BIZZY BAKES

Eat and enjoy I may not be a meat eater, but don't tempt me with sausage. Granted, this is turkey sausage but, in my innocence, I can't tell the difference between the beef sausage and the turkey sausage. I think, it is due to the nature of the sausage, the spices and the manner, it is cooked. I should admit, I enjoy meat, when I do eat it. I, simply, do not have any desire to eat it. People talk about steak and I would prefer a burger. Beef stew and meat loaf don't tempt me at all. Again, I eat them when presented and it is not a chore to eat them. It is most likely, I have trained myself to reject meat when I am selecting food for the week. It actually brings out negative feelings. I could give up beef tomorrow but I would not say the same about poultry. This is an easy dish to make and it is rich in flavor. For us, it is a good change of pace. Pan Roasted Sausage and Vegetables Ingredients: 8 red new potatoes, cut in wedges Olive oil spray 1/...

Ever since I discovered the delights of crispy potatoes, I have been trying different recipes, looking for the best.  This time it was a recipe by Curtis Stone.  This recipe held up to its name, "crispy roasted" and was soft inside the potato.  The recipe calls for garlic but because hubby gets sick from it, I had to omit it.  I suggest that it be included to give it even a fuller flavor. Crispy Roasted Potatoes 6 small red potatoes 1/3 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon thyme Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish Method: Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven then place a large, heavy baking sheet on the rack. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes, oil, thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and arrange the potatoes cut-side down and in a single layer on the baking sheet, scraping all of the oil...

I know, we are not alone in having an abundance of tomatoes from our garden.  Many of us have this terrific problem.  For a foodie, this is a challenge and what we do with the tomatoes is the game.  Since we are doing on side dishes from Ina Garten, this month, what better crop to use than tomatoes. I chose this roasted tomato because of our love for roasted vegetables.  It would seem than any roasted vegetable is better than the original.  With some balsamic and something sweet added, this was a joy to eat. Roasted Tomatoes  (adapted from Ina Garten ) Ingredients: 4 large round tomatoes, sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon basil leaves, chopped 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper olive oil cooking spray Method: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with  balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle the gar...

This is the second time I have thought I should write a book called, My Romance with Squash.  Each time, I bring home a new squash, I fall in love again.  I have had a crush on Butternut Squash for many years and this dish may have been the fulfillment of my dreams, easy to make and just right to eat with a slight sweetness that gives it charm. Roasted Butternut Squash Ingredients: 2 medium sized butternut squash 2 large sweet potatoes 1 - 3 tablespoons of  olive oil 1 tablespoon of honey 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or a few drops of hot sauce mixed with the honey Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on large cookie sheet. Cut butternut squash and sweet potatoes into cubes about one half inch in size. In a bowl, mix together the oil, honey, cayenne and cubes.  Make sure, all the cubes are coated. Spread the cubes of squash and sweet potatoes on parchment covered pans. Bake for 1 hour or until the cubes are soft enough to ...

Veggie Delight I had no name for this dish, I put together, this evening.  I am finding it difficult to follow recipes from cookbooks or online.  Almost always, I take the recipe, in another direction.  That is what happened, today.  I pulled out a few cookbooks, found a recipe for roasted cubes of vegetables in a tomato sauce and covered with cheese.  It had veggies, I had in the house and the idea of roasting vegetables with a cheese topping intrigued me. I ended up slicing the veggies thinly on the mandolin and separately putting piles of them, in a baking dish.  I then dropped some spicy cheese on top, well spaced out.  It was delicious. Ingredients: 1 zucchini 1 yellow squash 2 carrots 1 mini red pepper 1 mini yellow pepper 1 mini orange pepper 1/4 green pepper spray olive oil 3 slices from a twisted spicy mozzarella roll 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil (my basil is re...

Pat's Pink Apron and Marelie from Cookie Droplets, both, so kindly shared this award with me.  Both of these lovely ladies, who received these awards, first, deserve that recognition.  Check out their blogs and I am pretty sure, you will see the warmth in their personalities and the caring that comes when giving an award. I have given awards on several occasions and this time, I would like to give these to  some of the foodies who have come into my life (blog), more recently. (Debbie and Libby are not newbies.  In fact Libby is one of the first bloggers, I met.) Each one is special and each one has a blog to be proud of. These are worthy bloggers whom I admire, greatly and I think, you will too.  Each one has a unique blog which tells you who they are.  As far as great recipes go, each one is different, in what they stress but all have delicious dishes, for us to eat.  I hope that each of you will share this award with 7 choices of your own...