Snausages!

This recipe for Sausage and Peppers came from my Mother-in-Law.  For years, only my husband could replicate the delicious meal in our home, but I have now mastered the art of this amazing dish.  Here is the recipe:

Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients:

·      6 Premio brand sweet sausages

·         6 Premio brand hot sausages

·         

·      2 Tbsp and 2 tsp olive oil

·         2 jars Victoria Fra Diavlo sauce

·     

·       1 box Ronzoni thin spaghetti

·         1 large yellow onion- chopped (1 inch pieces)

·         2 large green peppers- chopped (1 inch pieces)

·         Grated Parmesan cheese to garnish (Most times I don’t use it, dish doesn’t need it)

Tools:

·         Large sauté pan with cover

·         Stock pot and strainer for pasta

·         Large Tongs

·         Paring knife

·         Cutting board

·         Large baking dish (9 x13 Pyrex dish or I love my Dansk 13.25” Paella Pan)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425° F

2.  Cook pasta for 1 minute less than the minimum time on the box’s cooking directions.  

3.  While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large sauté pan to medium high (electric stove is between 7 and 8).

4.  Right before smoking temp is reached, place sausages in the pan. Brown the sausages on three sides for about 2 minutes or so per side or until slightly darker than golden brown.  They brown fast so keep an eye on them.

5.  When browning the fourth side, add the slices of onion and green pepper, so they are on top of the sausages, and turn the heat down to medium, (electric stove between 5 and 6).

6.  Cover and let the onions and peppers soften, approximately 10 minutes.  (I usually go by the color of the green pepper.  When it turns a soft green, it’s done.)

7.  Pour 1 full jar of the Victoria’s Fra Diavlo sauce into the baking dish.

8.  When pasta is fully cooked, strain and add the pasta to baking dish and mix with the uncooked sauce in the pan.

9.  Once the sausages, peppers and onions are done, place the sausages on top of the pasta, nestling the sausages just slightly into the pasta as you place them.

10.  Top with peppers and onions, making sure to keep as much of the fat in the pan out of the baking dish.

11.  Top with remaining jar of Fra Diavlo sauce.

12.  Bake in middle of oven at 425 ° F for 35 minutes.  (The temp seems high, but it is vital to make the most flavorful dish, where the flavors are blended all the way through, and some pasta crisps along the edge which is a treat if you are lucky enough to get some on your plate.  I have tested many different temps and 425 degrees Fahrenheit is the best choice by far.)

This is the finished product:

You can add some grated Parmesan cheese to the plated meal if you prefer, but it really doesn't need it.  This dish is so easy I make it during weeknights with no problems whatsoever.  It also makes a ton, so you can eat it for lunches or for dinner again the next night.  Mangia!
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Jamba-LI-ah!

Couldn't resist the Seinfeldism (Newman on The Soup Nazi episode).



This weekend I attempted Chicken and Smoked Sausage Jambalaya after reading Cajunlicious' guest post  from Nola Mommy.  The recipe is both easy to understand and cost effective for those on a tight budget.


So before I start heating anything, I always prepare all of my ingredients ahead of time.  This allows me to cook in a more calm environment where I can focus on flavors and cooking style instead of rushing around the kitchen trying to cut or measure something before the meal burns.

The Jambalaya recipe calls for 1 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup diced celery and 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper, and 1 Tablespoon minced garlic (which I conveniently had already minced in a jar in the fridge).




Celery dicing tip:  Slice the celery stalks lengthwise first, then line them up at one edge and dice into small squares.








The result is evenly sized celery squares that are perfect for sauteing.




Bell Pepper de-seeding tip:
Turn bell pepper upside down and slice sides away as you would peel an apple.


Then slice sides lengthwise to make perfectly sized bell pepper slices.



If you want to dice the pepper slices, line up the slices at one end like you did the celery slices, and cut into evenly sized squares.



The recipe calls for 8 oz (1/2 lb) smoked sausage, and I picked Polska Kielbasa to use in the dish because I love the stuff.

Dice the kielbasa by slicing into rounds and then quartering the rounds into four cubes per round.












Next, cube the 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast and season with approximately 2 Tablespoons Cajun seasoning.  (The recipe calls for only 1 teaspoon but I found 2 tablespoons nicely coated the chicken.)  Mush the chicken around to coat all the cubes.



Preheat your stock pot on medium-high with 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil.


Measuring cooking oil tip: Count to 1 while pouring the oil and that is one Tablespoon. If you need two tablespoons, count to 2, etc.  No need to dirty a measuring spoon to measure cooking oil!


Heat the oil until a piece of chicken inserted into the hot oil causes it to sizzle.  Then the oil is ready to cook the chicken properly.  Put all of your chicken in the hot oil and cook for about 5 minutes, turning the chicken once after 2 and a half minutes.  this will cook the chicken long enough to cook the outside until golden but not fully cook it through so it doesn't dry out.  If you find the chicken is sticking to the bottom of the pot, turn down the heat a bit.

Next add the kielbasa and cook it for about 5 minutes longer, just to heat the kielbasa through.  Then add the garlic, bell pepper, celery and onion and cook for another 5 minutes.

While the vegetables cook and soften, use this time to dissolve the Tablespoon of dry dark roux in 1/2 cup warm water.

For those of you like me who live on the East Coast and have no idea what I am talking about when I say dark roux, you can order it here.  Roux is a mixture of flour and fat, usually butter and cream, that is used in this recipe to color the jambalaya.  For more information on how to make a traditional roux, click here.  Making a roux is time consuming and many prefer to buy the less caloric and easy to store powdered roux.  The link listed above is where I got mine.







Now after the five minutes are up, add the dissolved roux and cook for an additional 10 minutes, occasionally stirring to mix and coat everything in the pot.

Next, mix in the 2 cups uncooked long grain white rice and 3.5 cups low sodium chicken broth.


Add a bit more Cajun seasoning if you so desire (Nola Mommy's suggestion and I have to say that I did it and it tasted great).

Bring to a boil and cover.  Cook on medium for 30 minutes, mixing occasionally so the bottom doesn't burn.






Nola Mommy suggests sprinkling the top with some sliced scallions as garnish, which is what I did in the picture at the top of the post.  She also suggests adding Tobasco sauce to the dish, which I did, approximately 10 shakes per bowl, and it brought out the flavors and added some welcomed heat to the dish.

Overall, this dish was a success.  My DH requested this to be on our regular menu, which is what I use as part of my success-o-meter.  I also loved the flavors in this simple dish.  My only issue was I added more than the required vegetables which created too much liquid in the pot, making my rice come out too mushy.


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