Making Homemade Italian Sausage

Making homemade Italian Sausage is really not that difficult. We haven't made our own homemade sausage for a long time. Sammy thought it was time to make some of our own again.

So, we set a weekend date and got to work. The best part of making your own Italian sausage is that you can season it to your personal taste.

The first thing that I did was check our local grocery stores for the best prices on pork butt. Luckily, one of our local stores had it on sale for $.99 a pound.

I ordered 20 pounds of coarse-ground pork butt and asked the butcher for enough casings to stuff the sausage. If you grind the meat yourself, cut it into about 1 or 2-inch pieces and coarse-grind it. It is very important to keep the meat cold, so work with small portions.

Making Homemade Italian Sausage: Our Spices

We use some very simple spices for our homemade sausage. Garlic powder, coarse ground black pepper, fennel seed, crushed red pepper, Paprika, and missing from the picture salt. The amounts we use for 20 pounds are below.

Next, we added our spices and mixed the pork. After thoroughly mixing, we set it in the refrigerator to keep the meat cold. I recommend mixing the pork in smaller batches, maybe 5 pounds at a time. Mixing 20 pounds at a time is just the way we've always made it.

After about an hour in the refrigerator, we started stuffing our links. We fried some to taste-test our mixture. This is a great idea because you may want to add more spices. We found ours to be just the way we like it.

Making Homemade Italian Sausage: Stuffing the Links

We soaked our casings in warm water for about 30 minutes. Then we rinsed them with cold water before we used them.

We rubbed a little olive oil onto the stuffer, threaded one casing over it, and then tied off the end. We used our KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the grinder and stuffer attachment to stuff our casings.

We worked with 5 pounds of meat at a time, keeping the rest in the refrigerator. Again, it is very important to keep the meat cold while working. 

As Sammy loaded the hopper, I made the links giving them a twist about every 6 or 7 inches. We find that at this size, four links equal one pound.

The first casing yielded 5.5 pounds. Some people like to cut the casings into a shorter length. It's up to you and is a personal preference.

Bobby stopped over and gave me a little break. This is his first time making sausage, and I have to say he is a natural. He took right over and didn't skip a beat.

  If you get any air bubbles while stuffing, just prick them with a needle to let the air out.

Making Homemade Italian Sausage: The Recipe

Spices for 20 pounds of Sausage:

1/3 cup salt

1/4 cup coarse black pepper

1/4 cup Fennel Seed

1/4 cup paprika

1/2 cup crushed red pepper (optional)

1/3 cup garlic powder

Breaking this down to 5 pounds:

4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon fennel seed

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoons crushed red pepper (optional)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

I marked the red pepper as optional if you don't like hot sausage. We also made some sausage patties, which are perfect for breakfast or a quick sandwich. It turned out to be a fun day making homemade sausage with my son and grandson.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy.

My KitchenAid is, without a doubt, my best kitchen tool. When making more than 5 pounds of sausage, I found the KitchenAid a bit slow. I'm going to invest in one of these to make the next 20 pounds.

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Baked Butter Garlic Chicken Wings

These baked butter garlic chicken wings made the perfect game-day treat last week. You don't have to wait for a game day to enjoy these. Serve these for a nice appetizer or snack at your next party or just a snack for the family.

It's no secret that I'm a huge garlic fan. Butter and garlic are a perfect match for wings. I added some additional spices to these nice and crispy baked wings.

Baked Butter Garlic Chicken Wings:

I started off by placing the frozen wings onto a large cookie sheet. Then I baked these at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

While I waited, I prepared the garlic butter by melting 2 sticks of butter with 6 cloves of fresh minced garlic. I added a tablespoon of Lemon Pepper Seasoning.

After 15 minutes, I took the wings out of the oven and drained the excess water from the cookie sheet. Then I separated the butter sauce and brushed both sides of each chicken wing with a healthy dose of it.

I baked the wings for an additional 60 minutes, turning them every 20 minutes. When they turned a nice golden brown and the internal temperature was 180 degrees, I knew they were ready.

I placed the wings into a plastic container and poured the remaining garlic butter sauce over them. Then I added some Parmesan cheese and gave them a good shake.

I like my wings crispy, and these turned out perfect. Nice and crispy with a buttery garlic flavor and a hint of lemon pepper.

There was no way that I was getting away with just the baked garlic butter chicken wings. So, I made some tangy hot wings for the hot wing fans in the house.

I used 1/2 cup Frank's RedHot Wing Sauce and added 2 tablespoons melted butter. Using the same process in a plastic container, giving them a good shake, and they were ready to serve.

If your wings are fresh and not frozen. Skip the first 15 minutes in the oven and start by brushing on the garlic butter sauce.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy.

