Creamy Sausage Sandwich

This recipe came out of this month's Taste of Home Magazine. It is actually called Hearty Sausage Sandwich & is shown on page 30 of the April/May 2008 issue. On account of a few things, I have changed the name. 1st, I can't find it listed on their site in order to link this recipe back to them. 2nd, this recipe is way more creamy than it is hearty, in my humble opinion. And 3rd, I did change the recipe a bit, so I feel like I can call it mine & change the name. LOL! The origional recipe called for a large loaf of unsliced Italian bread & I used deli-style sub buns. It also needed more than the 1/4 t. of oregano & the 1/4 c. chopped mushrooms that it called for, so those were my changes. But I do want to give full credit to Taste of Home Magazine for this recipe. :) Here's a picture of all the sandwiches straight out of the oven:

Creamy Sausage Sandwich

1 pound bulk italian sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed

1/2 to 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped

1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/4 c. water

1/2 t. (or more to taste) dried oregano

6 deli-style buns

1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion, green pepper, & garlic until done & no longer pink; drain & return to pan. Add the cream cheese, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, water, & oregano.

Cook & stir until cheese is melted.

Open the 6 deli-buns. Spread shredded mozzarella cheese on each. Then spread a generous helping of cheesy sausage mixture, & then top with a little more mozzarella. Try to close the buns. (lol)

Place on baking sheet & bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. You could use a large loaf of Italian bread & make one large sandwich & cut into serving size sandwiches.

This was a hit with everyone! It really was good. And creamy! After typing this recipe, I also see that it could be called Three Cheese Sausage Sandwich!

Whatever the name, it's a keeper.

Here's my plate:

I cut it in half in order to eat it a little easier.

Johnny Marzetti

I found this recipe about 5 years ago as I was going through an old (from the 60's) cookbook.

I had no clue what it was, but the ingredients sounded good & I figured it would taste like lasagna. I did a search a while back & found this site that explains how it got its name.

It says, " Johnny Marzetti is a casserole created in the 1920s by the owner of the Marzetti Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Who was Johnny Marzetti? According to the "American Century Cookbook" by Jean Anderson, Johnny Marzetti was the brother of the owner of the Marzetti Restaurant. "

Johnny Marzetti

1 lb. lean ground beef, cookeed & drained
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt & pepper
8 oz. package macaroni, cooked & drained
1 lb. can tomatoes

1/4 t. sweet basil

1/4 t. oregano

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (or 8 oz. velveeta)

1/4 shredded parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together & put in a baking dish. Top with parmesan cheese, cover & bake at 350 for 1 hour.

You can also buy Del Monte tomatoes that have garlic, basil, & oregano in it.

Also, you can do a search on Johnny Marzetti & find many different variations on this casserole.

You can use any type of pasta. Sometimes I use shells, once I used bow ties, & the other day I used both regular macaroni & shells because I had half packages of both. I usually use my 3 quart corning ware dish, but the above is a 9x13 because I had doubled the recipe.

I usually serve this with cottage cheese & garlic toast. (you can see the plate on the black pepper onion bread toast post. )

TWO WORDLESS WEDNESDAY PICTURES!

Black Pepper Onion Bread

I use this bread to make homemade Texas Toast. I'd love to have a freezer full of it so I could just pull it out, thaw it, slice it, slather it with garlic butter, & bake it for 5 minutes or so to go with just about any meal. I should spend a day just making this bread so I can get my freezer stocked.

So far I've just made 2 loaves at a time. We eat one loaf with supper & freeze the other for quick, easy Texas Toast.
This was a recipe I had for the bread machine, but I like making it by hand & using 2 regular sized loaf pans rather than one big bread machine sized loaf. So each recipe yeilds 2 small loaves, just perfect for Texas Toast.

Black Pepper Onion Bread
1 C. warm water
2 t. yeast
1 T. butter
1 t. salt
3 C. bread flour
3 T. nonfat dry milk powder
1 T. sugar
2 t. dry minced onions
3/4 t. fresh ground black pepper (medium coarse ground)
1/4 t. garlic powder

Note: If using finer grind of pepper, reduce amount to 1/4 - 1/2 t.
For bread machine, add ingredients in order given by manufacturer.
By hand:
Mix warm water & yeast & set aside.
Add the rest of ingredients into a large bowl & stir.
Add the yeast & water & stir with a wooden spoon until you can't anymore, & then use your hands.
Knead in a little bread flour for 5-7 minutes (until kind of 'satiny' & soft).
Put into a bowl with a little olive oil in it & turn to coat. Cover with clean towel & set in warm spot to rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until double.
I love how bread looks (& smells) when it rises:

I actually put mine on top of the coffee pot. We have a Bunn, so it always has hot water inside it. It's a great place to have bread rise.
After it has risen double, punch down & knead just a few turns. Divide the dough in half. Put each half in a 9X3 bread pan & let rise another hour, or until about double.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. It should sound hollow when thumped lightly.Oh my, does this make the house smell WONDERFUL!

Now you can either slice & eat or....
Slice one loaf into thick slices. Butter it up with garlic butter & bake for 5 minutes or so at 425.
Yum! Garlic Texas Toast!

Last evening we had it with Johnny Marzetti (recipe coming soon) & cottage cheese.

Wordless Wednesday

CREAMED PEAS

You either love 'em or hate 'em....

but I love 'em. :)

So here's my recipe for creamed peas

2 cans of sweet peas, drained (can use frozen)

1 t. sugar

2 T. butter

2 T. flour

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 1/2 C. milk

1/2 t. dill weed (optional)

Cook peas according to directions, adding the sugar. (the sugar is listed in my recipe, but to tell the truth...I always forget it. Always. lol....I don't add sugar to veggies... ) Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan; add flour, salt & pepper to form a paste. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Add dill; cook until thickened & bubbly. Add peas, stir & serve!

You could also make this creamed peas & potatoes. Only use 1 can of peas in this recipe, & boil 4 medium red (or any really) cubed potatoes until tender & add them in with the peas.

And my favorite...

I put left-overs on toast. Yes, I do. It's very good. It's comfort food!

(I know my bread in the picture doesn't look toasted, but it is. lol)

BANANA-PINEAPPLE CAKE

The youth group served us dinner the weekend before Valentimes Day & this cake was one of the desserts. After one bite, I HAD to have the recipe! A wonderful lady named Ellen made it & was happy to share the recipe. And now I'm sharing it with you. :)

Banana-Pineapple Cake
3 C. flour
2 C. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 C. oil
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 C. chopped pecans
2 C. chopped bananas
Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs & oil, stir until dry ingredients are moist-do not beat. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, nuts, & bananas. Spoon batter into 3 greased & floured 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until tested done. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pans. Cool completely. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. Can sprinkle top with another 1/2 c. pecans if you want to.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream together 1/2 C. butter, 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, & 1 t. vanilla until light & fluffy. Gradually add 1 lb. box sifted powdered sugar (about 4 cups). Beat well. If too thick, add a little cream or milk.

Oh my. This was GOOOOOOD. And so easy!

Wordless Wednesday