Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

adapted from Southern Living 2007 Annual Recipes

serves 6

Prep time:  10 min

Cook time:  slow cooker 8 hours

2 (16-oz) cans Great Northern beans, undrained

1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (14-oz) package smoked turkey sausage, sliced

3/4 cup chicken broth

3 medium carrots, sliced

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine first 11 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.  Remove and discard bay leaf.

Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Orange and Oats Chewies

Orange and Oats Chewies
adapted from Best of the Bake-Off

Makes about 60 cookies

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut

Heat oven to 350F. Grease 2 cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, shortening, butter, orange juice concentrate, orange peel and eggs; mix well.

Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Stir in oats and coconut.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light and golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute then transfer to rack to cool completely.

From The Girl Who Ate Everything Blog

What kind of camera/lens/equipment do you use? 

I have Canon Rebel XSi . I use mostly a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens and sometimes the standard Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Any suggestions or hints to have great food photos? 

Yesss!!!! Never use a flash. Most of my photos are taken outside on my back porch on a table in the shade. Get in close. People want the drool factor.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing (Regular is fine but I like zesty better. Sometimes I use a packet and a half.)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)

Place the chicken in acrockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti

adapted from Allrecipes

1 pound dry ziti pasta

1 onion, chopped
1 pound Italian sausage ( or ground beef...I like sausage better)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce ( I used one Garlic and Onion and one Sausage)
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced ( 9 rounds)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain. 
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and sausage (or beef ) over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook for a minute or so. Add spaghetti sauce and Italian seasonings, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2 sauce mixture, Provolone cheese, sour cream, remaining ziti, remaining sauce mixture and then mozzarella cheese. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. 
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted. You may want to cover it for the first 20 minutes with foil and then let the cheese melt and brown for the last 10 minutes.