My Cousin, the Meat Lady

So my cousin is pretty much amazing. She is absolutely adorable. Gorgeous, funny, and very smart.

The unexpected part, though, is that my cousin is really into meat. In fact, she is a graduate student in the Meat Sciences program at the University of Georgia. It is absolutely hilarious to see this beautiful, sweet girl talk about slaughtering animals, different cuts of meat, and her research projects.

But the best part is that we get to sample some of the fruits of her labor. The school sells their cuts of meat every Friday afternoon - and she brings us some of her projects that are not for sale, as well!

This is an example of the latter. This is a Greek sausage that the graduate students made. We grilled some last week, and they were amazing! For more great meat info and tips, check out my cousin's blog: The Meat Lady.

Greek Turi Loukaniko
from my cousin, The Meat Lady

10 lb ground lamb shoulder
1/2 lb. feta cheese
10 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons dried garlic
2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons orange zest
3 teaspoon ground anise seed
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Sheep casings

Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl. Next, grind the meat again with the seasonings. Use casings to make your desired sized sausages. Grill and serve hot!

Sausage Stuffed Peppers

Here's another easy weeknight meal that I made up with some fresh and flavorful ingredients we had on hand. These peppers were bursting with flavor - but still quite lean because we used chicken sausage.

Sausage Stuffed Peppers

4 medium red or green bell peppers, cleaned and cored
2 italian sausages (we used sundried tomato chicken sausages)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 cup tomato sauce or marinara
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil
1 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
4 slices mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking dish and set your cleaned and cored peppers inside of it. Use balls of tinfoil to prop them up if you have trouble making them sit correctly.

In a large pan over medium-high heat, brown the sausages. Remove them from the pan and slice 1/4" thick on the bias.

Add the olive oil to the pan, and add the onions, garlic, and tomato. Cook over medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes, until the onions are tender and the tomato begins to break down. Add the sausage back to the pan, along with the sauce, the rice, the parmesan, and the herbs. Stir to combine and continue to cook until heated through. Adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper.

Fill the peppers with the sausage-and-rice mixture. Top with the mozzarella slices. Bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and peppers are slightly tender. Enjoy!

Italian Sausage Baked Ziti

Need a hearty dinner to bring to a friend? Need a dinner that freezes and travels well? Need a dinner you can make days ahead of time but still feed a crowd? This baked ziti is for you!

Italian Sausage Baked Ziti

1 lb. ziti noodles, uncooked
4-6 sweet Italian sausages, browned and sliced
1 15-ounce tub of fresh ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or oregano and basil)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 16-ounce jar of your favorite tomato sauce
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Apply cooking spray to a deep-dish 9x13 inch oven-safe baking dish and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook your ziti noodles until barely al dente.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, stir together ricotta, egg, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper until completely combined. Drain your cooked ziti noodles, and pour them into the ricotta mixture. Stir until evenly incorporated.

Spread about half of the tomato sauce in the bottom of your prepared baking dish. Next, spread half of the noodle mixture on top. Then, sprinkle half of the sliced sausage over the noodles. Finally, sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese on top. Repeat, layering the rest of the tomato sauce, noodles, sausage, and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the paremsan evenly across the top.

Cover with tinfoil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until cheese is brown and bubbly.

Sausage-Stuffed Shroomers

Here is the final recipe from our wine tasting - an appetizer of sausage stuffed mushrooms - the perfect bite-sized taste to accompany our fruity and delicious Barriosa Sombrero Rojo Rioja wine. Our guests are still raving about these mushrooms over a week later - I call that a successful dish!

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

3 pints baby bella mushrooms, cleaned with the stems removed
1 lb. chicken or turkey sausage, sweet Italian is great, but almost any flavor would work (We used a red wine and cheese variety from Trader Joes here.)
2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup parmigiano regiano cheese, grated (plus extra for sprinkling)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

Preheat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, remove the casings from the sausages and put the meat in the skillet. Brown the sausage until cooked through, using a spatula to break apart any pieces. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease a large baking sheet. Arrange the mushrooms cap-side-down on the sheet and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, eggs, cheese, onion, garlic, pepper, and parsley. Add the cooled sausage to the mixture and stir until combined. Fill each mushroom cap with about a tablespoonful of the sausage mixture, and don't worry if the filling piles up and overflows a bit. When all mushrooms are filled, sprinkle some extra grated cheese on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until filing is set and sizzling. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Grilled Salad with Sweet Italian Sausage

Here is the salad that we served during our wine-tasting party. It paired beautifully with the La Crema Pinot Noir. Everyone loved the ginger crostini in this salad - and you will not believe how easy it was to make. This would be a perfect salad to serve at a cook-out - the grilled flavors of the sausage and the onion are complimented so beautifully by the balsamic.

