Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage with Simmered Veggies

Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage with Simmered Veggies ~ I always keep a selection of sausages in my freezer, that way I always have a flavor that will suit my mood. 

When I want to make a quick dinner & am feeling a bit uninspired, I'll often make a pot of simmered veggies & throw in some Trader Joe's Chicken Sausages.  I always keep a few different flavored  sausages in my freezer, just for nights like this.  I place all my chopped veggies in a large pot - cover them with broth, some herbs/spices & sometimes a splash of wine.  If the sausages are frozen solid, I add them at the same time as the veggies - but if they're thawed, I'll add them when the veggies are cooked about 3/4's of the way through.  

In about half an hour, we're eating a meal that always hits the spot.  Sometimes we eat it as a 'soup' & fill the bowl with sausages, veggies & broth.  Other times we eat just the sausages & veggies, covered with Bisto gravy.  On those days, I'll usually chop up any leftovers, add it all back to the cooking broth & add some canned beans or any odds and ends in the fridge.  It makes for a nice pot of soup for the next day's lunch.  Waste not, want not.   :)

Vegetarian Chorizo & Egg Burrito ~ Meatless Monday

Vegetarian Chorizo & Egg Burrito ~ I really love the flavor of this vegetarian chorizo.  It gives you all the flavor & enjoyment of the traditional Mexican chorizo sausage, without all the guilt.  This amazing veggie chorizo is from Yves & it's vegan, too!

Vegetarian Chorizo & Egg Burrito ~ I found a REALLY tasty, vegetarian chorizo over at Whole Foods the other day.  It's called Yves Veggie Chorizo ~ and I'm hooked.  It has all the spiced, traditional chorizo sausage flavor & textures, as well as cooking in a recipe like the real thing.  It's made without all those things that might turn you off of eating chorizo. (if you have ever read the ingredient label on a package of real meat, Mexican chorizo sausage, you know what I mean :)  It's perfect for a Meatless Monday meal!

Cooking with this veggie chorizo is so fast & easy.  To make this breakfast burrito, just add the chorizo to your egg mixture & cook as you normally would.  The chorizo is already precooked, so you are just heating it up.  It combines with the eggs to make a fantastic egg & chorizo sausage scramble.

When the chorizo egg scramble is finished cooking, top with some of your favorite cheese(s).  I really like using a mozzarella soy cheese I get over at Trader Joe's, as well as a low fat dairy cheese blend I get at the market.  Wrap it all in your favorite burrito sized tortilla, along with some salsa or hot sauce & you are ready to eat a Mexican breakfast classic, only with a healthier vegetarian spin!  I'm going to try this veggie chorizo sausage in other Mexican recipes calling for chorizo, it's such an easy way to enjoy this healthier version of the classic Mexican sausage.  Enjoy!

Mike's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce ~ an old family recipe, seeing the light of day once again...

Mike's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce ~ Here is an old  Arnold Family Recipe, from my big brother, Mike.  Below is the scanned version of his original typed copy ((that I just found in one of Grandma Bunni's old cookbooks)) from way, way, back when.  ((I'm guessing at least 25+ years ago?))   How the time flies for us diners...but for the recipes, their time remains constant.  They are the same now as they were on the day they were created.  It's so nice that the taste memories of being invited over to his house, for a big spaghetti dinner, full of the rich, meaty Italian flavors of Mike's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce are still the same today, as they were the very first time I ate it.

Time marches on for all of us ~ but the tastes & flavors of family recipes can & do live on forever.  To me, that is their own special magic ~ to be rediscovered & enjoyed by the next generation & then the next...  That's one of the things I enjoy most about cooking ~ keeping, rediscovering, sharing & making new food memories.    Buon Appetito!


