Recipe Review from 11/30/20

The year is starting to wind down and only a couple more weeks for new recipes. Final count will be posted New Years Day! Initial preview - 2020 was a good year for new recipes and I'll say up-front, the instant pot was a big part of that. Loving my instant pot!

Feeling quirky - triceratops somewhere around the Hill Country in Texas

The Meal Plan
Sat (L) out (S) leftover lasagna
Sun (L) leftover turkey (S) baked pasta
Mon (Vet) baked pasta
Tues - baked pasta
Wed - Brats with Quick Sauerkraut
Thurs (yoga) leftovers
Fri - leftovers


Lunches - vegetable soup


Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach (modified from Skinny Taste Blog)
This was awesome. Total comfort food for cold dark December evenings. Assembly...a bit putzy and part of that was on me. I grate my own cheese because I don't like the cellulose or potato starch additive. I wilted the spinach as I had a tub in the fridge that I wanted to use up. Other substitutions included using cottage cheese for ricotta, 12 oz box of large shell pasta, a jar of marinara instead of making my own, and a 16oz package of ground Italian sausage I had in the freezer.

The great thing about this dish, is you can swap things in and out to use up any pantry items and to suit your own tastes and preferred spiciness. Recommended!

Made enough for four meals for two of us. Makes a 9x13 pan.

Photo from Skinny Taste Blog

oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
8 oz fat-free ricotta (or cottage cheese)
8 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded
14 oz uncooked sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
12 oz rigatoni pasta
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves smashed garlic, roughly chopped
10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
(I used 11 oz fresh, and wilted)
salt and fresh pepper to taste
4 cups (1 16oz jar) Marinara Sauce


Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9- x13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta (or cottage cheese), 6 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese.

Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet, brown the sausage breaking up into small bits until cooked through; set aside.

Add the oil to the skillet and sauté garlic about a minute, careful not to burn. Add spinach (can be fresh - just wilt and follow rest of directions) and season with a little salt and pepper and cook another minute.
Return the sausage to the skillet and add the marinara sauce; cook on low about 2-3 minutes.

When the pasta water comes to a boil, cook pasta according to instructions for al dente, but under cook them by 4 minutes less; drain and return to pot.
Put half of the cooked pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half of the meat sauce. Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce in an even layer. Cover with the remaining pasta and the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for an additional 6-7 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned. My notes: Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


Brats with Quick Sauerkraut (Eating Well, Oct '20)
Original recipe called for chicken sausage, but this seemed more like a "brat" dish so it was an easy substitution. Plus I had brats in the freezer so freezer reduction. Yay!

This was good, fairly easy to assemble, and made plenty of leftovers. I did complicate assembly a bit by shredding my own cabbage rather than using packaged. I had a savoy cabbage, a red cabbage and baby carrots in the fridge. I also used a honeycrisp apple instead of the granny smith (again, it was in the fridge). Only item I had to buy was the apple cider.

This was bright, tangy and a nice change from the usual brat side of potato salad or regular sauerkraut, tho we've been using kimchi more than sauerkraut these days. Recommended.

This made three meals (6 brats total/1 brat each).

Photo from eatingwell.com

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 (12 ounce) package chicken sausage
1 small onion, sliced
1 medium Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
1 (10 ounce) package shredded cabbage
1 large carrot, shredded
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup apple cider
1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and cook until brown on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add onion and apple and cook, stirring constantly, until beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cabbage, carrot, vinegar and salt and cook, stirring often, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add cider and caraway seeds; bring to a boil. Return the sausages to the pan and reduce heat. Cover and simmer until the sausages are heated through and the cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.