Sausage and Potato Soup

Since it's gotten so cold outside I have been wanting any kind of soup that I can find. I keep a recipe folder in my email box and whenever I get an email I tag it for that folder and archive it. So on Sunday I started going through some of those emails to see if I could find something to cook this week that was new and I ran across this recipe from one of my Mom's co-workers. It was good as she gave it but I've tweaked it just a little more to our liking. That's the beauty of simple recipes -- you can change them up to just how you like them and you can be pretty sure that they'll still taste great! And this recipe makes a lot of soup so you might want to half it if there are just two of you.
Sausage and Potato Soup

32 oz bag of frozen diced hash browns (or about 3 lbs of peeled and diced potatoes) (the more potatoes the better)
1 1/2 to 2 lbs sausage browned (can be hot or mild)
2 chopped onions
4 cups of water
4 cups of milk
28 oz of chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans cream of celery soup

Mix everything and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve with cheese -- pepper jack or parmesan go especially well.

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole

This is another Southern Living recipe that I made last week. It was very good!


Pizza Spaghetti Casserole
Makes 1 9x13 casserole

12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1-lb package mild ground pork sausage
2 ounces turkey pepperoni slices (about 30), cut in half
1 26 ounce jard tomato-and-basil pasta sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 8 ounce package shredded Italian three-cheese blend

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions in water with salt. Drain well and placed in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.
2. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and set aside. Wipe skillet clean. Add pepperoni, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until slightly crisp.
3. Top spaghetti in baking dish with sausage; pour pasta sauce over sausage. Arrange half of pepperoni slices evenly over pasta sauce. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses. Arrange remaining half of pepperoni slices evenly over cheese. Cover with nonstick or lightly greased aluminum foil.
4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes; remove foil, and bake 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

Onion Topped Sausage 'n Mashed Potato Casserole

I found this recipe in a Southern Living Casserole email that I got last week and I made if for Jason last Wednesday. My version is a little different than the original Southern Living recipe because I couldn't find all of the requested ingredients in the grocery store. But the modified version was yummy and so I know the original would be too! And pretty easy and quick! It's a good fall/winter meal because it's hearty and warm. It made a full 9x13 dish so it would also be easy to split in two and freeze half. Here's my version:

Onion Topped Sausage 'n Mashed Potato Casserole


1 package sweet Sausage links (pre-cooked kind)
2 14.5 oz cans Diced Tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried Basil
1 teaspoon Garlic and Herb Seasoning (Mrs. Dash's)
1 pkg Steam and Mash potatoes (frozen section)
1 8 oz package Italian five cheese blend
1/4 teaspoon Dried Italian Seasoning
1 cup French Fried Onions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut sausage into small slices. Warm slices in skillet 2-3 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes, basil, and Garlic and Herb Seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
Transfer sausage to a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.
4. Meanwhile, cook potatoes in microwave as directed. Only microwave, don't mash.
5. Stir together mashed potatoes, cheese, and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. (Mixture will be dry.) Spread potato mixture over sausage mixture in baking dish.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Top with fried onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Sausage

I had never really thought of this as a recipe until I was thinking this week about some new things I could try or talk about in the weeks leading up to Charlotte's birth.  It was then that I realized that just because I kind of throw it together doesn't necessarily mean that y'all wouldn't enjoy my haphazard attempt at cooking!  So, here goes!  This is super easy and is something that is different every time I make it.  It is really good and you can make as much or as little as you want since you're controlling what you put into the sauce and how much pasta to make.  You can also control how spicy or seasoned to make the sauce.  This is something that you need to just experiment with to see how you like it best but I'll give you a general recipe.  

