sowngrow, she didn't move to Texas until 2006 and she moved to the Seattle area when her husband got transferred while they were still taping the Next Food Network Star, so she was in Keller for two or three years. She met her husband in Paris while she was working there, she's travelled extensively, she's got an MBA and she had a cooking show on television before in the Los Angeles area which was, apparently, cancelled pretty quickly. So, if she wants to convince me she's just a little ole' stay at home Mom from Texas, cooking for her 4 kids on a budget, she's got to lose the stories about her wonderful meals while she lived in Paris and she's got to be real about how much those meals she's cooking really costs. I can't cook most of her meals for $10, even here in Michigan where groceries are relatively inexpensive. She did a lemon scampi that I remember with a pound of shrimp and 2 lemons. Lemons are nearly $1 each and shrimp is $7 or $8 a pound. The budget is already blown and there are no side dishes yet, let alone the pasta and other ingredients for the scampi. Now, I don't have a problem about any of the things she's done or places she's gone, but I'd prefer that she just be upfront about it and not do the "aw shucks, I'm a housewife on a budget" bit. I guess I'm really unclear as to why the Food Network needs to create a "persona" for people, instead of just letting them cook and be whoever they are. Annie

I cook the sausage in a very old, very seasoned cast iron skillet, using a slotted potato masher to squish it down, then scrape it with a wooden flat beveled spoon - spatula. I continue doing this while it cooks over med high heat. It breaks up nicely and you can easily get it to the size crumbles you want quickly with very little clean up. This is a recipe I have cooked for years and adapted it to our ever changing tastes. It came from a magazine that adapted it from "The New Chili Cuisine" by Nancy S. Hughes. I am cooking this for dinner tonite as the rain, chill and gloom just won't seem to leave. ~* My changes (almost the entire recipe, but I do not want to take credit for the original ~ which I have included) SAUSAGE, WHITE BEAN AND PASTA CHILI 1 lb mild Italian sausages, casings removed ~* Hot Italian 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained ~* Del Monte Petite diced tomatoes w/ jalapenos ~* Onion - coarsely chopped 14 oz chicken broth ~*32 oz homemade chicken or turkey broth 4 oz chopped green chilis, rinsed & grained ~* 1/2 c(?) chopped sliced jalenpoes from jar I always have - amt - to taste so not to spicy 2 tsp paprika ~*omit 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ~* Chipotle red pepper (McCormicks) 2 T ground cumin ~* Chipotle Tabasco sauce to taste 15 oz can Cannellie beans, rinsed & drained 2/3 cup tiny pasta, cooked - makes 1 1/3 cups ~* omit often Cook sausage breaking it into small chunks until lightly brown. * Remove sausage and blot excess grease Saute the chopped onion and chopped jalapenos in the same skillet until tender. In a small dutch oven or heavy saucepan, add the tomatoes and their liquid, chicken broth, green chilis, and spices. Add the sausage & onion. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer, uncovered for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in beans & pasta ~ * I add the pasta to the individual bowls. Reheat & serve. ~ Top with fresh Parmesan. Serve with cornbread and or tortilla chips. This is very quick and easy. I hope all my changes don't intimate you. You can make this as spicy as you want - or not! It also freezes very well!

Terri, I missed the fact that the sausage was already ground. AND I missed the fact that you aren't looking for a pasta recipe. I would hate it if Moe didn't like pasta. How about making a stuffing for chicken using some of the ground sausage. You could stuff boneless chicken breasts or bone out and stuff a whole chicken. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Chicken - Deboned Stuffed Chicken ================================== Source: Pat Davis Cooking School, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1979 Note: A Boned out Three pound chicken will feed 6 nicely. 1 3 pound chicken or 4 Whole Chicken Breasts (not singles 3 cups Fresh Bread - Crumbled 1 small onion 1 clove garlic 1/4 pound of Sausage (I usually use one Italian Sausage) 1/4 pound of mushrooms 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons of fresh 1 egg Butter Chicken Broth Salt and pepper to taste Sauce 1/2 cup White Wine 1 cup Chicken Broth 1 onion 2 small tomatoes 1 garlic clove . Bone out whole chicken or if using just the breasts bone the breasts but leave them whole. DO NOT REMOVE SKIN Save bones. Saute onion, and garlic in butter. Add sausage, (if using link take meat out of casing), add sliced mushrooms and saute. Season with thyme,salt and pepper and mix in coarsely crumbled bread. Add chicken broth to moisten. Add egg. Stuff chicken,(or breasts) and sew up with unwaxed dental floss. Preheat oven to 375°. Place bones in shallow roasting pan and place chicken on bones. Roast for 30 minutes and then add one coarsely chopped onion, and two coarsely chopped tomatoes,and the garlic clove to the pan. Pour in 1/2 cup of white wine and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Chicken should sit above liquid resting on the bones. Continue roasting for another 30 to 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked. (note: Breasts take the less time) When cooked remove chicken to board to rest and remove bones from pan. Skim excess fat from pan juices add the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth and pour contents into blender. Puree to make sauce. To serve,Remove dental floss (comes out easy with one little pull). Slice breasts into nice rounds and place 3 or 4 slices on each plate.If using the whole chicken, also slice in to 1/2 inch slices and place one to two on each plate. Drizzle with sauce.

It was so good. The sausage mellowed out a lot! I had a couple of changes, I used regular stewed tomatoes and omitted the beans so it was meat and veggie based. I also used frozen spinach oh, and I used a carton of broth instead of canned. Minor stuff. Our guests requested a doggie bag for the soup! Sorry I can't remember where I got the recipe from. 1 pound Italian sausage 1 clove garlic, minced 2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes 1 cup sliced carrots 1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained 2 small zucchini, cubed 2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt Directions In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender. Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes