SRC: Tortellini and Chicken Sausage Soup

Well, things have calmed down on the home front here a little bit. I am hoping to use the time to post a little more regularly around here. I have quite a few recipes lined up that I want to make, so it is time to get in the kitchen!

With that, it is once again time for Secret Recipe Club. My blog assignment this month was Melissa's A Fit and Spicy Life. Melissa describes herself as a Midwestern girl who is a food loving, wine drinking, weight lifting, traveling, yogi blogger. Hailing from the Midwest myself, it sounds a little familiar. 

My husband helped me look through Melissa's recipes this time, and we finally settled on her recipe for Tortellini and Chicken Sausage Soup. We are not anywhere near her temperature of 40 degrees when she wrote the post, but we've both been starting to crave soup. I made her recipe largely as written, adding only a couple spices and changing the form of the sausage. 

I can assure you that this soup definitely hit the spot for us! It was a hearty soup, with the meat and the tortellini, so if you like your soup thinner, you may want to add extra liquid. It was great for us the first time through, but we added a bit extra liquid to the leftovers when we warmed them up. My husband declared it a make again recipe, so thank you Melissa for the recipe!

(Printable Recipe)

Tortellini and Chicken Sausage Soup
From A Fit and Spicy Life

Ingredients:
3 cups dried tortellini with cheese
2 spicy Italian chicken sausages, casings removed
1 can (14.5oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
28 oz. low-sodium beef broth (or more if you like more liquid)
2 cups water (or more)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 (9oz) pkg. frozen spinach
 Parmesan cheese, garnish

Heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Remove the sausage from the casing and cook, crumbling as it cooks, until cooked through. 

Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the tomatoes, broth, water, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and frozen spinach. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tortellini, cover and cook for 15-17 minutes. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

SRC: Stromboli

Hope everyone had a great weekend. It is Secret Recipe Club time here again! This month I was assigned The Keenan Cookbook. The blog is ran by Chris, Rachel, and Baby Boy, and Chris indicates that they make a great team in the kitchen with him doing much of the cooking and Rachel taking most of the photos. The recipes on their website often come along with personal stories, and I really enjoyed all of their posts.

So how did I settle on this stromboli recipe? In the spirit of posting recipes with memories and family connections, we have our own stromboli story here. While it was a much different recipe, stromboli is the first meal that my husband (then boyfriend) made for me.

In the spirit of staying true to his recipe, I also made the pizza dough recipe that Chris suggests for this recipe. My other changes were minor - chicken sausage, turkey pepperoni, and smoked mozzarella. I also added some provolone cheese, although I am not sure this was a substitution. Chris doesn't list this in his ingredient list, however his photo indicates there was some form of sliced cheese in addition to the mozzarella cubes. The dough recipe was different that others that I have made in that I felt the dough turned out stiff and hard to maneuver. Nonetheless, it baked up nicely and held in all the ingredients stuffed in this stromboli really well, so it may be worth a second try to see if my problems were user error.

Be sure to stop by The Keenan Cookbook to check out his original version of the stromboli as well as all of their other recipes. I know I've bookmarked several other recipes to make myself. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Stromboli with Alton Brown's Pizza Dough
From The Keenan Cookbook

Ingredients:
Dough:
4 Tbsp. sugar 
2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1-1/2 cups warm water
4 cups bread flour
2 tsp. instant yeast
non-stick spray

Stromboli:
1/2 recipe pizza dough 
3/4 lb. chicken sausage
1/2 pkg. turkey pepperoni
1/4 lb. deli salami, sliced 
1/4 lb. deli provolone cheese, sliced
8 oz. smoked mozzarella cheese
3 Tbsp. dried parsley
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 egg white, slightly beaten

For the dough, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the ingredients in the following order: sugar, salt, olive oil, water, 2 cups flour, yeast, and remaining 2 cups flour. Mix on low until the dough just comes together forming a ball. Spray the hook attachment with cooking spray. Swap the paddle attachment for the hook and knead for 15 minutes on medium speed. Tear off a small piece of the dough and flatten. Stretch the dough until thin. Hold it up to the light to see if you can see through it. If it tears, you will need to knead the dough for an additional 5-10 minutes. Form the dough into a smooth ball with your hands. Spray a large bowl with the non-stick spray and place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat the ball of dough with the spray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18-24 hours. I divided this in half, using half for the stromboli and the other half for a different pizza. The dough can be frozen by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and placing the wrapped ball of dough into a freezer ziplock bag. Remove from the freezer the morning you want to use it and place in the refrigerator. 

