Cheese & Sausage Stuffed Zucchini

Long time, no see, right??? About a month ago, a friend told me that I should start posting here again. It's really difficult, when you're as immensely lazy as I am. However, I made a rather tasty dinner last night. AND I managed to get a picture of it! I took it with my crappy iphone camera, but that's better than NO picture, right???

I'd really like to get back into taking pretty pictures of my food and sharing with you, even if it IS just one person reading. ;-)

This recipe is based upon this recipe at AllRecipes.com. Just a note about this recipe. The zucchini that I used was probably 2 inches in diameter and maybe 9 or 10 inches long. I had a TON of extra filling. Next time, I will either use a bigger zucchini (or two of this size) OR cut the filling in half.



CHEESE & SAUSAGE STUFFED ZUCCHINI
Ingredients:
12 ounces pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 large zucchini
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups cottage cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch garlic salt
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking dish (size is dependent on the size of your zucchini).
2. Place crumbled sausage and onion in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and mix in brown rice. Set aside.
3. Partially cook zucchini in the microwave on high for 3-5 minutes (depends on the size of your zucchini). Remove from the microwave and let cool for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine eggs, cheeses, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper.
4. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and rinse. Place both halves in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with garlic salt. Layer the sausage mixture, tomatoes and cheese mixture in each half.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Then broil for 5 minutes or until cheese turns brown.

Chicken Breasts with Balsamic & Mushroom Sauce

This could possibly be my favorite recipe. Definitely in my top five. This recipe originates from All Recipes, but I've done a little doctoring, to suit my own tastes.

Chicken Breasts with Balsamic & Mushroom Sauce

INGREDIENTS

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Rinse the mushrooms and pat dry. Season the flour with salt and pepper and dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and saute the chicken until it is nicely browned on one side (about 3 minutes).


2. Add the garlic. Turn the chicken breasts and scatter the mushrooms over them.

Continue frying, shaking the skillet and stirring the mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add the vinegar, broth, bay leaf and thyme.

Cover tightly and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.


3. Transfer the chicken to a warm serving platter and cover with foil. Set aside. Continue simmering the sauce, uncovered, over medium high heat until the sauce thickens. (This photo does the thickness no justice.)

Swirl in the butter or margarine and discard the bay leaf. Pour this mushroom sauce mixture over the chicken and serve.

I'm a huge fan of Wacky Mac's Veggie Curls right now, so that's what I usually pair this with.



And one of the best parts about this recipe! Only one dish (2 if you make pasta with it) to clean up!


Please let me know if you decide to make this recipe! I'd love to hear how it turns out for everyone else. I have to give a little warning about this one. The flavors are kinda...loud? Between the garlic and the balsamic vinegar, it's a very strong smelling and tasting dish. These are two of my favorite things, so I LOVE it.

Ultimate Brownies

I happened across this recipe online and it just makes the best brownies! It's so easy to do! The trick is to allow the eggs & sugar to beat for an extended period of time - a stand mixer makes this much easier to do. The brownies come out dense and cakey, with a perfect taste.

Ultimate Brownies

Ingredients
2 sticks of butter
8 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat; seat aside. In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes. Blend in chocolate mixture, flour and salt until just mixed. Hand-stir in the nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. (Don't overbake.) Let cool completely before cutting.