italian food is my absolute favorite food on the planet.  i am always looking for new  to try and when i came across this recipe for lasagne soup, i just knew that i had to try it.  i have made it twice now and really enjoy it.  tom really enjoys it, it is one of his favorites!  it’s very simple to throw together and tastes just like the real thing!  i’ll quit babbling about my love for italian food and get on with the recipe!

source: afarmgirlsdabbles.com

• 1 lb. italian sausage
• 1 1/2 c chopped onion
• 2 tsp minced garlic cloves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 14 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 3 mediterranean bay leaves
• 3 c chicken stock
• 4 oz. campanelle pasta
• 1/4 c finely chopped basil leaves
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 oz. ricotta
• 1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
• 1/8 tsp salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

1. cook pasta, per box directions.  rinse pasta with cool water, to stop the cooking and set aside.  i love campanelle pasta because it looks like mini lasagne noodles…. see?
   
   
2. in a medium sized pan, brown sausage and drain excess grease.
3. in a large stock pot, add sausage and onions, cook until the onions are softened.  add garlic, oregano and pepper flakes, cook for a minute.  add tomato paste and stir to combine, cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.
4. add tomatoes, bay leaves and chicken stock.  stir, bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 min.
5. while the soup is simmering make the “cheesy yum.”  combine the ricotta, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  divide up between your serving bowls.
   
   
6. just before getting ready to serve, add the pasta and basil to the soup.  retrieve the bay leaves, if you can find them.
7. when serving, ladle soup over the cheesy yum and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

i wish that i could be italian… making meatballs, homemade pasta and cannolis filled with marscapone cheese.  but i’m not.  i was, however, elated when i received “the italian issue” of the food network magazine a few months back.  it was full of all things italian and made me a very happy italian wannabe.

anyways, this is a really fun dish to throw together.  i thought that i was making it for two, by significantly cutting down the original amounts listed in the article.  let’s just say that moderation isn’t my strong suit when cooking.  i was going for a 8″ square dish, but it made enough for a 9×13″ pan and we had it for leftovers and lunch.  a few times.  it was still very delicious!  this dish is also very customizable, based on your own personal tastes.  my choices are in bold, below.

slightly adapted from: food network magazine

• 2 c pasta: farfalle, cavatappi, rigatoni, penne

sauce:

• 1 tbsp evoo
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• 14 oz. can whole tomatoes
• tomato paste
• 1/4 c water
• 2 tsp basil
• 2 tbsp sugar

sauce mix-ins:

• 1/2 c of one of the following:
  herb sauce: freshly chopped basil and parsley
  creamy sauce: ricotta
  meat sauce: diced and browned pancetta

mix-ins:

• 1 1/2 cups of pretty much anything you’d like:
  pre-cooked meat/poultry: italian sausage, pepperoni, chicken, eggs
  veggies: roasted red peppers, artichokes, zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, spinach

cheese:

• 1 c melting cheese and 1/2 c grating cheese
  melting cheese: mozzarella, provolone, fontina, asiago
  grating cheese: parmesan, pecorino, ricotta salata

1. pre-heat the oven to 450°.
2. bring a med pot of water to boil.  cook pasta for 2-3 min. less than the label directs.  drain.
3. in a large skillet, heat evoo over med heat.  add garlic and a pinch of pepper flakes.  cook until garlic is golden.  add the tomatoes/paste, crushing tomatoes with your hands as you add them.  (it is messy, but adds a nice chunky tomato taste that is worth it!)   invest in a red apron.  add water, basil and sugar and simmer, uncovered until the sauce is thickened for about 15 min. or the amt. of time it takes to prepare the mix-ins.
4. prep your mix-ins.
5. add your choice of mix-ins to the sauce.
6. toss the pasta with sauce and half of each cheese.  spread in a greased 8″ square baking dish.  sprinkle remaining cheese over pasta.  bake, uncovered for about 15 min. or until browned.

buon appetito!

i tried to think of a food related to 100 for this 100th post.  100 grand cookies.  something shaped as 100.  100 calorie servings.  i wasn’t feeling it.  so i decided a site revamp would be a lot more fun than foods related to 100.  well, fun for me to pick out what i wanted, and a lot of work for tom to make it happen.  thanks, babe!

i also realized last weekend that i had not blogged about this dish.  how have i not blogged about quiche?!  this is one of those recipes that was the reason that i created shoebox.  when you try it, you have to have the recipe for it…  and then i say: “visit my blog!”

so, without any more delay, here is the perfect recipe for my 100th post.

much like french toast casserole, this is a breakfast dish that you can make the night before.  it’s perfect for company and christmas.  it travels well and tastes amazing, no matter what you put in it.  there are plenty of variations to this recipe.  seafood.  southwest.  vegetarian.  ham.  bacon.  it’s definitely a dish that you can make your own.  it’s pictured above with bob evan’s breakfast sausage (thanks publix for stocking this!) and co-jack cheese.

