Stuffed Italian Sausage Bake

This recipe was insanely simple and delicious. I saw it on a low carb site and instantly wanted to try it. I am so glad I did. It was yummy Italian goodness. You could definitely serve this with a side of pasta or on a toasted roll for a sub sandwich too.

INGREDIENTS

1 pack of sweet Italian sausage links

5 string cheese

Marinara or crushed tomatoes (I used a large can of crushed tomatoes)

Mozzarella

Optional: spinach and one mini sweet bell pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray an 8 x10 pan with nonstick spray.

Use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut a slit down the middle of the sausages. Do not cut all the way through and do not remove the casing. Lay a mozzarella stick inside each sausage and press it back into its shape.

Pour a small layer of marinara on the bottom of the pan. Put the sausages casing side down. Top with some baby spinach and diced sweet bell pepper, then the rest of the marinara sauce. I sprinkled with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, then a bit of mozzarella over the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until the top layer of cheese is melted.

Note: You don’t have to do the spinach. I just thought it would be fun. Could probably throw some mushrooms, onions or other veggies in too if you wanted.

Fathead Bagels

With 21 grams of protein and 4 net carbs these bagels are a definite add to the breakfast menu!

1 ½ C almond flour

1 T baking powder (can use gluten free)

2 ½ C finely shredded mozzarella cheese

2 oz. cream cheese (cubed)

2 large eggs

Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

Stir together the almond flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Combine the shredded mozzarella and cubed cream cheese in a large bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through. Combine the two bowls together, and add in eggs. (Be careful the cheese mixture isn’t too hot or it will cook the eggs.) Stir thoroughly! I used my hands to mix.

NOTE: It's very important for the dough to be completely uniform before proceeding to the next step. You shouldn't have pieces of cheese separate from areas of almond flour. Divide the dough into 6 parts. Form a long log with each part, then press the ends together to make a bagel shape on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle with seasoning.  Bake for 10-14 minutes at 400, until the bagels are firm and golden.

These can be stored in the fridge for freshness. 

Italian Meatloaf

 Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground mild Italian sausage

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 C. chopped bell pepper

1 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. parsley

1 egg, beaten

3/4 C. crushed ritz crackers (or you could use Italian bread crumbs)

2 slices white bread, crumbled

1 T. milk

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese, reserve 3/4 C. for topping (I used colby jack) 

1/4 C. parmesan cheese

1 C. marinara sauce, plus 1/2 -3/4 C. more for topping

In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over med. high heat and sauté the onion and bell pepper for 3-4 minutes, remove from heat. In a large bowl, add the meats, onion and peppers along with all remaining ingredients reserving 3/4 C. mozzarella cheese for topping. Combine everything well. Once it has all come together, place and mold the mixture in a baking dish of your choice.

Spoon 1/2 to 3/4 C. of the marinara sauce on top and spread around. Place in a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese and sprinkle a little dry basil over the top. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Make sure the meat is not pink before serving, baking time will vary depending on the thickness of your loaf.

I've never been a meatloaf fan but this was phenomenal. Almost like a noodle free lasagna. 

Baked million dollar spaghetti…with a twist

I’ve seen this recipe all over Pinterest and decided to try it but I switched it up a bit. I used a sausage and ground beef mix and added alfredo, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. It did not disappoint!

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti, cooked two minutes shy of directions and drained

½ lb. ground beef

½ lb. Italian sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can spaghetti sauce (I used Hunts)

1 jar alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tbsp. parmesan cheese 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet add the beef, onions, garlic, salt and pepper into the pan and cook on high. Once browned, turn off the heat, drain the liquid left in the pan and mix in half a cup of spaghetti sauce and half a cup of alfredo. Add the cooked spaghetti to the remaining 5 cups of the spaghetti sauce and alfredo, toss to combine. Mix the cream cheese, red pepper flakes, parmesan, Italian seasoning and 2 cups of mozzarella cheese in a bowl. Add half the pasta/sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Add the cream cheese mixture and top with the remaining pasta/sauce mixture. Add the meat sauce mixture on top of the pasta and top with remaining cup of mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let set for a few minutes before cutting like a lasagna and serving. 

Original Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti, cooked two minutes shy of directions and drained

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Kosher salt and pepper to taste (I used ½ teaspoon Kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper)

6 cups Quick and Easy Marinara Sauce

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

parsley, chopped (optional as a garnish) 

Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup white onion, chopped

24 ounce jar pasta sauce

1 can chicken broth

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

8-10 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces

½ cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup water

½ cup milk

extra mozzarella cheese for topping

Cook sausage in a skillet with garlic, onions and olive oil until done. Drain excess grease.  Place sausage, pasta sauce, beef broth, onion powder, parsley, basil and parmesan cheese in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 2.5 hours.  After 2.5 hours, put lasagna noodles, water, milk, and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese into the slow cooker and let cook another 30-60 minutes, or until pasta is tender.  Top bowls of soup with mozzarella cheese.

I wanted to give mine a little kick so I added a few dashes of hot sauce and red pepper flakes while it was cooking.  I love, love, love this soup! 

Chicken Alfredo Dip

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts or two large cans diced chicken breast (white meat)

8oz block cream cheese, softened

1 jar alfredo sauce (14.5 oz or so)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Instructions

Mix the chicken with the cream cheese, alfredo sauce and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella.  Place into glass pie dish or 8x8 pyrex dish.  Top with remaining mozzarella and a sprinkling of Parmesan.  Bake in oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly.  Serve with crackers, pita chips, toasted baguette slices or veggies. 

