Turkey Italian Sausage with Roasted Tomatoes and Cannelini Beans

I'm always looking for a way to incorporate healthy ingredients into my diet.  This recipe produces rich, creamy cannellini beans in a light rustic tomato sauce with just a little kick of spice.  Served with a nice crusty Italian bread, this is a quick, hearty dinner for any night of the week.

Ingredients:

 Olive oil

4 Turkey Italian sausages

1 small onion diced

1 T minced fresh garlic

1 pint grape tomatoes halved (cherry tomatoes also good)

5 bay leaves

1 can cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)

Red pepper flake (to taste)

Salt & pepper (to taste)

Fresh basil

In a heavy bottom skillet heat 1 T olive oil; brown sausages until barely cooked through. Remove from the pan. Add a little more olive oil if the pan is dry. Saute onion until translucent. Add garlic. When garlic is fragrant, add tomatoes, bay leaves, red pepper and salt & pepper; scraping bottom of pan to deglaze any yummy bits that will add flavor to your sauce.

After about 5 minutes, add sausages back into pan and allow to simmer stirring as needed. If pan appears too dry add a little water. About 5 minutes before serving, add a chiffonade of basil. More basil can be ripped and sprinkled on top at service.


If you want just a vegetarian bean side dish omit the turkey sausage and begin with sautéing the onion.

Roma Style Garlic Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs



Ingredients:

Sauce:

2 T Olive oil

1 med onion - small dice

1 small head of garlic – minced

2 T tomato paste

1 T Anchovy paste (don’t skip this)

¼- ½ C white wine (whatever you’re drinking)

2-3 T Italian seasoning

1 lrg can San Marzano tomato puree

1 lrg can San Marzano crushed tomatoes

Salt and Pepper to taste

In large heavy-bottom dutch oven or sauce pot heat olive oil. Saute onions until almost translucent and add garlic. Continue to sauté until garlic is fragrant then stir in tomato paste and combine well. Add anchovy paste and white wine. Allow wine to reduce slightly and add tomato products. Add meatballs (recipe below) and simmer on med-low for about an hour. (simmering longer will allow the meatballs to become more tender)

Serve over your favorite pasta. Dish can be topped with shredded parmesan cheese and/or fresh basil.

Meatballs:

1 T olive oil

½ lb. ground turkey breast

½ lb. ground sirloin

1 small onion – very small dice
3 stalks celery - very small dice
1 tsp garlic minced

½ C breadcrumbs

3 eggs

1 T Italian seasoning

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Saute onion and celery until soft. Set aside and allow to cool. In a large bowl combine all ingredients mixing lightly with your hands (don’t be a square and use a spoon). Mixture will be very soft so carefully form meatballs with your hands (size is your choice). the same sauce pan you sauted the veggies in, heat a little more olive oil. Brown all meatballs on all sides (cooking about ¼- ½ way through) and add to sauce to finish cooking completely.