Pasta with Italian Sausage and Bacon

I am always trying to find ways of incorporating bacon into as many meals as possible.  So I thought why not add it to pasta with Italian sausage and marinara?  Guess what?  It was Delish!  I have made it a couple of times now just to make sure that the first time wasn't a fluke and it wasn't.  Yummy both times.

Here's what you need:

19oz package sweet Italian sausage (I used Johnsonville)
6 slices bacon, chopped
1-1/2 - 2 jars marinara sauce (I used Ragu)
1 - 2 Tbl. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. granulated garlic
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 pound Rigatoni, cooked
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Slice each sausage into 1 inch pieces and cut the bacon into ½” pieces.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the sausage and bacon.  Cook until completely cooked through, about 10 - 15 minutes, stirring often.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Pour off any grease and discard.

Add the sauce (I used two whole jars but 1-1/2 would have been fine too; depending on how saucy you like your pasta) and the seasoning to the same pan and stir to combine.  Heat until it comes to a simmer then taste.  You can adjust seasonings at this point.  

 

Add the meat back into the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

While waiting for the pasta sauce to finish heat a large stockpot of water on high until boiling.  Add the pasta and cook as directed on the box.  Drain and add to the cooked meat sauce, stirring to combine. 

 

Serve immediately with a mound of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Serves 6 - 8

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Pasta with Italian Sausage and Bacon

You can find me linking up to these wonderful parties each week.

Beef Stroganoff

Lately I have been in the mood to revisit some old recipes I haven't made in forever so when I was at the grocery store the other day I picked up some ingredients to make some Beef Stroganoff.   I have never really had a written recipe for this so I created one last night and it was Delish!  I hope you will give it a try too.

Coffee Cake

I really wanted to name this Divine Coffee Cake or some other sinfully delicious name but in honor of my late Auntie Thelma I will just call it what she did.

Sherry Wine Cake

Here is one of my favorite, favorite cake recipes to make.  Not because it has an alcohol beverage in it, because let's face it, who would choose to drink sherry anyway, but because it is very moist and delicious! This is a recipe I remember my Grandma Genevieve making when we used to visit when I was growing up. And I got the recipe from her years ago and make it quite often.  I have found that most people love this cake too and have had some version of it over the years.  Whether it's a booze cake, rum cake or sherry cake, it will bring back the memories of yesteryear.

I hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think.

Here's what you need:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 sm. box instant vanilla pudding
3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
3/4 cup cooking sherry (or drinking sherry by all means, if you have such a thing in your house)
4 eggs
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbs. lemon juice, the bottled kind.  Fresh is sometimes to0 sour and will change the flavor of the original cake.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place all cake ingredients in a large bowl and mix on medium for 2 minutes.

Spray two loaf pans (8x4 or 9x5) with cooking spray (or one 12-cup Bundt pan) and pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan. 

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool completely.   If using a Bundt pan, cool for 10 minutes then invert onto a plate and cool completely.   Mix the glaze ingredients until smooth and pour over the cake.  

 

As you can see, I usually make twice the glaze because there's just something about the tang of the lemon glaze that is WONDERFUL with the cake and I like me some glaze.

Serves - Oh, I don't know, at least 4, I would think.

1 - Bundt or 2 loaves

Enjoy!

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Sherry Wine Cake

recipe from:  My Grandma Genevieve

You can find me linking up to these wonderful blog each week.

Cheesy Potato Soup

One of my favorite songs of the season is "Baby, it's cold outside" and that's exactly how I felt all day yesterday while the hubby and I finished putting up the Christmas (Yes, I actually said Christmas, cause that's how I roll) decorations.

One of my favorite, favorite, favorite soups is Cheesy Potato Soup and it took me a few tries to perfect this recipe and now that I have it, I make it frequently; even in the blazing summer.

Apricot Glazed Pork Roast

So my family is really getting tired of pork because I've been on a pork roast kick lately.  I don't know why they don't like it as much as I do.  Oh well, I guess this week it'll have to be some beef and chicken for everyone.

