Grilled Sausage and Peppers Rustica

Grilled Sausage and Peppers Rustica

Prepared by Melissa Wolfe for January swap

1 1/2 pounds Italian Sausage Links
4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
1 each red, orange and yellow peppers, seeded & cut into 1" x 1/4" strips
SALSA MARINARA
1 can28 ounces Italian-style or plum tomatoes, including liquid
1 can10 3/4 ounces Tomato puree
1 teaspoon Garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Basil, fresh, chopped finely, firmly packed
3/4 pound Ziti pasta
Parsley
Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste



Directions
Bake or pan-fry sausage until fully cooked. Drain.
Cut sausages half lengthwise; then cut into 1/2" slices. Result will be semi-circles of sausage.
Sauté pepper slices in olive oil until their crispness is lost, but not soft.
For Salsa Marinara (5 cups):
Do not puree the tomatoes, just break them up.
Combine tomatoes, tomato puree, garlic, olive oil and fresh basil in sauce pan. Bring to a light simmer.
Cook pasta. Drain and transfer to four warmed plates. Top with sausage, peppers and salsa marinara.
Garnish each plate with parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.

Baked Ziti with Chicken in Queso Sauce

Baked Ziti with Chicken in Queso Sauce

prepared by Melissa Wolfe for  Feb swap

Ingredients:

2 Cups Shredded Chicken (cooked)
2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Mild RO*TEL
2 inches Velveeta "cheese"
2 Cups Shredded Cheese
1 Box Ziti Noodles (cooked as directed on box)

Assembly:Cook chicken and shred. Cook Ziti as directed on the box and drain. Melt the Velveeta cheese in the microwave. Mix cans of soup, RO*TEL, and melted Velveeta cheese together. Stir all ingredients together and pour into 9x13 dish. Bake at 350 for 45 min or until bubbling. After serving portions onto the plate, top with a sprinkling of shredded cheese. ENJOY!!

Freezing Instructions:Mix shredded chicken, soup, RO*TEL, and melted Velveeta and place wet ingredients into a freezer safe container or bag. Place into freezer. On baking day, thaw completely. Cook Ziti as directed on the box and drain. Stir together ziti with thawed ingredients and place in oven safe dish. Bake at 350 for 45 min or until bubbling. After serving portions onto the plate, top with a sprinkling of shredded cheese.

Chicken Broccoli Dinner

Chicken Broccoli Dinner

prepared by  Josie Hicks

Ingredients:
1 pkg. stuffing mix
1 cup water
chicken tenders
4 cups broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices bacon, cooked
4 Tablespoons Ranch dressing

Assembly:
Combine stuffing mix and water. Top with chicken. Top chicken with broccoli. Top broccoli with cheese. Crumble bacon over cheese. Drizzle with Ranch dressing. Cover with foil. Freeze or bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

To Serve from Frozen:
Thaw completely. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sausage Casserole

Sausage Casserole

by Josie HIcks

Sausage Casserole

• 1 pound bulk Italian pork sausage
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped

• 1 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cansCampbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) canCampbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Vegetable cooking spray
  
  

  Directions

  
  
  1. Cook the sausage in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat. Stir the pepper, onion, celery, rice,soups and 1 can of water in the skillet.
  2. Spray a 3-quart casserole with the cooking spray. Spoon the sausage mixture into the casserole. Bake at 400 degrees F. covered for 45 minutes. Remove cover, stir and cook 15 minutes more.
  *note--3 cans of soup made this pretty "soupy" .  Consider adding more rice before cooking or serving over rice.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

...Elisha Hicks

Ingredients

1 pound frozen chicken (shred near end of cooking time)
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
3(14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 can black beans, rinsed



Directions

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth, and season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in corn and black beans. Cover and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. Garnish with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, or avocadoes. (Note: garnishes not included in nutrition information) Makes 8 servings.

