italian sausage Archives - The Midnight Baker

Rustic Ziti with White Sausage Sauce

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 30 May 2017 23:00:51 +0000

This quick and easy ziti with white sausage sauce is on the table in less than 30 minutes!

Few Ingredients But Lots Of Flavor

It’s always amazing to me, no matter how many times I experience it, how meals with so few ingredients have such big flavor!

This is another one of those meals. The dominant flavor here comes from tasty Italian sausage. This is also one of those meals folks will think you fussed over, but it’ll be your secret just how easy it is.

With it’s rustic look and easy prep, it’s also a great meal to serve when you have guests!

Wine: Dry And White

Even though there’s not much wine called for in the recipe, it’s important to use the driest white wine you can find. I used sauvignon blanc, which is a good choice, but drier works better. Therefore, I’d suggest a white chianti, but only if you have to purchase wine to make this. Otherwise any dry white you have on hand can stand in.

If you don’t want to use wine, you can substitute a good-quality chicken stock, but bear in mind that the dish will taste different. It’ll still be good though.

Some Like It Hot

I’m a lover of hot Italian sausage, so naturally this was my choice in this recipe. However, sweet tastes very good too.

There are so many flavor varieties of Italian sausage now available that any of those could stand in for the more conventional hot or sweet. One of my stores sells a 4-cheese, pepper and onion, and cheese & garlic variety. Each one would be fantastic in this.

The Recipe

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Rustic Ziti with White Sausage Sauce

This quick and easy ziti with white sausage sauce is on the table in less than 30 minutes!

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, pasta, Pork, skillet dinners

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: 30-minute meals, baked ziti, italian sausage, one skillet dinners, pasta, white sauce

Servings: 4

Calories: 511kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz bulk hot or sweet Italian sausage broken up into small lumps
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
8 oz dry weight ziti (or any tubular pasta) cooked per package directions (reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water)
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
Brown the sausage bits until the are cooked and browned.
Add the wine or water and scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan (deglazing).
Add the cooked ziti and the reserved pasta water; heat through.
Stir in the parsley and top with the Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

*Adapted from NYT

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Italian Sausage Stuffed Shells

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 00:00:01 +0000

Pasta shells stuffed with great tasting sausage and gobs of mozzarella cheese. This meal is a family pleaser!

Italian Sausage Stuffing Is A Change Of Pace

Cheese is the traditional filling for shells. Ground beef is another common filling. You might like my recipes for Cheese Stuffed Shells and Meat Stuffed Shells.

I have always loved the flavor of Italian sausage so I thought it would work well as a filling.

These were made with sweet sausage, but hot sausage would be very good too.

Sausage Filling Requires Less Prep

Because Italian sausage is so flavorful by itself, it requires less preparation time to make.

That means less “add-ins” to the basic meat mixture, and I kept my add-ins simple.

Soft Bread Crumbs

My meat-stuffed shells use soaked bread. With the sausage filling, I used plain soft breadcrumbs.

Since sausage is wetter than ground beef, I felt the soaked bread would make the filling too watery. Also since sausage is way fattier than the lean ground beef I use in my meat-filled shells, I wanted something that would absorb a lot of that fat. Day-old bread made into crumbs serves that purpose nicely.

Soft bread crumbs are easy to make too, and I usually do a few cups and store them in the fridge for future use. I use my little Kitchenaid mini chopper to make them–just a couple of pulses will turn the torn slices of bread into fine crumbs. If you want to make a bigger batch all at one time, a bigger food processor is the way to go.

Amounts May Vary

I used one pound of bulk sausage meat and about one cup of diced cheese which yielded 8 over-stuffed shells. I would say there was at least 1/3 cup of sausage mixture in each shell. If you want to stretch the filling a bit, use less. What I do is portion out the filling then cook the appropriate amount of shells–with a couple of extra just in case some break or tear upon filling.

And because this question has come up a few times–the meat is raw when it’s stuffed into the pasta. It cooks fully in the oven.

