Three New (unrelated) Recipes!

I've made a few blog-worthy recipes recently but haven't had a chance to write about them...so here goes!January 28th I made Sausage and Caramelized Onion Bread Pudding for dinner. I served it with a side salad, and it was a perfect dinner. 

It was easy, very yummy and a good basic recipe that can easily be adapted for breakfast, brunch or dinner! I even made it for brunch the next weekend when my parents came down and used ham instead of sausage and served with homefries and fruit salad. Came out just as good! :)


Sausage and Caramelized Onion Bread Pudding
1 1/3 cups 1% low-fat milk 

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
8 slices day-old French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup apple juice
4 ounces turkey Italian sausage
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add bread; toss gently to coat. Let bread mixture stand 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add juice; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove casings from sausage. Crumble sausage into pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes.
Add sausage mixture and cheese to bread mixture; stir well to combine. Spoon into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


February 11 - I made "California Style" Potato Skins
I planned a "date night in" for Rob for Valentine's Day and as an appetizer, I made potato skins. The recipe came from an insert from a past issue of The Food Network Magazine that was football themed. Each team had a potato skin recipe, and Rob chose the San Diego Chargers - but I changed it to "california style" and made a few changes. Here is my take, which made 8 which was more than enough for both us: 


"California Style" Potato Skins
2 all purpose potatoes 

melted butter or butter spread
Mrs Dash or other seasoning (or just use salt and pepper)
shredded cheddar cheese
quacamole 
sprouts
shredded monterey jack cheese


Pierce potatoes and cook in 350 degree oven for about an hour. Let cool, quarter lengthwise and spoon out the potatoes, leaving a 1/4 inch shell. Brush both sides of skins with butter and season with seasoning or salt and pepper. Bake with the skins up for 15 minutes in 450 degree oven. Take skins out, flip over and sprinkle each with cheddar cheese and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove form oven and top with guacamole, sprouts and monterey jack cheese. Enjoy! 

Burgers, onion rings and beer! 

After the appetizer, we had porterhouse (our new favorite!) bacon cheddar burgers and homemade onion rings with brownie sundaes for dessert! We also got our hands on a bottle of Dogfish Head's Faithfull Ale which they made to celebrate Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary. After Matthew went to bed, we had a yummy dinner and started watching Season 1 of "The League."  














And last night, I made a very good, very healthy and fairly easy weeknight meal of Two Bean Soup. I made a few modifications, below is my version. I used escarole instead of kale, because that's all they had at the grocery store. I also used kidney beans instead of black beans and didn't drain them. The extra bean juice added flavor to the soup. I also had this for lunch today and it was even better today once the flavors had a chance to blend together. Matthew loves beans and enjoyed when I picked some out of the soup to give to him!

· Olive oil
· 1 medium sized onion chopped
· 1/2 cup chopped carrot
· 1/2 cup chopped celery
· 2 garlic cloves, minced
· 4 cups low sodium chicken broth – divided
· About 1 bunch escarole
· 2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
· 1 can kidney beans (undrained)
· 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
· 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
· Mrs Dash seasoning
Heat oil in pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups broth and escarole. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Place half of cannellini beans and remaining 1 cup broth in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Add pureed bean mixture, remaining cannellini beans, kidny beans, and pepper to soup. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in seasoning.

Yum, Yum and Yum. :)