Non-Cookbook Sausage Bake

It isn't much to look at, but it is salty, delicious and possibly my favorite recipe of all time. 

My mother makes this dish once a year, on Christmas morning.  She only makes it once a year because it provides an entire month's worth of sodium in just one convenient serving. 

This recipe was given to us by a college friend of my mom's who is like an aunt to me.  (Hi Kelly!)  It starts off amazing...with two pounds of sausage.  TWO POUNDS.  Because this casserole is not for the faint of heart (or the faint of arteries).   

Oh Jimmy Dean!  You are a wonderful, wonderful man!

While the sausage is browning, you layer in a bag of seasoned croutons in a 9 x 13 pan.  After the sausage is browned, dump that in too.  Next comes a bag-full of yummy cheese!  Any kind will do, but the recipe calls for cheddar!

Next, whisk up 4 eggs, some milk and some dry mustard.  Dump that in next.  The final touch is the sauce, half a cup of milk mixed with a can of cream of mushroom soup, drizzled on the top like salty confetti!  

Bake at 350F for an hour.  (Optional steps: Stare at the kitchen timer obsessively.  Salivate whenever you catch a whiff of that breakfast-y goodness.  Pace around the oven for an hour.)  Then, enjoy!

Despite my mother's attempt to preserve my cardiovascular system by making this once a year, now that I have my hands on the recipe, I decided to make it this week for a few reasons.

1.  It's just plain delicious.  It contains two pounds of sausage.  How could it not be good?

2.  I, like always, was feeling a little bit Christmas-y.  What can I say?  After Halloween is over, I just couldn't help myself!  It was either make Christmas-y food, or put up the tree.  I chose the more socially acceptable of the two.  (Only 50 days to go!)

3.  It was my third year anniversary at work, and my friend Andy and I decided to make a special dinner to celebrate.  As Andy's contribution to the work potlucks mainly consists of soda, it was determined that I would do the cooking, and he would be in charge of drinks and entertainment.  Since he brought the fixings for mimosas AND Disney's Little Mermaid, I'd say he knocked it out of the park.

All in all, a wonderful weekend!  Also, the Disney Blu-Ray came with a special sing-a-long that started whenever we paused the video.  This scene?  "You want to kiss de girl!"

Recipe #4: Vermicelli Noodles with Sausage & Spinach

Delicious vermicelli noodles with sausage and spinach in a garlic cream sauce!

One of my favorite places to eat is Hai Yen, a Vietnamese restaurant in Chicago.  While there, my beau and I like to go to the Vietnamese grocery store down the street.  This place has all kinds of great stuff, from tea to fancy ramen noodles to prawn-flavored chips to fish heads.  It is always fun to go and pick up some ingredients that might not be so easily found at the local Jewel-Osco.  While I did not pick up any fish heads, I did grab some vermicelli noodles.

It occurred to me, once I made it home that I have no idea how to use these vermicelli noodles.  I mean, I know how to cook them, but not much else.  So, rather than have them languish in the pantry indefinitely, I turned to my cookbooks.  I found a recipe in my big Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that used vermicelli noodles.  It was a vermicelli, spinach and sausage in a garlic-cream sauce.  Plus, the recipe called for a dutch oven and I got a similar piece of cookware from work last week.

I absolutely love this cookbook.  It has tons of good, general information and a lot of categories.  They  even have a "convenience cooking" section of meals that are quick and easy.  This recipe was one of them!  

The recipe called for pre-cooked, smoked sausage.  I didn't know exactly what the recipe was referring to, so I just bought some Italian sausage.  It occurs to me now that they might have intended me to use something like kielbasa. Instead, I just cooked the sausage and sliced it as directed.

Next, I chopped garlic and onion to put into the pot with the sausage.  I put in more garlic than directed because, well, who doesn't love garlic?

After sweating the onions and getting them nice and translucent, I added the chicken broth and water that the recipe called for.  There seemed like a lot of liquid, but I pressed on.  When it came time to add the noodles, I did so, but it seemed like there was too much broth and not enough noodle.  I tossed in the rest of the package.  However, in just a few minutes, the noodles had soaked up all of the liquid.  Then, I couldn't fit the spinach in.  So, I just piled it on, put the lid on the spinach and hoped that it wilted.  Fact, it did!

Pre-wilted piles of greenery!  Yes, Mom, my stove is still dirty!  (Sorry!)

So, i just added in the cream, stirred it all together and served!  It was delicious!  I served it with some delicious bread I bought from a French chef at the farmer's market.  It was a great meal, and took a surprisingly short time to prepare.  I will definitely make this one again!

Seriously, it was a wonderful meal!  That bread was terrific too!

4 recipes down!  48 to go!