The Recipe

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Sausage Stuffed Shells

Pasta shells stuffed with great tasting sausage and gobs of mozzarella cheese. This meal is a family pleaser!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, pasta, Pork

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: italian sausage, pasta, sausage, stuffed shells

Servings: 4

Calories: 757kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb sweet or hot bulk Italian sausage meat
6-8 oz about a cup diced (small dice) mozzarella
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley --OR- 2 tbs dry from the jar parsely
1 1/4 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tbsp grated Parmesan -OR- Romano cheese
1 clove garlic finely minced
2 eggs
8-12 jumbo shells cooked al dente
1 recipe Quick Chunky Tomato Sauce -OR- your favorite pasta sauce
Extra shredded mozzarella

Instructions

Mix well the sausage meat, mozzarella, parsley, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic and eggs in a medium bowl. Portion out the meat in desired amount.
Cook the same amount of shells as meat portions. Slightly undercook the shells because they will be baked too.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place about 1/2 cup of the sauce in a baking dish large enough to hold the amount of shells you made--this would be anywhere from a 1 1/2-2 1/2 quart baking dish.
Put the shells in the pan and top with more sauce and desired amount of shredded mozzarella.
Cover baking dish with foil and bake 45-60 minutes, or until sausage is cooked through.

Nutrition

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Crockpot Sausage & Eggplant Baked Ziti

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 00:00:36 +0000

Here’s a baked ziti with oomph! Packed full of delicious eggplant, fire roasted peppers and robust sausage, this slow cooker meal will have them coming back for seconds!

As a BHG Pro Pinner, I get to see a LOT of recipes when I pin for them. This one really caught my eye because I love eggplant to excess!

There were a couple of things I knew I would change from the original recipe. For instance, I thought 2 fennel bulbs were too much. That has a pretty strong flavor and since fennel seed is already in Italian sausage, I didn’t want the extra. Fennel is also called anise, so if you’re making the recipe and your store calls it “anise” as mine does, it’s the right thing to buy.

I also like red pasta sauces a bit on the sweet side, so I added sugar. And of course, I added more cheese!!!

While bulk sausage is much more convenient, if you have any Italian sausage lurking in your freezer as I have, twisting the meat out of the casing in quite easy–and cheaper if you already have the sausages.

I had a pack with 1/2 sweet and 1/2 hot, and that’s what I used here, although the original calls for sweet only.

This was very very good–as I thought it would be. The fennel wasn’t overpowering at all and gave the pasta a lovely understated flavor. The eggplant gets very soft and the blend of the fennel, eggplant and fire roasted tomatoes tastes very much like caponata (an eggplant spread used as an appetizer on crackers).

This is definitely a meal I’d make again!

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Slow Cooker Sausage & Eggplant Baked Ziti

Here’s a baked ziti with oomph! Packed full of delicious eggplant, fire roasted peppers and robust sausage, this slow cooker meal will have them coming back for seconds!

Prep Time25

Cook Time4 10

Total Time4 35

Course: Comfort Foods, pasta, Pork, Slow Cooker

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: baked ziti, eggplant recipes, fennel, italian sausage

Servings: 6

Calories: 397kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz bulk Italian sausage I used a combo of hot and sweet
14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes (don't drain)
1 head of fennel also known as anise
1 large eggplant
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6 oz uncooked ziti or penne
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Brown sausage meat; drain and place in the crock of a 5-7 quart slow cooker
Peel eggplant and cut into cubes about 1-inch big; add to crock.
Cut stems off fennel, core and slice thinly, add to crock.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, fire roasted tomatoes, water, wine, Italian seasoning, sugar and salt to the crock. Stir well to combine.
Cover and cook on high 3-3 1/2 hours, low 6-7 hours
Add the uncooked ziti--if you cooked on low, turn it up to high to cook the pasta--stirring so the pasta is submerged in the sausage/eggplant mixture.
Cook for 30 minutes on high
Stir and sprinkle with the shredded cheese; cover and cook 10 minutes.
Uncover and let the baked ziti stand on warm setting for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

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Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake

This sausage and mushroom pasta bake is cheesy and easy. It’s a nice mid-week meal or buffet dish.