For the stromboli, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature (approximately 30 minutes). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, cook the sausage until cooked through. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Sprinkle with the herbs. Layer with meats and then cheeses. Starting with the long end of the rectangle, roll the dough up. Pinch the seams to seal. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet and pierce with a fork in several places. Brush with egg white. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and enjoy!

Christmas Soup Series: Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

Day 2 of soups for Christmas. This is one of the other recipes that my brother made last week while he was visiting. It is a little similar to this soup recipe that I posted last year in that it contains both sausage and red wine, but the soups are distinct enough that I am considering them different. 

Of all the things on my blog, my soups are probably one of the things that we "repeat" the most at home. You other bloggers know what I am talking about. The "are we having something new again for dinner" syndrome. This soup is definitely up with the others in flavor, and that is considering that we really like all of the soups posted here. Given the fact that my brother served us this during the same meal as the chocolate-chip toffee cheesecake, I would certainly say we had a great meal!

Similar to the minestrone, the pasta in this soup will soak up some of the liquid as it sits. Just add extra broth to your preference when you reheat it. This one also calls for red wine, but it can be substituted for the beef broth if you prefer. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini
Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 lb. sweet Italian chicken/turkey sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
1 can (14.5) oz. diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 Tbsp. fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
1/2 tsp. ground oregano
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1-1/2 cups quartered zucchini
8 oz. fresh whole wheat tortellini 
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a large Dutch oven, brown the sausage, crumbling as you cook it. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain the fat.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and saute until the onion begins to soften. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Skim fat from the soup if necessary (should be very little if you use chicken/turkey sausage). Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese.

Crockpot directions: Cook the sausage as directed. Place all ingredients except tortellini and Parmesan cheese in the crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Cook tortellini separately on the stove according to package directions and add just before serving. Serve hot with Parmesan cheese.

Sausage and Pepper Calzones

Can anyone else believe that it is already football season? Don't get me wrong, I am crazy excited to spend Saturdays cheering on my Huskers, but to me, it shouldn't be September yet. Having never lived anywhere other than Nebraska, I am finding it different that much of the football focus here is on the pros rather than college. While I still prefer college football over pro football, both types certainly have one thing in common - GAME FOOD!

Pizza and football are something that go hand-in-hand in my mind, and these calzones are something that would make a great addition to any football party. I found them  quite a while ago on Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy and bookmarked them immediately. My husband has this categorization in his mind of game food - it has to be something that is hand-friendly and portable. These could easily fit that bill. Self-contained and stuffed with sweet and spicy sausage, peppers, and onion. Game food indeed.

While we loved the idea of these, I think I will change up the type of sausage if we make them again. In her recipe, Susan calls for whole sausages that she slices, bakes, and then finishes in a skillet on the stove. Her reasoning is that it helps decrease the fat as opposed to frying it. While that is valid point, the fat in the skillet (from the sausage) can always be drained, and I think that crumbled sausage would fit into the calzones much easier. Next time, I think I'll try using some locally-made chicken sausages and removing the casing to get that crumbled effect. I'll let you know :)  My only other complaint with these is the dough that I used. I've been looking for "that" pizza crust recipe, and the dough that I used for this one wasn't it. It didn't really brown and just wasn't our favorite, so use your favorite homemade or purchased dough here. Trader Joe's has a great one!

Enjoy and Go Big Red! 

(Printable Recipe)

Sausage and Pepper Calzones
From Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy

Ingredients:
1 lb. sweet Italian chicken sausage, removed from casings
1 lb. spicy Italian chicken sausage, removed from casings
1-1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 bell peppers, any color, cut into strips
2 large sweet onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
2 pkg. or recipes of pizza dough
1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella, sliced 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place pizza stone in the oven to warm while the oven is preheating. If you do not have a pizza stone, you do not have to pre-heat it.

Place casing-free sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring to crumble until the sausage is cooked through. Drain any fat and set sausage aside.

