2011 Halloween Costume Progress

B has decided to be a robot for Halloween.  This is actually a great relief.  For a while he wanted to be Spiderman, but there will probably be quite a few of those in his class this year.  Robo-Blake will be very easy to keep track of wearing a big box! 

Step one... find a box.  This one was originally used by my friend Piper for her move.  Then by us for our move.  Its well used and perfect.  I cut a hole for B's head, two holes for B's arms and cut out the entire 'bottom' of box for his legs to move freely.

C will be Olivia the Pig if I can find the perfect red dress and striped leggings!

Stay Tuned!

Bread Machine Fail

This is what happens when you don't confirm that the paddle is securely attached to the bread machine pan before adding ingredients.  Talk about major lesson learned.  Our entire house smells like warm, fresh bread and we can't eat a bite of it!

Rigatoni with Sausage Sauce

Maybe it was dinner at Il Terrazzo on Monday night, or maybe it is the fall weather settling in.  But today I was in the mood for pasta with a meat sauce.  I found this recipe for rigatoni with sausage sauce at the same time I discovered the roasted sausage and pepper recipe. 

The ingredient list was short and so were the directions.  A win-win for an evening when I'm dealing with a sick little one and an energetic big kid.

Cook the meat just until the pink is gone. 

Remove the sausage from pan and set aside.  Then add the chopped onion, garlic and red pepper flakes.

Add in the tomatoes and then the sausage.

After the sauce has simmered a bit, you toss in some fresh chopped basil.

Dinner is ready!

Rigatoni with Sausage Sauce, courtesy of Isernio's Sausage

Serves 4-6 as a main course.

4 Isernio’s Italian Sausages or 1 lb. bulk roll (pork or chicken, crumbled)

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped or pressed

1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes (optional)

28-oz can Italian style plum tomatoes with juice, squeezed by hand or broken up in skillet with wooden spoon.

3/4 lb Rigatoni pasta or cut pasta of choice (I used 1lb box of Rigatoni)

10 fresh basil leaves, torn

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

4-6 Tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and cook sausages over medium heat until brown. No need to cook all the way through, just cook until browned on both sides.You can also use bulk sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon and cooking until all pinkness is gone, do not brown. Remove meat from skillet and set aside. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet, add the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook on medium until the onion is soft, 8-10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, 1/2 tsp. salt and a few grinds of black pepper to taste. Cut sausages diagonally into 3/4" slices and return to skillet. If using bulk sausage, add cooked sausage now. Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat to a medium low, just bubbling simmer. Cook sauce uncovered for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.

While the sauce is cooking, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 Tbsp salt to boiling water, add the Rigatoni and cook until al dente, about 12-14 minutes, or according to the package instructions.

Taste the sauce for salt and pepper, and adjust if needed. Drain the pasta completely and place in the sauce. Toss the pasta with the sauce to ensure each piece is coated. Add the torn basil, a drizzle of good olive oil and mix well. Serve immediately with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

This recipe can be doubled or tripled. Use your judgment and taste. A larger quantity of sauce will take slightly longer to cook.

Roasted Sausage and Peppers

I had the opportunity to meet Frank Isernio and his wife last night.  Our family loves Isernio products, so it was nice to put a face to the name.  I also enjoyed learning that there are people that love going to grocery stores or farmers markets as much or more than I do!

In honor of meeting Frank, tonight I'm making a simple dinner that is featured on the Isernio's Sausage website, Roasted Sausage and Peppers.  Just a few minutes of prep work and about 50 minutes in the oven results in a filling and beautifully colored meal.

Seed and slice three bell peppers and slice one onion.  Add olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme...  I took the optional route and added two peeled and sliced baking potatoes to the mix.

In a skillet, brown sausages on both sides and then place on a baking sheet. 

Pour the bell pepper, onion, potato mixture over the sausages and put in a 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes.  Yes, it really is that easy. 

And just like that, the roasted sausages and veggies are ready to be served.  Both our kids loved this dish and asked for another helping.  This would be a great dish for a football viewing party or even a filling served on large, crispy rolls as a sandwich.

