Food Fun Family

15 Minute Creamy Tomato and Sausage Fettuccine

Lolli — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 00:51:48 +0000

Believe it or not, sometimes I cook dinner for my family JUST to cook dinner for my family….not to make a gorgeous meal to share on Pinterest. And sometimes I don’t plan ahead and it gets to be 5:30 and the crew is getting hungry and I have no idea what to feed them.

It happens quite frequently, actually.

This meal did not start out as something I wanted to share with anyone else, because it was just one of those “throw something together” dinners. But then I snapped a picture (with horrible lighting, I might add!) and shared it on Instagram and so many people loved it that I decided I’d better snap a few more pictures and write up a recipe.

When I don’t know what to cook, I look through the fridge, freezer, and on the shelves to see what I might be able to throw together. When I’m pressed for time and ideas, I tend to skip the traditional recipes and cookbooks and instead base a meal on whatever ingredient I can find that sparks some inspiration.

This past week, I found some smoked sausage in the freezer (a family-staple that we almost always have on hand) and I knew I had some sun dried tomato pesto and fettuccine on hand in the pantry. I figured that I could use those three ingredients to make something worth eating.

You guys. It was so good!

I love when I discover recipes that are so easy to make and hardly take any prep time for those weeknights when I simply don’t have time, energy, OR inspiration to make something fancy.

Bonus points when they taste good and everyone likes them, too.

Sausage and Tortellini Alfredo Primavera

Lolli — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 10:00:47 +0000

I was asked to participate in the #SausageSoSimple campaign, sponsored by Hillshire Farm and Ahold USA. Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own.

I’m a busy mom of five kids with a demanding at-home job. I love to cook. I really do. But most evenings – especially during the school year – I am running kids around to this practice and that game, helping with homework, finishing up my work that’s due before the end of the business day. You get the picture.

Family dinner is important to me. The time we spend together is just as important as what we’re eating. But pulling off a good, wholesome family meal every night in the middle of everything else that’s going on in my life? Not so easy.

Luckily, I’ve got a Giant grocery store just down the street from my house, which makes any trip to the store (even the trips for those last minute, I-don’t-have-time-to-feed-this-family dinners) convenient and pleasant. I would much rather spend 15 minutes in the store and 15 minutes preparing an easy dish than feed my family fast food.

This past week, I grabbed one of my favorite go-to ingredients for quick meals – some Hillshire Farm smoked sausage – at Giant, along with some fresh veggies, fresh tortellini, and some Alfredo sauce. I had an idea in my head for a quick meal that sounded perfect for the end of the summer when there are so many garden-fresh vegetables available. I didn’t realize just how delicious or popular it would be, though.

When I hear “mmmms” and “wows” coming from the family….and when I catch the kids sneaking bites of the leftovers from the fridge instead of asking for a snack, I know I’ve found a winner. The family loved it because it tasted delicious (hot or cold!) and I loved it because it was so easy to make. This recipe will be on our permanent rotation!
Sausage And Tortellini Alfredo Primavera {A 15-Minute Recipe}

Yum

Sausage And Tortellini Alfredo

Ingredients

1 (13-oz) package Hillshire Farm Chicken Hardwood Smoked Sausage, sliced
1 (15-oz) jar Alfredo sauce
1 (20-oz) package refrigerated tortellini
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced red onions
1 cup sliced mini peppers
Olive oil (approximately 1-2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions

Instructions:
Heat water to boiling in a large pot. Meanwhile, slice sausage and vegetables.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add sliced sausage. Add garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir.
Add vegetables to the skillet and sauté, stirring frequently, just until vegetables start to soften (I like my veggies to still be a little crispy).
While vegetables and sausage are heating up, add Alfredo sauce to a small sauce pan and heat over medium-low heat.
When water is boiling, add tortellini and cook according to package directions (my refrigerated tortellini only took 2 minutes to cook, so I saved that for the last step). Drain tortellini and add to a large serving dish.
Pour warmed Alfredo sauce over pasta and toss. Add cooked sausage and veggies and stir until combined. Top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Enjoy hot right away or eat it cold as leftovers for lunch!

