsley and serve.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Christina at Farmers Market Baskets.

Mushroom Lasagna

Here is a meat-free lasagna loaded up with mushrooms and it turned out to be another tasty meal for us. It makes a ton so you can use it for leftovers or freeze it. I tried out the no cook noodles again in this dish and I enjoyed them so much more this time around. I will say it is a major time savor (in the making of the lasagna land) to not have to boil the noodles and lay them out so they don't stick together. I will save that idea for any homemade lasagnas in my near to distant future. I had a bunch of cremini's leftover so I used only one type of mushroom in this dish but you could use various kinds for a depth of flavor.

I picked up one of those tubs of small mozzarella balls at Costco before New Years and diced them up for this dish which worked out perfectly! I found that while I was making the lasagna I had 4 noodles leftover - what! I ran out of ingredients so I didn't use them but if I make this again, I would just create another layer with them, no reason to waste them.

Mushroom Lasagna       

Serves 4-6

Mushroom Lasagna

ingredients

Sauce:
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Freshly grated nutmeg

• Kosher Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Lasagna:
• 2 Tbsp EVOO
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• Salt & Pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced very thinly
• 1/2 cup Marsala
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups ricotta (use fresh if you can find it), at room temperature
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 cups diced fresh mozzarella
• 1 cup shredded fontina cheese
• 9 oz box Barilla no boil flat lasagna sheets

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º. Make the sauce:  In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for a minute or two. Whisk in the milk slowly and season with nutmeg, S&P. Cook until it thickens up a bit. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Make the lasagna:  In a large skillet, heat the EVOO over medium heat. Melt the butter into that and add the shrooms. Let the shrooms brown completey, then season them with thyme, S&P. Add the garlic and stir for a minute until it becomes fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala. Set the shrooms aside.

3. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, 1/2 cup of the Parm, 1 cup of the mozzarella, S&P to taste. In a separate bow, mix together the remaining Parm, Mozzarella and Fontina cheeses.

4. Separate the lasagna sheets and soak them in hot water for 4-5 minutes. Grease a 9x13" baking dish/pan with nonstick spray. Make layers in the following order: 1/4 of the sauce, 4 lasagna sheets, half the ricotta mixture, half the shrooms, 1/4 of the sauce, half the mozzarella-Fontina, 4 lasagna sheets, the remaining ricotta mixture, the remaining shrooms, 1/4 of the sauce, the remaining 4 lasagna sheets, the remaining sauce and the remaining mozzarella-Fontina.

5. Cover the dish tightly with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, uncover, and bake until browned about 10-15 minutes more. Let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

 And I served up the lasagna with some salads and homemade Italian dressing...

 

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Rachael Ray:  My Year in Meals.

Noodle Bowls

I never knew that there were so many different kinds of mushrooms to cook with until I made a little visit to Whole Foods. Wowsas! I decided to go for it and try a new kind called maitake - they look like this when you get them... kinda funky, right?

Maitake Mushrooms

I've used shiitake mushrooms before and added cremini mushrooms as well to this dish. Rachael used enoki mushrooms in hers but they were sold out of those so I improvised. So all in all I made this dish with 3 different types of mushrooms as you will see below.

Maitake, Shiitake & Cremini Mushrooms

I've found that a large Dutch oven works just fine as a substitute for a Wok which I have no room for in my kitchen, nor do I really need one. The cast iron holds the heat well and distributes it evenly as well, just make sure it's really hot before you start cooking.

These noodle bowls were very tasty, they were not at all spicy because of the jalapeno mostly because I removed the seeds and veins. I would definitely reel back on the noodles next time and add more veggies. I had a 9.5 oz package and I would almost even say to only use half next time. All in all we really enjoyed this meal.


Noodle Bowls       

Serves 4-6

ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• About 1/4 lb shiitake shrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
• About 1/4 lb maitake (hen of the woods) shrooms, thinly sliced or chopped
• 1/4 lb cremini shrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled & cut into matchsticks
• 1 large parsnip, peeled & cut into matchsticks
• 2 medium leeks, cut into matchsticks, washed & drained well
• 2 " ginger root, peeled and grated
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded & thinly sliced
• 9 cups chicken stock (unsalted)
• 4 Tbsp tamari
• 8 oz organic soba noodles

• Kosher Salt & Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

• Chopped cilantro and scallion greens for garnish

directions

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat. Add all the mushrooms and stir. Cook until they are nutty and fragrant, about 2 minutes; add the veggie matchsticks, ginger, garlic and chile; season lightly with salt and liberally with black pepper. Stir fry 1-2 minutes.

2. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Season with tamari to taste (start with 4 Tbsp, taste and add more if needed). Add the soba noodles and cook until just tender.

3. Using tongs, fill serving bowls with noodles, mushrooms and veggies first. Then, ladle in the broth. Garnish with cilantro and scallion greens.

If you are up for it, try using chopsticks for eating the noodles/veggies and a spoon for slurping up the broth.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from Rachael Ray:  My Year in Meals.

Alaskan King Crab Legs

Happy New Year! It's really crazy it's 2015 - whew where does time go? We did NYE a little bit different this year, we had apps, steamed mussels and we picked up some ginormous crab legs to eat for dinner this year. Being a MD gal and growing up eating blue crabs, I can't say that I've ever had Alaskan King Crab legs. The meat was sweet and just as delicious as I'd hoped it would be. The only downside was that they sure were hard to crack open. Why? Well, because the legs have these little spikes everywhere and it hurt our hands to break the shells (even with crackers). Those little spikes were so sharp!!!

Like most crab legs, they are already cooked so all you have to do is heat them through. I researched the best options and found that this one was a favorite so I gave it a whirl.

Alaskan King Crab Legs       

Makes 2 servings (as a main dish)

Alaskan King Crab Legs

ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs Alaskan King Crab legs (I used 2 legs and 2 claws)

• 1-2 lemons, halved
• Plenty of Melted butter for dipping
• Old Bay Seasoning, to taste

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place legs on the sheet and squeeze lemons over the them. Add lemon halves to the baking sheet as well. Season the legs with Old Bay to taste. Pour HOT water into the baking sheet until it covers the bottom completely. Tightly wrap the baking sheet with foil all the way around the baking sheet.

2. Bake the crab legs for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. Serve the legs with melted butter to dip the meat into.

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from thehungrymouse.com