The January deep freeze of upstate New York always gets me to thinking about comfort food, casseroles and running my oven to add more heat to the house!

Cheesy and comforting

It was also time to rotate food in my chest freezer. I’d bought Italian sausages a couple of months back, and even though they were vacuum sealed in my Foodsaver, I thought it wise to use them–charts tell you that it’s best to use any ground frozen meat in 30 days…this was certainly longer. However, the sausages were in good shape.

Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake

And cheese. I ALWAYS have cheese. Half of my deli drawer in the fridge is dedicated to the solid bricks and most of the bottom shelf is dedicated to packages of shredded.

Cheese Please

Now, what is better than sausage with gobs of cheese? Well, not much LOL. So I just added a half a box of spiral pasta that was laying around and a jar of pasta sauce–with a few nice add-ins–and I called this dinner. And it was good!

Add salad & garlic bread for a hearty dinner

As to the amount of cheese–that’s not carved in stone so use more or less as you please. I imagine turkey sausage would work just as well here, so that can be substituted too.

This would also be a good dish for a buffet. It’s simple, doesn’t break the bank and comforting on a cold night. Add a salad and some nice crispy garlic bread and you’ve got it made.

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Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake

This sausage and mushroom pasta bake is cheesy and easy. It’s a nice mid-week meal or buffet dish.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: easy pasta dinner, pasta bake, sausage

Servings: 6

Calories: 479kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1/2 lb Italian sausage links hot or sweet*
4 oz fresh mushrooms sliced in half
1/4 cup onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
8 oz dry rotini pasta
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
26 oz spaghetti sauce
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Cook spiral pasta as per package directions, but cook only until al dente (pasta will finish cooking in casserole). Drain, rinse and set aside.
Slice sausage links into 1/2-inch pieces.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a deep 11 x 7-inch baking dish (or a shallow 13 x 9-inch dish)
Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add the sausage pieces, onion, mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until sausage begins to brown. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, sausage mixture, the cheddar cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella and the spaghetti sauce. Stir well to combine.
Turn out into prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Remove foil and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and beginning to bubble.

Notes

*Bulk Italian sausage meat may be substituted

Nutrition

Up close and personal with cheese

Follow The Midnight Baker’s board ☆☆Super Bowl Parties☆☆ on Pinterest.

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Italian Sausage Bites

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Italian Sausage Bites

You will never believe something so simple is so delectable!

I bought this absolutely GORGEOUS oregano plant recently at a local farm stand and was dying to find recipes to use fresh oregano besides the “usual suspects” such as spaghetti sauces and all.

So I went searching on Google and found this little gem in a comment on the Chowhound forums. I also got some very good ideas for using this herb in other places.

I served this as a main dish along with Heather’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes. A YUMMY combo!!

Italian Sausage Bites

1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage links
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup (about, more or less) fresh oregano

Cut sausage links in one-inch pieces. I used kitchen shears for this.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-low heat.

Add sausage pieces and oregano. Brown slowly on all sides.

When sausage is nicely browned, half-cover the pan and reduce heat to a low simmer and let them slowly simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serve as either an appetizer or a main.

Serves 4 as a main course.

Italian Sausage Bites

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Sausage and Quinoa Risotto

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 05 May 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Sausage and Quinoa Risotto

This is OH SO GOOD!! And easy too. One-pot meal.

I have to admit. This was one of those suppers I threw together because it was one of those days I’d forgotten to defrost something.

Sausage defrosts quickly and cooks SO nicely in a rice cooker or pressure cooker. I cooked this entire meal in my 5 cup rice cooker. Of course, it was a single portion, so if you’re cooking it for a family, use a larger model!!

Quinoa cooks exactly like rice, so perfect to be made in a rice cooker. I also sauteed the onion, peppers and mushrooms in the rice cooker–set to COOK, which is the high heat. If you are using a pressure cooker, then HI or BROWN (on electric models) will do fine.

A rice cooker will switch to WARM once the liquid is evaporated, so when the cooker switches to OFF or WARM, the dish is done.