Grilled Salad with Ginger Crostini
Adapted from Rachel Ray

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoons ground ginger
6-8 slices crusty white bread
1 pound sweet Italian pork sausages
2 medium sweet onions, peeled and quartered
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
8 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette (recommended: Newman's Own)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and the ground ginger. Brush the ginger mixture generously on the bread slices. Place them on a baking sheet, and bake until toasted and crispy, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, using a grill, grill pan, or George Foreman, cook the sausages over medium-high heat, turnning as necessary, until browned and crispy on all side, about 15-20 minutes.

Pour the balsamic vinegar over the onion wedges. Grill on both sides over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side. The wedges should become soft and slightly charred.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the balsamic vinaigrette until the greens are lightly coated. Divide the salad into 6-8 portions, topping each with a grilled onion wedge and a ginger crostini. Slice the sausages diagonally and divide the pieces among the salads. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Mom's Chili

Chili is just one of those classic dishes that reminds me of a chilly fall night when I was a little girl. No one's recipe will ever compare to my mom's because mom's chili is the culinary manifestation of comfort and warmth. Mom always serves it on a bed of rice, topped with shredded cheese. It's just the best.

Great things about this recipe: It freezes really well in freezer bags. It can be made super-lean by using ground turkey and serving it on brown rice. It can be spiced up with sausage and bell-peppers or spiced down with just the listed ingredients. This recipe can easily be adapted to a crock pot, too. I love coming home to the smell of it after a long day!

Mom's Chili

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 lbs. lean ground beef, bison, or turkey

2-3 cans tomato soup (recommended: Campbell's)

1/2-1 soup can of water (use 1/2 first, adding more as needed)

2-3 15.5-ounce cans kidney beans and/or black beans, drained and rinsed

4 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic in the oil for 3-5 minutes, and transfer to a large pot or crock pot. Return the empty pan to the heat and cook the ground meat in the pan, draining off all fat when it's cooked all the way through. Pour the meat into the large pot or crock pot with the onions. Add all remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You can have this simmer in the crock pot on low for 4-8 hours. Remember to taste the chili and adjust the seasonings (chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper) before serving.

This chili is great served on white or brown rice, on a baked potato, on cornbread, or on its own. Top with cheese, chopped green onions, or fat free sour cream. Enjoy!

Easy Make-Ahead Brunch Strata

This is a Christmas morning tradition in our household: I make the monkey bread, and mom makes the breakfast casserole. Both can be made the day before, and then popped into the oven while the family is opening presents. Mom's strata is sooooo delicious, and not too greasy or heavy like the recipes I've seen that use crescent rolls. It puffs up and browns beautifully, and it heats up well the next day if you have leftovers!

The other great thing about this recipes is that you can customize the combination of ingredients to any taste - we've even made it vegetarian a few times. We like ham with tomatoes and swiss cheese. We like sausage with cheddar and mushrooms. We like bacon with anything!

You could make it "Mexican" by adding a can of green chilies, drained, using some chorizo sausage and using a Mexican cheese blend and salsa. You could make it "Italian" with some Italian seasoning, an Italian cheese blend, and chopped up Roma tomatoes. You can make it "Southern" by making it with sausage or country ham and serving it with biscuits and gravy. It's very versatile and, most importantly, extremely easy and delicious!

I hope you enjoy this brunch treat!

Mom's Egg and Cheese Brunch Strata

1 lb. sausage (or 4 cups ham, or 8-10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled)
1 1/2 (8 ounces) cups cheese, grated ( whatever type of cheese you like: cheddar, swiss, etc.)
10 eggs
4 cups bread, cubed in 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt (opt.)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms and/or chopped tomato

Grease a 9" x 13" pan. Arrange bread cubes in pan and sprinkle with cheese. In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, pepper and mustard with a whisk. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread and cheese layer. Sprinkle with meat and vegetables. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and bake strata uncovered until eggs set in the center, about 1 hour. Cover loosely with foil (sprayed with Pam) if top browns too quickly.