recipes

Jan's Recipes

Italian Sausage and Pasta Soup from Sunset Magazine

Prep time: about 35 minutes
You can prepare soup through step 2 up to a day ahead, but do not bring mixture to a boil. Instead, cool, cover and chill. To reheat, lift off and discard fat, then bring to a boil.
Makes about 5 ½ quarts, 10-12 servings.

2 lbs hot or mild Italian sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Light sausage)
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 quarts fat-skimmed chicken broth
2 cans (14 oz each) diced tomatoes
2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini white beans rinsed and drained
1 T dried basil
2 cups dried large shell-shaped pasta
12 oz spinach leaves, rinsed (I stacked and sliced into strips about ½” wide)
salt and pepper
grated Parmesan cheese

Squeeze sausages from casings into an 8 to 10 quart pan over high heat and stir often, breaking them apart with a spoon, until browned and crumbly, 8-10 minutes. Spoon out and discard all but 1 T fat from pan.
Add carrots, onion, and garlic, stir often until onion is limp, 5 to 7 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes (including juice), beans, and basil and bring to a boil.
Add pasta, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender to bite, about 10 minutes. Skim and discard fat. Stir in spinach and cook just until it is wilted, about 30 seconds. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve from the pan or pour into a tureen. Offer parmesan cheese to add to taste.

Chesapeak Crab Cakes

2 slices toasted stone-ground whole wheat bread
1 lb fresh or frozen (and thawed) lump crabmeat with cartilage and shell picked out (I used the one pound cans from Costco and it’s great)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 T sour cream
1 T Dijon mustard (we like a heaping T)
¼ t hot sauce
¼ t ground black pepper
¼ to ½ t Emeril Lagasse’s Essence (the BAM! Powder)
2 T olive oil

Break the toast up and pulse a few times in a food processor to make crumbs.
Combine the crabmeat, eggs, sour cream, mustard, hot sauce, pepper and bread crumbs in a large bowl and mix well. Using 1/3 cup of the mixture, form 8 cakes.
Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in the oil and then add the crab cakes. Cook until firm and golden, about 4 minutes per side.

We love these with extra Dijon mustard on the side. These also reheat well.

Black Bean Chili in the Crockpot

This is the best chili recipe you’ll ever taste and it makes the best tostadas too! I always make a double recipe and freeze two person portions for later. I often double the meat to make it really meaty, but remember to double the spice rub if you double the meat.

1 lb beef round steak, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
3 T chili powder (or more if you like it spicy)
1 t cumin ¼ t salt
½ t oregano
½ t pepper’
2 T Hunts tomato paste
14 oz can Hunts whole tomatoes
½ t garlic powder
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lg jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)

Pat beef dry with paper towels and place in a slow cooker.
In a bowl, mix chili powder, cumin, salt, oregano, and black pepper. Sprinkle spice mixture over beef and toss to coat.
Stir tomato paste into the whole tomatoes. Pour into pot.
Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.

This is great with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese.

Cold Poached Asparagus

Get the freshest, crispest asparagus you can find. Wash and use a veggie peeler to scrape the bottom two inches of tough skin off the stocky end. Set on a paper towel while you get the water baths ready. Put enough water (1-2”) in a large frying pan to cover the sprigs and bring to a boil. Don’t put the asparagus in before the water boils! While you are waiting for the water to boil, rinse out a sink and fill halfway with cold water. Put about three cups of ice cubes in the cold water bath. Once the water is boiling in the pan, add the asparagus and spread out to an even layer. Set the timer for three minutes. Once the timer goes off, pierce the stocky part with a knife and if it goes in easily, immediately remove from the heat. With really fat stocks, you might need to leave it for a minute more, but never more than three or four minutes. When you take the pan from the heat, pour off the hot water and use tongs to transfer the asparagus to the ice bath. The ice water will stop the cooking process immediately. After the stocks get good and cold (5 minutes or so) you can take them out to a paper towel and put them on a plate to serve. I sometimes put them on a plate with a paper towel if I am doing them ahead of time and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When you serve them, sprinkle a little Real Salt and lemon juice over them. These are the best low calorie snacks I have ever tasted and they make any salad a special treat! Enjoy!

Grilled Salmon Steaks

Get a fresh salmon fillet with the skin off of both sides. Rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Rub both sides of the salmon with Spade L Ranch Fish and Seafood Seasoning. Rub generously and pat into flesh. Grill on a medium heated grill for about 10 minutes per side if fillet is 1-2” thick. If you cut the salmon into individual size portions, rub the seasoning over all sides and grill. This salmon gets a carmelized glaze with wonderful flavor and is a favorite of everyone here! If your local store doesn’t carry the Spade L Ranch line, look for them at www.spadelranch.com. I get mine at Albertson’s. Leftover salmon is very good cold too and in salads and pasta.

Jan’s Pasta Salad

Cook one (or two if you want to do a double batch) bags of tricolor pasta wheels or shells or twists. Rinse and set aside in large mixing bowl. Add one regular size bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (I think 8 ozs). One package of Hormel pepperoni cut in half and separated. One half pound each of smoked turkey and honey-glazed ham cut into small, bite sized pieces and separated. One medium can of sliced olives drained. One medium sized can of mushroom pieces and stems drained. Two bottles of artichoke hearts in oil, drained and cut into bite size pieces. Add ¼ cup of minced dried onion. Add about two T of dried basil. About 1 t black pepper. The final ingredient is Bernstein’s Cheese Fantastico Light dressing. About one half bottle for a single batch and one full bottle for a double batch. Toss together until mixed and coated and refrigerate. This salad travels and keeps well in a cooler for horseshows and you can eat it out of a large cup with just a fork. Perfect for a quick bite!

All In One Breakfast (12” or 14” Dutch Oven or Large Skillet)

1 pkg hash browns
2 lbs country sausage
8 beaten eggs
½ c milk or water
2 cups grated cheese

Crumble and brown sausage in Dutch oven. Remove sausage and drain. Set aside. Using sausage drippings, brown hash browns (use more oil if needed). Level hash browns on bottom of dutch oven, then add sausage on top of hash browns. Add ½ c milk or water to eggs and beat thoroughly and pour evenly over sausage and hash browns. Spinkle cheese on top. Cover and cook from top and bottom 15 to 20 minutes, until eggs are firm (12 coals top and bottom). Or cook for about 15 minutes on top of stove – medium to low heat. This recipe can be halved.

Chile Relleno Casserole

1 lb jack cheese grated
1 lb cheddar cheese grated
one 27 oz can green chilies, whole and seeded
1 c evaporated milk, very cold
2 eggs beaten
½ c flour
one 8 oz can tomato sauce
salt to taste

In a buttered 13” x 9 “ casserole, layer chilies and cheeses. Beat together very cold evaporated milk and eggs. Add and beat in flour and salt. Pour mixture over chilies and cheeses. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake 25 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven. Remove from oven and pour tomato sauce over. Return to over for 7 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Note from Sylvia: I cooked mine longer than 25 and 7 minutes, more like 35 and 15. Maybe altitude has something to do with it.

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