Tomato Cream Sauce with Sweet Sausage

I ran across some fun pasta the other day so I had to come up with a way to serve it. I kind of think of Italian food like I do Mexican food...there’s a ba-jillion ways to serve the same ingredients. But, it doesn’t make me love either one any less. Love, love, love them both. So making this tomato cream sauce to go with our new pasta was like eating something brand new! This is super good, comes together in a flash and the leftovers are great!

Tomato Cream Sauce 

with Sweet Sausage

1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

1 pound Italian sweet sausage ~ casings removed

1 medium onion ~ diced

2 cloves garlic ~ minced

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt & pepper to taste

8 ounces pasta (I used calamarata) ~ cooked and drained. 

In a large skillet, cook the sausage until done. Remove to a plate. 

In the same skillet, saute the onion and garlic for 10 minutes. 

Pour in the chicken stock to de-glaze the pan. 

Add the canned tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil and red pepper flakes.

Allow to cook for about 10 minutes. 

Stir in the cream then add the cooked sausage. 

Allow to heat through then serve over pasta.

The line-up!

Brown the sausage then remove to plate. Brown the onion and garlic in the pan.

Add the chicken stock. Then add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil and red pepper flakes.

Add the cream and allow to cook for about 10 minutes.

Then add the cooked sausage to the cream mixture and heat through.

Serve over pasta and enjoy!

Party With Sweet Treats

Norene Cox from Party Pinching has done it again! She's got her new book published called Party With Sweet Treats and inside are all kinds of cute and creative ideas for you to make your own sweet treats. Who knew that so many cookies, cakes and candies could be made into so many darling treats! 

After looking through the book and trying to decide which one is my favorite, I think I'd have to choose this one. I mean LOOK at how cute these little Brownie Grill Bites are!

And what about these little Snow Cone Cake Pops? I love all the colors! 

 

 But these Sweet Bunny Truffles really shine, don't they?

I guess I really don't have a favorite after all because everything in Norene's new book, Party With Sweet Treats, is precious and creative and best of all....everything can be made with items you can purchase at your local store! No need to special order anything because it all can be found very easily around town! 

I have Norene's first book, Sweet Treats for the Holidays, and I can tell you that it is wonderful. I can't wait to get started with some of the things she's created in her new book! 

To purchase Party with Sweet Treats, you can find it HERE and HERE. 

You can follow Norene and her creative imagination at one or all of the links below:

Party Pinching blog 

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram

Twitter

And to get you started making your own cuteness, here's the recipe for making the Brownie Grill Bites: 

So Barbecute.

A perfect goody for the Grillmaster.

6 Little Brownie Bites (such as Entenmann’s)

1 (.67 oz.) tube of black writing gel

12 red Mike and Ike candies

2 green Mike and Ike candies

2 yellow Mike and Ike candies

2 pink Mike and Ike candies

6 toothpicks

18 lollipop sticks

½ cup chocolate melted candy coating

12 dark brown M&M’s

1.         With the black writing gel, make a circle around the top edge of the brownie bite. Then make grill lines with the writing gel inside of the circle.

2.         Using the black edible marker, make little grill marks on the red Mike & Ike candies so   they look like hot dogs. Place hot dogs on top of brownie grill.

3.         Slice the green, yellow, orange and pink Mike & Ike candies into thirds.

4.         Place one sliced Mike & Ike of each color onto a toothpick for the skewer. Place on brownie grill.

5.         Cut lollipop sticks into approximately 2” lengths. Push 2 sticks into the bottom of the brownie.

6.         Melt chocolate candy coating wafers according to package instructions.

7.         Attach the M&M’s to the bottom of the lollipop sticks for wheels using the melted candy coating.

Makes 6 Brownie Grill Bites

 Let's have fun with food!!!

Sweet Fire Pork Chops

I'm a big fan of the whole fruit/meat combo. This little recipe has a slight orange undertone to it that's really good. The heat from the chipotle pepper pairs well with all the flavors going on. It's so simple to make and if you've got your grill fired up for burgers, throw a couple of these chops on for good measure!

Sweet Fire Pork Chops



4 bone-in thick cut pork chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground chipotle chile
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
Zest of 1 large orange
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup honey

Set pork chops on a plate.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and spread mixture on both sides of the chops with a rubber spatula.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Grill over medium-high heat, 4 - 5 minutes per side.

Allow meat to rest 5 minutes before eating.

The ingredients.

Set pork chops on a plate and mix 

together the remaining ingredients.

Slather both sides of the chops with 

the glaze. I used a rubber spatula.

Throw 'em on the grill over a medium-high flame.

Cook on both sides, about 4 - 5 minutes. 

Allow to rest for about for about 5 minutes before serving.

Delicious!

