Chevaps

Menu:
Chevaps || The Clothes Make the Girl
Green Beans

Stuffed Mushrooms & Roasted Beets

Menu:
Grandma Barbara's Stuffed Mushrooms || Practical Paleo
Roasted Beets & Fennel || Practical Paleo
Salad with Avocado and Pea Shoots

Grandma Barbara's Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients
12 mini portobello mushroom caps (or 4 large)
1 tbsp. bacon fat (I used coconut oil)
1/4 c. red bell pepper, minced
1/4 c. small yellow onion, minced
1 lb. Italian sausage (removed from casing - I used bulk turkey Italian sausage)
2 cups spinach, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place mushrooms cap-side down on a baking sheet and bake for around 10 minutes.

While waiting on the mushrooms, prepare your stuffing. Heat the fat over medium in a large skillet. 

Add red pepper and onion and saute about 3 minutes.

Add Italian sausage to the pan. Break the pork up with a spoon and cook until little pink remains. Toss in spinach and garlic and combine well. Spoon the mixture into each of the mushrooms caps and place them back in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until stuffing has browned on top.

Pizzas

Menu:
Cheese Pizza with Avocado
Italian Sausage Pizza
on Cybros Spouted Wheat Pizza Dough

Sausage with Cucumber Salad

Menu:
Chicken Sausages with Homemade Mustard (from Brian's co-worker)
Avocado & Sunflower Seed "Salad"
Creamy Cucumber Salad || Well Fed
Pomegranate Lime Kombucha

Creamy Cucumber Salad: 
2 cucumbers, sliced thin
1/2 white onion, sliced thin
2/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 t. apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. homemade olive oil mayo 
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix cucumbers, onion and parsley in large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, mix vinegar, mayo and garlic lightly with fork, then pour over cucumbers and gently combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Linguine with Turkey Sausage and Peppers

Menu: 
Linguine with Turkey Sausage and Peppers || Martha Stewart Everyday Food, March 2004

Ingredients
1 pound linguine
1 pound turkey sausage, casings removed
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 yellow (or red) bell peppers, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons arugula, torn
Coarse salt and ground pepper, for seasoning

Directions
Cook linguine. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta water; return pasta to pot. Meanwhile, cook sausage and 2 tablespoons water in a large covered nonstick skillet over medium until fat renders, 5 minutes. Uncover; raise heat to medium-high. Brown sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, 7 minutes.

Add garlic, bell peppers, and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water; cook until peppers soften, 6 minutes. Add 3/4 cup pasta water and butter; swirl to combine. Transfer to pot. Add arugula; season with salt and pepper. Toss; add more pasta water as desired. Serve.

Smoked Chorizo, Roasted Red Pepper & Arugula Sandwich

Menu:
Smoked Chorizo, Roasted Red Pepper & Arugula Sandwich
Peach Granita || Martha Stewart

NOTE: We first had this sandwich at the Borough Market in London and have been hooked on it ever since. Simple, and absolutely delicious.

Sausage and Zucchini Noodles

Menu:
Chicken Sausage — Usinger Italian with Mozzarella & Cordon Bleu
Zucchini Noodles || Well Fed

Warm Spinach Salad with Grilled Sausage

Menu:
Warm Spinach Salad with Grilled Sausage || Real Simple, August 2008

Warm Spinach Salad with Grilled Sausage
Serves 4

4 Italian sausages (about 1 pound)
8 plum tomatoes, cut in half crosswise (NOTE: For our family, I would use 4)
1 onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rings
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
3 bunches spinach, thick stems removed (about 8 cups)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Directions
1. Heat grill to medium-high. With a fork, prick the sausages in several places. Grill, turning occasionally, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, brush the tomatoes and onion with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

3. Grill vegetables until tender, 5 to 6 minutes per side for the onion and 2 to 3 minutes per side for the tomatoes. Transfer to a bowl as they are done.

4. Add the spinach to the bowl and toss.

5. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

6. Slice the sausages and serve with the vegetables and dressing.

Gnocchi with Sausage & Spinach

Menu:
Gnocchi with Sausage & Spinach || Real Simple

Pasta with Sausage and Tomatoes

Menu:
Pasta with Sausage and Tomatoes || Real Simple

Ingredients
2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, broken up with your hands
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage links
12 ounces cavatappi or some other short pasta
3 cups baby spinach (2 1/2 ounces)
grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions
Heat oven to 450° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, mix the tomatoes (with their juices) and garlic with the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast until the tomatoes have charred in spots and the juices have thickened, 40 to 45 minutes.

After the tomatoes have roasted for 20 minutes, place the sausage on a second rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes. Thinly slice the sausage.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the tomatoes, sausage, spinach, and 2 tablespoons of the cooking water and toss to combine (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry). Sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Sausage & Peppers with Crispy Polenta

Menu:
Sausage & Peppers with Crispy Polenta || Real Simple
Salad

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
kosher salt and pepper
2 small red bell peppers, seeded and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2/3 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
6 sprigs thyme
1 pound store-bought cooked polenta, sliced into thick rounds

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400° F. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning once, until it starts to brown, 5 minutes.

2. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes.

3. Add the bell peppers and garlic and cook until just soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the wine and thyme.

4. Transfer the skillet to oven. Roast until the sausage is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the polenta in batches, turning once, until golden brown.

6. Place the polenta on a platter. Spoon the sausage, vegetables, and pan juices over the top.