Apple & Sausage Pie

Here is another recipe inspired by the need to use up some apples! It took me a while to find something I liked. I finally settled on a recipe from Peaches Please because I figured it'd be easy enough to work with. If you follow the link and compare it to my recipe, you will notice several differences. One of the more obvious being that I made one pie in a normal sized springform pan vs. four mini ones. I did this (1) because the mini pans come in sets of three…at least at Target… and (2) I really don't like rolling out pie dough that much. However, if you've got the supplies and time, the four mini pies are so much cuter. 

This pie smells divine. And it tastes amazing. Definitely a winner. It's perfect for fall or winter. Mine is obviously not that pretty. I was kind of pressed for time so I didn't even actually weave the lattice top or make the edges pretty. Luckily, its looks have nothing to do with the taste. Have I mentioned? The taste is fantastic.  

Apple & Sausage Pie

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups WW flour

1 tsp Salt

3/4 cup Butter, very cold & cut into small pieces

1/4 cup Plain Greek yogurt

10-ish TBSP Ice water

• Whisk together the flour & salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or fork until you get an almost sandy texture. Stir in the yogurt and 3 TBSP water. Slowly add the rest of the water until the dough comes together. You may use more or less than 10 TBSP. Make sure it doesn't get too wet. Cover and put the dough in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes. 

For the filling:

1 1/4 lb Italian sausage (I like spicy chicken) 

3 Apples, peeled, cored & roughly chopped

1/2 cup Yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup Celery, sliced

1 heaping tsp Sage

1 oz Apple cider vinegar 

1/4 cup Hard apple cider

Salt & pepper to taste

•  Remove the sausage from their casings and cook in a nonstick skillet on the stovetop until cooked through & browning. Remove the sausage from the pan and place in a large bowl. Make sure to leave some of the grease for sautéing the onions & celery.
• Saute the onions & celery in the sausage fat until they soften. Add the chopped apples, sage, ACV, and your salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened. You may want to cover your pan for a couple minutes.
• Add the apple mixture in with the sausage & stir. Be sure to leave the juices in the pan. Deglaze the pan with your hard apple cider (I used "The Saint" variety from Crispin). Reduce the pan juices & cider until thickened & pour them in the bowl with the apples & sausage. 
• Preheat the oven to 350*F. Prepare your springform pan(s).
• Separate the dough appropriately & roll it out to fit your pan(s). Trim the excess off the edges…you will need it!
• Fill your pan(s) with the sausage & apple mixture.
• Roll out the remaining dough & cut into strips to cover the pie. You can do a real lattice top & weave or do a faux one like me. You can just squish the edges together or make them look pretty, whatever you like/have time for.
• Bake for about 40 minutes, ideally until the pastry has slightly browned. If it doesn't seem to be getting brown enough, you can crank up the oven to 400*F for a few minutes. If it's getting too brown too quick, cover the edges with foil.
• Remove from the oven & let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, you can release the springform. Continue to cool until your mouth & hands won't get burned. 

Enjoy!

Pumpkin, Sausage & Spinach Calzones

I came across a recipe for pumpkin, sausage and spinach calzones in some magazine. Since I couldn't pin it, I lost track of the actual recipe. But what I ended up making was pretty stinking good. Totally delicious. Decently healthy. Yummy goodness.  

I decided on using the spicy/hot Italian chicken sausage from Sprouts. I like a little kick, but if that's not your thing, sweet Italian sausage would work too. Of course, you can go with turkey, pork, or whatever meat you like. You can also use your cheese of choice. I went with a white extra sharp cheddar. Again, I like things that have a little extra bite or whatever. For time's sake, I rounded up a recipe for no-yeast WW pizza crust from Kristin in Her Kitchen. I also saved some time by using frozen chopped spinach. 

Pumpkin, Sausage & Spinach Calzones

Ingredients for the crust:

1 1/2 cups WW flour

1/2 cup AP flour

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup EVOO

Ingredients for the filling:

EVOO

8 oz Italian sausage

2 cups frozen chopped spinach

Salt & pepper

4 heaping TBSP pureed pumpkin

3-4 oz cheese, shredded 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 450*F and grab a non-stick cookie sheet.
• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crust; whisk together. Add the water and EVOO. Mix well. Set aside.
• In a saute pan, add some EVOO and heat it up on high. Add the sausage. Cook thoroughly. Remove the sausage from the pan. Turn the heat down to low.
• Add a tad bit more EVOO to the pan (may not be necessary if you're using a sausage with more fat). Add the spinach, salt & pepper. Saute for a couple minutes, or until the spinach is warmed up. Remove from heat.
• Divide your dough for the crust into 4 equal parts. Roll out into like 7-8" circles. Place 1 heaping TBSP of pumpkin and spread it around (leave about 1/4" around the edges). Divide up the spinach, sausage, and cheese between the circles. Fold each circle over. Use a fork and go around the edges to seal them. 
• Place the calzones on your cookie sheet. You can spread a little EVOO on top. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until slightly golden. 

Enjoy!

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats

This scrumptious meal graced our table at the end of last week.  SO GOOD.  I am really glad my aunt shared it with me!  The whole family loved it.  My mom said they were her favorite sausage stuffed zucchini boats, even though it was turkey sausage.  (That's pretty impressive...she's not a turkey fan.)  I followed the recipe for the most part.  However, I did use sweet Italian turkey sausages instead of chicken, and I used a whole red bell pepper.  Also, I only had room in my 9x13 pan for 6 boats... I guess my zucchini's were a little bigger than "medium."  The original recipe is from skinnytaste.com, which you can get by clicking here.  It's definitely a keeper!