Mike's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce                       
~ Serve over your favorite cooked pasta ~

Kale ~ Makes Great Soup, Salads & Snacks

Sausage & Kale Soup, with Beans & Potatoes ~ The original recipe is from Gordon Ramsay's cookbook - Healthy Appetite.  I included a can of white beans since I only had one spud.  I also used some chicken bouillon, to bump up the flavor a bit.  I think the additions really added to the taste of the soup. I'll be making this soup again since it turned out so good.

'Oven Fried' Kale Chips ~ OMG! These are amazing!!! Forget potato chips, these are my new love. They might sound weird, but they are REALLY GOOD! I used regular curly kale & soaked the whole leaves for 2 hours in ice water before making the recipe. (I wanted to get them really clean & crisp)  I then tossed the cut up pieces in 2 batches so I could really get the olive oil mixed in. The 'chips' get incredibly light & crispy in the 20 minutes it takes to make a batch.  Make a lot, they go fast.  Eat them all when you make them since they lose their crispness & get chewy when kept overnight. Won't make that mistake again. :)  Check out the easy recipe over at Smitten Kitchen.

Kale Waldorf Salad ~ Another great way to eat your kale. ~ This recipe from Whole Foods ROCKS!

Wilted Kale with Sausage & Walnuts

Wilted Kale with Sausage & Walnuts

I love kale & always enjoy cooking one of my favorite greens in different ways.  A few months ago I watched Emeril make a great looking wilted kale recipe.  Oooo...I was inspired to go right into the kitchen & I made it for lunch.  It was very tasty & it's been in my kale recipe rotation ever since.  I changed up his recipe to suit my cooking style ~ less oil & butter, regular toasted walnuts instead of walnut butter & I added sliced Trader Joe's Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausages ~ because everything tastes better with those sausages.  The way I make, it becomes a quick & simple meal ~ perfect for a light lunch or dinner.   Enjoy! 

Wilted Kale with Sausage & Walnuts

serves 2~3

2 tblsp         olive oil
1 bunch       kale ~ ribs removed & cut into bite sized pieces
2 links         Trader Joe's Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausage, sliced
                    (they're precooked, just heat & serve)

1 tblsp         butter

1/2 cup        chopped, toasted walnuts
1 tblsp         honey

~                   salt & pepper, to taste

1)   heat olive oil in large, non stick, saute pan over medium high heat, when
       hot, add kale & sliced sausage ~ cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until kale
       is slightly wilted

2)   add butter, honey & walnuts, toss all together & cook for another
       2 to 3 minutes

3)   salt & pepper, to taste ~ serve immediately

Bangers & Mash ~ Cauliflower Mock Mashed Potatoes

Bangers & Mash ~ A meal both the English  & the Irish call their own.  This would be a perfect meal for a St. Patrick's Day celebration, or for any time.

Bangers & Mash ~ We often eat this meal in our home, it's a dish that satisfies our need for a bit of English 'pub grub'.  The only thing better would be to be eating it in a real English pub, in England, with a pint of Newcastle Brown Ale.  One can wish.  :)   This meal is also a favorite in any Irish Pub you go to, either here or abroad.  Good pub grub, is good pub grub ~ wherever you are.

OK, I must confess.  This time when I made my Bangers & Mash, I tried something just a little bit different.  This 'mash' isn't my usual traditional mashed potatoes ~ I actually made these out of CAULIFLOWER!  I've read about how versatile cauliflower is & all the info was true.  It comes out sooo much like spuds, without the high carb guilt.  You've got to taste them to see why I'm so excited about this new way to make 'mash'.   You may never go back to regular mashed potatoes again.  Or, if you just want to cut down on the carbs in your regular mashed potatoes, make it with a 50/50 split of potatoes & cauliflower. 

Since I try to watch how much fat we eat, I have found a sausage that I love, it's from Trader Joe's ~ Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausage.  It is so good!  I use it in all sorts of dishes, it lends itself to many ethnic recipes.  It has only 6g fat per link & it's REALLY tasty.  Perfect for a quick meal since they are already cooked. Just heat & serve.

