Spicy Turkey Meatballs

These meatballs will add some variety to spaghetti night. The addition of the sausage, prosciutto, and Asiago cheese to the turkey provides a nice flavor that is different than your average beef meatballs. Plus this recipe makes a lot of meatballs, around 40, so you can toss any extras in the freezer and save them for another day. So wash your hands, boil the water, and get ready to roll those meatballs!

Baked Pasta with Sausage and Vegetables

Please forgive me for the abundance of sausage recipes lately. I've had a thing for home-y comforting food involving sausage, and this one is just the ticket if you're looking a warm, friendly dish to serve the masses.

You also won't find an easier pasta dish than this one...other than maybe spaghetti and sauce. Toss everything in a bowl together, stir, bake and serve. Total prep time is probably less than 15 minutes.

Penne with Butternut Squash, Sausage and Kasseri

Happy Valentine's Day! We wish you the happiest and most romantic of days. May all your Valentine's wishes come true. And if they don't, or if, at this point, it's not looking too promising for you, I suggest you go home and make this pasta and forget all about the lover's holiday. Because, although delicious, this pasta has absolutely nothing to do with romance. It has a lot more to do with owning a good vegetable peeler. So if your day wasn't so grand, I recommend going home to hack the heck out of some squash (even if your day was superb, you should still go chop squash. It's very therapeutic).

Then roast it and add it to some moderately spicy (or not so much, if you're pregnant) sausage and tomatoes. And then boil some salty water and cook some pasta and throw it all together with cilantro and cheese. Yes, lots and lots of cheese.

Sausage, Mushroom, and Sundried Tomato Lasagna

My guess, you have a lasagna recipe. My next guess is that you don't have one like this, which is a variation on your standard ground beef lasagna. This lasagna incorporates some strong flavors - Italian sausage and sundried tomatoes, making it more bold than your average lasagna.

The recipe I adapted this from didn't ask for sundried tomatoes, but I thought they would be a great addition, and I believe they were. In fact, the next time I make this recipe I plan to double the amount of sundried tomatoes; their flavor is so unique and adds so much flavor to pasta dishes. Now, if you do like the flavor of sundried tomatoes, let me suggest that you also try our Macaroni Grill Chicken Milano which is heavily flavored with the sweet savory flavor of sundried tomatoes.

Penne with Zucchini Sauce and Sausage

It's the end of the semester, which means loads of grading that I've been putting off and dealing with students who are just now realizing that they're failing the class ("What? You mean if I don't turn my homework in, I won't pass the class?"). For those of you whose lives are run by semesters, you might be having similar feelings of stress, be it from the student or teacher side of things. Luckily for me (and my husband's stomach), cooking is a kind of stress relief for me. But if you don't share my passion for cooking, the end of a semester may leave you with little desire to get out of bed (or leave the library), much less cook something. This recipe is just thing for an easy, put-something-in-my-stomach type of meal.

When I asked my husband what I should say about this dish, his response was "it's tasteful and tantalizing." Not exactly what I had in mind, but sure. Mostly it's easy and good. Try it and let me know what you think. No really. Let me know.

Chinese Egg Rolls and Ginger Sauce

This recipe comes care of our friends K and P Lowe, who were generous enough to "invite" me over so they could make these fantastic egg rolls. I use the word "invite" loosely because I pretty much demanded them for dinner. I couldn't help it- a bit of cabbage and garlic was just what I was craving, and the Lowes make some of the best!

These aren't difficult to make, but they do require some assembly, which is pictured step-by-step below. My recommendation is to recruit an assistant to help with the rolling. Call it a date night and egg-roll it with your significant other!

And finally, although not pictured in this post, the Lowes have an excellent ginger sauce they serve with these egg rolls. I highly, highly recommend it. They usually dye it red for aesthetic purposes, but there's no real need for it. Bear in mind that the Lowes make their ginger sauce powerful enough to knock your socks off, so if you're new to the world of gingery foods, you may want to cut back by a tablespoon or so of the ginger in the sauce. Enjoy!


Chinese Egg Rolls
Recipe by K. and P. Lowe
Pictures by Kelly

1 pound sausage
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 cup purple cabbage, chopped
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 package egg roll wraps
oil

1. In a large pan, cook sausage until well done, stirring frequently. Drain excess grease from pan. Add chili powder, oregano, ginger, cabbage, and green onions. Saute 1-2 minutes.
   
2. Push meat mixture to the side and add egg. Cook egg until mostly firm, then break and scramble. Stir into meat mixture.
3. Lay out several egg roll wraps flat on the counter. Add 1 heaping spoonful to each wrap. Fold up like a burrito and seal the sides by moistening the edges with a wet cloth.
   
