Sausage and Cauliflower Bake

Sausage and Cauliflower Bake

This is one of those what-can-I-make-that’s-quick-and-easy recipes. The flavors of the cauliflower and the sausage blend together quite well, and make the dish rather meaty in taste and texture.

Cauliflower and Sausage Bake
2 pkts frz cauliflower, thawed
½ pkt Eckrich’s Polish Kielbasa, cut into pieces 

1 pkt onion soup mix
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1-2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
¼ cup water
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl toss the cauliflower with some salt and the sausage. In a separate bowl, mix the onion soup mix with the water, and then add in the eggs, beat well. Next add the milk, Italian seasoning, and chili flakes and beat again, until well blended.

Transfer the cauliflower and sausage to a glass baking dish, and pour the egg and milk mixture over it. Bake for 30 minutes and then reduce the heat to 300 Fahrenheit and bake till firm. Serve hot.

Leek and Potato Soup

This recipe is from a book I got in the library called Master Recipes. The soup turned out really nice. The flavors were a lot stronger than I thought. The recipe said to only use the leek whites, but I included all the greens so that it would have a nice color to it. It makes a pretty large quantity, so be prepared to eat for the few meals.

Leek and Potato Soup

3 leeks
1 medium onion
5 cups chicken stock
About ½ tsp nutmeg
Salt to taste
Pepper to Taste
2 tablespoons Butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup light cream

Trim the leeks and cut into equal sized pieces. Peel onion and cut into same size as leeks. Melt the butter in a soup pot, then add in leeks and onions. Cover and cook till soft but not brown. While the leeks are cooking, peel the potatoes and slice thin. Add the potatoes to the stock pot, and then add the stock, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook till the potatoes are soft. Remove from stove. Use an immersion blender and blend till smooth. Return the soup to the pot and give a boil. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and cream. Taste for salt. Serve hot with bacon bits.

Sausage And Potatoes Stew In Lemon Rosemary Broth

This recipe really turned out well. It's from a book I own called Soups and Stews. The flavor of the hot Italian sausage really comes out in the broth. As my husband put it, "what can be better than sausages and potatoes".

Sausage And Potatoes Stew In Lemon Rosemary Broth

2 tbsps olive oil
12 hot Italian sausages
Six new potatoes, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ tsp chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 ½ tsps salt
1 tsp grated lemon zest
One head escarole, cut into 1 inch pieces
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the sausages and brown well, about 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the potatoes, garlic, and rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are lightly browned, about five minutes. Add the wine and simmer until reduced to about ¼ cup. Stir in the stock and salt. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender about 20 minutes.

Add half the lemon zest and the escarole to the stew, pressing the leaves into the broth. Cover and cook until the escarole is soft, about 3 minutes. Add the Pepper. Sprinkle the remaining lemons zest as garnish and serve with toasted French bread.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I dreamed all night, last night, about Mac n' Cheese, so when I woke up this morning I thought I'd make some - which made me realize that I have never made a proper Mac n' Cheese. Thanks to Google and Food Network, I found this recipe by Alton Brown and holy Batman! It's Amazing. Try it...

Food Network: Alton Brown: Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Apple Chips

Apple Chips

I don’t know why I've never thought to make these before! They are healthy, easy to make, and delicious. After coming home from apple-picking with a half bushel of apples, I started to think of everything I can make with them and chips was one of many ideas. So I Googled around and found this recipe. I’m simply coping and pasting it here with the link, because I followed her instructions to the tee. The only difference, I baked them for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Thank you Snack Girl.

Apple Chip Recipe

from Ontario Apple Growers
(makes 2 cups)

2 large apples
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 200 Fahrenheit.
2. Thinly slice apples crosswise about 1/8-inch (2 mm) thick with a mandolin or sharp knife.
3. Arrange apple slices in a single layer on two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. In small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Put mixture into a sieve and sprinkle evenly over apple slices.
4. Bake in the top and bottom third of the oven until apples are dry and crisp, about 2 hours. Remove from oven and let ‘chips’ cool completely before transferring to a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Apple Chip Bowl

Notes: 

*Buy a mandolin if you don't have one. They work beautifully.

*The photo I've posted is one that I took of the chips I made. 

Spinach and Burger Pie

With barbecue season over, and our barbecue all packed up for winter, I've been wondering what to do with these last few burgers sitting in my freezer. So I concocted this recipe, which turned out much better than I thought it would. I would have liked to have mixed in a little cheese too, but kept it simple for my lactose-intolerant husband.

Spinach and Burger Pie
1 frz. pie crust
1 pkt frz. chopped spinach, thawed
2 beef burger patties, thawed
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced fine
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
½ tsp paprika
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 egg
2 tbsp milk

Bake pie crust as per instructions, until golden brown. In a pot, heat a little oil, and fry the onions till the edges start to brown. Add in the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Next add in the salt, pepper, seasoning, and paprika, stir well and add spinach. Sauté till the spinach is almost cooked then add the beef patties. As the patties cook, break them up into pieces. Once the patties are done, switch off the stove and cool.

In a small bowl, beat the egg and milk together. Once the spinach has cooled, fill the pie crust till it is full. Then pour the egg mix over the spinach until there is no place in the pie dish. Using a fork, poke a few holes in the spinach so that the egg seeps in. If there is any egg left, use a pastry brush and egg wash the top of the pie.

Bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 to 30 minutes or till the egg is firm and the top is browned. Serve immediately.