Italian Sausage Stuffed Zucchini

The majority of my meals are based solely on what is on sale at Ralph's. Gotta love a recession. This meal cost about 25 dollars and made 6-9 servings.

Mushroom Marinara

28 ounce can of tomato puree

small can of tomato paste

can of diced tomatoes

4 white mushrooms

1 clove of garlic

1/2 tablespoon of basil

3/4 tablespoon of oregano

Mince garlic and slice mushrooms. Put ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and let simmer until mushrooms have softened. Easy, huh?

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini

6 cucumber sized zucchini

1/4 of a yellow onion

1 clove of garlic

1 pound of italian turkey sausage

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

1/2 cup of grated mozzarella cheese

2 eggs, beaten

dried parsley

salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon of basil

2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Scrub zucchini and cut off ends. Boil for 7-10 minutes or until they are moderately soft. Don't let them get mushy. Remove from water. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out pulp. I used an ice cream scoop and it worked wonderfully. Press out excess water and set pulp aside to use later.

Brown onion, garlic and sausage. Mix with pulp, bread crumbs, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, basil and butter. Line zucchini shells in baking dish and fill with mixture. Dot each piece with butter. Cover with marinara and sprinkle with parmesan and parsley.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. While this is baking, boil a package of angel hair pasta. Remove zucchini from oven. Let cool and chow down!

Gangster Pie

I asked my boyfriend what he wanted for dinner and he told me "hamburger pie". I suggested shepherd's pie instead. Obviously, there are no shepherds in LA, so while we live here it's going to be called Gangster Pie.

4 potatoes

1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of milk

6 tablespoons of butter + 1 tablespoon for sauce

salt and pepper to taste

2 pounds of ground lamb

1 cup of frozen peas, thawed

2 cups of frozen corn, thawed

1/2 cup of beef broth

1 tablespoon of flour

1 tablespoon of worcester sauce

1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese

paprika

Peel, cube and boil potatoes until soft. Drain and put in large mixing bowl. Add butter, milk, salt and pepper. Mash it up! I like mine chunky, but that's really up to you. Set aside.

Saute onions in vegetable oil in skillet for 3 minutes. Add garlic and c

ook for an additional minute. Add ground lamb and brown. (You can substitute beef or turkey instead of lamb. That is called "cottage pie".) After lamb has browned, add peas and carrots. Cook 5 minutes. Add broth, flour, butter and worcester sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir until the flour is no longer visible. Cover and let simmer until sauce has thickened.

Spread meat and veggie mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with potatoes. Add cheese and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove, let cool and enjoy!!