Heat olive oil in the skillet (if dry) over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and onions and saute for about 10-12 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and saute for about 3 minutes more. Adjust the heat if needed to avoid burning. Add the sausage to the skillet with the vegetables. Pour in the chicken stock and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes more, until peppers and onions are very soft. Take the lid off and simmer a few more minutes to reduce the liquid in the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

Unroll pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut out  two 5-6-inch circles of dough. Gather the scraps together and roll out the dough to make 1-2 more circles. If using a calzone press, place one dough circle on the open press. Place a generous scoop of sausage mixture in the center. Make sure to drain as much liquid out of the sausage mixture as you can, so the calzones will not be soggy. Top with mozzarella and lightly brush the outside edges with olive oil. Flip one side over the other and press to seal with the calzone press or with your fingers. Press the edge down with the tines of a fork to ensure the seal. Lightly brush the tops of the calzones with more olive oil and sprinkle a little Kosher salt on top. Place the calzones on the pizza stone or pan and bake for about 20-22 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and let cool for 3-5 minutes. 

Yield: 6-8 large calzones

Savory Chicken Sausage, Spinach, and Onion Turnovers

Since I finished my school schedule a couple months early, I have been enjoying the opportunity to spend a decent amount of time in my kitchen. I have been trying to use this extra time "wisely" to tackle some of the meals on my "must-make list" that tend to take a little bit longer. You know the type. Yeasted breads. Decorated cupcakes. Mile long ingredient lists. While I have some time right now, this may not be the case in a couple months because a couple weeks ago I accepted a residency position that starts in July. I am REALLY excited for it to get started, but I also know that this means I need to start looking for some quick meal ideas.

This is a recipe I spotted in a section of Cooking Light called "store-bought shortcuts for easy, home-cooked meals." They included a section about how using store-bought pizza dough, pie crust, rotisserie chicken can be okay (even nutritionally) if you have a night where you need to get dinner finished quickly. I actually defeated the purpose of the article by using my own pie crust, but to my credit, I had one in the freezer that I only had to thaw before using. They have a good point, and while I like to try to make these things at home when I plan out our menu for the week, there are nights (like last Sunday) where Trader Joe's pizza dough certainly comes in handy.

So what about the part that matters. Were they good? Definitely! I was a little disappointed that my homemade pie crust didn't brown much like the one in their photo, but on that thought, I don't think it was a pie crust recipe that I will use again anyway. It just didn't work quite right here or in the pie that I made. I only made one change because I realized at the last minute that the chicken sausages we had were already pre-cooked, so rather than crumbling them, I simply diced them and browned them quickly in the skillet. Besides my aesthetic browning issue, the turnovers were great! I was pleasantly surprised that they packed as much flavor as they did from a list of pretty unassuming ingredients, and I know that the hubby really enjoyed them too. Don't let the pie dough turn you away. Even with it, all of this comes in at less than 350 calories per turnover. It is certainly a recipe that will be going in the "quick and easy" file for the next year. Enjoy!

I am linking this post to Melt in Your Mouth Monday!

(Printable Recipe)

Savory Chicken Sausage, Spinach, and Onion Turnovers
Adapted from Cooking Light April 2011

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2/3 c. diced, peeled red potatoes
1/3 c. diced red bell pepper
1/3 c. diced yellow onion
2 (3.5 oz) links hot chicken Italian sausage, casings removed (or diced if pre-cooked)
3 c. bagged washed baby spinach
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 (14.1-ounce) pkg. Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough (or homemade dough for 1 crust pie)
2 Tbsp. water
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add potatoes, bell pepper, and onion to the pan; saute 4 minutes or until onion begins to brown, stirring frequently. Add sausage; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble if using the uncooked variety. Stir in spinach; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Stir in basil, salt, and crushed red pepper. Remove from the heat.

Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 5-inch circle. Spoon about 1/2 cup potato mixture on half of each circle, leaving a 1/2-inch boarder. Fold dough over potato mixture until edges almost meet. Bring bottom edge of dough over top edge; crimp edges of dough to form a rim with fingers or a fork. 

Place turnovers on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray if needed. Combine 2 tablespoons of water and egg white in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk; brush evenly over the dough. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons cheese over each turnover. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 4 turnovers (4 servings)

I am linking this to Hunk of Meat Monday.

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

Finally, I've got the soup recipe that I posted about over a week ago on my facebook profile! When I posted it to my status, I claimed that "I just made the best soup for supper." I've talked on here before about how winter = soup in my mind, and this one definitely fits the bill of a hearty, fill-you-up winter meal. It is true that I haven't met too many soups that I don't like (as long as they don't contain any seafood), but I promise that this one is worth trying.  It can be pretty healthy too, especially if you swap in turkey sausage for the pork sausage.