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County Fair Fried Dough

Last week, as a Birthday gift for Fran and an early Birthday gift to me, Sammy and Tricia got us a new Professional KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

Needless to say, I was delighted. We use our current 4.5 Quart KitchenAid constantly. For the longest time, I've wanted to upgrade to the larger machine, and now I have it.

I just couldn't wait to mix up some of my Easy all-purpose dough in my new KitchenAid. So, I mixed up a batch and made some pizza.

I only made a couple of small pizzas, so I would have some dough left over to make some fried dough.

County Fair Fried Dough:  

You don't have to wait for that annual county fair to have this sweet little treat. These are so easy to make and the perfect little snack. You can make your own dough or just pick up some fresh dough at your local grocery store.

I pulled off a handful of dough and shaped it into as close to a circle as I could. These are about 4 to 5 inches across.

Using my cast-iron skillet, I poured about 1/2-inch of vegetable oil into the bottom. I set the heat to medium and heated the oil to about 350 degrees.

Once the oil is hot, they only take about 20 seconds per side to cook. If the oil is too hot, they'll brown too fast and not cook on the inside.

In a separate dish, I mixed 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. I used Penzeys Vietnamese Cinnamon, it's a favorite of ours.

Out of the skillet and into the sugar-and-cinnamon coating on both sides. Then place them on another dish lined with paper towels.

Let them cool for about 10 minutes before eating. Now you can enjoy county-fair fried dough any time of year.

You might like: Fresh Tomato Spinach Pizza

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy.

Make your own: County Fair Fried Dough

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Easy Homemade Ravioli Recipe

When it comes to Italian food, there is nothing like this easy homemade ravioli recipe. Ravioli are so versatile because there are so many options for the filling.

We happened to be visiting Sammy, and, as luck would have it, he was making ravioli. This was a great opportunity to capture the process and post it.

The filling that Sammy had ready was ricotta cheese, sausage, and spinach. This is one of the many fillings you can use for ravioli.

Filling with ricotta cheese, sausage, and spinach:

1 lb. (16 oz.) ricotta cheese
1/2 lb. Italian bulk sausage (cooked, crumbled, and cooled)
1 egg
2 cups chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)
1 clove minced garlic (Optional)
salt and pepper to taste

In a small frying pan, cook the sausage. Break it up as fine as possible while cooking. Let the sausage cool before mixing with the ricotta cheese.

Mix the ricotta cheese, spinach, garlic, egg, and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Now add the cooled sausage and mix well. Cover and refrigerate while you make the dough.

The Dough:

4 cups all-purpose flour (more if needed)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

We use our KitchenAid Stand Mixer for this. Add the flour, olive oil, and salt into the mixing bowl. Add one egg at a time, mixing on low speed. Do this until a ball of dough forms, then knead it by hand on a floured surface. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix the dough by hand. Mound the flour onto a clean surface. Use your fingers starting in the middle of the mound to create a well. Add your eggs, oil, and salt to the middle and work in the flour. Knead by hand until the dough is formed.

Tip: If the dough is too dry add a teaspoon of water or more as needed. Or, if the dough is too wet add a little more flour.

Getting ready to roll the dough. Cut the dough into four equal sections. I know, here you only see three, that's because Sammy has one in the roller.

Easy Homemade Ravioli Recipe: Rolling the Dough

Using the pasta attachment for the KitchenAid. Take one section and begin on a wider setting, running the dough through. Then move the dial to the thinner settings, then to the thinnest setting. Make sure there are no tears or holes in the dough.

Again, if you don't have a KitchenAid or a pasta machine, get out the rolling pin. Take one section of dough and, on a floured surface, roll it into a circle as thin as possible without holes or tears. Cut about 4-inch strips.

Lay the strip of dough on a floured surface and cut it in half. Sammy used a 1-1/2 tablespoon scooper to place the filling onto the dough. With two fingers, Sammy spreads a little water on both halves of the dough.  The water helps stick the dough together.

Place the second half of the dough over the filling. Lightly press around the filling to form the ravioli.

Now Sammy centers this handy ravioli cutter over the filling and firmly presses to cut out the ravioli.  Tip: If you don't have one of these handy cutters, just use a mason jar; you'll get the same tasty ravioli, just round.

After cutting the ravioli, carefully pull the extra dough away. Roll out the extra dough into another strip and make more.

Sammy yielded about 30 delicious ravioli from this recipe.

As I said, in the beginning, there are so many options for ravioli fillings here is our typical ricotta cheese filling recipe.

Ricotta Cheese Filling:

1 lb. ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons parsley
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Here is a link for 20 more ravioli-filling ideas

You might also like this easy-to-make marinara sauce

As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy

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Easy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

We haven't made these easy chocolate crinkle cookies for a couple of years. So, this year Fran found the recipe and we decided to add this one to our Holiday cookie list.

