Sausage and Pepper Penne

Tags

dinner, onion, pepper, recipes, sausage

The days are ticking by. Just days before I head off on my first vacation- my first tropical vacation in 12 years. I am going through all of the perishables so nothing goes to waste. No real menu planning going on. Just a lot of random dinners.

Now that the weather in NY is finally warm, it reminds me of the upcoming street festivals. And at street festivals, I LOVE me some sausage and pepper heroes. With a lovely supply of onions and peppers from my CSA, and sausages in the freezer, the addition was pasta made this a go.

Sausage and Pepper Penne (serves 6)

Ingredients

1 lb of sweet italian sausage

1 medium onion, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 box of penne pasta

1 cup of pasta cooking water

Parmesan cheese

1. I put up a huge pot of boiling water while in a separate frying pan, sauteed onions and peppers until tender (about 5 mins). Add penne and cook for 6-7 minutes (till almost al dente) and reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water.

2. When the peppers and onions are cooked, set aside and in the same pan, fry the sausages on all sides. Pan fry till fully cooked (can take about 20 minutes) When the sausages are cooked, slice them and return to the pan with peppers and onions. Season with salt if needed.

3. strain the penne and add it to the frying pan. Fold the pasta to get all the ingredients incorporated. If necessary, add some of the pasta cooking water with some parmesan cheese. Season if necessary.

4. serve.

Leftovers! Yay! Best way to use the leftovers? with a fried egg on top.

Yummy.

T minus 4 days till vacay! weeeeee

Turkey Bacon and Cheddar Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Tags

bacon, burger, dinner, onion, recipes

So now that I am officially a comfy cozy girl in a healthy relationship, the boo and I stay in quite a bit. Not because we don’t want to see anyone or because we hate going out, but after a full week of work, our favorite thing to do on a friday after work is relax. And I must confess that as I get older, I find myself falling asleep earlier and earlier each night without a care. Last friday, I was asleep by 10 pm. TEN. P.M!!!! The time most young adults are on their way out for a night of fun.

I digress. After a week of clean eating and a heavy veggie and fish week, I decided to pick up some lean ground beef. I didn’t have an immediate plan for it, but having it around provided some leeway for that spontaneous moment where I could be reckless and plan dinner as I’m making it. That’s my opinion of reckless.

With a sudden leftover supply of bacon, I suddenly craved burgers.

with Caramelized onions.

Bacon.

and a soft and fluffy potato bun.

Ingredients: serves 4

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tsp worcestshire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 large spanish onion, sliced

4 slices of crispy bacon

4 oz cheese (I chose extra sharp cheddar)

1.  In a large skillet, heat a tsp of oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until browned or caramelized, about 8- 10 minutes. When onions are done, set aside.

2. Combine the ground beef with worcestshire sauce. Make 4, 4 oz, patties out of the beef. Sprinkle each patty with salt and pepper. Prepare a cast iron skillet with a tsp of oil. When the pan is screaming hot, place heat on lower setting. Add burgers and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, or to desired internal temps. For burgers, I like mine with a little pink inside.

3.  Add cheese to cooked burger patties and assemble with onions and bacon. (also a good option: smashed avocado!)

4. Affix on bun of choice (Mine is potato bun). Serve with baked fries or a healthy side salad.

A simply seasoned burger is the best burger. The addition of the sides just made this a great texture party! It was nice to change things up a bit. We tore these babies up.

Seared steak with Caramelized Onions

Tags

green beans, healthy, onion, potato, Steak

In my obsession with dodging the epic strain of the flu that has been plaguing this winter season with tons of hand sanitizer, I missed the memo on the other thing plaguing the winter. The stomach flu. Yep. It got me.

What started out as a fun filled weekend ended abruptly with bone aching fever and teeth chattering chills (along with the more unsavory elements of the stomach flu – which I will spare you of). The weekend was completely miserable (the 8 lb weight loss being the only plus) and sadly, am reading lots of literature on how ferocious this virus is. Word of warning, be safe. If you’re sick, stay home.

Now, BEFORE I felt like death, I craved steak. All the talks of restaurant week had me craving a juicy steak with a nice char and a deliciously pink center. My favorite online grocer must have known I was jonesing for some red meat as they recommended a steak that was both enticing and affordable. So I bit the bullet and ordered some steaks. 

On steak day, Mickey was camped out in front of the kitchen waiting for anything to fall to the floor.

BR doesn’t eat many greens but he is quite fond of green beans. I take fresh green beans, washed and trimmed, then sauté them in garlic and olive oil. On this particular occasion, I began the green beans in the sauté pan and then finished them in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

The potato was zapped in the microwave and served with sea salt and non fat greek yogurt- delicious by the way- and the eye of round was seared. The steak I was most proud of didn’t make the cut photowise- note to self, CHECK the photos before turning camera off- so this steak which was just as delicious is lacking that beautiful brown crust from searing.

I seasoned the steak with onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Then cranked the heat on high of a lightly sprayed (with cooking spray) pan and placed the steak down on the pan when it was screaming hot. If you don’t hear crazy sizzling sounds, your pan is not hot enough and you are doing it wrong. I allowed the steak to cook on high for 3 minutes on each side. After it cooked on both sides, I let it rest. Resting is important.

I served the steak topped with caramelized onions.

Since Mickey was a good girl, she got scraps of steak and green beans. The steak was well seasoned and juicy. Despite it being so lean, the quick sear kept the meat succulent. A great steak for a great price.

Rib sticking and def satisfied the craving.

Turkey Meatloaf

Tags

dinner, meatloaf, onion, recipes, turkey

My boyfriend is half Polish. As the days go by, we get to know each other more and more. One thing that I learned was when he said his diet consisted of meat and potatoes, he wasn’t exaggerating. My diet, in my opinion, is pretty balanced. I like everything. I eat everything. I eat it often. But when my boyfriend thinks dinner, he thinks literally MEAT and a POTATO.

One of his more recent dinners was a favorite of his. Meatloaf and french fries. With that on my mind I tried to remember the last time I made meatloaf. It had been quite a while ago. And when I threw the family pack of ground turkey into my cart, Turkey Meatloaf was on the menu.

Personally, I am not a fan of your standard meatloaf. Mostly because it has ketchup in it. I don’t know what ketchup did to me personally but it offends me in such a way that I turn my nose up at most meatloaves… except my mother’s.

Mom’s Turkey Meatloaf (serves 6-8 ppl)

2 lbs lean ground turkey

1 medium onion, diced

1 packet onion soup mix

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup parmesan Cheese

salt (I eye ball it)

Preheat the oven to 375*. In a big bowl with clean hands, fold the ingredients in until it is all well combined.

In a baking dish prepared with cooking spray, or a non stick baking dish (I used a 9x 13), form the ground turkey into a loaf. I sprayed the loaf with more cooking spray and put it in the oven uncovered for 70 minutes.

It is done when a meat thermometer reads between 140* and 150*. Take it out and allow it to rest. If you are thinking “ITS NOT DONE YET!”, Have no worries as it is still cooking as the meatloaf is cooling down. This will ensure the meatloaf is cooked but still moist. Dry meatloaf is a SIN.

The boyfriend heard there was meatloaf in the oven and came right over. I was sure to prepare some mashed potatoes to go along with the meatloaf as well as some steamed broccoli.

It was the boys first time having a turkey meatloaf and he really didn’t seem to notice the difference….it helped that I added some brown gravy to it.

Such a hearty and delicious meal… but definitely balance it out with some greens!