Rose of Sharon Jewelry

Cloudy today so I’m sharing  a comfort food favorite with sausage (anything with sausage is our family favorite) for Mellow Monday.

This easy-to-make sausage casserole is a great filling dish – just add a veggie filled salad and crispy garlic bread and you’ll be smiling all evening.

Roasted Italian Sausages with Tomatoes and White Beans

• 2-1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausage links (pork or turkey), cut into 2- or 3-inch pieces
• 3 pints cherry tomatoes
• 1 medium-large onion, cut into 1-1/2 inch chunks
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1-1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dried theme leaves
• 2 whole bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 3 – 16 ounce cans white beans, such as cannellini, drained, with 1/2 cup of liquid from the beans reserved

 

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and, 5 minutes before you are ready to put the food in, turn the oven on to 425 degrees.

Mix everything but beans and their reserved liquid in a roasting pan. Set pan in oven. Roast until sausages are brown and tomatoes have reduced to a thick sauce, about 45 minutes.

Remove from oven, stir in beans and reserved liquid, and continue cooking until casserole has heated through, about 10 minutes longer. Remove bay leaves and transfer to a large serving bowl.

Serves 8 – 695 calories with pork sausage or 425 calories with turkey sausage

Not a “diet” meal but will “cure” the rainy, cloudy day blues.

I’d love to have you share a favorite recipe or leave comments on this Fullen Family comfort meal.

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Love bananas and nuts? Why not start your day with a smile and a tasty homemade banana nut muffin. I made my favorite recipe on Sunday (while hubby was watching the Lakers) and thought I’d share it with you. I’ve noted my substitution of dried buttermilk powder for  the fresh. If you only use buttermilk occasionally this is a great alternative.  I also added the nuts which were optional – except in my house.

Banana (Nut) Muffin

Makes 12 muffins Time: 45 minutes including baking and cooking time) 2 cup (10 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour 1 cup (7 oz.) sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups) 1/3 cup buttermilk

• I added the buttermilk powder which would make 1/3 cup wet directly to the flour and the water to rehydrate it with the wet ingredients. Read your buttermilk powder instructions before calculating quantities.

2 large eggs 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I used pure Mexican vanilla) 1-1/2 cups toasted and chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (plus buttermilk powder if fresh buttermilk is not being used) in a large bowl until combined. Mix the mashed bananas, buttermilk (if fresh is used or water to rehydrate powdered), eggs, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky (do not over mix). Gently fold in chopped nuts.
3. Use an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to drop the batter into the greased muffin tin. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack and cool for 10 more minutes. Serve warm. Yum!

  This light and airy recipe was tested and created by Cook’s Illustrated. You’ll find it in their book The Quick Recipe (2003). This valuable cookbook is a great used buy at Amazon for as little as $2.78 used. (see below) The Quick Recipe (The Best Recipe Series) (9780936184661): Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine: Books

Thankful Thursday posts feature the things in life that we are thankful for. They might be a once-in-a-lifetime event or daily occurrences. Food certain is the top of my gratitude list!

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I’m a stickler for holiday traditions (even those with Jell-O). My sis-in-law Olivia asked for the recipe so I thought I’d share it with all my readers.   And yes they do need the rum!

Joe Froggers are molasses cookies my Grandma made regularly in the winter. She stored them in coffee cans for us to dig into. A few years ago, I spent the afternoon with her (she was 100 then) making a batch of these spicy soft tummy warmers.

Enjoy! 

 

Joe Froggers

3-1/2 cup flour – sift together with the spices below

2 tsp salt

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp Allspice

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (use a bit when using pre-grated)

1 tsp baking soda

•  

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup dark rum (Myer’s Dark Rum or your favorite)

1 cup dark molasses

 

• Cream together the shortening and sugar.  Sift together the flour, spices and baking soda above. Alternately add the flour/spice mixture with the liquid ingredients (water, rum molasses). Mix until thoroughly blended.
• This is a heavy dough so you’ll get a work out. If you use a mixer, use the paddle attachment.
• Form dough into a ball or log (I prefer the log as it makes the next step easier), cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 12 hours.
• Roll the dough on a floured work surface into a rectangle (that’s why I use the log) about 1/4 inch thick.
• Cut into 4-inch circles (or your favorite size) and bake on parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Non-stick Silpat sheets work great too.
• Bake at 375 degrees until the tops just start to crack. Here’s where handed down recipes sometimes go astray – I never questioned Grandma’s instructions so grab a drink and watch them.
• The cookies will firm up when cooling and should be soft with a little chewy texture.

Joe Froggers are great shippers providing you put wax paper or plastic between them. They also store for long periods thanks to the rum!

I’ve got to share this recipe with my 12-year-old grandson, Hunter. He loves to cook and he needs to know how great these taste.

 

According to lore, the recipe dates to the late 1600 in Marblehead, MA where a African American tavern owner made these for his children and patrons. I think these cookies would actually go great with a beer but I personally prefer a glass of milk. Thanks Liv for asking for these!