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Sausage Cups-Janet Brocklehurst (Alex’s Aunt)

Always a big hit!!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound sausage
  • 1 (16 oz) package won ton wrappers
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey cheese
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup ranch dressing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Crumble sausage into a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Drain. Spray mini muffin tins & insert won ton wrappers to form a small cup. Bake 5 mins in preheated oven. Allow wrappers to cool. Mix sausage, cheese, and ranch dressing together. Fill won ton wrappers. Bake 10 mins until bubbly.

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One Pan Creamy Gnocchi with Sausage

INGREDIENTS 

  • 16 ounces Italian sausage
  • 1/2 small onion chopped finely
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 1 (14 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices (we used crushed tomatoes)
  • 1 cup heavy/whipping cream (we used milk and it worked great)
  • 1 pound uncooked potato gnocchi
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Handful fresh basil torn (we used dried basil and parsley, about 1 TBS each)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Sauté the sausage and onion in a skillet over medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes, or until the sausage and onions are lightly browned.
  • Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for about 30 seconds.
  • Add the chicken broth and let it cook for about a minute.
  • Stir in the diced tomatoes, cream, and gnocchi. Once the sauce starts to bubble again, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes. 
  • Uncover the pan, give it a good stir, and let it cook for another few minutes, or until the gnocchi has cooked through and is nice and soft and the sauce has thickened to your liking.
  • Stir in the parmesan cheese, basil, and salt & pepper, to taste. Serve immediately. 

We cooked the gnocchi separately and put both pots on the table.

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Homemade Potato Gnocchi and Sausage Tomato Sauce

  • 1 pound potatoes (clean but not skinned / not new potatoes) (we didn’t plan ahead so we pealed and cut the potatoes to boil them and it worked fine)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 medium egg (room temperature)

INSTRUCTIONS 

GNOCCHI

  • In a large pot boil potatoes until tender, remove from the pot and let cool  remove the skin. Then pass through a potato ricer.
  • Mix together the flour and salt, place on a flat surface, make a well in the middle and add the potatoes and egg, mix together with your fingers to form a soft dough, it should not stick to your fingers. On a lightly floured surface, cut small amounts of dough to form ropes and cut into 3/4 inch (2 cm) pieces, then slide each piece on a fork and squeeze a little (but not too hard). Sprinkle with a little bit of flour and toss, so they don’t stick together. Let the gnocchi rest for 20 minutes before cooking.

COOKING GNOCCHI

  • In a large pot of salted boiling water cook the gnocchi, gnocchi are ready when they float to the top.  Drain and add to the cooked sauce, add a little pasta water, cook for 30 seconds, gently tossing. Serve immediately topped with fresh grated parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

NOTES

For room temperature remove from the fridge about 60 minutes before using.

The perfect potato is an old potato, in other words no new potatoes. New potatoes contain more water which absorbs too much flour. Go for Yukon Gold or Russet Potatoes.

As far as flour goes, I always use all purpose, in Italy it’s called Manitoba but some people prefer 00 or a lower protein flour. A lower protein flour will make them softer and more tender, although you may need a little less flour to make the dough.

Potato gnocchi can be left uncooked for no more than a couple of hours (covered). Cooking may be a little longer because they will have dried out a bit in the air.

Any leftover cooked gnocchi should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. They will last up to three days in the fridge.

The Gnocchi can also be frozen, place the uncooked gnocchi on a cookie tray in the freezer, leave for approximately 20 minutes then place them in an airtight freezer bag. They will keep for about 1 month. No need to thaw, just cook from frozen.

One Pan Creamy Gnocchi with Sausage

NGREDIENTS 

  • 16 ounces Italian sausage
  • 1/2 small onion chopped finely
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/3 cup chicken broth
  • 1 (14 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices (we used crushed tomatoes)
  • 1 cup heavy/whipping cream (we used milk and it worked great)
  • 1 pound uncooked potato gnocchi
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Handful fresh basil torn (we used dried basil and dried parsley about 1 TBS each)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Sauté the sausage and onion in a skillet over medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes, or until the sausage and onions are lightly browned.
  • Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for about 30 seconds.
  • Add the wine and let it cook for about a minute.
  • Stir in the diced tomatoes, cream, and gnocchi. Once the sauce starts to bubble again, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes. 
  • Uncover the pan, give it a good stir, and let it cook for another few minutes, or until the gnocchi has cooked through and is nice and soft and the sauce has thickened to your liking.
  • Stir in the parmesan cheese, basil, and salt & pepper, to taste. Serve immediately. 

We didn’t cook the gnocchi in the sauce.

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Slow Cooker Lasagna

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
  • 3 cans (15 ounces each) Italian-style tomato sauce ( I would just make my own spaghetti sauce and not add the extra basil and salt in this recipe)
  • 2 tsp dried basil leaves
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
  • 1 container (15 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 15 uncooked lasagna noodles
  1. Cook sausage and onion in skillet over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, basil, and salt.
  2. Mix 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses. (Refrigerate remaining mozzarella cheese while lasagna cooks.)
  3. Spoon 1/4 of the sausage mixture into 6-quart slow cooker; top with 5 noodles, broken into pieces to fit. Spread with 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture and 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with remaining 5 noddles and the remaining sausage mixture.
  4. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 4 to 6 hours or until noodles are tender.
  5. Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
  6. Makes 8 servings.
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Stuffed Sweet Peppers

This is the recipe as I found it. I think you could substitute regular sausage, mozzarella cheese, and green peppers if you would prefer. I added the homemade sauce option since we never buy sauce.