So you start by finding your favorite type of sausage.  Lately we've been using the packs of four sausage links that are "natural".  With this recipe I used the Sweet Italian Sausage but you can use the Sun Dried Tomato sausage or Spicy sausage or whatever you prefer.  Before I found these packs of sausage links I would use the Hillshire Farms sausage.  Just find whatever kind of pre-cooked sausage you prefer and cut it up into slices.  Like I said, it's precooked so you just have to make sure and get it warm enough but you don't have to worry about truly cooking cooking it.  

While you're cutting up the sausage go ahead and put the pasta on to cook.  Again, whatever you favorite type of noodles are will be fine.  This time we used bowties.  And cook it to whatever texture you prefer.

As the pasta starts to boil put the cut up sausage pieces into a skillet with some olive oil and start to cook them.  At that point add at least one 14 1/2 oz can of tomatoes.  You can get the diced tomatoes, crushed, whole....again, this is all about what you want!  If you like your sauce chunkier then get bigger tomato pieces.  Pour the whole can (juice and all) in with the sausage.  Then add about 1 1/2 cans of Tomato Paste.  This is going to make the sauce thicker.  So if you like it thicker add both full cans.  If you like it thinner either add the tomato paste and then add water or just don't add as much tomato paste.  Stir around and bring the sauce to a simmer.

Now this is the fun part.  When I'm buying tomatoes just to make this pasta I buy them with some spices already built in.  Same with the tomato paste.  But sometimes I make this spur of the moment and in those cases the tomatoes and tomato paste don't have anything in them.  Regardless, the sauce is going to need more seasoning.  And that's where your imagination comes in!  Here's what I added tonight: garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, and ground black pepper.  Probably 1/2 teaspoon each of the garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper and 1 teaspoon each of the basil and oregano.  Rosemary is also really good in the sauce as is anything else you want to throw in!  Add some spices, stir it up and then taste the sauce and see what you think.  The sauce is pretty thick so you aren't really going to overseason unless you dump in tablespoons at a time of the seasoning.

Once the pasta gets done you drain it.  Make sure the sauce has had at least a minute or two to simmer with your final spice combination.  And then serve up the sauce over the pasta!  Like I said, VERY simple and something that you can make up your own recipe to the sauce.  It's a pretty straightforward recipe but here are some highlights.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Sausage

Your favorite type of pasta (amount depends on number of servings you want)

Your favorite type of fully cooked sausage (Sweet Italian, Sun Dried Tomato, Hickory Smoked...)

14 1/2 oz can of Diced Tomatoes

2 small cans of Tomato Paste

1/2 t Garlic Powder

1/2 t Onion Powder

1 t Basil

1 t Oregano

1/2 t Ground Black Pepper

Water to bring sauce to your preferred consistency

1. Boil pasta.

2. Cut up sausage into small pieces.  Saute shortly in olive oil.

3. Add tomatoes and tomato paste to sausage and olive oil.  Bring to a simmer.

4. Add spices as desired and water if needed to bring about desired consistency.  Simmer.

5. Serve pasta with sauce on top.

Jambalaya

I don't know about you but Jason and I love pretty much anything seafood.  A while ago I was flipping through a cookbook that Jason's grandmother gave me as a wedding shower gift and I found a great Jambalaya recipe.  I've made it before but I made it again this weekend to get some pictures for you.  I was reminded again of how good the recipe and HOW MUCH it makes!  Unless you are having guests over always make a half of a recipe because it makes a ton of food!

So, here's the recipe for Jambalaya!

Jambalaya

2 cans French Onion Soup

2 cans Cream of Celery Soup

1 Large Jar Sliced Mushrooms

1 can Rotel

1 cup Chopped Onion

1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped

3 Green Onions, chopped (I omitted these this time because I forgot them)

2 lbs Smoked Sausage, Chopped

2 lbs Peeled, raw Shrimp

2 cups Uncooked Rice

Combine all ingredients in large dish and cover tightly with foil.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until hot all the way through and rice is cooked.

Serves 10 - 12 

Remember, I made a HALF recipe and it filled the oval baking dish that I was cooking in to the brim!

Enjoy!