If you are looking for something easy for St. Patrick's Day celebrating, are longing for a bit of English pub grub, or just want an easy & quick weeknight meal ~ give Bangers & Mash a try.  I think you might just love it as much as we do.  Enjoy!

Cauliflower Mock 'Mashed Potatoes'

 serves 3-4

1              large head of cauliflower, broken into florets
2 tbsp      butter or margarine, or to taste ~ the less you use,
                the lower in calories/fat it is
1/2 tsp     onion powder, or to taste
2  tbsp     lowfat or fatfree cream cheese, or to taste 

~              salt & pepper, to taste
~              milk, if needed to thin the mash


1)   steam cauliflower ~ until it is very tender

2)   drain the cooked cauliflower, make sure it is as dry
      as you can get it

3)   put cooked cauliflower in a food processor (in batches if necessary)
         ~ add butter, cream cheese  & onion powder
         ~ blend until smooth, like whipped potatoes
         ~ add a bit of milk, but only if needed to thin out the mash
         ~ salt & pepper to taste
             
4)    serve just like regular mashed potatoes, topped with butter or gravy

Dublin Coddle with Seitan Irish Sausages ~ Meatless Monday ~ Perfect for your St. Patrick's Day Meal

Dublin Coddle with Seitan Irish Sausages

It's your lucky day!  Here is a perfect Meatless Monday Meal & St. Patrick's Day Meal ~ all rolled into one.  This Dublin Coddle with Seitan Irish Sausages is fantastic.  I tweaked the recipe from FatFree Vegan a bit, to work with what I had on hand. I did use Guinness beer & decided to add carrots, for additional flavor & color. I think it really gave the whole dish an amazing authentic Irish flavor. 

Depending on how you want to make the dish, it can be meatless/vegetarian or vegan.  Just tweak the ingredients a little to suit your needs. I decided to make the meal with the Vegan Dad's homemade seitan sausage recipe  since I had some of those sausages already made up.  The Dublin Coddle recipe from FatFree Vegan also includes her own seitan Irish sausage recipe.  I'll try her recipe for the Irish sausages next time I make this dish.

If making your own seitan sausages is just more than you want to do, don't let that stop you from making this dish.  Just purchase some vegetarian sausages at the market & continue with the rest of the recipe.  The beer, veggies & broth make such a flavorful combo, even without the sausages, they should not be missed!

Whether you call it ~ St. Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day or St. Patty's Day ~ if you are looking for something a bit different for your St. Paddy's Day meal, if you are tired of the traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage, if you have decided to try a meatless/vegetarian St. Patrick's Day meal for the upcoming celebration ~ I hope you try this remarkable meatless Irish recipe, it's a winner!

Trader Joe's 17 Bean & Barley Soup with Sausage ~ Where have you bean all my life...

Trader Joe's ~ 17 Bean & Barley Soup and Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage

It is freezing cold outside today.  Literally.  It's a perfect day for making some soup.   If you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's near you, go get this 17 Bean & Barley Soup Mix ~ a big, colorful bag of dried, mixed beans.  You gotta try this soup! 
 
It certainly is tasty enough to be eaten as just a bean soup....but, why stop at just beans when you can add some tasty, healthy sausage, too?  There isn't much I don't love from TJ's, but I think their Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Sausage is my favorite item.  It's great in all sorts of meals. Actually, all of their chicken sausages are great.  They have many flavors to choose from, & at about 6 grams of fat each, what's not to love?

I just followed the recipe on the back of the bag, but here is a link for the 17 Bean & Barley Soup recipe. If you don't have a Trader Joe's close by, never fear, just look for one of the mixed bag'o'beans from your grocery store & use that. The more beans it has in it, the merrier!

I'm so glad I tried this bean soup mix, it makes a WONDERFUL pot of soup!  If you are feeling really ambitious, make some corn bread to go with it.  Hmmm, here is another avenue to explore...if you added some okra & more meats/seafood, it would become a fabulous gumbo.  Must remember to try that next time...