Spicy Sausage Stuffing

I will start by saying that making stuffing really intimidates me. Why you ask? Well...in my family the stuffing is basically everyone's favorite. If you mess up the stuffing everyone will be truly disappointed. This was really just an experiment to see what kind of twist I could do on the traditional stuffing. It surpassed any and all expectations that I had! This stuffing came out *really* good. The only thing that I will need to decide is if it is too spicy for the "average" person. Bryan and I really love a spicy kick to our food, so this was not even close to hot for us, but some may think it is too spicy. I may adjust it to half hot sausage and half regular just in case.

Spicy Sausage Stuffing

• 6 oz Pepperidge Farm Sage & Onion stuffing mix (half a bag)
• 6 oz Pepperidge Farm Cornbread stuffing mix (half a bag)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced in small pieces
• 4 oz baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
  
• 1 pound hot bulk sausage, browned
• 3 tablespoons butter + more for greasing the casserole dish
  
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 3-4 fresh sage leaves, sliced in thin strips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium high heat until no pink remains, about 5-6 minutes. Remove the sausage from the pan and add to a large mixing bowl.

Use the grease leftover from the sausage plus 2 tablespoons of the butter and cook the onions and celery until the celery is starting to soften up, about 4 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and continue to cook about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add the onion mixture to the sausage.

Pour the stuffing mix over the top and gently stir to incorporate. Add the 2 cups of chicken stock and fresh sage and stir until the stock is absorbed and stuffing is no longer dry. It should be perfect, but if you feel it is still too dry you can add a little more stock.



Butter your casserole dish and then add the stuffing to the pan. You can either refrigerate for later or bake it now. I decided to refrigerate mine for about 4 hours before I cooked it and it took about 45 minutes to bake it in the oven. If you bake yours right away it should only take about 30 minutes. I kept mine covered the entire baking time to keep the moisture in the stuffing and not let it dry out.


*I did not add any salt to the stuffing because I figured there is already a lot of salt in the stock, but when it was done I did find that I needed a little bit of salt. Taste yours and adjust as necessary.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!! I am going to try and document some of the craziness that happens over the next few days in my house. Tomorrow I will be doing a lot of prep work for Thursday and baking a few pies. Thursday will be sheer insanity. I will do my best to post Wednesday or Thursday evening :)

Fried Pumpkin Gnocchi

I have to tell you that I wasn't sure how this would turn out. I had never made gnocchi before tonight. I am happy to report that making your own gnocchi is actually not hard at all! I am so glad that I found the underground world of food bloggers. Not only has it given me an outlet to post some of my own creations, but it also allows me to share some of the fabulous recipes that I have found by other food bloggers. I thought these were *really* good. If I had to do it all over again I would add more salt and seasonings to the dough and maybe even add a little sage to the gnocchi before cooking them instead of just adding the sage to the sauce at the end. All in all they were excellent, though!

Fried Pumpkin Gnocchi

• 1/2 cup skim milk ricotta
  
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup grated parmegiano reggiano
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt ( or 1/2 tsp table salt)
  
• 1 cup flour, sifted
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 sprigs fresh sage
• freshly shaved parmegiano reggiano for garnishing *optional*

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (you will only use the oven to keep the gnocchi warm while you are cooking the second batch)

Combine the ricotta, parmesan, pumpkin, egg yolk and salt in a bowl.

Mix to incorporate

Pour half of the total flour (1/2 cup) over the mixture and stir a few times until it is just blended together.

Lightly flour a work surface or dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour. Pour the mixture out on the work surface and add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Knead the dough with your fingers gently until all the flour is incorporated. Only work the dough for a few minutes or you will over knead the dough.


You will know the dough is done when it is no longer sticky and when the dough is pressed it leaves an indentation without sticking to your finger. You may need to add a little extra flour if your dough is too sticky. Just add a little at a time (1/2 tablespoon or so) until you get it to the right consistency.


Use your hand and divide your dough into 4 equal sections. Each of these sections will be rolled into a long snake that is approximately 1 inch in diameter. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces and set aside until all the dough has been rolled and cut. Try to keep the pieces all around the same size so they cook evenly.


Heat a large saute pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. When the oil gets hot, add a batch of the gnocchi to the pan. You want to be sure that they are not close enough to touch each other. It took two batches for me to cook all of my gnocchi. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown. Place the gnocchi on a baking sheet after removing them from the pan to keep them warm.

Once you have finished cooking all the gnocchi, discard all the oil and butter and wipe the inside of the pan clean. Add the other 2 tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil. When it is hot add the sage leaves and cook until the sage is fragrant but not burned. It should only take a few minutes.


You can throw the sage out if you want...some people eat it...or you could use it as a garnish. It's up to you! Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan and whisk to incorporate. ****I must warn you that when I added the balsamic vinegar to my pan it started spitting VERY hot oil at me everywhere. I'm not sure what was going on, but stand back just in case. You may even want to remove the pan from the heat and let it cool down for a second before putting it in there. I would hate for you to get burned with hot oil. I do not have a picture of the vinegar for the reason stated above! LOL I was jumping to avoid the hot oil spitting at me from the pan! *yikes*

Pour the mixture over the gnocchi and serve!

Source: Steamy Kitchen

Winner of ***Look + Cook Giveaway***

Congrats to the winner of the Look + Cook Giveaway, Monica!

Please send me an email at Farrahsfood@aol.com with your name and address so I can send it to you!

To those who didn't win...don't worry, we will have another giveaway in December! 