These are so easy to make and oh-so-good. They're crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Who doesn't love chocolate? The chocolate flavor is to die for.

You can find many recipes to make these easy chocolate crinkle cookies using a cake mix or brownie mix. We prefer this easy-to-make homemade recipe.

Here is what you need: 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make easy chocolate crinkle cookies:

We always use our KitchenAid Stand Mixer. But, you can mix this in a medium bowl using a hand mixer.

First mix together the cocoa powder, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Then beat in the eggs one at a time then, mix in the vanilla.

Add the flour, salt, and baking powder to the cocoa mixture. Mix this until a dough is formed. Then cover and refrigerate for four hours.

Roll the dough into one-inch balls and coat with powdered sugar.

Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I'm not so perfect so some of mine were a little bigger. 

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and placed them on the center rake. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Since I made some a little larger than one inch I baked for about 14 minutes.

Leave these on the cookie sheet for a minute or more then you can move them to a rack to cool.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy it.

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Pineapple Bow Tie Cookies

These pineapple bow-tie cookies have been on our Holiday cookie list since I was a little guy. And, that was a long time ago. I found my mother's old handwritten recipe for these and just had make them this year.

We made the dough according to her recipe but it turned out to be a failure. I just could not work with the dough. So, Fran suggested a cream cheese dough and it worked beautifully.

Pineapple Bow Tie Cookies: Dough

8 oz cream cheese (softened)
8 oz butter (softened)
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2-1/2 cups flour

In my KitchenAid stand mixer, I mixed the cream cheese and butter starting at low speed and then switching to high speed to make sure the two ingredients were creamed together.

Turning the mixer to medium speed add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Then, add the flour and mix until the dough is formed. Divide the dough into two equal sections, wrap, and refrigerate for one hour.

Pineapple Bow Tie Cookies: Filling

20 oz can crushed pineapple
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Combine in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat while stirring until the pineapple thickens. Then remove from heat.

Roll the dough to 1/8-inch thick and cut into 2-inch squares. Place 1/2 teaspoon of pineapple in the middle of each square. Fold opposite corners together and press.

Tip:  To make sure the cookies don't open up while baking use some of the pineapple juice or just a little water to hold corners together.

Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle a little sugar over them and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar right out of the oven.

These cookies are fun and easy to make. They're also very versatile because you can use any fruit filling that you like.

We made some with raspberry jam right out of the jar. This recipe yielded us about 60 or more cookies. Perfect to dress up your Holiday table.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy it.

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Healthy Banana Strawberry Smoothie

This healthy banana strawberry smoothie is just one of the many you can enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or a snack during the day.

This is a great way to start your day if you want an easy and quick breakfast. And, if you happen to be in a hurry just pour it into a travel mug and take it with you.

If you're looking for an easy way to improve your health and nutrition without giving up all the flavorers you enjoy. Consider trying some easy fruit and vegetable smoothies.

You can achieve more energy, better sleep, and even weight loss by making juices and smoothies a part of your everyday life.




What is the difference between juicing and smoothies?

Let's start with Juicing: Juicing extracts the juice or liquid from the fruits and vegetables, thus leaving the peels and pulp behind. There are many types of juicers or extractors on the market today. Full disclosure here, I don't own a juicer or extractor so I can't tell you how delicious the juices are.

If you're looking for a juicer extractor here are some popular choices.

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 Smoothies: You can easily make delicious smoothies using a high-speed blender. So, when you make a smoothie you're drinking all of the pulp and fiber contained in the fruit or vegetable.

 Juicing and smoothies are both healthy and good for you. But. if you want more fiber in your diet then smoothies are certainly the better choice.

For healthy and delicious smoothies here are some high-speed blender choices.

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Now, I'm not a health expert or a nutritionist by any means. This information is easily found with a little research.

We own and use the Nutri Bullet High-Speed Blender to make so many different types of delicious and healthy Smoothies. Smoothies are always made with a base. It might be water, milk, or yogurt.

Healthy Banana Strawberry Smoothie

This is one that I made for Tyler a couple of weeks ago as he was home sick from school and spending the day with me.

Jamie asked to make sure that he was drinking plenty of liquids. So I asked him if he wanted a fruit smoothie.

I cut up one banana, and five strawberries, and as a bonus, I added about 10 blueberries.

For the base, I used Almond Milk. After adding the fruit I poured the almond milk to the max line on the cup.

Then I added the blending attachment set it into the Nutri Bullet and turned it on for about 15 seconds or more.

Tyler drank to the whole smoothie and then ate some more strawberries just for good measure.

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

Take your breakfast on the go with a travel mug

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