Spicy Sausage Hot Pockets

I have a really weird pet peeve.  I hate warm food.  I want my food piping hot.  Not like “omg-just-burned-all-my-tastebuds-and-now-my-tongue-is-numb” hot, but a “pleasant- hasn’t-been-sitting-out-for-20-minutes” hot.

It’s one of the reasons I strongly dislike eating at buffets.  Everything’s just lukewarm (let alone swarming in everyone else’s everything….yuk).   It’s also why I really don’t eat leftovers.  I’m too lazy to reheat things in the oven and too poor to buy a toaster oven.  Therefore everything goes in the microwave- which then fries everything bone dry and gross before it gets hot enough for my weird pet peeve to not be bothered.

Yes, it’s one of my many bizarre quirks…..

But these stuffed pockets (can’t call them Hot Pockets….I’ll get sued. Or something like that) totally rock my face off.  Not only do they taste awesome, they stay super toasty for a long time. So when you’re done with your first and go back for your second (and maybe an additional half after that….), they’re still lovely and hot and not needing that dreaded microwave re-heat.  I wish I could comment on their left over potential, but I have a very sneaky dog who thoroughly enjoys food stupidly left on my living room ottoman…..    

 

These were so good, I think I'm going to remake them later this week stuffed with ham and cheese and maybe some broccoli. The possibilities are endless :)

Do you have any strange food quirks?

Sausage-Cheddar & Spinach-Mozzarella Bites

No dessert this week. Why you ask? Why would I deprive you of Holiday-inspired sweetness? Because I went to a Christmas party last night and wanted to bring a more savory item. I'm lazy so I wrapped having to bring some with a blog post- killed 2 birds with one stone. Plus, you're going to get Christmas-dessert overload next week...just you wait :)

So, for the party, I found these little gems on (guess...) Betty Crocker.com. I had every intention of making these yummy looking Veggie and Cheese Pastry Puffs, but I didn't have a mini-muffin pan and didn't feel like buying one (basically because I'm getting one for Christmas- Thanks Mom!)

I made two types of these bites: a Hot Italian Sausage and Cheddar version and a Spinach and Mozzarella version. Originals can be found here...and here. The links contain great info on making ahead and freezing. I didn't try any of that, so I can't speak to it, but you can check it out there.

How Long Is This Gonna Take:
If you're making both at the same time like I did, about 1.5 hours due to all the baking time. If you're just making one, halve that to 45 minutes.

What You'll Need:For the Sausage-Cheddar Bites:3 cups Bisquick mix
1 lb hot Italian sausage, casings removed or buy bulk (my store only had links...)
4 cups shredded cheddar
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk (I ended up added about 2 tbsp extra due to dryness)
1 tsp dried rosemary (original called for only 1/5 tsp, but I felt they lacked seasoning)
1 tsp dried parsley (ditto above)
Chili sauce for dipping (look for it by the ketchup)

For the Spinach-Mozzarella Bites:
1 box (9oz) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed squeezed to drain (make sure its dry- too much liquid and they'll fall apart)
1.5 cups Bisquick mix
3 cups shredded mozzarella
2 eggs
3 tsp Italian seasoning
1.5 tsp garlic salt
Pasta sauce for dipping

What To Do:
1. For the sausage bites, heat oven to 350F. For the spinach bites, preheat to 400F.

2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients minus dipping sauces. (Obviously, if you're making both kinds of bites, use 2 large bowls and keep everything separate :-P) Get your hands in there and get dirty. With the sausage version, you'll almost have to knead the mixture to break up the sausage and work it in evenly. With the sausage, I also had to add about 2 extra tbsp of milk because it was a little too dry. Spinach-Mozzarella Bite mixtures is pictured here.