If you are going to do this in a pressure cooker, then set it to HIGH or MEAT and cook for 15-20 minutes.

I was so surprised at how tasty and succulent the sausage was cooked this way. I’m so used to baking them, and thought they were good then, but I think I will use my rice cooker in future to do this. This was oh-so good and definitely a keeper.

And to think, this was one of those “toss what you have on hand in” kinda meals. What a pleasant surprise! I used sweet Italian sausage in here, but hot would be good, or any variety sausage!

This can be cooked by conventional methods on the stovetop. Use a covered skillet or everyday pan. After you add the quinoa & water, bring the water to a boil, cover, reduce heat and cook until all water is absorbed.

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Sausage and Quinoa Risotto

This Sausage and Quinoa Risotto is OH SO GOOD!! And easy too. One-pot meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: italian sausage, pork,, quinoa, risotto recipe

Servings: 2

Calories: 1547kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

6 Italian sausage links
1/4 cup diced green or red bell pepper or a combo of the 2
2 tbsp chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 pkg G. Washingtons Brown Seasoning mix or 1 beef or chicken stock cube
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Set rice cooker (or pressure cooker) to HIGH. Add oil and heat. Add the peppers, onions and mushrooms. Saute until onion is translucent.
Add water, quinoa, seasoning mix (or stock cube) and sausages. Stir.
Leave rice cooker on HIGH. If using pressure cooker, seal and set on HIGH or MEAT for 15 minutes.
When rice cooker switches to OFF/WARM dish is done. With pressure cooker, let pressure drop naturally for 5 minutes, then release pressure.
Serves 2 (larger servings) or 3 smaller servings.

Nutrition

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Sausage & Pepper Primavera

Judith Hannemann — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:00:00 +0000

I’m out here to prove 10 can live as cheaply as one. OK, I’m joking, but you can reduce your food budget with some creative meals that use meat as a condiment. This is one of them and it’s low cal too.

An Economical Family Dinner

Anyone following my blog knows I took the challenge shopping as if I were on a limited SNAP program budget. I was actually amazed at the food I could purchase that would adequately feed a family of 4 and for under the amount allotted as well.

Tasty budget dinner

The store had Italian sausage on sale in a bulk package for $1.99 per pound. I took advantage of this since this was a super price. A “sale” on Italian sausage is usually $2.99 per pound. I believe there were 14 or 15 sausages in the package. If you are feeding 4 for this meal you would only require 4 sausages.

I’m using the green bell pepper I bought in this as well. I didn’t use all the pepper either–I still have 1/2 left and that’s going in another dish–a well-loved Asian specialty with chicken. Hint: it’s got orange in it.

I also included a few of the purchased mushrooms here as well, and of course the pasta I purchased that day. To see pics (some of them are not up to the quality of my food pics–sorry shaky hands with cell phone camera) of my shopping trip may be found on this post.

I had chicken stock on hand and also some diced red bell pepper in the freezer that I made the sauce from. I also had onion and garlic in the pantry.

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Sausage & Pepper Primavera

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: pasta, Pork

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: peppers, primavera, sausage and pasta meals

Servings: 4

Calories: 688kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 Italian sausage links
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1 medium tomato sliced in wedges
1 clove garlic minced finely
1/2 medium green bell pepper sliced thinly
1 small onion thickly sliced
1 cup rich chicken stock I used Knorr concentrate, 1/3 of the tub
2 tbsp finely diced red bell pepper optional
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cups cooked pasta any shape

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sausage links on a rack and set rack in a pan. Bake for 30 minutes, turning sausages after 15 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside to cool slightly.
When sausages have cooled enough to handle, slice in 1/4-inch slices.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, green pepper, the mushrooms, the garlic and the onion. Saute, stirring or shaking frequently, until the sausage begins to brown and veggies start to brown around the edges.
Add the chicken stock and optional red bell pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Add tomato wedges.
Mix cornstarch and 2 tbs water. Add to the sausage mixture and stir frequently until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
Serve over hot pasta. Parmesan/Romano cheese is a nice topping.

Nutrition

Sausage & Pepper Primavera

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