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Check out how easy this recipe is in this quick video that my husband and I put together (I love having a husband who loves making video!)

Note: I used Chicken Hardwood Smoked Sausage for this recipe, but any smoked sausage will work. Also, if you’re not a fan of mushrooms or any of the individual vegetables, it’s fine to substitute veggies that you love and/or have on hand.

Hillshire Farm smoked sausages can be found at Giant, Martin’s, and Stop & Shop grocery stores. Visit SausageSoSimple.com for more recipe inspirations and ideas.

Connect with Hillshire Farm

Facebook: Hillshire Farm
Twitter: @HillshireFarm
Website: Hillshire Farm & Sausage So Simple
Pinterest: Hillshire Farm
YouTube: Hillshire Farm
Check out hashtag #SausageSoSimple for more delicious recipe ideas!

Hungry for more delicious (and quick) recipes using smoked sausage? Check out a few of my favorites:

Kielbasa, Spinach and Rice Soup (15 minutes)

Kielbasa and Potatoes (15 minutes)

Spicy Kielbasa Pasta (15 minutes)

Smoked Sausage with Spinach, Orzo, and White Beans (30 minutes)

Black Eyed Peas and Sausage (under an hour)

Classic Southern Biscuits and Gravy

Lolli — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 16:39:30 +0000

This recipe for biscuits and gravy is sponsored by Ovation TV and the new show Southern Uncovered With the Lee Bros. Recipe, images, and opinions are my own.

I grew up in Northern California – pretty much as far from the South as you can get. I grew up cooking alongside my mom – we made lots of dishes with a Mexican flair, cookies, casseroles, pastas. But not much Southern cooking.

Somehow, though, I ended up married to a Tennessee boy. So when I was challenged to cook a Southern-inspired recipe here on Better in Bulk, I turned to him and asked what good home cooked Southern recipe HE wanted me to cook.

When he suggested biscuits and gravy, I hesitated for a few minutes. To me, biscuits and gravy are almost too iconically Southern. I wanted to be a little bit more unique. If I hadn’t already blogged about my #1 favorite Southern dish – Black Eyed Peas and Sausage – a few years ago, I would have made that (go check it out…it’s a family favorite)

I decided to go ahead and cook the biscuits and gravy for him (he asked so nicely)…and in the end, they turned out so good that I had to share them, cliche or not.

I didn’t know what I was missing.

Whether you’re a Southern at heart (or at stomach??) or a biscuits and gravy novice like me, you have got to try this recipe!

Roasted Cajun Cauliflower and Sausage #MeatballMasters

Lolli — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 17:21:40 +0000

I made this delicious and simple recipe for Roasted Cajun Cauliflower and Sausage using Johnsonville® Italian Sausage as part of a sponsored post for Socialstars. All opinions, enthusiasm and photos are my own. Follow #MeatballMasters on your favorite social networks for more delicious recipes using Johnsonville®.

I’ve been craving cauliflower lately and bought a head of cauliflower just for the heck of it, hoping that I’d come up with a good way to cook it up. Since I’ve also been looking for a delicious way to cook the Johnsonville® Italian Sausage I had in my fridge, I decided that the most perfect solution would be to cook them together. I found a recipe on About.com that was a great starting point, and I was thrilled with the result.

Even better…so was the family. I love when I hear rave reviews from my family members, especially when it’s a meal with lots of veggies!

I love that the sausage and seasoning along with cauliflower make this a dish that is low carb, filling and full of flavor. No sauce or pasta needed. All simple ingredients.

Roasted Cajun Cauliflower and Italian Sausage

Roasted Cajun Cauliflower and Sausage

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

Author: Lolli

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoons dried parsley
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon seasoned salt (omit if your Cajun seasoning has salt in it)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (19 ounce) package Johnsonville® Mild Italian Sausage
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Heat the oven to 425° F. Lightly grease a large baking dish (9x13 casserole or large round) with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl toss the cauliflower with Cajun seasoning, parsley, pepper, and salt. Set aside.
Brown whole sausage links in skillet on all sides (you don't have to cook through). Remove from skillet and slice. Saute onion and sliced sausage in a large skillet until browned and cooked through.
Add the sausage and onion mixture to the cauliflower and toss, along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Spoon the mixture into the baking dish and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring a few times during roasting. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

My family is totally hooked on Johnsonville® Sausage. About a week ago, we used Johnsonville® ground Italian Sausage to make Italian Sausage and Tomato Soup, and it was crazy how much everyone loved it. I am totally sold on the quality of Johnsonville® meatballs and sausage, and can’t wait to see what we come up with next for family dinner with Johnsonville®.

