Zuppa Toscana Soup

When I think of Olive Garden of course I think Italian and Pasta.... but did you know their most popular menu item is the Zuppa Toscana Soup? OMG it is so delicious I could eat tons of it. But why wait to go to Olive Garden when you can make it at home with my easy recipe. I even take a short cut or two to make it even easier!  It’s loaded with Italian sausage, bacon, spinach and potatoes. And by the way, I do eat a ton of it!

Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb. mild, sweet or spicy Italian sausage (spicy gives it a nice kick)

6 slices bacon, diced

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced

5 cloves garlic minced

1 bag of Simply Potatoes (the diced variety) or peel and dice 5 Russets

4 cups chicken broth/stock (32 oz)

1 bag of baby spinach, roughly chopped (couple of handfuls)

1 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot or dutch oven (5.5 qt), over medium-high heat, add chopped bacon and sauté until browned (5-7 mins). 


 

























Remove to a paper-towel lined plate and spoon out excess oil, leaving about 1 Tablespoon fat in the pot.

 

Add Italian sausage, breaking it up with your spatula and sauté until cooked through (5 min). Remove to paper towel lined plate.

Finely dice onion and add to the pot. Saute 5 min or until soft and golden then add minced garlic and saute 1 min.

 

Add 4 cups broth and bring to rolling boil. If using your own potatoes, add them to boiling broth and cook 13-14 min or until easily pierced with a fork. If using Simply Potatoes, they are pre-cooked so just add them in now and stir.

 





















Add the chopped spinach and cooked sausage and bacon and bring everything to a light boil for about 5 minutes or until spinach has wilted.   

Next, stir in 1 cup heavy cream and bring to a rolling boil until liquid is reduced and soup has thickened. 

 

Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper then remove from heat.  Enjoy!

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Sausage Stuffed Cherry Peppers

 Sausage Stuffed Cherry Peppers

I became addicted to these this year.  I stopped by a neighbor's on New Year’s Day and she had them sitting out on a tray for those guests that might happen to stop by that evening. She offered me one and I fell in love. I mean head over heels in love.  So much so that I wanted more and she ended up wrapping some up for me to take home.  How do I describe them?   Each bite is an explosion of flavor in your mouth with that wonderful taste of roasted peppers and Italian sausage.  Little cherry bombs that are so succulent, juicy and delicious!

Sausage Stuffed Roasted Cherry Peppers

3-4 links of sweet Italian Sausage

1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

20 cherry peppers

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Pre-heat over 375 degrees. Place sausage in medium size bowl.. add breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and mix with fork until well blended.

Remove tops from cheery peppers and clean out center. Stuff each cherry pepper with sausage mixture. Before placing peppers in baking dish, dip each cherry pepper in olive oil  and place on parchment paper line baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes and remove to cool slightly. Serve!

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Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

 

This breakfast casserole is so easy I can have it in the oven before drinking my first cup of coffee. Okay, so I made it the night before and refrigerated it overnight but it’s still so easy to make and so delicious. This is a keeper my friends! 

Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

½ loaf of sliced white bread

1 lb fresh pork sausage with sage (I like Jimmy Dean)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated


1  cup , grated Monterey Jack cheese
 

 2 cups half-and-half or cream

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt


5 large eggs, lightly beaten


Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.

In a medium skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat until fully cooked and no longer pink. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to drain the fat. Spread the cooked sausage over the bread and top with cheese.

 

 

 

 

Stir together half-and-half, dry mustard, salt and eggs. Pour this mixture over cheese and bread. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.  Note:  I have let it sit for an hour and then baked it in the oven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Bake the covered casserole at 350 degrees until eggs are set, cheese is bubbly and slightly golden, about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the casserole to set for 5 minutes before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Caramel Apple Fritter Bread

 Caramel Apple Fritter Bread

Warning!  This incredibly delicious, decadent, delightful, delectable bread is not for the faint of heart!   It is awesome. It’s wonderful. It’s everything you want in a sweet quick bread.  This is the bread I love to give away for gifts during the holidays.  It will blow your mind.  But then you could have figured that out by the title right?

Caramel Apple Fritter Bread

Bread:

⅓ cup brown sugar, not packed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅔ cup white granulated sugar

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1¾ teaspoons baking powder

½ cup whole milk

2 Honey Crisp or Pink Lady apples, peeled and chopped 

½ cup salted caramel sauce (I used Smuckers Salted Caramel Topping)

NOTE:  you will need two 9 x 5 loaf pans for this recipe. One for mixing and one for baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Set out two loaf pans.  Spray one of the  

9 x 5 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. No need to spray the other one.

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for about 2-3 minutes until very light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down after each addition. Finally, mix in the vanilla.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add these dry ingredients to your creamed butter and sugar mixture and stir until well blended.  Add the milk and continue to mix until you have a smooth batter.

Next pour only half the batter into the loaf pan that is not sprayed. Sprinkle only half the apples on top of the batter and then sprinkle just half the brown sugar mixture all over the top.  Finally drizzle ¼ cup of the salted caramel across the top. Now repeat that process with the next layer.  

Pour the remaining batter in the same loaf pan and follow with the remaining apples. Top the apples with the remaining brown sugar mixture and drizzle the remaining ¼ cup of caramel sauce over the top.

Now you are ready for the other loaf pan that has been sprayed. Using a large spoon, scoop the batter from the loaf pan with the batter and apples and drop into the sprayed loaf pan. This will give you the swirled effect without having to run a knife through it. Once you have scooped all the batter into the pan, tap pan on the counter to even out.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 50-60 minutes or until  a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven when finished baking and allow the bread to rest for about 5 minutes before flipping it out on a wire rack to cool for another 15 minutes.  You are now ready to glaze.

Caramel Glaze

¼ cup salted caramel sauce or topping

½ cup of powdered sugar

1-3 tablespoons whole milk or half and half

Whisk together the powdered sugar, salted caramel sauce or topping, and a tablespoon at a time of the milk until smooth and there are no visible powdered sugar lumps. Use more or less milk to get the consistency you want. Drizzle glaze on bread.

Recipe adapted from Sweet Recipeas

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