Biscuits and Gravy

Gravy -  Brown 1 pound sausage in a large skillet.  Add 1/3 cup flour 1/2 t garlic, 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper and stir until dissolved. Allow this to cook and brown for 2-4 minutes over medium-high heat. Stir constantly to prevent burning.  Browning the flour keeps the gravy from tasting like you are eating raw flour.  Add 3 cups milk all at once.  Mix well to incorporate, then bring to a low simmer and allow it to thicken to the desired thickness (may add more milk if it gets too thick).

Serve over hot fresh baked biscuits.

Biscuits - **I doubled this for the group**

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 Tbls sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk  (you may add 1 Tblsp lemon juice and let sit for 5 minutes)

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in the butter.  Stir in milk only until dry ingredients are moistened.  Roll out and cut into biscuits.  Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

For Cinnamon Biscuits - 

Before rolling out, sprinkle with cinnamon and fold over repeat 5-6 times.  Bake as directed and frost when they come out.

Spicy Sausage Pasta

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage
1.5 cups diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles, Mild
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz penne pasta
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

1. Add olive oil to an oven-safe skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and onions and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions. Broil until cheese is melted, spotty brown, and bubbly.

Makes 4 servings (I made 1 1/2 the recipe for the exchange)

Sausage & Rice Casserole

1 lb. Sausage

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced onion

2 1/2 cups rice

1 packet Onion Soup Mix

1 packet dry chicken noodle soup mix

5 cups water

Brown the onion, celery and sausage in a large pan. Add water, rice, and soup mixes. Cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender and all the water is absorbed.

Kielbasa with Beans

½ pound hamburger

½ green pepper, chopped

½ onion, chopped

½ pound Kielbasa sausage sliced 

7 oz diced tomatoes

5 oz RoTel (reg.)

2 (16oz) cans pinto beans, drained

1 (28 oz) can baked beans 

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink.  Remove from pan, and drain.

Brown sausage in pan; drain and return to pan.  Add hamburger mixture and everything else except the cheese.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.  Stir in cheese.

May serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.  My husband likes sour cream and green onions on top.  I like it with a slice of whole wheat toast.   Our kids like it anyway they can get it.

Zesty Penne, Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients

3 cups penne pasta, uncooked
1 pound Italian sausage
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon fennel seed
Dash crushed red pepper
4 ounces PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta as directed on package.
2. Meanwhile, crumble sausage into large skillet; cook and stir on medium heat 8 min. or until done. Drain. Add bell peppers; cook and stir 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Stir in next 3 ingredients; cook 5 min. or until heated through. Add cream cheese; cook 2 min. or until melted, stirring frequently.
3. Drain pasta. Add to sausage mixture; mix lightly. Top with Parmesan.

Spaghetti

Olive oil tomatoes, diced (or canned diced tomatoes)
Garlic, chopped/minced tomato sauce/paste
Onion, ½ a med size, chopped ~1 tsp basil
Mushrooms, sliced ~1 tsp oregano
Olives, sliced S&P
Zucchini, diced spaghetti pasta
Artichokes, chopped Italian sausages

In a large skillet, drizzle olive oil in pan. Heat your oil up before you start sautéing your vegetables. Start with the garlic, then onions, mushrooms, olives, zucchini, artichokes and any other vegetable you care to add. I add the vegetables one at a time, cooking them down. I typically add the basil and oregano after the mushrooms, then S&P after I’ve added all the vegetables. Add your diced tomatoes and cook all veggies for about 15 mins. Add tomato sauce and paste to your desired thickness. You can use the Italian style sauce/paste, too. Cover and simmer on low for about 1-1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Cook pasta according to directions.

Italian sausages: pierce the skin with a fork and drop carefully into boiling water. Cook for about 25 mins. Remove from water and remove any excess water with a paper towel. In a skillet, heat up some olive oil and brown the sausages on all sides. You can serve the sausages whole on top of your spaghetti or slice them up and add them to your sauce.

From frozen: thaw the spaghetti sauce and heat up in a pan. Prepare the pasta according to directions. The sausages have already been boiled. So you can brown them in a skillet and serve whole or slice and add to sauce. Serve with parm cheese and bread.

Italian Sausages, Peppers, & Pasta

6 large Italian sausages (used Tarantino Mild Italian Sausage)
1/2 large onion sliced
1/2 large red pepper sliced
1/2 large orange, yellow, green pepper sliced
Italian dressing
Pasta
Parmesan Cheese

Directions: Boil Italian sausages for approximately 8 minutes or until cooked through, then put them on the grill to give them a nice color and flavor. Then slice the sausages. In a separate pan, sauté onions and peppers. Cook pasta as directed. Toss the sausages, onion & peppers, pasta with some Italian dressing and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole

1 (8 oz.) tube refridgerator crescent rolls
1 lb. ground sausage, cooked and well drained
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp. minced green bell pepper (optional)
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Beat together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Stir in cheese and green pepper and mix well. Set aside. Unroll tube of crescent rolls and press together to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Seal perforations. Crumble cooked sausage over rolls. Pour egg mixture over rolls and sausage. Freeze, or refridgerate overnight if cooking in the morning. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until browned.

Breakfast Burritos

1 to 1 1/2 lbs of ground sausage, cooked and drained
12-18 eggs, scrambled (salt and pepper to taste)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
8 burrito size flour tortillas

Warm tortillas in microwave to soften. Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup cheese (half cheddar, half pepper jack), 1/2 cup eggs, and 1/4 cup sausage. Wrap into a burrito and then wrap with foil. Bake in the foil at 350 for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and they are heated through.