Have you ever made meatballs, rigatoni, or other pasta dishes with Italian Sausage? We love to use sausage in dishes in place of ground beef. One of the best things about Johnsonville® Italian Sausage is that it has built-in seasonings that deliver full-flavor to any dish that you add it to. You should check out the Italian meatballs and rigatoni made with Johnsonville® Italian Sausage. How do you like to cook with Italian sausage? I’d love to hear about your favorite recipes, too!

Happy cooking!

Sausage and Zucchini Biscuits #15MinuteSuppers

Lolli — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 12:00:29 +0000

This week’s 15 Minute Supper recipe was a complete experiment. I had a zucchini and some sausage I wanted to use…and not a lot of time.

The “not a lot of time” thing seems to be happening quite a bit at dinner time. I know I’m not alone in this. Between picking one daughter up from play practice every evening at 6 to driving other kids to karate and piano and scouts…it all seems to happen right around dinner time, and I seem to be forever rushing to get something on the table.

So, I experimented with a few ingredients that I love, hoping that we’d be able to stomach my creation (because I certainly didn’t have any extra time to make something else…It was either this or peanut butter and honey sandwiches).

Luckily, zucchini cooks up super fast (it’s hard to get it “just right” and not over-cook it) and – even MORE lucky – everyone ate it. Yes, even the peppers and zucchini!

Next time, I might try mixing this sausage and zucchini with pasta. I think the natural flavors of the sausage will be all the pasta needs. That and a few sprinkles of Parmesan cheese.

Back to experimenting!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Sausage and Zucchini Biscuits

Save Print

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

Author: Lolli

Ingredients

1 lb sausage (any kind - I used Italian sausage, but either a mild or a spicy sausage would work)
1 package refrigerated biscuits OR your favorite recipe (if you use your own from-scratch recipe I'm guessing it will take more than 15 minutes)
1-2 zucchini, sliced
½ cup red, orange, or yellow peppers, sliced thin
½ cup onion, sliced
2 teaspoons garlic
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sliced provolone cheese (one per biscuit)

Instructions

Bake biscuits according to package directions (mine took just under 15 minutes, so it was perfect!).
Crumble and cook sausage in a large sauce pan until cooked through. Drain, remove from pan, and set aside.
Add the onions, garlic, and peppers to the same pan (there will be just the right amount of sausage grease in the pan to saute the veggies perfectly). Cook, stirring, for about 2-3 minutes, until they start to soften a little, then add the zucchini and saute until the zucchini is soft and just starting to become transparent. Turn off the heat and add the sausage back to the pan, along with the Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Stir.
Cut each biscuit in half and add a slice of cheese. Place a heaping scoop of the sausage-biscuit mixture to each biscuit.

These biscuits have a tendency to be a little on the messy side, kind of like sloppy joes. Either enjoy the messiness or eat it open-faced on a plate. Or add it to pasta. That’s totally what I’m trying next. Yum!

Need more quick 15 minute recipe ideas? Check out these other great #15MinuteSuppers!

Follow 15 Minute Suppers on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
and look for the #15MinuteSuppers hashtag too!

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Quesadillas by Around My Family Table
Sausage and Zucchini Biscuits by Better in Bulk
Chicken Soft Taco Roll Ups by Pink Cake Plate
Easy Fruit Salad by Jen’s Journey
Artichoke Dip and Caramelized Onion Quesadillas by Famished Fish, Finicky Shark
Chicken, Asparagus & Herb Pasta by Liz on Call
Hummus Pita Pizzas by Home Cooking Memories

BLOGGERS: Would you like to join us at #15MinuteSuppers? We’d love to have you! Please check out the 15 Minute Suppers website or ask to join the Facebook group (for bloggers) to participate on Fridays…we’d love to have you join us.