Pork
Today’s recipe is a great way and faster way to have all the flavors of lasagna without all the fuss. This dish is rich and full of flavor, I used a local ravioli company “Terra Cotta Pasta” if that’s not available use any of your favorite frozen cheese ravioli. This is also a great dish to share! I served this with a salad and garlic bread.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound “hot” Jimmy dean Sausage or 1 pound Italian sausage
28 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce. I used Rao’s brand
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 (8 Oz.) package cream cheese, softened or whipped cream cheese works too!
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
25 ounce package frozen cheese ravioli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
DIRECTIONS
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9×13 inch casserole dish with non stick spray and set aside.
In a large skillet brown the sausage breaking it to crumbles while it cooks, drain the fat from the pan and stir in the spaghetti sauce, heat through the. Set aside.
In a large bowl mix the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and Parmesan cheese. Add the frozen ravioli and mix well coating the ravioli. Add the ravioli mixture to the prepared casserole dish spreading the ravioli across the bottom of the dish.
Pour the meat sauce all over the ravioli and top with the remaking cheese.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Allow to cool for just a couple minutes and serve warm.
Enjoy!
I have been making this dish for many years. It’s not only my families favorite but a favorite of so many friends and family that have tried it including one of our good friends that Jim used to work with in fact every time Jim runs into him he mentions the dish. Well, jim ran into him recently so I decided to make him some! Jim was thrilled as he got some too as I split it into two dishes…… hence the aluminum container! I made a garden salad to go and one for us as well! This dish does not photograph well but it certainly tastes great!
NOTE-I usually roast the garlic the day before
INGREDIENTS
2 whole garlic heads
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound Jimmy Dean “Hot” sausage
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
6 cups milk, I used whole milk but 1% also works
1 cup fresh Parmesan, grated
2/3 cup gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pound pasta-penne or spiral, cooked to Al Dante
DIRECTIONS
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the top of the garlic heads off exposing the garlic cloves. Wrap each garlic head separately in foil leaving the top exposed. Drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil over each one. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled squeeze the garlic pulp out and discard skins. Set aside until ready to use. If doing this the day before store in the fridge.
Increase oven to 400 degrees.
Brown sausage in a large pot (I use a pot for this as later in the recipe everything gets added into the pot.) over medium heat until browned, stirring and crumbling as it cooks. Remove sausage from pot and set aside.
Melt butter in the same pot you used for the sausage over medium heat, add the flour to the melted butter and stir with a whisk. Gradually add the milk and cook until thickened about ten minutes. Add the roasted garlic, cheeses, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Once everything is well combined remove from heat and add the cooked pasta into the sauce along with the sausage, mix well until combined.
Spoon pasta mixture into a prepared 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake 400 degrees for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken a little more during this cooking time. When heated through remove from heat and serve warm.
Enjoy!
For many, many years now I have been making my own Chinese food for New Years Eve. I keep it very simple but this year I added a couple new recipes to my usual fried rice and egg rolls. I added as Asian ginger salad dressing to a simple salad along with the recipe I’m sharing today the Boneless Chinese Ribs. When our daughter Amanda was little she would always call them the “red things” so anytime we got Chinese take out we always made sure to order the red things for her! I think she still calls them that to this day!
This was my first time making them at home and I did make a couple changes to keep them gluten free for Robby and I did NOT add the food coloring to the sauce that gives them that red color that we all know. I can say this was super simple to make and we all enjoyed them. They are not quite the same as what you get from your favorite take out place but a great at home option.
INGREDIENTS
1.5 pounds boneless pork loin or boneless spare ribs. I used the loin
1/3 cup lite soy sauce
1/3 cup Hoisin sauce, I used gluten free but any will work
1/4 cup fry red wine
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon of Chinese five spice
2 drops natural red food coloring, optional
DIRECTIONS
Thinly slice the pork into strips about 3 inches long and place in a large disposable plastic bag.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl until well combined and pour the marinade into the bag with the pork and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least four hours or up-to over night.
When ready to cook pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil and top with a baking rack.
Place the pork slices on top reserving the marinade. Depending on the size of your pork slices bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
Add the reserved marinade into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Remove from heat.
When the pork is cooked through remove the pan from the oven and pour the sauce over the pork. Move the oven rack to the top portion of the oven and turn the oven to broil.
Put the pan back into the oven for just a couple minutes to get some of those crispy edges and the sauce carmalized. Keep an eye on them during this part as they will burn quickly. Remove from oven and serve.
Enjoy!
I saw the idea of pizza fries on Pinterest but changed it to what I had on hand for Robby to give this a go. One of the biggest things he misses the most while having to be gluten-free is a really good pizza. If you have never tried the frozen gluten-free pizzas from the store you are lucky. Cardboard would be a good alternative to those pizzas! The fries take the place of the crust. This worked really well as Robby enjoyed it. I’m not going to write this like I normally would as you can change this a million different ways with literally any pizza toppings you like.
The base of this is obviously the fries. Cook them as directed or air fry at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or to your desired doneness. For the topping, I used 1 pound of spicy crumbled sausage, chopped onion, and garlic. I sautéed these all together until the sausage was cooked through. I added 1/2 jar of pizza sauce to the pan to warm through. Finally, I added the shredded cheese to the top of the meat mixture. I let the cheese melt then added this mixture over the top of the fries.
Using a full bag of fries and the above measurements, it will feed a small army! Easily 6 people. Great for a small gathering or hungry teenagers. Add anything you would top a pizza with the combinations are endless. Keep in mind if you add lots of meats and veggies you may need a bit more pizza sauce. Put your creative hat on and make your own pizza fries!
Enjoy!
If you are looking for something different to serve your guests, these sliders might just be it. The sausage is sweet with the maple, then you get the tang from the slaw. I used a Granny Smith apple in the slaw but you can use any apple you like. I also added 1 Tablespoon of pure maple syrup to the pork sausage mixture just to add a little more of that maple flavor. This recipe makes 1 1/2 dozen sliders.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups coleslaw mix
- 1 cup shredded peeled apple-I used Granny Smith
- 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
FOR THE SLIDER
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
- 2 Tablespoons minced fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 pounds maple pork sausage
- 18 slider buns, split and lightly toasted if desired
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup, optional
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl combine the coleslaw mix, apple, blue cheese, and red onion. In a small bowl whisk the oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt, and pepper. Pour over the coleslaw mix, toss to coat. Chill until serving.
In a large bowl combine the walnuts, onion, thyme, salt, and pepper. Crumble sausage over the mixture and mix well. Add the maple syrup if desired. Shape into 18 patties.
In a large skillet, cook patties in batches over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reads 160 degrees.
Top each bottom roll with a sausage patty add two tablespoons of the coleslaw on top and add the top bun.
Enjoy!
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