Sausage and Tortellini

My husband took the week off to tackle some projects at home. He is working on built-in furniture around the house, finishing the basement, and building me a wooden music stand for my studio at the university.

After ballet this morning, I had a wonderful 3 hour block of rest before I went to teach. I come home at 8 or 9 pm most nights, so often I cook big on the weekends and we enjoy leftovers during the week. Since we were both at home during the day today, I decided to make my Saturday recipe during the week. It made a lovely lunch and it was so nice to spend time during the day together in the kitchen.

This meal has everything without a lot of guilt. The chicken sausage is healthier than pork, but cram-jam full of flavor. I pumped the dish full of green vegetables, then complimented their verdure with sweet, bursting sun dried tomatoes and earthy mushrooms. The tortellini was my capitulation to deliciousness with their cheesy pockets, and I finished everything off with a dusting of my favorite cheese, pecorino. Yum.

Ingredients:

1 pound four cheese tortellini

12 ounces Asiago and roasted red pepper chicken sausage

12 ounces broccoli florets

8 ounces spinach

16 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

4 ounces sun dried tomatoes, sliced

2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Pecorino romano, for garnish

Ingredients:

Toss the broccoli with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper. Lay out on a sheet pan and roast in a 400 degree F oven for about 10 minutes, until golden brown on the edges and brilliant green.

Meanwhile, add the remaining oil to a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Saute the mushrooms until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add in the chicken sausage and saute until golden brown as well, a further 5 minutes. Add in the butter, sun dried tomatoes and spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Toss in the broccoli.

While sauteing, bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package instructions. Drain and add into the cast iron pan. Toss and serve with grated pecorino. Enjoy with a glass of wine or prosecco, if you enjoy bubbles as I do.

Comments

Raspberry Pomegranate Jam

Tis the season to be making homemade gifts! Pomegranates are in season and their juice is a festive deep ruby red color. I knew I had to make them into a jam to give away. Straight pomegranate flavor is a little tart for me; I added raspberries for the texture of their seeds and their sweetness. This is a very simple recipe to make and will yield 6 to 7 8 ounces jars of jam or 12 to 14 4 ounce jars, if you like to give away sample sizes during the holidays. Enjoy! Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups pomegranate juice 1 cup mashed raspberries 7 cups sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 1/75 ounce package Sure Jell Method: Sterilize your jars and lids. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed large stock pot, add the pomegranate juice, raspberries and butter. Mix well. Add in the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil then stir in the Sure Jell. Allow to boil hard for 1 minutes. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle into the sterile jars, twist on the lids and pr

Samosas with Yogurt Sauce

I love exploring many kinds of cuisine in my kitchen because I can control the spice level, and in the case of this recipe, the use of cilantro. Cilantro lovers out there- sub it info the parsley here. I have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, which limits my ability to enjoy some dishes in restaurants, but is easily rectified in my own kitchen. I hope you enjoy! Ingredients: 3 russet potatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped 2 teaspoons curry powder 5 ounces peas Six 8 inch flour tortillas 4 ounces Greek yogurt Oil, salt, pepper, vinegar 4 tablespoons butter Method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high; uncover and cook until tenderDrain potatoes and transfer to a bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in reserved saucepan over medium. Add chopped garlic and al

Peek-a-boo Squares

My grandma, Mimi, taught me this recipe. I used to make this with her and my mother as a child. It is my very favorite dessert. It is incredibly easy to make, and even easier to eat. My favorite part of making this as a child was dusting every bar generously with snowy white powdered sugar. My favorite version of this dessert uses canned blueberry pie filling; I vastly prefer Libby brand over the store brand. You can make blueberry pie filling from scratch with sugar, cornstarch, bleberries, etc. but using the canned stuff is easy in a pinch and is much for nostalgic for me. Plus, I don’t notice a vast improvement over my homemade blueberry pie filling and the Libby brand; it just takes me longer to put this dessert together. I have been known to whip up a pan of these Friday night and have them disappear by Saturday afternoon. Be warned, these things are addictive! Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 cups of granulated sugar 4 eggs 2 sticks of

Watership Down Kitchen

Search This Blog