Bean-and-Sausage Cornbread Casserole

I’ve been meaning to make this dish now for, like, 2 weeks. Something has come up each time and pushed it to the back burner (so to speak). I finally got around to making it last night. I used Gimme Lean veggie sausage (comes in the tube) instead of the real sausage. This was really good, but a little too spicy for me. Toby really liked it. I thought that FOUR CANS OF PINTO BEANS would be way too much, but nope, just enough. I will keep this one handy, but next time I will use just plain ol’ diced tomatoes. Toby can add hot sauce to his if he wants.

rating: 8.5

Bean-and-Sausage Cornbread Casserole
(from the August 2009 issue of Southern Living magazine)

serves 6-8

1 (1 pound) package mild ground pork sausage (I used Gimme Lean veggie sausage)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
4 (16 ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with zesty green chiles, drained
1/2 tsp salt
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup self-rising white cornmeal mix

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, 7 minutes or until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Add onion and bell pepper, and saute 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain. Stir in beans, tomatoes, and salt.
2. Pour sausage mixture into a lightly greased 13″ x 9″ baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups cheese. Stir together buttermilk and cornmeal mix, and spoon over cheese; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
3. Bake at 425 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until browned.

Panzanella Take Two

So one of my favorite restaurants in DC is Papa*Razzi (http://www.paparazzitrattoria.com/). We used to go there all the time, and one thing I would ALWAYS order (seriously, like every visit) was their Panzanella salad. According to their menu, it is: A Classic Tuscan salad of mixed greens, capers, tomatoes, torn Focaccia and Vermont goat cheese in a Red Wine Vinaigrette. After having such great success with the Tomato Panzanella a couple of nights ago, I decided to try a recreate this wonderful salad. AND I DID. TOTALLY. At first Toby said “wow, this is pretty close.” After a couple more bites he said “all you need is that red wine vinaigrette and you would have it.” A couple more bites after that he said ” I really don’t think you can tell a difference between your dressing and theirs.” Ha! I used the same dressing from the tomato panzanella and it worked just fine, thank you very much. I can’t really give you any amounts except for the dressing, you just have to kind of eye-ball it and see what you think. TRY THIS.

rating: 10

Papa*Razzi’s Panzanella

mixed greens (we used green-leaf lettuce and then a bag of gourmet greens)
tomatoes (I used 3, sliced in wedges)
capers (I used maybe 2 tbsp)
Vermont goat cheese (I just kind of crumbled it into the salad, maybe 3/4 of a little log)
croutons (I cut up a baguette into cubes, then broiled them with some salt, pepper, and olive oil until brown)

dressing:
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c white wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

I put the greens and the croutons into a large bowl and added the dressing, making sure to stir everything together really well. The croutons are SO good drenched in this dressing. Then add the rest of the ingredients, stirring a little more.

Pappa al Pomodoro Soup

Ain’t nothing better on a 90 degree day than some hot soup, am I right?? I saw this soup in, of all place, InStyle magazine, and thought it looked yummy and easy. Well, it’s one of those. I must say, though, that I didn’t use nearly as much basil as it called for, and that may have been the problem. I was relying on Toby’s little scraggly basil plant on the front porch to supply all my basil, and now it’s nearly just a stalk. So I did have to scrimp there. Toby tasted it and said “it’s watery.” I had to agree. It was very bland. I wonder if I had used veggie stock instead of the plain water if that would have made much difference? In any case, I have to be fair and make it properly before I hand down a judgement.

rating: 7ish

Pappa al Pomodoro Soup
(from the Sept. 2009 issue of InStyle magazine)

serves 6

3 tbsp olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup fresh basil
2 tsp chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 pounds ripe, peeled, seeded tomatoes, chopped (about 5 medium)
3 slices day-old white peasant bread, cut into 1/2″ cubes
3 cups water
Olive oil and basil leaves for garnish

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, basil, and sage, and cook for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to brown.
2. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add bread and water. Return to boil and reduce heat. Stir, breaking up bread with back of a wooden spoon.
3. Let soup simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls, drizzle with additional olive oil and garnish with basil leaves.

Baked Lemon Pasta

I try one new pasta recipe a week, and I decided to revisit The Pioneer Woman blog again (since that Crash Hot Potatoes recipe from there was such a hit). Toby loves anything lemon-flavored, so I decided to start with the Baked Lemon Pasta. I know, I know, lemon and pasta usually don’t go together, but this recipe is great! The sauce itself is just SO good. I did what The Pioneer Woman suggested and bought a microplane zester. Oh man! Where has this thing been all my life! Now all I want to do is make recipes that call for zest! I left out the fresh parsley (Wegmans was out of it). Several times Toby said “this is really good”. I knew he would like it. I served this with a green salad and some warm crusty bread. The Pioneer Woman does it again!

rating: 9

Baked Lemon Pasta

1 pound thin spaghetti
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste if desired
Plenty of grated Parmesan cheese
Flat leaf parsley, chopped (I left this out)
Extra lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.
In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT.
When butter is melted, add minced garlic.
Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.
Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary.
Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)
When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top.
Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley.
Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Tomato Panzanella

I love a panzanella salad, but I am kind of on the fence about tomatoes. I wasn’t sure how this recipe was going to go for me. I mean, I like tomatoes, but I don’t just eat a slice of a tomato plain, you know? I told Toby we were having this salad for dinner, and he asked what else we were having with it. I told him if this didn’t fill him up, I would make him something else. When he sat down and looked at the salad, he said “where’s the lettuce?” Let me tell you, there was only a TINY bit of this salad left over today and I had it for lunch. THIS IS SO GOOD. Just something about the bread mixed with the dressing and then the tomatoes…MMMMM. When I finished it for lunch today, I thought to myself “wow, I can’t wait to make this again!” I did leave out the mint.

