Easy Dinner: Chicken Sausage with Tomato, basil and mozzarella ravioli

I didn't really put much thought into this, everything was pre-packaged, but sometimes that's easier! Jeremy loves sausage, and I am not really a huge fan, but when I saw Chicken Sausage, I figured I'd give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Al Fresco Chicken Sausage
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 package Monterrey Ravioli (Tomato, Basil, Mozarella)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Jar Tomato Sauce
• Caesar Salad
• Garlic bread

Steps:

• Follow the directions on the packages!
• I put the sausage on a skillet, medium heat, with a tbsp olive oil for about 8-10 minutes until the sides were golden brown

• For the ravioli, I boiled water in a large pot, but barely boiling the water, I added in the ravioli for 5 minutes, drained, and topped with tomato sauce.

The food was delicious, I definitely recommend trying the chicken sausage. And dinner took me about 15 minutes to prepare and cook.

My Mom's Meat Loaf

My mom made her own rendition of Paula Deen's "Basic Meat Loaf," It was delicious, so I wanted to make it. It has a little spice to it.....very good. Definitely good if you are not a HUGE meat loaf fan....I have never really liked it until my mom made it this way. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1.25 tbsp salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped vidalia onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 10oz can of rotel w/ chili's (this is the difference between paula deen's and my moms recipes)
• 1/2 cup quaker oats (quick cooking oats)

Sauce for Topping:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. mustard

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• In a large bowl, mix beef, salt, pepper, onion, pepper, beaten egg, Rotel, and oats

• Mix all ingredients well and pour into lightly greased loaf pan

• Mix topping ingredients together, and spread on top of loaf

• Put loaf pan in oven and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 min.
• Let cool for a minute, slice and serve.

• I served mine with a side salad and steamed green beans.

Enjoy!

Ceviche Tacos

My sister recommended this recipe to me....it came from Epicurious, I adapted it to fit my own needs....but didn't need to change that much! You have to enjoy tuna....and be okay w/ eating semi-raw fish!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lbs sushi-grade fish ( I used sashimi Tuna)
• 1 tbsp. sea salt
• 1 tbsp. fresh crushed black pepper
• 3 tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 cup chopped, seeded tomatoes
• 3/4 cup chopped red onion (about 1/2 an onion)
• 2 tbsp. fresh jalapenos ( recipe calls for jarred....no thanks) you will need a little over half a jalapeno, chopped and seeded.
• 1 tbsp. jarred jalapeno juice ( yes, you still need to buy the jarred jalapeno's....but the freshness of using the new jalapeno's will make you want to use them over the jarred)
• 1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped (3-4 cups)
• 3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• Hard taco shells (we bought soft shells too)
• Salsa

Steps:

• Cut tuna into 1/2 inch pieces (or smaller)
• Place tuna in a glass bowl, add in lemon juice, lime juice, salt, pepper, and sugar, mix until incorporated, cover dish and chill for 4-6 hours, tossing occasionally.

• Mix tomato, onions, jalapenos, jalapeno juice, and olive oil in a medium bowl, cover and chill for up to 2 hours.

• When tuna is finished, strain all the juices out and  toss together with tomato mixture.

• Heat taco shells
• Make the taco's as you wish (recipe calls to mix lettuce, avocado's, and salsa with the tuna mixture, but I chose just to add what you wished to your taco.

• ENJOY....they taste SO fresh....Delicious!
• I served mine with white corn (and I cut a small corner of my tuna off before making the ceviche and saved it to make a small appetizer of ahi tuna to eat before dinner....just marinated it in soy sauce and seared it in a skillet for 2 minutes on each side)

Grilled Buffalo Chicken Burgers

If you know me, you know I do not eat hamburgers (not based on anything other than I do not think they taste good).....but I was craving something similar. So....ground chicken burgers it is. But I didn't just want a plain ole burger......So i started searching, and finally decided on Buffalo Chicken Burgers. I came up with the recipe on my own, and it could probably still use some tweaking, but they were still very good.

Ingredients: (makes 4 burgers)

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1/2 cup Wing Sauce (your choice on how hot)
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 4 Hamburger buns
• sliced pepperjack cheese (you could use bleu cheese, but I don't like it)
• 1 tomato, sliced
• condiments of your choice to top (ranch/ketchup/lettuce...etc)

Directions:

• In a large bowl, add chicken, wing sauce, bread crumbs, and diced onion. 
• Mix until well incorporated. 
• Form the meat into 4 patties, place on a plate and put in the refrigerator for about 30min-1 hour to help form and stay together during cooking. 

• Start the grill.
• Place chicken patties on the grill, turning occasionally, cooking for about 15-20 minutes on med-low heat.  ( Jeremy cooked the chicken, I am not a griller)

• Put the chicken, tomato and cheese on a hamburger bun and ENJOY!

• We cooked some sweet potato fries as our side.