Cheesy Garlic, Sausage, and Bacon Pasta

My husband absolutely loves it when a recipe contains more than just one meat.  And I love anything with a cream sauce.  So this recipe makes us both happy!  I got the idea from this recipe, but the whole carbonara process seemed too time consuming to try out with a fussy baby on my hip so I just added some flour and cream to the bacon and sausage drippings to make a normal cream sauce for the pasta and it was delicious!  But I'm sure actually making it as carbonara wold be wonderful as well so feel free to give yourself more time than I did and try it out.

• 3 Tablespoons of flour
• 1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1 1/2 pound of spaghetti - cooked
• 1 lb of sliced smoked sausage
• 1/2 pound of bacon - after cooked cut into pieces
• 1- 2 teaspoon of minced garlic *depending on taste
• 1 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 extra cup of Italian blend cheeses* (can be the mixed bag style in stores)

Directions:

Fry bacon and use drippings to brown sausage. Reduce heat and add garlic to simmer with sausage.  Add a few tablespoons of flour to create a roux and mix well.  Add cold cream and stir til the sauce thickens. Add Italian blend cheese.  Add bacon and pasta and combine.  Sprinkle Parmesan on top and serve.

Soaked crepes

My girls love crepes.  I love them because they contain lots of eggs to fill my girls with protein.  Most of my girls put cream cheese in the middle and pour syrup over top.  If we have fresh berries, we add those as well.  I use this recipe with my freshly milled spelt flour by soaking the flour overnight in the milk with a bit of apple cider vinegar added to make it healthier.  I usually triple this batch to have some to freeze for busy school mornings.

• 3 eggs
• 1⅓ cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoon melted butter, cooled
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• *sugar for sprinkling

In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, milk, flour, salt and slightly cooled melted butter. Add in the sugar and vanilla if making a sweet crepe. If making a savory crepe, leave the sugar and vanilla out.

Mix well with a wire whisk until well combined. Keep the whisk in the bowl and continue to mix the batter occasionally as you make the crepes.

Heat a 8" non-stick skillet to medium heat.

Use a paper towel to lightly grease the pan with butter.

Pour ½ cup of crepe batter into the pan and tilt pan so the batter covers the pan in a thin layer. Cook until the edges start to lightly brown, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip over and cook for a few more seconds until done.

Sprinkle about a ½ teaspoon of sugar over the crepe and roll them up, or fold them into fourths.

Keep them covered with tinfoil to keep them warm until they’re ready to serve.

Serve with fresh berries, powdered sugar, whipped cream or nutella!

Mini quiche muffins

Karis has really gotten into cooking lately and one of her favorite meals is mini ham and cheese quiche muffins.  She even makes her own crust.  She got her crust recipe from Genius Kitchen and her filling recipe from here.

Crust:

• 1cup flour
• 1⁄2teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4cup olive oil or 1⁄4 cupcanola oil
• 1⁄4cup ice water (I use refrigerated water)

1. Mix flour and salt with fork.
2. Beat oil and water with whisk or fork to thicken.
3. Pour into flour and mix with fork.
4. Press into 9" pie crust.
5. Fill with quiche mixture and bake at 400F until done.
6. NOTES: I've never made this with canola oil.
7. You can double the recipe, divide dough in half, and roll out into a pair of rounds for two-crust pies.
8. This recipe is not suitable for baked pie crust shells.
9. It makes a nice, flaky crust that's suitable for everyday use.

Filling:

• ½ lb. ham, cubed
• 1 cup fresh milk
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Arrange the pastry dough on a round baking dish.Blind bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the beaten egg, salt, pepper, milk, and cheese. Mix well.
4. Add the cubed ham to the egg mixture and stir.
5. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the entire mixture in the baking dish.
6. Place it back in the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350F.
7. Remove from the oven.
8. Serve. Share and enjoy!

Summer Bounty Sausage Casserole

I stumbled upon this recipe when looking for a yummy but different way to enjoy our home-grown tomatoes and zucchini.  I wan't sure if my husband would like it since casseroles aren't his favorite, but both times I made it recently he raved about all the different flavors inside.  He wanted me to make sure I kept the recipe for next summer!  Thanks, Carrie, for such a winner!  The only thing I did differently was to make my own cream sauce instead of canned mushroom soup.  And I can never put just one clove of garlic in... I probably used at least 5!

• 1 lb . Ground Italian Pork Sausage
• 2 c . Finely Diced Zucchini
• 4 c . Cooked Rice, (white brown or long grain)
• 1 c . Diced Fresh Tomatoes
• 1 Clove Garlic, minced
• 10 oz . Cream of Mushroom Soup or homemade cream sauce
• 1/2 c . Low Fat Chicken Broth
• 1 c . Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Start by preparing your rice. Depending on which kind you use this can take any where from 5-20 minutes. I used instant white rice so mine only took about 5 minutes.
3. While the rice is cooking, brown the sausage in a skillet on top of the stove until it is cooked through and no longer pink; then drain off any excess grease and place in a bowl.
4. Add the remaining ingredients minus the cheese to the bowl and mix well.
5. Place the mixture in an oven safe casserole dish, sprinkle with the cheese and bake for 30 minutes.