Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Okay... not exactly the healthiest of meals I have prepared-- but definitely one that we will be made again just about as fast as I can!  I almost cried when I realized that the leftovers somehow did not make it to the fridge and had to be thrown out instead!  My husband and I both loved this recipe, and it made a TON of pizza!  Served with a nice fresh salad, you can definitely get a few meals out of this one!  Normally I like for my deep dish crust to be a little more buttery (if you've ever had Gino's, you know what I mean) but this is about as close as I have come to replicating authentic deep dish at home.  I'd love suggestions if someone has an idea for a different crust!

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza


1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
28 ounces petite diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Press the dough into the bottom and the sides of a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  Cover bottom of the pan with sliced pepperoni.  In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink.  Drain and sprinkle over dough and pepperoni.  Top with all of the mozzarella cheese.  In the same large skillet, saute the mushrooms and onion in oil until the onion is tender.  Stir in the tomatoes, oregano, salt, and garlic powder.  Spoon over the Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners

Skillet Penne and Sausage Dinner

When I stumbled across this recipe, I knew it was one that would be immediately popular with my family.  The creamy, sun-dried tomato sauce is the perfect pairing with the spice of the Italian Sausage.  By the time I added the spinach in, I was one happy camper!  The flavors had so much dimension and the colors looked beautiful on the finished plate.  Not only is it a quick meal to throw together, but it is a one-dish meal which earns even more points on a busy weeknight.  The whole meal came together well under 30 minutes and there was barely anything to clean up.

Skillet Penne and Sausage Dinner
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, minced
salt
1 pound sweet Italian Sausage (casings removed)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped fine
8 ounces penne 

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 (5 ounce) bag spinach
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
pepper

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until simmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the sausage and cook, breaking up the meat, until no longer pink.  Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Sprinkle the tomatoes and pasta evenly over the sausage. Pour the broth and cream over the pasta. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the spinach a handful at a time and cook until wilted, about two minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Source: A Blog About Food, originally from America's Test Kitchen

Penne with Spicy Italian Sausage, Cream, Tomatoes & Peas

My mother bought my sisters and I a cookbook from Sam's Club called Favorite Family Dinners. If you have a membership, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy. For under $6.00, this book includes over 200 recipes for everyday meals. It's one of those books where you turn page after page realizing that you would make just about everything in it! I especially like that the first chapter is called the "Chef's Specials" chapter. It has recipes exerpted from many famous chefs' cookbooks, including this one from Tyler Florence's cookbook- Dinner at my Place. (The recipe I posted earlier this month for Guiltless Oven Fried Chicken also comes from this book.)

This particular recipe was definitely one I'd make again. It was a little time consuming, but really easy to put together. Since I was lucky enough to be given some fresh zucchini from a friend, I decided that it would be a perfect addition to the dish. I also added a bit more onion than the recipe called for and these few changes are reflected in the recipe below.

Penne with Spicy Italian Sausage, Cream, Tomatoes, & Peas
4 links spicy Italian Sausage (I used one whole package with 5 links, you can also use mild sausage if you prefer)
1 pound dried penne
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 small or 1 large zucchini, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups peas, blanched
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the sausages in a roasting pan and roast in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and just cooked through. Cut the sausage at an angle into bite-sized pieces.

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender yet firm.

Set a large dutch oven (or heavy based pot) over medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, and basil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add in cream and continue to simmer until rich and creamy. Add the sausage, blanched peas, and cheese. Fold together and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. Toss with the cooked pasta and serve topped with additional cheese and fresh basil.

Source: Adapted from the exerpted recipe by Tyler Florence, from Dinner at my Place

Sausage with Peppers and Pasta

As I look at this picture, I feel like I have posted a similar dish (or two) in the past. This tends to be one of my husband's favorite types of meals, though, so I suppose I gravitate towards the general type of recipe. Now that my son is all into 'noodles', it was sure to be a hit all the way around! This is another meal that came together really quickly, making it a winner for weeknights. The flavors were simple and really complemented each other. In order to save a little bit of money, I only used green peppers for the pasta. Tri-colored peppers have been so high lately and I really didn't think that the extra color was needed thanks to the diced tomatoes already included. I really didn't miss the other peppers, though I will be anxious to try it in the original format down the line. I did also change the proportions a bit for two reasons. First of all, we tend to like our pasta dishes more on the saucy side. Secondly, I knew this would be a great dish to reheat for lunches, so I wanted to make a little bit extra. (I have reflected my changes below.) I do like that most of the ingredients are things that we already had on hand. It's one that I will likely keep as a great last minute backup meal. The melted cheese was my favorite part and it gave the dish more of a baked ziti feel.

