Sausage, Apples and Onions

There are few meats that tempt me, these days but turkey sausage has its appeal so when I decided to throw  together, what I find in the kitchen and make a meal.   My thinking is that everything goes with sausage.  Sausage has so much flavor, it is hard to compete with it and frankly, I don’ think, we should try to.

This  was another recipe that went easily as soon as I decided what I was putting in it.  I tend to go for onions with almost any savory recipe because I cut back on seasoning for my husband.  My daughter complains, I put apples in everything.  She is right.

Turkey Sausage with Slice Apples and Onions

Ingredients  (only a few of them)

 4  sausages

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium  onion, sliced 

1/4 cup dry white wine

 1  apple, peeled, diced

(15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsedProcedure

Procedure

Slice the sausages in to 1/2 inch pieces.

 Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add the onion, and cook for 2 minutes .

Add the sausage and cook until the sausage is browned, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the the remaining ingredients and cook everything together for another few minutes (no longer than 4 minutes).  The liquid should thicken into a sauce.

Waldorf Salad

I like almost anything, with apples which makes this dish, a joy to make.  It is crisp, slightly sweet and one that most people do like.  Making this is easy as pie…… Why do people say that?  Pie is not easy to make, in my opinion.  The crust and I are enemies and that crust usually wins.     Forget the pie.  This is easy to make.  It is nice to have a little bit of sweet in contrast to the fish, soup, meat and vegetables.

Friday and Saturday are the last two days of Passover and then we return to eating bread and pasta and anything else, we don’t eat, this week.  Many people run out and get a pizza or put up a pot of water for pasta or hope the bagel shop is open.  Strangely, I have no desire for “chametz”, the leavened foods, we do not eat on Passover.  Sometimes, I go days after the holiday without eating any of these.  I have no desire for bread or pasta or pizza.  I can’t say the same for the rest of the family.

There is so much work involved in this holiday and there is lots of eating.  It is sad when it is over.  Every year, we say this and it is true, I feel “blah” for a day or two afterwards.  Then, real life, so to speak returns and routines fall into place and time constraints change priorities but this is all a chance to love living.

Waldorf Salad  (adapted) Southern Food – About.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups coarsely chopped apples, about 2 medium apples
• 1  cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preparation:

To make Waldorf salad, place chopped apple, celery and walnuts in a bowl.

Combine mayonnaise, sugar, allspice and lemon juice. Toss mayonnaise mixture with apple mixture.

 Serves 4 to 6.          

Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs and Blue Cheese – The Food Matters Project

I have been a big fan of Mark Bittman for a number of years.  I particularly like his ability to convey to the cook many ways to make the same recipe.  This attitude was great for me tonight when I thought I was baking the above recipe, only to find that I could not get most of the ingredients.

I have not seen gluten-free rigatoni so I subbed in penne.  Although, I am sure, kosher blue cheese is available, I have not seen it locally.  We are not fans of figs so I subbed apples which were great.  Finally and unbelievably, the local stores were out of brussels sprouts.  I called my daughter and asked her to look around and she also could not locate any.

I guess, I proved that you can  change the ingredients and come out with a facsimile of the original.

I feel particularly bad because this is the first time, I cooked with the foodies of The Food Matters Project.  This group is cooking their way through Mark Bittman’s, The Food Matters.   If you are interested, get the book and join us.

Marcia from Twenty by Sixty chose the  Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs, and Blue Cheese (page 221), in The Food Matters.   You will find the recipe on her blog.

Marcia shares her hesitation selecting this recipe which about describes my initial reaction.  Figs? Blue Cheese? Pasta? and Brussels Sprouts?  They just shouldn’t go together but I gather they did and did so beautifully.

My combination of broccoli, Monterey Jack, Apples and Penne also worked although I didn’t believe it.  The almonds seemed to disappear into the dish and it was not until the end that I found one. This is unique but trusting Mark Bittman helps.  I had to believe the recipe was good.

Check out the other cooks at The Food Matters Project.

Indian Style Chicken with Apples

Just in case, anyone does not know my secret, it is that I don’t like to repeat recipes, no matter how good, they are.  It is not the best method but with all my cookbooks and recipes from bloggers, I have an unlimited amount of recipes, I want to make.  There are foods like salmon and chicken which we eat weekly and at this point, while there are many new recipes, most are similar to what I have made, before.

I was happy when I found this one on allrecipes.com.  I love Indian seasonings and often add them to other dishes.  Apples always make me happy in main and side dishes as well as desserts.  This sounded good.  I made a few changes and we had a worthy meal for dinner.