3. Roll into 1-inch balls and placed on a cooking spray covered cookie sheet. Bake sausage-cheddar bites for 20 minutes. The spinach-mozzarella need to only cook for about 15 (or until browned)




4. Serve with warm dipping sauces.

Hot Sausage-Cheddar Bites with Chili Sauce



Spinach-Mozzarella Bites with Pasta Sauce

Note: Great treat and perfect for Christmas parties. My one complaint is you NEED to eat them hot- no bueno once they cool down. So therefore they don't travel too well unless your host is cool with you using their oven to warm them when you get there. However, if you're gathering at your place, go for it. They're quite tasty. The spinach ones were my favorite- dipped in some classic pasta sauce and they're fantastic. However, the sausage ones were good too- the chili sauce totally made them.

Skillet Lasagna

I love me some Italian food. Well, I love me some Americanized pseudo-Italian influenced food...but that's neither here nor there (Olive Garden, if you're looking for a spoken women for those banging breadsticks, give me a shout out) :-P

Back to the actual cooking.....one of my absolute favorites is lasagna. However, not a fan of making it. Sure, I know you can freeze it and then bake it later, but if I'm going to go into all the work of making it, I want it have it for dinner that night. (Patience is not a virtue in my kitchen) Well, ta-da! A "lasagna" that can be ready to devour in less than 30 minutes (29 according to the cookbook...) Thank you random Pampered Chef booklet for your lovely Skillet Lasagna.

How Long Is This Gonna Take:
Well, if you read my witty little intro, you'd already know this answer. However, for you skimmers out there (don't worry, I'm one of them), this one will take you 30 minutes.

What You'll Need:
1 jar spaghetti sauce
3 cups water
8 oz lasagna noodles (instead I used a box of penne because my grocery store doesn't carry whole wheat lasagna noodles)
1 lb hot Italian sausage (or links, casings removed). I used turkey sausage
2 garlic cloves, pressed (I used minced)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried parsley
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper

What To Do:1. Combine sauce and water in large skillet. Cover and bring to boil.


2. Meanwhile, wrap noodles in a clean kitchen towel and break into quarters. Stir noodles into sauce. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 16-18 minutes for "normal" noodles or 10-12 for no-boil noodles. Stir occasionally.




3. As noodles cook, place sausage into small skillet and cook over med-high heat, breaking into crumbles, for 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink. Add garlic, cook 1 minute, then remove from heat. Stir sausage into noodles and sauce.




4. Meanwhile, combine parmesan, ricotta, and mozzarella cheeses along with 1 tsp parsley and pepper in a separate bowl. Spoon out "balls" of cheese on to noodles. Cover skillet and simmer gently for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated through. You can mix it all up if you'd like, or keep the cheese in "balls" (I know, sounds weird....look at the picture)

5. To serve, sprinkle "lasagna" with remaining 1 tsp parsley and any additional parmesan cheese you'd like.

Turkey Sausage and Pepper Rigatoni with Chopped Tomato Salad

I love this meal because its quick and simple, the tastes great! Since the pasta dish is a little lacking in veggies, a tomato salad makes a great side. Or you could mix it in with the pasta for a pseudo-raw sauce. Both of these recipes are from Healthy in a Hurry. I'm a little tired and out of witty color commentary, so I'll just get on with it...

How Long Is This Gonna Take:20-30 minutes, can't beat that :)
What You'll Need:
12 oz whole wheat rigatoni or penne
6 oz Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (I used 3 "sweet" turkey sausages)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp pepper (it can get hot if you go over board, so start with 1 tsp and add if you want more)
2 tbsp EVOO, divided

4 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (you can use dried, but the fresh is so much better for this)
1 tsp lemon juice

What To Do:1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta until just tender, 9-11 minutes. When draining, save 1/2 cup of cooking water.



2. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a nonstick skillet over med-low heat, breaking into small chucks until cooked through. Blot with paper towel.





3. While pasta and sausage cook, mix tomatoes, 1 tsbp EVOO, basil, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season with S&P- salad done :)







4. In a large bowl, combine pasta, sausage, reserved water, 1 tbsp EVOO, cheese, and pepper.

5. Dinner = done!