Recipe: Lola's Turkey Sausage Ratatouille

Lola's Turkey Sausage Ratatoille

*Fair warning, I do not measure. I eyeball it and just add whatever I want. The following recipe is wrote with loose measurements. I added 2 zucchini because that is what I had.. and I bought summer squash on the sale shelf.. so that is how many I used. LOL

• Turkey Sausage removed from their casings
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 onion (I used a sweet onion) diced
• 2 small zucchini diced
• 5 small yellow summer squash diced
• 1 bag (about 2 cups?) mushrooms sliced (I had bought a mixed variety bag on clearance at my store)
• dash of olive oil
• 1/2 jar of your preferred pasta sauce
• parsley
• basil
• salt and pepper
• red pepper flakes

Technique!!! For me, its all about technique.  Removing the casings and browning the sausage is key. The little yummy flavor bits that stick to the pan will lift when you add the squash and mushrooms. The moisture from the vegetables will de-glaze the pan and flavor the entire dish. (this is also the technique I use when making a soup that contains sausage.... always brown sausage first or you are basically "steaming" the sausage in the vegetables.... which doesn't sound appealing to me.. blarh!)

1. Brown the crumbled sausage. 
2. Add all vegetables and spices and and cook on low. 
3. Stir thoroughly and cook on low until vegetables are crisp/tender (I don't like them completely mushy..).
4. When vegetables are the consistency you want, add 1/2 a jar of pasta sauce or a can of diced tomatoes if you prefer. 
5. Mix through and heat thoroughly.
6. I served with a bit of finely shredded Parmesan cheese on it.

Use whatever vegetables you want: Zucchini, onions, eggplant, peppers, whatever you have on-hand.

Ideas: Serve with spaghetti squash as a "pasta", or mix the spaghetti squash and ratatouille together and bake like a casserole.

Maybe stuff a zucchini boat and bake ? Stuff peppers with this mixture? Serve over riced cauliflower?

Let me know how you vary it and make it your own!!!

Recipe: Lola's Stuffed 3-Way Mushrooms

Lola says, "Im really bad about instructions and recipes. I often cook on a whim and make stuff up in my head after reading other recipes on the internet. This is basically what I made this afternoon, not sure if I omitted steps or not.. (sorry if I did !!!) The best advice I can give is to have fun with the recipe and add and tweak it to your own taste. Want tomatoes? Add them. Want more spinach? Add it. Want some artichokes in there? Add them. What to add diced bell peppers, more garlic, onions or whatever floats your boat? Go for it!"

Stuffed Mushrooms 3 ways

1. Creamy Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms
2. Turkey Sausage Italian Stuffed Mushrooms
3. Turkey Sausage Feta Stuffed Mushrooms.

Saute 1 package Hot turkey sausage (removed from casings and crumbled.)
Sprinkle with additional red pepper flakes and 2 diced garlic cloves if desired-I desired.

Clean, remove stems from two 16 ounce packages of whole button mushrooms. Also from 2 Portobello caps.
Dice stems and add to sausage and continue to saute.
Place cleaned, stemmed mushrooms on PAM sprayed oven ready pans.

Microwave/drain water from 1 box of frozen chopped spinach. Set aside.

In different bowl mix: 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Add a HEALTHY dash of cayenne.
Add majority of drained spinach to this mixture. Save a handful for the sausage mix on stove. This batch is done and ready for stuffing!

When the mushrooms have cooked down and the sausage is completely cooked, add the spinach. Separate sausage mix into 2 bowls.

Sausage bowl 1: Italian Mushrooms: add a few tablespoons pasta sauce, parm cheese and a handful of mozzarella cheese.

Sausage Bowl 2: Feta Mushrooms: Add crumbled feta cheese to mixture.

All mixtures are ready and mushrooms are ready to be stuffed and baked.

I baked mine in sprayed glass pie plates. 350* until brown and bubbly.. maybe 20 minutes?

The sausage based ones are not finger food friendly.. they will fall apart and best to be eaten off a plate. Not a lot of binder in there to glue them together.

The sour cream/cheese spinach based mushrooms hold together better for parties etc.

I tried to use minimal dairy, however I like cheese and stronger tasting cheese goes a long way. You can get a lot of taste from a few bites of feta or Parmesan. The other "red flags" in the recipe were the sour cream, mayo, and mozzerella. I use those mostly as a binder to hold the recipe together. If you find a different binder that works for you and that you enjoy.. change it up!