One-Pot Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet

One-Pot Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet

Well here’s a quick Friday night recipe, as I will be going to my FOURTH exercise class in the morning (along with my daughter, she signed up YAY!) and then I’ll be busy making lists and packing to bring our boat to the coast on Sunday, staying until Tuesday. We’ll be pulling in the RV from higher ground that’s parked up the street down there away from the flood zone, and assessing the damage from the winter flooding. We already found out our nice deck hubby built 4th of July last year got washed away in the flooding. Boo hiss!

RV Deck that Washed Away

It was a day or so work for my hubby, and the majority of the wood was the other half of our 20-foot dock in the river that kept breaking in half, and this half had been sitting around upside down on the property for over 6 years. From what we hear, the other 10-foot dock is still on the property, whew! So it wasn’t a huge loss, except we had strapped down a plastic storage shed to the top of it that contained our crab propane pot and burner and my crawdad pot, among other things. I was able to replace the crab propane pot and unit with one on on half-price at Ace Hardware. Still have to replace my crawdad pot. I have no idea what else was in there until we get down there. I should take a picture of contents of everything before we pull out each year!

But, life goes on. I’m ready to go unplugged again for awhile, my fave time of year! (No internet, cell, or TV service over there, darn. LOL.) Don’t worry, I’ll be checking in occasionally and trying to post somewhat weekly in the meantime in between my real job. Enjoy the recipe!

One-Pot Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet

7 ounces cooked kielbasa sausage, turkey or otherwise (Half a horseshoe). Freeze the other half for future use
1 tablespoon bacon grease (or substitute oil of choice)
1/2 head small cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/2 large red (or sweet yellow or both) onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (or two cloves minced)
Ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons white vinegar plus a few tablespoons of water, as needed
1 teaspoon spicy or grainy brown or Dijon mustard
Cooked mashed potatoes, for serving (optional)

Sausage and Cabbage Skillet Ingredients

Slice kielbasa into rounds in your size of choice. Heat bacon grease (or oil) in a large nonstick skillet over medium­high. Add kielbasa, chopped cabbage, chopped onion, minced garlic, and ground black pepper, to taste. Stir to combine, and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until sausage is browned and cabbage is starting to wilt, stirring occasionally. (I actually added the cabbage a bit later but adjust accordingly.)

Cooking the Kielbasa and Veggies

Mix in the sugar, vinegar, and mustard, then cook and stir for a minute or so. Reduce heat a bit, then add a couple of tablespoons of water and cover to help steam the cabbage. Continue to cook covered, until cabbage is done to your liking, adding additional water as needed.

Cooked Kielbasa Skillet Ready to Serve

Uncover, remove from heat, and serve immediately over mashed potatoes or other grain/starch of choice, which is optional. I reheated some leftover potatoes.

One-Pot Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet

 

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Italian Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Italian Vegetable Tortellini Soup

This is one of those “it’s time to clean out the refrigerator” soups. I had a large hodgepodge of fresh vegetables to use up and a half-bag of cheese tortellini in the freezer. So why not make a soup out of it all?

Tortellini Soup Veggies and Pasta

I decided on an Italian-style soup with tomatoes and Italian seasoning. This started out to be a semi-vegetarian soup, but a last-minute errand brought me close to the supermarket so I ran in and bought a link of Italian Turkey Sausage. You can leave out the sausage because the tortellini is filling enough, but I’m always wary of serving my husband a vegetarian supper.

Chopped Vegetables for Soup

There is really not much to the recipe other than some slicing and dicing and a little sauteing. Use any kind of vegetables you want in this soup! Don’t have asparagus but have some zucchini? Use that instead! Don’t have any celery? Then add more carrots! What a flexible way to use up those pesky portions of vegetables that aren’t enough for a meal, huh?

Vegetable Base for Soup

Italian Vegetable Tortellini Soup

1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/4 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Handful of mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Ground black pepper, to taste
Mrs. Dash or salt, to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 jar or can of tomatoes, diced, with liquid
6 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium
Small head of broccoli, cut into florets
Small bunch of asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
9 ounces cheese tortellini, frozen or refrigerated
1/2 horseshoe link of Italian Turkey Sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick (optional)
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Italian Vegetable Soup Base

Dice, chop, mince, slice, and cut up all your veggies (and sausage if you use it). You can perfect your knife skills with this soup!

Asparagus and Broccoli Added

In a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil and the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes until starting to soften. Add the seasonings. Plop in two large spoonfuls of tomato paste into the skillet (about 2 tablespoons) then stir to combine with the vegetables. Continue cooking and stirring for a few more minutes.

