Italian sausage Archives

Sweet Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce in the Slow Cooker

November 8, 2012 by Tiffany

This hearty pasta sauce is full of flavor. Slices of sweet Italian sausage links, combine with bell peppers, onions and garlic in thick tomato sauce.

I like for most slow cooker recipes to not need any kind of browning or cooking on the stove, but this one does require some pre-cooking. Thankfully, it only takes a few minutes to get everything into the crockpot. I made this on a Sunday morning before church. The hands-on prep only took about 15 minutes.

You could also continue cooking it on the stove, but I like the convenience of the crockpot. No need to stir or tend the pot and you can leave the house while it’s cooking.

Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]

Filed under: Crockpot, Main Dish, Pasta Tagged with bell peppers, crushed tomatoes, garlic, Italian sausage, onion, Pasta, tomato sauce1 Comment

Ingredient Spotlight: Hot Dogs & Sausage

June 20, 2012 by Tiffany

We eat a fair amount of hot dogs, brats and smoked sausage during the summer. They are so quick to throw on the grill and serve with watermelon, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes or some such.

I don’t have any recipes that involve hot dogs. I do have some recipes for smoked sausage and Italian sausage: [Read more...]

Filed under: cooking tips, ingredient spotlight, tips Tagged with hot dogs, Italian sausage, pork sausage, sausage, smoked sausage12 Comments

Turkey Legs, Italian Sausage and Potatoes in the Slow Cooker

June 14, 2012 by Tiffany

Have you ever made a recipe that just didn’t turn out? I’ve done it a lot of times, but one I remember well.

Jim and I were recently married and I was just learning to cook. We used to invite friends to come to dinner and I would make a new recipe. Most of our other meals during the week consisted of ramen noodles or instant potatoes. We were college students and had no money, so it was a splurge to buy ingredients for a nice meal once a week.

On this occasion, I made a dish that had chicken, Italian sausage, potatoes and tomatoes in it. The recipe called to bake it in the oven for 1 hour. Needless to say, that was not nearly a long enough cooking time for so much meat and raw potatoes. When I served it, we cut into raw chicken. Yuck!

Thankfully, the guests we had were also college students. They were easily satisfied with a bowl of cereal until the dinner had more time to cook.

I never tried making that recipe again, but I remember that when it finally cooked it did taste good. So when Frigidaire recently asked me to share a “do-over” recipe, I knew this would be the one. Except this time I made it in the slow cooker to give it a good, long cook time.

Frigidaire has a new Gallery dishwasher that features an OrbitClean Wash Arm that gets the dishes clean the first time. Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to have a do-over on a load of dishes. Frigidaire invites you to visit Facebook.com/Frigidaire to share your own “do-over” moment. It doesn’t have to be food related. One lucky visitor is going to win the ultimate do-over! And Frigidaire is also donating $1 to Save the Children for every do-over submitted. So pop over and share your do-over moment.

Back to my do-over recipe. Here’s what you’ll need to try the slow cooker version, which worked out much better than the oven method I used so many years ago. [Read more...]

Filed under: Crockpot, Main Dish Tagged with Crockpot, garlic, Italian sausage, potatoes, slow cooker, tomatoes, turkey3 Comments

Italian Sausage Enchiladas – Don’t be afraid to substitute ingredients

January 13, 2012 by Tiffany

Sometimes I make a recipe exactly as it’s written. Maybe because I’m not familiar with the dish. Or because it’s a baked good that will just work better if I follow directions. Or because I like the results of that specific recipe.

But other times, I use recipes as a jumping off point. I swap out ingredients for what I have in my pantry or fridge. This is how I cook most often. I love to read comments from readers that say something like, “I loved this recipe. I used chicken broth instead of beef, added more veggies, skipped the green chilis and topped it with cornbread.” It’s not the same recipe at all, but the reader loved it! She used her creativity and shopped her pantry to serve her family a meal that they all liked. Success!

