Stewed Sausage with Onions, Garlic and Peppers

Ah! Talk about comfort food! This weekend I decided to make it "extra special" when it comes to food! I just felt industrious and wanted to make something that would be extra warming and inviting... perfect to enjoy in a rainy day... but different from what I usually make...  at the same time I knew I would have busy days so I wanted to make something delicious, yes... but also practical and not too time consuming...

so... when I went to the store I decided to buy "Italian Sausage". I never buy that kind of thing so I knew it would definitely be a "twist" and something different from what I always cook... and ah! I am so happy I did... I also had some cookbooks from the library and I used them for inspiration to put this together... I hope you will try it and let me know how you liked it... This is something I am definitely going to be making again!

Stewed Sausage with Onions, Garlic and Peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. raw sweet Italian sausage (in its casing)
• 3/4  lb. raw mild Italian sausage (in its casing) -you can buy the whole package with one pound and just leave one sausage out)
• 1 large white onion (chopped)
• 1 large green bell pepper (seeded and cut into chunks)
• 1 large yellow bell pepper (seeded and cut into chunks)
• 4 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
• 2-3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano 
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• 1 14 oz. can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• roughly chopped fresh basil for garnish

Directions:

In a big bowl mix the onions, green/yellow pepper and garlic. Set aside

• Using a very large skillet, heat the oil over med-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the sausages and turn occasionally making sure all sides are browned (this will take about 10-12 minutes). Stir in the oregano and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato sauce and cook for a minute or two. Add the diced tomatoes with the juices, the water and the 1/4 tsp. salt; simmer for 3 minutes.

• In the bottom of a slow cooker arrange ONLY half of the onion-pepper mixture and then cover with half of the sausages and their sauce, cover with the rest of the onion-pepper mixture to form another layer and top it all with the rest of the sausage/sauce. Cover and cook for 4 hours on low. Serve and garnish with fresh basil. You can serve this with pasta or buttered egg-noodles with grated parmesan or just serve it in a bowl and enjoy with some delicious artisan bread. 

 Honestly... you will love me after you eat this! ;)



© Paloma K.

Chicken Parmigiana

Well... today I made a delicious and better than restaurant "Chicken Parmigiana" I slightly adapted the recipe from Martha Stewart's website, "Everyday-Food". The original recipe is by Everyday-Food Editor Sarah Carey and I loved its simplicity! Plus it had great reviews so I decided to make it too!

Here is the recipe: (slightly adapted)

Homemade Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total), or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally
• Coarse Salt (I use Kosher) and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups jarred tomato sauce (Spaghetti Sauce, I use the one that is just "basil/tomato" sauce or you can make your own.
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh, cut into eight 1/4-inch-thick slices. (you can use shredded mozzarella, which is what I used)

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven at 400F. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a shallow bowl. Season both sides of chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dip chicken in the beaten egg, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat both sides.
   
2. Spread tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 10-by-15-inch baking dish. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 4 chicken cutlets in skillet; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Using a spatula, transfer browned cutlets to baking dish, placing them on top of sauce. Repeat with remaining oil and cutlets.
   
3. Bake for 18 minutes. Increase oven temperature @475F, remove baking dish from oven and add your mozzarella cheese to each chicken breast. Return to the oven (cheese should melt and lightly brown in spots), 5 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately with a side of pasta or your favorite salad (I use the Baby Spring Mix and Italian Dressing)
   
   
   
   
   
   Enjoy!
   

Paloma K.