  • 3 Medium sweet red peppers
  • 2 Medium sweet yellow peppers
  • 1 jar (14 oz) spaghetti sauce, divided (or homemade sauce)
  • 3/4 pound uncooked Italian turkey sausage
  • 3/4 cup uncooked instant rice
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta or blue cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped tomato
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
  • 2 Tbs sliced ripe olives
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Cut tops off peppers, chop tops and set aside. Discard stems and seeds; set pepper cups aside. Reserve 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce; pour remaining sauce into slow cooker. Combine sausage, rice, cheese, onion, tomato, parsley, olives, garlic powder, salt, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, reserved chopped peppers, and spaghetti sauce.

Spoon into pepper cups; place in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until peppers are tender. Yield: 5 servings

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Stuffed Artichokes

  • 4 artichokes
  • 1 lb ground sausage
  • red and yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • onion, chopped
  • seasonings maybe salt, pepper, season salt, garlic, Parmesan cheese
  • I saw Tiffany Haddish do this recipe, but she didn’t give amounts of anything.
  1. Cut about an inch off the tops of the artichokes and cut off the stems to make a flat bottom. Use kitchen shears to trim the sharp tips off the leaves.
  2. Bring a large pot of salt water to a boil. Add the artichokes and place a heat-safe dish on top of them to keep them submerged in the water. Boil for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside upside down to drain and cool.
  3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  4. In a large bowl, mix together the Italian sausage,peppers, onion, seasonings, until just combined. Do not over-mix. (Or I saw you can cook the sausage then add the peppers and onions to saute. Then add the seasonings. This way you can taste test since we don’t have a recipe)
  5. Once the artichokes are cool enough to handle, dry them with paper towels, gently pry open the center leaves, and use a spoon with a twisting motion to scoop out the fuzzy choke inside. Place the artichokes into a baking dish, facing up.
  6. Stuff each artichoke with the sausage mixture, making sure you get some between all the leaves and in the center. Sprinkle the artichokes with Parmesan cheese.
  7. Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through (to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C)) and the outer leaves are easy to remove.
  8. Remove the foil. Set the oven to broil and place the stuffed artichokes under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown the cheese. I think adding some mozzarella would be good at this point too.
  9. Pull leaves off with sausage mixture on them and eat.

Let me know if you try this and how it works. I combined recipes I found online.

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Calzone (see after recipe for other combinations)

Pizza dough (your favorite recipe)

1 pound sausage (mild or hot, cooked and crumbled)

1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated

1 green pepper

1 onion

pepperoni

olives, sliced

Divide pizza dough into 5-6 ounce pieces.  Roll out round to about 6″ diameter.  In center of dough place sausage, cheese, any other fillings you want from the above list or any others you like.  Pull dough around filling and pinch ends together.  Place on greased baking sheet.

Brush olive oil over the top of dough and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with spaghetti sauce to dip.

Philly Cheese Steak Calzone

  • Thinly sliced, cooked steak
  • Mozzarella
  • Sauteed onions and green peppers

Tex-Mex Calzone

  • Black beans
  • Corn
  • Red onions
  • Shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • Salsa
  • Guacamole for serving

Meatball Calzone

  • Halved, cooked meatballs
  • Marinara sauce
  • Fresh basil
  • Shredded Parmesan

Garden Veggie Calzone

  • Cooked broccoli
  • Roasted red peppers
  • Sauteed mushrooms
  • Pesto
  • Shredded mozzarella

BBQ Chicken Calzone

  • Cooked chicken
  • Barbecue sauce
  • Shredded mozzarella
  • Sauteed red onions

Breakfast for Dinner Calzone

  • Scrambled eggs
  • Shredded Cheddar cheese
  • Hash brown potatoes
  • Cooked, crumbled bacon

Dessert Calzone

  • Chocolate hazelnut spread
  • sliced strawberries
  • dusting of confectioners’ sugar before serving
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Glazed Kielbasa

3 pounds smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1 inch chunks

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1  1/2 cup ginger ale (I use lemon lime soda because we usually have that)

Place sausage in slow cooker; sprinkle with brown sugar.  Pour ginger ale over the top. Stir to mix all together and make sure sausage is all covered with soda.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through.  Serve with rice.  Some of the family likes the juice on the rice.

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SAUSAGE DIP

24 oz sour cream

3 lbs sausage

3 lbs cream cheese

1 lg onion

1 diced pepper

1 can diced jalapenos (I just use 1-2 jalapenos and no chili peppers)

2 cans whole chili peppers

Chop peppers and onion. Brown sausage with onion and add peppers.  Add sour cream and cream cheese till warm and bubbly.  (Matt usually adds more sour cream).

This is a huge amount cut it in thirds.