• 6 slices white bread, crusts removed
• 1 lb. meat, veggie, seafood  (or any combination of the three)
• 3 c shredded cheese (i prefer co-jack)
• 6 eggs
• 2 c milk
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper, to taste

1. prepare your 1 lb. of filling.  (brown your breakfast sausage, drain off excess grease.  chop up veggies.  cook seafood, if needed.)
2. spray a 9×13″ pan with pam.  arrange bread slices in one layer in the pan.
3. top with 1 lb. of filling.
4. top with cheese.
5. in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, ground mustard, salt and pepper. pour over top of casserole, distributing evenly.
6. cover and refrigerate overnight.
7. in the morning, remove casserole from the fridge.  pre-heat oven to 350°.  bake for 45 min or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

enjoy!

tom got me a crock pot for christmas and i’ve really been enjoying the brand new cooking world opened by it!  i started off on new years day making gumbo, not jambalaya.  the main difference between gumbo and jambalaya is that gumbo is a roux-based soup and jambalaya is a rice-based dish.  more about the roux later…

i wanted to eat our gumbo during game time, so i didn’t have a 7-9 hour window that the original recipe called for.  i pre-cooked my chicken before putting it in the crock pot, which cut down the cooking time significantly.  i also used tom’s favorite cajun style andouille, which is pre-cooked.  if you do have all-day, you can go ahead and throw everything (minus shrimp) in the pot un-cooked.

• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1/2 lb sausage, cut into 1/2″ slices
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 c frozen, cut okra
• 1 c chopped onion
• 1/2 c chopped green bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 can undrained, diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
• 1 1/2 c frozen shrimp, cleaned, tails removed

1. in a small saucepan, combine flour and oil; mix well.  cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 5 min.  reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring constantly, about 8-12 min. or until roux turns a light red-brown (see above).
2. while you’re mixing the roux, pre-cook your chicken.  the pieces i cooked were twice as large as “bite sized” and when they had cooled, i pulled them apart so the chicken had a shredded feel to it in the gumbo.
   
   
   
   
3. pour the roux and chicken into a crock pot, set to low heat.  add the remaining ingredients (see above).  cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
4. add shrimp to the gumbo, cook on low for an additional hour.
5. serve the gumbo over hot cooked rice with cornbread.

enjoy!

this is another “food i miss from michigan” post.  mcdonald’s breakfast down here excludes sausage, egg and cheese bagels on its menu.  the only good reason to have mcdonald’s breakfast is to splurge, and i think the bagel is the best way to do it.

this recipe may be slightly healthier than mcdonald’s.  i can tell you that it is pretty darn delicious and is available after 10:30 a.m. .

this recipe prepares two bagels.  you can adjust the recipe accordingly.

• 2 thomas bagel thins, toasted
• 2 slices of co-jack cheese, melted on bagels in toaster oven
• 6 oz. breakfast sausage (half a tube), quartered and formed into very thin patties, slightly larger than the bagel.
• 3 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste

1. cook the breakfast sausage patties until brown all of the way through. place on a paper-towel lined dish.
2. place bagels into the toaster oven, with cheese on one half.
3. whisk together eggs, salt and pepper.  place in medium sized frying pan and cook as if you are cooking an omelette, minus the filling and folding in half.
4. using spatula, cut the “omelette” in half. remove pan from heat.
5. place patty on bottom half of bagel, top with egg, folded into thirds and top bun.

enjoy!

as i have said before breakfast is our favorite meal of the day.  breakfast was served at our late morning wedding reception and i could go on and on about how much we LOVE breakfast.  but i won’t.  i’ll just share another shoemaker-approved breakfast dish.

Adapted from SmittenKitten

• 1 pizza crust (however you prefer to make it)*
• 1/4-1/2 lb. ground breakfast sausage
• 1/4 c grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
• 1 c grated mozzarella
• 3 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• green onion
• parsley flakes

* i picked up an awesome pre-made dough from publix that was just waiting to be kneaded and topped.