Tex-Mex Bake

Tex-Mex Bake

By Cindy Bowcut Floyd for October 2013 swap

Tex-Mex Bake

8 oz. Mostaccioli pasta
1 lb. ground beef
1 can corn, drained
2/3 cup salsa
16 oz. cottage cheese
1/4 t. Cumin
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese
1 egg
1 TB fresh cilantro

Cook pasta.  Cook beef, stir in corn and salsa.  Remover from heat.  Combine cottage cheese, egg, cliantro, pepper and cumin.  In a greased casserole dish layer as follows:

1/2 beef mixture
ALL pasta
ALL cheese mixture
1/2 beef
sprinkle Monterey Jace over top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Mini Chicken Pot Pies....Elisha Hicks

prepared for January swap

Ingredients:

• muffin pan
• 2 rolls of whole wheat refrigerated biscuit dough
• 1 cup diced russet potatoes
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup peas
• 1 cup diced green beans
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup roasted chicken, shredded
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper for taste
• 5 cups chicken broth (to make these heartier, use cream of chicken soup)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the over to 425 degrees. Then, in a large bowl, mix together your diced vegetables, chicken broth, eggs, and shredded chicken. (For the chicken, I just bought a whole roasted chicken from the market, pulled the meat off the bone, and shredded it.)
2. Take your whole-wheat dough and, using your fingers, divide it into the muffin holes, forming a mini crust in each.

3. Fill each muffin hole with your pot pie mixture. I filled mine up pretty full (but not so they overflowed) because I wanted more filling than dough in my pot pies.

4. Sprinkle a touch of salt and pepper on top of each pot pie.

5.    Bake for 25-30 minutes until each one is golden brown.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Poppy Seed Chicken...

prepared for January swap

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 (16-oz.) container sour cream 
• 3 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 31 round buttery crackers, crushed 
• 1/4 cup butter, melted 

Preparation

1. 1. Combine first 4 ingredients. Spoon mixture into lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.
2. 2. Stir together cracker crumbs and melted butter; sprinkle evenly over casserole.
3. 3. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
4. serve over pasta or rice if desired.

Monkey Bread Bites

Monkey Bread Bites...Alison Schofner

for January swap

Ingredients:

• 2 cans refrigerated biscuits (10 biscuits per can)
• .25 cups of sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease muffin tin. Combine cinnamon and sugar in shallow bowl.  Cut each biscuit into 4 small pieces.  Roll biscuit pieces in cinnamon/sugar mix until completely coated. Place approximately 6-7 pieces int each muffin tin.  Bake 15-20 minutes or just until tops get firm.

Freezing Directions:

Follow directions above.  Cool bites completely and transfer to a gallon freezer bag.  TO SERVE: Microwave from frozen state 45-60 seconds until warm.

Servings: 12

Glazed Meatloaf

Glazed Meatloaf...Elizabeth Morgan

for January swap

Ingredients

1Tbs olive oil
1½cups onion, chopped
3garlic cloves, minced
2large eggs
½cup milk
2tsp dijon mustard
1tsp hot sauce
1½tsp fresh marjoram, or ½ teaspoon dried, crumbled
1½tsp fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried, crumbled
salt and freshly ground pepper
1lb chuck (ground beef)
½lb veal (optional. Use half pork and beef if you can't find ground veal or don't buy veal)
½lb ground pork
1½cups fresh bread crumbs
¼cup fresh parsley, minced
½cup ketchup
¼cup light brown sugar
1½Tbs cider vinegar

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2 In a skillet over moderate heat, add the oil. Heat the oil until hot, but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool. 3 In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mustard, and hot sauce together. Add marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper.In a large mixing bowl, combine the meats, egg-milk mixture, bread crumbs, parsley, and the cooked onion mixture. 4 In a small bowl stir together ketchup, sugar, and vinegar. Set aside. 5 Form 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture into a small patty, add it to a small oiled skillet, and cook until no longer pink. Taste for seasoning and adjust. 6 Transfer meat mixture to an oiled loaf pan.*NOTE: I have, since, discovered that I can mix all the wet ingredients in my Kitchen Aid mixer bowl, then add the meat and cooked onions and garlic. I turn the mixer on LOW for a few minutes-- so much easier and less messier!*NOTE: The best way to make the meatloaf is to use a baking sheet, lined with foil. Place a cooling rack on top. Cut a piece of foil to be larger than a the loaf-- and shape the meat into a loaf. Using a metal skewer, poke holes along the foil...usually every other hole.Place the shaped loaf on top of the foil. I prefer this method, as the loaf is less likely to "steam" in a loaf pan. You can also glaze all around the meatloaf, which is even better!Brush meat with ketchup glaze.Bake in oven for about 45 minutes, until glaze has set. 7 Brush meat loaf with remaining glaze and bake for 15 minutes more; glaze again.My oven takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the desired doneness. Times do vary, so allow for that! 8 Internal temperature of loaf should be 160 degrees F. NOTE: Sometimes, I freeze half of the mixture in a plastic lined loaf pan. Once it's frozen, I remove the loaf and place it in a zip-loc bag, and the loaf is perfectly shaped. When ready to prepare, thaw in the refrigerator, make the glaze and bake as directed.WITH THE OTHER HALF: I shape individual meat loafs, and bake as directed for 20 minutes. This speeds up the time, quite a bit.

