Archive | February, 2017

Whether you like your chicken sausage hot and spicy or stuffed with herbs, links of your favorite Isernio’s sausages are easily transformed into delicious pasta dishes you can whip up any night of the week.

There are a few easy tricks to remember when you’re cooking sausage for pasta. First, choose how to cook your sausage: try cooking links with a little water in a pan and brown until finished before slicing. Or, remove meat from casings and drop pieces of sausage into the skillet as you cook your vegetables.

When it comes to picking noodles, any shape will do, or even toss in zucchini noodles — aka “zoodles” — for a healthier version of any of these dishes. Buon appetito!

Chicken Sausage with Bowties

This family favorite is super versatile, and can be made with any type of sausage, though Isernio’s Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage combines perfectly with red wine, crushed tomatoes, fresh basil, and farfalle for a zesty meal.

Chicken Sausage and Mushroom Penne

The hardest part of this easy pasta recipe is picking which type of chicken sausage you’ll put in. After that, it’s just some sauteeing of mushrooms, baby spinach, a creamy sauce, onions, and garlic.

Creamy Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Broccoli

Corkscrew pasta, broccoli florets, and flavorful chicken sausage combine for the easiest weeknight dinner, with lots of pleasing textures.

Pesto Zucchini Noodles

Zucchini and yellow squash + a spiralizer = magic, healthful zoodles that can be cooked in boiling water, sauteed in a hot pan, or just tossed with hot ingredients if you want super snappy texture.

Chicken Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Pasta “Fake Bake” Recipe from Rachel Ray

When you want lasagna but don’t want all the work, this broiler-finished recipe with ricotta, peppers, rigatoni, and sausage is the perfect pick.

By Corie Cameron

Guest blogger Corie Cameron cooks beautiful food at home. She’s letting us in her kitchen for great posts using Isernio’s products. Check out more from her on her site, Good Life Everyday.

Hi guys! Meatloaf cupcakes are something I’ve been dreaming of making for a while. I thought they would be fun and whimsical and a great idea for kids. I also wanted to boost the flavor of these little cakes by adding plenty of sausage. This particular meatloaf mixture is 50% lean ground beef and 50% Hot Italian Sausage, giving tons of flavors.

The Isernio’s Sausage has been a lifesaver and game-changer for Whole30. Almost all of their sausages are “clean” — meaning, they don’t have any sugar, dairy, additives, or awful hormones in them. They’re delicious and perfectly juicy too. They are my go-to for cooking almost anything lately, and they’re locally made so I like supporting them! (Check out where to buy Isernio’s)

These cupcakes are paleo and completely Whole30 compliant. They’re fast, easy, and delicious! Test em out and enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the Whipped Sweet Potato Frosting:

• 4 Sweet Potatoes
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil
• 1 tsp salt

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound Isernio’s Hot Italian Sausage, taken out of the casings
• 2 ribs of celery, small diced
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 scallions or chives, sliced thin for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the sweet potatoes on a lined baking sheet (they ooze a syrupy-like substance that’s hard to clean when they roast) and pierce them all over with a fork. Place them in the oven to bake for one hour, or until you can easily poke them with a fork. When the potatoes come out, leave the oven on for the “cupcakes.”

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry until softened and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Take them off the heat and set aside.

Add the beef, Isernio’s sausage, celery, almond flour, egg, and spices to a big bowl.

Add the cooked onions and garlic last, so they don’t bun your hands or cook the egg. Mix everything up using your hands.

To check the seasoning, cook up a little bit of the mixture. Adjust as needed with the remaining mixture.

Portion out the meat mixture in a 12-cup muffin tin. You don’t need liners for the cupcakes or oil for the pan, because the fat in the meat will cook out and do that for you. (If you want to serve these for a party, cupcake liners might be fun!)

Bake the cupcakes for 30 minutes.

When the sweet potatoes are cooked and have cooled enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl.

Add the coconut milk and ghee. Mix thoroughly and taste for seasoning. Using the whisk attachment, whip the potatoes until thoroughly mixed and fluffy.

Portion some of the potato puree into a small ziplock or pastry bag. Cut off the tip and pipe the potatoes onto the meat cupcakes.

Garnish each cupcake with scallions or chives and place on a serving tray. I found each adult can eat two or three of these, and children were satisfied with one.

Enjoy! If you make these make sure to tag #goodlifeeveryday and #Iserniossausage! Happy Cooking!