1. pull dough out of the fridge 1-2 hours before you want to start making pizza.
2. pre-heat oven to 500°.
3. brown sausage in a pan.  place on a paper towel lined dish to drain of excess grease.
4. knead out dough.  make sure the bottom of the crust is floured well.
5. t0p with parmigiano reggiano, mozzarella and sausage.
6. crack the three eggs over the top of the pizza and top with salt and pepper.
7. bake for 8-10 min. or until eggs are cooked to your liking.
8. remove from oven, top with green onion and parsley flakes.

enjoy!

lasagne is one of my signature dishes, i don’t think that i’ve made it the same way twice.  it has changed and evolved over time, depending on how much prep time i have, what i’ve got in the kitchen and how many people i’m cooking for.  i like to make lasagne split up between two ez-foil pans.  i like the long loaf pans because they accommodate lasagne noodles so well and i can freeze one for later.   they’re also very easy to clean up!  you can find these pans at larger grocery stores, such as meijer’s and wal-mart.

• 2 boxes lasagne noodles
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. italian sausage, removed from casings
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• italian seasoning
• salt and pepper, as desired
• 2 jars spaghetti sauce, your choice of flavor, brand
• 1 qt. tomato juice
• 16 oz. ricotta cheese
• 12 oz. cottage cheese
• 6 oz. cream cheese
• 4 c mozzarella cheese, separated in half
• garlic powder
• grated parmesan cheese to top

1. in a large pan, brown beef and sausage with minced garlic and onion.  season with italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  drain off excess oil.
2. in a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, cottage, cream and 2 c of mozzarella cheeses.  season lightly with garlic powder.
3. in another large bowl, combine tomato sauce and juice.
4. now it’s time to assemble!  divide meat in half, with the amounts listed, you will make a 7 layer lasagne.  start layering with meat and 3/4 c of sauce.  evenly spread the sauce with a spatula or spoon.  place two uncooked lasagne noodles between each mixture. spread a layer of the cheese mixture over the noodles and top with two additional noodles.  repeat until you reach the top of the pans or end on a meat/sauce layer.
5. the second pan can be frozen, top with a layer of saran wrap and aluminum foil.  it takes about 12 hours to unthaw, when you’re ready to bake it.
6. bake at 375° for 30 min.  top with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake for an additional 15 min. until bubbly and browned on top.  serve with freshly grated parmesan on top.

enjoy!

this is another tom dish.  he has been hungry for sausage, biscuits and gravy for a while.  last week, he got his wish.

biscuits:

• 4 c self-rising flour*
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2/3 c shortening
• 2 c buttermilk
• 1/4 c buttermilk

*  an alternate for self rising flour would be: 4 c all-purpose flour, 2 tsp salt, and 2 tsp baking powder, in addition to the 1 tbsp baking powder that’s already called for.

• preheat oven to 400°.  lightly grease two baking sheets.
• in a large mixing bowl, combine flower, sugar and baking powder; stir well.  cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  add 2 c buttermilk and mix just to moisten.
• roll out dough to 1″ thick and cut into biscuits.  place biscuits on prepared baking sheets; brush tops with remaining 1/4 c buttermilk.
• bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden.
• you can freeze these biscuits, after they have been cut, on a baking sheet in the freezer.  after they are frozen, place in a freezer safe bag.  when you need biscuits, unthaw and bake.

source

sausage gravy (start making this after the biscuits go in the oven)

• 1 lb. ground pork sausage (i prefer bob evans, and it’s hard to find in tn!)
• 2 tbsp margarine
• 1/4 c all purpose flour
• 4 c milk
• salt and pepper to taste

1. in a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the sausage for 10 min, or until browned.  stir in the margarine until well blended, then stir in flour until mixture is thick and pasty.
2. reduce heat to medium low and slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbly and to desired consistency.  season with salt and pepper to taste.

source

enjoy!

i have been on an italian kick this week.  well, i think i could be on italian kick every week.  i love italian food and one of my favorite restaurants is carraba’s italian grill.  they often feature sausage and lentil soup as their soup of the day and it is delicious!  here’s my version of this soup:

• 1 lb. italian sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 6 c chicken broth
• 2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 c dry lentils, rinsed
• pepper, to taste
• italian seasoning, to taste

1. brown sausage, drain off fat.
2. in a large pot, combine all ingredients, bring to a boil.
3. reduce heat, cover.
4. simmer for about 1 hour, or until lentils are tender.  add water, if necessary for desired consistency.
5. sprinkle with parmesan cheese, serve.

courtesy of recipesecrets.net

enjoy!