Simmering the Soup

Add the diced tomatoes then add the broccoli and asparagus, stirring to combine. Now pour in the chicken broth. Turn up heat and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, to meld the flavors.

Tortellini and Optional Sausage Added

In the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the tortellini and sausage, bring back up to a simmer, and continue cooking until tortellini is cooked through. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, and Italian Sourdough bread. I decided to use the one fresh tomato we had left in a side salad that we also ate with the soup.

Italian Vegetable Tortellini Soup

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Sausage and Garbanzo Beans in a Spicy Tomato Herb Sauce

Sausage and Garbanzo Beans with Tomatoes in a Spicy Herb Sauce

Well. This meal got totally mixed reviews. My daughter loved it. My husband didn’t like my choice of sausage but really enjoyed the spicy bean sauce and herbs, and ate mostly that. I found it middle ground because of my choice of sausage. I  liked it OK, just OK. But that is what cooking is about. Experiment! Next time I will make this with standard smoked turkey sausage or Kielbasa, and my husband agreed it would be outstanding with that instead of this fancy-schmancy stuff I bought.

I got the idea for this dish from a blog I follow, TasteFood:   Mediterranean Smoked Sausage, Tomato and Chickpeas. She has some fabulous recipes. Why oh why didn’t I use standard smoked sausage for this? I will tell you why.  I was in Target in their new upgraded store with a food section, and saw these and thought, “Wow! I wanted to make this recipe I just saw on a food blog site, but how neat to make it with this instead!” It was touted with all natural, no preservatives, yada yada. And spinach and garlic! Winner! (not)

Sausage Tomato Herbed Spiced Garbanzo Bean Skillet Ingredients

I was also excited to use a canned jar of my tomatoes, and I scrounged in my herb garden to get the last of my herbs for this. I got some fresh tarragon, but my basil plants had frozen overnight and looked horrible, my cilantro had expired long ago, but luckily had some store-bought cilantro in the fridge. For this recipe, just use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand (parsley, basil, cilantro, etc.) or use dried, which is always acceptable when you don’t have fresh. It’s not like we all have greenhouses in our backyard.

So that’s the back story. Now I present the recipe, but I shall suggest smoked sausage (turkey, Kielbasa, or otherwise) instead of ground chicken and spinach froo-froo stuff. ‘Nuff said,

Sausage and Garbanzo Beans in a Tomato Herb Sauce

Smoked sausage of preference  (hint, hint)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2  tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup homemade or low sodium chicken broth
1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 can of tomatoes, your own homemade, or store bought
2 tablespoons of minced fresh herbs, any kind (halve that if they are dried)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper, to taste

Slice your sausage on a diagonal, to look cool for a photo, or just slice it normal in about 1/4 inch slices. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet on medium heat, then add the sausage, with a about a 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook until the water evaporates. Now it’s just a test of patience to get the sausage browned to your liking.  Uncover, and using tongs, flip the sausage over and over until you are satisfied with the outcome. I’m impatient. You would only have to flip them once if you are not.

Garlic Spinach Chicken Sausage in Skillet (I was finally satisfied)

Once the sausage is done to your liking, remove to a paper-toweled plate and set aside. Add the other tablespoon of oil to the skillet, then add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions start to soften. Now add the chicken broth (or wine, I wish I had some!) to deglaze the pan.  Simmer that for about 5 minutes until the liquid reduces about in half. Now add the garbanzo beans, tomatoes with liquid (drain off any unusually large liquid amount if homemade canned type), the herbs and the crushed red pepper flakes. You can sub in cayenne pepper if you don’t have that on hand.

Garbanzo Bean and Tomato Herb Mixture

Smoosh the tomatoes down if you used homemade, or you are home free if you uses canned diced tomatoes. Stir and simmer that all around until it looks nice and thick and yummy, and don’t forget to grind a bunch of black pepper over it, to taste. Now add the sausage and simmer until heated through, just a minute or so. This can be served  over couscous, rice, or pasta, or like I did with Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains (no I am not paid to endorse that) or just eat as is! This really is a simple and great weeknight meal idea with very few ingredients.

