Sausage Hashbrown Casserole

This recipe is inspired from http://www.thecountrycook.net/2011/10/sausage-hashbrown-breakfast-casserole.html?m=1. This is definitely one of my favorite pinterest finds! It turned out awesome! I mean really, with these ingredients, how could it be wrong? So good! Enjoy!

Sausage Hashbrown Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lb bag of frozen hashbrowns, thawed
2 lbs ground Sausage 
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cups diced red/yellow/green peppers
8-10 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray
-Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet until done, adding in peppers the last 5 minutes
-Meanwhile mix together your eggs and milk
-On the bottom of your baking dish, spread out the thawed hashbrowns (making sure they are as dry as possible)
-Add sausage on top 
-Then pour on the egg mixture
-Sprinkle the cheese on top
-Cover with foil and cook 30 minutes, then 10 additional minutes with the foil off.

Crock Pot Balsamic Roast Beef

Another great Pinterest find from
http://addapinch.com/cooking/balsamic-roast-beef-recipe/. I love
recipes that can be easily thrown together and into the crock pot in
just minutes.....this is one of those recipes! 

Crock Pot Balsamic Roast Beef

Ingredients

●1 3-4 pound boneless roast beef (chuck or round roast)
●1 cup beef broth
●½ cup balsamic vinegar
●1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
●1 tablespoon soy sauce
●1 tablespoon honey
●½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
●4 cloves garlic, chopped

Instructions

-Place roast beef into the insert of your slow cooker.
-In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together all remaining ingredients. Pour
over roast beef and set the timer for your slow cooker. (4 hours on High
or 6-8 hours on Low)
-Once roast beef has cooked, remove from slow cooker with tongs into a
serving dish. Break apart lightly with two forks and then ladle about ¼
- ½ cup of gravy over roast beef. (I just mixed some cold water and corn
starch and whisked it into the leftover juices).
-Store remaining gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for
another use.

Apple Sausage, Potatoes, and Sauerkraut

This is an excellent German-type recipe you can quickly throw together. I love sauerkraut and the Apple Chicken Sausage made this a wonderful, savory, winter dish to warm you up! 

Ingredients:

2 package Apple Chicken Sausage
4 large red potatoes
1 onion, sliced
2 cups of fermented sauerkraut
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-Cut sausage into slices and mix with about 1-2 tbsp olive oil.
-Place sausage on baking sheet, spaced apart.
-Bake around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
-Dice up your potatoes into bite size pieces and add to skillet.
-Add in your sliced onions and cook around 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
(I added in half of the sauerkraut with the onions and half at the very end, you can do this however you like!)
-When sausage is nice and browned, add to skillet, as well as the sauerkraut. Salt and pepper to taste.
-Cook together 5-10 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower

This is a great side dish that your kids or non-vegetable lovers can enjoy! Really easy to throw together and let bake while you mess around with your main course!

Ingredients:

1 whole cauliflower
1 packet ranch dressing mix
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Heat oven to 400 degrees.
-Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-Cut cauliflower into large pieces (they will shrink when cooked)
-Lightly mix together cauliflower pieces with 4 tbsp of ranch dressing mix, and 2 tbsp olive oil.
-Cook 15 minutes, then lightly stir, add another tablespoon of ranch, and cook another 15 minutes.
-Repeat last step until cauliflower has cooked for one hour.

Gluten Free Restaurant Review: zpizza

So the family was hungry for pizza last night after I got done with work and after my Monday, I really wasn't up to making the entire thing from scratch. I am never really one to go out to eat, especially when there's gluten in the environment...but I did it anyway. ZPizza in Rochester had some pretty good reviews on the "Find Me Gluten Free" app and I have really been wanting to try it. So I stopped after work to grab some pizzas "quick." 

