Italian Cookin'

When David and I met I hardly could do more than pasta and marinara (from a jar) in the kitchen. After receiving some great wedding gifts, I was excited to use the new kitchen gear and try to become a real domestic wife, after all I married an Italian man. So, I started trying recipes from our cookbooks, Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" is our favorite. I learned how to make marinara from scratch with my homegrown tomatos, crepe manicotti, polenta lasagna, calzones and more. While I mostly cook low-fat, low-sodium, less red-meat meals, quick/easy recipes, I have become more adventurous since we now have a larger kitchen, thus more work space than we had in our little cottage in CA. I really get a sense of satisfaction when I can think up what to cook, execute the plan in a fair amount of time, then get positive feedback from David. Here's tonight's dinner that was a hit in our house:

Stromboli with sauted garlic, onion, spinach, and sundried tomato chicken sausage!



The Recipe (I mostly made it up based on the ingredients I had on hand).

1 package of pizza dough (I used a tube of crescent roll b/c that's what I had and wanted to use it up) You could also use homemade pizza dough and if you're lucky to live near a Trader Joes, I highly recommend their pizza dough balls.
1cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped finely (or more depending on your taste buds...we love garlic!)
1 1/2 cup spinach (I use frozen spinach that I defrost in a colander under warm water, then press the water out with a paper towel)
2 chicken sausage links, sliced thinly (we love the sundried tomato flavored chicken sausage that I've only found at our SuperTarget)
1 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup cheese grated (I use a combo of mozzarella, cheddar, and fresh parmesan and go light on the cheese, you could always use more if you prefer)
1/4 cup milk
4 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Saute the onions in olive oil for a few minutes, then add spinach and saute until onion is transclucent or carmelized (whichever you prefer). Add garlic last and saute for just a minute (it's very easy to over cook garlic and you lose the rich flavor). Saute the sausage in with the onions and spinach or in a separate pan. Roll out the dough and place on a sheet of parchment paper on cookie sheet pan. Spread just a thin layer of marinara (you don't want to use too much sauce in the stromboli so that it doesn't get soggy) over the dough, then layer the spinach and onion mixture, the sausage, then the cheese. Fold the dough over to form a pouch over the ingredients. Brush a thin layer of milk over the outside of the dough pouch and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese.

Bake for approx. 15 minutes at 400 Degrees. Serve with a side of marinara sauce for dipping and Enjoy! It's great because the stromboli itself covers all the food groups, that's why I served it with apple slices rather than a salad or more veggies:)