what's new with dinner

My brother came home to visit last week so it was the perfect time to try out some new recipes. First, Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage and Summer Vegetable Saute. This was the first time I'd ever tried the Al Fresco brand of chicken sausage and Classico Pasta Sauce (I have to watch my tomato sauces; some brands are too rich for me). The combination of the two worked out just fine. I actually cut the recipe in half--we only needed to feed four--and heated the sausage in a pan instead of grilling. It probably would have been better with that flavor you can only get from a grill but I'm not complaining.

Second, Asparagus-Stuffed Chicken Rolls. Who doesn't like stuffing foods with other foods? This is a two-person recipe, so to stretch it out to four I used two really big chicken breasts and split them down the middle. Also, I forgot about the sage leaves so I just added some dried sage to the breadcrumb mixture. This was really good but I might have used a little too much Dijon mustard for some people's tastes (not mine, though). I was surprised that the asparagus wasn't overcooked after the boiling and further baking. Oh, and one other thing: the chicken broth barely made any sauce at all. I don't think it was really necessary anyway.

Finally, with the leftover asparagus I made this recipe without the Parmesan. I've been working on roasting vegetables all year; I can't believe it took me this long to get up the nerve to try it.

Maybe later I'll share dessert.