Pasta with Sausage and Gruyere sauce

Since my children were drawn to the free samples at the grocery store, we purchased some roasted garlic and gruyere cheese chicken sausage. I really couldn't decide what to do with it. I was leaning towards grilling it but what sides should I serve. In the end, I decided to make a pasta dish. It is always obvious when my daughter likes something since she will even eat it the next day. This recipe is one of those meals.

Pasta with sausage and Gruyere sauce
1 lb. shell pasta
12 oz. sausage
1 garlic, minced
1 cup spinach
1/8 cup red bell pepper, chopped small
1 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
Topping parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Boil the pasta until al dente.
2. In a large skillet, brown the sausage.
3. With a slotted spoon, remove the sausage onto a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
4. Add the garlic, spinach, and red bell pepper. Saute for 1 minute.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the spinach mixture. Stir gently for 1 minute.
6. Whisk in the 2 cups of milk and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
7. Stir in the Gruyere cheese.
8. Once the cheese has melted, add the pasta and sausage. 
9. Mix to combine and allow to cook for one minute.
10. Top with parsley and serve.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago.............................I made BLT with aioli.

Did you already know.............
-General stores began with a clerk retrieving the desired products for customers.
-In the 1920s, the grocery store chains began to open.
-The first supermarket opened in the 1930s.

Double Chocolate Nutella Thumbprint Cookies

I love Nutella. I actually prefer Nutella over peanut butter. My husband thinks this is so wrong. These cookies have a nice filling in the middle so they are crunchy and soft. My youngest daughter kept bring them into school. I'm pretty sure they do not meet the healthy snack criteria but I saw her do it for a couple of days. I think she shared a couple with her teacher since it is the end of the year and she is trying for all the bonus points she can get. I guess the cookies may meet the healthy snack criteria if you share them with the teacher? I also brought some to my friend at work. They are a nice cookie to share or not share.

Double Chocolate Nutella Thumbprint Cookies
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips, divided
1 tsp milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup Nutella, divided
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips with the 1 tsp milk in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the sugar, 1/3 cup Nutella, butter, and the vanilla extract until incorporated.
4. Beat in the melted chocolate.
5. Add the eggs one at a time. 
6. Slowly, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. 
7. Stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
8. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
11. Shape the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. 
12. Place the cookie dough balls onto the cookie sheet, spaced 2 inches apart.
13. Gently make a thumb indent into the center of each ball to make a 1/2 inch depression.
14. Fill each depression with about 1/2 tsp of Nutella.
15. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until the sides are set and the center is slightly soft.
16. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Recipe adapted from Tollhouse Nestle Cookies Cookbook.

One year ago...............................I made Dulce de leche cheesecake.
Two years ago.............................I made Skillet Lasagna.

Did you already know.................
-Teachers typically spend about 50 hours a week on teaching related tasks.
-Gene Simmons of Kiss was a teacher for 6 months.
-President Lyndon Johnson was a teacher in Texas.

Southwest Breakfast Wrap

Since I was making breakfast sandwiches, my son wanted a breakfast wrap. Every time my husband would go buy his cup of coffee, my son would ask his Dad for a breakfast wrap. So, I figured I should try making them. It would be a lot cheaper and healthier. I had some leftover Southwest Eggs from the breakfast sandwiches so I just used them. I like them. They aren't a big sandwich but filling. My son is so happy. I placed extra in the freezer so he can heat them up before school. Good job, Mom, good job!

Southwest Breakfast Wrap
4 large flour tortilla
6 egg whites
2 whole eggs
1 Tbsp milk
1/4 cup spinach, sliced thin
1/8 cup red bell pepper, sliced small
4 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded
6 slices of bacon/Canadian bacon

Directions:

1. Using a large biscuit cutter or a large glass, cut out 4 circles from each flour tortilla. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
3. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites, eggs, and milk. 
5. Evenly pour a little of the egg white mixture into each muffin tin.
6. Add a little spinach and red bell peppers to each egg mixture.
7. Cook the eggs for 5 minutes.
8. Rotate the eggs and cook for another 5 minutes or until the egg is cooked through. 
9. Remove the eggs from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes.
10. Lay one of the flour circles on a plate. 
11. Sprinkle a little of the cheese over the tortilla.
12. On one side, place 1/2 slice of the Canadian bacon. 
13. Cut one of the baked eggs in half.
14. Place 1/2 of the baked eggs on top of the Canadian bacon. 
15. Return the breakfast wrap to the oven for one minute.
16. Remove from the oven and fold in half. The melted cheese should hold the wrap closed.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago............................I made Cherry Cheese Danish.
Two years ago..........................I made Mascarpone.

