Two good cold weather recipes

Here’s an easy casserole that’s good for cold weather days. Two things I would do differently than this recipe is to use a bag of baby spinach and add it when the meat is almost done before adding the pasta sauce. And I’d sauté the mushrooms with the onions and sausage. I might also add a can of drained chopped tomatoes.

Florentine Sausage Spaghetti Bake

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti

1 pound bulk Italian sausage (hot or mild)

1 large onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 jar (24 ounces) pasta sauce

1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 cups cottage cheese 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

1/4 tsp pepper 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375°. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausage and onion, crumbling meat, until sausage is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce and mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook until heated through, about 15 minutes.

Drain pasta. Combine the egg with the next 5 ingredients. Spread 1 cup sausage mixture in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Top with spaghetti and remaining sausage mixture. Layer with egg mixture and mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake 45 minutes. Uncover; bake until lightly browned and heated through, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

—kwc— The Crown Garden Club had their monthly meeting at our house last week and Jimette Fatheree brought this soup. Luckily there was a bowl leftover and I got to eat it. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The recipe doesn’t call for hot Italian sausage, but it was nice and spicy so I’ll bet that is what Jimette used.

Do yourself a favor and make this soup on a cold day, and thanks Jimette for your recipe!

Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup

1 lb Italian sausage

1 small onion, diced

1 small shallot, diced

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

5 cup chicken broth

14 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 tsp kosher sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

6 oz spinach, chopped

2 cups half and half or heavy cream

In a large stockpot set over medium-high, cook the sausage until browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked sausage to a paper towel lined plate; set aside.

Add onion, shallot and carrot, sauté for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 2 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning.

Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add in the chicken broth, whisk to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 6 minutes.