chicken and sage tortellini

Wondering what to do with ground chicken? Just add won ton wrappers for homemade tortellini!

I now have a few dozen tortellini in my freezer, waiting to be boiled up and eaten with a little olive oil, lemon juice, and parmesan. Mmmm.


chicken and sage tortellini
serves 3-4

won ton wrappers
1/2 lb ground chicken
7-10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
salt

Mix together well the chicken, sage, garlic and a few dashes of salt.

To make the tortellini, take a wrapper in the palm of your hand, add a spoonful of the chicken mixture to the center, and then dip your finger in water. Run your damp finger along two edges of the wrapper and then seal in a triangle, pinching up the sides. Then pinch together the two far corners and bend back the third corner. Don't worry -- after making a few, you really get into a rhythm. While you're working with one wrapper, make sure to keep the rest under a damp cloth. And have a little dish of water to dip your finger into.

Either boil and enjoy right away or freeze for later. To freeze, lay them individually on a cookie sheet. (I dusted the sheet with a little flour 'cause I was afraid they might stick.) Once they were frozen, I threw them together in a ziplock bag.

baby band tshirts

Who doesn't have ol' tshirts lying around? It seems pretty simple to downsize 'em for a rockin' recycled baby gown. Although I don't know if we need another generation of Guns n' Roses fans...

city quilt, built

I love this quilt. I worked on it a while ago and then let it drop to the bottom of the stack of WIPs. But now it's finished -- and it's one of my favourites. Mostly because of that cute frog.

It was pretty quick to finish once I had the top done and embroidered. I did the ol' right sides together trick with batting on top, turned it inside out and then top-stitched. Simple.

I used a polyester batting so I could get the high loft I wanted and I could space the zitzits 6-7 inches apart. Not sure what to call them because instead of tying, I used the zig zag stitch on the shortest length and widest width (same way I made that turtle blanket.) Makes for a neat baby-safe connection. If you ever need a quick baby gift, I highly recommend the method.

chicken apple sausage

Whoa. That was kind of a long unplanned hiatus from this place. Well, welcome back! I've made chicken apple sausages for the occasion.

If you want to make these more breakfasty, try adding a dash of cinnamon.

chicken apple sausage
serves 2 (adapted from a Martha recipe)

1/2 lb ground chicken
1 small granny smith apple, diced
1/2 onion, finely diced
about 10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. In oven proof frying pan, saute the onions in a little olive oil, until translucent. Add the apple pieces and saute for a few more minutes, until slightly soft.

In medium bowl, combine the chicken, sage, salt & pepper, and the onion-apple mixture.

Form mixture into four patties and place in hot frying pan, prepped with a little olive oil again. Brown both sides for a few minutes each, and then place in hot oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cooked through.

We enjoyed ours with some mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Its starting to really feel like summer 'round here.