rating: 9.5

http://fresh365.blogspot.com/2009/08/tomato-panzanella.html

Simple Tortellini & Spinach Soup

I recently discovered another vegetarian cooking blog, and I love it! This is the first recipe I’ve tried from it, and I really liked it. I didn’t even realize it until Toby pointed it out, but this soup is very similar to my “signature dish”, my one go-to dish that I make for all my guests, my Tortellini Florentine Soup. There’s no faux-chicken in this one, but I still like it. It’s a little bit quicker to throw together as well. I left out the basil, but it still had really good flavor. This one is good when you want something flavorful and hot and don’t have alot of time. With this we enjoyed a salad and some garlic bread.

rating: 8.5

http://fresh365.blogspot.com/2009/05/simple-tortellini-spinach-soup.html

Upside-down Deep Dish Pizza

This recipe seemed so darn easy. I think my mistake was that I used too much pizza dough and it was too thick. I followed the directions, and when the top was starting to turn brown I assumed it was done. After it had sat for 10 minutes, I cut it to serve, and what I thought was melted mozzarella cheese was actually uncooked pizza dough. Mmmmm! So I put it BACK in the oven to cook some more, but it just never cooked all the way through. Good thing we also had a salad to eat!

rating: 4

Upside-down Deep Dish Pizza
(from an ad in Womans Day magazine)

4 servings

1 pound ground beef (I used 1 package of Quorn Grounds)
1 jar Ragu Old World Style Sweet Tomato Basil Smooth Basil Sauce (I used a different pasta sauce)
1 package (10-ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry (optional)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can (11 ounces) refrigerated pizza dough

1. Brown ground beef in skillet; drain. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in Ragu; bring to a boil. Turn into 2-quart baking dish.
2. Top with broccoli, then cheese. Press dough over dish, sealing edges.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

Grandma Mollie’s Oatmeal Raisin-Chocolate Chip Cookies

First of all, I don’t have a Grandma Mollie. But boy, these cookies are good! And easy! This recipes makes alot of cookies, so I kept some, gave some to Toby to take to work, and then gave some to a neighbor. They are dangerous to have around, that’s for sure. They’ve got a little bit of everything in them! And they are not too sweet. Really good.

rating: 9

Grandma Mollie’s Oatmeal Raisin-Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from the Sept. 2009 issue of Country Living magazine)

makes 4 dozen cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk (I used Silk lite plain soy milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, plus raisins, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. Stir in milk. Drop dough in heaping tablespoonfuls, about 1-inch apart, on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and slightly crunchy, about 15 minutes.

Rustic Mushroom Tart

My other MIL made this for us on our last visit to NC, and I had to have the recipe. The recipe is really for a Vidalia Onion Tart, and she said that is good, too, but that she had made it so much that they got sick of it. She made it for us with the mushrooms, hoping it would turn out, and it certainly did! Mmmm!All she changed in the recipe is leaving out the onions and adding mushrooms. I didn’t even ask her what kind she used, but I used a mixture of button mushrooms and baby bellas, and this was great. It’s surprisingly easy, but it looks like you spent alot of time in the kitchen! I asked Toby what he would change, and he said “well, there’s alot of ways you could change it up, but I liked it just fine the way it is. ” There ya go! With this we enjoyed a green salad. Try it with the onions, if you like, or go for the mushrooms. Wonder what else would be good in it? Potatoes? Spinach?

rating: 9.5

Rustic Mushroom Tart
(from Southern Living magazine)

*note: this recipe is actually for a Vidalia Onion Tart, and I subbed mushrooms for the onions

2 tbsp butter
4 medium-sized Vidalia onions, thinly-sliced, about 6 1/2 cups (I used a container of pre-sliced button mushrooms and a container of pre-sliced baby bellas)
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 package refrigerated pie crusts (15 ounces)
parchment paper
1 egg white, lightly beaten
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add onion (mushrooms) and next 3 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until tender.
2. Unroll pie crust onto a lightly-floured surface. Pat or roll into a 12″ circle. Place pie crust on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with egg white. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese in center of crust. Spoon onion (mushroom) mixture over cheese, leaving a 2 1/2″ border. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese over onion (mushroom). Fold pie crust border up and over onion (mushroom), pleating as you go and leaving a 4″ wide opening in center. Brush crust with egg white.
3. Bake at 425 degrees F on bottom oven rack 17-19 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Crispy Hush Puppies

I love hush puppies, but I never get to eat them. I’ve made them from a mix before, and they were good, but I thought I would try and make them myself. I wasn’t sure what granulated garlic was, so I threw in some minced (I know it’s not the same thing). I used a melon baller to try and shape the hush puppies into little balls, but the batter stuck, so they were oddly-shapen, and they kind of resembled fluffy pillows. But they tasted great! I asked Toby what he thought, and he said they “need some kind of sauce.” I also served my Faux-crab cakes with these, so I used Tartar sauce on mine. Mmmmm. We also enjoyed some grilled corn on the cob and some cole slaw.

rating: 9

Crispy Hush Puppies
(from the August 2009 issue of Southern Living magazine)

2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups plain yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 large egg, beaten
2/3 cup buttermilk ranch dressing
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
vegetable oil

1. Stir together flour and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Stir together egg and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in flour mixture just until moistened (batter will be thick). cover and chill 1 hour.
3. Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches into a Dutch oven; heat  to 360 degrees F. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls, in batches, into hot oil. Fry 2-3 minutes on each side or until hush puppies are golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels; keep warm in a 250 degree F oven.