I saw this recipe on Julie's site Little Bit of Everything, but it originally comes from An Oregon Cottage. I've actually made it twice already - once in the slow cooker and once on the stove-top since I ran out of time to use the slow cooker. The recipe is originally written to be a slow cooker recipe, but I actually preferred the stove-top one. When we made it in the slow cooker as directed, my orzo got REALLY soft. Too soft. It was almost falling apart. This could be easily remedied by cooking the orzo separately and mixing it in just before serving, and I may try this the next time I make this soup.  My other comment is that it is a thick soup and only becomes thicker with storage as the pasta soaks up the liquid. If you like your soup with a little bit more liquid, you may want to add a little more stock/wine.

Definitely don't let my pasta comments deter you from making this soup. There are lots of options as far as ingredients in this soup, so you can really adapt it into whatever you want it to be. I can tell you that the four of us here, 3 adults and 1 child, ate almost the whole recipe in one meal. Serve it with some crusty bread and enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup
Adapted from An Oregon Cottage

Ingredients:
1 lb. Italian turkey sausage (I used Honeysuckle mild turkey sausage with great results!)
4 c. beef stock (may want extra for more liquid)
1/2 c. dry red wine (or more stock if you want to omit the wine)
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed (can also use garbanzo beans)
2 c. chopped spinach (can also use cabbage, chard, or kale)
2 whole carrots, peeled and sliced
2 c. chopped green beans (if using frozen, thaw a bit and add about 45 minutes prior to serving)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 c. orzo (or other small pasta)
fresh grated Parmesan for garnish (optional)
parsley for garnish (optional)

Slow cooker method:
If using uncooked sausage, cook it in the skillet until brown, drain and transfer to the bowl of the slow cooker. Combine the stock with the wine and pour over the meat. Add the remaining ingredients except for the last 3 (and green beans if frozen). Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours or on high for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. About 45 minutes before serving, add the green beans (and turn the cooker to high if you are using the low setting). In a medium saucepan, cook the orzo according to package directions. Mix with the soup just before serving. Serve with Parmesan and parsley if desired.

Stove-top method:
If using uncooked sausage, cook it in the skillet with the onions and garlic until cooked through. Drain fat if necessary.  Combine the stock with the wine and pour over the meat. Add the remaining ingredients except for the pasta and garnishes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cook the orzo according to package directions. Mix with the soup just before serving. Serve with Parmesan and parsley if desired.

Sausage, Black Olive, Onion, and Half-mushroom Stromboli

Installment #3 for quick, easy, delicious meals. This is probably my last super-quick meal post because.... DRUMROLL...... I am DONE with CLASSES FOREVER! (Envision a happy dance here).

One year of clinical rotations, a couple of licensing exams, and I will finally be a pharmacist! It's a great feeling, but I don't think it will completely sink in until I get caught up completely on sleep :-) 

Stromboli is one of our standard go-to meals when we need something quick and good. It's actually the first meal my husband made for me back when we were dating :-) Since then, we've filled it with several different fillings and make it fairly consistently. There's a ham, bacon, Swiss cheese, and green onion version here. We've also done pizza-themed ones with pretty good results.

We usually use the Pillsbury french bread as a starter, but I'm sure you could just as easily use a bread maker to make the dough. This one has only half-mushroom because I'm not a fan (the hubby loves them though!) We also used the horseshoe-shaped turkey-sausage and cooked it over the stove for a little bit with the onion for some flavor. Try it out. We love it!

(Printable Recipe)

Sausage, Black Olive, Onion, and Mushroom Stromboli

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury french loaf 

1 pkg. turkey polish sausage

1 to 1-1/2 c. mozzarella cheese

fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 can sliced black olives

1/2 c. onion, chopped

Preheat the oven according to package directions on the bread. Find the seam on the loaf and unroll the bread dough onto a cookie sheet and set aside (The dough will unroll much better if it is cold straight out of the fridge).

Slice the polish sausage into 1/4-inch slices. Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat with the onion until the mixture is fragrant and the onion begins to soften. Mix the sausage-mixture with the mushrooms and black olives. Layer the mixture over the dough leaving 1/2-inch around the edges. Top evenly with the cheese. Roll up the dough lengthwise as tightly as possible. Pinch together the seam and the ends; flip the loaf over so that the seam is down. Cut a couple steam-vents across the top of the loaf. Bake according to package directions until the dough is golden-brown or approximately 20-25 minutes. Slice and enjoy!