Sausage with Peppers and Pasta
1 box (16 ounces) rigatoni, uncooked
1.5 pounds Italian sausage, sliced
2-3 large green peppers
2 cans (14.5 ounce) Italian Style diced tomatoes (I used the kind with garlic and basil)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)

Cook the pasta as directed on the package. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the sliced Italian sausage on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning or sticking. Add the peppers and cook for another 7 minutes or until the peppers are crisp tender and the sausage is cooked through. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes, or until heated through. Stir occasionally. Drain the pasta and mix with the peppers/sausage mixture. Stir in the shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Serve topped with additional parmesan cheese.

Source: Adapted from Kraft Food and Family

Easy Cheezy Pasta Bake

I've yet to find a pasta that I don't love. The South Beach Diet and I do not get along well as I am pretty sure that I cannot survive without carbs. Sad, I know. There is very little willpower! This dish made me feel like I was back in school. My dorm had a food court style cafeteria and included a Sbarros restaurant (think food court pizzaria in just about any mall). I think I lived on their baked ziti for a majority of the year. Ah, comfort food!

I've made many different varieties of baked ziti over the years, but this is the first one that included ricotta cheese. It really had more of a disassembled lasagna feel to it, which I really did enjoy. My husband even declared this one as his new favorite pasta dish. It came together really quickly and would be a great weeknight meal.

Easy Cheezy Pasta Bake
1 lb dried ziti
16 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
26 ounces spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 pound italian sausage, browned

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13" dish. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain thoroughly. In a large bowl, stir together cooked pasta, ricotta, italian sausage, and 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese until well-blended. Pour 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce, covering the bottom of the greased 9x13" pan. Spread pasta/cheese mixture over spaghetti sauce. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese & remaining mozzarella. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes until the casserole bubbles on the edges.

(The blog I found this on states that you can prep this in advance and can refrigerate it until you are ready to bake it. If you do this, they recommend baking for the full 30 minutes.)

Source: Dinner Time Ideas

Sausage, Broccoli, Brown Rice and Parmesan Dinner

I truly had every intention of making this meal exactly as it was posted. It looked wonderful and sounded like something my husband would love. The recipe called for cheese filled chicken sausage. This is the second time that I have been on a mission for chicken sausage and I have yet to locate any in our local grocery stores! It's been quite frustrating! :) If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to share! I decided, instead, to go with a turkey Italian sausage (which is the same thing I substituted in the last dish as well). While the prep work on the meal was a bit more difficult using this option, the flavor was incredible. Looking at the pictures on Picky Palate, it seems that the sausage she used was cooked through, making it easy to slice and brown as part of her directions describe. My turkey sausage was uncooked and as I tried to slice it, it was sliding out of the casing. I was afraid that if I cooked it first (before slicing) it would dry out. Instead, I used a serrated knife and slowly cut my slices. My sausage pieces looked more like meatballs in my finished dish, but they held together well and the flavors worked really well together.

Sausage, Broccoli, Brown Rice and Parmesan Dinner

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1.25 lbs turkey Italian sausages, thinly sliced

4 cups broccoli florets, steamed until fork tender

4 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic; cook for 1 minutes then add sausage slices. Cook for 5 minutes or until sausage is browned on both sides and all pink is gone. Add broccoli, rice and parmesan cheese. Cook for 2 minutes or so, then season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Source: Adapted from Picky Palate

Pasta Fagioli

Let me begin by apologizing for my horrible photograph of this delicious soup! I love my digital camera, but it certainly isn't the best for close-up food photos!

In my opinion, there is nothing better on a cold, winter day than a steaming bowl of soup. This particular one was perfectly satisfying! I was looking for a heartier soup to share with friends and this one did not disappoint. I knew I wanted to try it the moment I saw it on Brown Eyed Baker, but lost track of it until she recently re-listed it as a favorite for the previous year. I adjusted the seasoning a bit for my family's taste, but otherwise followed her recipe as listed. Brown Eyed Baker did suggest using italian sausage in place of regular ground beef, and I am so glad that I followed her advice. The sausage was a perfect addition to the soup and is definitely the only way that I would make it from now on. When paired with a fresh, crusty bread, this soup makes a perfect winter meal.

Pasta Fagioli

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1 package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

½ large (or 1 medium) onion. finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 carrots, thinly sliced

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

64 oz. beef broth

28 ounce can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

4 oz. small dry pasta (Ditalini was recommended but I had a difficult time locating it)

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large stockpot over medium high heat, and brown the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. Once brown, remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon and discard any grease that remains in the pot. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pot, and add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add sausage back to the pot, add the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain), stir briefly, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, and add the beef broth and tomato sauce. Add in all of the seasonings, stir well, turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it boils, turn down to low heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite bread or crackers.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker