Chicken Sausage Pasta

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A few weekends ago when I was waiting to see Geoff from Ace of Cakes, I looked over into the meat case that was nearby. I saw a variety of chicken sausages. It was in the back of mind during the whole show, so I decided to give in and buy chicken sausage with spinach and feta and chicken sausage with apple and maple. Yesterday, I decided to make the spinach and feta sausage. I've never worked with this before, so after doing some research, I decided to slice and fry. Slicing didn't work out too well, so I ended up removing the casings from the links.

I was a little concerned bc I've never cooked sausage like this before, so I cooked it as I would ground beef. Worked out well and there wasn't as much grease to drain. Probably why everyone says chicken sausage is healthier. Fortunately for me, the sausage was already seasoned and ready to go. Very good to eat with a little bit of a kick.

I decided to make a pasta dish with it, based on one I found online. I omitted the spices bc my sausage was already seasoned but did add salt, pepper, and mushrooms. Originally I was going to save time by using canned tomatoes, but we didn't have any so I went with fresh.

Chicken Sausage Pasta



4 chicken sausage links, removed from casing
8 oz. pasta, your choice
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 - 2 cups half and half or heavy cream

1. Fry sausage until no longer pink. If it's not already seasoned, you may need to add spices, such as onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, etc. Drain grease.

2. Boil water and cook noodles as directed on package.

3. In another skillet, fry onion, garlic. and mushrooms in skillet. Do not let the garlic brown. Turn off the heat and stir in tomatoes. Add sausage, cheese, basil, 1 1/2 cups cream, and noodles. Cook until bubbling then turn down heat. Add more cream if necessary.

Source: Recipe Zaar

And The Winner Is...

The winner of the Kraft Basket giveaway is Carolyn G! She wrote:

I follow on twitter, facebook and you tube. I love their site. I liked the Facebook site because I could find recipes. I loved the you tube site because it also had recipes. I think it;s important to keep readers abreast of their new prodcuts and what you can do with them.

Thanks to everyone for entering! 179 comments, the most I've ever had at CM. Hopefully someday my recipes will generate that many comments. First I need to blog more :X I will forward all of your messages to Kraft so they can keep in mind your thoughts.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Hope everyone is having a nice Thanksgiving. Mine could've been better - my dad is sick, my mom is incompetent in the kitchen, and the chicken is taking longer than expected. Oh and I have to be at work 4:30 tomorrow morning for you early birds, so you all better be nice and drop the attitude. It's not our fault if we are sold out of your stupid zhu zhu pets. And please don't trash the store either because the closing crew usually stays an hour after closing just to clean up after you. Trust me, they don't pay us THAT much.

Moving on, I made this cheesecake last week since my dad insisted on making pies for Thanksgiving dinner. In case you haven't heard, Libby's is having a pumpkin shortage. Once all the cans are gone on the shelves, that's it. No more pumpkin until next year. Good thing we have three large cans in the cupboard. Plan ahead when making this cheesecake because like most cheesecakes, this needs a long chilling time.

I cut this recipe in half because I have three small heart pans. Regular springform pan is on my wish list. That is partly why the piece in my picture is so small. That and it was almost gone.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake



Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (either in food processor or crushed by rolling pin)
4 Tbsp powdered sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla or maple extract
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. For crust: Mix together crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press evenly over bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Chill until needed.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs and extract. Add pumpkin and spices, and continue mixing until combined. Any lumps in the batter will not disappear during baking. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour filling into chilled crust.

3. Bake 30-40 minutes. No covering or water bath needed. The center should feel somewhat firm to the touch. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature. Then cover and place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Makes one 9-inch cheesecake

Source: Bake Space

Recipe For Joy Competition

Kraft Foods has picked 12 blogs to compete in the Recipe For Joy competition to raise money for local food banks. I am one of those lucky ones to help make a difference in the world. All you have to do is send an e-card. For every free e-card sent, Kraft Foods will donate 10 meals to Feeding America. This is the perfect opportunity for those who want to help but cannot afford to (me me me!).


Send an e-card right now!


This is a competition because the blogger with the most e-card credits (as in how many people use the link above to send a e-card) over the promotional period (November 23 – December 31 or once the one million meal goal has been met) will have $1000 donated to his or her local food bank. This is wonderful because I know a lot of food banks are hurting for the holidays.

So start sending those e-cards and feed some families!