Chicken Sausage in Tomato Garbanzo Mixture

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Grilled Turkey Sausage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Foil Packets

Foil Packets Ready to Close and Grill

I just love the start of grilling season! That, and the versatility of grilled foil packets. There are so many variations of meats and vegetables you can add to the packets, and a tried and true simple marinade goes with just about anything. Rather than make “individual” packets, I just divide the food between two large packets then dump everything onto a platter when ready to eat. (Unlike this variation I made last summer the size of a watermelon! Link here for the variation, using red peppers and mushrooms: Grilled Sausage and Vegetables in Foil Packet)

I had my husband put these on the grill, and didn’t realize he had the two middle burners set on low instead of medium, so we didn’t get the yummy crispy-crunchy browned bits all over everything, but the potatoes and vegetables were tender and we were ready to eat, so I let it slide this time. Next time I’ll remind him of the heat setting.  This recipe easily feeds five or six people, and we enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Marinating Broccoli Cauliflower Potatoes Onions and Tomatoes

Grilled Turkey Sausage, Broccoli and Cauliflower Foil Packets

1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
3 medium potatoes, washed and chopped into chunks
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
1 large Roma or Plum tomato
1 large green onion, chopped
1 Smoked Turkey Sausage link (I used Jennie-O), cut into 1/2 to 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon butter or substitute, cut into tiny chunks

In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Mrs. Dash (or salt), and black pepper until well combined. Add all the veggies and let them marinate while you preheat a grill to medium heat. Prepare two large pieces of aluminum foil — heavy duty if you have it or double up if you don’t — to fit everything in them.

When ready to cook, add the sausage chunks to the bowl of vegetables and lightly toss around to distribute. Evenly spread the food over the center of the foil pieces, leaving enough room to close and seal the packets. Distribute the tiny chunks of butter over the top, then seal the foil packets.  Place the packets on the grill and close the lid and cook for about 40 minutes, or one hour if the hubs decides to mess with the heat settings, turning halfway through. Carefully open packets and dump contents onto a serving platter. Pass it around and help yourselves! You will be surprised how quick plates are emptied.

Grilled Turkey Sausage and Vegetables Ready to Eat

Spicy Sausage Skillet Pasta ~ A One-Pot Meal!

Spicy Sausage Skillet

I am not at all going to pretend this is my own recipe. I saw this on Pinterest and said “Yep. I’m so doing that. Hands down.” My tweaks to this are so minor that it just stands to prove that the original recipe was a winner. It originally came from America’s Test Kitchen cookbook, and I found it on Kevin & Amanda’s food blog that I follow. Well, I don’t have the physical cookbook so searched for the link to the original recipe online, and that’s a no-can-do unless I subscribe to it for money. Gee, did I mention I’m frugal too? So instead I will linky you to the adaptation from Amanda, and then tell you about my minor tweaks. Actually some aren’t so minor (and ones you should NOT do) as I got interrupted by a phone call from my seester in Austin trying to plan a family reunion, (HI SEESTER!) and got totally distracted during the making of this. But that’s OK. I’ll try to keep to what you really need to do to make this. It really is simple if you don’t have a phone attached to your head during the process.

Spicy Sausage Skillet Hot out of Oven

Spicy Sausage Skillet Pasta
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen and Kevin & Amanda

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package smoked turkey sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 1/2 cups diced onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
1 10-ounce can RoTel (or can of tomatoes and green chiles)
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces pasta, something sturdy like Penne or Rigatoni
Lots of ground pepper, to taste
6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 sliced green onions

A view from the other side…

Add olive oil to a cast iron or oven-safe skillet over medium high heat. Add the turkey sausage (this is the Kielbasa-looking horseshoe-shaped stuff, not the ground stuff in the casings) and onions and cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. The original recipe called for 4 minutes and they were not nearly done at that time. Add the minced garlic and cook about a minute more.  Add the chicken broth, RoTel tomatoes (recipe called for mild, I used original because I like spicy!), milk (recipe called for cream, did not have any), pasta, pepper and stir. Now here is where I got distracted. The recipe called for 2 cups of chicken broth, but I was yakking to my sister and I think I added 3 cups by accident. I can’t be sure. It also called for 8 ounces of pasta, but my box was 16 ounces and just eyeballed half of it while talking and think I barely added more than a quarter of the box.. oops.  Next bring the mixture to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 or 20 minutes. At this point it was way too soupy so I did what all good cooks do when this happens. I dumped the extra liquid down the drain. Worked for me! I hope you won’t have to do this step. I’m sure if I had added the correct amount of pasta (and got the broth amount right), more of the liquid would have been absorbed, too. Now remove skillet from the heat and stir in half the cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with green onions. Broil in oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with a simple green salad on the side. The flavors are just delicious and creamy gooey and you will gobble this right up!