A Note Before You Start
This recipe is a crowd pleaser! The first time I made it I didn’t tweak a thing (so uncharacteristic of me) but I felt it was too spicy so the second time I made it I used a sweet and spicy sausage mix. I used Trader Joe’s sausage links so I removed the sausage from the outer casing before cooking them.
Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, diced
½ lb of sweet sausage
½ lb of spicy Italian sausage
2 TBSP of finely chopped garlic, about 5 cloves
1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, drained
½ cup of white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc) or chicken broth
4 (packed) cups of roughly chopped fresh spinach
8 oz block of cream cheese, cubed and room temperature
⅓ cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 ¼ cups of grated mozzarella cheese (I cut this back to ¾ cup)
2 TBSP of olive oil
1 tsp of kosher salt
1 ½ tsp of Italian seasoning
Preparation
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a pie plate or small casserole dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until they are soft, 5-7 minutes. Add in the sausage and cook until no longer pink. Add the Italian seasoning and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Drain any excess fat at this point.
Step 3: Add the drained, canned tomatoes and the wine and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Add the spinach and continue cooking until the spinach is wilted.
Step 4: Turn the heat to low and add the cream cheese. Stir until melted. Add the parmesan and mix until incorporated. Turn off the heat.
Step 5: Transfer the sausage mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cover the top with the grated mozzarella cheese.
Step 6: Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly. Turn the oven to broil and broil just until it begins to turn golden brown.
Step 7: Serve warm with fresh ciabatta bread slices or crackers. You can even add celery and carrot sticks.
Huge Crowd Pleaser!
Bill