Did you already know..................
-Each day, Dunkin' Donuts serves over 3 million customers. 
-There are over 10,000 stores worldwide.
-Dunkin' Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands.

Breakfast Southwestern Egg Sandwich

I like a quick breakfast on weekdays. I love cereal but I want something I can grab and go. I have made breakfast sandwiches before but I just scrambled the eggs. For something quick, it is pretty messy plus if I'm dressed up then I really don't need it on me. I can only imagine what I would look like showing up to an important meeting corrected in egg. I would share but I'm not sure anyone (besides my husband) would take me up on it. When I saw baked eggs, I realized it was the way to go. I could freeze any extra and have them on other days. I like my eggs mostly egg whites so I made them this way. The kids never know the difference.

Breakfast Southwestern Egg Sandwiches
6 egg whites
2 whole eggs
1 Tbsp milk
1/4 cup spinach, sliced thin
1/8 cup red bell pepper, sliced small
12 slices of pepper jack cheese
12 English muffins (I used whole grain.)
12 slices of Canadian bacon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites, eggs, and milk. 
4. Evenly pour a little of the egg white mixture into each muffin tin.
5. Add a little spinach and red bell peppers to each egg mixture.
6. Cook the eggs for 5 minutes.
7. Rotate the eggs and cook for another 5 minutes or until the egg is cooked through.
8. While the eggs are cooking, lightly toast the English muffins.
9. Top the bottom section of the English muffin with a slice of Canadian bacon.
10. Toast the English muffin until the Canadian bacon is warm.
11. Remove the English muffin and add a slice of cheese on top of the Canadian bacon.
12. Carefully remove one of the baked egg sections from the muffin tin and top the English muffin.
13. Close the English muffin with the other section to form a sandwich.

Recipe adapted from Jeff Mauro.

One year ago...........................I made Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes.
Two years ago.........................I made Savory Lobster Cheesecake.

Did you already know.............
-In 1971, Herb Peterson invented the Egg McMuffin.
-Herb Peterson modified the Jack-in-the-Box's Eggs Benedict Sandwich.
-Breakfast makes up about 15% of McDonald's sales.

Hardtack

My daughter's school does a reenactment of the Civil War. My oldest daughter fought for the North. Since my younger daughter wanted to fight for the same side as her sister, she was undecided. She wanted to talk to her sister first. She took to long deciding what side to pick so by default she became a Southern. Most of my daughter's friends had picked the North. (We do live in Maine.) Since my husband and I were both born in New England, I reminded her that her Grandfather is a Southern and one of her Aunts were born in the South so she should fight for them. We did get a photo of her with President Lincoln so I think her fellow Southerns believed she was a spy anyways. Also, she was seen often speaking with a lot of the Northern soldiers. Part of the experience is all the soldiers had to eat what the soldiers were served back during the Civil War. If for some reason you need a recipe for hardtack, this is the place to find it. I will admit I felt bad for all the soldiers if they had to live off of hardtack. Hardtack is hard and salty. Now, these crackers were fresh so I could only imagine how hard they were when the soldiers did receive them.

Hardtack
4 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening
2 tsp salt
1 to 1 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a food processor, combine the flour, shortening, and salt.
3. Slowly, pour in the water while pulsing.
4. Continue adding the water to form a stiff but not sticky batter.
5. Knead several times.
6. Roll the dough onto an ungreased baking sheet to 1/2 inch thickness.
7. Bake the dough for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven.
9. Cut the dough into 3 inch sections. 
10. Using a fork, punch several rows of holes into the dough.
11. Flip the dough over so the punched side is down on the baking sheet.
12. Bake the dough for another 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
13. Turn off the oven and allow the oven to cool.

Recipe adapted from American Civil War Recipes.

One year ago........................I made Creamy Chicken Enchiladas.
Two years ago......................I made Feta Topped Chicken.

Did you already know...........
-The hardtack was issued to Union soldiers as part of their rations.
-Due to lack of proper storage, the hardtack often arrived infested with bugs called weevils. 
-To make it easier to eat, many soldiers would dunk it into a liquid to soften it or cook it into a mesh with grease.