Slow Cooker Bratwurst & Sauerkraut

Time for another edition of the Secret Recipe Club.  This month we were assigned Mostly Food & Crafts. Danielle is a stay at home Mom with two children.  She loves to cook and make crafts when she has time. She has a Friday Frenzy Blog Hop that we have been a part of and lots of great family friendly recipes to choose from.  I was bringing over dinner to my daughter who just had her baby and picked this recipe as soon as I saw it because slow cooker cooking is always quick and easy and this recipe makes a bunch. Perfect for four people for dinner with a little leftovers. And since we are a part German family we love Bratwurst.  I served this with German Potato Salad and a salad.  I also want to make the Garlic Knots in Bread Machine and the Lasagna Soup sometime soon.    

Ingredients:
2 packages Bratwurst (5 bratwurst in each package)
2 cans sauerkraut 14.4 oz. rinsed and drained
2 medium apples, cored, skinned and chopped
6 strips bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup apple juice (I added)
1 tbsp ground mustard (I didn't have)

Directions:
Place the bratwurst in the slow cooker.  Cover with sauerkraut.

Top with chopped apples and cooked and chopped bacon.

Add chopped onions, brown sugar and apple juice.  Mix.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve on hard rolls with mustard.

Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Sausage, Spinach & Bean Soup

Yum!! This soup is going to become one of your favorite weeknight winter meals. I think a lot of people are intimidated by soup but they shouldn't be. Not only is this soup healthy but it took only about 30 minutes to make, I used only 1 pot to cook it and most of the ingredients were things we already had in our fridge or pantry. Plus it made a ton so it's perfect for a big family or folks who enjoy freezing extras, I'm not sure it gets any better than this!!

Ingredients:

8 links Italian Sausage - Casings removed

9oz Spinach

2 15oz Cans White Beans - Drained & Rinsed

2 15oz Can Diced Tomatoes

1 Large Onion - Diced

4 Garlic Cloves - Minced

10 Baby Carrots - Sliced

3 Cartons /Quarts or 96oz Low Sodium Fat Free Chicken Broth

1lb Pasta - Cavatappi

10 Fresh Basil Leaves - Chopped

1 Tsp Olive Oil

S&P

Grated Parmesan Cheese for topping

Adapted from: http://feastonthecheap.net/

In your largest stock pot heat up the olive oil. Take your sausage out of its casing and brown it in the bottom of the pot, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. While the sausage is browning you can prep your onion, carrots and garlic.

When your sausage is almost completely browned, add in all of your veggies. Salt and pepper everything allowing the veggies to soften and cook about 7 minutes. Stir the pot occasionally so that  nothing sticks.

Now it is time to dump in both cans of the diced tomatoes, the beans that have been drained and rinsed, the box of pasta and all 3 cartons of the chicken broth. Stir the pot a few times to mix everything up.

Add the fresh basil as well as another round of salt & pepper. Bring the entire pot to a boil, once it is boiling reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer about 7 minutes to cook the pasta.

A few minutes before serving pour all of the spinach into the pot. It will wilt into the soup as you stir it in. Serve immediately topped with grated Parmesan cheese. If you plan on making this ahead of time or having it as leftovers for more than one day keep some extra chicken stock on hand to add to your bowl as you reheat it as the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid the longer it sits.

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net, asouthernfairytale.com

Playoff Chili

This is the perfect winter time dish. We are expecting snow this weekend so I plan on baking all weekend to keep the house extra warm and smelling delicious.  This recipe was adapted from Aunt Nubby's Kitchen who got it from Southern Living Magazine.  My husband said it was the best chili he ever had.  The addition of the sausage made the flavor a lot different than regular chili.  We had a lot left over and chili always gets better the longer it blends together.  So we enjoyed it for a few meals.  Have a great weekend!

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tbsp chopped jalapenos
1 12 oz bottle of beer
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1-1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, cook ground beef, ground sausage, onion, red and yellow peppers and garlic until meat crumbles and is no longer pink, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir in diced tomatoes, jalapenos, beer, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, sugar, salt, red pepper, black pepper and oregano.   Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes.  Add kidney beans and black beans and cover.  Cook for 15 more minutes.

Serve in bowls with shredded cheddar cheese on top.  We like to serve our chili over rice but it can also be served over corn chips.

Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/, www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com

Apple, Sausage and Leek Multi-Grain Stuffing

Since the beginning of the holiday season is upon I wanted to share this recipes before everyone makes their Thanksgiving day menus. This stuffing is amazing and basically could be the only side you need on Turkey day because it is loaded with all the traditional Thanksgiving foods. The apples and cranberries give it a sweet tart flavor while the multi-grain bread and fresh sage make it earthy. It is moist while still being able to have a nice crunch from the toasted bread. Our past Thanksgivings we have always served Stove Top, one  made with sausage and one plain but if meat in your stuffing is not for you, you can always just leave it out. If you are still using Stove Top Stuffing for Thanksgiving I urge you to try making a homemade version instead. I actually made this stuffing for last years Thanksgiving and it was the 1st time we didn't have Stove Top at our table. I promise you, your family will love it and you will never go back to the carton or the boxed stuff. 