4. Heat oil to medium heat in large fryer or large pan. Fry each egg roll until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Serve with ginger sauce.

Ginger Sauce
Recipe by K. and P. Lowe

3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup white sugar
1-2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 tablespoon water
Red food coloring (optional)

1. In a small sauce pan, combine ginger, vinegar, and sugar. Heat until sugar is dissolved.
   
2. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1/2 tablespoon water and stir until smooth. Add to ginger mixture and stir until mixture has thickened. Add more cornstarch if a thicker sauce is desired.
   
3. Add food coloring and serve.
   

Mediterranean Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables

This salad is unique in the way Mediterranean food often is...subtle and lemony and just plain tasty. Because there usually isn't one flavor that pops out at you (as in Indian or Mexican or Italian food), many Americans may be shy about trying out these types of dishes. But you'll find that Mediterranean food is healthy, simple, and you probably have nearly all of the ingredients on hand already (and if you don't have them yet, they will be easy to find).

You can serve this salad as a side dish or main course. We included sausage in ours for a hearty meal, but the vegetarian option would be just as good. One final note: if you haven't eaten much eggplant, we suggest that you try it. But we've found that most people either love it or hate it. If you're one of the latter, substitute yellow squash for the eggplant.


Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables
Recipe very loosely adapted from Bon Apetite August 1997
Pictures by Caroline

1 lb ground sausage (optional)
1 1-to-1 1/4 pound eggplant, cut lengthwise into 8 wedges
2 medium-size zucchini, each cut lengthwise into 4 wedges
1 large onion, cut quartered
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
10 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 1/2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
1 box (usually 10 oz) couscous*

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Divide first 5 ingredients between 2 heavy large baking sheets. Brush vegetables with 3 tablespoons oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle herbs, salt and pepper over.
2. Roast until tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool until comfortable to touch. Remove and discard peels from garlic. Coarsely chop garlic. Cut roasted vegetables into 3/4-inch pieces. Set aside.
3. Prepare couscous according to directions on package. Fluff with a fork.
4. Gently mix roasted garlic and vegetables, 1/4 cup oil (pour oil in a tablespoon at a time), lemon juice, basil into couscous. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate). Serve warm or at room temperature.

*For a gluten free option, use quinoa instead of couscous.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This may be hard to believe, but growing up I loved stuffed bell peppers, the kind you made with hamburger and rice. So I thought I would take that idea and come up with something a little more unique and perhaps...with a few more flavors. I started with a couple of recipes I found online, and came up with a bell pepper stuffed with turkey sausage. These peppers have a strong flavor due to the sausage, but they are a great way to incorporate meat and vegetables in one fancy package. I hope you will enjoy them.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
Recipe by Caroline
Pictures by Caroline
Makes 2 (large) to 4 servings

¾ pounds sweet turkey sausage, casings removed (or you can use Italian sausage, whichever you prefer)
¾ cup coarsely grated zucchini
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped white mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1 large egg
¼ cup parmesan cheese
2 medium-size red bell peppers (each about 4 to 6 ounces), halved lengthwise, seeded

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned. Add the zucchini, onion, parsley flakes, rosemary, black pepper, and salt. Cook until sausage is mostly cooked through.
3. Take sausage mixture off of heat. In a medium mixing bowl combine the sausage mixture, breadcrumbs, egg, and parmesan cheese.
4. Fill pepper halves with the sausage mixture, dividing equally among each half. Arrange peppers, filled side up, in a baking dish (I add a little bit of water to the bottom of the pan to help steam the peppers). Cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until heated through and peppers reach desired tenderness.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers and Onions

As pasta lovers, we're always looking for new ways to incorporate fresh vegetables and herbs. This is a great recipe with just the right amount of kick to keep things interesting.


Sure, you can substitute green bell peppers for red, but we found red peppers to have an extra sweetness that makes a great contrast to the saltiness of the sausage.

The best part is, this recipe is easy, fast, and serves a crowd.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
Adapted from Everyday Pasta by Giada de Laurentiis

Pictures by Caroline

Makes 4-6 servings

¼ c olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausages (or ground sausage)
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced
1-2 yellow onions, sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, chopped
½ tsp dried oregano
½ cup fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried basil)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup Marsala wine
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 pound rigatoni pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the sausage.

2. Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the bell peppers, onions, salt and pepper and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and basil. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir, and then add the wine, tomatoes with juice, and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together to combine. Bring to a simmer.

3. Cut the sausages into bite size pieces (unless you used ground sausage). Return the sausage to the pan. Simmer until the sauce is thickened about 20 minutes.

4. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta until slightly firm. Drain, then add to the sauce; toss everything to combine, and sprinkle with Parmesan.