Beef and Barley Soup

Beef and Barley Soup...Suzanne Brubaker

for January swap

Ingredients:
-1.5 lbs Beef Stew Meat (I usually get top round and just cut it into bite size pieces).  Sometimes when you buy stew meat at the grocery store you still need to cut it into smaller pieces.
-1 large red onion, chopped
-Appx 8 medium sized carrots, peeled and sliced
-3-4 stalks of celery, sliced
-1.5 cups frozen corn (or you could use a 14.5 ounce can of canned corn)
-1 tsp parsley flakes
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1.5 Tbsp “Better Than Bouillon” paste or 3 cubes of beef bouillon (can add more to taste if you like)
-3 garlic cloves minced
-1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
-3/4 cup barley (pearled)
-5 cups water

This recipe is really simple to make!  All you do is throw all your ingredients in the crockpot and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.


If Making As Freezer Meal:
When I made this as a freezer meal, I put all the ingredients in except for the 5 cups of water.  On the outside of the bag I just wrote the date, the name of the meal, and “add 5 cups water”.  Make sure to push out any extra air in the bag to avoid freezer burn.  The day before you want to make this meal take it out of the freezer and allow to defrost in your fridge.  The morning/afternoon you want to eat the meal for dinner just put everything in your crockpot, add 5 cups water, and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

Pull Apart Pizza Bread

Pull Apart Pizza Bread...Alison Schofner

Prepared for Feb swap

1 1/2 pkgs. jumbo refrigerated biscuit dough, cut into quarters
1/2 pkg pepperoni or other meat (I used turkey pepperoni), cut intoquarters
2 c mozzarella cheese
1 t Italian seasoning
2 t crushed garlic
1/4 c olive oil

Toss all ingredients together until well coated with olive oil. Bake at 350 in greased dish. (Or use parchment paper if you really want to be able to get it out. Finally thought of that on the last batch!) Turn out onto a plate. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup... Josie Hicks

Taco Soup
1 lb ground beef, browned
1 can pinto beans
1 can chili beans
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 bag frozen corn
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch seasoning
Serve with corn chips and sour cream (sour cream helps if it's a little too spicy for you!)
Thaw and reheat

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

Baked Chicken Chimichangas
 prepared by Cindy Floyd for Jan swap

 2 1/2 cups chicken, cooked, shredded
 2 TB Olive Oil
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 TB Chili Powder
16 oz. salsa
1/2 tsp cumin, gound
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt, if necessary
1 can black beans
6-10 flour tortillas,
 Olive oil (for basting)

 In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in chili powder, salsa, cumin and cinnamon. Stir in shredded chicken and beans. Let cool. Heat oven to 450. Grease rimmed 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan. Lay out tortillas and evenly distribute chicken mixture on each one. Fold up the bottom, top and sides of tortilla; secure with wooden toothpicks if necessary. Place chimichangas in greased baking pan, seam side down. Brush all sides with the oil. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. If desired you may add some shredded cheese to tops for the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Serve.

Stuffed Shells

Stuffed Shells
Cindy Floyd for Feb swap

Original recipe makes 8 servings

 Ingredients
 1 (16 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
 2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups ricotta cheese
12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 pinch garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 Directions
 Cook shells according to package directions. Place in cold water to stop cooking. Drain. Mix together cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, and garlic powder. Rub the dried herbs in the palms of your hands to pulverize them, and stir into the cheese mixture. Stuff mixture into the shells. Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 15 x 10 inch pan. Place shells open side up, and close together in pan. Spread remaining sauce over top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 35 minutes, or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.