Last Friday, Chuck and I had a lovely evening at home. We did not have the kids so I wanted to try out some new recipes. I had my first attempt at homemade foccacia bread, italian sausage and pepper pasta from
Weight Watchers, and a fantastic fall pie from
Good Things Catered. We watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,which sucked, and just enjoyed a much-needed relaxing night at home. The pasta was AMAZING and made a HUGE ammount. We ate leftovers all weekend!
Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta (courtesy of Weight Watchers)
- 1/2 pound(s) raw turkey sausage, Italian-style, casings removed
- 2 tsp olive oil, extra-virgin
- 2 medium yellow pepper(s), cut into 2-inch long thin strips
- 1 medium onion(s), thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup(s) red wine
- 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted recommended
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or less to taste
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 8 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, fusilli
- 1/3 cup(s) basil, fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
- Meanwhile, to make sauce, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat with back of a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate.
- Heat oil in same skillet. Add yellow peppers and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are lightly colored and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add wine and garlic; cook until most of liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt and browned sausage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and sauce is heated through, about 10 minutes.
- While sauce simmers, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package instructions. Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sauce and basil; toss to mix and coat. Yields about 1 1/3 cups per serving.
My foccacia bread was a random recipe off the internet...I want to try a different one. This was really good, but not what I was looking for.
I plan on making this pie for Thanksgiving and wanted to give it a whirl.
Autumn Apple PieIngredients:
1 recipe basic pie dough
9 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1/4 c. golden raisins (I did not add these because I did not have any)
1/4 c. dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch salt
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 egg, beaten
raw sugar for sprinkling
Directions:
-Roll out 1/2 of basic dough recipe into disk about 1/4 inch thick and 2 inches wider than the pie dish.
-Gently fold in half, then in quarters, place into pie dish and unfold evenly pressing into all edges of dish.
-Place dish into fridge.
-Roll out other half of pie dough to the same thickness.
-Using a small cookie cutter, cut the dough spacing each cutout about 1/2 inch apart.
-Place top and cutouts in refrigerator.
-Meanwhile, in a large pot, place apples, raisins, cranberries, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cornstarch over medium low heat.
-Stir, cover and cook until apples begin to soften, about 10-15 minutes. (I overcooked mine, so they were mushy)
-Remove top of pan, stir and continue cooking uncovered until begins to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.
-Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, and let cool completely.
-Place baking sheet in oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Remove pie dough from fridge and pour in pie filling, leveling top of filling.
-Top filling with cutout dough piece and trim ends.
-Brush bottom of cutout pieces with beaten egg, and place on edge of pie.
-Brush top of pie dough with beaten egg.
-Place tin foil loosely around edge of pie (or use pie protector) and place in oven on preheated baking sheet.
-Cook until pie dough is cooked through and middle is bubbling, about 60 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.
(Mine is DEFINITELY not as pretty as
Katie's!)
