Zuppa Toscana Soup – low carb

Everyone knows about Olive Garden’s famous endless soup, salad and breadsticks. I for one, am a huge fan of their Zuppa Toscana soup. I’m not, however, a fan of the calories and carbs associated with the soup. Not to mention the basket of breadsticks I would want to consume if I was at OG. So I tried my hand at a keto friendly zuppa. And I have to tell you, I didn’t miss the potatoes at all. Cauliflower really is a low carb chameleon and I’m glad that I like it.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. mild Italian Sausage

4 slices thick-cut bacon (chopped)

32 oz beef bone broth (I couldn’t find beef bone so I used beef broth)

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 head fresh cauliflower, diced or one bag of frozen florets

½ cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups fresh spinach or kale (I used spinach)

salt and pepper, optional

crushed red pepper flakes, optional

shredded parmesan cheese for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS

Brown your sausage and chopped up bacon together in a large soup pot. Once your meat is cooked, drain the grease and add beef broth, onions, garlic, and cauliflower. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. I used a potato masher to break up the chunks of the cauliflower at this point.

Once the cauliflower is softened, add in heavy cream and spinach. Cook for about 5 minutes, until spinach or kale is soft. Add salt, pepper and some crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

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.

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) 

Crockpot Sausage Jalapeno Popper Dip

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground Italian sausage (or regular pork or whatever appeals to you)

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

1 lb. jalapenos, seeded and diced

1 green onion, finely chopped

16 oz. sour cream

1/2 C. mayo

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tbsp. hot sauce  

Brown sausage and minced garlic. Drain.  Mix all ingredients together and dump into crockpot.  Cook on high for one hour.  Serve warm with ritz crackers or tortilla chips.  We also discovered this is great on top of a freshly grilled burger!  

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! 

Lyndee’s Spicy Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage

½ c. salsa or picante sauce (If you don’t like the chunks, substitute some spicy V8 juice)

1 can chili beans

1 large can diced tomatoes (I use a quart size jar of my Grandma’s tomatoes)

2 tbsp. Jalapeño cream cheese

1 tbsp. hot sauce

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tbsp. chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Minced garlic

Shredded pepper jack

Brown Italian sausage with minced garlic.  I like to add some chopped onion if I have any on hand.  In a large pot mix all other ingredients except shredded pepper jack.  Add meat once cooked.  Bring to a quick boil and then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until warmed through and cream cheese has melted.  Serve and top with shredded pepper jack, crackers, sour cream or whatever you desire.

This can also be done in a crockpot on low heat for 4 hours.  Just dump and go! 

To “unspice” and make my normal chili, make as directed but leave out the cream cheese, hot sauce, red pepper flakes and pepper jack. 

Italian Crescent Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained (I did half beef and half Italian sausage)

1 cup garlic tomato pasta sauce

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1½ cups shredded Italian cheese blend

¼ teaspoon dried basil leaves or Italian seasoning

Brown your meat with some minced garlic and seasonings.  Once cooked, mix in pasta sauce. Heat over medium heat until warm.  Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Place dough in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate in spoke pattern, with narrow tips overlapping rim of plate about 3 inches.  Press dough in side and bottom of pan to form crust and cover the pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese over dough in the pan. I also added 5 pepperoni’s across the cheese and some Italian seasoning.  Spoon meat mixture evenly over cheese.  Bring tips of dough over filling to meet in center; do not overlap.  Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese over the dish followed by the basil. Here I added a few shakes of parmesan cheese as well.  Bake at 375°F 15 to 20 minutes.  Let cool a few minutes before cutting. 

This smelled so good while it was baking my mouth was watering.  And it didn’t disappoint when it hit my lips! It’s like a pizza pie or calzone or just some yummy crescenty Italian goodness in a pie pan.  Very delicious and easy to make. Molly loved it too.  Can’t wait to make this again soon. 

Pork Roulade

Review by Lyndee:

Caution, this looks way harder to make than it really is.  And it's so worth the few hours wait while it bakes in the oven.

Ingredients:

2-3 pound pork loin

1 pound Italian sausage

1 pound bacon

Minced garlic

Pesto:

Fresh parsley

Fresh basil

Olive Oil

 Preheat oven to 400.  In a food processor chop up parsley, basil, garlic and olive oil until it creates a nice pesto consistency.  Set aside.  Filet your loin in half lengthwise so it unfolds into one big piece of meat.  Using a meat mallet, pound your loin flat.  Cover with pesto. Sprinkle on some minced garlic. Layer on the uncooked Italian sausage.  

Start at one end and roll tightly.  Cover with bacon strips and tie up with meat string.  We didn’t have any of this on hand but we asked the nice guys at the Hy-Vee meat counter and they gave us a little bit to use.  

Bake for 3-4 hours until the roulade reaches 165 degrees on your meat thermometer.  Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes.  Just before serving remove the string and slice up. If you don’t want to bake it you could do this on the grill too. 

This was amazing! All the flavors came together in a beautiful way. The bacon on the outside was crispy and wonderful. The pesto and sausage flavors blended throughout the loin.  We ate this with some roasted baby potatoes.  It would be great on French bread as a sandwich for leftovers too! Delicious and something totally out of the ordinary than what we usually cook.  Yum!