Sweet Sausage Pasta with Peppers

When I'm not in the mood to heat up my kitchen, but still want something filling, I turn to pasta. Other than the noodles and the sausage, this little dish doesn't require any cooking. At least not OVEN cooking. Easy and delicious, this warm pasta dish is a great family meal!

Sweet Sausage Pasta with Peppers



12 ounces bowtie pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 sweet peppers ~ red, yellow and orange, large dice
1 small red onion ~ large dice
2 cloves garlic ~ minced
1 pound sweet Italian Sausage ~ cooked and sliced into "coins"
1/4 cup fresh basil ~ chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. 

Cook sausages until done. Remove to a plate and allow to cool to the touch. Slice into "coins".

Add the diced peppers, onion, salt and pepper to the pan and cook until tender/crisp.

Add garlic, stir and cook a minute or so.

Add cooked, sliced sausage and heat through.

Stir in cooked pasta  and chopped basil.

Serve hot.

Okay....let's get going!

Cook the sausage in a large skillet.

Chop the veggies.

Remove the cooked sausage from

the skillet then add the veggies.

Add the minced garlic cook for a 

few minutes until tender/crisp.

Then slice the sausage and put it back 

in the pan with the veggies and heat through.

Add the cooked pasta and the basil and stir.

Serve warm!!

Ground Beef Egg Rolls with Sweet & Sour Sauce

I'm not sure where my mom got the recipe for these, but she's had it for years. She used to make them for us and we always thought they were so fun and different. If you've got a hankerin' for something out of the ordinary...try these. A little bit on the Asian side with a little American thrown in for good measure. You can make them as a main dish or serve them as appetizers. The original recipe used won-ton wrappers but I cut to the chase and made the egg roll size. Good either way!

Ground Beef Egg Rolls 
with Sweet & Sour Sauce



1 pound ground beef
12 water chestnuts ~ finely diced
2 green onions ~ diced
2 eggs ~ beaten
1 teaspoon oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
1 package egg roll wrapper
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water)

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Heat 2 - 3 cups of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Place 3 - 4 tablespoons of meat filling on an egg roll wrapper and fold to enclose filling. Brush with egg wash around the edges to seal.

Fry egg rolls for 3 - 4 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with sweet & sour sauce. Recipe follows.


Sweet & Sour Sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 4 teaspoons water

In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce.

In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water and add to vinegar mixture.

Heat over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils.

Remove from heat and serve with egg rolls.

Here's what you need for the 

egg rolls. Oops. And 2 green onions.

Throw it all in a bowl.

Mix it up.

Place about 3 tablespoons of 

the meat mixture on an egg roll 

wrapper. Brush the edges with the egg wash.

Bring up the bottom portion.

Fold in the sides.

Fold down the sharp corners.

Roll 'em up, fry 'em up! Rah! Rah! Rah!

Nice and golden brown.

The stuff for the sauce!

Throw it all in a saucepan and stir 

over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

Egg rolls and sweet & sour sauce. Yummy!

Italian Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer

This was proclaimed a roaring success. My favorite creamer is the Italian Sweet Cream flavor. I figured how hard could it be to whip up a batch of that? I know people make at-home creamers all the time but this one is SO good! Instead of using milk, I used heavy cream and vanilla bean paste. To see those yummy little vanilla beans floating in the cream made me so happy! Save yourself a little money and make sure you know exactly what's going in your creamer!

Italian Sweet Cream 
Coffee Creamer


16 ounces (2 cups) heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or use vanilla extract)
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Whisk until the sweetened condensed milk is fully incorporated into the cream.

Store in a container with a lid. Shake before using.



 

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Another Chinese food recipe done! I love it, IT Guy hates it and the south is not known for the Chinese cuisine. So, making it at home is my only option if I want any. So here we go! This is killer good. The sauce isn't too sweet but has a nice tang to it. The chicken dredged in cornstarch is great because the cornstarch gives the chicken just a slight crunchy coating. I loved every bite of this!

Sweet 'n Sour Chicken



For the sauce:

3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water 1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/3 cup large diced green pepper ~ optional
1/2 cup pineapple chunks ~ optional

Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan.

Mix all ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add green bell pepper and pineapple, if using. Keep warm.

For the chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1 - 2 cups vegetable oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into large bite-sized chunks. Season with salt and pepper.

Dredge chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. (I use zip top bags.)

Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until done.

Serve over rice with sauce.

Here's what you need.

Whisk together the cornstarch and the sugar.

Add the rest of the sauce ingredients.

Cook and stir until thick.

Add the pineapple and bell pepper chunks.

Cut up the chicken and coat them 

in cornstarch then dip them in the egg.

Fry 'em up!

Drain on paper towels and keep warm.

Serve sweet & sour chicken over rice!!!