Indian Style Chicken with Apples

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into strips
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 2 apples – peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (from soup bubbling on the stove)
• 1 cup Tofutti sour cream to replace the dairy yogurt
•  pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
2. Add the onion and apple to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Cook and stir until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper; continue to cook and stir for another 5 minutes. Season with curry powder and cinnamon; cook for a few more minutes to intensify the flavors.
3. Stir in the chicken broth and Tofutti sour cream. Return chicken to the skillet and simmer for a few minutes to heat through. Remove from the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.Prep time was only a few minutes and everything went smoothly.  This is an easy recipe.
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• This is linked to  Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays

Have Leftovers – Make Soup

I had my meal plan in place, for tonight, until I looked into the refrigerator to find quite a few vegetables and fruit which would survive for a short time, if I didn’t use them, very soon.  The sweet potatoes, in particular were ready to get up and walk away.  Usually, I keep four sweet potatoes, in the house, and have plans for them.  This morning, there were six potatoes and I had no idea what to do with them.

I also found lots of leftovers sharing space with the sweet potatoes.  I decided quickly, leftovers would become the fare for, this evening and I would make a soup to go with the meal.

Emptying the refrigerator –  4 sweet potatoes, 1 apple,  container with some apple sauce, leftover vegetable soup.  Can you picture and taste my soup?

Apple Cinnamon-Sweet Potato Soup  (made in a crockpot)

4 medium sweet potatoes

1 cups water

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup applesauce

1 apple, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste

Procedure

Put liquids in slow cooker.  Add sweet potatoes and applesauce.  Cover and cook on low for three hours.

Add apple, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg plus black pepper.  Cook on high for another hour.

Using an immersion blender, blend until the consistency you want.  Mine was smooth and creamy.

If I had cranberry pecan goat cheese, I would have crumbled it on top of the soup.

This soup had a distinct apple flavor to it and it was delicious.

This is not my photo.

 Pennywise Platter Thursdays      Sunday Night Soup      Show Your Stuff

Ricotta Hotcakes with Warm Spiced Apples

Ricotta Hotcakes with Warm Spiced Apples 

makes about 16 hot cakes

Ingredients:

Hot Cakes

1 cup all purpose flour or brown rice mix

2 teaspoons baking powder

salt

1 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup milk

4 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extractcanola oil for griddle

————————————-

2 tablespoons Canola oil

2 apples, peeled and diced

1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup maple syrup

Method:

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.  Set asi

de.

 In a large bowl, mix ricotta cheese, milk, egg yolks and vanilla.

In a third bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy.  Fold these into batter.

Pour Canola oil on griddle over a medium flame and drop slightly smaller than a quarter cup of batter for each hot cake.  Cook until golden (1 – 2 minutes) and then flip over and cook for another minute.

Put oil into large skillet over medium flame.  Add apples and cook

 until golden and tender, about 5 minutes.  Do not cook until mushy.  Add remaining ingredients and cook for two additional minutes, stirring.

Pour over hot cakes and serve and ENJOY.

Yummy!

Linked to These Chicks Cook            Simple Lives Thursdays

Related articles

• Cinnamon Pancakes (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Apple Rice Kugel (bookcasefoodie.wordpress.com)
• Recipe: Apple-Potato Latkes With Cinnamon Sour Cream – Recipe (nytimes.com)
• Throw Away Your Frying Pan: Oven Baked Potato Latkes are Here (kosherblogger.wordpress.com)

Apple Spice Crumb Cake

This recipe called for mayonnaise.  It is a Hellman’s recipe.  I subbed applesauce and oil for the mayo.  I would cut the oil, next time, and it will be just as good.

APPLE SPICE CRUMB CAKE Serves: 16 Prep Time: 20 Minute(s) Cook Time: 50 Minute(s)

APPLE CAKE: 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups sugar 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 tsp. baking soda 4 large eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 cup applesauce 1/2 cup canola oil 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped I did not make the topping.  I sliced an additional apple and placed it on top of the batter. 1. For Apple Cake, preheat oven to 350°. Grease 13  x 9-inch baking pan; set aside. 2. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda; set aside. 3. In medium bowl, with wire whisk,  beat eggs, Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise and vanilla until smooth. 4. Toss apples with flour mixture, then stir in mayonnaise mixture until combined. Dough will be stiff.  Evenly spread into prepared pan. I have only had a piece warm and it was great.  Try it warm and cold.

Linked to Sweets for a Saturday,