Pizza Calzones

I pretty regularly read the blog SimplyScratch, and recently came across a recipe there for Pizza Calzones. It looked like such an easy and tasty recipe that I decided to make it for friends this past weekend. I knew I wasn't going to have time to make the dough on my own, so I picked some up from the deli area of the fancy double-decker Harris Teeter nearby.

I sauteed up some mild sausage (next time I might try the spicy, but with guests I try not to add too much spice, just in case)

and sauteed a red onion

and then set those ingredients aside while I doctored up some tomato sauce. (I just used regular tomato sauce but added in some spices to make it a little bit more special.)

Then comes the fun part -- assembling the calzone. A layer of tomato sauce, sausage, onions, pepperoni, and lots of shredded cheese.

Twist the edges together and brush with an egg before popping them in the oven for about twenty minutes.

Pull them out when they're golden brown and serve!

These were really good and I would definitely make them again.

Next time I'll add more filling, because these felt like they had a lot of crust, but overall they were really tasty and an easy meal!

Sausage Feta Quiche

I was watching reruns on the Food Network the other day and got all mouth watery over this Double Double Bacon Cheese Quiche. Really I was just excited about quiche in general, so tonight for dinner I threw together a Sausage Feta Quiche. And I do mean threw together. It was super easy.

I had some frozen sausage patties that I picked up at Costco last week, so I cooked those on the stove top.

At the same time, I sauteed chopped white onion in olive oil.

These were mixed together, along with Feta (thanks Costco, for that, as well) and spooned into a cooked pie pastry.

Then I poured in a couple of beaten eggs mixed with milk, pepper, and some garlic.

I baked this at 350 for about 40 minutes, let cool briefly, and then served it with a nice light salad of mixed greens.

This was lovely. The sausage is spicy, so it gave a nice kick to the quiche that was mellowed out some by the feta. Also, it reminded me how easy it is to make quiche with pretty much whatever you have in your pantry. Quiches may become a go-to meal for us in coming months.

English Sausage Rolls

I'm slightly in love with Gordon Ramsey, and his show MasterChef just started up again. The show starts with eliminations, and one of the people who made it through the first round prepared a sausage roll, which I had never heard of before. It's apparently a lot more popular in England, and is pretty much just street food. We've had some sausage in our freezer for months now, so I was excited to try these.

I followed the recipe for Mark's English Sausage Rolls, which seems like a super basic start to my endeavor with this new food.

When Matt and I honeymooned in Maine, we fell in love with Raye's Mustard, to the extent that now, four years later, we still get the mustard shipped to our house about once a year. We only have one jar left right now -- their hot and spicy variety.

The mustard gets spread over the puff pastry:

 And then the sausage is wrapped in before being wiped down with a beaten egg.

My sausage was already cooked. In the future I'd like to use uncooked sausage to be able to mix in some other delicious ingredients, like in this recipe.

Since this is kind of finger food, I cut the wrapped sausage into small pieces before popping them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Pull them out when they're golden brown.

And then gobble them right up.

These are super delicious! They're basically pigs in a blanket for grown-ups and would be pretty awesome as hors d'oeuvre at a party. I'm excited to make them again and try combining some delicious ingredients in with the sausage before baking.

Egyptian Lentil Soup (p. 140) and Red Peppers with Garlic, Sausage, and Olives (p. 330)

Once again, I'm feeling overwhelmed by the number of soups I have left to make. I keep telling myself that once winter comes I'll  want to make and eat all the soups, but I know that's not really true. I'm going to try to start making at least one soup a week so that I can work through them.

Last night's choice was Egyptian Lentil Soup, which can be made either as a vegetarian soup or not. It's also all made in the same pot, which I love.

In your stock or soup pot, sauté onion and ground lamb (though just a small amount) until the onion is softened and the meat is very brown.

Stir in cumin and fennel and a dried red chili to add a little spice, and then mix in brown lentils, which make up the bulk of the soup.

Let the soup cook for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper and serve.

Um, so, this broth is basically just water, and not interesting at all. The actual content of the soup, however, is really good. When we packed up the leftovers, I strained the water out and just packed the lentil/meat combination for lunches, which I think will be lovely. Still, I wouldn't make this soup again.

Luckily, I made a slightly more substantial dish to go with this -- a mixture of sweet red peppers, garlic, olives, and spicy Italian sausage.

This was my first time opening sausage skins and removing the meat, which is a kind of gross process. Once the sausage is removed, the recipe calls for it to be crumbled and combined with olive oil to be sauteed. Have you ever crumbled a wet meat? It's not really possible. I smooshed it up as best I could, but really I just continued to break it up as it heated.

Once the sausage was thoroughly browned, I set the meat aside and discarded the fat.

Meanwhile, roast red peppers over the stove. Between the sausage, the soup, and the red peppers, I had a very full stove top!

When the peppers are thoroughly roasted, let them cool for a few minutes and then peel the peppers and slice them into thick strips.

Using the same skillet the meat was cooked in, add more olive oil and stir in thin onion slices and garlic. Once the onion is throughly cooked, stir in dry sherry and let it cook for a few minutes until it begins to bubble. Then add the pepper strips, black olives, and slivered orange zest.

Cook briefly and stir in the sausage meat.

Serve and eat! This was lovely, and we both really enjoyed it. 

The sweet red peppers with the spicy sausage were a great blend, and the olives added a salty punch. This will also be great cold for leftovers.

onion -- $.98 (half is left)

lemon -- $.79 (half is left)

lamb -- $1.96

lentils -- $1.79 (tons left)

Total Cost of Egyptian Lentil Soup : $5.52 (with leftovers for several days)

orange -- $1.58 (only the zest was used)

red peppers -- $6.09

sausage -- $2.79

olives -- $4.10 (plenty left for eating)

onion -- $.97 (half is left)

Total Cost of Red Peppers with Garlic, Sausage, and Olives : $15.53 (with leftovers for several days)