Smoked sausage pasta toss

Delicious and quick - my 2 favorite words!  I posted this on spark recipes, so figured I'd just copy & paste it here.  I was trying to clean out some stuff in the fridge, and this recipe was born.  You could easily add some fresh veggies, or more veggies. This is just what I did, and it came out soooo yummy, I wanted to share :)
Enjoy!

SMOKED SAUSAGE PASTA TOSS

Minutes to Prepare: 5

Minutes to Cook: 10

Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

7 oz Hillshire Farm Turkey Smoked Sausage - cubed
1.5 cup Kroger Recipe Beginnings Cajun Mirepoix Blend (Onion, Green Pepper, Celery) 
2 clove Garlic, sliced
3 cup Spaghetti 
.75 cup Del Monte Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes with juices
2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese, shredded 
1 1tsp Coconut Oil 

Tips

You could easily substitute chicken or any kind of meat. I used the smoked sausage as I was trying to clean out my fridge. You can also, of course, use fresh veggies, but again, I was trying to get fridge cleaned up :)

Directions

Saute veggie mix in olive oil.
Cook spaghetti separately
when veggies are cooked, add in sausage and warm thoroughly
When spaghetti is cooked, toss with juice from tomatoes
Add tomatoes, and meat/veggie mix.
Top with cheese.

Serving Size: makes 4 servings

wow

I have had this blog for a long time.  It's carried me through 3 states, 2 additional kids, and a LOT of yummy food.  I haven't updated it in a very long time for a few reasons.  One of those reasons was that the "man" that I'd spent the last couple of decades with had decided that blogging was a waste of time.  Because I'd dealt with his demoralizing tactics for years, my blogs (all of them!) fell to the way-side and I shut off this valuable tool in my arsenal of self-expression.  Well, guess what!

Now he's gone, out of the picture - shacking up and playing house with an older version of who he wanted me to be.  The kids & I have started over - literally from scratch - and I need to reclaim those things that I love(d) and allowed me to express myself.  I'm not going to spend vast amounts of time drumming up traffic to  my blogs.  I'm not going to worry about SEO and social media marketing.  I just want to reclaim these places that I loved and had spent so much time and energy building, to continue to make it a source for others - as well as me - to go for yumminess!  Follow along if you'd like :)

Homemade butter in 10 minutes!

Yes, you read that right.  10 minutes is all it takes to make homemade butter! This is not a sponsored post - it is just my own way of doing things, and it works great.

All you need is:

• a clean jar with a leak-proof lid
• heavy whipping cream

Seriously that's it.

All you do is pour the whipping cream into the jar - I did about 1/2 cup at a time.  Then you close the jar tightly and start shaking it.  I just alternated arms when I got tired, but within 9 minutes, the buttermilk separates from the milk fat (which is butter!).  Simpy pour the buttermilk out of the jar, and you can use that for whatever people use buttermilk for.  Then I put the butter into a covered bowl for the fridge.  If you leave it out on the counter for a few days (like I do), it'll sour.  So refrigerate! :)

Step 1.  Pour the milk into the jar.

Step 2. Shake - shake - shake!

3 Minutes later, we have whipped cream (without the sugar)

 After about 6 minutes, we start to see separation.

After 9 minutes, we have completely separated the buttermilk from the milkfat.

Just pour the buttermilk out (into a bowl or whatever) and then you have butter!

I used the butter immediately to make an egg for breakfast.  It tastes just like the unsalted butter I normally buy, but haven't in a while because the prices have gone up so much.  

Let me know if you try it!

Creamy basil & tomato salsa

Hi guys,

Remember me?  I used to record all of my most favorite recipes here, both as a way of saving them, and of sharing my love of FOOD!

Well, I still love food, but my blogging habit was effectively squashed for quite some time.  I am (still) a full time college student, have one kid going into his senior year of high school, and 2 more at home that I homeschool.  When I began this blog 9(!!!) years ago, I didn't even have one of those kids yet!  It is amazing to me how much time (and food) has passed through these pages, and I am hoping to try and post here more often.

In the intervening years since I've posted last, we moved to East Tennessee.  The NSSO (not so significant other) decided not to dig in a garden this year, so I have had to supplement my love of fresh tomatoes and basil with offerings from the markets.  Fortunately, most markets carry local produce in the summer, so those farm-fresh tomatoes are still available to me.  I have been nurturing a single basil plant on my window sill for months now, and somehow, it has survived!  Today, however, was the first real time that I raided it for it's tender and fragrant offerings, and raid it I did!

I initially found the idea for this salsa from here.  However, I then added to it to make it my own, and it really was delicious served on top of some grilled turkey burgers!  Such a fresh taste. Perfect for this hot, summer day.

Creamy Basil & Tomato salsa

2 cups chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar (infused with garlic)
salt, pepper to taste

You simply combine all the ingredients!  The mayonnaise can be increased, depending on your taste for it.  The same for the vinegar.  I tried it both ways and liked it with just a splash of vinegar.

I would love to hear how you liked this recipe!  Please leave me a comment to let me know :)

Thanks!

Dawn