  Thanksgiving happens to be my favorite holiday and it bothers me that the American people have no problem skipping right over it and concentrating on Christmas. I proudly took out our turkey decorations yesterday and will keep celebrating Thanksgiving and autumn until December 1st!!

Ingredients:
6 Medium Braeburn or Macoun Apples - Peeled & Cubed
12 Slices 12 grain bread - Cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage - Casings removed & crumbled
3 Leeks - Halved & Thinly Sliced
6 Celery Stalks - Diced
1 1/2 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
5oz Craisins
10 Fresh Sage Leaves
1 1/2 Stick Unsalted Butter
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Thyme
1  Tbsp Rosemary
S&P

Adapted from Food Network Magazine November 2012

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Slice up all of your bread, I made 3 slices across and then 4 down to make 1/2 cubes. In an effort to save time I toasted the bread in two separate pans at the same time. Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in each skillet over medium-low heat, put in the bread and toss to coat. Transfer them to a baking tray making sure to make a single layer.

Peel, core and dice up your apples. In the same skillet you used for the bread, melt another Tbsp of butter over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook stirring until slightly tender 4-5 minutes. Stir in the honey and apple cider vinegar, then transfer to a large bowl to cool.

Finish toasting your bread in the oven about 8 minute, I gave the pan a shake about half way through. On another baking tray arrange your sausage and bake them as well. They will need 12 minutes if you leave them whole and dice them up afterwards or 8-10 minutes if you take the casing off and crumble them up. When both are finish add them to the bowl with the apples. Then add your sage & thyme.

Using only the white and light green parts of the leek slice them in half and then thinly slice them into strips. Make sure you soak them for a few minutes before you cook them to get all the grit out, then dice up your celery. There is a lot of veggies so you may need to go back to your two pans or cook it in two shifts. In your apple skillet, melt another Tbsp of butter over medium heat and add the two vegetables. Add about 2 Tbsp of water and season with salt & pepper. Cook until they are translucent about 8-10 minutes, then transfer to the bowl with the apples, bread, sausage and spices.

Add your craisins and toss everything together. It is important to taste your stuffing while it is warm to get a sense of the seasonings and flavors that way you can adjust if need be. I think I ended up adding some more thyme and salt but you be the judge. Add 1 cup of chicken stock to the bowl and toss again.

Reduce the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with a Tbsp of butter and transfer the mixture to the dish. Cut 3 Tbsp of butter up into cubes and spread them out over top of the stuffing to melt as it bakes. Cover it with foil and bake 40 minutes, then uncover and continue to bake until golden brown about 40 more minutes. I prepared this the day before so I only cooked it with the foil off for 20 minutes and then on Thanksgiving it took about 30 minutes to heat through. Pour the extra 1/2 cup of chicken stock over top before reheating on the day of to make sure it is nice and moist.

 Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://www.callmepmc.com/, http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com/, http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com, http://www.flourmewithlove.com/, http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/, http://insidebrucrewlife.com/,  www.foodiefriendsfriday.com   http://www.nap-timecreations.com/, http://momstestkitchen.com/, http://www.ducksnarow.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com, http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com/, http://www.bunsinmyoven.com, http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com, http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.thejennyevolution.com/, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/, http://www.happyandblessedhome.com, http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/, http://www.posedperfection.com/, http://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/, http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Stuffed Pizza Bites

Wow I can't believe it's September, my favorite month! We apologize for not posting recently, we both were trying to enjoy the last few days of summer while being busy with other things. John and I celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary yesterday by going to the Yankee Game. Owen is almost 6 months old so I don't have as much time on my hands now that he's trying to crawl, sit up and play with everything by putting it in his mouth! I also started to make homemade baby food for him so if anyone is interested maybe I'll post about that later on this month. My mom was busy helping my youngest sister get ready to start her last year of college down at Loyola. And to top it all off my 3rd sister Kelly is pregnant with her 1st baby and today we get to find out what the sex is which is super exciting for our whole family!!

I saw this recipe on an episode of The Chew about three weeks ago. We like most families always have pizza dough, marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese in the fridge. But after watching The Chew that afternoon I decided to give these a try instead of traditional pizza. They are prefect for an after school snack, lunch with a salad or served as an appetizer for an upcoming football game. Be sure to serve them with a side of marinara sauce for dipping. The other great thing about these stuffed pizza bites is you can fill them with whatever your favorite pizza topping is or whatever you already have in the house.

Ingredients:

1 package of pizza dough
1/4 Cup Flour

1/2 lb Italian Sausage

1 Head of spinach

1 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella

1 Small Onion - Diced
2 Garlic Cloves - Minced
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
S&P
1 Cup of Marinara Sauce for Dipping

Start by preheating your oven to 425 F. On a lightly floured surface roll out the pizza dough until it's about a 1/4 in thick. Using a large biscuit cutter or the bottom of a glass cut the pizza dough into rounds. Ball up the dough, roll it out and continue to make pizza dough rounds until all the dough has been used.

