Sausage and Pepper Sandwich.

The power of sunshine. 

The photos in this post came out so great because it was sunny out. This is one of the million reasons that I love spring and fall. I have been pretty sick this past week and actually ended up staying home on monday. I was able to get a bunch of rest to help me get through the remaining work days. I also got a few things done around the house. I swear, I am the most productive sick person ever. Not only was I able to clean the whole house but I did a bunch of meal prep,  including preparing this meal early enough to catch the sunlight. 

When I was younger, growing up in Nyc, there were always a lot of street fairs. They were so much fun, had great food, and always had fun games to play. This is where I found my love for Sausage and Pepper sandwiches and zepoles (fried dough with powdered sugar). These sandwiches are super simple and even delicious without the bread. They also make GREAT leftovers!

Hope you have a great easter weekend :)

Sausage and pepper Sandwich

What you need:
- 1 lb hot Italian sausage, sliced
- 1 sweet onion, sliced
- 2 green peppers, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- bread slices, toasted

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage, about 5-6 minutes turning occasionally. Add garlic, onions, and peppers. Cook, mixing occasionally, until golden brown and soft, about 3 minutes. Combine with remaining spices and serve over toasted bread. 

Semi-Homemade Chicken Quesadillas.

Cooked and ready to go. 

Some may call rotisserie chickens a copout but I just call it smart. You purchase an entire chicken, already cooked to perfection, and ready to eat for around $5. Thats cheaper than you can get an entire uncooked chicken. I like to purchase them every once in a while and divide up the meat between a few meals. Mexican dishes are a great way to utilize pre-made chickens. These quesadillas were simple, quick, and filling. 

How are your NCAA brackets doing? Mine is going down the drain fast. I have Duke winning it all but Wisconsin losing did not help me at all. 

After months of avoiding the flu, colds, or any form of monthly sickness I have finally caught a bug of some sort. I am having trouble breathing through my nose, signs of a sore throat, and all over fatigue. It sucks but hopefully I can rest up and get healthy by next weekend. I am going back to La Crosse for our traditional Easter celebration and I would hate to still be sick.

Semi- Homemade Chicken Quesadillas

What you need:
- 1/2 rotisserie chicken, taken apart and shredded
- 8 large tortillas
- 8 oz shredded Colby Jack cheese
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- Taco sauce
(Makes 4 quesadillas)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all ingredients in tortillas and bake for 4 minutes on each side. Serve warm with salsa. 

Easy Sausage Chili.

Yum.

Holy moly its been a while since I've blogged. Sorry I've been gone so much lately, the free time I usually spend blogging has been spent on studying. Most study days also consist of easy meals that are a quick cleanup and not so blog worthy. This recipe on the other hand, definitely blog worthy. My coworker eats chili everyday for lunch (I wish I was exaggerating). He thinks its the only thing he can make and eat for an entire week. I know thats not true but the good thing is that it made me want chili. One of the biggest reasons I don't like to make chili is because it has a million ingredients and takes a long to make. Both of these are not included in my fast and easy meal criteria. This recipe is not the case. It's delicious, easy to make, and has a lot fewer ingredients than most chili recipes. Just thinking about it makes me want more! The spice from the sausage mixed with fresh garlic is such a delicious 

Updates on the home front. What I've been up to lately? Weirdly enough I am starting to enjoy running. I still can't run much more then a few miles but I can see the difference I am making every time I go for a run. I am beginning to run faster and each time I can run further. It's really cool to see the progress from week to week. 

I promise, promise, promise to post a few times more a week. I am really going to try to sit down this weekend and crank out a few good posts for next week. Until then, hope your staying warm on these chilly spring nights :)

Easy Sausage Chili

What you need: 
- 1 lb ground hot italian sausage
- 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cups water
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 16oz can kidney beans- drained
- 1 can Rotel green chili's
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Heat olive oil and garlic in a large pot over medium heat. Place sausage and onions in pot and cook until sausage is evenly brown. Pour water, tomatoes, beans, and green chili's into the pot. Season the rest of the spices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn heat off and let cool for 5 or more minutes to thicken. 

