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Oodles of Zoodles!

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Ok, I’m going to try really hard to remember how I made this fun dish! I went into it with just my ingredients and a fun new kitchen gadget! And the result was tasty and totally repeatable! Husband and kids raved!

Zoodles with Turkey Sausage & Peppers (makes apx. 6 servings)

Ingredients:

I  pkg. sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

3-5 medium zucchinis (Cut into spirals or julienne strips with whatever nifty gadget you like)

1 T. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ red onion, quartered

2 bell peppers, cut into chunks

1 can diced tomatoes

1 T. dried basil (fresh would be awesome!)

1 t. oregano

¼ t. red pepper flakes (or to taste)

2 cups (or big hand-fuls) baby spinach

2 T. balsamic vinegar

Grated or shredded parmesan

Directions: Cook up the sausage in a big pan/skillet until browned. Remove from pan, reserve. Put 1 T. olive oil and minced garlic in the pan. After 2-3 minutes, add the onion and peppers and sauté for another 3-4 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Add in the can of tomatoes, basil , oregano, pepper flakes and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Mix in balsamic vinegar and spinach, and then add the sausage back into the mixture. At this point, you can warm up your zoodles in a pan with a little olive oil or broth, OR you can just use them as-is. (*I heated mine for a couple of minutes) Serve the Turkey mixture over a bed of “zoodles”, top with a little parmesan.

Delicious!

slicerOh…this is the food slicer that I am using and LOVING! Check it out!

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Sausage Tortellini Soup

 

This is probably one of my favorite soups of all time! I typically make mine with sweet Italian turkey sausage, but you could use pork, or spicy or whatever you like!

I’ve used whole wheat tortellini, frozen, and fresh. You just need to adjust cooking time according to the directions on the package. Since it’s added at the end, that’s easy to do.

You can leave out the wine, add more broth instead, or water. Sometimes a add a little more broth at the end to achieve the amount of brothiness that we like! 🙂 As you can see…this recipe can be modified to your taste.

Ingredients:

  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 pound Turkey Sausage
  • 1 small chopped onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 5-6 cup broth (vegetable, beef or chicken would work)
  • 1/2 cup red wine (or more broth)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup sliced carrots
  • 1/2 T. basil
  • 1/2 t. oregano
  • 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
  • 1 1/2 cup sliced zucchini or squash (or both)
  • 1 pkg. tortellini (mine is 9 oz.)
  • 2 T. chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 cups baby spinach

Directions

1.  In a large pot (dutch oven), heat oil, add sausage and brown.  Remove from pot, reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings.

2. Saute onion, garlic and carrots.  Stir in broth, water, wine, tomatoes, basil, oregano, tomato sauce and sausage.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat: simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. Stir in zucchini/squash and parsley.  Simmer covered for another 20-30 minutes.  *Add the tortellini the last 10 minutes.  Add spinach at the very end.   Sprinkle a little Parmesan on each serving.   Makes about 8 servings.

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