Spinach Sausage Bread

I saw this recipe on an episode of Rachael Ray and changed it a little bit. It's super easy (a trend in all my recipes...) and it was an awesome leftover too.

1 loaf of Italian bread
Spinach (about 3 or 4 bags)
1 package of breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean)
Shredded Provolone
Garlic

Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the top off of the bread and scoop out the middle soft part of the bread. Make sure the save the top piece of the crust. Cook the sausage and set aside once it's done. Cook the spinach, adding as much or as little garlic as you'd like. Once both the sausage and spinach are cooked, mix them together and fill the emptied loaf of bread with the mixture. Sprinkle a generous amount of the cheese over the top. Replace the top of the bread, wrap the entire loaf in foil, and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

The actual recipe called for broccoli rabe instead of spinach, but like most of RR's recipes, she said any green could be used. She said you could also experiment with the kind of meat used. She also loaded cheese on top. She sprinkled parmesan, shredded provolone, and huge slices of mozzarella. I thought the provolone was plenty though.

My roommate and I made this last week, but she is a vegetarian. So instead of getting a large loaf of bread, we each got a couple big sausage rolls and made individual servings. She used Boca breakfast patties and cut them up instead of the sausage. We each made 2 rolls and ended up eating only 1 each, so I reheated the second one in the over the next day for lunch. It was just as good the next day! We also used the bread we scooped out and dipped it in hummus.

(This is the actual recipe: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/rabe-stuffed-stromboli-bread/)

Mrs. Riley's Cake

This is the Best. Cake. EVER. My friend's mom, Mrs. Riley, used to make whenever I'd go over to her house.

• 1 box devils food cake mix
• 1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1 package chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350 and grease a pan (any size and style...Mrs. Riley always used a bundt pan, of course.)
2. mix all of the ingredients. The batter will be very thick.
3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake it for 30-40 minutes (for a bundt cake...cupcakes will, obviously, bake faster.) Check with a toothpick to make sure it's done.
4. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes, then flip it out of the pan and onto a wire cooling rack.
5. Dust with powdered sugar or cover with frosting (cream cheese or chocolate work well).
6. Bring it to my house so I can eat it.

Call for recipes

So far so good, huh? There are several recipes that I think we need added here:

Ginny - Lasagna? Yorkshire pudding?
Ceil - Mrs. Riley's cake?
Mom - you've got a lot of work to do. Gumbo? Christmas cookies? Pickled pot roast?

I'll start categorizing these soon too, but feel free to add your own labels as you choose.

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions

This is yet another Epicurious recipe that I lurve. The meat is tender and the spices are perfect and the onion/apple mixture is just like a chunky savory applesauce. Plus it's easy and healthy. Love!

Ingredients
1 large pork tenderloin (about 14 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fennel seeds (or ground fennel for a milder taste)
1 large onion, sliced
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup dry white wine or apple cider

Preheat oven to 450°F. Season pork with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and sear until all sides are brown, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer pork to plate. Cool slightly. Spread mustard over top and sides of pork; press fennel seeds into mustard. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add onion slices and apples; sauté over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. (*I caramelized the onions by cooking them for a few minutes first before I added apples) Spread evenly in skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pork atop apple-onion mixture.

Transfer skillet to oven and roast until apple-onion mixture is soft and brown and meat thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 150°F, about 15 minutes. Transfer pork to platter and tent with foil. Let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour white wine over apple-onion mixture in skillet. Stir mixture over high heat until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Cut pork on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Spoon apple-onion mixture onto plates. Top with pork and serve.

BBQ Chicken

This is the easiest recipe ever, but it's so super yummy!

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (between 2-4...frozen, fresh, any way you have them)
• BBQ sauce (any kind. I like honey bbq, but anything works)
• Sandwhich rolls

Procedure:

1. Take the chicken breasts and put them into a crockpot.
2. Open the bottle of bbq sauce and empty it it over the chicken.
3. Put the top on the crockpot, turn it on low, and leave it for 8 hours (or until the chicken is done.)
4. When the chicken is done, take 2 forks and pull it apart into little stringy pieces.
5. Place a roll on a plate, fill the roll with the chicken, and eat it.