When I first walked in, I was a little hesitant (well maybe a lot), so I started asking questions about how they prepare the gluten free pizza. They were quick and knowledgeable answering all of my questions. Everything is prepared in a separate area, the gluten free pizzas are baked in the same over but have a pan underneath then to separate from the others, and different utensils are used. You can also get the pizzas as a "Take and Bake." The total price for a large gluten free pizza was expensive in my opinion, $21.50 but they had some great flavors to choose from, even offering non-GMO crusts, organic tomato sauce, MSG-free pepperoni, additive-free sausage, vegan cheese, etc. etc. Which is great! They told me it would be 8-10 minutes for the pizza to be done. So I waited. 10 minutes later, they still had not even put it in the oven. I ended up waiting about 30 minutes for the pizza and by the time I got home (15 minute drive), it was no longer hot. I'm thinking the pizza needed to be baked a little longer and it would have been perfect.

The crust has great flavor but just needed that little while longer in the oven to get more of a crisp. I ordered half Tuscan Mushroom (thyme, truffle oil, feta cheese, caramelized onions, roasted garlic sauce, mozzarella, mushroom mix) and half Sante Fe (lime chicken instead of chicken sausage, chipotle pesto, mozzarella, cilantro, Serrano chilies, tomatoes, corn, red onions). Both were extremely good! The mushroom was especially delicious. Feta cheese worked quite well on this combination of the sweet caramel flavors from the onions and the truffle oil drizzled on top. Yummy! The Sante Fe packed a nice punch if you like a little heat. The reviews all said to try it with the lime chicken instead of the chicken sausage and I'm pretty sure they were right.  

Overall, besides the wait and price, this was truly great pizza. Like I said before, it is a gluten environment that it's made in but, from watching them carefully, they take every caution to prevent cross-contamination. I would definitely suggest giving them a try. My husband had the regular pizza and was raving about the sauce they used, so even the non gluten-free people can thoroughly enjoy this treat.

http://www.zpizza.com/

Chicken Burrito Bowl

Another one of those great pinterest recipes where you just throw everything in the crock pot and forget about it! Come home to dinner! I love that. I found this great recipe, similar to Chipotle's Burrito Bowl at http://www.number-2-pencil.com/2014/10/01/slow-cooker-chicken-burrito-bowl/. I just adjusted the recipe to fit my family and what I had on hand at home! 

Chicken Burrito Bowl

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
2 tablespoons of olive oil 
3 teaspoons of onion powder 
2 teaspoons of garlic powder 
3 teaspoons of chili powder 
2 teaspoons of cumin 
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 
3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth 
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained 
1 14 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed 
3-4 cups of instant whole grain brown rice 
2 cups of shredded colby jack cheese

Instructions

-Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. 
-Pour chicken broth over chicken breasts and stir in canned tomatoes, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. 
-Cook on low for about 4-6 hours, until chicken reaches 165 degrees. 
-Remove chicken breasts from slow cooker. 
-Turn slow cooker to high and stir in instant rice and black beans. 
-Let cook 30-45 minutes on high, or until rice is tender. 
-Add chicken back in, top with cheese and let cook a few minutes longer until cheese is melted. 
-Serve with fresh diced tomatoes, sour cream, green onions, avocados or guacamole. 

Gluten Free Spaghetti and Sausage Meatballs

My son complains every time I make spaghetti with no meatballs so last night I made sure to grant his wish! They can be a little time consuming rolling each meatball, but always well worth the extra effort! Italian Sausage packs some great flavors compared to ground beef, so if you typically use ground beef I suggest you try it! You could always substitute beef in this recipe though if you don't have sausage on hand.

Gluten Free Spaghetti with Italian Sausage Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 1/2- 2 lbs ground Italian Sausage
1 package gluten free spaghetti pasta
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
half of a small onion, diced small

Directions: 

-Preheat over to 350 degrees.
-Combine egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan, milk, and onion in a large bowl.
-Stir until combined, then add in Italian Sausage.
-Combine enough to make small-medium sized meatballs on a large baking sheet.
-Cook 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.
-Meanwhile cook pasta according to directions and heat up your favorite spaghetti sauce.

Enjoy!