Here is the yummy pork roast recipe I served with the stuffing over the weekend while we had company for dinner.

Here's what you need:

3 lb. pork roast

2 Tbl. canola oil

salt and pepper

1/4 cup chicken stock

Glaze

1 cup apricot jam

1-1/2 tsp. dried thyme (don't you just love thyme?  I do)

1 Tbl. Dijon mustard

Always bring meat out of the fridge 30 - 60 minutes before cooking so that it can come to room temperature and help obtain perfect cooking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat oil in a dutch oven over med-high heat.  Pat roast dry and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sear the meat on both sides until brown, about 5 minutes each side.  The roast will lift free of the pan when it is ready to turn.  If you have to tug at it, leave it another minute or two.  Add chicken stock to pan.

  

Place pan in oven and bake 30 minutes, uncovered.

While the roast is in the oven, stir together the ingredients for the glaze and set aside.

Pour glaze over the top of the meat and continue baking an additional 30 - 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 145 - 150 degrees.

  

Let rest 15 minutes so the juices can redistribute in the roast.

Leftover pan juices make a wonderful sauce on the side.

Ha!  You can tell I had stuffing on the brain when I took this picture. Oh well, the dinner was delish!

Serves 6 - 8

Enjoy

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Apricot Glazed Pork Roast

Cornbread Sourdough Stuffing

Well, I hope you've missed me as much as I've missed being here with you in my absence.  And boy have I missed sharing my recipes and what I'm up to with you too.   I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We did!  We spent the first four days in Disneyland with my brother and his family then we were off to my parents house in Scottsdale, Arizona.  We had a wonderful time and made some awesome food, which I will be sharing some of the recipes with you today.

Here is a little background for my stuffing recipe.  I have been married to my wonderful husband for 21-1/2 years now and when I met him I found out that he had always had cornbread stuffing because his grandparents and parents had come from Texas and that's the way they make it in Texas.  My mom had always made bread stuffing so I decided to give it a try and loved it so much that I have been making my stuffing with cornbread ever since.

Here's the thing......I like to try new twists on recipes and my hubby doesn't.  He always says "why did you change the recipe?  I liked it just the way it was."  Well, if it was up to him, we would eat the same 7 - 10 meals and never have anything new.  So me being me and doing what I want to anyway, I decided about three weeks ago to try something new with my stuffing recipe and I LOVED IT!  I made a blended recipe of cornbread and sourdough, with all the same ingredients as always.  The verdict.....He wanted to know why I changed the stuffing recipe and likes the plain cornbread one better, but I like the new one better and beings as I'm the cook in the house guess who gets their way???  I do hope you'll try this recipe too, even if you have one you love.  Please let me know what you think.

Here's what you need:

1 box cornbread mix, plus the ingredients to make it (I used Krusteaz Honey Cornbread) made and cubed
1 stick butter, unsalted
8 oz sourdough or french baguette, cubed (I use a wonderful baguette style french bread I find at Target in the produce section sealed in plastic)
1 yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups chicken stock
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper


First make the cornbread and set aside.  The day before is even better because it will have a chance to dry out a bit.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cube all the bread and cornbread and place in a large mixing bowl.  Set aside.

In a medium skillet saute the onion and celery in 1/2 a stick (1/4 cup) butter until starting to soften, about 10 minutes on med-low.  Remove from heat and add to the bread cubes.

Pour the chicken stock over the bread cubes and mix well.  Add the rest of the butter (melted), the eggs, and the seasonings and mix well.  The mixture will be very wet looking (This keeps it moist)  Taste to check the seasonings (unless you are pregnant, because there are raw eggs in it).  It should taste perfect at this stage and will have the same flavor when it has finished cooking.

Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 or a 2 qt dish and bake for 45 minutes or until done.  The stuffing should be nice and toasty looking when done.

  

Yum, Yum, Yum.....Did I say Yum?  I've made this three times in the last three weeks and I'm not tired of it yet!

Serves 8 - 10

Enjoy

~Hugs~

Michelle

Here's the handy printable - Cornbread sourdough stuffing