Chicken and Mushroom Quesadilla

I know what you are thinking...why in the world do I need a recipe for quesadillas? There have definitely been days where I have just thrown a tortilla in a grill pan and tossed some cheese on it and called it a meal. This is not that kind of quesadilla. One of my new favorite cooks, Ellie Krieger, had this one her show on The Cooking Channel. I knew when I saw it that it was going to be incredible. I highly recommend it!

Chicken and Cheese Quesdilla

• 2 small chicken breasts (cubed and cooked)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 8oz button mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cups baby spinach, sliced in strips
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 10 inch tortillas
• 1 cup shredded mexican blend cheese
• salsa and sour cream *optional*

I always start by preparing all my ingredients. Measure your spices, chop your onions and mushrooms.



Cut the chicken in small cubes and season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Cook the chicken until cooked on both sides, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.

If you need more oil, add the additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Cook the onions and mushrooms until the moisture is cooked out and the mushrooms are starting to get a golden color, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chicken, cumin, chili powder and oregano to the pan.

Stir until it is well incorporated. Add the spinach, salt and pepper to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the spinach is wilted. Spoon filling into a small bowl.


Spray a grill pan lightly with cooking spray. Add one of the tortillas to the pan and add 1/2 cup of the cheese. Cover the cheese with half of the filling and top with the second tortilla. Cook until the bottom tortilla is golden and then carefully flip to the other side. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes on the second side.

Cut & serve!!

Adapted from: Ellie Krieger

Sage Rubbed Pork Chops With Gravy and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I love the thrill of creating a recipe on the fly. The potato recipe was adapted from Alton Brown, but the pork chop recipe came together in the pan tonight while I was cooking. If you saw the paper with my chicken scratch hand writing all over it you would laugh...but this came together like it was just meant to be! :)

Sage Rubbed Pork Chops

• 4 boneless pork chops (add more if you need to)
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage, sliced thinly
• 1 teaspoons kosher salt for the rub + 1/2 teaspoon for the gravy
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper for the rub + 1/4 teaspoon for the gravy
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
• 4 oz baby bella mushrooms, diced
• 3 tablespoons butter
  
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 teaspoon gravy master
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 3 tablespoons water

• 3 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons salt
  
• 16 oz half & half cream (I used 1 cup fat-free half & half and 1 cup 1% milk and it was fantastic!)
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed (you can also use minced garlic from a jar. 1 teaspoon = 1 clove)
• 6 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese
  

Combine the ground sage with 1 teaspoon of the salt, garlic powder and rosemary in a small bowl. Lightly rub the seasoning on the top and bottom of the pork chops and set aside. Let them come to room temperature with the seasoning on them. Browning meat is always best when it is at room temperature and this will give the meat a chance to soak up all the wonderful flavors from the spices. Set them aside for a little while.

Dice up the onion, mushrooms and fresh sage.

Peel the potatoes, rinse and then cube. I cut them into pieces around 1 - 1/2 inches.

Try to keep them all around the same size so they cook evenly. You don't want them too small so they turn to mush. Put them in a pot and put enough water in the pot so it covers the potatoes by about 1/2 an inch to an inch. Add the 2 tablespoons of salt to the *water* that has the potatoes in it. I know what you are thinking..."that is WAY too much salt!". I know it sounds like a lot, but it isn't. Just make absolutely sure that you are adding the salt to the water that the potatoes are cooking in and then draining them after they are cooked and NOT adding this much salt directly to the potatoes after they cooked. Turn on the stove and let them come to a boil.



For the gravy: add the chicken stock to a small saucepan over medium heat.

Use a measuring cup or another small bowl and combine the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. A slurry is just a combination of either cornstarch and water or flour and water that is combined and then added to a recipe to thicken it.

Add the cornstarch and water to the pan with the chicken stock.

Stir in the gravy master, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Whisk constantly until it begins to boil. Reduce heat and cook another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large skillet melt the butter. Add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Slide the onions off to the sides and add the pork chops to the pan making sure that the bottoms of the pork chops are not sitting on a pile of onion (you want the pork chops to get nice and brown on the bottom). Let the pork chops cook for 4 minutes...they should have a nice golden brown color.


Turn the pork chops over to cook the other side. Add the mushrooms and fresh sage at the same time that you flip the pork chops over. Cook the pork chops for 4 minutes on the second side.


Once the pork chops have browned on both sides, add the gravy to the pan. Cover and cook for 9-13 minutes. The length of time you cook them will depend on the size of your pork chops. Mine cooked for about 12 minutes, but if they were any thinner they would have overcooked. Keep and eye on them and if you are unsure cut into one of the pork chops at around the 10 minute mark to see how it looks. I wouldn't use real thin pork chops for this recipe. The average cut for a center cut pork chop would work perfectly.


Now that the pork chops are cooking get back to those potatoes. In a small saucepan add the half & half (or half & half and milk combo) and garlic. Heat over medium heat just until you start to see it simmer. Once it starts to simmer remove it from the heat. Remember - you DO NOT want to turn your back on cream or milk on the stove. It WILL boil over and make a huge mess if left unattended. Check on the potatoes. Once they are fork tender, drain them and return them to the pot. Add the garlic/cream mixture and the parmesan cheese. Use a potato masher and mash them up. They will look *very* soupy and you will think that you have done something wrong. Don't worry, you haven't. Leave them to sit for about 5 minutes and they will thicken up beautifully.


Once the pork chops are done serve them with the potatoes and you can even use some of the gravy on your potatoes if you want!


Mashed Potatoes Adapted From: Alton Brown