Italian Sausage Cannellini Bean Dip Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large skillet, cook sausage, onion and garlic over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up sausage into crumbles; drain. Stir in wine, oregano, salt and thyme. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is almost evaporated., Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Stir in spinach, beans and tomatoes; cook and stir until spinach is wilted. Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish; if using an ovenproof skillet, leave in skillet. Sprinkle with cheeses., Bake until bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Serve with crackers.

Steps:

• 1. Brown, and break apart while cooking, the Italian sausage in a heavy skillet on medium heat to prevent burnt meat. If you prefer something spicier, get the Hot Italian bulk sausage. Or, you can use regular bulk sausage. Once the meat is cooked through, drain fat off by letting the meat cool on paper towels.
• 2. While the sausage is cooking, chop the onion, red pepper, slice the drained black olives into a medium bowl to add later.
• 3. Put the 2 cans of drained cannellini beans in a large bowl with the can of chopped green chilies. I used my metal potato masher [not a small squared shapes plastic masher] to start mixing the beans and the chilies.
• 4. Add the two cans of undrained Rotel diced tomatoes, and 1 block of cream cheese at a time, and blend it in with the potato masher until roughly smooth. Blend in the sour cream, garlic, and black pepper with the potato masher until the mixture is fairly smooth.
• 5. Add the cooled, drained, sausage as you break the meat apart into smaller pieces. Add the bowl of chopped veggies and fold it all into the mixture until well blended. If you have a lid for your large mixing bowl, just snap it on, and chill several hours before serving. I had to divide my batch between two large rectangular containers with tight fitting lids.

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a grill pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.
• In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the fennel, onion, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes (plus juices), beans, kale and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the kale has wilted, 25 to 30 minutes.
• While the stew is cooking, place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Add the sausages and grill, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Cool and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Remove the pan from the oven and add the cooked sausage slices. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spoon the stew into bowls and serve.

Steps:

• Place the beans in a large bowl with water, using your hand swirl the beans around to rinse them and discard any small stones or beans that look brown. Drain the beans in a colander, rinse and refill the bowl with beans and a generous amount of water (at least 2-3 inches above the beans) and let soak overnight or for at least 6 hours.
• Drain the beans, rinse well and place in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add 7 cups water, 5 of the sage leaves, the tomato halves and bring to a boil uncovered over med-high heat. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered until the beans are tender 1 1/2 - 2 hours, be sure to test for doneness. Drain and reserve the beans, discard the sage and tomato halves.
• In a large sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, 5 remaining sage leaves, onions, carrots, celery, red pepper flakes and saute for 8-10 minutes until the ingredients are soft and translucent. Stir in the cooked beans and crushed tomatoes. Add the salt, pepper and the chicken stock. Stir together and simmer gently, when all ingredients are combined and warmed, stir in the mascarpone cheese until melted and evenly folded into the tomato and bean mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover saucepan to keep warm and turn off heat until ready to serve.
• Cook the sausage by braising or grilling. Once the sausages are cooked, transfer them to a cutting board and cut into halves or thirds. Transfer the warm beans to individual bowls and arrange sausage pieces on top. Garnish with a sprig of fresh sage.
• * To Serve 4-5, prepare the same recipe with 1 package of Johnsonville Italian sausage.
• * mascarpone cheese is a mild flavored, creamy Italian cheese and can be found in the specialty cheese section of most grocery stores.