Sausage, pepper and bean stew

1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 can pinto beans
2 cans fire-roasted, diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 Telma vegetable cube
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 c. water

Brown sausage. Squeeze tomato paste into sausage and cook for about 1 minute, and transfer to slow cooker. Saute onion until barely translucent, then add peppers and cook for 2 more minutes. Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.

Walnut-Parmesan Chicken

3 chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat (about 2 lbs)
2 oz walnuts
1 oz parmesan, grated (Kraft-style grated)
1 egg

Grind the walnuts in the food processor until they resemble coarse crumbs. Pulse in the parmesan. Pour in a shallow pan. Whisk one egg in a shallow pan. Dredge the chicken in the egg mixture and then in the walnut mixture. Fry.

*I used regular chicken breasts for this. Because they were so thick, I couldn't fry them in their entirety on the stove-top and ended up putting these in the oven at 400F to finish. In the future, I would cut the breasts in half to make the pieces thinner and double the breading. Also, I think a flour dredge first would help the breading stick better. Good concept - needs a little work.

Sausage spaghetti with zucchini pasta

Sausage Spaghetti Sauce

5 uncooked Italian sausages
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano

Put all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for about 8 hours. Remove the sausage from the crockpot and skim excess fat. Puree the tomatoes with a stick blender. Slice the sausages and return to the crockpot. Cook on high while making the noodles.

Zucchini Noodles

2 Tbsp. butter
3 medium zucchini, sliced thinly
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the zucchini slices, turning occasionally to evenly distribute the butter. Cook about 5 minutes until wilted. DRAIN in a colander before serving.

Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Cormbread Casserole

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 c. chicken stock + 2/3 c. water
1/2 c. (scant) Frank's RedHot Wing Sauce
1 rotisserie chicken, meat pulled from bones, shredded
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
1/3 c. water
1/2 c. blue cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 375F. In a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add carrots, onion and celery and cook until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Push vegetables to the sides of the pan. Melt the butter and add flour. Cook for about 1 minute. Add stock and hot sauce to the pan. Bring to a simmer, and add the chicken to the pan. Simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 2-3 minutes. While the sauce is thickening, prepare the cornbread with egg and water (not milk), and fold in the blue cheese. Drop the cornbread batter on top of the sauce in spoonfuls. Bake until the cornbread is done, about 20 minutes.

(Originally from Rachael Ray, here)

Sausage, apple and cornbread stuffing

¾-1 lb. Italian sausage
3 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 med. red apple, diced
1 med. green apple, diced
1 med. onion, diced
6 oz. fresh cranberries, whole
¼ c. white wine or apple cider
½ - 1 c. chopped pecans or slivered almonds
½ (or more) 8x8 pan cornbread, day old
1 c. shredded parmesan
1 c. chicken stock
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the Italian sausage in a 10” skillet. Move browned sausage to a large bowl. Add 1 Tbsp. butter and oil to the remaining sausage grease in the skillet. Sauté the onion and apples for about 10 minutes. Add the cranberries and wine, partially lid the pan, and sauté until the cranberries pop. Move to the bowl with the sausage and let cool. Add chopped pecans or almonds. Break up cornbread into 1” cubes---it will break up more as you mix the stuffing. Add about ¾ c. parmesan, and season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Mix in enough stock to bind it together. Pour into a 2 quart casserole. Top with the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and the remaining ¼ c. parmesan. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes. (This recipe is very flexible. It can also be prepared in a crockpot or in a lower temperature oven.)

Stuffed peppers

4 large green bell peppers
3/4 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 c. long grain brown and wild rice mix
1 jar Classico spicy tomato and basil sauce
1/2 c. shredded cheese

Heat 3/4 c. water to a boil and add rice. Stir, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30-40 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, cook the sausage. Right before you pull the sausage off the stove, add the tomato paste and cook for an additional minute. Cut off the top of the bell peppers, clean out the seeds and ribs, and trim the bottom so they stand up straight, if necessary. Pour half the jar of pasta sauce in an 8x8 pan. Put the peppers in the pan, cut side up. In a small bowl (or the rice pot), mix the rice and sausage. Fill each pepper about halfway. Put in 1-2 Tbsp. tomato sauce and 1 Tbsp. shredded cheese. Fill the peppers with the rest of the mixture. Top with 1-2 Tbsp. tomato sauce, and pour the rest of the sauce in the pan. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Pull from the oven and top with an additional 1 Tbsp. cheese. Bake until cheese is golden brown (an additional 5-10 minutes).

Snow day!

Guinness braised roast beef

Mock tender roast (about 2 lbs)
1/2 can Guinness
1 tsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1 Telma mushroom cube
1 Tbsp. instant coffee

1/2 lb. fingerling potatoes
20-30 baby carrots

Put the roast with seasoning in the crockpot on high for about 2 hours, turn to low for 4-5 hours. About an hour before supper, add fingerling potatoes and baby carrots.

Crockpot chili

1 lb ground beef
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 pkg. McCormick Chili Seasoning
1/4-1/2 can Guinness
1 14.5-oz can Bush's chili beans, medium sauce
1 14.5-oz can stewed tomatoes with celery and onions

Brown ground beef, drain excess fat. Add tomato paste and chili seasoning, deglaze with Guinness. Cook for a few minutes until the seasonings are well-combined. Pour in a crockpot with beans and tomatoes. Cook on low several hours.