Prosciutto Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken.

Wow. 

I thought this recipe was good when we had it for dinner but it nothing compared to lunch the next day. It's funny how some recipes can be ruined as leftovers and some flourish and are almost better. This is an example of the later. For some reason when I ate this for lunch at work I was absolutely obsessed. Just thinking about it now my tummy is growling. Maybe that's because I haven't had breakfast yet? 

Ok, so funny story. When you make recipes like this one you actually use a mallet and pound the chicken breasts into cutlets. I don't have a mallet so I had to use my resources... a very sturdy potato masher. It did the trick well. Make sure to cover the chicken in plastic wrap so it doesn't make the ugly lines that you see below. If you don't own something sturdy such as a potato masher use the side of can or any heavy object in your kitchen. 

Proscuitto Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken

What you need:
- 4 chicken breasts, tenders removed
- 4 oz goat cheese, softened
- 4 pieces proscuitto
- Salt and Pepper, for taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound chicken breasts with mallet or other kitchen tool into cutlets. Place proscuitto slices and goat cheese on top of breast. Roll chicken with the smallest side first. Use toothpicks to hold in place if it doesn't stay. Place in a large skillet over medium heat and brown on each side. Then place in a glass pan or casserole dish and bake for 12-15 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

Stir Fry Night.

Good friends and good times. 

This post actually comes a little late. Last Saturday night Caitlin and Neil hosted a stir fry night at there house and we all brought something to help. Damian and I brought chicken breasts and they had the whole meal all planned out. They even tested the theory a few days prior to make sure they would have enough food, how prepared is that?! It was absolutely delicious and reminded me of Khan's Mongolian BBQ or Kona Grill (restaurants where you choose your food and they cook it). We started with bowls and filled them with all of the ingredients we desired. Then we went to the stove area and they cooked it with our choice of sauces/flavors. Everything came out amazing and they even made a batch of homemade fortune cookies. It was such a huge success. 

Chef's Caitlin and Neil preparing the ingredients.

So many delicious options!

Garlic... yummm!

Neil was a bit caught off guard while doing some dishes.

They also made a fruity champagne punch with fresh oranges. 

Are these not amazing? They personalized the fortunes with funny inside jokes. 

It was also Courtney's birthday so we had a little cake celebration at the end. 

It was a great night with friends :)

Blueberry Banana Smoothie.

In a bowl or a glass.

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a few weeks but just haven't had the chance. Smoothie's are popular in my house but surprisingly not made that often. I don't actually own a blender, I use my food processor. It does the trick but not as motivating to use. None the less, it is berry delicious! <<< Do you see what I did there? Very puny. I ate this one from a bowl, but any glass would do just as well.

Last night we went to the movie Oz The Great and The Powerful. It was wonderful! Its stars James Franco, Michelle Williams, and Mila Kunis. If you haven't heard of it, it's the prequel to The Wizard of Oz. It's colorful, adorable, and imaginitve. The movie is funny, suspenseful, and everything The Wizard of Oz should be. 

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

What you need:
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 cup Chobani Blueberry greek yogurt 
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 cup protein powder of choice (we use Muscle Milk)
- 2 Tablespoons milk

Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend for 3-5 minutes. Serve with sweetened shredded coconut. 

The coconut gave the smoothie a great consistency!

Sausage and Pepper Pasta.

Everything but.

Happy Monday! Last weekend was so much fun and I have a bunch of pictures to share. But for now I am just stopping by to share this awesome recipe. I didn't have much in mind when starting to make it but it seemed to come together pretty quickly. This is definitely one of those everything but your kitchen sink meals. We don't have a lot going on this week so hopefully I will pump out a few blog posts. Thanks for reading, as usual :)

Sausage and Pepper Pasta

What you need:
- 1 lb pasta, cooked al dente
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 4 sausages, sliced into 1/5 rounds
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 4 oz colby jack shredded cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large skillet cook sausage slices for 6-8 minutes on medium high heat. When browned, add garlic and onions, cook for 2 minutes. Add peppers and olive oil and cook for an additional minute. Turn heat off and add cooked pasta. Mix in cheese and serve warm.