Category Archives: Definitely Making it Again

April 11, 2010 · 10:31 pm

Italian Sausage, Peppers and Tomatoes

I use the internet a lot to find recipes. I found this one a while back and I love it because it is super easy and everyone loves it. Here is my variation:

Ingredients:
6 whole Italian sausages (hot, sweet or mild)
2 14.5 oz cans of Italian-style diced tomatoes
1/2 large onion cut in thin strips
1 1/2 cups (approx.) frozen bell pepper strips
2 T. olive oil

Directions:
Place the sausages in a pot of boiling water and cook for about ten minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add onions and bell peppers. While onions and bell peppers are cooking cut sausages into “coins” and add them to the skillet. Cook until onions are tender and sausages are cooked through. Lastly, add the tomatoes and cook for about five more minutes on medium.

Variations: You might want to add one can of tomatoes and see if that is just right. Some people might prefer two cans…it depends on how much you like tomatoes.

We always have this dish with some fresh Italian bread or a baguette. You can dip the bread in the bowl to soak up some of the juices. Yummy!

What does the family think? Hubby and I love this dish. The boys mostly just eat the sausage.

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

April 10, 2010 · 11:09 pm

Whole Chicken Crock Pot Recipe

It doesn’t get any easier than this. I found this recipe on-line a few years ago and have made several variations, but this is the simplest one I have made. Simple is good. We have this at least twice a month at our house. It is a great dish to have on a night when you know you are going to be busy or getting home late. It’s done when you get home AND your house smells FANTASTIC!

Ingredients:
Salt
Pepper
Poultry Seasoning
1 large roasting chicken
1 small lemon

Directions:
After making sure there aren’t any gizzards, etc. in the cavity of the chicken, cut the lemon in half and place both halves of the lemon in the cavity of the chicken then place the chicken in the crockpot. Sprinkle a little bit of salt, pepper and poultry seasoning on the chicken. Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 4-8 hours. (Ours is usually done within five hours at the most.)

Variations: You can put just about any reasonable spice on this chicken that you want to and it will turn out tasting great. You could use paprika, lemon pepper, garlic salt, thyme, cayenne…get creative.

We usually have this dish with a veggie that can be prepared quickly and some bread and butter with honey on it. Again, very quick, but yummy.

What does the family think? Hubby and I love this dish. It is definitely a comfort food in our house. Our boys aren’t huge chicken fans, but they’ll eat it.

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Uncategorized

April 9, 2010 · 7:07 am

Chorizo and Butter Bean Stew

    This recipe was one of the reasons I started this website.  I was trying to explain to a friend of mine in an e-mail about what I had changed about the recipe, what the kids thought of it, etc. and then I was telling someone else later on.  How much easier would have been to type it once?

    Also, let me say that Jamie Oliver is my new hero and I have been trying out a lot of his recipes lately.

    Here is my version of his recipe:
    1/2 lb. ground turkey chorizo
    3/4 chopped red onion
    3 garlic cloves
    olive oil
    1 tspn. cumin
    1/2 tspn. sweet paprika
    1 pinch of cayenne
    14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
    15 1/2 oz. can butter beans
    several dollops of sour cream

    Directions: In a dutch oven or other such pot, cook the chorizo, garlic, olive oil and onion until the chorizo is cooked through. Add the spices, tomatoes and butter beans and cook until heated through.

    When serving, dish into bowls and top each serving with a dollop of sour cream. This dish is on the spicy side and the sour cream helps take the heat off. This recipe doesn’t make a lot. It made enough for hubby and I to each have one serving and our two boys to each have one little serving. It could easily be doubled for more.

    Jaime Oliver suggests serving this dish with some crusty bread and a nice glass of red wine, so that’s what we did.

    So what did the family think? Hubby and I thought it was awesome. It was SO MUCH tastier than I thought it would be. One of the kids ate only the beans and the tomatoes and our other child ate only the chorizo. Go figure.

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Spicy, Stew/Soup