Depending on what you want to put in your stuffed pizza dough bites depends on how much prep work you'll need to do. We stuffed ours with spinach, onion, garlic and Italian sausage but you can put anything in them you'd like. I broke up and browned the sausage, letting it sit on paper towel to soak up some of the grease and then sauteed the onion, garlic and spinach in a little bit of olive oil with some salt and pepper.

In a large bowl combine your pizza toppings with the shredded cheese and mix it all around till its completely combined.

Grab your pizza dough rounds and place a heaping Tbsp of your toppings in the middle of the dough. Pull the dough around the toppings and seal the dough together using your fingers. Do the same for each pizza bite.

Grease a large pan or a cast iron skillet with a little bit of olive oil before placing your pizza bites seam side down in the pan. They will obviously expand a bit when they bake but you can put them right next to each other making concentric circles.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning on top of the stuffed pizza bites. Bake in the over for about 25-30 minutes, they will begin to become golden brown on top. If you want you can place them under the broiler for a minute to further brown the cheese. Let them cool about 5 minutes and then serve them with Marinara sauce for dipping. 

Quick side note for you - the left overs are just as tasty cold as they are warm just like regular pizza ;)

Enjoy!!

Linked at: http://apeekintomyparadise.blogspot.com/, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com, http://www.thecountrycook.net, http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/, http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/, http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com, http://www.flourmewithlove.com/, http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com, http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.ca, http://insidebrucrewlife.com/, http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/, http://www.chef-in-training.com/, http://www.nap-timecreations.com/, http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com, http://www.ducksnarow.com, http://www.momstestkitchen.com/, http://thenymelrosefamily.com/, http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/, http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/, http://www.housewivesofriverton.com/, http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com/, http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com/, http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/, http://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/, http://www.posedperfection.com/, http://happyandblessedhome.com/, http://whoneedsacape.com/, http://www.thejennyevolution.com/

Goat Cheese Pasta with Arugula, Sausage and Mushrooms

I don't know what to say about this dish other than it's delicious! John actually asked if I could make it once a week when he was done eating it. The goat cheese sauce is creamy, the arugula gives it a bit of a bite, the sausage is salty and the mushrooms are tender. Overall the flavors come together so nicely its surprising. Now that work is back in full swing for me there are some days I have to cook dinner for us in the afternoon so that I can leave food for John and bring food to work for me. This particular night at work I was so busy I didn't have time to warm up my meal so I had to have it cold, not every meal can hold up to the can you eat it cold test but this one passed with flying colors.  

Ingredients:

4 Sweet Italian Sausage - Casing taken off

8oz Goat Cheese

8oz of White Mushrooms - Sliced

1 Shallot - Minced

1 Bunch of Arugula - Roots Trimmed off

1 Box of Large Rigatoni

1 Cup Chicken Broth plus a little extra

3 Tbsp I Can't Believe it's Not Butter

2 Tbsp Flour

S&P
Grated Parmesan Cheese for Topping

Loosely adapted from: http://gimmesomeoven.com

Place a medium sized pan over high heat and take the sausage out of its casings. Place the sausage in the hot pan and break it into pieces using a wooden spoon or spatula. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the sausage is browned and finished cooking set it aside on a plate with a paper towel to soak up some of the grease. Leave the remaining grease in the pan to cook the vegetables.

  Reduce the heat to medium and cook the shallot about a minute stirring frequently. Now add the mushrooms and allow them to cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

 Add the bunch of arugula to the pan. It will begin to wilt immediately. Stir occasionally until it has completely wilted, is soft and cooked through about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper the vegetables. When they are finished cooking set aside.

While the vegetables are cooking in a in separate pan melt the butter and whisk in the flour over medium heat for 1 minute. Then pour in your cup of chicken broth while you are whisking. about minute or two Your pasta should be done cooking by now so drain and return it to the pot.

Turn your heat down to low and add your goat cheese, it will slowly begin to melt into the liquid. It will take about 5 or 6 minutes so if you want to decrease the melting time, cut it up into chunks. Whisk occasionally as the sauce comes together. S&P the sauce. You want the sauce to be thick but not sticky so you can add more chicken broth a TBSP at a time till you get the correct consistency. If you add too much broth and its too thin add some Parmesan cheese to thicken it back up.

Pour the goat cheese sauce over the pasta in the pot it cooked in, mixing well to combine. Add the sausage, mix again. I found that the arugula stuck together a bit so add half of the vegetables giving it a good stir and then add the second half of vegetables. Spoon into bowl and top with Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!! - Nicole

Linked at: http://www.flourmewithlove.com, http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.ca, www.insidebrucrewlife.com, www.chef-in-training.com, www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com, www.nap-timecreations.com, http://www.adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com, http://momstestkitchen.blogspot.com, www.lilluna.com, www.back4secondsblog, www.ladybehindthecurtain.com, www.djssugarshack.com, http://housewivesofriverton.blogspot.com/, http://www.thecountrycook.net, http://thenymelrosefamily.com, http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com/, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/, http://www.mandatorymooch.blogspot.com, http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/, http://www.gooseberrypatch.typepad.com/blog/