One reason I like enchiladas so much is that they are a prime candidate for substituting. These enchiladas are a recent result of shopping my pantry and fridge for ingredients. They are simple to make and my family loved them.

Here’s what you’ll need. Feel free to substitute as needed. The recipe makes about 9-10 enchiladas. The picture above only shows part of the recipe. [Read more...]

Filed under: Main Dish, pork Tagged with cheese, enchiladas, Italian sausage, tomato sauce10 Comments

Bowtie Pasta with Italian Sausage and Bell Peppers

April 5, 2011 by Tiffany

There are nights when I stare into my pantry, wondering what I’m going to fix. On this particular night, the contents of the pantry made me consider making Italian Sausage with Bowties but I didn’t have any stewed tomatoes. I decided to change the recipe up a bit and came up with this.

Like the original, it’s a cinch to make and quick too. This one gets an added taste boost from the peppers. Here’s what you’ll need: [Read more...]

Filed under: Main Dish, Pasta Tagged with basil, bowties, crushed tomatoes, garlic, green pepper, half and half, Italian sausage, onions, oregano, Pasta, red pepper9 Comments

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

August 17, 2010 by Tiffany

I used to think that homemade pasta sauce took a long time to make. That’s the way my Grandma made it and hers was always so good.

But pasta sauce doesn’t have to be an all day deal. This one only takes about 10 minutes if you already have the Italian sausage browned out. Add an extra 10 minutes if you need to do that step too.

[Read more...]

Filed under: Main Dish, Pasta Tagged with basil, crushed tomatoes, garlic, Italian sausage, olive oil, onion, Pasta, red sauce, sugar, tomato paste8 Comments

Italian Sausage and Rice

August 11, 2010 by Tiffany

I whipped this up for dinner one Saturday night when I didn’t really want to cook. It was fast, easy and tasty. While I was eating I thought how versatile this recipe could be.

The topping could be put over pasta, pizza crust, used to fill an omelet or mixed with eggs for frittata, broiled on thick slices of French bread…the possibilities are endless.

[Read more...]

Filed under: Main Dish Tagged with garlic, green pepper, Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, onion, red pepper, rice, tomatoes4 Comments

Chicago Style Pizza Pot Pie – Take 3

June 2, 2010 by Tiffany

This is my third time try at this recipe. It’s not that I didn’t like the first two tries. Quite the opposite, actually. We like it so much that it’s worth making over and over. This time I decided to try one great big pie, instead of the individuals that use ramekins. Not everyone has 6 ramekins or wants to go to the trouble to make them individually.

I’m happy to report that this is my favorite version and it’s also the easiest. It has an easy homemade crust, but I used store-bought pizza sauce. Italian sausage and mozzarella make it as meaty and cheesy as you would expect from a Chicago style pizza.

[Read more...]

Filed under: Main Dish Tagged with flour, garlic, Italian sausage, mozzarella, onion, pizza sauce, yeast13 Comments

Pizza Bowties with Italian Sausage

April 13, 2010 by Tiffany

All the flavors of a fully loaded pizza with the speed and ease of a pasta dish. This is a kid-pleaser. You can substitute ground beef or chopped pepperoni for the sausage. Pair it with a green salad and you have a quick weeknight dinner. [Read more...]

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged with bowties, garlic, green pepper, Italian sausage, mozzarella, onion, Pasta, tomatoes11 Comments

Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells

March 5, 2010 by Tiffany

I have a freezer full of pork that we got from my niece’s 4-H project. The place my sister took it to be processed doesn’t always give you what you ask for. I think it’s more what they are in the mood to make. The day they processed my order, they must have been in the mood for Italian Sausage. I’ve never seen so much of it!

With so much Italian sausage, I’m having to get creative to use it. I decided to give it a try in stuffed shells. The result tasted great and as a bonus, you get to cook once and eat twice. This recipe makes enough for two 9×13 pans! [Read more...]