Sausage Stroganoff

If you've read my blog for any length of time you must know by now that in our house, sausage is king. We love sausage in pretty much any shape or form. So, when I decided to do a stroganoff today for dinner it shouldn't surprise you all that much that it was sausage that I reached for, instead of lean ground beef or ground turkey. I don't have step-by-step photos, alas, because I was preoccupied with taking photos of my preschooler parading around in my high heels (yes! really!), but I do have an end result photo. This dish isn't all that healthy but it is comfort food at its finest. And after a rough couple of weeks (I've just been really swamped both at home and work), I needed some major comfort food.

Sausage Stroganoff
16 oz. egg noodles, cooked per package instructions
1 pound Italian sausages, casings removed
3/4 cup diced onion
2 4 oz. cans mushrooms, drained
1 cup light sour cream
Splash of wine (I used Riesling)

Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray. Add the onions and sausages. Break up the sausages into chunks. Cook the onions and sausages until the meat is cooked thoroughly. Add the mushrooms and sour cream. Stir. Add the egg noodles to the pan, followed by a splash of white wine, if necessary. I added this because the noodles were a bit on the dry side. You can sprinkle with parsley, if you like. This would actually make it taste pretty good, I think!



Et voila!

It tasted really good. My middle child had three - count em, THREE! - servings. He loved it. As I said, sausage is well loved in my house.

Eggy in a Basket

This past week I scored a tremendous deal at the grocery store on bacon and sausages. The bacon alone was a steal; $1.99 for 2 pounds! The sausage was also $1.99 but it was for 8 sausage patties. Still, a good deal. So, I decided to make breakfast for dinner. Not wanting to cook ordinary eggs, I decided to try something new. I had seen Eggy in a Basket before (most notably on the movie V for Vendetta) but have never made it. It's really, really simple. I toasted the bread first then had the middle child use a glass to cut holes in the middle of the toast. After cooking the bacon and sausages I drained off the grease in the pan. I did add a little grease back so the eggs wouldn't stick; I used about a tablespoon for each batch. I then laid the toast in the pan and cracked two eggs into the center of the hole. With the heat on medium, I covered the pan and left them alone until I checked on them about 3 minutes later. They turned out wonderfully and everyone liked this dish!

Here's a close-up:



And here is the whole dish. Yes, that is martini fixings behind the plate. Mr. Mary Cooks had a rough day at work so I made him a dirty martini to go along with his dinner.

Turkey Kielbasa Stir Fry

I made au gratin potatoes with kielbasa and edamame for the kids and Mr. Mary Cooks. Knowing that it isn't very healthy and I am trying to shed some pounds, I decided to make a special dinner for myself.

Ingredients:

One package of stir fry veggies (no sauce, rice, or noodles - veggies only)
2 ounces turkey kielbasa
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce



Spray your pan with nonstick cooking spray and put the sesame oil in.



When the pan is hot, add the kielbasa.



After the kielbasa has browned a little, add the frozen vegetables.



Also, add the soy sauce.



Sauté until the vegetables are hot. Serve immediately.



You know, I am all about volume for low calories. This fit the bill! It was delicious and easy. You can vary it, if you'd like. I think some crushed red pepper flakes might be good, along with some garlic and/or ginger.

Made as above, this was about 240 calories for the entire thing.

Spicy Beans with Turkey Sausage

Spicy Beans with Turkey Sausage

Ingredients

1 lb. smoked turkey sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15.5 oz.) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth (enough to fill pot at least halfway)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin


You can also make this on the stove top. Sauté the onions and green peppers in a stock pot that has been sprayed with cooking spray until soft prior to adding the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Number of Servings: 6

Nutritional Info
Calories:376.4
Fat: 7.4g
Carbohydrates: 52.9g
Protein: 24.4g


You can also put all of the ingredients in a slow cooker, turn on to low, and cook for 5-6 hours.

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This was delicious and filling! I loved that it was full of fiber and protein. I used a salsa that was a little too hot for the kids; next time I will be sure to use a milder salsa so that the preschooler will eat it.

Breakfast for Dinner

It is snowy here today and I didn't feel like going to the grocery store. It was time to look in my huge freezer for food to cook that wouldn't be too involved nor something that I'd need more ingredients for. I settled on chicken breakfast sausages and bacon. We'd have breakfast for dinner! My kids love it when I cook this.

First, I set the mood for cooking. I lit two candles that I got in my cookie party gift exchange last night. They're lovely!



I proceeded to cook the bacon. It looks so delicious (it was!).



After the bacon, I cooked the sausages. This particular brand of chicken breakfast sausage were not as good as the brand I normally get (Isernio's). But since I got them at a pretty good discount I couldn't complain too much.



Next, I cooked toast while the eggs were cooking. Eggs! I can't believe I forgot to take a photo of the lovely eggs. Oh well. A lot was going on at that moment.



This is my daughter's plate. Doesn't it look delicious?

A Few Dinners

Tonight's dinner (scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, biscuit):



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Pork roast, green beans, and au gratin potatoes from earlier this week:



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Pot roast from last night:



On the plate:



For the pot roast I put an onion cut into wedges into a dutch oven, the roast, potatoes cut into sixths, baby carrots next. Then I put seasonings (salt, pepper, parsley, Italian seasoning), diced tomatoes, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and about 1/2 cup of chicken broth into the pot. I put it in a 325 degree oven for 3 hours but it could have been in the oven for at least another hour. The flavor was pretty good but it wasn't as tender as it should have been. Ah well.

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

Pasta e fagioli soup and cheddar biscuit. Completely delicious!

The soup was from a base by Bean Cuisine:



I added homemade turkey broth, turkey Italian sausages, and vegetables (onion, garlic, yellow bell pepper, carrots, celery). I also added a can of stewed tomatoes. The soup was divine!

I also made some cheddar biscuits from a recipe I found on the internet and seems to be highly replicated (replicated? duplicated?). Anyway, it's supposed to mirror Red Lobster's cheddar biscuits. I don't know if they do as I have never eaten there but the biscuits were very good. Here's the recipe:

Cheddar Bay Biscuits
like Red Lobster's®
Garlic and cheddar make a flavorful addition to basic drop biscuits.

Serves: 8
Prep. Time: 0:15

2 cups Bisquick® baking mix
2/3 cup milk - low fat okay
1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese - low fat okay
1/4 cup butter OR margarine - melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
parsley flakes - as needed

-Combine Bisquick®, milk, and cheddar and beat with a wooden spoon for about 30 seconds.
-Spoon onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.
-Bake in 450 degree oven for 8 - 10 minutes.
-Combine butter and garlic powder and pour over hot biscuits; sprinkle with parsley.

Notes: As we all know, restaurants have access to ingredients home cooks do not. In this case, I've been told Red Lobster® uses their Shrimp Scampi butter mix (a powder) to flavor their biscuits. So, this recipe is as close as a home cook can get to the real thing.