I made this in the crockpot instead of baking it in the oven since I was taking it to a party.  It turned out great and was super easy to make.  

Skillet pizza (low carb)

Review by Lyndee:

This was very easy to make and I thought it turned out pretty good for a crustless low carb pizza snack. 

Ingredients:

Mozzarella cheese

Toppings (I used 5 slices of pepperoni) but you can add whatever you wish)

Heat non-stick skillet to medium heat.  Add ½ cup of mozzarella cheese.  Top with ingredients.  The cheese will melt, bubble and begin to turn a slight golden brown on the bottom.  Check often to make sure it doesn’t burn.  Once the bottom is a nice golden brown and your toppings are warm, remove from heat  Let stand a minute so that the cheese can set.

To me this tasted like a very thin crust pizza. I generally enjoy the cheese and toppings most anyway so this was a great snack for me.  Only takes a few minutes to make, you can get some protein and feel like you’re indulging and eating pizza.  

Ritz Bruschetta

Who doesn’t love a good bruschetta?  For those times when you don’t have a loaf of crusty bread on hand this is a great substation because if your house is like mine, there are always crackers in the cupboards. 

Ingredients:

3 plum tomatoes, chopped (1 cup)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 green onions, chopped

1 Tbsp. zesty Italian dressing (I used a light version)

36 Ritz crackers (I used reduced fat)

2 Tbsp. shredded parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400°F. Combine first 4 ingredients.  Place crackers on baking sheet; top with tomato mixture and Parmesan cheese.  

Bake 8 to 10 min. or until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

This was tasty and super simple to make. Next time I would make the topping beforehand so that the flavors had time to mix together a bit more.  But as far as a quick and easy snack, this was all that and more. 

Italian Sausage sandwiches

Review by Lyndee:

1 pound ground Italian sausage

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 onion

2 tbsp minced garlic

Salt & pepper

Red pepper flakes

Mozzarella cheese

Marinara or spaghetti sauce

Hoagie rolls

Slice up peppers and onions and cook in skillet until they begin to get soft. In another skillet, brown your sausage and minced garlic. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Slice hoagie rolls and spread butter and sprinkle garlic on the inside. Broil until golden brown.  Add crumbled sausage. Cover with a few peppers and onions. On top of that put a light layer of marinara sauce.  Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Broil another minute until cheese melts.  

These are easy to make and delicious! 

Pizza Dip

Review by: Lyndee

Ingredients:

2 8 oz blocks cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

2 tbsp sour cream (mine was sour cream and chives)

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

20 pepperonis

1 cup mozzarella or pizza blend shredded cheese

Optional-anything else you would like on a pizza such as onions, garlic, sausage, peppers, olives, etc.

Combine two blocks of room temperature cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan and Italian seasoning.  Dice up half the pepperonis into small pieces and mix into your cream cheese base.  Once well mixed spread into the bottom of a baking dish or crockpot. Top with shredded cheese.  Top that with the remaining pepperoni.  Bake at 350 until golden brown or in crockpot until the top cheese layer is completely melted.  Serve with crackers or small slices of bread. 

This dip is easy to throw together and was a huge hit at our Superbowl party, which is good since the game was boring.  I did a basic pepperoni dip but feel free to add whatever pizza toppings your family loves.  This dip goes a long way and is ooey gooey goodness.  

Baked margarita spaghetti squash

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large roma tomato (chopped)

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil (I used dried)

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Using a large knife, slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  Use a spoon to remove the seeds and center strings.  Drizzle the two halves with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and garlic.  Place the squash, open side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.   Remove from the oven.  Check to see if the squash is soft and easily comes up with a fork into a spaghetti like texture.  If it’s too hard, bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, scrape and fluff the stringy squash with a fork.  Leave the squash in the skin. Turn the oven to broil.  Add the tomatoes and basil into the squash.  Stir and top with mozzarella cheese.  Broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

This was really good.  Easy to make.  Healthy and gluten free.  I’m a big fan of spaghetti squash so it was fun to find a new way to enjoy it.  

Easy Eggplant Parmigiana

Review by Jami:

This recipe is just like lasagna, only I’m replacing the pasta with eggplant. A lot of recipes recommend frying the eggplant, but as vegetarian who is also health conscious, I refuse to fry anything. Instead I’ve chosen to bake the eggplant, a delicious alternative, and even eliminated the flour coating for less carbs.

You can use jar marinara sauce or make your own, whatever you prefer. Add meat substitute for more protein and texture, but the recipe is just as good without.

2 medium eggplants

1 egg, beaten

½ cup breadcrumbs

Marinara sauce (jar, can or homemade)

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan cheese

Slice eggplants about ½ inch. Dip each slice into egg, then breadcrumbs and place on baking sheet. Line sheet and bake slices until golden, about 30 minutes at 350. Meanwhile, heat sauce and add additional spices as desired. If you’re using meat substitute add it to the sauce and heat to combine flavors.

In a lasagna pan, cover the bottom with a small amount of sauce and cover with baked eggplant slices in a single layer. Cover with sauce, then mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese. Top with grated parmesan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. There is no need to cover as 30 minutes is just enough time to make the cheesy melty and golden. Let the dish set 5-10 minutes for easier slicing. Serve and enjoy!