Sausage Stuffing

When I was a super sophmore in community college I asked my journalism professor to recommend some Cal State schools that had good journalism programs and were far away from home. He named Cal State Northridge, Cal State Long Beach, and San Francisco State; I immediately settled on SFSU because it was the furthest from home.

Once the holiday season rolled around, my parents wanted me to come home for Thanksgiving, but I did not want to make the long drive home, so I opted to visit a friend in Santa Cruz instead. Well, it's a good thing I didn't try driving home to my parent's house; my car wound up breaking down on a narrow windy road in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Thankfully, I had AAA at the time, so I called them for a tow, packed up my pumpkin pie, and was towed back to my friend's house in San Jose.

That was one the the best Thanksgivings ever. And my friend's mom made the best stuffing ever, filled with chunks of browned sausage.

Sausage Stuffing
Printable Recipe
Source: my friend's mom

Ingredients
1 pound raw sausage, casings removed (I use turkey sausge)
a bunch of bread
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 stick of butter
4 cups chicken broth
a palm-full of chopped fresh sage
1-2 tablespoons dried sage
a palm-full of chopped fresh oregano
1-2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons pepper
a sprinkling of garlic salt

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, tear apart the bread into chunks. I used about 2 to 2 1/2 loaves of French bread. Stale bread works best, and don't be afraid to mix it up. I used a few pieces of chili-fleck sourdough bread, a chunk of whole wheat bread, a large loaf of French bread, and a long skinny baguette.

Cook the sausage on the stovetop, using a wooden spoon to break it into chunks. Once it is browned and cooked all the way through, add it to the bread.

In the same pan used to brown the meat, sautee the onion, celery, and garlic with the butter. Cook until soft and fragrant. Add it to the bread and meat mixture.

Season with all the seasonings and herbs. Use your hands to throughly mix everything together.

Move the stuffing into a greased 9 x 13" casserole dish. Pour the brother over the top. Turn the stuffing over a few times to ensure that it is well mixed.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes.

Note: I make this the night before Thanksgiving, so all I have to do is pop it into the oven for a few minutes and re-heat on the big day.

Watch out Flame Broiler!

I heart me some Flame Broiler. Teriyaki chicken, brown rice, a scattering of scallions, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Add a few dabs of hot chili sauce, and I'm content. But, I know I can make the same thing at home for pennies on the dollar, so tonight I challenged myself to do just that. 2 chicken breasts, a 1/2 cup or so of teriyaki sauce, some seasonings, brown rice, and there you go! This is really fast, just make sure you start the brown rice a good 30 minutes before the chicken; it takes forever to cook!

Teriyaki Chicken Bowls Printable Recipe Source: Me

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup soyaki (or your fav teriyaki sauce)
pepper to taste
a dash of salt
a dash of cayenne
1-2 teaspoons no-salt seasoning (its a mixture of various seasonings)
2 cups uncooked brown rice
chili paste to taste
1-2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Directions
Cook the brown rice in your rice cooker, starting about 20-30 minutes before you cook the chicken.

Chop the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. Heat a large, non-stick pan over medium high heat and add the chicken once the pan is hot. Season with the salt, pepper, cayenne, and no-salt seasoning. Cook on medium-high heat. When you have about 2-3 minutes of cooking time left,pour the soyaki over the chicken and cook the rest of the way through, so that the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Serve the rice in a bowl, spoon the chicken on top, sprinkle with the seasame seeds. Dab a bit of chili paste on top if you like some heat! Drizzle an additional tablespoon of soyaki on the top and enjoy.
(note: I didn't have any scallions on hand, or I would have chopped a few up and added them on top of the chicken.)

Ground Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash

This is a quick (30 minutes...45 including prep) and healthy that's great for a weeknight dinner. I can be pretty picky about veggies, but I've found that I really enjoy winter squash, including acorn squash and this is a fun way to serve the veg.

PS. I don't know why my pictures are coming out so yellowy lately. Ugh!

Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash
Printable Recipe
Source: Me

Ingredients
1 acorn squash
1 pound ground turkey
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, minced
5 large baby bella mushrooms (or whatever you like/have on hand), diced
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 teaspoons pepper (we like a lot of pepper. adjust to suit your tastes)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
dash chili powder
dash cayenne pepper
a sprinkle of salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds and goopy flesh.

Fill a shallow pie pan with a few inches of water. Place the acorn squash in the water, flesh-side down. Bake for 30 minutes, or until fork tender.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Sautee the garlic, onions, and mushrooms until fragrant.

Season the raw turkey with the sage, pepper, salt, garlic salt, chili powder, and cayenne. Using your hands, or a large spoon, mix the seasonings into the raw meat.

Add the seasoned ground turkey to the pan and cook, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Drain the fat from the meat and return to the pan to keep warm.

Once the acorn squash is cooked, remove from the pan of water and lightly season with salt and pepper. Add a bit of butter if desired. Fill the cavity of the squash with the turkey mixture and serve.