Roasted Sausage and Peppers, courtesy of Isernio's Sausage
6 Isernio's Italian Sausage links (pork or chicken)
3 bell peppers - yellow, orange & red, seeded and cut into 1" strips
1 large onion thinly sliced
4-5 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano
Optional: 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" thick half rounds

Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat, brown the sausage on both sides, about 4 minutes per side until lightly browned, set skillet aside. Sausage does not need to be cooked through, just browned on the outside.

Place the onion, peppers and oregano in a large bowl. Drizzle generously with about 4 Tbsp olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Place the browned sausages, peppers & onion mixture on a large rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan, uncovered.  Bake at 350° for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

OPTION: If you have a Convection Oven, bake at 350° on “Convection” for 30 minutes, stirring half way through cooking. If you add potatoes, they will brown better in a convection oven.

Taste for salt & pepper, serve immediately.

Pumpkin Butter

After roasting two big sugar pumpkins I was left with a pile of inner goodness.

A quick turn of the immersion blender and the innards were turned in to smooth puree.

Taking about 3 1/2 cups of puree and heating on the stove with sugars and spices, I simmered the mix for about 30 minutes and ended up with mouth watering pumpkin butter.  What is pumpkin butter?  It contains no butter, but could be called a sweet, pumpkin-flavored butter substitute.  You can spread it on toast, pancakes, waffles, apple slices....  If you're too lazy to make it yourself, you can always pay $11 for a small jar at Williams-Sonoma or $7 for an even smaller jar at Sur La Table.  Thus, I recommend you make it from scratch and save some cash. 

The occasional stirring on the stove and your house filling with the smell of warm, spicy pumpkin is worth it.  Both of my kids couldn't eat their afternoon snack of toast and pumpkin butter fast enough.  Both asked for more.

The best part of this recipe?  You'll have some extra for friends or neighbors.  I already have a list of recipients that will receive some pumpkin butter in the coming weeks.  Cross your fingers that you're on that list!

Jodi's Pumpkin Butter
30 oz fresh pumpkin puree (about 3 1/2c) or one large can of pumpkin puree.
3/4 c. apple juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Juice from a large lemon wedge

Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugars in saucepan and mix well. Bring mixture to a boil and stir often to avoid burning.  Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the mixture has thickened a bit. Stir frequently and stir in lemon juice.

Once mixture has cooled, pumpkin butter should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Ready to have your socks knocked off?  Instead of my usual chocolate craving, today I was craving peanut butter and chocolate.  To create this knocking-your-socks-off treat, you'll need to make a quick trip to Trader Joe's and buy their mini peanut butter cups (and maybe a few boxes of their frozen mac and cheese...).  And make sure the PB cups are the mini sized, otherwise you'll need to chop the larger ones up.

The batter is thick and can be mixed with a spatula.

After stirring in a quarter cup of chocolate chips, spread the batter in your greased 9" pan.  Sprinkle a handful (or two...) of the mini peanut butter cups on top and bake.

After about 22 minutes in the oven, our house was filled with warm peanut butter aroma. Waiting for these goodies to cool was next to impossible.

Okay, so we couldn't wait.  The blondies were moist and the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate was perfect.  These blondies are also very quick to mix up, so give them a try!



Peanut Butter Blondies, courtesy of Cooking Light and Bake or Break

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
One big handful of mini peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan lightly with cooking spray.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine peanut butter, melted butter, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Stir well.

Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Transfer batter into baking pan. Arrange the peanut butter cups over the batter.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Happy Anniversary!

To me!  My husband and I celebrate our sixth anniversary today.  An anniversary of 'iron' and 'sweets' or 'wood' if you go with the modern theme.  This morning we have family photos with a photographer that captured our family just three weeks before Miss C arrived and when Miss C was a newborn.

To give a bit of an anniversary twist to our photos, I created a '6' out of wood branches from our yard and placed it in a wood and iron frame.  Hopefully this will be incorporated in to some of our photos!

Its amazing what a fallen branch, some extra time while the little one naps, (patience!) and some stiff paper will create.

And as a gift to my husband?  A print that is original and unique, just to us.  It may take some deciphering for those who don't know us well, but each line has a big significance!

If you are interested in me creating a unique print for you too, contact  me!