Pasta with Grilled Sausage & Veggies

I love summer for all of the yummy garden vegetable. There are so many ways to cook them & I love discovering new ways to serve them. Grilling the vegetables & Italian sausage & adding them to pasta is an amazing way to serve them. This dish was a hit.


Ingredients
Italian Sausage (hot or mild)
1 green bell pepper, seeded & halved
1 red bell pepper, seeded & halved
1 yellow squash, halved
1 zucchini, halved
1/4 c balsamic or Italian dressing
Spaghetti
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan cheese


Directions
Light grill. Place vegetables in a large bowl & pour dressing over. Baste until all the pieces are covered. Let the vegetables sit. Cook Italian sausage on the grill for 8 minutes, turn frequently. Add the vegetables, turn frequently. Baste the vegetables with the dressing while they cook. Continue to cook sausage & vegetables until cooked through (15-20 minutes). Remove from grill. Allow to rest. In a large pot cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Chop sausage & vegetables. Add into the spaghetti. Toss with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil & enough of the reserved pasta water to moisten. Sprinkle with salt, pepper & parmesan cheese.




Recipe adapted from All You

Italian Sausage & Veggie Pockets

I saw something in a magazine that inspired me to create this. My husband & I love Italian sausage, but my kids don't typically eat it. Well, this dinner changed all that.  They loved this tasty version. The sausage was cooked perfectly & the veggies were full of flavor. This creation is a keeper.

Ingredients
2 sweet peppers, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/8 c olive oil
1/8 c apple cider vinegar
Italian seasonings
Salt
Pepper
5-6 Italian sausage links, sliced
1 bag frozen seasoned potato wedges

Directions
In a large bowl, toss the first 9 ingredients. Coat 5-6 large sheets of heavy duty foil with cooking spay. If you don't have the heavy duty foil, just make 2 layers of regular foil. Divide the sausage, potato wedges & the veggie mixture evenly on the foil sheets. Now seal the foil packs tightly.
Grill for 20-25 minutes or until sausage is done. Let rest 2-3 minutes before serving. Carefully open the packs & serve.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

 

 

 

I made these for dinner. The smell was amazing. My husband said it smelled like we were at the fair. The chicken was so juicy and full of flavor. This was an easy way to make delicious chicken fajitas.

 





Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

3 peppers (green, red & yellow), sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

Taco seasoning (see below for my recipe)

1 c chicken broth

Flour tortillas

Favorite toppings (cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc.)

 

Taco seasoning

4 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried minced onion
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

 

 

Directions

Place sliced peppers and onion on the bottom of crockpot. Place chicken on top of veggies. Mix chicken broth and taco seasoning. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken and build your fajitas.

 

Freezer Directions 

Cook as recipe states, cool and freeze in meal sized portions.  I make a crockpot full of chicken when I do this recipe.  My family loves these.

To serve, thaw and reheat.  They can be reheated in the crockpot, too.

 

Recipe adapted from Pinterest

 

 



Roasted Red Pepper & Crab Soup

 

 

Ingredients

6 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into quarters

1 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth

1 large potato, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 quart half-and-half cream

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper to taste

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 lb cooked crabmeat, flaked

 

Directions

Set the oven to broil, and preheat for 5 minutes. Place the red bell pepper quarters skin-side up on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Broil until the skins have blackened, then place them in a brown paper bag, or in a covered bowl and allow them to steam for approximately 10 minutes to loosen the skins.

Once the skins have loosened, peel them off and discard. Coarsely chop the peeled, roasted peppers, and place into a large saucepan along with the chicken broth and chopped potato. Bring to a boil over high heat, then add the half-and-half, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and basil. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes. Once the potatoes have softened, puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into another saucepan and stir in the crab. Heat over medium heat to warm through, about 5 minutes.

 

Recipe courtesy: Lisa B of Ohio

Farmhouse Ham Chowder

I have made this soup two times. I actually thought I had already posted this recipe but when I went to look for it on here I could not find it. Now I am adding it. Whenever I make a ham I always have leftovers that I freeze for soups and beans. This soup was made from ham that I diced and saved from Christmas. It is a very quick dinner and the kids just love it too.

Ingredients
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1/2 c finely chopped celery
1/2 c chopped sweet red pepper
2 tbsp butter
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
4-1/4 c milk
2 c frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 c frozen corn, thawed
2 c cubed fully cooked ham
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
In a large saucepan, saute the onion, celery and red pepper in butter until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in flour and dressing mix until smooth; gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the potatoes, corn, ham and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

Italian Roasted Potatoes

These vegetables smelled so great as they were cooking in the oven. I knew just from the smell that they would be delicious. We were not disappointed! I served these with Cheese-topped Lemon Chicken Breasts.

Ingredients
2 medium yellow summer squash, sliced
1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1/4 c sun-dried tomato salad dressing
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp pepper

Directions
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Transfer to an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 15-20 minutes or until tender, stirring once. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy: Simple & Delicious

Kabobs

Last night I made one of our favorite things. It is a great dish for summer cookouts, but since we live in the south we grill all year long. This is another staple dinner when we go to mom & dad's. We have also made this with steak & lamb.

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed (keep them a nice size so they won't fall off the skewer)
Green bell peppers, chopped into chunks
Red bell Peppers, chopped into chunks
Yellow or orange belle peppers, chopped into chunks
Sweet onion, cut into chunks
Dale's Sauce

Optional - fresh mushrooms, squash, pineapple, tomatoes, etc.

Directions
Place vegetables in one large ziploc bag & pour Dale's sauce in the bag. Seal & refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. Periodically flip bag over. Then place chicken in another large ziploc bag & pour Dale's sauce in the bag. Seal & refrigerate for a minmum of 1 hour. Periodically flip bag over. Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes. Once everything has marinated place meat & vegetable on skewers. Alternate meat & vegetables on each skewer. Place on grill & cook until meat is done.

Kielbasa Pepper Bow Tie Skillet

Ingredients
1 16 oz box uncooked bow tie pasta
1 julienned green pepper
1 julienned sweet red pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
1-1/2 teaspoons butter
1 pound fully cooked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the peppers and onion in butter until tender. Add the sausage, salt and pepper; cook and stir until sausage is heated through. Drain pasta and add to skillet; toss to coat.